Nic in Guatemala: This Blog is brought to you by Andrew Miller, Pollo Campero and the number 5

So, I have been here in Guatemala just over a year. I arrived last August 13^th and didn’t actually begin my service until November 1^st and although I have over a year of service left I have been living in Guatemala for over a year. With that said, I have not had any visitors thus far so when my brother Andrew came to see me over the last couple weeks it was a good experience for both of us…I hope.

Andrew arrived with numerous gifts, one being a laptop on which I am writing this very blog. This laptop will make my life much easier, as I am beginning to find a need for typing up lesson plans, reports, handouts for the schools, etc. Also, there is a fast food restaurant in nearby Santa Cruz del Quiche, Pollo Campero, which offers free wireless. This makes getting podcasts, checking email and all the finer things the internet offers more accessible. When Andrew arrived we were in Antigua for a short time and then headed to my site. Andrew stayed with me for a few days, had the chance to meet some of the kids at the school I work with, meet a couple families that I work with and see how life in the Guatemalan countryside goes.

After staying at my place for a few days we headed out. Our first stop was Gumarcaaj, some Mayan ruins outside of Santa Cruz del Quiche. These ruins were the home of the Quiche Mayans and were the site of the battle between Tecun Uman and Pedro de Alvarado in 1524. We wandered around for a couple hours and went into a cave, outside of which there was a Mayan ceremony being performed. Unfortunately, we were a couple minutes late; as we walked up a woman was dripping the blood of a chicken’s freshly slit throat onto a fire.

After the ruins, we continued on to Chichicastenango and the artisan market there to buy souvenirs and gifts for family. From there we continued on to Katie’s site and Andrew was introduced to the one and only Hendrick, Katie’s host brother. They became fast friends and Hendrick took over Andrew’s Ipod Touch for a couple days, playing games.

After leaving Katie’s, we headed to Lago Atitlan for some leisure time. On Saturday, we went to a eco park above the lake for some ziplining with some other volunteers. One of the ziplines was 400 meters long and 200 meters off of the ground. It was good times.

After the lake, we headed back to Antigua for a couple days, hiked an active volcano (of which Andrew has all the photos) and then Andrew headed home. It was a fast trip and we were able to see a lot of Guatemala in a short time. Andrew was able to experience chicken buses, comedores, markets, paca and pretty much all that comes with living in Guatemala. Thanks to him for bringing everything down; between the computer, scotch and books my time has become much more enjoyable.

Andrew and I at Cafe Sky in Antigua.

I quickly discovered that much like your average Guatemalteco, Andrew has the ability to fall asleep just about anywhere in under 3 minutes. Here he is sleeping on a bus.

Here Andrew is above the house of a man I am working with in one of the cantones near my aldea, Don Lolo. We are working to make a demonstrative garden using all organic methods to show people in surrounding cantones what can be accomplished.

Of course I had to take Andrew to meet my friends Don Pedro and Dona Tina. We had lunch, chatted and just hung out for a couple hours with these folks. After lunch, we were relaxing outside when Andrew walked by their dog, La Mancha (spot in Spanish), and they noticed he was a bit afraid. This is completely normal, as the dog is huge and they keep him on a short leash next to the chicken coop to ward off intruders. Well, they thought it was funny and next thing you know, they want Andrew to have a picture with the dog. Andrew obliged and it was a good laugh for everyone.