Hello, all! So I can´t remember if I´ve already mentioned it, but besides Taco Bell, Wendy´s, Domino´s, etc., Wal-Mart has also made it to not only Guatemala, but to Xela. Today, for our second portion of morning classes (usually we do 2.5 hours, break, and then have another 2.5 or go on a walkabout), we went to the mall, Hiper Pais, which happens to be owned in part by Wal-Mart. So what does a Guatemalan Wal-Mart look like? Go on down to Valley Drive, walk in there, and imagine everyone as Guatemalan-- either in indigenous dress or sporting more western styles -- looking at the day´s deal on tube socks. It was surreal, but not in an enlightening or inspiring way.

Almost ironically, but perhaps somewhat painfully, right outside the Hiper Pais mall (which also boasts a Laccoste, a Champs Sports and a Radio Shack), is an open-air market with some of the most gorgeous produce I have ever seen; broccoli and cauliflower the size of a corpulent man´s head, Lacostte jeans for less expensive, traditional fabrics and quite a few fruits I have never seen before in my life. One of our teachers, Juan, bought us all fruits of which he didn´t even know the name. We saw a Guatemalan woman gnoshing on this fruit in the minibus on the way to the mall, and therefore had to try it. It´s almost difficult to describe, but Tony´s attempt was, "it looks like the rebellious kid of strawberries," and another student, Kathleen, commented, "if you found this in your back yard, how would you even think that it was edible?" Both are apt. It´s basically, oval, about the size of a large strawberry, its color hovering between red and yellow through alteration, never really becoming orange. It´s also covered in "hair," but about four times as long as a peach´s and about an eightieth of the concentration. It...basically looks like a fruity sea creature. Anyway, to eat it, you break away the semi-hard exterior and within is like this...albino, peeled grape. That´s the best I can do on describing it. Its taste compared to its appearance is like a Jeckyl and Hyde transofmation; wild on the outside with a ridiculously mild flavor. It´s not bitter, but only borders on sweet.

On the minibus ride back to school, we talked about the Guatemalan public school system (education is free, books aren´t always), the price of goat milk compared to cow milk (goat milk is more expensive, or "caro") and then proceeded to loosely outline a plan between Tony, Kathleen and I to go buy goats and set up shop selling their milk.

In the afternoon, after lunch, Tony´s teacher, Marina, gave a presentation on Mayan fabric and the messages within it. It was extremely interesting. We learned how the fashion of folding a wrap skirt or loose blouse (into the skirt) could tell a man if a woman was single or available and how the colors and patterns of traditional fabric indicate where a person is from. For example, a base of blue most probably indicates the person lives near a lake or river, and green and yellow could speak to the person´s dwelling´s proximity to maize or corn fields. Animal patterns woven in -- such as the depiction of deer, fish or snakes -- can also indicate the location of their village. Traditionally dressed women here also wrap a band of woven fabric -- about as wide as a belt, but often many times longer -- around their head. Ususally, it circles their head nine times before fastening to signify the nine months of creation, which speaks to the purpose of women´s traditional clothing. It was said by our teachers that basically a woman is the walking creation story. The head wrap is for the cycle of pregnancy and creation, as mentioned. Often on the skirts, there is a large cross pattern woven in, which is not that of Christianity, but rather a representation of a spiritual apex between "worlds" testimonial to original Mayan beliefs. The presentation was so interesting, and I can only imagine how much more interesting it would have been had I understood every last word -- the entire thing was in Spanish, and I´m on, what, day four of the language?

The lecture wrapped up (no pun intended, but...what the hey, let´s take this all the way) when I was wrapped up (ha...ha?) in the traditional skirt and donned a respective blouse. I´ll post the pictures later, but let´s just say it´s not my most attractive look. I don´t know how many of you have read "Out of Africa" by Isak Dinesen (a penname), but there´s a part in the book where the narrator sees a Kenyan or East African child wearing a turquoise bracelette. The narrator wants it so badly because of how brilliant the turquoise is that she has it bought for her to wear. When the narrator puts it on, the bracelette looks dull and out of place, and she realizes that the color was so much more vibrant and srtriking on the child´s wrist because of the perfect contrast of the color against the youth´s dark skin. I´m reminded of this passage because not only did I look completely out of place in the clothes, but they also just...did not look proper on my body, on my skin. To be more dramatic, maybe because they didn´t tell my story?

Anyway, a very informative and amazing day. I also successfully explained to my mama in Spanish BY MYSELF that we had a presentation at the school at 3 p.m. and that Tony, Steph and I (all living in teh same host family, now) were planning to meet some friends at 7.45 p.m. at the school for an 8 p.m. Salsa class at a nearby club. Therefore, could we please have dinner at 7 p.m.? Not only did my moma understand, she obliged, clapped and yelled for me, saying that "Tona" (my new name in the family...a joke and variation on "Tony") has learned so much Spanish this week! I´m not going to lie; it felt great. So tonight we celebrate with the dance of Salsa. No tengo that kind of coordination, so this should be more hilarious than me and Tony´s blooper reel of a ping-pong match after a few beers at the bar last night, but who cares? Here goes nothing!