School's Out!

Well, at least until I get a job teaching. In the meantime, I had my last class as a Bachelor of Education student today! And after 8 months, I've gotta say... teaching pretty much rules. I get to be a nerd, wear cardigans and corduroy jackets, and I can justify watching art films, reading books, and pretty much every other activity I enjoy doing by saying I'm prepping for class. And kids are not nearly as bad as reported. In fact, they're pretty much like us "grown-ups," except that they're far more open to possibilities than most of us care to be.
On top of that, the weather's getting warmer. I plan to spend most of the summer "prepping."

Back at home, further from the equator.

Well, I've made it back to good ol' Canadamala. I mostly arrived unscathed, with just a bad cold, which my voice is still wrecked from, and I've already managed to pass on to my brilliant, talented, and beautiful girlfriend (sorry Karen!). The many-coloured "alfombras" that covered the streets of Antigua as part of Easter festivities, and the religious processions that walked over these creations of coloured sawdust, flowers, etc, are now just memories and photographs.

Now, I'm only two and a half weeks away from finishing my B.Ed!

Next adventure: Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Mayan Ruins, Salsa Dancing, and Coffee Plantations

It´s been an eventful week here in Guatemala. I spent the weekend just over the Guatemala-Honduras border, where there are the remains of a big ancient Mayan city, and where the climate is waaay hotter and more humid than the mountains around Antigua and Guatemala City. The ruins were amazing, but it was almost more fun just to experience a more tropical climate and jungle-y area, with parrots and giant trees. Also, although my hotel there was a bit of a hole, it did have hammocks to lie in... and boy, do I enjoy a good hammock.

Monday, I started Spanish lessons again. I only took 3 days of spanish classes this week, 5 hours a day. I had a new teacher this time, and he was a bit of a taskmaster...as a result, I feel like I´ve crammed in alot of Spanish learning over the past 3 days. It was really good to come back to spanish classes after a few weeks immersed in the language to realize I´ve actually made some progress, and know a whole wack of spanish words. I even have a fancy diploma that proclaims me to have reached the level of "intermedio medio" (Mid-intermediate) in Spanish... although, I have to say I think that was awfully generous of them.

In the afternoons, I´ve mostly tooled around the city of Antigua. Yesterday, I went for a bike tour to a nearby coffee plantation. It was pretty cool... the plantation itself was a modest, fairly industrial place. Cool, because it wasn´t very touristy, and I learned neat stuff about how they process coffee beans... less cool, because I didn´t get to taste any coffee, and we got stuck in a rare spell of rain while cycling back into town.

I´ve also taken a couple of Salsa lessons, which have been super fun... although ocasionally stressful, as my arms and body and legs don´t always want to get along as well as my brain demands.

Oh, also, I´m sick again. I currently can barely talk. I´ve done a ton of amazing things on this trip, but I´ll be happy to be back in Toronto in a couple of days, where the germs are less plentiful and more familiar to my body.