but in the interest of science or for posterity or for whatever reason or excuse I want to use, here goes:
The first few days here were a lot tougher than I expected... partly because there are only street signs on about 10% of the corners, but mostly because of my disability -- I have a miserable sense of direction and I´m totally turned around after two right turns; I was lost at least four times in the first two days. The saving grace of Antigua for the directionally challenged is that a three-wheeled taxi, called a "tuk-tuk" locally and reminiscent of the old Cushman mail carts of my teen years (yes, I´m dating myself), only costs Q10 to go anywhere in the city. The exchange rate is about 7.5 Quetzales per $1, so you basically get door-to-door service for $1.25. And I felt a little better when the driver of the tuk-tuk had to stop and ask directions at least twice to find the street where I´m staying, 1a Avenida de Chajon.
My other big challenge is getting around in a non-English-speaking country. My Spanish isn´t terrible, but I have a HUGE way to go before I´m fluent, so my brain hurts almost all the time now... I think I need to apply a lot more cold beer -- I´ve only had two since my arrival.
In spite of my challenges, I´m enjoying my stay a great deal. Antigua is a beautiful place, though less modernized than Rome or Nassau, my only similar comparisons. Volcano Agua, the inactive volcano just south of town, dominates the landscape and is a great direction aid when the sky is clear. This is the beginning of the rainy season here -- mornings have been mostly bright and clear with temperatures in the 70´s, and afternoons bring some very impressive thunderstorms, creating rivers in the cobble-stone streets. The people here are very friendly, even the 16-year-old soldiers carrying automatic rifles return smiles and say ¨Hola.¨
My hostess, Sra. Hernandez is very accomodating -- and a great cook! The meals have been terrific, though surprisingly the level of ¨heat¨is not nearly what I had hoped for, and I´ve had to ask for the special jar of dried chile powder from the top shelf to augment my meals. The local definition of ¨agua caliente,¨or hot water, is a far cry from what we expect in the U.S., and barely reaches tepid at best, so I may splurge this weekend and get a hotel room just so I can take a really hot shower -- but the showers are not freezing, just not really warm (I´m just glad this is summer!)
Being lost so much of the time, I haven´t done much sight-seeing and have spent most of my time getting to know the 4-block path from Casa Hernandez to la Academia Español Antigueña where my studies take place. Maria, my teacher of the last two days, is very friendly, very patient, and a woman of strong faith, so we are having some great conversations outside of the normal grammar exercises -- in fact, I´m probably learning as much or more in these talks and discussions around the Hernandez kitchen table than I´m learning in the formal classes.
As is my all-too-frequent custom, I left home with something undone -- I didn´t get around to sending the group email I planned to send. And to make things worse, I don´t have all my email addresses in my Yahoo! address book, so if someone can forward the link to this page to anyone who asks about my travels, I would appreciate it greatly.
Speaking of which, it´s time to try and send some kind of email about my whereabouts.
Hopefully, I´ll get back online later this week.
top right is Iglesia de Merced, top left is a view from El Convento de las Capuchinas, and bottom is another view of the same.
2 comments:
Hi Ted. FYI, when you make two consecutive right hand turns, normally you are going the opposite direction. So if you know what direction you are going at the first, then that would be the opposite of that. Like for instance let's say you were going north, and then turned right. That's east. And then turned right again. South! If you have trouble also with right and left, that's easy, too. Let's say you were going north and then suddenly turned. All's well. Let's say you turn that way again. Now you are going south, for sure, whether the turns were to the left or the right. However, let's say you didn't know what direction you were going at first, but it was the wrong direction, and you aren't quite sure which way to turn or not. Turn some direction, if you are sure the current direction is wrong. Then turn again, and, provided these are 90 degree turns, you will now be going the opposite of the original wrong direction. You will begin to see familiar things because you were just here a few minutes ago, and now you're returning from whence you came. These simple rules of directions apply in all democracies world wide. Wait a minute. What country were you in?
:-)
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