I had a nice lazy morning relaxing in bed and reading a guide book. But that was after going out at 3:40 am to check out the carpets for today, because the procession was going to start at 5am. I went to bed at 8:30 so getting up wasnt too hard, but I still consider 3:45 to be late night, not early morning, and it isnt really natural for anyone to be getting up then! I had heard there´d be tons of people on the street, but there was hardly anyone on my block which was a little scary. But after about 2 blocks I saw more people, and then around the main church where the procession was to start, you´d have thought it was 3 in the afternoon. All week there have been many food vendors camped out there (apparently they arent normally allowed). The food looked and smelled good, the be honest, but I wasn´t going to be eating. The new student in my family had said that he ate all kinds of food on the street on Sunday, and i bit my tongue about saying ¨You ate street food?!?! But the guide books say don´t do that!¨because I didnt want to feel like an old fogey (remember I follow guide books religiously). But then I had slight vinidication when his stomach wasn´t ok for a few days.
I´m hopefully headed to Xela tomorrow. I´m ready to leave this family. Mostly it is just the aunt and grandmother who eat with us, not the whole family as they said would, and the only things we ever talk about are what i did in school, the weather, and the processions. Since theres a procession every day there is something to talk about, but its not really interesting and I just usually eat and leave. Also I feel like a loser since the new guy goes to a discoteca everynight and they´re like ¨and you Andrea?¨and I say ¨No, sleep¨or ¨Homework.¨I dont really need a 60 year old Guatemalen woman making me feel like a social recluse. And sometimes I dont feel like tea, but they always put it out so i feel like I always have to drink it. But I´ll miss the bed.
The carpets this morning, some of them, were pretty spectacular. There was a huge, very pretty jungle one I really liked, and also one with an under the sea themes (I prefer the nonreligious ones). There was also a huge one with tons of vegetables that could feed a big family for a week.
Yesterday i went for the second time to Casa Santo Domingo, my favorite place in Antigua. It is a really fancy hotel on the grounds of an old monastery. Last week the king and queen of Spain were staying there, and I walked around the area outside the hotel looking for a missing travel agency.There were tons of people around in suits and shiny new black cars, and at every turn I expected them to tell me to turn around. But no one said anything about me being there. So Sunday I went in, and as soon as you go through the door you´re in this oasis of calm. They have about 6 huge brightly colored parrots, a modern art exhibition, and the ruins of an old church. It just feels clean and pretty. On Sunday I walked around the whole place without anyone charging admission, but yesterday they wanted 40 quetzals to go into the ruins area, which at $5 is pretty cheap considering that is what some big museums in the U.S. cost. But it was just nice to be in the grounds. Like many other places in Antigua, from the street it doesnt look like anything special.
Tonight I would like to see the candlelight procession and after that i am ok with never seeing another procession. They are always the same. I am really excited to get to Xela and see a new place.
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