Guatemala - Week 1

Well my trip is already a quarter over and I haven't written anything because my first week in Guatemala has been packed full of touristy goodness and far too much Spanish. So here's an overview:
Not that my travel list has been extensive, but so far Guatemala City is one of my favorite cities to land in. Where the city sprawls over valleys, all the buildings crowd together on the ridges of the hills and look like they are trying to avoid falling into the deep jungle precipices at their backs. Traveling to Guatemala was so easy this time that I even have even eased up my hate of the Houston airport. I think it was the calm of traveling that made the chaos and overwhelming confusion that I believe always permanently exists three feet out side the Guatemala City airport truly underline the beginning of my adventure.
The first two weeks of my trip I'm spending in Xela, the second biggest city in Guatemala, and studying at a language school called Celas Maya. I found the school online and it's turned out to be a great place that I would recommend to anyone who is coming to learn Spanish. The director of the school even picked me up in Xela, which was a complete and very nice surprise since I was expecting to have to grab a taxi. I'm living a block away from the school with a woman named Ana Maria, her son, and her parents. Ana Maria has a pañeria that is connected to the garage of the house. It's a little awkward in the house because most of the time it's me and the grandparents and I think I'm a little too quiet for the taste of the older Ana Maria, but she makes delicious meals. I didn't think it was possible for me to grow tired of plantains.
The school provides activities almost everyday after classes. Last wednesday we went to Fuentes Georgina with a bunch of other students. It's a hotsprings about an hour outside of Xela, and it's quite beautiful. There is a waterfall and three pools of differing temperatures, the hottest of which I couldn't even get in completely. We also did salsa dancing classes and bar-hopping, a visit to a local women's weaving collective and going to dinner to listen to salsa music. Over the weekend, I explored more of Xela with a friend and went to Chichicastanango on sunday for their big market. More and photos soon because I have to get to a movie...
See you later,
Mariko