en Xela al final!!!

Last I left you, I believe I was writing from San Salvador. The next day, I took a bus from San Salvador to Guatemala City, and was lucky enough to share a bus ride with two other foreigners that were planning on going to Antigua de Guatemala, so the three of us shared a cab and ended up spending the week together. Upon arriving in Antigua ( known as the ¨Disneyland¨ of Guatemala), I wasn´t quite sure what to make of the colorful houses, clean cobblestone streets, and multitude of blonde-haired, english speaking tourists. So, of course, after deciding to only spend a day or two in this disconcertingly nice ¨city¨ I ended up spending a week there. Carla, one of the friends I met on the bus had spent 2 months living in Antigua earlier in the year, and showed me around, letting me befriend all of her friends. The first day we were there, we found out about some trips that people had organized to the neighboring city de San Miguel Escobar, that had been nearly destroyed by mudslides caused by Agatha. So, all week we worked for most of the day clearing mud and water out of houses. I´m happy to report that by the time that we started working there, most of the animals and people had already been found, so we didn´t come upon any bodies, as they did the week before. Still, though, to wade into the doorway of a bedroom filled with 6 feet of mud and see that there had been people living here less than a week earlier was hardly an easy thing to do. Needless to say, our time and energy were well-used each day when we went to help, so we stayed for a few extra days. Antigua is also quite the party city, as its two draws are rich white tourists, and rich ¨locals¨that come in from the city, so each night we went out and found dancing, music, and good company. Of course, after a week of manual labor, fiestando, and not enough sleep, I am now paying the price with a runny nose and stuffy head.
On our way to Xela, Carla and I stopped off in San Lucas to see Lago de Atitlan at an educational center where a friend works. We took a series of rides in pickup and chicken bus to get there, which I found pretty fun, and more like an overstuffed roller coaster, than a bus ride. On the downside, my first experience with a chicken bus was also my first one with getting robbed, as there was no room to put my backpack on my lap, and someone managed to find their way into my purse in my backpack right in front of me without me noticing. Luckily, the only things I had in my purse were two nearly empty wallets... I really liked the wallets, though. So now, someone out there has access to my Kaiser health record numbers ( both the Colorado and California ones... oh no!) aaaaandd all the scripps dorms.
Since being in Xela, I have slept A LOT, wandered around a bit, and looked for a place to stay for the next month or two. So far I´ve found two places with very reasonable prices that both seem really nice, are in safe areas, and seem to be good options. One of them ( of course the more expensive one) has two adorable kittens, which might just end up being the reason I stay there.
So, at this point, I´m getting ready to have some assemblance of a life here... I´m finding a place to unpack my gigantic backpack, buying a cellphone, making friends, and finding out where all the good bakeries, fruit markets, and dance clubs are. And that´s all that´s important in life, right? Tomorrow: cell phone, sleep, indian food, market, and 5 -year-old theme party. ...That is, if I´m feeling up to it.