Encounters with the Expat Experience

Overlooking Antigua. That is Volcán Agua.

Greetings once again from Antigua. Today the temperature has easily surpassed 80 degrees and for the first time, the clouds have dispersed and revealed the tempting summits of the towering volcanoes that surround the city. Last night around dinnertime, there was an eruption on neighboring Fuego that apparently shot a little bit of smoke and lava in the air to the delight of the hoards visiting the city this weekend. Sadly, we were out to dinner and missed the show.

Today we spend our fifth, and last, day in Antigua, and the city seems to have picked up on this fact, and has exploded in vibrancy. Vacationing gringos and Guatemalans from the City alike have descended into the town for the various markets, street shows and general entertainment that Antigua showcases at the end of the week.  I’m currently sitting in a café (coincidentally named “El Portal Café”) overlooking Parque Central, enjoying some of the best people watching I’ve experienced in months.

From the hostel roof: Fuego on the left,
Acatenago on the right

Being hustled on the street is pretty much to be expected, especially when in the tourist Mecca of Parque Central. As I mentioned before many of the hustlers are indigenous women trying to sell handcrafted scarves or jewelry, but there are also indigenous men who believe that the best way to sell you a hand-carved flute is to play it and then attempt to hand it to you in exchange for 25 Quetzales or so. The park showcases quite a few individuals pushing ice cream or fruit carts, and while I haven’t tried too much fruit yet, the fresh sliced mango and papaya look absolutely delicious. We were told that February brings the mango harvest—something I’ve been dreaming about experiencing for years.

One of the more unsettling aspects in regards to the hustlers is the surprising number of children who are out trying to push beaded necklaces, scarves, a shoeshine or pot on the gringo touristas. We’ve gotten pretty good at not attracting too many hustlers when walking around the city, but it’s pretty hilarious to see older Americanos get pushed to the limit with sometimes three or four people trying to unload various goods on them and bug them for sometimes four or five minutes. In Antigua, gringo is synonymous with a dollar sign.

Can't see it in the picture, but we're all wearing flannel.

I mentioned before that we were pretty excited about visiting Antigua first, as it would be a good city to get our feet wet in the international experience due to the high number of tourists and expats living in the city. While this has worked fantastically for us so far, one drawback to visiting Antigua is the cost of being here. Antigua is the one of the more (if not most) expensive cities in Guatemala, and all three of us have been burning through more money than we have wanted only five days into the trip—or at least we have felt like we’ve been burning through a lot of money. The Quetzal to USD exchange rate is roughly 8:1, and I still haven’t gotten over how expensive things like food and alcohol appear to be when ordering. Back home I would never think about paying $30 for a tacos al pastor meal, so I’m taken back when I see them for 30Q here—even if that is only $3 or so. With all the 100Q bills in my pocket, I feel like quite a high roller even though I hardly have $50 on me at a time.

One of the highlights of this trip so far has been the people we have met not only through Jamil and Habitat for Humanity, but also in our hostel. Most of the people we have met down here have been living or traveling in Central and South America for over a year—a few people have been down here for over four years. The stories of how travelers and volunteers made their way down here and what they have done and seen in this beautiful region has done nothing but make us excited for our future travels. Being apart of this like-minded community exerts such an inspiring and amazing energy that it’s hard to not be infected with it and stay on the road for an even longer period of time.

Jamil and Adam in the courtyard for the Habitat cabaña.

It’s also funny how perceptions of places change when you find yourself in a new region. Before we left, the three of us talked about different areas we would like to visit in the region, but up in the States the mindset about the travel safety is much different than down here. For example, Mexico gets a pretty bad rap back at home due to their problems on the US border, but down here just about everybody has told us not to miss San Cristobal de las Casas. Since those working down here have to renew their visas every 90 days, they have to travel to Mexico to accomplish that. As a result of having to do this, everyone says that the Guatemalan/Mexican border is a breeze. I’m sure we’ll be doing a lot more research before hitting the road, but we have some exciting ideas in mind.

Another neat aspect of being down here has been our exposure to Peace Corps Volunteers while they are on breaks from their projects. Being able to talk to these women and men about their experiences has been inspiring on a level that I never really felt before. While I’m not sure if our schedule down here is going to allow us to work on a meaningful volunteer project, I know that wherever I travel to next at the end of the season in Yosemite will center on service. It just absolutely blows my mind how I had such a difficult time finding like-minded people living in Chicago for the past two months, and yet I come all the way down here and I already feel apart of a like-minded community.

Talking with so many people about their experiences has been unbelievably inspiring. Being an outsider with an open ear and deep interest in hearing others’ stories has allowed for unbelievable insight into the struggles within and between the organizations. I was particularly shocked to hear about some animosity between those working for Habitat and the Peace Corps, for instance. For me, everyone I’ve met down here is fighting the good fight, regardless of the organization.

I have to run and get ready for a two-day trek that we’re leaving for tomorrow that I’m sure I’ll write about next time. I’m pretty excited to get out of Antigua, save a little more money, and hopefully head into some areas down here that shock us with some harder challenges both culturally and physically. The Habitat folk in Antigua have been more than generous is showing us a good, hospitable time. It’ll be exciting when we meet up with everyone again later on in our journeys.

Take care and stay warm if you’re reading this up North.