mercado central y la capital

childish

this was apparently my favorite cartoon episode ever- i used to watch it like ten times a day.

hairputtery

so today i decided to go get my haircut because i couldn´t take the shag anymore.

for some reason i really enjoyed the road on the way there.
this was the waiting area for the salon, called talking heads. apparently it´s the most frou frou place to get yr hair cut in guatemala. my cut came out to about 20 bucks.


and my cousin was ecstatic about the chic decor


this was the end result. i decided i could copy all the gayboys in san francisco without anyone being the wiser.

first look guate

hey thar! i got my camera to work so i immediately started snapping away, and ive got some pics from noche buena, along with the amazing fireworks at midnight here in the capital.. enjoy!

this is my little corner of mess in my old room in miami.


first look at guatemala from the airport terminal



first up new guatemalan airport terminal... nifty! before this it was a long, dim concrete, windowless hallway that made you feel like you were hiding out in a bunker. it screamed yes! you have entered the third world and the war has begun! now it says hey you, you´re gonna like it here.


christmas dinner. i was famished. i decided it was a good idea to starve myself so i could fit more turkey in.

Christmas dinner time! My uncle´s job was turkey intimidation, obv.

In guatemala it´s tradition to burn as many fireworks as your little heart desires at midnight on noche buena. this year my uncle pulled out all the stops, and so did all the neighbors. the show lasted a good 20 minutes of non stop burning. amazing!

squee!

i fixed my camera! no expensive buys for me today. after taking a look around, i´ve decided i can pull off crazy hair in guatemala so i´m going to get this shag cut off today. no more beatles for me! i´ll post pictures tonight, as i´m sure my mom will love to see all the craziness i´m unleashing on guatemala. i´m supposed to go to the only gay discoteca in guatemala city tonight, and i´m kind of excited. for new years i´m planning a trip to san salvador, coming back to the city the 1st, and i leave to huehuetenango the 2nd. i´m really excited, it´s supposed to be gorgeous this time of year and it is the season of harvest on the coffee farms. woo! do work! after that i guess i´ll head off to antigua.

arrivals.

i lucked out and got on a direct flight for guatemala via miami. there were even some empty seats on the plane! i flew taca' and woah! can i just say how much i hate american airlines. when i flew san francisco to miami, they charged me ten bucks for a sandwich and 3 bucks for a bag of lays. heh. on taca i got free alcohol kids! my first alcohol drink on a plane ever was a double rum and coke, on the house. it was a spectacular flight. i watched my sassy girl and cried. cried!

my couple of days here have been pretty interesting. my camera broke at the gua airport' all i´ve got are shots of the new airport terminal. boo. i´m probably going to end up buying a new camera here because while i like the novelty of disposable film cameras, they are just that. a novelty. unless i get a holga.. helga.. whatever. one of those pseduo artsy fishbowl ones. that might actually be pretty fun. anyways, i´ve got no pics to show for now.

the only interesting place i´ve gone so far is the cemetery, as it´s tradition to visit the graves on thew morning of christmas night. we passed by some flower vendors posted just outside and i really really wished i had had my camera' it was a gorgeous array of red, blue, white, and green everywhere. it was chockful of people from all over the city buying flowers.. people in business suits, gym shorts, miley cirus t shirts and wipils. the two ladies hustling it were decked out in full indeginous decor- head to to toe beautiful textiles and a fierce attitude to match. there was no bargaining on this morning. if you didn´t buy there were tons of others behind you waiting to buy that bouqet. i visited my uncle´s grave and i thought about all the fun he was and how much his spirit is missed at my grandmother´s house. he truly brought any place he went to life.

my grandmother has remained a true blue character.. i only lasted one night there. i´m now enjoying the holidays with my aunt and uncle on the outskirts of the city. squee! internet, tv, fun cousins, booze galore!

!

i've got my tickets! i'll probably be in guatemala by tomorrow evening! i've actually dropped some more of the stuff i was planning on taking- realized they were totally unnecessary- and am traveling lighter than ever. i have to get better at this blogging thing! i'm not exactly sure what to write... i guess i'll list.


packed:
-compass keychain
-old passport
-tevas
-summer sleeping bag
-techie towel
-mini shampoos, mini toothpaste, travel brush
-diva cup
-three books (central america on a shoestring, after dark by murikami, and raise high the roofbeam, carpenters... and i'll probs pick up a sudoku book at the airport)
-my moleskin
-two pens, one permanent marker
-glasses case, glasses repair kit, glasses wipey
-digi cam w/ charger and uploading usb thingie
-two credit cards, one unactivated
-debit card
-200 Q's
-60 $
-7 sets of underwares
tennis shoes (old school reeboks!)
-my fave sweater
-my foxy tee, a long sleeve tee, a techie tee, and a flanel
-travel pants and a pair of jeans.
-bathing suit
-techie raincoat/ windbreaker

thaaat's all folks.


today i :
-watched : click, anger management, recess, burn after reading, and the local news
-cooked with the mams (hilachas, cheesecake, leg of lamb, lasagna, spinach, and stuffed pork loin)
-walked kuma
-woke up at 1 in the afternoon
-played hours of age of mythology on the pc
-waited around hoping my tickets came out
-got my ass beaten at scrabble

this is why i'm not staying here. i'm totally just whiling away my time.