Holy Week

Not many people get the opportunity to spend Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala. My boss, Judy, compared Holy Week in Antigua to having tickets to the Super Bowl in the United States. I'm not sure it is the closest comparison, but fairly accurate. Basically, everyone from around the world and in Guatemala make their reservations to spend Holy Week in Antigua. It is funny, because this is the first time I have been in Antigua where there are more Guatemalans than gringos. Well, maybe that is an exaggeration, but not completely far off.

Wednesday I put my parents in a taxi for the airport and met another YAV, Emily, and her friend Laurel from college. Later that day another YAV, Bettina, and her friend from college, Shannon joined us. We have spent the last few days exploring Antigua and watching the countless processions that pass by.

Processions generally start on Thursday, with the biggest processions on Friday. The Thursday and Friday morning processions begin with people dressed as Romans carrying different banners and some are on horseback. They are followed by hundreds and hundreds of men dressed in purple robes, signifying the Jewish people. Then more men dressed in purple robes come out sprinkling incense, making the way for Jesus. They are followed by these huge wooden platforms that 50 to 100 people will carry, which is similar to a float in the States. On top of the platforms will be icons of Jesus, generally carry the cross, and might have Peter or another icon included. They are decorated with flowers and are intricately carved
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Well, these platforms weigh a ton, but it is considered an honor to be able to carry the platform, it serves as a type of penance. These processions go on for 11+ hours, but the people change out throughout the procession. After Jesus (although sometimes before) is generally the Virgin Mary, or Santa Maria, and disciples, I even saw one Pope. The processions are followed by crowds of people who follow them all day long. Then there are vendors selling balloons and all types of goodies, feeling a little like the 4th of July. The are followed by the Cleaning Trains, which clean up the debris and trampled carpets.

The carpets, or alfombras, are these intricately and loving made carpets that grace the processions. Store owners or home owners that know a procession is going to pass by their house make these beautiful alfombras and the middle of the street. Some are made out of pine needles, flowers, fruits, or whatever people choose to include. My favorites are made out of sawdust and ground flower petals which provide the colors to the sawdust.

People have stencils that they use the create beautiful and elborate designs in these brightly colored carpets. People spend hours creating these works of arts, which are then trampled by the processions. At least the beginning people stay off the carpets until the platform with Jesus passes by.
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Friday morning, at 4 o'clock in the morning, the first Good Friday procession began, and passed by our hostel around 4:30 in the morning. I got myself out of bed to go and watch this procession, and it was by far my favorite. It was still dark outside, chilly, and slighly eerie. Generally the processions are really nosiy, but most people were still quiet, just watching the procession. Everything felt more solemn, and holy. With all the excitement of everything it is easy to forget that these are very religious ceremonies. Often I don't know what to do with Holy Week, I don't like the blood and guts of it, and I also don't believe in a literal resurrection of Jesus. I have trouble knowing how I feel about the death, and how to reconcile some of my conflicting beliefs. I don't like that Christians often focus on Jesus' death more than his life, when I believe his life was infinatly more important. But this procession, early in the morning, felt powerful and special to me. I am not sure what part of it struck me, but it was a feeling I will remember forever.

The rest of Good Friday was a chaotic mess. There were so many processions happening it was impossible to walk around without running into some procession or roadblock. Emily, Laurel, and I decided to leave the city for a minute to go to a musem in Jocotenago, a smaller town 15 minutes outside of Antigua. Well we get there just to realize it is closed for Good Friday, which we never even though about. So we ate peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches in the park, ate some mangos, and got back on the bus to go back to Antigua. Even though we could not see the museum, it was a nice field trip away from the craziness of Antigua for a little while.

Is it really April?

I can't believe the month of March is over already. The past 6 weeks or so have gone by so quickly, and I only have 4 months left of my placement and 3 more weeks of language school after that.

The last week of Februrary all the YAVs had to leave the country due to visa issues. Basically, we are allowed to be in the country for 6 months before we have to leave for 3 days, or pay a fine for every day we stay over. So we had to go to Belize. Bummer, right? First, after 14 hours in a bus, we stopped in Tikal and visited the ruins there. I love ancient ruins, but I like to do them my way. I like to walk around and see them all, but mostly I like to find a quiet spot to park it. I like to watch the other people visiting, but mostly I like to just be. There is something about being in a place so old and magnificent, just imagining life then, and appreciating the sophistication of the Mayan culture. It was actually in a Mayan ruin where I decided I wanted to do my YAV year in Guatemala. Belize was a nice vacation where we saw manatees! One of the other YAVs believes she will be a manatee in her second life, so that was very exciting for her, but a slight disappointment that we were not allowed to swim with them.

About week after that trip I got to spend 10 days traveling with the Queens University group that came for Spring Break. That was very special for me, since I was first introduced to Guatemala through that exact trip. It was wonderful to see old friends, and make new ones. It was wonderful to see the country through their eyes, people who had never experienced these things before, where everything was new and fresh. It was funny to realize the things that have become so natural to me, but where big changes at first. I also got to try translating for the first time, which was really hard! Just listening is so much easier, but when i have to think about translating it makes everything much more difficult. But it was a good experience and I learned a lot. I was also sad to say good-bye to everyone, but I knew the month would continue to be full.

Then my parents arrived the last week of March and we spent a week traveling around. First we went to the coast because my dad had to check out the fishing in Guatemala, of course. No trip is complete without some type of fishing excursion. Usually I get out of the deep sea fishing, so that was my first experience. I actually got pretty motion sick, and I was surprised. My motion sickness has been better since I came to Guatemala, or really I have just learned to deal with it. I think the combination of being in the hot sun and out on the water was too much for me. I live in the cold mountains and am not accustomed to extreme heat anymore! Then I took my parents up into the mountains, where my Dad kept commenting on how extreme the change in weather is. I guess he never believed me when I told him it is COLD where I live, although right now it is the warmest part of the year. My mom and dad met Elvia, and all of her family that lives in San Marcos. I was really nervous about this part, I was not sure how it would pan out, but Guatemalan hospitality won out. My parents had a wonderful, and I think my Guatemalan family enjoyed meeting my parents. Then we went to Antigua for the last few days and beginning of Holy Week. Generally Holy Week activities don't start until Thursday, and my parents were leaving Wednesday morning. But we lucked out because Monday night when we arrived at our hotel they were making their traditional Holy Week carpets right outside for a procession that was going to pass by in a half hour. So my parents got a small taste of what Holy Week is like, so that was nice.

Right now I am in Antigua, where I spent Holy Week with two other YAVs and their two friends. I will make another post just on my Holy Week experiences.