Feliz Halloween from Guatemala...sorry it’s a little late! Halloween isn’t a major celebration here in Guatemala, but because Antigua has so many tourists, it is a bit more popular. And since La Unión is the greatest Spanish language school in all of Antigua, they put on a huge party for all of their students. All of the families bring a comida típica to pass (typical food). There was great music (Manuel was a DJ for something like 15 years before he started working for the school) and contests for the best costumes. Five friends and I went as a human clothes line and “pinned” ourselves to a piece of twine with other clothes pinned on in between us...so creative, right?! We almost won the contest, but were satisfied when other SAU students won first and second places! It was really fun, but at the same time, this is when I started to not feel well...I didn’t want to do anything to crazy that night so while my closest friends went out and about the city, I spent some time with some other people at a little café near our house and was in bed before 10pm.
Tuesday morning I woke up feeling worse for sure. I took my temperature and had a low-grade fever, my entire body ached, and my throat was practically swollen shut. I was not going to let this get me down though, because it was a big day! The school was taking all the students to the big festival de los barriletes (kites) in Sumpango. This festival is a big deal for Día de los Muertos because a tradition here in Guatemala is that the children make and fly kites to usher in the spirits of the dead. At the festival there were TONS of people and beautiful, HUGE, handcrafted kites made from tissue paper. They have a competition and there are children flying kites all over the place. It was definitely a good experience and I am glad I went, but since I wasn’t feeling well, the four hours that we were there felt like an eternity and I was surely ready to go home. By the time we got home, I was not doing well. The fever had spiked again and I was miserable. I
was sick as a dog for all of Wednesday and Thursday with a fever, horrid sore throat, etc. (you get the awful picture, right?). I started taking antibiotics on Thursday and began to see an improvement. Friday morning I woke up thinking that I wouldn't make it through all of my Spanish class, but I did it! I kept on with the antibiotics and Friday I didn't feel the "greatest," but I certainly felt better and was actually able to do things out of the house! I felt SO trapped in that house for over 48 hours continuously, I was so thankful for sunshine and fresh air! It's always harder to be sick when you're away from home, but it certainly teaches one to be patient in affliction...just another lesson that I have learned here in Guatemala.
That's all for now folks, enjoy the cold weather in Michigan and I will enjoy the 65 and sunny weather here in good ole Antigua :)
-J
**Again, check out Facebook for photos :)
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