Well once again a month has somehow slipped through my grasp and therefore slipped past my blog as well. So much has happened within this past month and it's been a whirlwind of emotions. I'm actually getting a little teary-eyed looking through the pictures I've taken since my last blog post. I'll do my best to reconstruct the past 30-something days since I last wrote. When I thought about being here in San Lucas for Semana Santa (Holy Week), I have to admit I was lukewarm about the idea. I've never been one for lengthy homilies or eating lots of ham. I wasn't really sure what to expect about Easter time here, perhaps something similar to what we do in the States (eh hem..homilies and ham)? Well I certainly could not have been more wrong. I've never experienced a holiday that lasts as long as Semana Santa or a holiday that has as many festivities packed into one week. |
All of San Lucas began prepping at least a week before Semana Santa even started. This includes making arrangements to build floats, crafting arcs that stand over the streets, and planning carpet designs. Then during Semana Santa itself, there is at least one procession (sometimes more) every day. This includes 20 people carrying each float with a statue on top of it, walking in the slowest manner possible, often times stopping to bow to other floats holding another statue. As though this were not enough, they had huge carpets they made using colored sawdust, flowers, and fruit laid on the ground right below huge handmade arcs that lined the streets of the procession. I have never seen such time and dedication to any holiday in my life. These people have very little money, nor do they have much free time, but they celebrate without hesitation for the entire week leading up to Easter. It's beautiful & really really inspiring. It made me question why we don't dedicate this much time to our beliefs, holidays, and families. Being here for this incredible time of year has me excited to bring this passion back to the States. We should celebrate holidays not for the commercial aspect of them, but for the quality time it gives us to spend with our loved ones and time to specifically focus on our faith lives.
The adventures part of this post's title comes from a couple of trips to swim in the lake and a day at the Nature Reserve in Panajachel. The problem with the lake is that where I live, it's really polluted and therefore amoebas are a concern. But finally we've found a solution! We take a nice little trail to a big rock where we can safely jump into clean cool lake water. It's glorious. The picture on the left is of Rachel and I taking the plunge off the rock. It's literally the perfect way to spend a free day. As for our adventure to the Nature Reserve across the lake, it was stupidly fun. We saw monkeys, went to a butterfly house, and hiked across so many suspension bridges. It was the perfect day to relax and get some fresh air. It was just us girls (Heather, Maria, Rachel, and I) and it could not have been a better little vacation. |
The final part of this post's title is the reason I get all teary-eyed when I look back through these pictures. My construction partner, fellow English teacher, and housemate Rachel left this week. We had a great last week - trips to the construction shop, a soccer game, the national reserve, and a going away party. Regardless, none of that made it easy to say see you later to her. Raquel, the carpenter shop won't be the same without ya but I'll do my best to take care of the crew.
Tomorrow I leave for Xela to go back to Spanish school for another two weeks to brush up on grammar stuff and visit with my host family. Also my parents are coming on May 16th! Lots of exciting new adventures and stories to come :)