Forever Paisley

This was my first New Years Eve not spent downtown Marquette at the balldrop getting champagne spilled all over me. Instead we first attended a traditional Mayan ceremony where they praised Mother Earth, all she has provided, and the opportunities to come in the New Year. It was led by a man who sang blessings to the beat of a drum. I didn´t completely understand the whole process but it was very interesting to see.

After that we all went out for dinner and drinks then headed to a local bar called Freedom Bar where there was an even mix of tourists and Guatemalans. There was an awesome drum band playing, by the time midnight came they just shut off the music and everyone shouted ¨Feliz Ano¨ no count down, as far as we knew it was 10pm. For New Years Eve they have no restrictions on the hours that clubs and bars can stay open so many of them were open until sunrise, however I only made it until 4am, a complete 24 hours from the time we had woken up that day!!

Yesterday Shira (from Pennsylvania) and I took a boat from San Pedro to Panajachel. We had fun in San Pedro but it felt good to get out of there. It seems that many American ¨hippies¨ have taken it over and disrupted the culture. In fact it is one of the only areas in Guatemala where drugs are very prominent. Elsewhere they are associated solely with gangs. There is not a market for recreational drug use here like in the states, you either do them or you don´t.

In Pana we planned on catching a bus back to Xela, but due to the holiday there were no buses running. Instead we ate dinner there, did a little shopping at the market, and got a hostel for $4 each. Now I am back in Xela bumming around until my Spanish class at 2pm. Tomorrow I go back to work at the orphanage, I can not believe I have already been here for just over a week!!