Dear Journal,
Today was a very interesting day. I thought it would be boring for most of the day with so much free time, but it actually turned out great. We had a lot of free time this morning after breakfast. Chichicastenango is famous for its market. It's one of the most well-known markets in the world!
So, we had from breakfast to lunch to explore the market. I bought a bunch of stuff for people and couldn't believe how little I spent in American dollars. The exchange rate is currently 7.13 quetzals to 1 American dollar. So, 100 quetzals is about $14. I didn't think I would be interested in the market, but I actually enjoyed looking at all the cool things, bargaining with the locals, brushing off some others, and just seeing all the bright colors and crafts and food. I walked around with a bunch of the women, different at different times, and had a great time. Around 10:30am, I was kind of overloaded, so I went back to the hotel, up to the top level and sat on the roof and wrote postcards to some people. It was very relaxing. Then, I mailed them off at the local post office, so I should beat them home! All well! Most of the people I sent to today will more than likely see me before the postcard! Then it was time for lunch, which was delicious!! We had another hour after lunch in the market, so I went and bought a throw/shawl for Peggy, which turned out to be a lot cheaper than I thought it would be.
After the market, we met Pedro and his wife, two Mayan people, at the hotel. We got in the van and drove and drove and drove up and down mountains until finally we arrived at a hotel. We got out of the van and walked down a few paths into the woods, down the mountain a little ways and arrived at an altar. Pedro and his wife explained that we would be participating in a Mayan ceremony. This was the day when they connected with the Ancestors, so we were lucky. They prepared the fire, talked to us a little more, and then asked us to kneel as they lit the fire. All of the sudden, bees were swarming around. Pedro and his wife explained that the bees were our ancestors and were coming to join us. They handed us 3 candles, and the ceremony started. They spoke in their native language as we went through the ceremony, occasionally they spoke English or Spanish to explain what was going on. The fire grew and grew. And then they asked us to take one of our white candles, which represented our ancestors and they said some things and we kissed the candles and threw them in the fire. Then, they talked a lot about Mother Earth and prayed for it. After a while, we took our other two candles for two wishes: the yellow candle to pray for Mother Earth, and the white to pray for women and to remind us what a blessing it is to be a woman and to bear life. Then, Pedro came around and prayed for each of us individually. Then, Pedro's wife prayed for each of our families and threw a candle in the fire for each one of our families. After that, we were asked to receive energy from the fire, then to give it to the Earth, then to our homes, and then to the fire. Pedro and his wife told us that the fire was very strong and had a very feminine energy, and they were happy and it was because we were all women. Then, Pedro told us that he felt that many of us women were sad and that we should leave that, offer it to the fire, because what we need in this life is to be happy- that is our one mission. Then, the fire did things I've never seen a fire do; it swirled and almost cycloned. Then, it was over. It was so amazing. I've never experienced anything quite like that. It was so powerful for me. I felt so many emotions. I think they were all bottled up. But, I could feel the energy from the fire and at times I felt it move through me, sometimes directed, sometimes not. After the ceremony, I felt a release. I felt something leave and I gained something. I was able to let go of some fear and let my heart and my emotions take over. Well, it's been an exhausting day, but a great one. We have a nasty early morning tomorrow, so ¡Buenos noches!
Today was a very interesting day. I thought it would be boring for most of the day with so much free time, but it actually turned out great. We had a lot of free time this morning after breakfast. Chichicastenango is famous for its market. It's one of the most well-known markets in the world!
So, we had from breakfast to lunch to explore the market. I bought a bunch of stuff for people and couldn't believe how little I spent in American dollars. The exchange rate is currently 7.13 quetzals to 1 American dollar. So, 100 quetzals is about $14. I didn't think I would be interested in the market, but I actually enjoyed looking at all the cool things, bargaining with the locals, brushing off some others, and just seeing all the bright colors and crafts and food. I walked around with a bunch of the women, different at different times, and had a great time. Around 10:30am, I was kind of overloaded, so I went back to the hotel, up to the top level and sat on the roof and wrote postcards to some people. It was very relaxing. Then, I mailed them off at the local post office, so I should beat them home! All well! Most of the people I sent to today will more than likely see me before the postcard! Then it was time for lunch, which was delicious!! We had another hour after lunch in the market, so I went and bought a throw/shawl for Peggy, which turned out to be a lot cheaper than I thought it would be.
After the market, we met Pedro and his wife, two Mayan people, at the hotel. We got in the van and drove and drove and drove up and down mountains until finally we arrived at a hotel. We got out of the van and walked down a few paths into the woods, down the mountain a little ways and arrived at an altar. Pedro and his wife explained that we would be participating in a Mayan ceremony. This was the day when they connected with the Ancestors, so we were lucky. They prepared the fire, talked to us a little more, and then asked us to kneel as they lit the fire. All of the sudden, bees were swarming around. Pedro and his wife explained that the bees were our ancestors and were coming to join us. They handed us 3 candles, and the ceremony started. They spoke in their native language as we went through the ceremony, occasionally they spoke English or Spanish to explain what was going on. The fire grew and grew. And then they asked us to take one of our white candles, which represented our ancestors and they said some things and we kissed the candles and threw them in the fire. Then, they talked a lot about Mother Earth and prayed for it. After a while, we took our other two candles for two wishes: the yellow candle to pray for Mother Earth, and the white to pray for women and to remind us what a blessing it is to be a woman and to bear life. Then, Pedro came around and prayed for each of us individually. Then, Pedro's wife prayed for each of our families and threw a candle in the fire for each one of our families. After that, we were asked to receive energy from the fire, then to give it to the Earth, then to our homes, and then to the fire. Pedro and his wife told us that the fire was very strong and had a very feminine energy, and they were happy and it was because we were all women. Then, Pedro told us that he felt that many of us women were sad and that we should leave that, offer it to the fire, because what we need in this life is to be happy- that is our one mission. Then, the fire did things I've never seen a fire do; it swirled and almost cycloned. Then, it was over. It was so amazing. I've never experienced anything quite like that. It was so powerful for me. I felt so many emotions. I think they were all bottled up. But, I could feel the energy from the fire and at times I felt it move through me, sometimes directed, sometimes not. After the ceremony, I felt a release. I felt something leave and I gained something. I was able to let go of some fear and let my heart and my emotions take over. Well, it's been an exhausting day, but a great one. We have a nasty early morning tomorrow, so ¡Buenos noches!
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