Home: Safe and Sound

Sorry this update is coming a little late. I took a couple days of "vacation" from the real world once I got home. But now I am fully rested and ready to go.

Due to the political situation in Honduras, we decided it would be best for me to leave on Wednesday, rather than Friday. The highways to both San Pedro and Teguz had been blocked, so any traffic trying to get to the airport would be unable to pass. Even the first-class bus service Hedman Alas had discontinued service from Copan Ruinas to other Honduran and Guatemalan cities. Ex-presdent Zelaya had announced he was planning to return that Friday (though he later delayed his arrival), which could have meant further problems traveling. Commercial traffic had already been blocked at the Guatemalan border, and Moncho feared private travel could be blocked as well once Zelaya returned. Luckily, Dr. Rudy Larios (another archaeologist working in Copan) and his wife were planning to drive to their house in Guatemala City for the weekend on Wednesday morning. They very generously offered to take me along. As we were unsure whether I would be able to get out later in the week or not, we all felt this was my best option.

I must say, while I was glad to be going home, I was incredibly sad to be leaving all of the amazing people in Honduras, especially so abruptly. They had become like family, and they had taken such good care of me while I was there. Moncho even accompanied me and Dr. Rudy to the border to make sure everything went smoothly. My passport was stamped, my money exchanged, and after a tearful good-bye I was on my way.

The drive from Copan to Guatemala City is about 5 hours, most of it through forested mountains and valleys. It was absolutely beautiful. I was very fortunate to be riding with someone who knew Guatemala (and all of the clean places to make pit stops) so well. We stopped in Chiquimula for lunch. At McDonald's, no less. If anyone is wondering, and Quarter Pounder with Cheese has the same name in Spanish (Cuarto de Libra con Queso).

Once arriving in Guatemala City at around 4pm, Dr. Rudy dropped me off at a hotel Bill had recommended. The Princess Hotel was GORGEOUS. Bill was worried it was a little pricey, but after reserving hotel rooms for my graduation, $100 a night seemed like nothing. They had a delicious restaurant, a TV in the room, and the most amazing-smelling soap. The continental breakfast included scrambled eggs, pancakes, tortillas, beans, fruit, all different assortments of meats... it was a real treat. The hotel even provided shuttle service to the airport. Overall, a very good experience.

My flight left from Guatemala City around noon on Thursday, and I got into Atlanta around 6pm or so. Getting through customs took at least an hour and a half, including getting my passport checked, retrieving my checked luggage, re-checking my luggage, and going through security (again). While I waited for my final flight to Denver, I enjoyed a caprese sandwich at ABP (it was so nice having fresh mozzarella cheese!). My flight finally left aroud 10:40pm, and I got into Denver shortly after midnight. My entire family (sans kitties) was waiting for me at the airport, and we had a very joyous reunion.

What an adventure! Thanks for following me along the way.

Alyce

Carrizalon

The tension continues here in Honduras, but all is well in Copan. A mandatory curfew has been instated through tomorrow, from 9pm to 6am, but aside from that life continues pretty normally. I hear that there have been problems in Tegucigalpa, and for that, many in Copan are worried about their family and friends in the capital city. But Copan remains tranquil.



I thought I'd take a couple moments to write about the town in which I have been doing my research. Carrizalon is a small Ch'orti' (an indigenous Maya group) community in the mountains surrounding Copan valley. Taking the highway to the Guatemalan border, it is about a 30-minute drive by mototaxi (faster in Moncho's truck!). Half of the drive is on paved road, the rest consists of a dirt road ascending a rocky hill.

Life in Carrizalon is calm and simple. Most families live in plaster homes with metal or thatched roofing. They support themselves with milpas, or cornfields, where corn and beans are the staples. Roosters, hens, and chickens run around, and dogs and cats lounge around in the sun. The people have been incredibly kind and helpful, though at times shy. Very few, mostly the oldest members of the community, are native speakers of the Ch'orti' language, but the kids are now learning the language in school. Though some traditions are still practiced, more and more are being lost every day, and Catholicism is becoming more and more prominent. Hopefully my research will help to preserve some of these customs.

In any case, this is where I have been spending quite a bit of time over the last two weeks. Thought I'd give you a little window to it for now. I have taken a TON of pictures, and will share those with you when I return to the States.

Hope all is well!
Alyce

The Coup

Hey everyone,

You may have heard the president of Honduras was arrested at his home this morning and sent into exile. The news has been calling it a 'coup' (or a 'golpe'). I just wanted to reassure everyone that things are fine here in Copan. There are some soldiers stationed in the park to deter any kind of protest or demonstrations, but aside from that things are going along as usual (aside from my trip to Carrizalon today, which has understandably been canceled) . I'm still on schedule for returning to the States on Friday, but I will keep you updated if anything happens.

I love you, miss you, and will see you all soon!
Alyce

Salutations

Hello again from Maya Connections! I am currently enjoying a relaxing Saturday after a long week of work: shopping, reading, taking pictures of town... I'll be going to the town's children's museum later this afternoon, so I'll be sure to update you on that in a bit.

For now: greetings in Copan. I suppose whenever one travels outside of his country of origin, he is bound to come across cultural norms different from his own. In Copan, while life is surprisingly similar in most respects, there are a few differences that have taken some getting used to. For example, in restaurants you seat yourself at a table. You also have to ask for the bill, or they won't bring it to you (they believe it's rude otherwise). The biggest difference, though, is the way people greet each other. If you pass someone on the street, even someone you don't know, it is expected that you say, 'Hello!' More acurately, 'Buenos dias!' or 'Hola!' or simply 'Buenas!' I like this custom quite a bit as it makes for a very friendly atmosphere in town.

As I alluded to in my last post, however, this custom also lends itself to the art of cat calling. Guys around town have no qualms about yelling things at you in the street. Though it can be uncomfortable at times, I actually find it pretty amusing. Some Copaneco men will shout things in English hoping you'll respond to that, and then giggle endlessly. Others stick to Spanish. 'Adonde vas, chica?' Even the tourists jump on the cat-calling bandwagon. I was walking in front of ViaVia last week and a couple of American-looking guys were sitting on the curb. As I walked by they shouted, 'Hola!' I just smiled in response and kept walking. They then whispered, 'She probably speaks Enlgish... Hello!' I kept walking. 'Good day?' they tried again, this time in an English accent. I smiled and kept walking. Finally, they shouted, 'Come baaaack!'

Ah, good times. Maybe I'll miss all that attention when I get back to the States.

Things are going well here otherwise. My research is beginning to wind down, and I'm beginning to work on my final report. I can't believe I have less than a week left! Time has gone by so quickly. I hope everything is splendid back home. Keep me updated!
Alyce

A short note on reading...

A comment from my roommate on my last post prompted this one. She asked where I had been getting these books. Did I bring them with me?

This Is Your Brain on Music I brought with me. I had been meaning to read it for a while, so I thought I'd take it along in case I had any free time. Unfortunately, that it the only book I brought. I guess I didn't expect to have this much leisure time! In any case, Don Udo's has a shelf full of books that visitors have left over the years. Patrons are welcome to leave a book, and take one with them. As I don't have any books to leave behind, I've just been borrowing from the shelf and returning the books once I've finished.

The books I find intriguing are few and far between. The vast majority of books on the shelf are romance novels or war novels. This is actually pretty common of the book exchanges around town. A few different shops have their own book exchanges where you can pick up a new book and leave one behind for a small fee. There's actually a book exchange here at Maya Connections, complete with a sign that reads, "Please, no more romance novels!" I guess even Latin America can only take so much.

Anyway, just a short update for now. But in the next couple of days there will be more about cat calls, Carrizalon, the children's museum, and the horrors of shopping for souvenirs when you're a picky archaeologist. So stay tuned.
Alyce

Tiempo Libre

Hello again from Maya Connections!

During the three weeks that I've been here, I have gotten to know the town really well in my free time. I've been to most of the restaurants, checked out the markets, perused the souvenir shops, wandered around the ruins, visited the museums, etc. Every once in a while, it's nice to simply relax in the hotel, catch up on e-mails, read, and the like. Well, when my computer broke down (just in time for the weekend!), I found myself with plenty of time to do just that (except for the whole catching-up-on-e-mails bit, but you get the point). So, here is a brief summary of what I've done to pass the time:

• This Is Your Brain on Music: I really enjoyed this book. For anyone who likes music (which I'm pretty sure is everyone) and is interested in the way the brain works, you'll find this book intriguing. Dan Levitin, the author, is no Bill Bryson, but he has an approachable writing style and is clearly a genius. Worth the read.
• The Stranger: Very strange novel by Albert Camus. The plot? A weird dude basically condemns himself to death because he is so weird. To be fair, it's really about the absurdity of human existence (i.e. existentialism). But I also believe existentialism is itself absurd. Anyway, I do not approve.
• Murder on the Orient Express: I thoroughly enjoyed this. I'd seen it on our shelf at home for years and never picked it up, so I'm glad I finally had the chance to read it. Also, Agatha Christie married an archaeologist, so she is obviously awesome.
• Run, Fatboy, Run: Cute movie with Simon Pegg. They had a showing of it at ViaVia so I thought I'd check it out. I wasn't expecting it to be a romantic comedy, and I'm not the biggest fan of romantic comedies, so in that sense it wasn't all I'd hoped. But I'd say it's worth it for the humor, even if it is somewhat predictable.
• Across the Universe: Saw this at ViaVia last night. I love the Beatles, so I was pretty 'meh' about this movie. I liked listening to the Liverpuddlian accent, but didn't much enjoy hearing bastardized versions of Beatles songs for two and a half hours. Also, Janis Joplin didn't die in the end.

Anyway, hope all is well! Let me know how things are going.
Alyce

Sweet, sweet internet.

Hey folks! It's been a while since my last post, but for good reason(s) I assure you. This week, I finally kicked off my ethnographic work, which not only been keeping me busy but has also been incredibly interesting. The rains also decided to start up on Wednesday afternoon. This has been wonderful for the weather, but disastrous for my poor computer, which strongly disapproves of humidity. And who can blame it? It spends most of its time in dry-as-a-bone Colorado. In any case, since Friday night it has refused to turn on, so I am writing this from the Maya Connections internet cafe a couple blocks from the hotel.

As I said, I began my ethnographic research this week in the Ch'orti' community of Carrizalon. The people are wonderfully hospitable and very kind, and I've enjoyed getting to know more about how they live. The whole process of setting up this project has also been eye-opening. I knew there was a reason we've talked about politics in every single one of my archaeology classes. Now I'm witnessing that reason first-hand.

Life is pretty tranquil here. Aside from my work, I've been doing some shopping and a lot of reading. The weather is much cooler now that the rains have started, though the town's electricity is much more fragile.

Electricity provided, I will try to get to my e-mail once a day, so let me know how things are going! Happy Summer Solstice, and Happy Father's Day!
Alyce