Tonight (Friday) was our first night out as a group since our arrival. We started our evening at a the school for a welcome party. Many people were excited by the food: wheat bread, guacamole, chips, deli meats – things we don’t eat in our home stays. We then had our first salsa class. Since there are only two boys in our group, the salsa teacher (also one of the language teachers) brought a few other guys and the school’s family members joined in as well. Another teacher was in charge of Rachel, Molly, Sarah, and I. She was quite sassy and explained how to hold our hands while we dance. If your hand is not holding your partner’s, it should be out to the side with your fingers turned out and pretending to hold an egg between your thumb and middle finger. The teacher kept shouting, “huevos! huevos! eggs! eggs!” when we danced so we would have pretty fingers. I danced with Sri, another student at the school from Australia. We did pretty well considering he is quite lanky and awkward. At the end of class, the teacher demonstrated a maneuver where the boy picks up the girl, she swings between his hip and shoulder with her feet in the air, and lands on her thigh. A few of us did this move with another male teacher who I trusted to be strong enough to catch us. A few other girls tried it with the boys in our group, Logan and Geoff. They were pretty successful overall but I am not ready to trust them with my head so close to the floor.
After the party, we took our first adventure to the bars. Our families reminded us to be careful but we are not sure if there caution is just general protection for us or because there is some risk of crime. We walked as a group of 14 to the bar with our two boys for protection. These two have essentially become best friends because they are the only two boys. They were quite amusing to watch, especially they needed some liquid confidence before our first salsa class. Along our walk to the bar we divided into two group so people could stop by their houses to tell their families we would be home later. Around this time, Logioso was born. Logan with his “great” Spanish accent was blabbering away and some how us girls agreed his new name would be Logi-oso (bear) or Logi-osito (little bear). When we reunited at El Cuartito, a bar, Logioso was quick to buy a beer for himself and his homie, el Jefe (the closest to pronouncing Geoff was a Spanish accent). We had visited El Cuartito earlier in the day for Internet and coffee but it was too crowded for our large group. They had live music and I plan to come back another night to enjoy it. We then headed to a bar called Pool and Beer, very American, right? We sat in a private ish room so we would not disturb the other patrons. I watched Logioso and el Jefe down some beers. A few girls took shots of tequila. Others bought one liter bottles of the local beer, Cabro, which is made in Xela. Most drinks cost 15-30Q ($2-3).
About half of us had not indulged quite as much as the rest and left the bar around 11pm. We walked each other home. The streets of Xela are VERY quiet at night. There are street lights on most blocks but hardly any people. It took us about 15 minutes to walk home but we walked rather quickly and with purpose, only because of the unknown. I got a chance to see where some of the other program kids live as well. We need to figure out the effectiveness of walking home, using the boys as protection, or just taking a taxi. I do not think any of us have yet to experience a taxi.
Stay tuned for more adventures with taxis, Logioso, el Jefe, and las chicas.
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