First week in Xela

It is very comfortable for us to be back in this high mountain city, after 15 years. We are having to relearn our way around town, but around every corner we jiggle loose a memory (Ah, yes. We have been here).

Much of this week has been spent looking for a place to live after we finish our language school with homestay on the 17th of Jan. Walking, walking walking around town we enjoy the fresh baked bread smell from the Panaderias and the spicy scent of little tacos, that can be found everywhere

On the surface Xela does not seem to have changed much, but we do know that there has been much developement in the outskirts and there now is a modern shopping mall and a Walmart. We hold to the the theory that if we can´t see it, it doesn´t exist. We prefer the charm of the downtown area, even with it´s sidewalks that are truly obstruction courses; piecemealed together for hundreds of years, some parts two feet high, then a sudden drop off to the street. holes big enough to bury a cat, power posts right in the middle of the sidewalk, so you have to step into the street to pass. We have to maintain constant vigilence, we can´t take our eyes off of the sidewalk, but we are getting a lot of exercise.

There are some welcome changes that we have noted. Good coffee is readily available, more choices in restaurants and types of food, Video theaters, and cheap cell phones.
We are at 7700 feet here and it is COLD in the night time. Everyone wears fleece, hats, gloves, etc., and there is no heat anywhere. Gail´s hostess actually does have a heater in home, but does not use it because she believes that it is bad for her health to go from warm to cold and back again. So, she complains that she is cold all the time. On the other hand, when the sun comes out by 8:30 in the morning(everyday) it is heavenly, and we simply bask in it. In the day it is very warm and we can get down to shirt sleeves. By 5:00 everyone begins to pile on the layers again. It should begin to warm up by March.

The altitude also requires some adaptation. Even a small incline, we can become a bit winded, and there are no flat streets in this town. So up and down we go, over hill and dale, dodging telephone poles and cars, hopping over holes, puff, puff. But we did find a lovely place to move into on the 17th. A large lovely room in a house 130 years old. Very nice shared common areas, and a big sunny patio. There are only two other rooms rented out, and the owners live in the other half of the house, so we think it should be tranquila.

Our language school is excellent (Projecto Linguistico). The teachers very profesional and experienced. The school has lots of projects that benefit the communty and there are many activities for the students. Several of the teachers were part of the resistance army during the civil war that offcially ended here in 1996.

We did go by the center where we will be working -Education and Hope (which is still closed for the holidays), met some of the workers and were warmly greeted with hugs and kisses. We expect to begin going there some next week in the afternoon, after our morning language classes

We are very happy to be back here. Our good friends Chris and Connie are arriving in town on Sunday to attend the same school we are at, and it will be really fun to have them around for awhile. We hope to find an inauguration party here in town somewhere. If not, we´ll make one!

Pat and Gail