Goodwill Hunting

Ok so techically it's not Goodwill, but really it is. Wednesday in San Bartolome is Paca day. Trucks full of used clothes park in the street to sell discarded threads from the U.S. I've found a few jems there. Probably the coolest thing I've found was a Patrick Ewing jersey (in good condition) but alas it was too small. My two best buys were a shirt that says "To hell with work...Let's go to Barbados" and an old school Ohio State jacket. We're talking Woody Hayes era. In fact I'm pretty sure it's the same jacket he was wearing when he punched that Clemson nose tackle in the throat. Anyways it will look good on me once they win the National Championship. Yea that's right I said it.

I love Paca shopping just like enjoyed Goodwill hunting in the States. You can always find great relics and it's always interesting to barter. It's kind of funny, I don't think I've ever bartered in English but I've done plenty of it in French and Spanish. You have to go into it knowing that they're going to try and rip you off and usually they do. It's that Gringo surcharge. It's the most absurd thing I've seen in the Paca so far was a shirt that read "Welcome to America, Speak English" with the big Stars and Stripes behind it. How fitting that found its way here. Probably my favorite part about it is that it says "Welcome to America" and not "Welcome to the United States" as if the rest of the hemisphere isn't considered part of America, be it North, Central or South.

I've seen some Guatemalans walking around wearing some familiar clothes. In San Bartolome alone I’ve seen two Charlotte Hornets hats, two UNC hats, and an Elon sweatshirt (!). The most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen was a man in a market in Togo wearing an East Chapel Hill High School t-shirt. Sometimes you’ll see people wearing shirts with the most profane sayings and you have to wonder if they have any idea what their shirt means. Our used clothes that find life anew here is just one of the neat things about living in Guatemala.

This past weekend was a pretty fun one. Saturday we learned how to kill a rabbit. I had some idea of how to do it from the tearjerking rabbit-lady scene in Roger & Me. The whole ordeal was nasty business. You bash it over the head and then let it bleed out (during which Nick quipped “I’m never drinking a Bloody Mary again”) then you skin it because rabbit fur is quite valuable (as are the feet). It was pretty graphic and the Guatemalan woman that demonstrated the process was a pro. Unfortunately we didn’t get to eat it. I didn’t know it but according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture domestic rabbit meat is the most nutritious meat in the world. It’s higher in protein percent and lower cholesterol level and in percent of fat than chicken, turkey, beef and pork. Anyways working with rabbits seems like a good future project although those little guys can scratch you up pretty badly.
Sunday four of us took a hike up the mountain that San Bartolome rests on. On top of the mountain is one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. We were lucky it was a clear day and had a full view of the volcanoes Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Photos don’t really do it justice but it was incredible to see these massive volcanoes at full scope and how they sloped down into one another. Below is a picture that Jaron took with her super awesome camera.



Left to right: Agua (12,336 ft), Fuego (12,346 ft) and Acatenango (13,044 ft).