Let me start with the trip there. We met at the school at 7am (which really means like 7:10) and headed up to Zone 3 to catch a mini-bus (zone 3 is about a 15ish minute walk from the school, and mini-buses are really just vans that they cram as many people into as they can). We had to take 2 mini-buses because there wasn't one that went directly to Chichi from Xela. The first one was a little crammed, all four of us were on the back bench-seat (probably made for 3 people) and then the second mini-bus was fine for me because I was sitting in the front seat with just one other person and the driver, but I guess it got super crammed in the back where everyone else was sitting.
We arrived and were instantly overwhelmed by the craziness of all the booths and people, but we commenced our shopping. After an hour or so we were all pretty hungry so we stopped into a typical restaurant (that means typical Guatemalan food, not that it was just like every other restaurant here)...unfortunately we didn't realize that it was still early and they were only serving breakfast. The food was not the best and the coffee was terrible, but it was really cheap so I'm not complaining too much. We recommenced our shopping extravaganza for a couple hours and it's so ridiculous how much stuff was in that market! I don't even think we saw the whole thing and we were there for at least 4 hours. The whole time you're walking around there are people walking up to you with bookmarks, scarves, bracelets, blankets, etc. asking you to buy their stuff, and the only English they know is "buy it for your mom" and "good price." Then all the little booths are packed full of colorful things and the people running those always say (in Spanish) "Come on in, what do you like?". And they all call you "amiga" (or amigo if you're a guy, haha!).
After a bit more of that, we were all hungry again, so we headed to another restaurant with more substantial food (but still a really good price). All of us girls got burgers (haha! We're such gringas!), but they're way different than the ones in the states. They're thinner and I think they mix their ground beef with lots of seasonings and stuff, so it was super tasty! And after a bit more shopping we awaited our bus home.
To head home we took a chicken bus (old U.S. school bus all colorful and stuff) because it went directly to Xela. Picture in your mind a regular school bus. Now picture that each seat has at least 3 people sitting on it (sometimes more like 5 or 6 if there are little kids). Now picture the aisle full of people standing. Now picture this full bus stopping to pick up more people and they open the front door and the emergency exit in the back to let people on. Now imagine this jam-packed school bus winding through mountain curves. That's what that two hours of my life was like. Haha! Just like going to the market in Chichi, it was a good experience, but not something I'd want to do on a regular basis.
Today I saw the most white people in one place that I've seen since I got here (and Gio was making fun of them because they all wear the same travel pants that un-zip to turn into shorts). I also saw an actor in the market (Wade from Hart of Dixie)...it was weird to hear him talk without an Alabama accent. Haha! I had my first chicken bus ride. I bought some stuff for some people, although not anywhere near as much stuff as I eventually need to buy (there were the cutest little coveralls that I wanted to get for my nephew so badly, but he's growing too darn fast that I'm afraid they'd be too small for him by the time I got them home). And I got to practice my bartering skills. Overall, I'd say it was a good way to spend the day.
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