=== TRAVEL

Trading knowledge for verbs

From page 24

1 followed the narrow cobbled street towards the volcano that
stood guard chillingly over the previously earthquake ravaged city.
The last in 1773 reduced most historic buildings to ruins that recall
a splendid past as the old capital.

The guard outside the A&W fiddled nervously with his
machine gun reacting to my cunosity. Armed guards grudgingly
dispensed permission to lineup at the Central Bank. Government
offices traditionally set behind colonnaded arches surrounded the

FLYING kites in a cemetary on the Day of the Dead.

Central Square which was fast filling up with hawkers, tourists and
locals passing, the time ot day.
I interviewed my first school, The Projecto Linguistico
. Francisco Marroquin. It bustled with serious students seeking flu-
*- ency in the shortest time possible. Business students. Aid workers.
No laughter here. At the Acadamie Sevilla the atmosphere was
: quite different. The mornings were for study while the afternoons
. were set aside for cultural pursuits. A bike ride to some ancient
ruins. An underground video taken during the recent civil war. A
“walking tour of the city. :
~The students were busily cceating paper kites to fly at the Day
_Of The Dead Festival in nearby Santiago where armies of opt-
* ~'mistic men decimate the local graveyard trying to coax monolithic
‘kites, some as much as seven metres in diameter, into the air on a
windless day. This, to release the souls of the dead from their agony
and of course to have fun.

-’[ enrolled at the Sevilla and was taken to the colonial home of
Julieta, an urbane attractive woman in her early fifties. My room
was off a long sky-lit hallway filled with orchids gathered illegally
from the mountains nearby. The $80 US per week had been quot-
ed nervously by Carlos, my schoo! principal. He hastily reminded

rr =
183 Pemberton Ave, tAbk iS

985.7195 ar.

me that my middle aged comfort requirements had included pri-
vate bath, maid service, and three meais a day. Dinner proved to be
the high point.

My fellow residents included Greg, an exuberant young
American, Frederic a3 earnest 21-year-old German and Louisa a
retired schoolteacher from Quebec, always quick to enforce the
Spanish-only rule at mealtimes with the authority of her long-held
profession. Julierta and her lover Domingo observed and assisted
our struggles with great amusement.

At school my personal teacher Lauro selected a table near the
entrance to the flower-filled courtyard. He arrived
promptly by bicyele at 8 a.m., his face an encouraging
smile, his clothes neatly pressed, if slighty worn. The four-
hour lesson began. I taught him about the world, he
taught me rerbos irregulares. The $4 US an hour I paid for
him seemed a bargain.

The local economy is built on the Spanish schools and
the international students who attend them. Fine restau-
rants and a lively night life provide a happy blend ofa Latin
culture with a Western influence. Class and acconimoda-
Gon tumover is weekly. Your travel agent can doubtless
arrange a package if time is of the essence. Weekend trips
to the colourful markets, spectacular Lake Atitlan and the
Mayan ruins of Tikal are an optional part of the agenda.

The receptionist at the Guatemalan Embassy was right.
Antigua is indeed a Colonial jewel.

If you go:

an be obtained at Guatemala City airport or any

other point of entry. Safety: While the city is generally safe

due to extra local security, care should be taken when venturing

beyond ie. climbing the local volcanoes or visiting Lake Atitlan.

Always hire a guide from a local travel. agent or go with your

school. Street touts selling tours can dp off their friends of your
arrival. Useful guide: Rough Guide.

Michael Forrest
invites his clients

to join him at

his new location

Call him at
Travel Masters
904-8102

205-221 West Esplanade
North Vancouver
.BC reg #3235-1

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Sunday, April 23, 2000 — North Shore News - 25

Photos Andrew Renton
A boy from the Mayan highiand village of Todos _
Santos in the Cuchumatantes mountain range. ”

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