On Tuesday I had a chance to go to zone 10, which is another fancy area like zone 14 that I spoke about last time but it's more known for its restaurants and nightlife. Me and two visiting colleagues went to a mall called Fontabella that was more like a square surrounded by a bunch of fancy stores and restaurants. I felt super out of place because anywhere else I have lived I would never even step into a mall that consists of Giorgio Armani and such (see I can't even name any other stores!). But here I guess the safe areas are normally targeted at really wealthy people. Anyway, we just wanted to have dinner and after considering many options we chose an Asian place. The food was pretty good but nothing special. I need to convince my local friends to take me for some Guatemalan food. I do want to go back to that mall though because it has a huge bookstore with a café inside and it looks like a cozy place to spend a nice afternoon in. Also, I've added a few pics of the mall, it is really pretty and has a slightly Italian feel (hence the name).
The next day I showed up to work wearing my comfiest clothes and no makeup because I was just going to work through some more introductory stuff. To my surprise my boss decided to send me to a high level conference on social corporate responsibility in Guatemala. I mean, could I have picked a better day to make absolutely no effort in my appearance? The conference itself was pretty interesting although at the seminar after lunch I was definitely "pecking" (like a bird eating but you know when your head keeps falling and then you wake yourself up again over and over again). I had to fight really hard not to completely pass out in front of these "important" private sector people. What a great start to creating partnerships...
The second day of the conference I was ready: I wore professional clothes and makeup. But shocker, I had make up on my hand and I touched my white shirt with it so there was a tiny stain in the middle of the shirt the whole day. I mean I tried. Maybe I'm just not meant to look presentable at these things. The event itself started at 8 am (!) and it was mostly industry people giving talks or participating in panels. Some were really interesting, some not that impressive. The only negative was that the room felt like literal ice age because the A/C was turned up so high! I kept leaving to get more tea to keep myself warm but today I still have a sore throat. The positive thing was that I got to bond with some of my coworkers and as per their request taught them some Estonian. Now when they see me, they say "Tere!" and when we were leaving work last night two of them said "Nägemist!". Of course the biggest hit was "Terviseks!" when we cheered with our juices at lunch.
Last night was also my first experience with Guatemalan rain. Actually, it is rain season here until November but so far it has been mostly sunny out so I thought everyone was over-exaggerating but now I know why everyone seems so scared of rain here. Everything basically stops - traffic is supposed to be twice as slow as usual and people refuse to go outside. When I got out of my uber, which my boss insisted I take because of the scary rain, there was absolutely no one walking on the streets. I mean maybe the people here are made out of sugar, which would explain some things.
Today I'm going to El Salvador to see my friend Antonieta before she goes back to Toronto and I'm so excited (pupusas here I come)!!! I will definitely write a post about that when I get back! Notes for mom: I am taking an extremely safe bus and have done my research, k love you!
Food of the day: fresh fruit juices and smoothies are really popular here because of the easy access to delicious fruits. I just tried a juice called Sobredosis C (Overdose C), which consisted of passionfruit, apple, grapes, orange juice and organic honey. It was delicious and definitely high in vitamin C!
Spanish lesson of the day: "Chapin". I also just learned this word. Apparently Guatemalans sometimes lovingly refer to themselves as "chapin" although the official word for Guatemalan is "guatemalteco". More about the word in
Urban Dictionary.
 |
A cute Spanish store near the office
|
 |
Cute Spanish store continues
|
 |
A cute wall at the mall Fontabella with
words that mean "the sweetest love"
|
 |
The square in the middle of the mall
|
 |
| CSR in Guatemala conference |
 |
Important update: the dead bird is gone. Although
I was sad to see it go, I now have access to the balcony |
Comments