where, oh where...

have my lungs gone!?

one of the things i´ve noticed here in guatemala (especially xela) is the horrible air quality. while we were driving through the countryside it was beautiful with fresh air but here in the city, black smoke everywhere. i think it´s because all the cars are old and maybe use bad gasolina. i have no idea but it´s kind of hard to breathe here and i´m not sure how anyone makes it past the age of five breathing in this air. all my boogers are black and i feel like my throat and lungs burn. i am really glad i am leaving xela tomorrow so i can breathe a little easier. antigua was also a city with lots of cars but not as bad as here. there are many cars, taxis and motorcycles here and all could use a safety check of sorts. there aren´t many buses in the city proper but at the main bus terminal there were hundreds of chicken buses, all with their engines on, pouring the thick black stuff into the air.

enough about my lungs, luckily i get to leave soon and get back to the clean oregon air. last night we had dinner at tacos no más, a recommended restaurant in the guidebook. i swear some of these places pay the guidebook author to include them in the book. while my burrito was fine and tasty (but small), arna´s enchilada was not so much. the sauce was really gritty and there was chicken but you really couldn´t tell. plus, they added strips of what looked like kraft cheese or velveeta on top. real cheesy. i suppose you can´t really complain for a meal that costs less than $3 but...oh well. i had a pretty good lunch today, went to this little café run by a mother-daughter team and had the menú del diá. it was carne asada with vegetables and veg soup and tortillas. i´m really going to miss the fresh tortillas here! they are nothing like store-bought tortillas.

we found this panadería (bread shop) a few blocks away and went there to get some desayuno (breakfast) and they have pizza! i was in heaven, 2 slices for about $2, awesome. what a genius idea, who doesn´t love pizza for breakfast?! we are about to go on a tour of colonial churches and visit a popular bizarro yellow church. i can´t wait to post pictures. i might have to make two photo albums, one of places and the other of food. haha i am trying to eat as much as possible to experience it all. i always have eaten very fast but here i notice it even more because they eat slower here. i think they really enjoy eating and it´s a real social thing. in the states you get your check as soon as you´re done, or even before. here you have to ask for it, "la cuenta por favor" and even so you won´t get it for awhile. i think people commonly stay at the restaurant for a long time after finishing. i´m trying to eat slower but when it´s good you just want to eat! chewing food more times does NOT make it taste better.