Food, fashion, and forecast

While most of my past blog posts have been about different experience and out-of-the-ordinary adventures, today I thought I’d do a little catching up on Guatemalan norms. If you have been wondering what the typical food, fashion, and forecast is like here in Xela, this is your chance to learn!

First, fashion. There are two main types of style, as different as night and day. The first is my favorite: traditional.

The traditional Mayan traje is my favorite because its wearers are clothed head-to-toe in vibrant colors of every hue, a mixture of soft and strong textures, and richly unique patterns. This type of style is all about the play between textures and layers. Braids and twists adorn their hair, wrapped intricately around deep purple sashes or rainbow-patterned head wraps. The ancianos weave the sashes as the third part to two three-part braids hanging down their back and the mothers pile all of their jet black hair into a bun encircled by a halo of ribbon. The younger girls tie their hair half-up and decorate their locks with rhinestoned and sequined hair clips in the shapes of butterflies, hearts, and swirls.

Hand-woven blouses boast embroidered patterns of parrots, people, harvests, suns and moons, zig-zags, and flowers around the neckline. Some are made of thick cotton material while others are made of shiny silk and accented with lacey ruffles and swirls of rhinestones. The blouses are tucked into high-waisted skirts that fall to the ankle. The skirts are made of the same thick cotton in navy blue, woven into a pattern of stripes with a rainbow of metallic thread. Thick belts of even more intricate handiwork cinch the skirt and the blouse together at the natural waistline, creating an hour-glass figure in all the young women. To finish it off, women of all ages (from 2 to 102) wear satin high heels, embellished with ruffles and rhinestones.

While the everyday display of such vibrant colors in itself is stunning, the beauty I find in this wonderful ensemble is the fact that it has survived the infiltration of Western modernization that has touch almost every other aspect of life.

In Xela it isn’t just the elderly or the people from tiny villages who dress in the traditional Mayan traje. It is quite common to see representatives from the entire age spectrum dressed in el traje tradicional browsing the aisles of the supermarket, eating in fast food restaurants, walking the mall, coming from school, and enjoying live music in the park.    

However, it is sadly only the women’s traditional dress that has survived the influx of the European and American style. In my almost two months here, I have yet to see a man, young or old, dressed in traditional Mayan clothes.

The second type of style seen in Xela is a carbon copy of the “hip and modern” style one can find in any mall in the United States. This trend is all about the scarves, solid-colored layers, and yes, skinny jeans. Even the deep man V-neck (unfortunately) hasn’t escaped the closets of Guatemalans. Here, skinny jeans are worn in every color, from neon to black, and are worn so tight one might mistake them for a second skin—not to be confused, of course, with the even tighter leggings worn under everything else. Neutral cardigans are paired with richly-colored flats or sandals to complete this look.

Second, climate. First of all, it’s important to note that the climate of Xela vastly differs from other places in Guatemala. In fact, Xela is known as one of the coldest cities in all of Central America, largely due to the high altitude.

The months of September and October are practically interchangeable in Xela. Average daytime highs reach 68 degrees Fahrenheit, while the nights dip down into the 40s. And just like the two completely opposite types of styles, the climate has two starkly different sides to it.

The Dr. Jekyll of Xela’s climate are beautiful sunny days during which the sun’s intense heat can make 68 feel more like 85. One of the greatest feelings in the world is when I leave the orphanage around noon and can roll up my pant legs into capris and remove my jacket to soak in the sunshine on my way back to the house. These afternoons are mostly spent blissfully roaming the streets and hanging out in the many parks catching up with friends or studying Spanish vocabulary and grammar. Bright blue skies are dotted with soft white clouds and the clear sky offers a view of the beautiful Guatemalan mountainside up to many miles away.

The Mr. Hyde of Xela’s climate are days of chilly rain and gloomy dark clouds that hide the sun and all of its warmth, making 68 feel more like 45. On these days, rolling my pants into capris is one of the worst feelings since it is usually done out of necessity, not pleasure, when puddles trade their place on the streets to my ankles. Fog and day-long misty rain covers the landscape and makes even the closest mountain giant disappear from view. These afternoons are usually spent inside, wrapped in blankets and sipping hot tea or frantically running to only completely necessary places.

I’ve been told that most September and October days are normally a happy medium of these two extremes, warm sunny mornings followed by daily showers in the late afternoon and clear nights. However, this year has been a year of the unexpected in Xela weather patterns. November normally brings a close to the rainy season and opens up to a cold, yet dry holiday season. I’ll let you know how that turns out!      

Third, comida a.k.a food. Every Guatemalan meal revolves around four basic foods, huevos, frijoles, tortillas, y arroz (eggs, beans, tortillas, and rice). A normal breakfast consists of one large fried egg or plantain served with black beans, either whole or mashed into a smooth paste. Another common breakfast item is eggs scrambled with chopped unions, diced tomatoes, and sliced hot dogs. Cornflakes with milk are also a popular choice in my home-stay, inverted style—meaning you dip separate spoonfuls of cornflakes into a small bowl of milk and repeat until the milk is gone, although I haven’t figured out if that is culture-wide or only the kids I live with.

Lunch is the biggest meal of the day as opposed to dinner in the States, which originally took some getting used to. Lunch is also by far the meal that varies the most from day to day and contains the most daily varied ingredients. Every lunch offers some kind of vegetable, usually a mix of vegetables. Most common is diced carrots, potatoes, and green beans mixed together with mayonnaise to create what the Guatemalans call an ensalada. At times, boiled chicken or breaded and fried patties of ham or ground beef balance out the vegetables, although it is common to go a few days without ever eating meat. We also eat rice, carrot, potato, and pea soup with homemade croutons regularly for lunch.

Dinner is very similar to breakfast, usually a fried egg with black beans and tortillas on the side.

Coffee is the most popular drink in Guatemalan culture. Adults and kids as young as five drink coffee with almost every meal. Sugar is the only thing every added to coffee, although many people drink it without adding anything. Fresh juice made from lemon, pineapple, papaya, oranges, and every other fruit available is a great choice for lunch on sunny afternoons.