VIP

So Friday I didnt have work, as I said before there was this big demonstration in Zone 1 blocking off a lot of the streets. What happens is that the university students from all over come to Guatemala City and have kind of a political movement. They made floats like the ones in religious processions but they were making fun of religion and of politics in Guatemala. The whole thing is basically a parody on their society, and a reason for all the students to party in the streets. So Friday morning I walked down to the Park to see what all the commotion was about and it was pretty crazy! Here are a couple videos and pictures of the whole thing... (also, word of warning, the masks that they wear look a bit like KKK masks but that has nothing to do with this procession)

After all this I came home for lunch and we basically decided there was no way we were going to be able to fins a place to stay in Monterrico or the Lake for the weekend because everyone here is off work for Semana Santa, so we decided to stay in the City. Me and Debbie walked to the Central Market and tried to do a bit of shopping, to me it was a bit too small compared to the other markets we've been to, but I got a couple of things and it wasnt a total bust. We were going to see a movie, but the cab we called got a flat tire, so they called another one but the radio system they use to communicate between cabs was down, soooo we didnt get to do that. So we decided to walk to Tacontendo for a bit and we got to watch some ESPN and even drink budweiser! which is really hard to find here. 

Saturday: we got to sleep in!!! After we finally got up and ready me and abbey decided to go to this market we found online called Mercado de Artesanias. Well it turns out that this market is right next to the airport...so on one hand it was pretty nice and they had alot of cool stuff, but on the other it was way pricier than any other place we have been in Guatemala. All of the stuff already had price tags on it and they werent willing to bargain like all the other shops, so we didnt stay long. Luckily we had a nice surprise and the zoo was right next door! Neither of us really knew what we were getting ourselves into with the zoo or what to expect, but it was pretty awesome! They had a beautiful white tiger, tons of different types of jaguars, and my new favorite animal, the marmoset, soooo cute. Also they had raccoons??? It was weird to see raccoons at a zoo, but I guess they arent as common here as they are in Texas. 

Marmoset!

awkward giraffe

 

white tiger!

After this we went to Oakland mall and I finally got to try a Pina and Oreo Mcflurry! As weird as it sounds, it was actually pretty awesome, it just scared me a bit at the beginning cuz it was neon yellow. But yummy.

Then we went to the VIP movies!! In the mall they have a separate VIP theatre where you can order food and drinks while you eat. Before we went in Me and Abbey were joking about how nice the theatre to be, thinking it was ridiculous, but we walked in and the seats were full out recliners!! It was the most awesome movie theatre I've ever been in. We saw the Hunger Games, and it was ok...I knew I didnt want to see it, it was just different from the book and how I pictured it would be. Also I feel like it really wouldnt have made any sense to someone who didnt read the book, but oh well, the theatre was nice! After we all went to Cien Puertas and Tacos and Tequila.

our movie seats

Today: we slept in again! After we got up me and abbey decided to walk up to the Central Park market since it is usually huge on Sundays. Well we were surprised when we got there and the streets were crazy packed because it was Palm Sunday! There was a huge procession passing through the park area right when we showed up and luckily we got to see most of it, it was kind of hard to get pictures with the crowd, but it was so beautiful!

Then we tried to do some shopping, but we didnt really have much luck, alot of places are closed because of Semana Santa and because its Sunday. But after we came here and ate and now we're just hanging out! 

**Important Side Note***

So in the course of my time here I have realized one very important thing...Guatemalans LOVE Micheal Jackson. Seriously, he's everywhere. They were even playing a DVD of one of his concerts last night in Tacos and Tequila. Just something to remember when traveling to Guatemala.