Last Thursday was the annual Sociology department holiday party, and as the grad students let loose for one night of not working, we asked ourselves whether graduate students ever take real vacations. From most, the answer was no. One friend said she traveled to London to visit her sister– definitely a key vacation spot, right? But the big surprise (or not) was the amount of work she was able to get done over there, during the ‘vacation’! Is it possible for a grad student to actually go on a vacation that does not involve work? Well, I managed to do the unthinkable this past August– take a real vacation. My mom came to visit me in Guatemala and we traveled around and did typical touristy stuff for 10 days. Granted, the first couple of days I was still trying to get some key field research tasks accomplished– like confirming an institutional affiliation with a research center in Guatemala City. But for at least eight days, lets say, I did nothing but relax. I even read a trashy book (Hannibal, in case you’re wondering). So here are the first of a few photos from my mother-daughter retreat to Guatemala.
When my mom arrived, we spent the first few days in Antigua and its environs. We traveled (by local transport– kudos to Mom for braving the ‘chicken’ bus) to a nearby town to visit a well-known macadamia nut farm. We learned a bunch about macadamia nuts, although I guess I didn’t learn too much because I can’t remember much of it now. At the least, we figured out that there are many varieties of the nut, but most of them are not edible. Moreover, the good tasting nuts come from trees that produce fruit only rarely and sparsely, whereas the not-as-good nuts grow in abundance, all year long. Go figure, right?
After the short tour of the farm, we snacked on macadamia nut pie, and tested macadamia nut soap and hand lotion.
Macadamia Nut Farm, near Antigua, Guatemala
Macadamia Nuts, before any processing
Processing Macadamia Nuts
Equipment for processing macademia nuts
Raw Macadamia Nuts
After touring the Macadamia farm, we got back on the chicken bus and took a trip to another nearby town, San Antonio Aguas Calientes. This quaint village is well-known for the vibrant textiles woven by the local Kakchikel women. There’s also a great book about the role of evangelical protestantism and indigenous culture in the history of San Antonio Agua Calientes, “God and Production in a Guatemalan Town,” by anthropologist Sheldon Annis. I have only read parts of the book but what I read was good, and it comes highly recommended from other sources.
La Iglesia in San Antonia Aguas Calientes, Guatemala
Culturetrek 