In our first full day in Guatemala City, we threw caution to the wind and ventured out into Zone 14, Bobby's old 'hood. SO much new development has sprung up in the area that parts of it were unrecognizable. Boutique shops were all over the place, in between glass-paneled high-rise apartment buildings and sleepy men with shotguns. We had an excellent breakfast of meat tamales and French-press coffee, then talked our way past the armed guards at the entrance to colonia Las Conchas. We walked the loop around Las Conchas to see Bobby's old house and the (current? previous?) home of Presidente Álvaro Arzú. Not much has changed within Las Conchas except the guarded gate at the entrance. You can feel that the elites of Guatemala are getting more security-conscious, though, with the rising crime rate. We met an older American-educated Guatemalan lady at one of the boutique shops who asked Bobby why he would bring Audrey to such a dangerous place. Awkward silence.
We then tried to navigate our way to the carretera (highway to) El Salvador in order to get to Colegio Maya. Again, Audrey's skills with the map were invaluable and Bobby's fast twitch reflexes were put to the test. Time after time, roads would be closed for construction and Audrey would chart an alternate route while Bobby avoided the kamikaze pickup truck death squads bearing down on our so far unscathed rental car.
We eventually ascended the mountain to Colegio Maya then overshot it because the area around it is so built-up that Bobby didn't recognize where he was. Maya itself has undergone a great many changes, too. There has been a lot of faculty and administration turnover in the last ten years, although there were still a few familiar faces. Ms Kayayan graciously gave us the grand tour and Bobby was excited to see Mr Fifield, Ms Bond, Ms Ramirez, Ms Maldonado, Ms Tsuji and his old classmate Vanessa. Other than that, everyone was new. The major architectural change is a beautiful new theater and multipurpose building on the left side of the lowest level of the school. It even has a new couple of parking decks! Maya is in the money and has apparently made good use of it. It was also cool to hear how the Knowledge Bowl has really taken off in student participation. Just like an American high school, Maya has posted its athletic and academic championship banners in the gym. Knowledge Bowl 99 - Ben, Jamie, Jane and Mike - we are remembered.
Just as we were about to leave, we ran into Ricardo Cortés in the parking lot! He had just moved back to Guate and happened to visit Maya on that day. Ricardo was an accomplished actor during his time at Maya, with memorable turns as Lysander in Midsummer Night's Dream and Jack in Into the Woods. He also nailed "Day By Day" in Godspell the following year. We reminisced for a while and agreed to get together Sunday night when we get back from Belize.
Then we went down the mountain to La Pradera mall in search of more nostalgia. Bobby has fond memories of watching mindless action movies at Pradera with Javier, Gus, Mike, Ryan and Stubbs, then eating a late-night Burger King combo with onion rings at the food court. Minus the movie, that's exactly what we did. Audrey had Pollo Campero and gave it positive reviews. The seasoning reminded her of Old Bay. We walked around the mall for a while but didn't see anything else of cultural or nostalgic value. The old gang never went shopping for designer purses, after all.
The last event of the day was perhaps the best. We met up with Mr and Mrs Bond (he was Bobby's junior year AP chemistry teacher) at the hotel and went to La Hacienda steakhouse for a wonderful dinner. Despite Mr Bond's dissatisfaction with Guatemalan restaurant prices, Bobby was in heaven. Ten dollar lamb shishkabobs! Twelve dollar steaks! Seventeen dollar steak-sausage-chicken-and-lamb combo platters! Audrey had the Churrasco Chapín (Guatemalan grill) and Bobby had the lamb. Dessert was similarly amazing. We talked about all sorts of things with the Bonds - marriage, Guatemalan current events, Maya, and Serpinski kites. Audrey and Ms Bond tuned out and talked about family when things got mathematical. We also learned that Mr Bond's band is opening for Carlos Santana in Guatemala City next Tuesday! There's an outside chance we can make it, but only just outside.
This was a wonderful day. It's great to see that Maya is going strong and it's always special to catch up with old friends. Early bedtime tonight - we have to wake up to catch our 7:10am flight to Belize!
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