Living and working in San Cristobal de las Casas

03/03/2018 - 15/03/2018

Wow, once again almost two weeks of my residence and workplace in the 'Puerta Vieja' hostel.

I feel so comfortable here that everything has become so routine and I have completely forgotten to write something down.

My first day of work was by far the most challenging. I got an intermediate shift because I was supposed to be scheduled for the following week. It lasted from 11am to 4pm and mainly consisted of making beds. The hostel has nearly 100 beds - I don't know how many check-ins and check-outs there were that day, but there were quite a few.

With the new weekly schedule, everything looked quite different again. Making beds is sometimes part of it, but there is also a lot of other tasks. Reception, showing people around the hostel, helping with breakfast preparation, ensuring general cleanliness, and anything else that needs to be done. You get to meet a lot of people and it's sometimes really fun.

In my free time, I spend a lot of time with the other volunteers and simply enjoy the beautiful atmosphere of the city. The market is incredible, the fruit, especially the mangoes, are so cheap and delicious. I also signed up for a gym for the next month. In the evenings, there is always something happening in our hostel bar. So, if you feel like drinking / dancing / singing, head to the bar. There is also always a fire in the garden where people like to gather, because as mentioned before, it gets very very cold here in the evenings. There is a lot going on, especially on two days of the week. Friday is 'Free Cocktail Night' and on Tuesdays there are free Mojitos from eight to ten. Even though I hardly ever got to enjoy the free cocktails due to numerous stomach problems and eventually my parasite diagnosis (see below), my non-existent salsa skills were quickly refreshed.

On my 2 days off per week, I also try to organize trips. Like everything else when traveling, this works better or worse.

So far, I managed to take a trip to the Cañon del Sumidero as well as to the Cascadas El Chiflón. (See photos) The former in a tour with my friends Isaac and Linnea, and the waterfalls on my own with another volunteer, Miguel. However, my health deteriorated after the waterfalls. Already after the return journey, I had to 'empty myself'. At first, I just blamed it on the terrible road conditions. (As you know, I'm not very tolerant of long or even short journeys). But after feeling miserable for the next two days and two of the other volunteers testing positive for parasites, I decided to get myself checked as well. And behold, two different parasites are living in me and now it's time for antibiotics. As background information: San Cristobal is known for its highly contaminated water. There are also large water containers in the bathrooms of the hostel to brush your teeth with bottled water. Additionally, it is currently parasite season, so the whole situation was not really surprising.