Guatemala, Day 2 - Night In

We got back from Antigua shortly before 5pm and were all feeling a bit droopy.  It's not like we'd done anything particularly strenuous -- just walked around the town, picked some coffee beans, and enjoyed a delightful and filling lunch -- but still, we weren't going to make it through the rest of the evening without a little pick-me-up.  So we declared nap time (o, glorious nap time!) and everyone zonked out.

We emerged from hibernation about an hour later and proceeded to stare at each other in that groggy post-nap stage.  Now what? 

[crickets]

Clearly, our brainstorming faculties were still recovering.  No one was hungry yet, and there was nothing to do on a Sunday night in Guatemala City, so we decided to have a low-key night in the apartment.  Gradually we came up with an agenda for a super fun night:

First:  Veronica Mars
Amanda's been recommending the TV show Veronica Mars for a while now, and last night one of the couples at Jake's recommended it as well.  So we decided to give it a go and watch the first episode.  It wasn't at all what I'd expected (think gritty film noir meets Clueless) but it was fun and I will probably continue watching the show.

Second:  Xbox Kinect
Funnest computer game ever.  You stand in front of the Kinect sensor, which scans your body and creates an avatar that moves with you -- and you don't have to hold a single piece of equipment.  One of the games was a series of adventures that you could go through with a second player.  You might be teammates (for example, both in a raft hurtling down a raging river trying to avoid obstacles and catch sweet air by jumping off of cliffs) or competitors (racing each other through obstacle courses) or fellow disaster survivors (trapped in a glass tank underwater that is repeatedly rammed by sharks and other fish, you have to work together to stop the leaks).  To add to the hilarity, the Kinect periodically takes snapshots of your antics and then presents a slideshow at the end of each round to celebrate your achievement.  Here's some footage of Jennifer and Mark on the obstacle course:



The great thing is that you get totally engrossed in the game and end up jumping and flailing wildly about, so that by the end of the race you feel like you've actually run the race!  It's exhausting and sweaty and enormous fun.

The workout games were fun, too.  The principles are all the same, only that game had a more overt fitness objective.  I particularly liked how it offered both the traditional workout moves (situps, lunges) as well as some fun (and silly) dance routines.  Jennifer demonstrated first with a hip-hop workout.  Then I did the Bollywood routine. 

I now totally want a Kinect.

Third:  Quesadillas and Guacamole with Boggle
Having worked up an appetite with our Kinect games, we moved into the kitchen and made a snack of cheese quesadillas and homemade guacamole, which we devoured while playing ten rounds of Boggle.  Jennifer clearly has a talent for seeing word patterns in the tea leaves (as well as a set of helpful strategies that boost the score -- hint: where possible, write down the singular AND the plural...).  Mark and I lagged behind for a minute but started to get our sea legs after a while. 

Fourth:  Downton Abbey
With Jennifer's Boggle triumph assured and our bowl of guacamole empty, we retired to the TV room to watch an episode of Downton Abbey, Season 2.  Access to the episodes is delayed in Guatemala, so Jennifer and Mark were only on the second episode, but I didn't mind going back -- no one's ever had to ask me twice to watch a costume drama with Maggie Smith and a great English country house.

After that, it was off to bed for everyone, in anticipation of another fun day tomorrow.