At a rest stop on the way to Santiago Atitlan

The view of the church courtyard

Sarah Parson at the woman's co-op

On the boat on the way to Panajachel

Sorry we haven’t posted in a while, we’ve been busy traveling, learning Spanish, doing homework for Don, and eating. The pictures in the previous post are from our weekend trip to Coban. We stayed at a K’ekchi’ Mennonite School which was a great opportunity for us to interact with other students. When we first arrived we were greeted with lots of stares, but as days passed, we created friendships and enjoyed sharing with them especially through sports and music. At the school our meals consisted of beans and tortillas, we only got one blanket each, and let’s just say the bathrooms weren’t up to par. Although it was rough at times, we got to experience how the majority of Guatemalans live every day.  For a small service project, we painted the outside of one of the school buildings, and we have no idea how this happened, but somehow we were roped in to painting the upper half of the building while standing on a flimsy, rusty, and unstable tin roof. It was an experience…at least we got really tan. Coban was a great time and we experienced the poverty of Guatemala in a new way.

This past weekend we traveled to Santiago Atitlan and Panajachel. This was a relaxing weekend and we enjoyed lots of free time to walk around in the small towns. We may have spent more money than we expected to in the wonderful markets and our purchases included indigenous skirts, jewelry, and gifts for people at home. We also got to visit a fair trade coffee plantation and a women’s co-op. 

Our time in Guatemala is quickly coming to an end, we have a week left of classes and our final exams will be next Tuesday. Then on Thursday we will disperse for free travel. Emily and I will be traveling East with 6 others to Puerto Barrios, Belize, Livingston, and then to Rio Dulce. We still have several details to pull together due to the influence of the Guatemalan lifestyle, haha. No worries though, we’re sure everything will work out perfectly.

Peace and blessings.