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.