Why is our bus beeping?

On Sunday afternoon, we returned from our first weekend trip. We loaded the bus Friday morning and stopped for lunch at Iximche Mayan Ruins. It was nice to actually see some history in person, and it is amazing how the structures still stand after so many years. There were some Mayan people holding a small ceremony so we were able to watch part of that as well. The bus ride was interesting to say the least. Our bus was smoking, beeping and crawling along the road. We also went the wrong way on a way one way street that was already tiny to begin with! Thankfully, our bus driver was great and our bus held up so we made it to Chichicastenango safely. In Chichi, we stayed at the Ruth and Naomi Methodist Project. During all meals, we were only allowed to speak Spanish and if we spoke English, we had to pay 1 Quetzal. I only spoke English once, and all I said was ¨yes¨...what a waste of a word! :P We definitely laughed a lot during meals! On Saturday, we went to Chontola Women´s Cooperative, a place where women struggling with poverty weave various crafts. Most of them are left in poverty and widowed because of the previous war in Guatemala. Everything they made was colourful and beautiful. Seeing the pride and joy on their faces as they pointed out what they made themselves was incredible. In the evening, we talked with a Catholic priest and in the morning we attended mass at his church. The service was a mix of traditional indigenous religious practices and Catholicism. A good example of this was the giant marimba that was played by 4 men and accompanied all of their songs. After church, we were free to roam around at the market that was spread out in a major section of the city. If you don´t like crowds pushing, people yelling or bargaining prices, the market is not for you. I had a lot of fun finding various treasures and I´m not very good at bargaining, but I tried. I think overall, the group enjoyed  our trip a lot and everyone had some good bonding time! :) We all were definitely glad to be back ¨home¨ in our own houses with our host families again. Buenos dias!

Liones y tigres y osos! Oh my!!

We´ve been in Guatemala for almost 2 weeks now! Wow! Today we went to the zoo here in Guatemala City, and saw many wonderful animals and learned their names in Spanish. Classes are going well, and we are moving through some review material and some new material pretty fast! Last week we visited the national cemetary and overlooked the landfill. That was a very eye-opening experience to see the extent of poverty there, compared to going to the mall with my host family to see a movie. We also toured the national palace, which was absolutely gorgeous! It was incredible the amount of detail they put into every single part of the building. Everything inside could be divided by 5 and the doorhandles all had the president´s (from the time it was built) finger print on them. We also visited an interactive museum that delt with racism, inequality, and the many ethic groups and languages of Guatemala. It is fascinating to learn some of their stereotypes compared to ours. For example, they think that fat people are fun-loving and relaxed. Hmm, definitely different from the U.S. stereotype. We have also had the pleasure of listening to some other professors talk about Guatemala. In addition, we didn´t have official salsa lessons like we were planning but one of my classmates from EMU, Michael, taught us the basics of the bachata and salsa dances. :) We laughed a lot while learning, partially because we have a ratio of 4 guys to 15 girls, so many of us had to learn the guy´s part. The food is wonderful and the weather is gorgeous! This week is our first weekend trip to Chichicastenango. I think we are all very excited to spend time together as a group and visit something outside of the city! :) That´s all for now!

Smile and Wave

I cannot believe that we haven´t even been in Guatemala for a week! It feels like a month ago that we were back at orientation. On Friday afternoon, we all lined up in the front of the dining area in CASAS to meet our host families. It was probably one of the scariest things I have ever done. My host mom and one of my brothers came to pick me up and I was really nervous and had a hard time even answering basic questions at first. They got me ice cream on the way to their house. Their house is a long ways from CASAS and pretty high on a mountain. The view is incredible! We were with our host families all weekend. We watched movies in Spanish, sometimes with English subtitles, or movies with American actors but Spanish voice-overs. On Saturday, I went with to help 2 of my siblings clean their church. In the evening, I watched my 2 oldest brothers play soccer (futbol) at the university. My family consists of my host parents and 4 siblings (ages 20, 23, 25 and 27). They are so hospitable and fun-loving! I can already tell I´m going to have a hard time leaving them. :) My sister speaks some English, so it is nice to fall back on that if we are all clearly VERY lost, but overall I try to speak in my awful Spanish so that I can practice. But sometimes, I just have to smile at people to communicate, which isn´t really too hard. :) On Sunday, I was introduced to their church, and they gave me a very warm welcome. Many people commented about the fact that I was wearing a skirt, because to them it´s pretty cold outside even though the temperature is around 60 to 70 in the mornings. That´s all for now!

Beginning

After a few tearful goodbyes this morning before 5am, we left for the airport. A quote that I like says, "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." I am so blessed to have so many people supporting me on this journey and I´m grateful for all of you. :) We traveled from Washington D.C. to El Salvador and finally to Guatemala. Our flights went very smoothly and we arrived at CASAS in the late afternoon. We then had a little bit of free time to explore Guatemala City. Because of our arrival time, we were not able to go to the bank yet, so we didn´t have money to spend at the local shops. The weather is absolutely gorgeous! In fact, some from the group are wearing shorts right now. Tomorrow, the real challenge begins when we meet our host families tomorrow afternoon. We will be spending the rest of the weekend with our new families, which has all of us pretty nervous but excited!

Trip Schedule

Here is my schedule. Some of it might have changed by now, but this is the general overview. After one day of orientation, I'm already so excited!

January

9-11     Orientation on campus (begins at 1:15pm Monday)

11        10am   Send-off, blessing in Chapel and opening convocation

12        5:30am Leave for Guatemala.
Stay overnight at CASAS

13        Orientation at CASAS, First night with host families

16        Beginning of first Spanish class at CASAS

21-22   Free weekend

27-29   Weekend trip to Chichicastenango

February

4          Volcano hike

5          Visit to “mega-church”

9          Final exams and end of first Spanish course

10-12   Weekend trip to TIKAL!!

13        Beginning of second Spanish course at CASAS

18-21   MCC coordinated trip to Alta Verapaz: Bezaleel, Cobán

24-26   Weekend trip Santiago de Atitlán, Lake Atitlán

March

2-3       Free weekend

7          Final exams and end of second Spanish course

8          AM Clausura (special program). End of Spanish classes at CASAS

8          PM  Free travel begins

15        Free travel ends

16        Rest/Packing day

17        Leave for Puebla, Mexico, via Mexico City for Spanish Institute of Puebla. Meet new host families

19- 30: AM History and culture of Mexico classes, PM walking tours of Puebla conversation classes, excursions to local sites.

30- April 3 trip to Mexico City, Teotihuacán pyramids, Museum of
Anthropology, Plaza Mayor and Museum, etc.

April

Apr. 4- 8: Holy week celebrations at Fraternidad Cristiana; Mennonite Church in Mexico City. Live with host families.

9-16     Return to Spanish Institute of Puebla schedule

17-19   Oasis Camp in Valsequillo: final course work and debriefing retreat, chapel planning

20        Return to USA

23        10am   Chapel service at EMU