The photos

June 30

Yikes! Time is flying, and we have less than a week. Some kids are in panic mode about Spanish... I have told them they should be getting in about two weeks' worth per day. Bueno.
What have we been up to - Friday afternoon we took a bus to Antigua - got dinner on our own, in the rain. Saturday we woke at 3am to take the bus to Guatemala City, the plane to Flores, another bus to the Mayan ruins at Tikal. Our guide, Pavlo, gave us a great tour of a few of the temples and pyramids ....I know the difference now.... After lunch, many of us went back to the ruins to wander around the Grand Plaza. Some sat still up on the steps there and were joined by four spider monkeys. It is a sub-tropical forest... beautiful for the birds, flora, fauna... but some little nasty thing bit some of us to smithereens. It looked like a sweat bee, stung like a horse fly. I've heard the name a dozen times but I need to have it written down. Our hotel had a pool, and some took advantage of that, the museums, the visitor center... some went on the canopy tour - the zip line through the forest, albeit with more of those nasty insects...
Sunday night in Antigua again, more rain... it was a treat to see it in the light and sun today. Then back to classes this afternoon.
Tomorrow we visit a high school. Wednesday is a Habitat project, working on three different houses, and Thursday we play soccer - fotbal - and basketball with a high school group. Thursday we will give the soccer equipment that we gathered from friends and from the SOCA donations.

June 26

We have passed the halfway mark! I gave them all a talk yesterday about paying attention to their benchmarks - I hope they are all on top of it, as we should have done a semester's worth by now.
Yesterday morning was a free morning, so you will have to ask your kids what they did. Some went up to Zunil and the volcanic hot springs via "chicken bus", others went back to Trama, the weaving cooperative, some to the Mercado Democracia.... I went to Copavic with Rosemary and Margaret - where a group of about 24 will go tomorrow. It is a glass-making cooperative, and you get to go in the factory and see them making glasses, glass elephants, pitchers... it was awesome.
Today we switched the La Pedrera/ Hogar orphanage groups, and played games, mostly. Some little kid made off with my deck of cards, but not before I taught him a couple of card tricks. Our kids did really well with all these little kids - soccer, drawing, tag games....
A few kids are going to a concert tonight of the Buena Vista Social Club... we'll get them home safely.
Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Antigua, then an EARLY - we rise at 4am - flight to Tikal, overnight in Tikal, back to Antigua, and we won't be back here until Monday afternoon, in time for lunch and classes... don't expect a lot of email or blog entries in that time - but I'll try to report on Monday.

June 24

Yesterday we had a typical Mayan ceremony explained to us, and we all participated... even with a little rain. We learned about the forces of nature, water, air, fire... , about some of the beliefs, about the significance of the colored candles... purple against evil, for strength against vices, pink for health and hope, red for love, faith, sky blue for business, luck, studies and travel, yellow protects adults, white is for the protection and health of children, blue for good luck in work, great for prosperity, black for friendship and against negative emotions.... A circle was made and on it we laid sugar, incense, fatwood, Rosemary, corn, and candles of all colors, with blue in the center, and then we lit it all. Pretty cool.

Today small groups went to the "factoria del chocolate" - actually the kitchen of Josefina - where kids pounded cocoa into frames for hot chocolate squares. Tomorrow morning is free, so kids and adults have a variety of plans. Some kids want to experience a chicken bus, some want to go to Zunil... we'll give a few choices at break today.

A few Gallo beer shirts, and a few Che shirts have popped up already. Hey, I don't go with them to the stores. I think overall the kids are doing well.... a pretty mature group.... they are having a good time, and the Spanish, although intense, is progressing rapidly. This weekend - Tikal!

The Photos

June 21, Panajachel

Just a little time to write, and I'll post the photos on Monday, but here's the general update. Thursday was Salsa day, which was fun... all those boys with giant feet, but they were out there doing the 1-2-3-4 salsa steps. Veronica, Landon, Max, Christy and Katie - a lot of the kids were totally into it.
Every morning is beautiful here, and every evening, when we leave class at 7, it is raining. We are getting soggy, and the first round of queeziness has started - the altitude, different food, different activities... Nothing radical yet, but a lot of Pepto Bismal and Gatorade is being consumed.
Friday we had to be at school at 7 am for a ride to the base of Chicobal - a hike up the dormant volcano with the sacred Mayan lake inside. Up to 7,500 ft above sea level, then down 700 steps to the lake. After lunch everyone lined up along the edge of the laguna in total silence for five minutes. Really. It was a moment of awe.
Of course then we had to hike out the 700 steps, and down to the town of San Martin to wait for the bus. But we saw the library Peace by Piece helped build, which was cool.
BUT - coming down the mountain, Sandy slipped and broke her arm. That led to quite an adventure - or misadventure - for Sandy and me in the hospital in Xela, which included me arguing with three doctors in my miserable Spanish, and getting her out of there as fast as I could. As Sandy said, "This is no Martha Jefferson!"
Anyway - another 7am departure and we are in Panajachel on Lake Atitlan, and are leaving soon for the boat to go to Santiago on the other side of the lake. The lake is gorgeous.... Manana to Chichicastenago, and the pre-Colombian market there. It is good to get in a nice hotel, plenty of hot water, a relaxing spot - although we are fairly bombarded with people trying to sell us everything.
Monday - I'll get some photos up - off for the boat!

June 18

This morning half of us went to La Pedrera, and volunteered by cleaning up trash in the community. The others played with kids in an orphanage - next week we switch. All the students at the orphanage made new "best friends" with the kids, who were very excited to play soccer, frisbee, cards, and tag with a bunch of American kids. The children even got a chance to practice a little english.

At La Padrera, after climbing a massive hill for 25 minutes, we worked with local students to clean up the area around their school. We also delivered lots of much-appreciated school supplies.


Everything is so far, so good! We'll be learning to salsa tomorrow!

June 17

Today is father's day in Guatemala, which is yet another occasion for firecrackers in the streets at 5 am. Classes are going well. We went to the weaving cooperative this morning, and heard about how they got started, and some brave souls tried some of the winding of the thread. Some kids got hacky sacks... Then kids had a little time to venture into the Parque Central por helado y pastelles. Tomorrow we volunteer.

We made it!

Hooray! Hello parents and CAI Workshop! We have successfully landed in Quetzeltenango, Guatemala. After a flawless plane ride and a LONG and bumpy bus ride, we have all arrived with our wonderful host families and are getting settled into our new temporary homes. Everyone jumped right in and had dinner with our host families tonight. We are definitely putting our various levels of Spanish to use!

We will add more details later, when we get to school tomorrow. Classes start mañana!