By: Hannah N.
Between stopping for monkey
sightings and water breaks, we finally made it up the Pana nature reserve. The
view was incredible, with waterfalls, cliffs, and untouched jungle. Even more
breathtaking was how we got back down – zip lining between two sides of the mountain.
Watching my own shadow fly over the treetops and an unbeatable view of Lake Atitlan
will stay with me forever. Afterward, we
took a tuk tuk (imagine a verrrry small taxi) to town for some down time.
It always surprises me how little
you can get by with in Guatemala. For the tuk tuk ride, an amazing lunch of
pizza and smoothies, a hand-woven jacket, leather journal, gourmet coffee
beans, and an armful of bracelets, I spent 230 quetzals or the equivalent of 30
US dollars. Walking through markets like the one in Pana is also one of my
favorite aspects of travelling just because you can find so many unique spots.
For example, we discovered a hidden away shop with jewelry to die for – a place
we would have never found if we’d stayed on the main block.
Although I’m sad that tomorrow is
our last day in Guatemala, packing away my camera full of pictures zip lining
through the jungle and souvenirs from the local market makes it a little easier
knowing that I’ll always have a reminder of our day in Pana!
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Day 4: Thursday, March 14
By: Alexi
We all went to Cooporativa and did recycled art projects
with the cute little nuggets and played with them during recess. After getting
mauled by the little ones, we hiked up an insanely steep and challenging
mountain to the top where there was a Mayan alter. No matter how hard the climb
was and how much it hurt to trip on the way down, it was more than worth it!
Then we played my favorite past-time, trivia, at La Palapa and even though my
team didn’t win, it was a ton of fun! We ended up running into the UGA soccer
team and went out to a bar and had a crazy fun time dancing the night away!
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Day 3: Wednesday, March 13
By: Hanna & Mikey
After painting again for a few hours today and getting
wonderful paint splatters all over our bodies, we relaxed in the lawn with a
wonderful picnic lunch. During lunch, Jack made a new friend. This friend just
so happened to only speak Kaqchikel and was very persistent on giving Jack 5 “Q”
(Quetzales). Although we could not communicate with him, he decided to continue
to try and speak with us.
Thankfully our bus driver was early, so we headed off
to Pana to visit an NGO called “Maya Traditions.” This NGO helps to broaden the market for
traditional Mayan weaving, they have women who weave fabrics, which are then
made into consumer products and sold in other countries. We were given the
opportunity to go bankrupt in the little store they have. I (Hanna), of course, bought
too many things. Then we headed over to their medicinal garden. We were given a
tour and they explained all of the holistic uses of different common herbs. The
garden was beautiful and smelled great. We got to smell one of the plants so I (Hanna, again) decided to eat it since it smelled so great, which clearly means that it MUST
taste great as well. We also got eaten alive by bugs and saw the biggest lemons
ever on the planet.
Then we hopped on some “Tuk Tuks” which are like little
tiny taxis and we headed back to downtown Pana to slurp down some licuados
(smoothies), cookies, bagels, nutella and such. After getting our fill of
deliciousness, we headed down Santander to spend some more money. The street
was lined with little shops and everyone had the chance to find something neat. Thankfully we will be returning Friday for those of us who spent all our money
at Maya Traditions.
To get back to the hostel we decided to hop on a local bus,
which was packed to the nines with people, their baskets and their “trajes”.
Sitting three to a seat proved to be more of a challenge than expected on this
traditional US “school bus.” I (Mikey, this time) had
the opportunity to sit with two women dressed in traditional attire who took up
more than their fair share of the seat while others had to stand all the way
up the weaving mountain road.
Dinner was great; the guacamole was on point and
no complaints were made. We even got to try the blueish tortillas, which are
apparently just made of blue corn. Delicious. Our evening discussion went super
deep as always and everyone had the chance to talk about how they felt about
not only Manna, but all types of community and volunteer services. Overall it
was another amazing day, which gave us the opportunity to connect with a new
culture and learn about ourselves, although it was exhausting we are all
looking forward to tomorrow.
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Day 2: Tuesday, March 12
By: Hannah S. (with help from Jack)
Today was another awesome day! We had breakfast at the
hostel which was grape jam stuffed french toast with watermelon on the side.
After breakfast we went to Chaquijya to help two of the classes with a
“recycled art project”. What we did was bring them empty plastic bottles and
cut them towards the bottom and use them as toothbrush holders. They drew their
names on them with markers and glitter glue. The whole idea was to create a
healthy place to put toothbrushes and use recyclable materials at the same
time.
When we were done we got to play with the kids during
recess. They’re crazy hilarious. We went to the little tienda next to the
school and got chocolate pineapple popsicles for a small snack (which were
amazing by the way). After recess, we went to an NGO to talk about the efforts
they were doing to help distribute glasses and purification systems to people
who normally would not have access to either. Afterwards we went to the park to
each lunch. We had ham sandwiches with papaya from the hostel for lunch but I
also went to Pollo Campero for some french fries. Some crazy Mayan lady was
dancing for us in the park trying to get us to give her food but she was super
annoying so we denied her. But then we saw the cutest little boy with no hand
so OBVIOUSLY we had to give him some money.
After lunch we went Cooperativa, which is another school
where Julie does two afterschool English classes. The kids were freaking adorable
and were so excited to be learning English and interacting with us. Once we
finished helping her with classes we headed back to the hostel to chill until
it was time for dinner. Dinner was a heaping plate of spaghetti Bolognese and
some fresh soft bread. For some reason today we were all craving some dessert
so we walked up to the corner tienda and each got some chocolate or cookies to
satisfy our cravings. What a sweet ending to such a wonderful day!
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Day 1: Monday, March 11
By: Cydney
General consensus of day one: the time is already going too
fast!
So far, we absolutely love Guatemala and we are doing our
best to make the most of what this gorgeous country has to offer. That means
packing as much as possible into every day, and loving every minute of it.
Breakfast got us started off on the right foot bright and
early at 7am. We were served fresh cheese, over easy eggs, English muffins,
black beans, and tortillas. The best part though? The delicious coffee! No
cream and sugar necessary.
The school we are painting is about a 20-minute (very curvy
and bumpy) ride away from our hostel. It’s awesome getting to ride through the
little towns and see the colorful buildings and children waiting for the bus to
go to school. When we arrived at the school the students automatically greeted
us. They looked so happy and carefree while they played, and we were really
excited to help make their school a more comfortable place to learn. We played
with them until the paint arrived, then got started.
With the eight of us here from UGA, two program directors,
and a few local men painting, we were able to paint the outside of two whole
buildings in no time. All the while children were talking to us, and a few were
excited to practice their English with us! It was amazing to see them so
excited about learning a new language. They also loved playing with our
cameras—some of us will have some very interesting pictures to develop!
There is still a lot of work to do on the school, but it is
coming along really well. We were able to see the recently completed addition
to the school made from the bottle project. We will spend the rest of the week
finishing up painting the outside of the school as well as the classrooms, and
helping children make recycled craft projects.
After painting, some of the teachers prepared a snack for
us. It was rice, warm milk, and sugar… and it was delicious. Who knew something
so simple could be so good? New snack upon our return to the USA: check.
We then split up into smaller groups to head to homestay
lunches. Each of the directors had the chance to live with a family back in
December, and we were lucky enough to re-visit the homes with them for lunch.
Each family prepared a homemade meal for the group visiting them, and we could
not have been more excited to have traditional Guatemalan food—and see how it
was prepared! Our meals ranged from black beans and rice to chicken and pasta.
And of course tortillas! So. Good.
Following the homestays we made a trip to the bank to
exchange our money for the Guatemalan currency, which everyone here calls “Q.”
We got to walk around the town and stopped to get ice cream. It almost came to
fight over the queso y freso flavor (strawberry cheesecake, YUM).
Finally, we came back to our hostel and had a tortilla
making demonstration. The locals make this look SO EASY, but it’s not what it
seems. A few of us had some trouble with breaking them or making them too thin,
but we eventually got the hang of it… kind of. Maybe by the end of the week
we’ll have a little more success.
We could not have asked for a better first day here in
Guatemala. The people are wonderful and accepting, the children are energetic,
and our new friends from the UNC Chapel Hill group have been so much fun. And
this was just the beginning! We are looking forward to the rest of the week.
Tomorrow is another full day, and we can’t wait! Now, time for dinner. :)
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