San Marcos, Bottle School, & Broken Ankles

Hey so this is my first blog post.  We are here at the Manna house in Solola, Guatemala.  So far I have been having the time of my life.  From going to Carlos’ house for lunch and talking to him about a great number of things in Spanish, to working with the 4 and 6 year old kids in the “Parvs” class and teaching them about the gusanitos who get you sick, every part of this trip is going to impact my life.  Just recently, we got back from San Marcos, after staying in a Hostel and enjoying the bugs near and on our beds.  The park where we kayaked and swam was amazing though and we got to jump off of the “trampoline” into Lake Atitlan.  The jump was close to 7 meters high and I remember thinking right after I jumped: “why haven’t I hit the water yet! Oh my gosh this is higher than I thought”.  It was a once in a lifetime experience and I am so glad that I got the chance to do it.  

Jumping off the "Trampoline" in San Marcos, La Laguna

While kayaking, I was the only one to tip my kayak and have to get back in out in the middle of the lake.  I guess I deserved it however because I was splashing my fellow kayakers.  The whole weekend trip was so great and the food was awesome as well. 

Since we got back, we went to the bottle school/fathers’ day ceremony at Central in Chaq.  That was an interesting experience and even though we were there for close to 5 hours, the lunch we got was great, with tamalitos and soup which got all over my pants.  The whole ceremony was sweet and Jess got to say quite a few words about Manna and what it is that we do here and hope to accomplish.  Everett got stung in the lip by a bee, but what surprised me was how a random man offered honey candy to sooth the pain, and everyone was very helpful in the whole situation.  This was nothing compared to Ja when she broke her ankle and how random people stopped their cars and offered to help too, but it was still similar.  This is one thing that I appreciate so much about this place, how much kindness there is and how people truly care about others.  It is nothing like that back in the states and this experience will stick with me forever.  I love every second, and thank Manna so much for this experience. 

-Alex

Visit to Quetzaltenango!

Last weekend, we visited Primeros Pasos, a health organization that works in the rural area of Quetzaltenango. They have a medical clinic, where they see patients on a regular basis. They also have health-related educational programs in the schools nearby. We met with the Development Coordinator there and discussed possible ideas for how we see our sexual education program progressing. In the context of the Mayan indigenous culture, it has been very eye-opening to hear the different opinions on various health topics in our community especially in relation to sex ed. Therefore, it was helpful to exchange our experiences and get feedback on some of our concerns with going ahead with this program. Also, it was really interesting to visit another organization that works in Guatemala, just to see what other NGOs are up to in the region.

Primeros Pasos Clinic in Quetzaltenango

Afterwards, to our surprise, we found a Wal-Mart! We took this opportunity to load up on all the goodies that we've been missing, including some beloved snacks that we miss from home.

Our Wal-Mart haul!

Speaking of delicious treats, we also made a stop at our favorite restaurant where they serve the most delicious sandwich of all time, a caesar salad sandwich! No exaggerations - it is hands down one of the best meals I have ever had and we were so glad to have it again!

Cesar salad sandwich!

Before coming back to Sololá, we sat in the central park with our beverages from one of the best coffeeshops in all of Guatemala (in my opinion) and took in the sights. All in all, it was a relaxing and informative weekend!

Hanging out at the park before leaving

-Ja

Spring Break Re-cap

We are back! After three weeks of spring break groups, we had the final week of March off due to Easter. It was a well-timed break, because even though the spring break groups were incredibly enjoyable, they were also extremely exhausting. Ja and I were able to escape to a small island off the coast of Panama for the majority of the week; it was so peaceful and rejuvenating- basically exactly what we needed. But enough about the week we had off; I should probably do a little summary of spring break!

We had spring break groups from four different universities, and they were all so amazing. All the spring break groups were special in their own right and brought a crazy amount of enthusiasm with them to Chaq! We were able to accomplish all the planned projects, mostly without a hitch. Of course, being in Guatemala, we dealt with some logistical issues. But our volunteers took all of this in stride. Here is what we were able to accomplish in just three short weeks: 

                                 construct a fence around a community garden,

                        paint the interior and exterior of the Central school,

 do recycled art projects with students of Cooperativa and Central,

 administer fluoride to grades 3-6 and most of the teachers at all four schools, 

give dental talks to all four schools,

as well as give nutrition talks to both Cooperativa and Central schools, and distribute toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss to all four schools. 

I put together videos from the Vanderbilt and UGA/UNC spring break trips so far. UAB is on its way though! Check out the two finished ones by clicking on the links below:

Vanderbilt Spring Break Video

UGA/UNC Spring Break Video

Now that we are back, Sarah and I are starting to plan for the arrival of summer volunteers. The first batch arrives in just over a month, so we are knee-deep in schedule, budgets, orientation planning, and more preparing for their arrival. We are expecting about eight volunteers per 4-week session, so the site will be packed with volunteers. All these volunteers will be helpful in the new programs that we are planning to offer, hopefully within the upcoming weeks! Possibilities include computer classes for adults and art classes for students at Cooperativa and Central.

Julie 

Básico Parade in Sololá

Hey everyone! My name is Ja Lee and I will be one of the new Guate Program Directors for the 2012-2013 year! Just a brief intro about myself: I recently graduated this May from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with degrees in Biology and Spanish. Throughout my time in undergrad, I've participated in various trips to Central/South America and fell in love with such experiences because of the insight that I personally gained about the world and myself in the process. Previously, I was a summer intern with MPI at the Ecuador site in 2010 & led an Alternative Spring Break trip down to the Nica site this past March.

It has been whirlwind of adventures ever since we got down here after orientation mid-July!  I personally feel like it has been longer than 3 weeks because of the amount of knowledge we've gained as well as the personal relationships we've fostered with the members of the community we work in. We're slowly but surely settling into our programmatic roles in the community and finding what works and what doesn't, one step at a time. In the process, we've made some great friends in the community, and the exchange of culture and information from both sides has been an amazing learning experience. One big example of this happened just yesterday!

Last Thursday, Nicole and I stayed behind at the school where we teach in Chaquiyá, to observe one of our co-workers, Lydia, teach Social Studies. We thought it'd be a great idea to see what kind of activities motivate these students to learn and do their assignments. Afterwards, all the teachers (including us) were gathered in the principal's office and were just having light conversations. Out of nowhere, one of the teachers, Clara, casually asked if we wanted to be in a parade with them next week. Without hesitation, both of us expressed a very enthusiastic "Sí!" :) She went on to explain that we would be wearing traditional indigenous Mayan clothes ("Trajes típicos") with symbols from the region of Sololá on it. AND that she would lend it to us! True to her word, she brought in trajes for us to try on this Monday. And on Wednesday, we participated in the parade that represented all the Middle/High schools in the surrounding area of Sololá (which was, A LOT more than I'd anticipated!).

Walking in the Parade with the kids from my school!

Although we had a skirt/belt mishap when we tried to put it on ourselves, our students helped us fix it right before the parade! It was an amazing, once in a lifetime experience and I was very honored that they had asked us to participate. Afterwards, we had soda and cookies with the teachers and saw all the other schools with their individual themes. Overall, awesome day!

Nicole & I after the Desfile on our house balcony

Full shot of the traje tipico!

This whole week has been an exciting one in Sololá as it is celebrating its Feria and each day, seems to have new and more interesting events in store. So far, we've seen a concert, various fireworks displays, parades, & carnival rides. Pretty cool.

We have more posts to come regarding our environmental bottle school project, new programs, & new projects in the works! Stay tuned.

Ja

Sunday Snapshot: Feliz Cumple, Ja!

Friday we celebrated Ja's 23rd birthday! Ja is one of our new PD's. She and Jess ventured to Ven Aca, which has a beautiful pool that backs up the our beloved Lake Atitlan. 

Ja enjoying a relaxing afternoon.

Once Ja and Jess returned the Manna House, the three of us (Nicole, Sarah, and Jess) presented Ja with our gifts! We (unintentionally) had a Pooh theme, which happens to be a favorite of Ja's.

Ja with her lovely, themed and color-coordinated gifts!