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

San Marcos Retreat!

We just returned from our 2nd retreat, and this time we went to the tranquil little town of San Marcos right on the beautiful Lake Atitlan! It had such a calm and relaxing effect on me & I loved every minute of it. We arrived Tuesday noon, just in time for lunch. After getting settled into our hotel  Bosque Encantado (Enchanted Forest, which it really was), we had lunch followed by development and program discussions. From the looks of it, the next quarter will have a lot of good things in store. There are many new programs we are discussing and I can't wait to return in January to start working on them! Some of these new initiatives include sexual and reproductive classes, an overall health class (nutrition, self-esteem, hygiene), new partnerships with women's cooperatives, a new Teacher's English program, etc. There are a lot new things to be excited about this next quarter and I know our team is very enthusiastic about them :)

Interesting wheel of all of the Mayan nahuals, at our hotel

At nighttime, we got to experience being in a Tamascal! Tamascal is basically a sauna, heated by firewood outside. There is water in the room and people sometimes bathe themselves with it. I have heard that tamascals are very common around here for people to bath in. After hearing about it so much, it was really interesting to actually partake in this cultural experience.

Yes, the lake is really this beautiful :)

The next day, we worked on group-dynamic activities, which got us thinking about how more efficiently we can work as a team. Afterwards, we took in the sights of the lake from a park and some of us braver ones actually got in the freezing water! Which, sadly, I have to say I could not make myself once I felt how cold it was.

All in all, it was a great time and a perfect balance of work and relaxation. Now, off to the States to recharge my batteries during these next 3 weeks and come back to tackle these new programs!

Nicole, Me, Jess, Sarah at the park

Happy early Holidays from MPI-G!


-Ja