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Guatemala Service Trip January 2017
My service trip to Guatemala was through the nonprofit organization Worthy Village. Our main focuses included supplying families with water filtration systems and teaching basic health and hygiene in elementary schools. We also distributed toothbrushes and toothpaste to both the families visited and the children in the school.
Friday January 13, 2017
Today I got dropped off at Boston Logan International Airport around 8:00 pm and met with the five others in my group around 8:30 pm. My group consists of 3 boys (Carlos, Dan, Markaveus) and 3 girls (Sofia, Ayden, and I). The flight from Boston to Mexico went until about 4:00 or 5:00 am. Although I did not get a window seat, I at least got an aisle seat (the middle seat is the worst!)
*Tip: Be sure to buy a neck pillow before any flight that you will be sleeping on!
Saturday January 14, 2017
We boarded our flight to Guatemala at 7:30 am and took off at about 8:00 am. This was less than a two hour flight. The time difference is that Mexico and Guatemala are one hour behind Boston. Just from seeing the views from the plane Mexico looked beautiful. I am so thankful that I got a window seat on the flight from Mexico to Guatemala. When we arrived in Guatemala, we got through customs and met someone working for Worthy Village. From the airport we had a 3-4 hour ride to Panajachel where we were staying. When we arrived at La Riviera I was shocked by how nice it was! I had never seen a view as beautiful as this one. Once we unpacked and had a short meeting we went into town and exchanged our US D for Quetzales (Q's). One US dollar equals 7.5 Q. Then we ate lunch in town and went to a local market to purchase our breakfast and lunch foods for the week. When we returned to the hotel, some of the group got ready to go out to town and drink while some of us stayed in to relax.
Friday January 13, 2017
Today I got dropped off at Boston Logan International Airport around 8:00 pm and met with the five others in my group around 8:30 pm. My group consists of 3 boys (Carlos, Dan, Markaveus) and 3 girls (Sofia, Ayden, and I). The flight from Boston to Mexico went until about 4:00 or 5:00 am. Although I did not get a window seat, I at least got an aisle seat (the middle seat is the worst!)
*Tip: Be sure to buy a neck pillow before any flight that you will be sleeping on!
Saturday January 14, 2017
We boarded our flight to Guatemala at 7:30 am and took off at about 8:00 am. This was less than a two hour flight. The time difference is that Mexico and Guatemala are one hour behind Boston. Just from seeing the views from the plane Mexico looked beautiful. I am so thankful that I got a window seat on the flight from Mexico to Guatemala. When we arrived in Guatemala, we got through customs and met someone working for Worthy Village. From the airport we had a 3-4 hour ride to Panajachel where we were staying. When we arrived at La Riviera I was shocked by how nice it was! I had never seen a view as beautiful as this one. Once we unpacked and had a short meeting we went into town and exchanged our US D for Quetzales (Q's). One US dollar equals 7.5 Q. Then we ate lunch in town and went to a local market to purchase our breakfast and lunch foods for the week. When we returned to the hotel, some of the group got ready to go out to town and drink while some of us stayed in to relax.
Sunday January 15, 2017
Today we rode in the pickup truck to Santa Catarina, a village in Panajachel, and got trained on the Sawyer water systems. We also met some women artisans of the Perez family and were able to purchase products from them if we wished. After this, we went to San Antonio and split into two groups and taught a total of six families on how to use and maintain a water system. With proper care, the water system, can last up to 7-10 years. What an amazing feeling it was to give families clean drinking water. We also distributed toothbrushes and toothpaste to families, as well as small stuffed animals and toys to any children we passed. We then returned to the hotel and relaxed until we went out to dinner in town.
*Tip: Bring small toys and stuffed animals as well as snacks from home that you can easily carry around in your backpack to distribute to children on the street.
Monday January 16, 2017
On Monday we took a boat across Lake Atilan to San Juan to deliver water filtration systems to six more families. We also got to learn about the artisan process from Mayan women and got to explore the local shops. San Juan is known for their coffee plantations so I was sure to try out coffee at this village! When we returned to Panajachel, we were picked up from a local friend who has a beautiful home that was passed down to him from family. Here we went swimming in his natural hot spring pool, watched the sunset, and had pizza for dinner.
*Tip: If you are going to bring home coffee for friends or family, buy it at the village San Juan.
On Monday we took a boat across Lake Atilan to San Juan to deliver water filtration systems to six more families. We also got to learn about the artisan process from Mayan women and got to explore the local shops. San Juan is known for their coffee plantations so I was sure to try out coffee at this village! When we returned to Panajachel, we were picked up from a local friend who has a beautiful home that was passed down to him from family. Here we went swimming in his natural hot spring pool, watched the sunset, and had pizza for dinner.
*Tip: If you are going to bring home coffee for friends or family, buy it at the village San Juan.
Tuesday January 17, 2017
Tuesday was a free day so as a group we were able to decide what we wanted to do. We went to San Pedro on a boat which is known as the hippy town. A lot of Europeans and Americans have moved there to live that kind of lifestyle. We ate at a restaurant called Zoola. We then went horseback riding for an hour and a half for only 60 Q (about 9 USD). At night, we invited an indigenous women into the apartment to cook us Pepian- a traditional Guatemalan meal. After dinner we all watched the documentary "Living On One" (http://livingonone.org/livingonone/) in which a group of college students from California live in Guatemala for 8 weeks in the village of Pena Blanca. The document how hard it is to live on an unpredictable income by choosing an amount of dollars that they would have that day out of a hat.
*Tip: Watch the documentary "Living On One" with your family to show them how poor it really is in many villages here. Pena Blanca is one of the villages that we visited.
Tuesday was a free day so as a group we were able to decide what we wanted to do. We went to San Pedro on a boat which is known as the hippy town. A lot of Europeans and Americans have moved there to live that kind of lifestyle. We ate at a restaurant called Zoola. We then went horseback riding for an hour and a half for only 60 Q (about 9 USD). At night, we invited an indigenous women into the apartment to cook us Pepian- a traditional Guatemalan meal. After dinner we all watched the documentary "Living On One" (http://livingonone.org/livingonone/) in which a group of college students from California live in Guatemala for 8 weeks in the village of Pena Blanca. The document how hard it is to live on an unpredictable income by choosing an amount of dollars that they would have that day out of a hat.
*Tip: Watch the documentary "Living On One" with your family to show them how poor it really is in many villages here. Pena Blanca is one of the villages that we visited.
Wednesday January 18, 2017
Today we visited Pena Blanca. We left at 8:00 am after we ate breakfast and packed ourselves a lunch. At the school we taught a health and hygiene manual to the children and distributed toothpaste and toothbrushes. After this, we delivered water filtration systems to two families in Pena Blanca. When we returned, we had a recap meeting in the apartment and then got dinner in town at Guajimbos. We also went to Cafe Moka and La Palapa.
Today we visited Pena Blanca. We left at 8:00 am after we ate breakfast and packed ourselves a lunch. At the school we taught a health and hygiene manual to the children and distributed toothpaste and toothbrushes. After this, we delivered water filtration systems to two families in Pena Blanca. When we returned, we had a recap meeting in the apartment and then got dinner in town at Guajimbos. We also went to Cafe Moka and La Palapa.
Thursday January 19, 2017
Today we went ziplining and it was so fun! It was my first time ever to go zip lining and was certainly something that I have always had on my bucket list. Later in the day we went into town to shop and had dinner at Chef Alex.
Today we went ziplining and it was so fun! It was my first time ever to go zip lining and was certainly something that I have always had on my bucket list. Later in the day we went into town to shop and had dinner at Chef Alex.