Post by Ryan Madison.

After an enjoyable and relaxing weekend at the lake, we are right back in the swing of things and finishing our last week of work in Guatemala.

This week, my group is going to San Antonio to work at the community center. San Antonio is a small town outside Antigua, with a traditional Guatemalan atmosphere. The community center we are working at this week is “Asociación Creando Oportunidades.” They have a very friendly dog named Coco and several cats that look identical to my cat back at home. The work we are doing here involves cleaning out rooms and giving them a fresh coat of paint. At the center, we met a Rotary group from Canada getting a tour of the school.  They explained that they help support projects on behalf of communities in developing countries.

For Spanish today, I worked on basic conversation skills with my teacher.  We talked about various topics ranging from good food spots around town to how much it costs to buy a pet turtle at the market.  

To finish up the night, I enjoyed a delicious meal at Pappy’s BBQ, which is a relatively expensive but great spot in town that has been one of my favorite restaurants.

Overall, this experience has been challenging and very rewarding, offering a chance to learn about and experience life in a developing country. Additionally, Guatemala is an extraordinary place that attracts visitors from all over the world.  It has been an eye-opener to meet so many interesting people from points far and near, including travelers from close to where I grew up in Massachusetts. For example, this past weekend, I met a volunteer at the lake who is from Holliston, one of the rival towns I used to play against in high school basketball. 

Thank you for following along with our blogs so far, and I’m excited to see how the final week here in Antigua unfolds.