Hello again, it’s 2/C Andy Aguado-Scheyer, and I have the pleasure of writing my second and final blog for the trip. Breakfast at Violetta’s today consisted of waffles with maple syrup, accompanied by watermelon. The groups ate until around 0715, then headed outside to meet our respective mentors.

My group is in San Antonio this week, so we have the pleasure of working with Ivey who is one of three local mentors who assist us with transportation and at the work sites. She led us down to the bus stop, a ten-minute walk. We endured the twenty-five-minute ride up to San Antonio on the chicken bus. This week, my group is working at a community center, where projects have consisted of painting, laying tile, and mixing concrete. When we arrived today, we continued where we left off the day before. Ryan M and I continued laying tile and mixing concrete, while Nick P and Tyler painted a classroom downstairs. The area Ryan M and I are working in will be used by intern psychologists from a regional university.  This space will allow them to work with local people who need their services.

Following the work period, the entire group met back up at Violetta’s for lunch. Lunch today was rice, seasoned chicken, and corn. This is a typical style lunch here in Guatemala. In Spanish class, my professor, Eric, and I worked on writing in different tenses today, and finished up the three-hour session with some Spanish learning board games. After class, we had our daily meeting with CAPT Lennon and Professor Cadwalader. In the meeting, everyone shared their accounts of the day, and we discussed the schedule for our last few days and what we needed to do to prepare for our departure on Saturday.  

Around 1700, the group had liberty. Some of us went to Antigua Gym and worked out for around an hour and a half. After the gym, I showered, wrote in my journal, and relaxed for a while before dinner. For dinner, Tyler and I went across the street from the hostel for food at a British restaurant named The Londoner. There, he had a steak sandwich while I had a chicken Cesar salad. Upon returning to the hostel, a few of us sat up on the roof and discussed the upcoming Super Bowl (GO HAWKS!) before getting ready for bed and calling it a night.

I hope you all enjoyed the blog, and we’ll all be home soon!

Mr. Madison laying tile.

Mr. Dambach enjoying a well-deserved phone break at the work site.