My name is Ryan Madison, and this was my day in Guatemala. I got up at 0630 to get ready for breakfast at Violetta’s. During breakfast, we had a moment of excitement when a stray dog ran into the tienda.  After Violetta shooed the dog away, we enjoyed a healthy breakfast of pineapple, eggs, sausage, and tortillas. Following that, OB and I headed back to the hostel to wait for Captain Lennon.  We had been assigned to help him at a new work site.

 While waiting for him, I met a German tourist traveling through the country. We talked about how amazing it is to be in Guatemala.  It is great having the opportunity to meet people from all over the world who have come to this amazing place.  After a nice chat, we met up with Captain Lennon to drive to San Pedro Las Huertas where we will be working at a school called Brillo Del Sol that serves children with special needs.  Previously, I had been in Santa Maria de Jesus at one of our three main work sites.  However, each day, a few of us will be taken from our primary groups to work at Brillo.  Today, it was my and OB’s turn to do so.

While at Brillo, we cleaned out a shed and started digging trenches for cinder blocks, which will be used to mark the edge of a walkway and divert water. Captain Lennon and I had to go to the market to grab some supplies, and we picked up delicious pineapple pastries for the rest of the team. After a morning of work in the hot sun, Captain Lennon dropped us off at Violeta’s for a delicious lunch.  We then had some time to relax and unwind at the hostel before heading across the street for Spanish class. For Spanish today, I practiced my vocabulary, and at the end of the class, we played Spanish bingo. After a lot of laughs and practice, I returned to the hostel for our afternoon team meeting with Captain Lennon and Professor Cadwalader. I then went to the market with OB, Kevin, and David.

Fortunately, my Spanish homework for today was to practice numbers and how to order things at the mercado. While there, we looked around for hats. I was hoping to find a fitted Boston Celtics 2024 championship hat, but sadly, they didn’t have my size. We then went searching for soccer jerseys, and I found a Neymar Jr. Brazil national jersey Chrysler edition. I was able to practice my Spanish by bartering and talking the vendor down by 30 quetzales. We then went to get dinner at Pollo Campero, a popular fast-food restaurant in Guatemala that is similar to KFC.  It was muy buen.  We took it to-go and headed back to the hostel to relax for the remainder of the night.