Today was our official first day waking up in Guatemala. Like many of the other students on this trip, this was my first time waking up in a foreign country. We started our day with a traditional Guatemalan breakfast at 0730 that consisted of eggs, black beans, and plantains, followed by my first time trying hot rice Atollio. This is a drink that consists of grain rice, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and a little bit of coffee. These were prepared by the wonderful staff of the Quetzalroo Hostel
We then caught our shuttle bus to head to CONRED (Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres) otherwise known as “Guatemala’s FEMA.” We arrived at 0830 and were greeted by various officials. Michelle Alvarado, the Secretary of Coordination / Administration, began with an initial pinning ceremony where students received a gold CONRED pin on their shirts before presenting how the agency coordinates humanitarian assistance. Topics such as how various local stakeholders work together, the role non-governmental organizations play, as well as how the United States and other countries provide support when Guatemala’s capabilities are exhausted. In addition, we learned the agency utilizes what they call CCAH (Centro de Coordinación de Ayuda y Asistencia Humanitaria), which is the framework similar to the Incident Command Structure the United States uses when coordinating disasters. At around 1030 we were given a walk through of the national task forces used in emergency response by Ivan Nunez, the person in charge of Incident Command at CONRED. Here the students were able to meet the members employed on each team, as well as see the various ICS tents that would be set up to deal with specific disasters if they were to happen. Afterwards we were shown their warehouse filled with necessary resources ranging from food and water to equipment needed to set up temporary sheltering and deal with HAZMAT response. At the conclusion of the tour, we were shown their Emergency Operations Center, where we were able to see live video footage of an active volcano. (see attached link), our visit concluded with a question and answer session. We expressed our gratitude by giving Buccaneer swag to our tour guides. The CONRED Facebook post about our post can be found at https://www.facebook.com/profile/100064808647866/search/?q=massachusetts .
Fuego Volcano Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpqT6JkKI-4
Around 1120, we headed to lunch at 14 Grados, where students were able to enjoy a variety of sandwiches whilst playing against the faculty in shuffleboard. After lunch we headed to grab coffee at Rojo Cerezo before heading to the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia y Etnologia at 1430. When arriving at the museum, we were given an overview of Guatemala’s history by Captain Lennon before exploring the art inside the building on our own. The museum was filled with fascinating Mayan artifacts such as statuary, jewelry, and murals from the pre-Columbian era. At 1615 we hopped back on the shuttle to the hostel for a brief two hour break before regathering at 1845 to grab dinner. Dinner consisted of nine pizzas versus fourteen hungry students, needless to say the pizza lost. After dinner around 2000, we headed back to the hostel for our nightly meeting led by Captain Lennon.
Written by: 1/C Nathan Lemire
