Written by: Pablo Hruska-Cleary
When I woke up, I instantly felt the effect of the weekend Volcano climb on my legs. Although they were not as sore as I thought, I could feel my stiff muscles ache with every step. I could especially feel it in my calves this morning. Walking over to Violetta’s, I felt sore muscles in new places. For work this week, my group switched from San Antonio to Jocotenango, where we will work at the CANI Asociación Casa del Niño school.
Breakfast was French toast with fresh delicious fruit and syrup covering the top. We got a new guide because we were going to a new work site. Her name is Ahvy. It was the first day of a new school year so the kids at the school were filled with energy and excitement. We played with the kids for the first thirty minutes. I then helped in what I think was a first-grade class.
Once all the kids were settled in class, we got to work. Our job for the week is to paint three long walls in the school’s courtyard. Captain Lennon, Prof C, and their friend Smitty all came to help and assess what we needed to get the job done right. For work today, we cleaned the walls to get as much dirt off as possible so the paint could stick better to the surfaces. We, as a team, were able to get it done efficiently.
To celebrate the end of the first day of the school year, the school served a special lunch, and we were invited to attend. It was a traditional Guatemalan meal, and as is tradition for me when I eat, I got food on my shirt. After a delicious meal, we made our way back to Antigua for Spanish class. Our buses ran behind schedule, but we were only a few minutes late to Spanish class. Spanish class went fairly well overall today. During our break, we had the opportunity to try native fruits from Guatemala. Despite being hesitant to try them, I enjoyed the ones I ate. When the class finished, I took some time to scroll on my phone before dinner. Seamus, Yorlan, and I then went to a Mexican restaurant to watch the CFB championship game. We stayed as late as we could before curfew and returned to the hostel to get some rest for our next day.
