Day six was our first work day and our first day of Spanish classes. We went to breakfast at Violetta’s at 0700. Breakfast today was eggs with salsa, refried beans, ham, and plantains. The work day lasted from 0800 until 1200 and Spanish class took place from 1330-1630.
Following breakfast, we split into our groups, met our guides, and departed Antigua. My group, group 3, consisted of Zachary Bohnet, Christopher Ely, Ryan Hunt, and Alex Barbour. We caught a chicken bus to San Antonio and met some of the staff at the school where we would be working. Unfortunately, the project manager for this work site fell ill so we sealed and painted a bedroom for one of the women in the meantime. From our understanding, this worksite will be focused on preparing the school for the rainy season and some pest control.
Group 1 went to a school called Brillo de Sol. This group consisted of Victoria Boss, DJ Faivre, Reece Gannon, John Hagan, and Shayla Narodowg. At Brillo, the team cleaned out and organized a storage unit at a special needs school. They also brought nine bags of dirt to the site in preparation for the planting they will be doing tomorrow.
Finally, group 2 went to Santa Maria de Jesus to work at a school. This group consisted of Matilda Laux, Jacob Nutter, Will Tedstone, Jenny Verrilli, and Aidan Weir. They had two primary tasks today. Half of the team removed tiles while another group sanded and painted a staircase.
After work, we returned to Antigua and had lunch at Violetta’s which consisted of cucumber, mashed potatoes, and ham. Following lunch, we went to Spanish class. Each student was paired with a teacher based on our score on the Spanish pretest we took before this trip. We all learned the extent of our Spanish knowledge leading up to this experience for better or worse.
We ended the night with a team meeting after class and liberty from 1630 until 2100. Many students decided to explore the markets and other sites around town while some decided to take the evening to relax and do Spanish homework. Some students even tried a salsa dancing class at the Spanish school. We all tried new restaurants in town as this was the first night that we were able to choose our dinner and break into smaller groups. Overall, today was a very eventful day and a good introduction to the remainder of our weekdays in Guatemala.
-Alex Barbour-
