Today marked the fourth day of our working experience here in Guatemala. We had breakfast at Violetta’s, which consisted of an omelet, watermelon, and black berries. Violetta is a very generous lady who always makes sure we are full before we leave. After breakfast we separated back into our groups and headed off to our respective work sites.
My Group, Group 3 headed off to San Antonio. Today we were lucky enough to receive a ride from Professor Cadwalader and Captain Lennon. For this day our task was to chop wood. At first we only had small tools, but eventually found axes which made the job easier. The reason we are splitting wood is to use the materials to create furniture for the San Antonio school.
Group 2 was at a local Mayan village called Santa Maria de Jesus. Today they helped retile the floor of a classroom in the local school. They also finished up painting one of the schools railing on their ladder well. The group had a great time hanging out with the students as well as the work they completed.
Group 1 at Brillo de Sol had been tasked with building a fence for a garden, planting trees, and pulling weeds. Group 1 got the pleasure of eating authentic Guatemalan oranges, which are apparently green. The feedback we received was that they tasted great.
After work we headed back to Violeta’s for lunch. Lunch was excellent, we had pasta and fried hamburger patties. With a full stomach we headed to Spanish class and were ready to learn. Everyone in the group seems to be making great progress with their understanding of Spanish.
After our evening meeting, three members of our group climbed the “Cerro de la Cruz” (Hill of the Cross) that marks the north side of Antigua. The hill offers a spectacular view of the city and the dormant Volcan Agua.
The rest of us went our separate ways to get dinner. Within Guatemala there are deals on dinner, so whenever we find a two for one special we try our best to save a little extra money.
Overall it was another successful day in Guatemala.
2/C Hunt, Ryan
