January 5, 2106...

Work Day 1 San Jorge

 Our day started with a quick tutorial on stove building. The majority of indigenous Mayans cook on an open fire, in their homes. Besides being a huge fire risk, the families (especially the women) are breathing in tons of smoke, damaging their eyes with the heat, and there is a very real risk of burns to children. Their homes are covered in a thick layer of soot, which is a visual reminder of how much crap they were breathing in. Mayan Families installs ONIL stoves (kind of a long video, but it explains how they work and the benefits to this specific type). The stove is made of 11 concrete cinder blocks as the base, with 3 concrete pieces making up the actual stove. The stoves use Terra cotta pieces to form the burn area, which is surrounded by sand to help maintain a more even and constant heat. The wings on the sides of the stove prevent accidental burns, while adding a little bit of work space. These stoves also use around 70% less firewood than the open fires do, which saves the families money and time (if they couldn't afford to buy the firewood, they'd have to climb into the mountains and bring home what they needed). What we (the students) didn't know before coming down to Guatemala - part of our tuition for this trip actually purchased a stove. Essentially, each student purchased one stove, which is amazing!


After getting our lesson in stove building, we made our way to San Jorge, Panajachel's closest neighbor. We stopped in the town "square", outside of the Mayan Families Elderly Feeding Center. Because food is scarce and hard to come by, elderly people are being abandoned by their families, who are struggling to feed themselves. Mayan Families provides meals for the elderly in San Jorge Monday-Friday. We had the opportunity to help serve the elderly their lunch. There are no men in this group. The government killed nearly every man that could potentially fight against them in the civil war that ended in 1996. These women that we served actually stood up against their government, to protect their town and their men. When the soldiers attempted to come into San Jorge, the men ran up into the mountains to hide and the women and children blocked the single road that provides access to the town with themselves. There are no words to describe how lucky we were to be able to serve these women.

 This is Alex. Alex is 9, but looks like he is about 6. Chronic malnutrition is a huge problem in Guatemala. Alex is such a great kid, he was counting to us in English, then asking how old we all were. He was so eager to please us. After lunch, we went out into the square and played soccer and frisbee with Alex and the other children that had shown up. 

We installed 4 stoves after lunch, in San Jorge. We were split up into 3 groups, with two of the groups installing one stove, and the group I was in, installing two stoves. The pieces were heavy, and the homes are all on hillsides, with quite a hike to get to them from the road. 

It was so neat to see how happy the families were to get a concrete stove. The first home we went into had no furniture except for a table. No beds, no chairs. A dirt floor to sleep on. Being able to safely cook their food was a big thing for them. These were the two families we helped that first day.

January 4, 2016...

Panajachel 

Today we took a long drive through the mountains from Antigua to Panajachel. Car sickness isn't funny (believe me, I know!); but it was funny that people who claimed to never get motion sick were all complaining about not feeling good :( I didn't get hardly any pictures from the actual trip because I knew I'd start to feel badly if I was playing with my phone. 

Once the driver informed us that we had about 20 minutes left, I decided to pull out the phone for at least a couple of pictures. This was one of about 5 that I took (and the only one that you can't see the reflection of my phone in it).

 We made it to our hotel (Hotel Jardines del Lago)! Amazing view of the lake, with the three volcanoes across the lake from us. Such an awesome sight!

 After getting relatively settled in the hotel, we wandered around Panajachel (or Pana) for a bit before getting lunch. There was a restaurant called Deli Jasmin, so of course we ate there!

We had dinner at the home of the Mayan Families founders in Pana. Being able to talk to the group that would be working with us on this journey of help was so wonderful. Hearing all the ways that they help the indigenous Mayans really struck a cord for me. (mayanfamilies.org if you want more information)

January 3, 2016...

Antigua, Coffee Farm, and Eruptions...

Today was another tourist day in Antigua. We started the day with a tour of a local coffee plantation. 

The coffee plantation we visited

Coffee beans, on the plant

7 month old coffee plants

Looking fabulous in a hairnet

After the coffee plantation, we had the afternoon to explore Antigua on our own (well in small groups). We walked through a gorgeous church.









As we were walking through Antigua, we could see that Volcano Fuego was spewing smoke into the air. As the afternoon turned into evening, we could see that it was really gearing up to put on a great show for us. The darker it got, the more clear the lava flow got. It was slightly terrifying, but also incredibly amazing. The volcano was about 10 miles away from our hotel, so barring a complete eruption, we were safe. Our hotel room neighbors had a great camera and were able to get some amazing pictures.

Volcano Fuego 

Unfortunately, this was also the day that the Packers lost to the Vikings (and we actually watched part of the game at a bar next door to the hotel)...

January 2, 2016...

Antigua & Chocolate

 Today was day 1 of our "touristy weekend". We were able to enjoy a three hour walking tour of Antigua. This tour involved a pretty interesting history lesson. We explored some ruins, saw crypts, visited a monastery that is now a hotel, and went to a jade "factory" and shop. The jade factory was actually a place that the locals would finish and perfect the pieces for sale.

Cacao Tea

After the tour of the city, we went to Choco Museo, a local chocolate factory and museum. We learned the history of chocolate, including the way that the ancient Mayans made and consumed chocolate (they drank it!). After the history lesson, we got to spend time taking the cacao through the steps to make our own chocolate candy. We also had the opportunity to try cacao tea (tea made with the cacao pods), cacahuatl (chocolate water - the drink of the Mayans), and "traditional" hot chocolate. 

Hot Chocolate

Cacahuatl

January 1, 2016... Travel Day

Leaving on a jet plane...

Our day started bright and early, with a 4 am meeting time at the Milwaukee airport. Considering it was New Year's day, I only got about 1.5 hours of sleep before we left the house. Standing in line, waiting to check our luggage, excitement was high (but so were nerves!). After the luggage was checked and we made it through security (which wasn't too hard at 5 am) we made it to our gate to wait for our flight to Atlanta.

The view, shortly after take-off in Milwaukee... so beautiful!

A short flight (after a delay), and we were in Atlanta. The layover was pretty short, then we boarded for Guatemala. After another delay, we were on our way out of the country. We arrived in Guatemala around 1 pm. We landed in Guatemala City, made it through customs in record time, then boarded a bus to Antigua.

Driving through Guatemala City, all I could see was Italy. I knew from my pre-trip research, that there was a strong European feel to the architecture, but this ride took me straight back to Italy. 40 minutes later, we were driving through Antigua. Antigua is surrounded by three volcanoes, Fuego, Acatenango, and Agua. From our hotel, we could see all three volcanoes, with the best view of Agua right outside our room.

As a group, we did a quick walk around the city square, then relaxed at the hotel until dinner. After dinner, we all crashed. It had been such a long day.