May 13 - May 16

Wow, four days have passed since I last wrote on this blog and a lot has happened since then. The internet was down here at Semilla last night, so I was unable to make a post. Anyways, like I said, a lot has happened in the last four days.

On Tuesday, we learned about various religious expressions present in Guatemala. This included a presentation on Pentecostals and Neo-Pentecostals in Guatemala and a presentation on Liberation Theology and Base Communities.

On Wednesday, we learned about women in Guatemala. We visited two women’s organizations. One was a cafe. I finally had my first taste of a Guatemalan coffee beverage. I had a cappuccino with whipped cream on top. Although a little strong for my liking, it wasn’t too bad. After the cafe, we went to an Urban Women’s Co-op/10,000 Villages Partner, UPAVIM. I really enjoyed UPAVIM, as did everyone else. UPAVIM has five different departments. One of these departments was an education/day care department. We were able to spend time and eat lunch with the 3-4 year old class. The children were hilarious. Some of them were afraid of us and others clung to us.

It was funny to listen to 30 3 and 4 year old children yell ¨hola¨ over and over and over again! The children are just as ornery in Guatemala as they are in the US. The boy who ate across from me pulled off the petals from the rose that was on our table. The boy a couple of seats down from me picked out all of his vegetables from his rice and put them in the rice of the girl sitting across from him. I know that I was definitely entertained by these children! We ended our tour of UPAVIM by looking at their items that they make for 10,000 villages and looked at their bakery. Luck was definitely on our side as fresh breads were just pulled from the oven as we got down to the bakery. We all bought something. Most of us bought a sweet bread that was as big as my hand and loaded with sugar on top. It only cost Q0.65! That is only 65 cents in Guatemalan money!

On Thursday, we watched a video on migration that was produced by Goshen College, Earlham College, and Manchester College. It was about the migration of people from Mexico to Goshen, IN. Later in the day, we visited a Migrant Rights/Services organization here in Guatemala City.

Today, we listened to a presentation from an anthropologist on Mayan History and Civilization. This presentation prepared us for upcoming events. Later this afternoon, we visited the MCC Guatemala-El Salvador office here in Guatemala City. Here we were given a very interesting presentation the by the directors of MCC Guatemala. It is nice to know that the Mennonite Church is doing well in Guatemala.

We are all busy packing our clothes and so forth as we are headed out on a 9 day trip. My next blog post will probably not be until May 25 or 26, so if I don’t make a posting between now and then, no worries, we are all fine! :)

Day 4 - Day 6

On Saturday, after breakfast, we all traveled to Antigua, Guatemala. This was definitely our highlight of the weekend. Our first stop in Antigua was to Cerro de la Cruz. This location is a bluff that overlooks Antigua. From here we could see all of Antigua as well as two volcanoes, Agua and Fuego (Water and Fire). This was an amazing view!

Our second stop was at an old convent in Antigua. Here we learned about the Catholic Church and its role in Antigua as well as in Guatemala. Our final stop of the trip was downtown Antigua! Once we arrived here, we broke up into groups and hit the open market. This was an exciting time as we had a chance to practice our Spanish with native Spanish speakers. Bargaining for great prices for items was a great experience in itself!

Yesterday, we attended a Mennonite Church in Zone 6, here in Guatemala City. This was interesting, not only because all 2 hours of the church service was in Spanish, but because it was different then what I am used to. This church, as many in Guatemala are, was more evangelical and Pentecostal than what I am used to. Everyone in the Bluffton group sang a song for the congregation. After practicing several times during the van ride to church, we were able to sing the Doxology pretty well. :)

After church, we went to a church members house for lunch. This was our first lunch in a Guatemalan home. Although the food that was served to us was very similar to the food that we get here at Semilla, the lunch was interesting as we were able to be in a Guatemalan home. This short experience has "prepped" us for our home stays later on.

Today we visited two organizations. The first organization is a human rights organization that helps victims (those who lost loved ones during La Violencia) to overcome their emotional and mental trauma incurred by the loss of love ones, and helps to bring people to trial for their crimes of terror they committed.

The second organization that we visited was a forensic anthropology lab. This was a very neat place, but at the same time, a very sad place. Here we saw the remains of many people that have been located and dug up from graves all over Guatemala. Here at this particular lab, scientists work to piece together the bones and so forth. This allows for families to give their loved ones proper burials.
Unlike my last blog, I can now say that it has rained here. It poured quite a bit today! We had our clothes out on the line drying while we were at the first organization when it started to rain. It is a good thing that someone from Semilla was kind enough to move our clothes in under the roof!

Days 2 and 3

Yesterday morning we had our orientation to the CASAS program and to Semilla, the seminary where we are staying. After this, we were told the history of Guatemala by Hector, a professor here at Semilla. Having earned his masters and doctorate degrees and working in the United States, Hector still follows US politics and news greatly. It was very evident from his presentatation who he was rooting for in the US Presidential Election. After his presentation, Hector shook our hands and had us tell him our names and where we are from. When I told him where I am from, he said that, "This must be one of those McCain fans...he is from rural Indiana!" With this comment everyone in the room burst out laughing, as they all know who I am rooting for in the Presidential Election.

After this, we went on a contrast tour. This tour led us to three different places: a mall, The National Cemetary, and the city dump. This tour allowed us to see how the elite people of Guatemala live in comparison to the poorest people of Guatemala. This was a very eye-opening experience for myself as well as everyone else in my group.

This morning we all attended our first Spanish classes at Semilla. I am in a class with two other students. My teacher, Edna, spoke in Spanish the entire two hours! However, it was great experience and I cannot wait until my next Spanish class.

After classes and our snack, we listened to the tetimony of a Mayan man who lived through La Violencia, the 36 year civil war in Guatemala. This story was very emotional to listen to. Prior to coming to Guatemala, we had read stories that Guatemalans wrote about their experiences during La Violencia, but actually listening to someone who had lived through this time made everything seem more real.

We ate lunch today at a very nice restaurant and then toured the National Palace, the National Cathedral, and the Central Park.

So far, we have had great weather. We hope that the sun decides to stay out!

First Day

Well, I made it just fine to Guatemala today, as well as everyone else on my trip. When we arrived at the airport in Guatemala City, we were greeted by two employees from CASAS. When we arrived at CASAS, we had what I call an "American meal." Our lunch was a cold ham sandwich, with lettuce, onions, tomato, and condiments, chips, watermelon, and freshly-squeezed lemonade to drink.

After lunch, we had free time. During this time, we played games together, chatted, and did various other things. We ate supper together at CASAS at 6 pm. We had white rice, shredded vaca (beef), and watermelon. The beef was in a mild tomato based sauce--it was actually quite tasty!

After supper, we all headed to the mall across the street from CASAS. This mall is a strip mall with a variety of stores in it, including the bank where we all exchanged our money at. This was an interesting and educational experience for all of us as our Spanish was put to a test. :)

After having to be at the Marbeck Parking Lot at 2:30 am this morning to leave to come to Guatemala, we all are incredibly exhausted, but are looking forward to tomorrow and everything that we will experience then.

The Day Before

Today is my last day at home before I go on my cross cultural trip to Guatemala. I have everything ready to go, now all I have to do is pack....talk about waiting to the last minute, huh? :)

I am going to be leaving Berne this evening after supper to stay at a friend's house in Findlay, OH. I will be staying there with two other students who will be going to Guatemala with me. We are all going to meet at Bluffton University at 2:30 am tomorrow morning to head to the airport in Detroit! Talk about early!

We are flying on American Airlines from Detroit to Miami and then down to Guatemala City. Since there is a two hour time difference, we will be getting back two hours of our time! :)

I will be writing approximately 2-3 times a week on this blog while I am in Guatemala, so feel free to check back often and to read about my experiences!