This post is a few days late, but I have good excuses...
1. I had a 9-page senior seminar paper due today. 2. Although not relevant, I was woken up around 4 am this morning to an earthquake, and I think that should could for something.
3. My internet has been terrible this week.
4. Between classes at the university, 5 hours of spanish class every day, and my volunteer work, it's been difficult finding time for fun.
Anyway, this past weekend we took our final group excursion to Lago de Atitlan. Although only about a two hour drive from Xela, it felt like we were in a different world. The lake is surrouned by picturesque little towns, with barcos (boats) being the primary mode of transportation between them. We managed to visit 4 of the towns during our time there. Our first two nights were spent in Panachel. There, I managed to do A LOT of shopping. While my spanish may not be
the best (or even close to the best) in the group, everyone comes to me for my bartering skills....no wonder I know my numbers so well. Throw a little shopping into my cirriculum and I'll have it down:) On Friday morning we took a boat to San Lucas, a small town across the lake. In San Lucas we visited a local mission led by Fr. Gregory, a Minnesotan priest. Fr. Gregory was assiged to the San Lucas mission 40 years ago. He came to Guatemala knowing no spanish and expecting to be here for no more than a few years. 40 years later, he remains in San Lucas, and has done incredible things with the mission there. Based on the principles of Liberation Theology, the mission works to promote developmen
t through helping people help themselves. For example, rather than giving people food, it works to help people obtain the land and education necessary to produce their own food. Working your own piece of land is extremely important in the Mayan culture; every Guatemalan woman swears by the fact that tortillas taste best if they are made of the corn from their own land. In this sense,the mission seeks to walk in solidary alongside the poor, not behind pushing or in front pulling. As those in poverty know best what they need, the mission has worked with the local people to establish educational, medicinal, nutritional, spritual, and socio-economic programs. After our tour with Fr. Gregory we shared a meal with other volunteers at the mission in the mes hall. After devouring the largest pot of spaghetti I have seen in my entire life, we helped with the dishes, and headed 
back to Pana.
On Saturday we left Pana for a quick pit stop in Santiago, and then proceeded to San Marcos. San Marcos is an incredibly tranquil town known for its yoga and massage therapy. It's more or less a 'hippy hangout', a place to go and get away from it all. In San Marcos the majority of us spent out time reading or catching up on homework with the lake and beautiful volcanoes as our backdrop. It was a great place to wind-down before entering the chaos of this week. As our last group excursion, we were all sad to see it come to an end. My 'spring break group' is planning to head back in a few weeks and spend Easter at the mission in San Lucas. Until then, it's back to reality.
3. My internet has been terrible this week.
4. Between classes at the university, 5 hours of spanish class every day, and my volunteer work, it's been difficult finding time for fun.
Anyway, this past weekend we took our final group excursion to Lago de Atitlan. Although only about a two hour drive from Xela, it felt like we were in a different world. The lake is surrouned by picturesque little towns, with barcos (boats) being the primary mode of transportation between them. We managed to visit 4 of the towns during our time there. Our first two nights were spent in Panachel. There, I managed to do A LOT of shopping. While my spanish may not be
the best (or even close to the best) in the group, everyone comes to me for my bartering skills....no wonder I know my numbers so well. Throw a little shopping into my cirriculum and I'll have it down:) On Friday morning we took a boat to San Lucas, a small town across the lake. In San Lucas we visited a local mission led by Fr. Gregory, a Minnesotan priest. Fr. Gregory was assiged to the San Lucas mission 40 years ago. He came to Guatemala knowing no spanish and expecting to be here for no more than a few years. 40 years later, he remains in San Lucas, and has done incredible things with the mission there. Based on the principles of Liberation Theology, the mission works to promote developmen
t through helping people help themselves. For example, rather than giving people food, it works to help people obtain the land and education necessary to produce their own food. Working your own piece of land is extremely important in the Mayan culture; every Guatemalan woman swears by the fact that tortillas taste best if they are made of the corn from their own land. In this sense,the mission seeks to walk in solidary alongside the poor, not behind pushing or in front pulling. As those in poverty know best what they need, the mission has worked with the local people to establish educational, medicinal, nutritional, spritual, and socio-economic programs. After our tour with Fr. Gregory we shared a meal with other volunteers at the mission in the mes hall. After devouring the largest pot of spaghetti I have seen in my entire life, we helped with the dishes, and headed 
back to Pana.On Saturday we left Pana for a quick pit stop in Santiago, and then proceeded to San Marcos. San Marcos is an incredibly tranquil town known for its yoga and massage therapy. It's more or less a 'hippy hangout', a place to go and get away from it all. In San Marcos the majority of us spent out time reading or catching up on homework with the lake and beautiful volcanoes as our backdrop. It was a great place to wind-down before entering the chaos of this week. As our last group excursion, we were all sad to see it come to an end. My 'spring break group' is planning to head back in a few weeks and spend Easter at the mission in San Lucas. Until then, it's back to reality.
Slightly unrelated: The above photo is of my Spanish teacher for the past five weeks, Ana. She's wonderful.
1 comment:
I LOVED pana!
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