¡Hola de Guatemala!

¡Hola de Guatamala! My first few weeks here have been absolutely incredible. The first twelve days of the program served as an orientation to help ease us into things and get to know each other. For this, we stayed at an eco-hotel on Lake Atitlan. It was a quaint place overlooking the beautiful waters and the lush green mountains on the opposite side of the lake. For those two weeks, we ate food served by the lovely staff of Uxlabil (the eco-hotel), attended Spanish school often (my Spanish is coming along, but I´ve still got a ways to go...), attended seminars asking some base questions about what development is and whose job it is to develop whom, and had free time in San Juan, the small town on our side of the lake.

One of the most fascinating things I got to do in San Juan was take a textile tour, where I learned all about how cotton is produced and turned into sellable products. I got to try spinning cotton too, and let me tell you, it was not as easy as they made it look. Another interesting thing I learned during that tour was the co-op system that they use. Many families will join together in order to create more stable incomes for themselves. In the afternoon most days I would take my kindle out to the dock and read by the water. Overall, the last few weeks have felt like an absolute dream. Last Sunday we had to say goodbye to the lake, and set off to Tecpan, where we will spend the next six weeks. Despite my sadness at the first of many goodbyes I will have to make during these next months, exploring Tecpan and living with a host family has been such an exciting next phase in the journey. Stay tuned for my next blog post all about it!

Comments

  1. You are amazing I know this will be the best year of your life so proud of you best friend

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  2. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your adventures. Sending you so much love!

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  3. Zach - So excited for you! Hope you get a chance to put some of your español to good use! ☺

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