EGL helps Mujb'ab'l yol give a Voice to the underrepresented

Over the past week, I had the opportunity to travel to Quetzaltenango (Xela) with EGL (Engineering Global Leadership: http://www.eglsociety.engin.umich.edu/). EGL is an engineering honor society that combines allows students to obtain both a bachelors in engineering and a masters in business. In addition to finding internships, EGL organizes an annual volunteer abroad trip to learn about another culture, make an impact on a community, and get to know each other a little better. Last year they were in Costa Rica pulling all-nighters to rescue sea turtle eggs from poachers and the year before they were clearing out invasive species in the Galapagos Islands. This year, they chose to work with CasaSito here in Guatemala. After they spent a week exploring Guatemala at Rio Dulce, Livingston, and Tikal, we headed off to Xela to work on the construction of a training center for community radio leaders. It was an amazing experience and I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. So…from the beginning…

Lauren and I arrived before everyone else on Tuesday morning since we took our own shuttle. We had a little bit of time to explore and settle in before the EGL-ers came. After lunch we ran to the little used bookstore (see previous post) before heading off to the hot springs called Fuentes Georginas (http://www.lasfuentesgeorginas.com/). The water is heated by the hot sulfur from beneath the nearby volcano then the steaming water is pushed underground and way up into the mountain where it escapes into a pool. Tourists pay Q40 to take a shuttle up the mountain and lounge around in the hot mineral baths that are said to heal arthritis, acne, and fractures as well as maintaining a healthy digestive system if you drink the water straight from the fuente (probably wouldn’t be smart to drink out of the pool that everyone is swimming in…).

On the way back from the Fuentes, the driver explained to me rather animatedly the consequences of coasting in a manual ‘turbo’ vehicle after I explained how I drove during the HiA spring break trip and he said that it was better that I don’t drive anymore in Guatemala. But, he also pointed out a church that was built by the Spaniards in the 17^th century. The altar and crucifix are covered in silver and the church is still in use today. The first church built by the Spaniards in Guate was constructed in a nearby village in 1542. The Mayans were using the church for their sacrifices (rather than solely for Christian uses) so the Spaniards came back and put walls on the building.

On Wednesday, it was time to get to work. After an incredible, huge breakfast of French toast at the Black Cat hostel, we hopped in a minibus out to San Mateo to meet the project leader and learn about his project. Because he was part of a rather controversial history, I will call him 'Salou' here.

When we got there, Salou and Amanda showed us a video about the history of the community radio project and explained the current issues. A law was proposed on August 3^rd that would legalize community radio (http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/news/article/community-media-bill-introduced-guatemalan-congress).

During the 36-year (1960-1996) Guatemalan Civil War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala_Civil_War), radio was the only way for news, political information about the peace accords, and music to reach the rural indigenous populations since the newspapers could not be delivered and very few had access to the electricity needed for a television. This movement came to be known as 'Voz Popular'. When the war ended, the Peace Accords included an agreement that community radios would be granted a certain amount of bandwidth. While they COULD legally broadcast today, they would need to scrounge up $28,000 to compete with the international commercial stations in a public auction…an expense that isn’t even fathomable by the rural poor who make less than $80/month. (http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/a-question-frequency-community-radio-guatemala) Thus, the radio stations that were a source of information that helped to pull people through the end of the Civil War are still being broadcast today on illegal ‘pirate’ frequencies. Now they play mostly music which pauses only for PSA-style announcements about topics such as boiling water and women’s rights. A major goal of the stations is to empower women, youth, and the indigenous populations so oftentimes the announcements will be made by teenagers or children in Spanish and an indigenous dialect like Mam or Kiche. The stations are even used by police and local governments to relay health, education, and political information to the rural communities. Most stations are privately funded, where leaders of the cause giving up what little money they have to start their own station. Some stations charge a few Quetzales to make a private announcement or ask for support from their listeners which can hardly pay for operating expenses. A few of the fortunate groups are supported by international organizations. So that they can support each other, there are community radio organizations that work together to support local stations and lobby in the Capital for reform.

Mujb’ab’l yol (http://www.mujbablyol.com/) is one of these community radio associations that works with 26 radio stations in rural western Guatemala. Salou is the ex-guerrilla who heads the association and is a voice with the overarching Guatemalan Community Communications Council is lobbying for the legalization of the bill that would de-criminalize their community radios. A current goal of Mujb’ab’l yol is to build a training center for youth, women, and indigenous populations to learn how to use community radio. The center will be two-stories with a double conference room, a museum, a broadcasting room, a kitchen, and dining room on the first floor and bedrooms for overnight trainees on the second floor. (http://www.mujbablyol.com/files/Plano_de_la_construccion.pdf)

The building is in its earliest stages and work is very slow since it is all done manually (that’s right…no CATs, no table saws, no cement mixers). One group from Holland went previously to help with construction. Otherwise, two men, Walter (Salou’s brother-in-law) and Selvin, donate their time on the weekends with no pay to move forward with construction. They can only work when materials are available (they only have materials when they have funding). CasaSito helped Mujb’ab’l yol obtain the land for the building and ConstruCasa (http://www.construcasa.org/nuevo/index.php) has helped some with the funding for materials. EGL’s donation purchased a significant amount of materials so there was plenty of work to be done.

Our 12 person team (which dropped to 11 when Lauren left on Thursday L), was running all over the construction site and working hard for 4.5 days. We successfully tied a whole lot of lead coated wire for the Rebar, moved TONS of dirt, and mixed loads of cement to pour another layer on the walls. Throughout the week, we got to build bridges, tear ground with pick-axes, shovel barrow-fulls of rocks and sand and watch our own progress as land was flattened and rooms were filled with dirt floors. It makes you truly appreciate the resources that we, in the US, often take for granted when we spent 30 hours picking, shoveling, and transporting dirt that would take have taken 1-2 hours to move using a backhoe. We hope to continue to watch the process progress as walls go up, floors are poured, plumbing is added, and furnishings are put into their places.

At the training center, there is a ton of work left to do and no funding or manpower to do it. Mujb’ab’l yol is trying to partner with CasaSito to find student groups in the US who would be willing to make a trip to Xela and donate materials to continue construction. If you know of any groups who may be interested or would like more information on this opportunity, please email me at cricketd33@gmail.com.

Other highlights of the week:

· On Wednesday night we headed out for salsa lessons at a club. Mid-way through the night, the dancing was interrupted for a fire spinning performance. A troupe of foreigners took the stage (indoors) with kerosene dipped torches and ropes to put on quite a show. They were good but one member dropped his stick once and scorched the sleeve of an unlucky audience member and a second time he nearly caught his own pants on fire until an audience member ran out and stomped it out.

· On Thursday EGL-ers (and UofM) became internationally famous. They chanted the UM fight song live on Mujb’ab’l yol radio including a ¡Vamos Azul! at the end and everything. Typical of Guatemalan men, the deejay had to slip in a question to Brian about Chapinas (Guatemalan ladies). But Estafany (Salou’s 3-year-old daughter) is his only muchacha:

· After working long days, EGL-ers would come together to play some hard core games of rummy and Scopa, an Italian card game that they learned on last year’s volunteer abroad trip.

During our commutes between Xela and San Mateo, we also learned why we need to wash our food before we eat it...

· On Saturday we had the opportunity to meet with an assembly of leaders from the Mujb’ab’l yol community radio stations. They were having a meeting and we gave a short presentation then they each introduced themselves and the work that they do in their communities. They mostly thanked us for the work we do, blessed EGL’s journey home, and expressed that they really appreciate our willingness to lend a hand to the rural villages that need the most help rather than doing ‘office volunteering’ like the Guatemalan university students. During the meeting, we also got to explore the current 'training center' which is really just Salou's office with a small station for recording programs (but not broadcasting) and a pretty tight meeting room downstairs.

After the meeting, a representative from Cultural Survival came to speak with our group and drop off a donation for Mujb’ab’l yol. They are a US-based organization that aims to save indigenous languages that are quickly being lost. One of the organizations they support is Mujb’ab’l yol since these community radios broadcast in 23 different indigenous languages, thus providing a way for indigenous Mayan’s to hang on to their language and culture. They send monetary donations to Guatemala and the Guatemalan office purchases equipment for the stations.

We had our fair share of visitors on the construction site...and they weren't all just Mayan community radio leaders...

· Also on Saturday we went to see Malacates Trebol Shop (this is the same band I saw the first week I got here). This time the experience was much better. We all packed into a little club called La Sahara with hundreds of Guatemalans. We may very well have been the only Americans there. Since Malacates is one of the most famous Guatemalan bands…there was a lot of Guatemalan pride and we got a lot of stares. It didn’t help that all of the Guatemalans were dancing peacefully in pairs and we were dancing like idiots in a circle as if we were in a club back home. In all, the music was great and we got in and out safely. (Amanda warned us before we left that shoot-outs tend to happen at concerts making the experience that much more exciting.)

· Sunday was a side-trip of its own value. We woke up early to hop in a van, pick up Salou’s family, and head out to Laguna Chicabal. Chicabal is a sacred Mayan crater lake. Legend says there was a lake on the other side of the volcanic ridge but the Mayan powers got mad that there were so many tourists and Mayans washing clothes in the lake that they sucked up the lake and moved it inside the volcano. Still today, sacerdotes (Mayan priests) come in March and April to make sacrifices of food and animals at the altars where they ask for blessings from the nuhuales (the gods of elements of nature…there are 20…just like there are 20 days in the Mayan calendar). They burn the sacrifices so the smoke will rise to the gods. It is also prohibited to bathe or swim in the lake since it is considered sacred. They say there is a hole in the middle of Chicabal that goes to the center of the earth so it will suck you in if you get to close. It was a super difficult hour and a half hike up a hill, and down again into La Laguna Seca (where the lake used to be, they now have bungalows for overnight visitors), and up and over again to the lake. The lake is really beautiful with a forest of clouds coming in and covering the lake on and off throughout the day.

Once we arrived we built a fire using wood that is particularly flammable because of the chemical it contains; so you can burn it even when it’s wet.

Over the fire, we roasted marshmallows then heated tortillas to eat with our ‘guerrilla lunch’ of beans, eggs, and cheese. Salou was a guerrilla in the civil war for 14 years and lived in the mountains on Volcano Chicabal and the nearby Tajumulco.

After lunch we relaxed for a bit then took a hike around the lake to see the 23 altars, each of which is used for a different request from a different god. After we rounded the lake, we headed up a flight of 600 stairs to exit the crater and descended on the other side back to the Laguna Seca.

On the edge of the Laguna Seca we sat down for the most powerful of all story times. We heard Salou’s story. See the next post for my best recollection of the history. After hearing Salou’s story on Sunday, we were even more inspired and reenergized to work hard for our last few hours on Monday.

We parted ways with Salou and his family on Monday for the long bus ride back to Antigua. We got back just in time to run (literally) to the market to buy food for our Monday night event. After dinner one night in Xela, I asked for EGL to do a reflection of the week, set goals, and give suggestions. One of the comments that came up (whether it was serious or not), was to meet some of the kids that CasaSito supports.

So, for Monday night, we planned to join Cris and his group of students for dinner in Santiago Zamora. They meet every night from 7-8PM to learn art, music, and English and they have access to a library. This is the group of students that won the music festival. So we rushed to the Bodegona to pick up enough chips, beans, and salsa for up to 60 children then over to the market to load up on fruit to make a giant fruit salad. We were already late for our shuttle to SZ so we ran home as fast as possible to cut up the fruit, heat up the beans, and stick everything in giant bowls with serving utensils. We loaded into the car and I called Cris to let him know that we would be late. Well…little did I know we wouldn’t just be late…we actually wouldn’t be able to make it…We were almost to SZ when we saw mounds of dirt entirely blocking the road leaving no way to pass. There was an alternative road but only tuc tucs could cross because there was such a huge ditch that the van we were in would have bottomed out. I called Cris to find out if there were another way to go around and he said we would have to take a tuc tuc from San Antonio (the nearest town). I explained to him that I didn’t feel safe taking 11 Americans in tuc tucs when it was dark and that we simply were prohibited from doing so. We felt so bad that we had enough food for 60 children and they would not get to eat it. I was also really sad that EGL would not get to meet and talk with the children. Instead, we returned to CasaSito and ate 2/3 of the fruit and did some damage on the beans and chips while playing charades. The rest of the fruit was gone the next morning with EGL donated it to the children at the bottom of Pacaya but I am still eating beans for every meal.

Anyway, since EGL left I have been rather lonely and have completely immersed myself in computer work for two days. I made a Facebook group for Mujb’ab’l yol (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=147683549594&ref=ts) so student groups and interested parties can follow the progress at the training center and stay up to date on news about the proposed law to de-criminalize community radio. Over the past week, I think I have learned and retained more information about history and politics than in all of my K-12 education and am actually interested and eager to learn more. Talk to me about it sometime…

Losing hope at Common Hope and Reflection

Hoping to gain some valuable insight into stove projects in rural Guatemala, I set up a meeting with the clean stove project leader, Narciso, at Common Hope just outside of Antigua last Monday. I had heard great things about the organization’s appropriate technology implementation methods and was hoping to get some ideas for HiA. I knew that they offered tours of their projects and weren’t hesitant to take guests to the project sites with them. I wanted to find out:

• How they chose their communities
• What kind of assessments they started with to determined what the communities needed
• Exactly how they implemented their technologies
• If they did any follow up assessments
• What kind of stoves they were using/how they were built

My new buddy, Julio, who has been my chauffer to and from Animal AWARE, joined me for the meeting because he is writing his thesis on the amount of usable wood you can get from a tree and how it can be used. We arrived to find a huge ‘compound’ with buildings and playgrounds and random booths with women displaying textiles and a construction zone. Common Hope (‘Familias de Esperanza’) has a huge community program with its own schools and teachers and everything.

Because of an internal miscommunication, Narciso did not know we were coming and was on his way out to a project site to deliver some materials. Fortunately, he offered for us to join him on the quick trip so we got to see a school where they were in the process of constructing a stove. The school project was out of the ordinary for Common Hope because they typically work with communities only and they ask that the community members build their own stoves with the provided materials. At the school, they had to deliver the materials AND build the stove…and when Narciso asked the women who worked at the school to mix some mortar; they complained that he should be doing the work because they didn’t know how to do it. Fortunately Narciso stood by the agreement that they had made with the school and insisted that they at least help with that.

While we were visiting the school I set out to get my questions answered. I found out that they just work with any and every community near Antigua to implement the stoves. I’m not sure I agree with this method. They have implemented 500 stoves in and around Antigua. While it seems that they are doing great things for these communities, it was not the community members themselves who sought out the help for improvements. At the same time, while they have an exceptional implementation method, they don’t seem to have a follow-up assessment beyond an 8 day period immediately following the construction where they check to make sure the stoves are working. Because of this, there is no way to get feedback on the stoves or to find out if the families are actually using them. This problem was made clear by the school that we visited. They already had a stove previously but it was too high for the women to use because they move heavy pots that are half as tall as they are when they are cooking so they were burning themselves. They requested that Common Hope come back in and rebuild the stove a foot lower. Sure, a school may be bold enough to make this kind of request, but how many of the 500 families with Common Hope stoves would actually come forward with a complaint about the donation and how many would just stop using them because they don’t want to complain about what they’ve been given.

Their initial implementation, however, is quite clever. They require that each family donate 10-20 hours of service at the Common Hope compound in exchange for a stove. Additionally, the family needs to build their own stove provided the material donation from Common Hope. This way it is not just a gift for the family but rather a business exchange. In order to train the families in a community, they hold a training session where they pay about 15 community members from different families Q100 each to learn how to construct stoves. In turn, each trainee needs to hold a training session to teach 15 other community members how to construct the stove. This method is effective at spreading the knowledge and it seems to work out really well for Common Hope. The expenses are high though because the organization has to shell out Q900-1700 per stove, an expense that the community members themselves could never afford if an organization like Common Hope were not around.

There are two types of stoves that they implement. The cheaper of the two is called an Onil stove and it is constructed of 12 blocks, some mortar, some bricks, a metal chimney, and a very expensive ‘plancha’ (the stove top part). These are considered the most simple of the stove designs and they are quite effective at conserving wood. A measure of wood that normally lasts less than a month will last around 7 months using these stoves.

They also have a more expensive stove called the Lorena designed and purchased from HELPS International (for up to Q1700) and the height of this stove can be adjusted to accommodate the short stature of most Mayan women.
Common Hope is working on a design for a third type of stove that would be constructed in the bottom half of a metal barrel and would function similarly to the others. While the design is simpler and a little cheaper, it would still run over Q700 (still not affordable by the average family who makes next to nothing). Regardless of cost and other issues, it is a fact that many women and children die of lung related diseases because they cook over open fires in their homes. These stoves certainly diminish that risk and they also reduce burns from accidents around the open fires and minimize the need for a constant supply of firewood.

Leaving Common Hope, I was mildly discouraged by the outrageous cost of the stoves as I knew HiA could never implement these stoves community wide because we don’t have the funding sources for such a large project and the community we work with has next to no income. It was a great experience, though, to learn about the construction of such stoves so I have a better understanding of their function and structure as we continue to research more sustainable designs.

As it was Lauren’s last day in Antigua so we made the big hike up the hill that overlooks Antigua to La Cruz. From there, we had the best view of the whole city and Volcan de Agua.

Then we passed by La Pila (where they wash their clothes) and went to the roof of Cafe Sky for a great panoramic view of the clearing skies over Volcan de Fuego to the west, Agua to the south, and Acatenango to the north.

We also hit up Yogen Fruz one final time...she was an addict...
Later that night, we went out to dinner with Julio and had some pretty heavy conversation about the war followed by a review about our favorite and least favorite things about Guatemala so far.

Good

1. Camionetas: I love trying to fit in with the locals on these buses. It makes me feel just a little daring to ride the notorious ‘chicken buses.’
2. Antigua: I feel at home here in Antigua. One of the safer cities in Latin America because it is geared toward tourists, sometimes I feel like I’m in Kerrytown, Ann Arbor. Everything is within walking distance and easy to find, the roads and sidewalks are impossible to walk or drive on, and there is always something to do.
3. Lago Atitlan: Not only is this one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, I simply had a good experience there. It is incredibly relaxed when you’re not in Pana, they have some serious community development projects underway that will serve as excellent resources in the future, and when you want the cheap souvenirs (how about a $12 hammock) Pana is the place to go.
4. Xela Bookstore: One thing I love about staying at backpackers hostels is that they always have a table full of brochures of the coolest attractions around. From a 13-meter burrito fundraiser to a hole-in-the-wall English bookstoreto the free salsa classes and the Xela Who that explained the way to say “I have to pee/poop” in multiple degrees of vulgarity. The bookstore though was an amazing little 8 foot by 10 foot room that looked like a scene from Beauty and the Beast. There were ladders leading you up to the 7th and 8th and 9th shelves of books. Books were categorized into classics, politics, regional, and more. I went in looking for two of the most popular books about the Guatemalan Civil War and was disappointed to find that they only had new copies of those books because they were in such high demand. However, I did leave with a bargain book: an incredibly written biography of Father Roy Bourgeois called ‘Disturbing the Peace’ (http://www.soaw.org/article.php?id=861). More about Xela coming soon.
5. Mercado: I have always been addicted to fruits and vegetables. The problems with having that addiction at home in Michigan are numerous:
   

• they are more expensive than peanut butter and macaroni and cheese
• they are only available during certain seasons
• they are usually imported from chile and peru which just makes me feel guilty about all the carbon required to bring me my apple (especially when we have an overabundance of apples in the orchard for 2 months out of the year)
• since we have to drive a half hour to get to the grocery store we only buy them once a week and they’re usually bad by the time you go to eat them
• farmers markets are only offered on select days, they’re only available in the summer, and their cost is inhibitory
• BUT: In the Antigua Mercado, my addiction is always satisfied and I can feel great about my purchases. You simply can’t buy a pair of mangoes for less than $3 at home; here you can buy a bag of 5 for Q5 (about 60 cents). I was disappointed to find that many of the apples in the market still come from the USA and Chile but I always have the option of purchasing Guatemalteca and it’s even cheaper: 10-15 apples for Q10 ($1.20). I can buy a local broccoli head for Q2 (25 cents). While the mangoes are starting to go out of season, there is still plenty of pineapple to be had. And, I can go to the market 2-3 times per week because it is only a 15 minute walk and there are hundreds of vendors with fresh fruits and veggies every day. This is the epitome of a farmers market and it’s done really well. It’s always colorful and lively and there is always a fresh selection.
  

Bad

1. Machismo and creepy old men: They’re everywhere. At 8AM, they stand outside their stores, at 12AM watching everyone else dance while hanging on the bar because they’re too old to keep up with the young crowd. You can be wearing long pants and a sweatshirt and they’ll still make comments. “Hey baby.” “Hola Barbie.” “Ay mamita.” Honestly, we’ve heard it all.
2. The flyer hander-outers: They too are everywhere. They will come at you and shove paper in your face. They are like pests trying to sell trips to Pacaya or holistic itch relief. Seriously…one man has commented on the number of mosquito bites on my legs every time I’ve walked by; he also commented on Lauren’s sunburn and peeling. Some people are tempted to just take the paper and toss it aside so they can get rid of the nuisance which only increases the already elevated litter problem in the city. Which brings me to my next point…
3. Trash: It too is everywhere. Unavoidable. In fact, it’s so common that it’s an endless cycle of litter-ers. Just because it’s everywhere, everyone thinks it’s okay to just toss their trash aside when they don’t want it anymore. Recycling service is also terribly expensive so no one does it. While I have heard that they have a similar method to Peru…people will pick through the trash in search of recyclable materials that they can sell to recycling companies to make a profit. Only tin and paper and glass are of any value. Plastic is worth next to nothing and it seems to be the most common trash. This is why I think recycled art and plastic bottle walls are such a great idea.

Santa Cruz Inspirations

It was 4:45AM when my alarm went off telling me to get up and get ready for the 6AM shuttle to El Lago Atitlan. The shuttle was 45 minutes late ('Guatemalan time' is a little more lenient than 'Michigan time'). After a half hour (of a two and a half hour journey) we were already stopping at Burger King (yes, they have BK here too with the familiar french toast sticks and the local 'plato tipico' of beans, eggs, bread, etc.). We filed out to get breakfast and use the bathroom but when everyone was picking up their bags of food at the end of the counter the driver said there was no hurry and that we should sit and eat, take our time...typical. So, Lauren and I ate breakfast with a Nicaraguan doctor and a local Panajachel artisan (the main pueblo on Lago Atitlan) who were speaking pretty fast Spanish making it difficult to keep up and participate in their conversations. So this is how it went and we finally arrived to Pana just before 10:30 on the bus that was supposed to arrive around 9.

We really had no plans for what to do at Lago Atitlan except for the travel agent's recommendations to go to Santiago Atitlan which is the second largest town on the lake. We had reservations at hotel in Santa Cruz but figured we wouldn't be able to check in until afternoon.

We didn't want to carry all of our luggage around Santiago, so we decided to get some food then explore Pana which is basically streets lined with artisans selling their wares. When we stopped to take our first set of pictures of the lake from above the boat docks, Lauren realized her digital camera was missing and we thought she just left it at home...but it really is a tragedy for a photographer to be without her camera...so she reluctantly used mine.

All she had with her was her giant, ancient technique film camera that she used to take pictures at breakfast...

After breakfast, we spent far too much money on souveniers including hammocks which we just realized will probably not fit in our luggage! Lauren wouldn't let me buy this hat for some reason...

After spending what seemed like a fortune and before we spent the rest of the money that we would need to pay for the hotel, we caught a lancha publica (public boat shuttle) to Santa Cruz.

We were going to stay at La Iguana Perdida as recommended by other CasaSito friends.

It is an eco-friendly hotel that even has recycled toilet paper. We got to our room just in time for the torrential rains to hit. We tried to wait out the rain before heading off to relax in the main lodge/restaraunt/bar/game room but it never seemed to end. Here's Lauren enjoying the soggy weather...

Once we made it to the lodge...we made a cat friend and enjoyed playing with her until we realized that were weren't alone...giant spiders (2") covered the walls above our heads.

So we went in and played Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit...

Rory also got be excited about the Saturday night BBQ and cross-dressing party at La Iguana. Excited to play dress-up, Lauren and I hit the used clothes room in search of some manly outfits...unfortunately the cross-'dress'ing is geared more toward men so we had limited options for mens outfits and decided just to put on something a little crazy.

The dinner was incredible with beet burgers and 7 types of vegetarian salads. Dinner was followed by a dance party that was opened by the owner and his son playing some Iguana classics on the guitar and hand drum including a song about the story of the lost iguana and a song about riding the chicken bus! The dance party got pretty loco when a kind of crazy older woman started dancing with us to 'you can do it, put your back into it' and 'sexy back.' Can you tell which one is the crazy lady...?

This morning we got up super early so Lauren could shoot some pictures with her 15-minute-to-set-up film camera.

After taking pictures, Lauren went back to sleep and I went back down to the main lodge to learn a little more about some projects that they work with the organization Amigos de Santa Cruz (http://www.amigosdesantacruz.org/Amigos_de_Santa_Cruz/HOME.html). Without boring you with the (exciting) details, I was getting ideas for Health in Action and CasaSito projects. My favorite project is this plastic bottle wall. The organization had children go out and pick up plastic bottles, fill them with other trash like the over-abundant snack sized chip bags, and bring them to the center in exchange for a pair of shoes. These bottles would then become an internal structure for cement walls of buildings and homes. The benefits are incredible: http://www.puravidaatitlan.org/english.html. The same organization has also improved stove project to improve ventilation in homes and reduce firewood comsumption: http://www.onilstove.com/

My understanding for the need for recycling and waste disposal projects in Guatemala was reinforced by the views on my climb up to the little town of Santa Cruz.

By the time we were done walking around Santa Cruz and relaxing at La Iguana Perdida, it was just about time to get back on the shuttle so we went straight to Pana, did a little more shopping, ate an amazing vegetarian meal at a real vegetarian restaurant, and got to the bus just in time for the downpour of the day. The ride home to Antigua was long, bumpy, curvy, and up-and-down...there was even a carsick passenger. We finally made it home after too many hours of driving and we're ready to get to work on our volunteer projects this week. Lauren will be painting a mural at a local school and I will be splitting my time between Animal AWARE, Health in Action research, and hopefully another organization from Antigua called Common Hope.

For 10 pictures she took on this weekend trip, I took 220 (I took far too many pictures to load in here...if you want to see any of my Guatemala pictures, check out my Picasa uploads at http://picasaweb.google.com/cricketd33). Here are a few: