The end of our first adventure!
Trip Start
Feb 23, 2006
1
4
10
Trip End
Jun 2006
Xela, Guatemala
Friday, March 10, 2006
So our first two weeks of school are over! I can't believe time has flown by so quickly. Fuentes Georginas, the hot springs, were beautiful and tons of fun. They were located halfway up a huge mountain in the middle of the rainforest! It gave us our first chance to see some rural parts of Guatemala. I guess they aren't always hot so we were lucky!! It also gave us a chance to get to know some of the other kids at school...outside of school which was fun as well. We've met a couple girls from Denmark, with names I can't pronounce, and have been hanging out with them every day which has been great!
We've both grown very close to our teachers as well. My teachers name is Marlin and she's 25 years old. She has one daughter and her husband has been working in the states (Missouri) for the last few years. She's so sweet and has become a wonderful friend. I'm sad to leave the school but am hoping to return later on in my trip.
This week there was a huge gathering in Xela of rural Guatemaltecos (about 5,500 mostly indigenous Mayans). They, and their families, have been working for the government for the last 15-20 years guarding their villages (pueblos) from Guerillas. In all those years they have not been paid. Recently, a new President has come into power and promised them all their money. Unfortunately, and i'm still not sure why, they are only getting paid a portion of what they have been promised. They filled up the entire central park for 3 days and 2 nights, waiting for 200$ each. An extremely humbling thing to witness.
Another unfortunate event of this week happened last night. When we arrived home for dinner our 'mom' was in tears. The mother cat of the 10 day old babies had passed away. They think some locals from a nearby school, who are apparently known for killing animals, fed Carmela poison. Our entire family was a wreck. They had lost a member of the family (whom we had grown to love as well) and one of them knew how to care for kittens. So Briana and I did a bunch of research and translated instructions for them on how to care for the kittens. Since they were unable to afford it (another huge worry of theirs) we purchased bottles and enough food for the kittens until they are able to eat on their own. As unfortunate as this incident was, it has brought us extremely close to each member of the family and for that I am grateful.
Tomorrow morning we head out to the beach!!! Montericco, Guatemala is located on the southern pacific coast. Black sand beaches, nature reserves, and from what we've heard, great native food! I'm excited to take a break from school and let what I've learned so far sink in!! We won't have access to Internet so my next log will be from San Pedro on Lago Atitlan where we plan on studying for a couple more weeks. We will celebrate St. Patricks day (and my birthday!!!!) with some new friends in a brand new place! Exciting!
We are SO sad to be leaving but the trip must go on!
Until next time my friends,
Chao
Jenna
Comments
Thanks for sharing
Jenna, thanks so much for passing along your trip hi-lites! How exciting! We will be following your adventures now. Happy St.Pats and Happy B-Day too! Love, Aunt Denise et al.