Look at me! I can fly!

Watch Max flying, our "Karate Kid"!

"this is how FUERTE I am!"

Jack words tonight; "I am so bored that I needed to rip off the Delta headphones... ....this is how FUERTE I am!"

Last presentation at La Guardiania

Collegiate students gave their last "drink plenty of clean water daily" pitch for ecoFiltro this morning at a school a mile away from Antigua.

 

After their second presentation, the PE Coach invited us to play a soccer match with the school kids. 

Our Titans fought hard to maintain their dignity with a final score of 5-1.. we were happy that Collegiate score 1 goal!!!

 

The Appreciation of Water!

Over 12 hours without water!! Early this morning (before 6.30), three massive water pipes burst in Antigua and left the entire city with out water for much of the day! Walking down the street and seeing a torrent rushing down the cobblestone after no rain was certainly abnormal, as was turning on the faucet and seeing nothing come out. We were really able to discover a new-found appreciation for water after losing it for so long. It is interesting that to us this is a horrible event, but to the Guatemalans, as explained by a member of my host family, this is normal. Of course showering at Senora Sharlin's house was an option, as she was apparently the only one of everybody to have water throughout the day, but nonetheless, we got another unexpected taste of Guatemalan culture.

Today's presentation was certainly an interesting one! We arrived in the town of Esquincla, immediately burst into sweat from the heat and humidity, and were greeted by an overwhelming number of excited and noisy children in the school. They enthusiastically clamored to the windows to see who their new and foreign visitors were. We toured the school and ascended to the computer lab, generously donated by a company called "Telefonica" who chose Esquincla as the most in need out of 150 candidates in Guatemala. We then proceeded to descend back to first floor and noticed that about 100 children (of the 500 total!) had come out of class to listen to our presentations in the tiny courtyard.

We began presenting in front of the students, who were a very tough crowd to please. They were very immersed in their own conversations and were not quite as interested in our information as previous groups. This certainly made the presentations difficult and made us talk very loud, but we nonetheless saw it as a great learning experience that we can use to tweak our presentations, as well as another exposure to a different side of Guatemala. Every so often, however, the children would scoot closer and closer to me or Evan, indicating that they had some interest in the problems and solutions of the water crisis. 

After the massive presentation to the children in the courtyard, we decided that the reception was not what it should be, so we did two smaller presentations in classrooms where the children were much more focused and eager to participate. We made our presentations much shorter, which kept the kids from chatting with their neighbors. These went much better, and in the end, they were able to learn from us, we were able to learn very much from them, and, like always, they were sad to see us leave as we boarded the van to return to Antigua. See you tomorrow!

Kyle

Hike to The Cross

A view to remember!

We met at the language school to walk to el Cerro de la Cruz (the Hill of the Cross) with the students’ tutors. 20 other students and tutors joined us and it was a large and fun group from different parts of the United States and Guatemala. 

The wall on the "mirador" dates to the time of the Spanish Colony, but the monument to the cross was placed on the hill in 1961. The hill is located on the north end of the city and you can walk to the base of the hill from anywhere in Antigua within 10 to 20 minutes. The walk lasted less than 30 minutes, but was tough for those who are out of shape and cannot keep up. We spent 30 minutes on the hill and enjoyed beautiful views of Antigua and the volcanoes. Later we walked back to the school where the students finished their Spanish classes for the day.

A relaxing moment for Natania and Amy.

Back to the Old Schedule!

We have survived our first day back from the lake without a scratch! 

In the morning we went outside of Chimaltenango (Lencho's hometown about 25-30 minutes from Antigua) to present the problems and solutions of the water crisis for the second time. This presentation, however, was catered to little children about 5 years of age. This school, much like the one last Thursday in San Martin had already had Ecofilters for two years, so they enthusiastically knew and presented many benefits of water. When we arrived, they were very happy to see us and greeted us with an ear-piercing "Buenos Dias!" We proceeded to present, all the while giving out bags of "Silly Bands" as each child responded to a question.

When all was said and done, the children invited us to games of basketball, soccer, and many other forms of exercise. The street in front the the school was filled with goals, soccer and basketballs, and kids -- both from Collegiate and from El Tejar, the town. We played for at least 30 minutes before the children had to eat lunch. Much as they were excited to answer questions and discuss the importance of water, they were also eager to share whatever food they had with them -- bread with beans, cookies, crackers, etc. -- with us so we could have something to eat. When we left, they were certainly sad to see us go.

After lunch with our host families, we attended language school from 2-6 once again. From 2-4, we worked hard on our lessons, but toured the markets from 4.30-6.00. Many of us practiced our bartering skills with the help of our teachers and were able to buy goods from clothes to wallets for a fraction of the cost! It was very interesting to see the diverse selection of merchandise in the booths -- anything imaginable could be bought there!



We look forward to presenting to another community tomorrow in a village about an hour away in order to spread the knowledge of water to other children. In the afternoon during our language classes, we will hike to a large cross about thirty minutes up a mountain from Antigua to learn about its history. Look forward for more! See you tomorrow!

Kyle

El Lago Atitlan -- A Weekend of Adventure

What a wonderful weekend!! 

We are back to Antigua from Lake Atitlan amazed by the beautiful views everywhere one looks! When we arrived to Panajachel on Saturday, we had about an hour to walk around town before lunch. Some played basketball with locals and some shopped and bought gifts at the local stores.


Soon after, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant surrounded by gardens and tried a new fruit called a "Pitaya." This is almost like a kiwi, but very purple and much larger.

After our lunch, we boarded a boat with our luggage to ferry us to the other side of the lake where our hotel was located. During the 15-20 minute ride, we were able to see spectacular views of the mountains, the volcanoes, and the villages surrounding the lake.

At the other side, we arrived at our hotel -- an Eco-Lodge outside of "San Juan La Leguna" built on the side of the mountain and surrounded by lush vegetation. The feel was very rustic, as many of the walls and floors of the rooms were constructed from cobblestone; however, the soft beds were welcome upon nightfall after a day of hiking around town.

eco hotel Uxlabil - San Juan La Laguna, Solola

We had about an hour and a half to walk around the town, similar to Panajachel, in which we visited a local artist gallery selling magnificent paintings, hand-woven textiles, and wooden masks. As supposed to lower-level street vendor quality, these paintings were top-level, hand made by members of a community centered on painting and weaving.

A little later in the afternoon, we attended a tour of an organic coffee farm co-operation in San Juan to see how 143 families rent plots of land and export their top-tier coffee. The guide explained to us that 90% of the coffee grown in Guatemala was "shade coffee" -- a variety that requires 60% shade to grow. He also explained to us the many more uses of the coffee farm, including the cultivation of bananas and avocados from the shade trees, honey from the beehives responsible for the pollination of the coffee plants, and black beans from the plants planted when the coffee trees are regrowing.


We returned to the coffee complex to see the processing of the beans, and then to the restaurant where we had the opportunity to purchase coffee and listen to live marimba music. Dinner commenced shortly after -- a delicious meal of chicken, rice, and vegetables.




Afterwards, the dancing began as Lencho enthusiastically demonstrated his favorite dances to us. We returned to the lodge late at night, and everyone went to bed after a long day.

Lencho & Sra, Sharlin dressed like Sanjuaneros

We woke up the next morning and enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes, oatmeal, mango, peach, watermelon, cheese, preserves, and bread. Eager for a fun day of zip lining, we set off for Panajachel. Upon arrival, we quickly harnessed and began a 20-minute hike up to the first platform and zip line. At first glance, the cable did not seem very high until one looked over the edge once clipped in and saw the 200 meter drop. There were eight zip lines in total, one of which speeds of nearly 60 feet per second could be reached. The adrenaline certainly kicked in! After the zip lines, there were two small ropes courses over a creek that some people mastered and some people did not. Still hyped up on adrenaline, we de-harnessed and prepared for a lunch of lemonade and hamburgers. We said a final goodbye to the lake and departed back to Antigua in the early afternoon. Along the way, we stopped in Chimaltenango to drop off Lencho in his hometown. We returned at about 5.30 in the afternoon and prepared to eat dinner at Christopher's restaurant Micho's. It is unbelievable how fast the weekend has gone by, but we are excited to get back to the schedule tomorrow with a presentation in the morning and language classes in the afternoon! See you tomorrow!

Kyle