33 hours without wi-fi!!

We did it!

We had a lot of no-tech fun at Lake Atitlan!

Collegiate students at El Mirador in Lake Atitlan

We returned to Antigua late this afternoon, sad to say good bye to Lake Atitlan and our new "cha'ks" there.
(Cha'ks tzutujil Mayan language for brothers).

Stay tuned!
Sra. Sharlin

Can teenagers unplug for 36 hours?

Incomunicado

Early tomorrow morning we depart for Lake Atlitlan for a weekend that finds us staying in an EcoLodge, visiting an organic coffee farm, a weaving co-op, a community of many artists and painters, of hiking into the rain forest, extreme zip lining over the lake and in tree tops scattered with monkeys, exotic birds and other animals unknown to parts of the Bluegrass.  No internet connection here, so we will be incommunicado from Saturday morning until Sunday evening.  Quite a challenge for 11 teenagers accustomed to life with all things digital.  Wish us luck...Las dos Senoras...

Lencho unplugged @ Lake Atitlan

A Time to Reflect

After a successful round of presentations to the community yesterday, we gathered once again in a neighborhood house to discuss, debrief, and improve our presentations. Group B (the "solutions group" ) began by commenting, both with praise and with constructive criticism, on Group A's (the "problems group") presentation. Group A did the same for Group B, and each group now has plenty of ways to make its discussions even better for Monday's opportunity to talk with pre-schoolers. Chris then took over as he discussed the suggestions from Sam Snyder, the co-founder of Ecofiltro:one, as he was a direct witness to our work. Mostly, he suggested getting the children more and more engaged in the presentations -- having them on stage, asking more questions, and overall being more energetic and excited towards them when presenting. We still have a bit of tweaking to do, but the presentations are well on their way.

We dismissed a little early today, giving us more opportunity to shop in the markets, work on projects, or simply have time for relaxation. Pretty soon, we headed to our language classes, in order to resume the four-hour schedule today instead of a field trip. In the evening, however, we hiked up to the Earth Lodge in the dark for dinner and drove back to Antigua. There, we rested in the hammocks after an intense uphill hike and enjoyed a delicious dinner of rice, beans, charred squash, salad, and garlic bread. Tomorrow at 8.15 sharp, we depart for the lake in order to spend time visiting the traditional community of weavers and painters. Stay tuned!

Kyle

The Enthusiasm from Clean Water!

We began the day by traveling to the village of San Martín in order to present the problems and solutions of the contaminated water crisis to the local children. Upon arrival, we were greeted by many smiling faces eager to have new and unique visitors to their town. Of course we could not get to business right away, as the children invited us to a friendly albeit competitive game of basketball.

After an exciting game, we began to give our presentations to the children, who were now eager to learn. Group A -- consisting of myself, Natania, Stephen, Aaron, Max, and Jack -- put the children on the spot with questions about the problems of dirty water and sodas, as well as the importance of clean, purified water. As the kids answered the questions correctly, they received a "silly band" (a rubber band in the shape of an animal), which they absolutely loved! After a round of applause, Group B, formed by Sergey, Evan, Amy, Ross, and Sidak, presented an enthusiastic representation of the idea that one should drink eight glasses of clean water in a day. The children laughed hysterically as Sidak defeated Ross 10-1 in a push-up contest to emphasize the importance of clean water and the strength it can bring.

Before departing, the children offered us an unexpected snack of fresh tortillas filled with beef, guacamole, pico de gallo, and cheese. It was delicious and many people went back for seconds and even thirds. We soon departed for Antigua to have lunch with our host families.

For today's language class, we toured the macadamia farm about ten minutes out of Antigua to see a one hundred per cent organic method of farming and selling macadamia nuts. This was started by an American who moved to Guatemala and eventually created an enterprise making him millions of dollars -- all without genetic engineering, pesticides, or other chemicals. While there, we were given a tour of the facility and some of the machines, several samples of the products, and the option to receive an exfoliation with macadamia cream and oil. Many students took up this offer and immediately appeared fifteen years younger due to the copious health benefits of the macadamia nut and its subsequent products! As a final experience, we tried the local macadamia nut pancakes, covered in macadamia nut butter, honey, and blueberry marmalade -- absolutely delicious. A wonderful way to end another day.

We look forward to debriefing and discussing our presentations tomorrow in order to tweak them for Monday. From the childrens' enthusiasm, we could certainly conclude that the importance of drinking clean water is well planted in their minds. We hope that their enthusiasm and understanding will carry to more and more kids as we visit communities on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week. See you tomorrow!

Kyle

Sad to have to say good bye!

Gabriel and Emily left Antigua 

I had to kiss Gabriel good-bye this afternoon. He and Emily left Antigua and they are going to spend the night with our family in Guatemala City. Their flight leaves tomorrow at noon and they should be back in Louisville in the evening. I am going to miss having breakfast with them after a quick look to the amazing volcanoes, walking to language school to drop Emily off and then to the hospital with Gabriel. I didn’t get to spend most of the time with them, but I loved sharing lunch and/or dinner two and hearing all the stories about their morning at the hospital with the kids from Gabriel or what Emily had learned at Spanish school that day and looking at their pictures.

Both had an amazing time exploring and discovering fantastic places in Antigua, walking through the city and to Central Park, shopping at the markets, visiting museums, churches and ruins, taking pictures of interesting artifacts and art crafts, learning all about cacao and chocolate making at the ChocoMuseo, salsa dancing, going to Finca Filadelfia for the canopy tour and the zip-lines, eating at different restaurants and tasting new foods… and the list goes on!

I am so happy that they had the opportunity to enjoy this experience together. I hope to hear Emily speak Spanish more often and to see Gabriel being caring and compassionate to those who need it the most on a regular basis. I already miss them a lot!

What's cooking good looking?

Las Señoras host a dinner!

Lencho and señora Sharlin prepared a typical Guatemalan meal for Collegiate students, while señora Enseñat hosted the dinner. Our students enjoyed sharing a meal and trying all the different food that we prepared for them: lentil soup, white rice with vegetables, frijoles with tostadas y queso duro blandito, platanitos maduros fritos, papaya, banana bread, freshly baked pan francés with with cheese and turkey ham and we served two large pitchers of ice tea with limón. After dinner both team of students finished working on their presentations and practiced giving them one more time. A huge improvement from the first one in the morning. We are so proud of them!!

 

It was a day of hard work and fun! After working with their Spanish tutors, Collegiate students took a salsa lesson and enjoyed the music and also learning some new Latin moves. No wonder they were so thirsty and hungry!

Hasta luego!

Señora Sharlin

My 2 Weeks at the Local Children's Hospital in Antigua

A Humbling Experience:  

Santos

I never considered myself to be patient enough to work with children, especially those with mental and physical disabilities.  Let me explain: I have always lived a high pace lifestyle.  Starting when I was very young, it was all about who could swim the fastest in the pool and make it across the soccer pitch the quickest.  Naturally, I have grown to be very competitive and, honestly, a little impatient with those who couldn't "keep up."  I was never the fastest in anything I did, but I prided myself on work ethic and determination to be the best possible.  However, I seem to have hit my nirvana moment after these last two weeks.  A humble non-for-profit institution helped me to recognize what is truly important and meaningful in my own life.    

For the past six days, I have been volunteering at an institution in Antigua called Asociacion Obras Sociales Del Santo Hermano Pedro.  The hospital cators primarily to those who cannot afford standard healthcare.  Their message that they serve others upon: Help me so that I can help you.  Hermano Pedro runs solely on monetary donations and necessary goods and equipment that are provided the hospital by other hospitals or independent companies.  Therefore, although they only ask their patients to pay what they can, if a patient cannot find the means to pay for a treatment, they are only asked to help serve the hospital in any way for the hospital's effort in serving the patients' needs. 

Elmer

This help-to-help philosophy not only attracts an environment of genuine passion to serve, but, unfortunately, it also attracts many families who do not wish to maintain the care of their children who are born with mental and/or physical disabilities.  I asked a volunteer named Lesley, an English-woman who has been working at the institution for eleven years, whether their issues were natural chromosomal errors or malnutrition during pregnancy.  Her answer was shocking.  Out of the 40 or so children who live full-time in the children's ward of the hospital, only one child was a victim of natural chromosomal issues.  The other 39 children were victims of poor pre-natal care and malnutrition, so it was up to the volunteers and nurses to provide the proper care to ensure the well-being of these children.  

Edgar

As a volunteer, I had to take initiative to provide these children with gentle care.  Every child  requires specialized and loving attention.  This included preparing specific feeding schedules and formulas to identifying the meaning behind certain behaviors exhibited by the children throughout the day.  One particular incident arose while I was feeding Edgar his breakfast.  The nurse had prepared him frijoles with large pieces of bread, but having fed Edgar before, I remembered that he was incapable of swallowing large pieces of food and came to the conclusion he had been served another child's breakfast.  I quickly notified one of the nurses of the issue, and she immediately resolved it by serving Edgar his designated breakfast.  This perceptive act of concern had arisen naturally within me.  Instead of forcing Edgar to eat what had originally been served to him, I intuitively understood his needs.  

Edgar and the other children touched my life in ways that I had never expected.  These last six days have been rewarding because I realized within myself a new-found patience and appreciation that I had never before acknowledged.

Gabe Sharlin

Collegiate Class of 2012