Sunday, June 2, 2013

Today was a event-filled day! First, we had wake-up call at 5:30 am, some of us earlier thanks to the roosters, and then we left the hotel at 6:00 for our big adventure to Lake Atitlan. On our way, we stopped for breakfast at a breakfast buffet in Tecpan, which was delicious. Some of us even had the chance to make our own tortillas! After breakfast, we continued the bus ride to the lake. The drive there was beautiful and we were able to see many different sites, including a huge waterfall.
Once we arrived at the lake, we had a student presentation about the lake and then we boarded the boats. The captains took us across the lake to the other side. Over there, we all hopped in the back of some trucks and drove around town. We made a stop to see some Guatemalan women washing clothes and then we continued on to the Peace Park. Here, we heard another student presentation and we also heard from some native Guatemalans about their opinions on the war. They didn't want to say too much though because of the influence the United States had on the whole thing and also because it is a very touchy subject for many Guatemalans since many of their friends and family were killed in the violence. We also ate lunch there, which we found out it is actually a Guatemalan honor to eat where loved ones are buried.
After lunch, we jumped back in the trucks to travel to a church. It was a beautiful church and very large as well. We didn't stay long because we wanted to make sure we had time to make it to the Mayan ruins. When we were finished at the church, we were able to walk down the street a bit to see an alfombra in celebration of Corpus Christi. We also saw some men setting off fireworks in the middle of the street to celebrate. We then walked back to our boat, with a couple stops for shopping in between. The boats were then boarded and we headed back across the lake to our bus.
After our adventure to the lake, our bus driver, Mike, took us to the Mayan ruins, Iximche. Although it was raining the whole time we were there, it was still an amazing site to see. We were able to see some of the temples, the ball courts, and the altar in the back where Mayan rituals still take place. There was actually a ritual earlier this morning so when we arrived all the candles were still lit from it. We also did our third and final student presentation for the day here.
Around 5:00 pm, we, once again, boarded the bus to head home. However, before arriving home we stopped for dinner at a steakhouse. Huge platters of meat were placed in front of us, so we were able to try a little of everything such as steak, sausage, chicken and pork chops. The lemonade there was also delicious!
Finally, we came back to the hotel. We met with our teams and then some of us went to bed, the others packed lunches for tomorrow, and the rest finished up packing our therapy suitcases. But now it's time for bed for us all because we have a busy day tomorrow visiting our sites for the first time!
Adios!
Kristen Galloway, OT Student

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