Cultural Day

Blog: June 1, 2016

Hi all! This is Sean (a student) with today’s update of our Guatemalan adventure! Today, we took a break from our service sites to engage in some cultural experiences. First, we visited a Guatemalan junior high school (grades 7, 8, and 9) called Amigos Por Siempre (Friends Forever). Xavier groups had visited the school in the past, and it was great to see their enthusiasm to see us again. They welcomed us with some traditional songs and dances performed by their students, and we then split off into three groups to tour the campus. The students and faculty graciously showed us numerous aspects of their Mayan culture; such as Mayan math, tortilla making, weaving, and traditional alfombras used to celebrate the holiday of Corpus Christi. In all of their demonstrations, everyone at the school was incredibly courteous and enthusiastic, and we thoroughly enjoyed learning from and sharing with the students and faculty. After completing our tour, the school concluded their program by performing a traditional Mayan ceremony to honor our visit (but they trimmed it down a bit by skipping the chicken slaughter from a couple years ago). We were all very honored that they shared all of this with us, and as a thank you, we presented Amigos Por Siempre with several donated materials, most importantly a projector from Xavier’s IT department. The faculty was incredibly thankful for these gifts, and it was a great way to close our visit to the school!

Hola mis amigos!  This is Valerie (Occupational Therapy Practitioner).  In addition to our visit to La Vega, we got to visit some Mayan ruins and visit downtown Antigua.  At Iximche (the Myan Ruins) we learned more about the history of the Mayan Civilizations here in Guatemala.  We walked through 5 different plaza’s (as they were called) over 2,000 square kilometers which housed 200 royal family members.  Towards the back plaza, we were able to actually see a Mayan ritual in progress by a local Mayan priest.  We were unable to take pictures of this sacred practice but it was very cool to be able to observe from a distance as they prayed and offered various items (candles, food, alcohol) to the Mayan Gods.  After the ruins, we were able to shop at the local artisan market and spend some quetzales (their local currency) to buy some handcrafted items.  After the market we ate at a local restaurant called Epicure which is a farm-to-table restaurant in downtown Antigua.  This restaurant is owned by an American couple who uses the restaurant to train and provide meaningful jobs for the locals.  In addition, they have opened and currently run 4 different schools for local children which is so needed in this community.  We were happy to meet this couple and hear their story and support their mission.  Now, after a long day, we will say Buenos Noches as we are all VERY tired!  We are off to our services sites again tomorrow.     

Signing off,

Sean (Student) and Valerie (Occupational Therapist)