Hola familia y amigos!
Day 3 in Xela! To start the day, we went to another school for student with disabilities. After a tour of the school, we were able to spend time working with the students in the classrooms and then sang songs in the courtyard with all of the students. It was so moving to sing songs with the kids and see how something so little as singing children’s songs can go such a long way. All of the kids were smiling and dancing with us and loved every moment.
After the school, we went to Santo Hermano Pedro, which is a home for children and adults with disabilities. We were amazed at how beautiful and big the home was. Students and professors from the University of Rafael Landivar were perfoming physical and occupational therapy with some of the children, and were so kind to teach us and allow us to learn from them. The surroundings of the home are beautiful, with so many trees and spaces to pray and be outside. The founders wanted to create a peaceful space for the sick, and we were able to feel so much peace from our short time there.
We were also able to learn so much from the directors of therapy at Rafeal Landivar, which has a program that combines physical and occupational therapy, and it is also a Jesuit University. We ate lunch at the university and were given a tour. We were able to share our Jesuit values and find similarities between our universities and ourselves.
We finished the day by the groups switching afternoon activities, with one group going to the Temaskal for the hot sauna and the other group learning to weave at the Trama Cooperative. We are just constantly overcome by how welcoming the people of Guatemala have been to us. For example, we learned about the importance of the temaskal in Mayan culture, and they even let us experience such a meaningful ritual. It is absolutely incredible to be so welcomed into the daily lives of these people and so humbling.
So far, we’ve come to realize that it’s one thing to learn about the culture of another country by reading books or watching documentaries, but it’s a completely transformative experience to be living in another culture. We are so grateful to have this experience and meet these amazing people who have such rich traditions and culture.
Signing off for now!
Olivia and Molly
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