June 11, 2011 - Arrival in Guatemala!

June 11, 2011

Hola!!!

The majority of us have arrived! Julie, Tressa, and Sally have been rerouted and will be joining us later on this evening. Although getting through customs was a bit difficult for those bringing down the wheelchairs, everyone succeeded in bringing their chair! Since we were unable to claim our wheelchairs and other items as donations, we had to get a bit creative to pass through. Natalie, Gina, Brie, and Ryan ironically all had the same back problem and can now be called the “group with the sick backs”. Stephanie has “asthma” and, therefore, needs to use her chair down in Guatemala when she gets tired. The remainder of those bringing wheelchairs simply wheeled their way through customs.

After meeting up at the airport, we split up into two vans/trucks and drove towards the Lutheran Center. Sam , Tracy, Gabby, Ellen, Carol, Meridith, and Renee all traveled with Steve and stopped at Pollo Campero (Guatemala’s version of KFC) and had their first meal in Guatemala. The other van, which consisted of Leslie, Lauren, Mackenzie, Meagan, Babette and Pamela, was passing by firemen standing on either side of the street and got a little too close to one of the firemen! Yes, they accidentally hit the fireman. (oops!)

There are men outside several restaurants and stores holding guns, which was very intimidating and a culture shock to most of us. The driving is also a bit different…let’s just say they drive wherever they want to and there is no sense of staying in one’s lane. You might think being cut off in America is bad, but it does not compare to the driving down here!

We arrived at the Lutheran Center and it is absolutely beautiful! It is surrounded by trees and flowers with a courtyard in the middle. What we have seen of Guatemala so far is amazing. We traveled through both Guatemala City and Antigua and were able to see some of the country in between. After settling into our rooms, we had the chance to walk around the Lutheran Center and explore. We are lusting over the beauty of the center! There is a small shop with weavings made by the Guatemalan women who work at the center. Some of us would like to purchase one of everything in the shop! It is all very pretty and well done!

After the chance to explore, we sat down for a delicious dinner! We had a traditional Guatemalan dish that consisted of a pepian sauce with rice, carrots and chicken. Little did we know, we were supposed to put the chicken, rice and vegetables in what we thought was soup! We also had DELICIOUS fruit (cantaloupe, watermelon, and papaya – YUM!) After dinner we split off into groups, each taking a job. Some packing lunches for tomorrow (PB&J – we cannot wait!), some packing donations and we are blogging!

We have a long day tomorrow with an early start – breakfast at 6:15 am! Once we fill our stomachs we will be setting out to visit Lake Atitlan and the Mayan Ruins. We are all very excited to be here and cannot wait to see what this week has in store for us!

Adios for now!
Sam and Leslie (Students)