Juxtaposition

The word of the day is "juxtaposition". We visited a middle school in a small indigenous village. We were greeted as royalty as students and teachers welcomed us graciously. The students prepared a day full of presentations about the history, culture, civil war, music, dress, and food. All the students wore "tipicas" or traditional Guatemalan dress. The students prepared for our visit for months it seemed, even making intricate kites full of colors and cultural symbolism. The students performed several traditional Guatemalan songs on the national instrument, the marimba. They were quite skilled. After a dramatic presentation on cultivating corn, the village women made chucharrones, tamales, atol, and tostadas for us to sample as a snack. After a few more presentations, we enjoyed a delicious lunch of beef stew, commonly made for formal celebrations, such as weddings, plus more tamales, vegetables, and the horchata (a sweet rice based drink). We walked through the village with the mayor, seeing typical housing, and the brand new road that went up the mountain. On our hike, we met the mayor's grandsons, who loved to take photos and run down the mountain. One of our translators adopted a stray kitten and has named it Xavier!

Upon returning to the school after our walk, the children demonstrated a sacred Mayan ritual to thank God and ask for safe travels for our return home. They first placed a pot with burning charcoal in the center and 2 designs of sugar on the ground on either side of the fire pot. After dancing and prayer, they sacrificed a rooster over the fire. The rooster lost its life on our behalf and we are grateful for the blessings bestowed on us for our journey. We feel we have made great friends with the Mayan people.

Note most Mayan children achieve a 6th grade education. About 50% of the middle school students continue their education through high school. During last testing at the high school, La Vega students achieved high scores bringing much pride to the village.

So the word of the day is "Juxtaposition" as we saw many modern influences on indigenous Guatemalans, such as painted toenails, black pumps, cell phones, digital cameras, and backpacks. But the most juxtaposition was us in the Guatemalan village. The people took note of and waved at us happily as we walked through the village.



Katie Slavik (OT Student)

Leah Dunn (OT Faculty)