¡Hola nuestra familia y amigos amados!

What a busy day we had today! We started our morning early at a school for children with a range of disabilities in Xela and took a tour through the different classrooms; one of the teachers touched our hearts when she told us that even though they have very limited resources to use with the students, they do their best to offer them special education. After that, we made a song circle and were outnumbered by the excited children, and we had a memorable time playing with them. Right after, we traveled to an elderly home for grandmothers in Xela and met occupational therapy students from the University of Rafael Landivar that were doing field work with the ladies. Right away, they welcomed us with applause as if we were all family and we did “gymnastic” exercises with the group – dance moves that replicate actions that the women are familiar with, such as “making the bed” (arms waving up and down) and “washing the dishes” (one hand moving in a circle) which was a fun combination of music and therapy. Many of us experienced powerful emotions as we saw first hand the intersection of different languages, cultures, and ages to connect through eye contact and smiles. Many of us cried; we will remember our time here when we return home to start our own fieldwork.

After that, we headed to the University of Rafael Landivar for a much-needed lunch, which they made very special for us by catering delicious food and giving us a beautiful presentation of the work they’ve been doing since last year’s group from Xavier OT visited them. They also gave us a tour of their campus which showed us how much we have in common as Jesuit universities – we both value beautiful greenery as an inspiration for our education, study space in libraries, and having an on-campus chapel with its own parish. 

After this, we split up to go to the sites that we did not go to yesterday – half of the group went to the TRAMA cooperation for weaving, and (our) half went to the temascal where we stepped out of our comfort zones and into a very hot, tiny room where we experienced the Mayan tradition of the “baño,” cleansing ourselves of toxins. We reunited again as a group to watch a documentary on the painful history of Guatemala and spent much time afterwards reflecting on all of the incredible experiences and emotions we shared today. We had more things to share than we had time for, and we ran back to our host families in the rain for another warm meal and night’s sleep before tomorrow’s activities.

How can it get better than this?

Adiós y mucho amor,

Katie y Paige

Glad to hear all is well. Can't wait to join you!

Carol

Hey Guatemala Gang

Therapists and faculty are coming your way on Saturday morning.  Can't wait to hear all about your adventures so far.  Stacia

Hola familia y amigos!

The learning and adventures continued today as we started off our day by visiting “Fundabiem,” a non-profit, holistic care facility for children and adults with disabilities and other injuries. After getting a tour from the director, we were able to spend some time exploring on our own and even engaging in conversations with clients and their families. We sang songs to the children (in Spanish) and had very meaningful conversations with parents and other family members. After our visit to “Fundabiem,” we went to the market to engage in a learning experience during which we were split into four groups and assigned a different topic: food, medicine, education, and clothing. Each group was given 50 Quetzales (about $7) to shop for the “necessities” for a family of five. This was a very eye-opening experience, as many people in Guatemala live off of less than $2 a day.

We then had lunch with our host families before splitting into two groups: one group experienced a traditional Mayan medicinal practice, a sauna, (Temazcal) while the other group learned how to weave at a women’s cooperative. Our day concluded with a delicious treat, ice cream, and a group reflection before heading home to our host families for the night. We are so grateful for all that we have experienced thus far and are looking forward to continuing our intercultural growth.

Saludos,

Ashtyn and Marie

Hola! Today was our second day in Guate! We departed for Quetzaltenango or Xela early this morning. We took a four-hour bus ride through the mountains and enjoyed beautiful scenery of mountains and agricultural landscapes. We saw people farming corn, beets, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes and other vegetables. Once we arrived in Xela, we headed for Café Red, an NGO that supports individuals readjusting to life in Guatemala following migration due to deportation from the U.S. Willie Barreno spoke to us about his life migrating to the U.S. and his experiences for 12 years working as a janitor, kitchen prep, and a chef before deciding to return to Guatemala. Upon his return to Guatemala, he started Café Red. Willie challenged us to examine through a new lens issues of world migration, globalization and hybridization. There is a small shop inside Café Red called Igual-Mart (Equal Mart), which sells many fair-trade hand made items. After a delicious lunch and cup of coffee, we walked through the center of town, the ‘parque central,’ and on to the language school which organized the family stays for us. Once we arrived, we met students from Rutgers University who were wrapping up their immersion experience. 

During our reflection, we talked about our hopes for the family stay and our experiences thus far. Finally, the time had come to meet our families! In pairs, we went with our ‘señoras’ to their homes. Nathalie and I are staying with Olga and her daughter Paola. Olga took us to the grocery store to choose foods we like and gave us a tour of the city. We feel especially blessed to be spending time with this sweet woman who has welcomed us into her home for a few days.

We are looking forward to more adventures tomorrow!

Hasta pronto,

Nathalie and Diane

Welcome to Guatemala!

Hi Allison and Rachel here posting from Guatemala City! We all arrived safely after a long day of traveling and we are excited to begin our Guatemalan adventure. After settling in and eating lunch, we learned about the history of Guatemala and safety tips for the week. It was really interesting to learn about the political disputes that have gone on for decades in this country, and how people are coming together to support change. After our lesson and a little rest, we had dinner at our hotel, Casa Emaus, and some of our telecollaboration partners were able to join us. It was great to get to speak to them in person! We are heading to bed early tonight to be ready to head to Xela early tomorrow morning.

Buenas Noches!

Allison and Rachel. 

Guatemala 2018!

The Guatemala 2018 students will be on their way in the morning! Guatemala, here we come!