Our Arrival to the Pavarotti Center in San Lucas Toliman

Mariana, Dana, Flory, Sarah, David, Otto

by Dana Fried

We started our day at the Pavarotti Center in San Lucas Tolimán , which is supported by the Rigoberta Menchu Foundation.  It was impactful to see how deep Quinnipiac University is connected to this facility and especially for me, the connection with occupational and physical therapy students.

Along with other students, I was fortunate enough to meet individuals influencing and influenced by this trip.  Otto is an unbelievably smart and selfless school teacher who provides therapeutic services for free at the Pavarotti Center.  He explained to us the importance of striving to make a difference in the world and he said that failure is ok, but you at least need to put your best foot forward towards your aspirations.  His kind of good-heartedness and determination despite limited supplies and obstacles was astounding and I was able to see not only the type of professional I aspire to become, but also the type of person I want to be.

Flory was a young woman who received services from Otto as she was unable to walk.  Her congenital disease resulted in surgery and neuropathy.  Otto’s services including his exercise program and encouragement have given her new-found opportunities to walk and work with kids.  She is a strong and optimistic individual who is now paving her way forward by assisting Otto to make a difference in other people’s lives, like that which he made in hers.  This experience allowed me to see first-hand how good-natured people can be and how my hope to become an occupational therapist will have life-changing meaning in people’s lives.  I was also able to see where occupational and physical therapy is going to be built with the help of QU students in the future.  This will only further the amazing work people like Otto are doing in order to help people like Flory in maximizing their capabilities.

Flory

After the Pavarotti Center, we headed to Antigua for lunch and souvenir shopping.  Antigua was a very traditional looking city and it is one of the locations more so populated with tourists.  We were able to purchase things to remember Guatemala by.  It was interesting to see how the bargaining system works and how cheap things can be purchased for.  Following Antigua, we went to a market full of women who hand made the souvenirs we were purchasing.  The intricate work that went into the items and how much time the weaving requires is in no way equivalent to what they earn.  It made many of us feel guilty for the bargaining and it revealed the harsh realities of life in Guatemala.

Albergues Tecpan, Tecpan, Guatemala

We ended our day at the “hobbit-like” hotel (AlberguesTecpan) where we ate dinner and slept.  All of us are excited to meet our second set of host families tomorrow in San Juan Sacatepéquez

and continue helping the communities with work that needs to be done.  I cannot believe we are already a week into this unforgettable trip.

We Have Completed 1 Week in Guatemala!

Mike Benedict and Scotty Romano on the boat crossing Lake Atitlan

By Mike Benedict

Today marks 1 week of our epic journey traveling in Guatemala.  We finished our first home stay in Santa Teresa and last night we slept at the hotel MiraValle in San Pedro Sacatepéquez.

We began our day with breakfast in the hotel restaurant and we had an insightful and deep reflection of our trip thus far.  Reflections included everything from observations of poverty and disease to the obvious love and happiness the village people of Guatemala possess.  

And today was Barbara Ives’ birthday!  She was greeted with a pancake with a candle and Happy Birthday in Spanish.

Barbara Ives blows out the candle on her birthday pancake!

After breakfast we departed for Lake Atitlán and everyone was in an upbeat mood as we acquired the ability to play our music on the bus.

We arrived at the lake in Panajachel where we were unfortunately greeted by cloudy weather, preventing us from seeing the true beauty of the lake with the surrounding mountains and volcanoes.  We sat down for a nice lunch before departing on a 45 minute boat ride across the lake to Santiago Atitlán.  During the ride we were able to observe the volcanoes much closer and relax as we crossed the lake.

In Santiago Atitlán, we had an hour and a half to shop in the market.  At this point we were able to practice our bargaining skills.  Often if a store owner asks you for 400 Quetzales for a painting, you can get him or her to lower the price to just 100 Quetzales (about $12 US Dollars).   The time flew by as we all tried to get the best deal on the machetes, paintings, bracelets, t-shirts and other souvenirs.

After the market, we drove to San Lucas Tolimán (about 30-45 minutes from Santiago Atitlán) where we stayed at the Pavarotti Center on Saturday night.

Our Last Day in the Village of Santa Teresa

Sarah with her host family in the village of Santa Teresa

by Sarah Guariglia

Today was our last day with our host families.  Julia and I spent the morning playing Uno and Jenga .  We went to the Mayan ceremony with our families.  The Mayan ceremony gives thanks to the water because in the Mayan calendar today is ‘water’.    The ceremony was entirely in the Mayan language, Mam.  I was surprised how many words I recognized throughout the ceremony because of all of the words my family taught us throughout the week.  The spiritual guide kept thanking Rigoberta Menchu.  It is pretty crazy to think that the woman they are thanking in this sacred ceremony is the woman we will be meeting in just a few days!   

A Mayan ceremony delivered in the Mam language

After the ceremony, we ate lunch and then we headed back to our homes to say goodbye to our families.  This is always the saddest part of the trip.  After a tearful goodbye and a few “just one more” hugs we all got on the bus and headed for San Marcos.

Tortillas, Soccer and Family Time in Santa Teresa

By Mariana DiMaggio

Today was a little different than any of the other days here so far.  Instead of planting trees we had a day dedicated to living a typical day in the life of our host parents.  Ashley and I woke up first thing at 6 am to learn how to make the traditional tortillas with our host mom and grandmother.  After a while it gets easier to find your own technique and with a few tips from our mother we got better by the end of breakfast.

Once our group was finished making tortillas, Ashley and I split off to work with our host father and mother.  Every day they run a store attached to their house selling things from soda and candy to fresh chicken.  Once a week they get a truck supply of soda and sell those bottles to surrounding stores.  We rode with our father and mother in their truck to the peak of one of the mountains to sell their soda and back down again.  It was so eye-opening to see how they make a living and to share the day with them.

The last big event of the day was a soccer game with the village in San Lorenzo, the place where we planted trees earlier in the week.  Before the games began there was an opening ceremony with a speech to welcome us and a man playing the violin.  The guys game was first with students from our group versus the men from Guatemala.  While the guys played, the girls cheered and played with the children.  Someone pointed out where else can you get a soccer game, bubbles the children were blowing, and a man playing the violin over the microphone.

The guys ended up tying 1-1.  Next up were the girls after a quick pump up huddle, we were ready.  The girls on the Guatemalan team were no older than 16 years old, but live and breathe soccer.  With tons of laughs and hand balls the game ended with our team winning 1-0.   We shook all their hands and got a picture with our team and theirs before calling it a day.  Our other professor, David Ives said that there were about 120 from the village watching both games.  It was incredible to see how much our presence meant to the people there.  Saying goodbye to everyone after the game was bittersweet, ending an amazing few days and creating bonds with people who will never be broken after working with them and playing soccer against them.

A Warm Welcome to the Village of Santa Teresa

By Ashley Ostrem

I have never been welcomed in a place as I have been in Guatemala.  We arrived, after a long travel day, to the village we all now know as home in Santa Teresa.  The three professors and ten students were welcomed by singing, dancing, and the playing of the Marimba.  As we began to communicate with children in Spanish, the attachment to the families, children and village set in.  Whether it is from the family dinners to the mid-day soccer games, you truly do become a family.

During our working days, we have been replanting trees that were planted during last year’s previous trip to prevent future erosion.  Steep hikes and the hot sun have been a couple of obstacles we have faced so far.  But already done with two days of work, we have planted around 300 hundred trees.  The picture attached shows us as we were planting the trees during day one.

I have already been blown away by this unforgettable experience.  Prior to the trip I had been told stories and shown pictures, but these past few days, views of the mountains, and relationships formed prove that the pictures and stories do not do this experience justice.

I can’t wait to see what else this experience has in store.

Let the Journey Begin!

2013 Quinnipiac Guatemala Delegation

We are now in flight on our way to Guatemala! Yes, this first blog is being posted while we are on our plane. 10 Quinnipiac students, David Ives, Barbara Ives and Jennifer Rafferty will spend the next 14 days in Guatemala. Follow our journey here!