Today has been another interesting day, well at least this morning thus far. But tonight should be interesting also. It's 1:30 and we're leaving for Antigua at 4:00. I've heard that it's about an hour bus ride and it's supposed to be a really bumpy ride.....so we'll see how that all goes.
Anyway, this morning we went to a guy's house in the ravine, which is where a whole bunch of small shacks are located. They are all congregated together in this small area on the edge of this ravine where it basically is a cliff, but people are still able to build their houses on it. At his house, he told us, in Spanish (luckily for me there was someone translating ;)), what he went through in his younger years when he was just married and had children. He told us about the injustice his family suffered and how he watched several of his children being killed right in front of his own eyes. It's hard to imagine that this kind of stuff is happening and is continue to happening around the world. This man also told us about how he was shot and injured and almost died, but by the grace of God, he survived. It is amazing to hear about what some of these people have went through and are continuing to go through just to live from day to day. It makes me think that I've got life pretty eazy and have been quite blessed. He told us how for a long period of time he was just eating tortillas because him and his family could not afford anything else. Once again I'm amazed on how little people can survive on.
To get to this man's house we had to walk down the streets in this "community" which were very steep and were not evenly paved. All around us there was little shacks made out of basically anything these people could find. Most were made out of some sort of bricks and mortar, so the houses were pretty stable, but the ground in which they were located was not as stable. So once it rains, there might be a good chance that some of these houses might not make it, especially through the rainy season, which begins near the end of May.
Anyway, that's basically what we've done thus far, so I best go try to rearrange things in my suitcase (hopefully it'll all fit)
Love you all!!!
P.S. I'm really just being lazy on not putting pictures on here, but eventually they'll come ;)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Today...again
Well, today was quite a contrast to yesterday...
We were able to hang out here for today, this morning we met with one of our professors that we're going to be seeing throughout the semester, Profe Hector. He's quite ecentric and fun to watch.
After that we ate lunch and then went to see the national cemetary. Their cemetary is quite different to the ones in North America. These are above ground and it's almost like they are memorials that we would have in the US. After that we walked to the city dump, which is right next to the cemetary. Which one came first? I don't know, but either way, that's a wierd thought to think about. The city dump was above ground and there were lots of vultures swarming over the dump, as well as in the dump and right next to those vultures were many, many people. These people search through the dump looking for plastic or cardboard, basically anything they can recycle for exchange for money at the end of the day. Each day they make about $2 or $3. So not very much. The dump is in this huge ravine that is constantly growing. Finally, we went to this place called the Potter's House, which helps support the 10,500 people that live around the dump. They help people find housing, schools, and medical necessities.
It was really interesting to see all of this and my heart just goes out to these people because they have so little and are just searching for things to repair and sell. The Potter's House has been such a help to these people and has helped the dump become a safer place. They have made it a rule as to not allow children into the dump because there were a lot of accidents occuring with the dump trucks. So on a positive note, things have improved drastically.
Eventually I'm going to attempt to post pictures on here, it just might be a little while before that happens.
Love you all!!!
We were able to hang out here for today, this morning we met with one of our professors that we're going to be seeing throughout the semester, Profe Hector. He's quite ecentric and fun to watch.
After that we ate lunch and then went to see the national cemetary. Their cemetary is quite different to the ones in North America. These are above ground and it's almost like they are memorials that we would have in the US. After that we walked to the city dump, which is right next to the cemetary. Which one came first? I don't know, but either way, that's a wierd thought to think about. The city dump was above ground and there were lots of vultures swarming over the dump, as well as in the dump and right next to those vultures were many, many people. These people search through the dump looking for plastic or cardboard, basically anything they can recycle for exchange for money at the end of the day. Each day they make about $2 or $3. So not very much. The dump is in this huge ravine that is constantly growing. Finally, we went to this place called the Potter's House, which helps support the 10,500 people that live around the dump. They help people find housing, schools, and medical necessities.
It was really interesting to see all of this and my heart just goes out to these people because they have so little and are just searching for things to repair and sell. The Potter's House has been such a help to these people and has helped the dump become a safer place. They have made it a rule as to not allow children into the dump because there were a lot of accidents occuring with the dump trucks. So on a positive note, things have improved drastically.
Eventually I'm going to attempt to post pictures on here, it just might be a little while before that happens.
Love you all!!!
Yes, it really is 7:15 am when I'm writing this. Boo for having to be up early. But it's fun and today should be pretty exciting. So I ended up getting sunburnt yesterday, go figure ;) And we're going back out today to see the cemetary and then a person's house who lives in the slums. So today should be an interesting day...and I have a 4-5 page paper to write for tomorrow :( Homework, in Guatemala, when it's like 75 degrees out and really feels like summer. Boo to that.
Well, it's almost time for breakfast and then another long day of well, walking, cause that's what we do here =)
Love you all!!!
Well, it's almost time for breakfast and then another long day of well, walking, cause that's what we do here =)
Love you all!!!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Today we did a lot of sightseeing. We really haven't stopped moving since 6:30 this morning, which is crazy. In a little while, I'm planning on crashing and not waking up for a little while. We were in downtown in Guatemala City which is very diverse. There are the slums of Guatemala and then real close is a "richer area." There are so many small houses in the ravine and if there is a lot of rain, there is a good chance that a lot of these houses won't exist any longer. Tomorrow we're going to visit someone who lives in the ravine, or at least I think that's tomorrow, it could be on Wednesday.
I learned a lot about Guatemala history and how there is still a major split between the few wealthy families in Guatemala. It's really not good circumstances and eventually, I'll have pictures to post on here.
Anyway, I think I need to get to bed cause I'm about to fall asleep writing this thing....
I learned a lot about Guatemala history and how there is still a major split between the few wealthy families in Guatemala. It's really not good circumstances and eventually, I'll have pictures to post on here.
Anyway, I think I need to get to bed cause I'm about to fall asleep writing this thing....
Friday, January 26, 2007
preparations
So I'm going to Guatemala for 4 months...eek, I can't believe I'm actually going to be doing this. I can't imagine what I'm going to be encountering there. I'm really quite worried about the language because I don't know Spanish that well, but I suppose I'll learn and it'll all be good. Well, this is what I've been told, but sometimes I don't really believe this. Yes, it's going to be a challenge, but I think I can get through it with God's help.
This process is a bit frustrating. I've got too much stuff that I want to bring to Guatemala and I feel like what I do bring isn't going to be enough... They say the "bare essentials" is going to be enough and well, I've got trust them on this. Like I said, this will be interesting.
This process is a bit frustrating. I've got too much stuff that I want to bring to Guatemala and I feel like what I do bring isn't going to be enough... They say the "bare essentials" is going to be enough and well, I've got trust them on this. Like I said, this will be interesting.
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