The Land: Day... Lost track!

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Hola from Guatemala! It has come to my understanding that we haven't had an updated blog entry in a couple of days. So to all the worried parents out there, don't worry! We are all okay. There have apparently been a few earthquakes in the past few days, but they have been while we were fast asleep, so we did not feel them. Today was our last working day, and also our hardest. There were many jobs to do, and the one which I chose was to cement the Eco-Brick walls that the crews had built earlier during the trip.

This morning, Melissa Liu, Iksha Kumar, Mr. S., Taehyo Kim, and myself all went for a run. I felt extremely out of shape; even though we only jogged for about 40 minutes, the altitude caused us to be out of breath and tired!

Tomorrow we have a very early wakeup! We are waking up at 4:00 to go and watch the Easter Saturday processions through Tecpan. I am very excited to see just how influential the Catholic religion is to the Guatemalan people.

I suppose since there is not too much to write about today that I should talk about my general feelings about Guatemala. Everything here has been so incredible! Even while running today, everyone was waving and saying "Hola!" and "Buenos Dias!" Not only are the general public friendly, but the workers as well. They always have huge smiles on their faces, showing that they truly appreciate the fact that they have a steady and supporting job. I have bonded with one worker in particular named Francisco. He was our worker when we dug "The Hole." "The Hole" was a three metre deep, 7 feet long, and 5 feet wide hole that we helped to dig in under three days! Every morning, he would walk down to "The Hole" and greet us with a huge smile. He was always happy and eager to teach us more Spanish vocabulary. He would even joke around by pretending to bury us in the hole that we had dug! Every worker that I have seen is happy, smiling, and always rushing to get the job done efficiently and well. He is one person whose memory will stick with me for years to come.

Another worker who has touched me is named Daniel. He is always happy, laughing, and beaming. He is one worker who is very eager to improve his English, and while doing that, teaches us more Spanish! We have taught him how to say more, no more, water, and many other English words. It is so rewarding to see him constantly practicing these new words and working to improve his pronunciation.

Even on Children's Day, the kids were smiling and grateful. I found out that this would have been one of the first times that many of these kids would have seen and used a slide. It also touched me when I saw the kids today on our run who recognized us from Children's Day and waved to us.

Everything about this country is amazing, and I feel so lucky to have had this experience. Seeing how happy the children are with so little really puts things into perspective for me. It makes me realize how much we have and how different our culture is from the Guatemalan culture. I will never forget this incredible trip, and we have made many memories which we will remember for many years.

P.S. The Guate Gang says Happy Birthday to my mom! I miss you and love you so much. See you soon!

~Nicole Ure

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