Weekend in Quetzaltenango

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The Weekend in Quetzalenango

I spent this weekend with the Stillwater group in Quetzaltenango. This was one of the most interesting weekends that I have had yet. We went out to eat the first night (Wednesday) in Panajachel and that was nice to get to meet everybody and have some good food.

Friday I did my usual work with the brick-laying. I have moved up from brick-cleaner to demolition man. This means that I get a chisel and a hammer and pound the existing concrete into oblivion. Ok, usually I just hit it as hard as I can until a.) I hit my own hand and jump up and down while the other guys laugh, b.) my forearm gets too tired to hit any more or c.) I accidentally break the wrong brick/cement and then walk over to Don Chema and explain: "Soy imbecil porque..." So this really isn't as glamorous of a job as the self-given title would imply.

On Saturday, we left for Quetzaltenango right after lunch. It was a 2-2.5 hour trip. That evening we went to look at a state-run orphanage. That trip was a little depressing because nearly a third of the kids there are special-needs and it was just sad to see that they didn't have the kind of equipment or facilities that you would want them to have. The staff was friendly enough and looked like they cared about the kids a lot. After that we went to Guiseppi's and ate pizza. It was a great restaurant and I definitely over-indulged.

Sunday we went to a church in Las Mojadas valley outside of Quetzaltenango. It was a really small, friendly, and devout church that Larry and Claire helped start. I really liked the service and there were a couple of people from our group that went up and spoke. I say our group because they have been so friendly and including of me that I feel like I am completely a part of them already. We ate at Pollo Campero after the service with some of the families from the church and their kids, they loved it. That evening we put on a clinic for the kids at the state-run orphanage and it was really nuts at first and I was really overwhelmed since I was trying (and failing) to communicate with and organize kids that did not want to listen or be organized. But it ended up being one of the best memories that I have so far from this trip. The dentist (my roommate, Mike) was great and amazingly efficient and the kids ended up being really great. That evening I crashed after a dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Monday my mom flew into the Guatemala City airport and I had to try and get a shuttle organized for her and such and then also get to Panajachel to pick her up. It ended up working out fine and I took a bus from Quetzaltenango to Los Encuentros and a van from Los Encuentros to Sololá. I was beat by the time I got in and that night Mom and I stayed in Pana and went out to eat and stuff...good times.

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