We woke up to another delicious breakfast of plantains, salsa, beans, eggs and tortillas. Walking to the job site the weather was beautiful as ever. Day two of work led to better communication and corporation between the groups and student leaders. Damaris, the only female group leader, continued to be patient with our group's effort to communicate in Spanish. We were able to use the few words we knew to find out more about her interests (her dream job is a doctor, her favorite color is green and she has a black cat). Rudy also continued to be patient with our group-- groupo de marron! We had a few more setbacks in building the fence, but laughing at our mistakes when communicating was constant entertainment. I think my favorite communication glitch of the day was trying to tell Rudy that I saw a dog wearing glasses. I really saw a dog wearing glasses, no lies. He just gave me a blank stare. I continued trying to explain (using body language) that I saw this weird dog, but I believe he thinks I am a bit crazy. For those of you reading this blog, I'm guessing your siding with Rudy too!
After a succulent lunch with frutas and homemade guacamole (BEST IN THE WORLD) we made our way over to the community medical center. Considering its small size of only three rooms, the one doctor/nurse there (Carlos) seems to take great care of the community members. He shared with us that his favorite practice is delivering babies. However, this is occurring less and less due to family planning classes that have been implemented in recent years. Los Andes exemplifies healthy living and has a very low mal nutrition rate compared to the rest of Guatemala and also has a very similar life expectancy as the United States. All of the community members seem to have a very close bond to Carlos because he is so committed to their health and well being. He has been the only medical practitioner at Los Andes for the last 25 years. Carlos also chooses to use natural medicines such as herbs to treat his patients when applicable, which we found very interesting.
When we returned to our work station for the afternoon, refueled with knowledge and an amazing lunch, the sounds of Shakria and Lady Ga Ga (who would guess?) caused dancing among the AWB members. Again, I think our group leaders might get the impression we're crazy, but in a good way of course! Towards the end of our work session, when we were getting so close to finishing our fence but having a few technical difficulties, the slide and monkey bars for the playground were brought into the center of our work area. Seeing the actual pieces of the playground (surprising already built!) gave us new hope and motivation for completing our project. Now we can envision los ninos playing on the finished project, laughing and having a good time.
After work, we rushed over to a church service (la iglesia). When walking into the simple, but beautiful church, we over heard people singing from inside. Our initial impression was a very relaxing, spiritual atmosphere conveyed by the soft lighting of only a few candles at the altar. The priest greeted us upon entering and we sat among the other community members. The priest awakened us all with his powerful voice. Soon the church members came alive with joyful song and clapping. The lively singing was so inviting and we all wished we could join in. In contrast with the churches we've come accustom to in the United States, the members in the church seemed alive with passion and emotion. We could hear the soft sobs of many church members while singing their prayers to God.
Upon our arrival back to Casa Oliver, we feasted on dobladas, vegetable soup, pasta with pesto, and cinnamon apples for dessert. Our creative reflection activity involved us writing our own haiku, summarizing the activities and emotions of the day. The restrictive process of writing a haiku paralleled the struggles of communicating with a limited Spanish vocabulary. It was comforting to know many of the other AB member felt the same way. We were able to relate to each other and discuss our struggles in communicating with our team leaders. By the end of our discussion, it was agreed that without the patience of our team leaders, our relationships, growing daily, would not be a possibility.
Buenos Noches!
Sarita Edwards y Abril Coughlin
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