Friday, January 22, 2010

Today we woke up for our last breakfast on Los Andes. During this time we presented our ‘thank you’ gifts to Olga, Vilma, and the tres cooks. After breakfast we took a walk across the soccer field to the local store. Previously in the week we had learned about how the store is operated. At the store we all purchased some tea and coffee that had been picked on the reserve. Then we went to visit the playground one last time. The kids were running around the yard and still looked as happy as they did when it first opened. We took this time to individually reflect on the accomplishments and experiences we have had over the past few days. Before we said our final good byes, we got the chance to see how the locals on the reserve really live. Vilma took us to three houses where we saw the pillas (where they wash clothes), the kitchen, and the living rooms. It was surprising to find out that about 6 people lived in such a small space. However, I think it is important that we had the opportunity to see how people on Los Andes live. Finally, we said adios and packed the van for a 3 hour ride to Panajachal. On the way, we stopped at a less touristy location to pick up some riggaetone CDs from the market. Over the past week we have tried to immerse ourselves in the culture any way we can, including listening to music. As soon as we arrived to the nature reserve at Panajachel, we talked to Alberto about Sustainable Development. He made us consider what Sustainable Development really means and brought up the point that the phrase actually contradicts itself. Many of us had not really thought about Sustainable Development as a contradiction prior to this discussion. Most of us were surprised at what he had to say because it really had us thinking in a way in which we had not before. After our long talk, we took our luggage to our nearby camp site where 5 tents had been set up for us. We then reflected on our experience at Los Andes and discussed various privileges in comparison to what we thought about the term before this trip. We enjoyed another traditional Guatemalan dinner after we had worked up an appetite during reflection. After dinner, we proceeded to the camp fire and continued to bond with each other. It was a nice way to relax after all the hard work we had put into our service project.

-Emily and Rachel