Group 2 made it home safe & sound to Indy. The travel was fairly smooth and easy, but we were sad to say goodbye.
Luckily the reunion is the 8th - so we don't have to go too long with out our new friends!
Keep up with Miss Guatemala HERE. And don't forget to check out more pictures from Group 2 @ Nueva Esperanza on Flickr.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Our Last Full Day & The Boat Ride to San Juan
Our last full day in Guatemala started with a boat ride to a little hotel for a late breakfast.
They had a wonderful selection of smoothies, juices, coffees, and teas to drink. There was also a traditional guatemalan hot chocolate that looked & sounded delicious.
After our "brunch" we finished the bumpy boat ride to the other side of the lake and arrived in San Juan.
About half of us took the tuk-tuks to the weaving shop and the rest walked there. While we were there we watched a presentation on how the women's co-op dyes the thread, spins the thread, creates the pattern then sets up the backstrap loom.
The process was long and involved but the results were beautiful. One thing we found most interesting about their work - all of their dyes came from natural substances. Many were from wood, fruits and vegetables.
The rest of the day was spent eating & shopping in Pana. We had one final dinner at the bomberos then headed back to the hotel to pack & get a restful night sleep for the travel day.
They had a wonderful selection of smoothies, juices, coffees, and teas to drink. There was also a traditional guatemalan hot chocolate that looked & sounded delicious.
(Huevos Rancheros)
After our "brunch" we finished the bumpy boat ride to the other side of the lake and arrived in San Juan.
About half of us took the tuk-tuks to the weaving shop and the rest walked there. While we were there we watched a presentation on how the women's co-op dyes the thread, spins the thread, creates the pattern then sets up the backstrap loom.
The process was long and involved but the results were beautiful. One thing we found most interesting about their work - all of their dyes came from natural substances. Many were from wood, fruits and vegetables.
The rest of the day was spent eating & shopping in Pana. We had one final dinner at the bomberos then headed back to the hotel to pack & get a restful night sleep for the travel day.
Group 2 - Day 7: Our Last Day in Nueva Esperanza
Squares Completed: 8
Our last day at Nueva Esperanza was by the most meaningful for the group.
We had high hopes of completing as many squares as we possibly could, but we took time to appreciate our time in the village.
At this time in the week we had all made friends, enjoyed afternoons playing with the kids, and finally perfected our roll in the concrete making process.
After lunch many people jump roped and played frisbee with the kids. There was also a massive game of "pato, pato, ganso" involving children and the big kids.
We finished off the afternoon with coloring, concrete, and photos. At the very end of the day we put our handprints in one of the squares and said a prayer over the whole court. It was a very moving moment for all of us to hear the how appreciative the men of the village were for our help, and our appreciation for the opportunity to help them with the project.
On the drive back to the hotel we stopped to go across the suspension bridge. It was fun & scary for all of us!
Our last moments spent with Jamie & Raul were sad but we discussed the possibility of seeing them next summer.
Our last day at Nueva Esperanza was by the most meaningful for the group.
We had high hopes of completing as many squares as we possibly could, but we took time to appreciate our time in the village.
At this time in the week we had all made friends, enjoyed afternoons playing with the kids, and finally perfected our roll in the concrete making process.
After lunch many people jump roped and played frisbee with the kids. There was also a massive game of "pato, pato, ganso" involving children and the big kids.
We finished off the afternoon with coloring, concrete, and photos. At the very end of the day we put our handprints in one of the squares and said a prayer over the whole court. It was a very moving moment for all of us to hear the how appreciative the men of the village were for our help, and our appreciation for the opportunity to help them with the project.
On the drive back to the hotel we stopped to go across the suspension bridge. It was fun & scary for all of us!
Our last moments spent with Jamie & Raul were sad but we discussed the possibility of seeing them next summer.
Group 2 - Day 6: Expanding Our Food Horizons
Squares completed: 10.
After working frantically all day on Wednesday we were all tired and paced ourselves a bit more today. Fortunately we had some fantastic food to keep us going throughout the day.
We started off the day with Daliah's delicious jelly stuffed french toast and the final coffee blend. Needless to say, all of us devoured our breakfast.
The day continued on as usual. Work, soda break, work, lunch, work. Erin did get a chance to observe the ladies working in the feeding center. Cooking over an open flame definitely takes skills. We finished the day strong with 10 complete squares.
Erin and Jamie served the ceviche with dinner. Since we made a large portion I'm not sure how many of each thing you will need to make your. You can adjust each ingredient to your liking, but the chef at the hotel did tell us not too much tomato or onion. It's not supposed to be like a salsa.
After working frantically all day on Wednesday we were all tired and paced ourselves a bit more today. Fortunately we had some fantastic food to keep us going throughout the day.
We started off the day with Daliah's delicious jelly stuffed french toast and the final coffee blend. Needless to say, all of us devoured our breakfast.
The day continued on as usual. Work, soda break, work, lunch, work. Erin did get a chance to observe the ladies working in the feeding center. Cooking over an open flame definitely takes skills. We finished the day strong with 10 complete squares.
After the hard day at work Jamie taught Erin how to make his famous ceviche. They were allowed to use the kitchen at the hotel and made friends with the chef.
We had to disinfect all of the tomatoes, limes, avocados and herbs in a water/disinfectant solution for at least 30 seconds.
Erin and Jamie served the ceviche with dinner. Since we made a large portion I'm not sure how many of each thing you will need to make your. You can adjust each ingredient to your liking, but the chef at the hotel did tell us not too much tomato or onion. It's not supposed to be like a salsa.
Interested in trying to make your own Guatemalan ceviche?
These are the things you'll need:- 3-4 medium Tomatoes
- 3-4 Limes
- 2 Red & 1 White Onions
- 2 lbs Jumbo Shrimp, Peeled & Devined (or other seafood)*
- 1 Bunch Cilantro
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- about 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1-2 tsp Soy Sauce
- 2 Avocados
- V8 or Tomato Juice (optional - depends on how much more liquid you need)
*About 1 lb shrimp in the ceviche is enough for 4 people.
Directions:
- Finely dice the tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Combine in a large bowl.
- Dunk the shrimp in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove then cut into 3 pieces. Cool and stir into the bowl - mix together well.
- Juice the limes into the shrimp mixture. Add some salt and pepper, ketchup, worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. Stir everything together until 1 homogenous mixture. It should seem like a good balance of shrimp to onion to tomato ratio. No too salsa-ish but not overwhelmingly fully of shrimp. This is the point when you can add tomato juice if you need it. You don't want it to be too soupy, but it should be full of tomato flavor.
- Finely dice the avocados and stir into the ceviche. Serve immediately with chips or eat by the spoonful.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Group 2 - Day 5: Is there a Guiness record for pouring concrete?
Squares completed: 13.
It was another record-breaking day for the Team 2 Concrete-Pouring Machine. We poured 8 squares before lunch, which was one more than we got done in the entire first day. As a result, we were all exhausted after lunch and took a break to share the joys of bubbles and face-painting with the kids.
The big adventure for the day was dinner at a traditional Mayan restaurant. It was a family owned business and the father shared their culture with us while his wife cooked and his three daughters played songs on marimbas.
He shared the Mayan creation story with us, as well as the traditional methods for creating a marimba with bee's wax and membranes from pig intestines. Sorry if you had an appetite prior to reading this. He also held a competition for who could make the best tortillas. Jacob won the grand prize of one free drink.
After our fun dinner and hard day of work we were all exhausted so we rushed back to the hotel for a restful night of sleep.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Group 2 - Day 4: Rock Hard Slabs (of concrete)
Concrete squares completed today: 10.
Today began the right way: banana pancakes at the fire station. Nothing can go wrong after that.
Once we finished our breakfast we headed straight for the work site and got down to business. We owe the first team a debt of gratitude for providing a great framework for us to work efficiently. As a result we shattered their record for squares of concrete filled in a day.
Okay, we beat their record by one, but this was progress from pouring 7 squares the first day. It's not that we feel the need to brag or compete with the first team, but it's like a tree falling in the forest when no one is there to hear it-- it's not much of a victory if no one knows you won.
The kids in the village seem to have a sixth sense for telling when the work and the heat are getting to us. Right when we start to feel stressed out or exhausted they come up to hold our hands, sit on our laps, or just give us hugs.
A little affection from them is all you need to relax and keep going. Two of our team members got to take a much needed break for a field trip with some of them. They hiked about a mile down a trail with a whole class to a spot with quite a view.
After our much needed lunch break a few of the group members spent some time coloring with the kids (which turned out to be more marker management than coloring) and playing with those that stuck around. A few of the girls even got flowers braided into their hair.
Before dinner Erin headed to the Bomberos to help prepare dinner. Her and Marcy even got to witness the bomberos birthday tradition of filling the birthday persons pants with water and then continuously dumping buckets full of water on them.
Today began the right way: banana pancakes at the fire station. Nothing can go wrong after that.
Once we finished our breakfast we headed straight for the work site and got down to business. We owe the first team a debt of gratitude for providing a great framework for us to work efficiently. As a result we shattered their record for squares of concrete filled in a day.
The kids in the village seem to have a sixth sense for telling when the work and the heat are getting to us. Right when we start to feel stressed out or exhausted they come up to hold our hands, sit on our laps, or just give us hugs.
A little affection from them is all you need to relax and keep going. Two of our team members got to take a much needed break for a field trip with some of them. They hiked about a mile down a trail with a whole class to a spot with quite a view.
After our much needed lunch break a few of the group members spent some time coloring with the kids (which turned out to be more marker management than coloring) and playing with those that stuck around. A few of the girls even got flowers braided into their hair.
Before dinner Erin headed to the Bomberos to help prepare dinner. Her and Marcy even got to witness the bomberos birthday tradition of filling the birthday persons pants with water and then continuously dumping buckets full of water on them.
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