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Tuesday, July 13
This morning I got up and started cleaning and getting ready for the group. We put clean
sheets on the beds, and scrubbed and cleaned all the rooms. We then went to the grocery store and got some groceries
for lunch and for some of the breakfasts. I like the local market. It is very nice and clean and there are lots of good
foods. Lots of different rice, beans, and fruits. It is quite a nice change from shopping in the U.S. where everything
is in packages and has so many additives. After shopping we immediately left for the airport to pick of 4 people
in the group.
They all arrived safe and sound. Let me tell you about the group members. Carisa is from
Vermillion, South Dakota, the same town that I am from. She teaches Spanish at the high school. She is Miguel’s
teachers. Carisa just turned 30 and has a daughter Isabella who is 20 months. She is having fun speaking
Spanish and it is great having her here.
Kyle is 20 and is from Sioux City, Iowa. I was Kyle’s school counselor
when he was at East High. Kyle enjoys photography and is getting some great shots. It will be good to have the
photos. He just graduated from a school in Omaha, Nebraska in graphic arts. It is a joy to have one of my former
students with me and I think it will be great to have input from someone his age.
Kaye is 63 and from Gloucester, Virginia.
She has been Montessori teacher trainer at the infant toddler level. She presently teaches infant message in a variely
of settings including a jail, a high school for teen moms and a parenting center. She has traveled quite a bit and spent 2
months in Kenya last year. She has also been Australia, England, Spain, Greece, Malaysia, and she met her husband in
the Peace Corps in Nigeria years ago.
John is 64 and is also from Gloucester, Virginia. He has also traveled
globally and has a vast experience with different cultures. He spent 25 years teaching law at the College of William
and Mary in Williamsburg, running the clinical law program. He is the head of the legal panel for the ACLU in Virginia. His
time at William and Mary allowed him to be in the academic world but also to serve his passion which is working with legal
services for the poor.
Marta from Colorado will join us on the late flight tonight.
At the airport we needed
a taxi and the SUV. We unpacked the groceries and packed up the suitcases. Everyone was good about bringing the
extra suitcase of supplies. We headed for the office and upon arrival we brought in the suitcases, and found the sleeping
arrangements. Ruth was buying tickets for our bus trip next week. We stayed at the office and chatted and waited
for Ruth. I will let Carisa write the rest of this. My journaling is fading.
From Carisa: Miguel called
to talk a bit and I was able to talk to him and hear about his family and what he had been doing here. I was glad to
be able to share what he was experiencing here with his sister and other family members. When Ruth returned, and changed
her shirt as she got caught in a major downpour, it was decided it would be a good idea to acquaint us with the area by walking
to two markets close to the office. First we went to an open air market. In this market there were rows upon rows
of small stands connected to each other. There is an amazing variety of merchandise available. You can find anything
from clothes to music, grains, meat, fish, toys. The variety of people was equal to the variety of merchandise.
Infants sitting in ¨bounceie seats¨ while others worked- children working in the stalls as well as some that looked liked
they had their school uniform on and were there visiting. As we walked through we stuck out (imagine that) so we would
have the vendors quietly looking at us as we passed by. I found that if you make eye contact, smile, and greet them
they reply in the same manner. Kind eyes and great smiles-very polite. There was also a woman carrying three mugs of
a type of drink through the market. I believe Ruth said the woman was most likely delivering the drinks to some of the
vendors. The market had a community feel to where the would be talking with each other and they have food delivered
to their stands while they work. While there we met some relatives of Ruth’s. The children with them were
doing a competition of sort to help someone win a “princess” title for her school. They had a piece of paper
with boxes on it. Each box cost Q1 each and you crossed off however many boxes you paid for. We decided we had
seen enough of the market and continued on to another market. Main streets are busy and you need to always look for
what car, bus, or motorcycle is coming. What a difference. After asking the others of the group how to describe
the place we thought a strip mall would be a good way to help others visualize it. People didn’t make much eye
contact. It didn’t have the feel of community as did the others. It is in this place that there is a supermarket.
Diane noted that there was not as much “junk food” as what you would find in a supermarket in the United States.
There was a security guard at the front of the supermarket and as Diane had a Diet coke and Kyle had a small backpack they
were not allowed to enter. We looked quickly for a rain coat for Kaye but weren’t successful. Just outside
of the supermarket there was a small store that Kaye found a poncho to wear if it rains. The two markets were so close
together yet worlds apart. It was a good introduction to the contrasts which exist in Guatemala. We returned to
the office and relaxed a bit. Clemente joined us for the evening as he was on his way to deliver thread. We were
all treated to a meal at Ruth’s home which Leo, her sister, had prepared. It was a wonderful meal of black bean
puree with a thick cream you could add to it along with corn torillas and fried “pink” plantains. As Clemente
does not speak English I was able to help translate the conversations being held at the table. Conversation was easy
and, as I said, it was a wonderful meal which we all enjoyed. After dinner we were all ready for some rest. Once
again it was difficult to settle down to rest as we all have so much to talk about together. The men went into their
room and the women climbed into bed. Diane asked us to “talk to her” so she could fall asleep. As
you can tell the group has a good chemistry so the continuing of conversation was not a problem. We were in bed when
Marta arrived.
Marta is 53 and is from Greeley, Colorado. She has been working with Diane with Sharing the Dream
for a while. Diane calls her a “super craft person.” Marta is originally from Honduras and is married
to “ a wonderful husband who has a great sense of humor” with a daughter and son. She teaches ESL language
arts and reading and a 6-8 grade bilingual mathematics class. She also teaches Latin American cooking classes.
We
all greeted her from our beds and she settled in to sleep. It was a good first day for us here and we are all looking
forward to what was to come next.
Quote for the day. “Treat others as you would like to be treated.”
Diane,
Carisa, and group
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