Saturday morning we did a little hike up to El Mirador, a viewpoint overlooking San Juan and Lake Atitlan, which was incredible. The pictures attached are from that hike. After the hike we walked down to the beach and spent 45 minutes enjoying the scene around the water. For lunch we went to Alma de Colores, a restaurant that was part of the farm that we worked on two days ago. It helps people with disabilities get jobs and creates economic independence for the disabled so they don’t have to rely on others financially. The food was great and we even got to meet some of the workers that the project was helping. We regrouped in the afternoon to watch two short films created by the filmmaker Cleida Cholotio, who was there to present them to us. The first one detailed the role of a curandera, or healer, in a traditional Tz’utujil community. The second one was more generally about culture, about the Tz’utujil (a native Maya) language and how it is slowly dying. In the village, some of the elders only speak Tz’utujil and not Spanish but the opposite is true of the youth, who only speak Spanish— that is the crux of the problem. We saw these films (in Tz’utujil with Spanish subtitles) and discussed the issues surrounding them in preparation for our trips to the local high school on Monday and Tuesday where we will be discussing these topics with local students. Sunday, we are going to spend the whole day with our host families. On the topic of host families, during our check in Saturday morning, some of us shared some anecdotes about our experiences: Whether it be playing soccer, cards (which has been very popular), or helping me solve a rubix cube, our homestays have been great so far.
Text: Kamran
Photos: Dylan
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| Kamran, Lindsey, Alexandre, Trent, Julia (just behind Trent), and Tetox hiking El Mirador |
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| The group atop El Mirador |
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| Alicia, Brynn, Julia, and Tetox descending El Mirador |
