I spent my whole first day in Guatemala. Well I got in at 11pm yesterday and then arrived to Mission Guatemala housing in Panajachel at about 2am. That was a rough rough time. I couldn't sleep on the van ride over because my luggage was tied to the top of the van which made me nervous, plus we were on super windy, bumpy mountain roads in a large van going pretty fast. Also seat belts not a thing here in bus/van things apparently. I was struggling to stay awake and struggling to go to sleep. I wanted to just go sleep but it was definitely not my favorite thing. Luckily as soon as we got here things kind of started looking up. I have a three bed room to myself attached to a full bathroom -- BONUS we can flush the toilet paper while we stay here but nowhere else. As I was getting into my bed and settling in one of my roommates was struggling to turn the shower off. It wanted to make our lives a little more complicated and needed 6 people to figure out how to turn it off. It was not fun but I crawled into my bed after receiving the magical wifi password and was able to sleep until 8am.
Breakfast was very different from what I'm used to considering breakfast. Scrambled eggs, black beans, a blue corn tortilla, plantains and fresh fruit. It was delicious and totally amazing. I want to have the beans every day of my life. After breakfast we applied copious amounts of bug spray and sunscreen before heading to San Andres Semetabaj where Mission Guatemala's medical clinic is located. There we learned all about the things they offered. Their mantra is "Do all the good you can" by John Wesley. It's amazing how much good they do through all of their programs and support. They started out just as a medical clinic and now they have a dental clinic as well as an ophthalmologist. They provide medical care and medicine to the indigenous people for a low cost and do so with respect and honor for the patients. The land is also used to raise chickens and grow food for the feeding program they have to feed about 90 children lunch everyday they're at school. By the chickens were some puppies and I got to play with them on our break as they set up our lunch. The puppies were so small and adorable. They made me want to take one home but I went to lunch instead. I ate some fresh, local guacamole and loved it. So good. Then we came back to the river house. We had hit a wall of tired. All of us and luckily I got to take a nap to recharge for our art therapy meeting and to run into town.
As a group we are trying to develop an art therapy program for recovering addicts in San Lucas Toliman. Luckily they already create art as a way to bring in profit so we'll just be finding a stable and sustainable activity that involves a long process to help with addiction and also raising funds. We got to see some of the things they made and they were amazing. This whole area is filled with such crafty people. One of the ladies that talked to us today had made her shirt. Like completely made it. So amazing. After our meeting we wanted to run into town to get some quetzals, the money here, and I got to ride in a truck bed and that was amazing.We rode through the mountains, able to see them all, and surrounded by the people and the culture. I loved it. Then we struggled to find an ATM. It was rough as we arrived as the banks were closing. Eventually we did and it was still a struggle. Luckily it had English subtitles. Then we came back on tuc tuc, which are little cab like vehicles but are open on the sides and are powered by a motorcycle.
After dinner we had some downtime and we journaled and discussed how we were feeling and doing. It sounds weird but these are the people we're experiencing everything with so we discuss everything to process it. We did a projective drawing test as a group and just had fun hanging out. I've already experienced so much and the trip has only just begun. I cannot wait to go the market tomorrow and to create more art along the way. Check out some photos of my journey and days. The puppies and views will make you jealous that's for sure.
Now to sleep because the tired is real.
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