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Orientation Week
WOW!! It's been a crazy start to this adventure. I'm not sure where to begin so I'll give you guys a quick low down on what I've been up to in the past 3 ish weeks. I flew out of the US on September 11 and arrived in Guatemala City 2 flights later. The first night in this new country, we stayed in a hotel, then woke up at the crack of dawn the next day. A 3 hour bus ride and hour long boat ride later, we finally arrived at Uxlabil, the eco lodge where we would spend our first week, which was located on Lake Atitlan. This is when orientation week truly began. We were assigned roommates (much love goes out to my first roomie Gwen Jones). During this first week, our focus was on getting to know each other, as well as the program. The awkwardness of living with strangers quickly faded as I got to know more and more about these people through our adventures together. I climbed a mountain (literally), jumped off a boat, ate a lot of chocolate along with new interesting foods (the tortillas here are my new favorite), went shopping, saw an Independence Day parade, and just hung out and explored this new place. We also started on our series of seminars that we will be continuing throughout the next 6 months. Our focus here in Guatemala is sustainability and agriculture. These consist of required readings, discussions, and other activities that have pushed our mental boundaries and made us question many things. After orientation, we had a quick weekend trip in Antigua. It was absolutely beautiful there. This entire country is. We had a night out as the whole group, hiked a volcano (and roasted a marshmallow on one of the craters), shopped, and once again explored a place that none of us had been before. Guatemala City was our next stop. The city is wonderful. We have spent time in local markets, took a bus tour, hiked some more, worked with the company Anacafe to help clean up trash in one of the protected forest areas near by, visited the mall, watched a movie in the theater, and played lots and LOTS of cards. (I lose almost every time). Now, our 2 weeks Guatemala City are almost up. Our host family stays start in a couple days. I'm definitely going to miss it here in the city, but I'm excited to see what is coming. The trip is going amazingly so far, and I can't wait for all of my new experiences over the next 6 months. I miss everyone back home and will be sure to keep updating you guys!! |