Antigua, Guatemala
Santa Catalina Arch
Our site was in Antigua, Guatemala, located in the central highlands of Guatemala. The city has long been famous for its cobblestone streets and its Spanish architecture and ruins. Probably one of its most famous symbols is the Santa Catalina Arch, which we walked by each time we went to the "centro." I had known that Antigua was often thought of as a tourist destination, however I was quite surprised to see just how many tourists there were. It seemed that when in the centro at least a third if not more of the people walking up and down the street were tourists, and "Spanish Schools" were numerous as well. Artisan booths were prevalent as well as salsa and latin dance studios, restaurants, and tour booths.
Familias de Esperanza (Common Hope)
Common Hope's after school playground
As you may have figured from my other references, this is the established program we worked with. Common Hope is an amazing organization which provides those it supports with education, health care, an opportunity for housing, and advising. Please go to the background tab to learn more about the Common Hope organization.
My Home Stay
During my trip I was lucky enough to live with a home stay family. The family was very welcoming and consisted of a mother and grandmother, Christina, her husband, Romeo, two daughters one son and two granddaughters. Only one of the daughters and the son lived in the house full time. The other daughter and the two young granddaughters visited each weekend for quality family time. We ate meals with the family, which was always entertaining. It also emphasized the importance of family in the Guatemala culture. Although the one daughter and her granddaughters did not live full time in the house, all three of them almost always came for dinner. The whole family made sure to gather for meals.
Tourist Sites
Tikal
Due to weekends off, Mariana and I were also able to do a fair amount of traveling. Early on we had the incredible opportunity of climbing an active volcano, Volcan de Pacaya, and roasting marshmallows near the top! We were also thrilled to be able to visit Guatemala's famous Tikal National Park, one of the largest discovered archeological sites of the Mayan civilization. We climbed some of the ancient ruins, watched the sunrise from "Temple 4" and were amazed by the rainforest wildlife: toucans, parrots, spider and howler monkeys, ocellated turkeys, and raccoon like coati! Other places we visited included Central America's deepest lake (and in my opinion the most scenic!), lake Atitlan, as well as "finca filadelfia," a coffee plantation with tours and zip lining, and Guatemala City.