Guatemala: Day 2

Today, the views were beautiful. And Christopher got the nickname: Crisp.
We woke up early and drove to another city to build a retaining wall. We made a quick stop at the top of a mountain to see the view of Lake Atitlan. It was gorgeous. We also met some cute little girls (one is in the picture above).

When we arrived to the new town, the family had a delicious breakfast prepared! [And check out their stove-stop...they use real firewood to heat their food, even though they have an American stove/oven in the kitchen] First we had a drink called mosh, which is similar to oatmeal except a little bit more soupy. Then we had sweet bread (my FAVORITE) and eggs & beans (the staple foods). We worked on the wall by mixing cement by hand with sand, water and a cement mix. We carried rocks of all sizes to stack between the layers of cement. It was actually a little cold outside but I definitely preferred that to the heat we would later be experiencing. It was also nice to meet the people that our wall would be helping. The poor neighborhood below us often came to assist in wall building. Most of the day, Michaelangelo & Yolinda, two adorable children, helped carry rocks ALL day long. They might have done more work than me!


After a few hours of work, the women of the house announced they were going to the market to get food to start making lunch. I excitedly volunteered to help. The market was unbelievable. There were fresh fruit and vegetables EVERYWHERE. It all looked so delicious. Then since it was "market day", they also had fresh meat. It was crazy to see the insides of cows, pigs and chickens just hanging from the ceilings of the little cement shops. When we walked back to the house, I learned how to make one of their common sides called tomales. They are made of mashed up corn and then cooked to form a bread-like substance. Paul's wife taught me how and she was also really nice to show me around and answer all my questions. She spoke really great English because her and Paul have lived in the U.S. since they got married.


Her sister was really nice too. She told me a funny joke that she made up herself, so I will share it because you can never have too many jokes:

What is the name of Godzilla's gay cousin?
Barney

haha, ok so maybe it was funnier when she told it since she had a really thick accent AND she made it up herself. But anyways, while we were mashing and rolling the corn into green leaves to cook, the other girls made a delicious soup. The meal was DELICIOUS. We then spent the rest of the day finishing the retaining wall.

After our work was complete, Chris played a little soccer with the kids and then we were rewarded with a Mayan steam bath! It is a lot like a sauna. It's made of a small cement hut with hot rocks and steaming water. We sat on a bench and used small tree branches to flick water on ourselves and the rocks to create steam. They also had bowls to dump cold water on yourself when it got to hot and to rinse. We actually washed off with soap and then rinsed with the bowls of water. It was a really cool experience, only we felt really bad because we broke their bench!

After the steam bath, our dinner was prepared for us. It was one of my favorite local meals. We had steak in a delicious sauce and rice. Then we presented a certificate to Theresa and her husband who let us stay in their house. They were very grateful for us and the work we did for the poor neighborhood that lived below them.

We walked around the village that night to get some Guatemalan treats. We found wafers, that tasted a little soft and stale, but the french fries (papas fritas) were amazing! We also drank an orange Fanta (the main drink of the trip).

One scary moment was when 2 men walked up to us and started speaking in Spanish, so only Kyle understood. Apparently they were hopped up on drugs and wanted our money. We were all scared so Kyle pretended not to know Spanish and we walked away, luckily they left us alone. We had the privilege of sleeping in a bed, again, while others slept on the floor. The Guatemalans were always giving us married couples all the perks... so I felt guilty, but also very grateful.