Saturday, July 11, 2015
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Flexible
Today we are being reminded to be flexible. The road to Agua Dulce is currently shut down, so our plans for today have changed slightly. We are going to spend some time in Huehue - at the market and such and then head over to the Mayan ruins and the blanket factory. Our hope is that the road is open by then so we can head over to the coffee farm!
Everyone is doing great with the change of plans and everyone remains in high spirits. Jan is feeling a lot better today and she is looking forward to all of our adventures!
Rob
Everyone is doing great with the change of plans and everyone remains in high spirits. Jan is feeling a lot better today and she is looking forward to all of our adventures!
Rob
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
In traffic
We are traveling on the Pan American Highway from Guatemala City to HuehueTenango and it is normally a wonderful ride. But today we are stuck in traffic and have been for about 45 minutes. We are hearing there is some sort of demonstration or protest about 3km ahead. We won't know until we actually drive past whatever is stopping the traffic.
On the bright side - the weather is absolutely wonderful and we are having a great time relaxing and having a good time with each other. Its also fun to see the vendors coming up the cars selling all sorts of things - peanuts, dried plantains, fresh fruit, phone chargers, CDs, etc.
Rob
On the bright side - the weather is absolutely wonderful and we are having a great time relaxing and having a good time with each other. Its also fun to see the vendors coming up the cars selling all sorts of things - peanuts, dried plantains, fresh fruit, phone chargers, CDs, etc.
Rob
First night in Guatemala
We just awoke from our first night's sleep in Guatemala. It was absolutely amazing to put our heads on pillows and actually sleep after that long day of traveling yesterday.
I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day. We will soon have breakfast and then head out to Huehue.
Rob
I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day. We will soon have breakfast and then head out to Huehue.
Rob
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Kazoo in Guatemala
Well, here were are - traveling again. We are currently descending into Guatemala City after a LONG day of traveling that started in Kalamazoo at 5am. The flights have all gone really well. There have been no issues and everyone is in great spirits. The layover in Atlanta was fun and relaxing, but we were definitely ready to board the plane when they called us.
I am extremely excited to take this group of parents and students to HuehueTenango. Our goal for this trip is to immerse ourself in the culture. We want to learn through experience what it is like to work, live, play, and go to school in Guatemala. We are jumping in and experiencing. We will keep you posted as to how it goes!
Rob
I am extremely excited to take this group of parents and students to HuehueTenango. Our goal for this trip is to immerse ourself in the culture. We want to learn through experience what it is like to work, live, play, and go to school in Guatemala. We are jumping in and experiencing. We will keep you posted as to how it goes!
Rob
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Home safely
We are home safely and the van and trailer have been returned. It was an excellent trip and we had an extremely delightful time in West Virginia. I'm tired and I don't have much more to say...
Last Day on the Worksite
Well, today was our last day working. We had to stop early yesterday because of the rain - but we had a half finished deck that needed to be completed. We were all up early and ready to go (ok, the reality is that people were dragging today...).
We arrived at the unfinished deck around 8:30am and it seemed as if the rain was going to hold off. We set up the tools and got to work. We were flying through and making great time on the completion of the deck. Spindles were being placed, boards were being cut, wood was being drilled, tape measures were being used - we were on a roll...and then it started to rain. Honestly, I thought we were done. We had a lot of wood already cut and we were able to continue drilling and measuring, but we could not use any electrical tools (plugged in) while it was raining. Everyone was trying to figure out alternative plans to cut the wood so we could continue. But there was nothing that was going to work. As we continued to brainstorm - the storm ceased. The rain let up! The sun even came out! We immediately pulled the tools out of the truck and went back to work. We ran into a few hiccups while building, but we made it work and comets the deck. We even worked through lunch because we were afraid it might start raining again. We loaded the truck and van at 1:09 with a completed deck and we headed back to our home away from home for the week. We had a wonderful time working this week. Many of us learned new skills and had the opportunity to experience construction in a new way.
We arrived at the unfinished deck around 8:30am and it seemed as if the rain was going to hold off. We set up the tools and got to work. We were flying through and making great time on the completion of the deck. Spindles were being placed, boards were being cut, wood was being drilled, tape measures were being used - we were on a roll...and then it started to rain. Honestly, I thought we were done. We had a lot of wood already cut and we were able to continue drilling and measuring, but we could not use any electrical tools (plugged in) while it was raining. Everyone was trying to figure out alternative plans to cut the wood so we could continue. But there was nothing that was going to work. As we continued to brainstorm - the storm ceased. The rain let up! The sun even came out! We immediately pulled the tools out of the truck and went back to work. We ran into a few hiccups while building, but we made it work and comets the deck. We even worked through lunch because we were afraid it might start raining again. We loaded the truck and van at 1:09 with a completed deck and we headed back to our home away from home for the week. We had a wonderful time working this week. Many of us learned new skills and had the opportunity to experience construction in a new way.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Rain rain go away!!
Today started out very promising. We went back to our worksite from Tuesday and continued working on the deck we were building. It was overcast and had rained all night, so we could not continue applying tar to the roof. But we did an excellent job with the deck. We finished digging all of the holes and placing the 4x4 pieces in them. We also cut 8ft 2x6 pieces of wood and placed them in the middle of our deck frame for stability. But then the rain started! We headed back to the manse for lunch and hoped for the rain to stop...
It is now 5pm and the rain has not let up at all. We have been playing cards and Perudo and hanging out. It's been fun and relaxing, but it's also making us anxious because we really want to finish the deck before we leave on Saturday. We will continue to hope and pray for no rain tomorrow so we can finish it up!
It is now 5pm and the rain has not let up at all. We have been playing cards and Perudo and hanging out. It's been fun and relaxing, but it's also making us anxious because we really want to finish the deck before we leave on Saturday. We will continue to hope and pray for no rain tomorrow so we can finish it up!
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
White water rafting
Today was our day off, but it sure didn't feel like it!! We went rafting on the new gauley river after taking a very interesting "adventure cut" as we drove from Colcord to Fayetteville. We were late to our drop off site, but our rafting place was extremely accommodating and took great care of us!!
Our trip down the river was fantastic. We hit a lot of great rapids and we all made it through safely, albeit extremely wet! It was a work out for sure, as we all had to paddle throughout the trip - too bad none of us were wearing our fitbits or Nike fuelbands!
We are currently eating and relaxing at Dirty Ernies! The food is way better than the name. It's a local treat and most of us are eating food straight out of the huge smoker in the back!
We are looking forward to our trip back over the mountain tonight and two more days of building, painting, and cleaning on Thursday and Friday.
On a side not we were all delighted to see that the U.S. Women's team won their semifinals match and will be playing for the World Cup championship on Sunday night!!
Rob
Our trip down the river was fantastic. We hit a lot of great rapids and we all made it through safely, albeit extremely wet! It was a work out for sure, as we all had to paddle throughout the trip - too bad none of us were wearing our fitbits or Nike fuelbands!
We are currently eating and relaxing at Dirty Ernies! The food is way better than the name. It's a local treat and most of us are eating food straight out of the huge smoker in the back!
We are looking forward to our trip back over the mountain tonight and two more days of building, painting, and cleaning on Thursday and Friday.
On a side not we were all delighted to see that the U.S. Women's team won their semifinals match and will be playing for the World Cup championship on Sunday night!!
Rob
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