Day 11 - May 23

Today we met with Victor in the morning to listen to a presentation about Tulan University. Then we headed to the center of town to check out the market. After lunch we packed up the vans and headed off to Guatemala City.

Day 9 - May 21

This post is published late since we were unable to get to an internet cafe.

This morning we went on a tour of Xela. Xela is much different than San Lucas-- its a bigger city, and not much farmland. The people there wore more modern "American" clothes, which was opposite of what we saw in San Lucas, where the people only wore the traditional Guatemalan clothes. The first thing we noticed was that once we were out of the "city" part of Xela, and closer to the farming areas, the people were wearing the traditional Guatemalan clothes again.

We went up one of the mountains to a sight-seeing spot where we could see over most of the city, and it was really amazing. After that we headed over to Agua del Pueblo, where we met with the employees and director of the organization. She explained a lot about what Agua del Pueblo does and we had a chance to ask questions. Then we got started on the transfer of records from three ring binders from the 1970s to Excel documents, where all of the information from the previous and future water projects will be kept.

Day 10 - May 22

This morning we went to a local hot springs, which are man-made pools filled with water from the local geothermal activity. The country also uses this geothermal activity to power a plant that provides a significant portion of its energy needs. In the afternoon, we went to the headquarters of Agua del Pueblo, the water organization Dr. Clemens founded. While there, we learned about the design of gravity-fed potable water supply systems. Agua del Pueblo has been designing and installing these water systems since 1972. Agua del Pueblo views these water systems as a means to an end, and not the final goal. As part of the construction of the water supply sytems, Agua del Puelo educates the beneficiaries in community organizational skills and attempts to raise their consciousness. They have found that communities can build on their success to increase other development activities, such as schools, health clinics, and roads.

The board of directors of Agua del Pueblo asked us to set up a system to digitize the information on completed water projects, because the organization's only records are kept on paper. To make the information more accessible, transparent, and long-lasting we set up a worksheet in Excel. We entered relevant information for approximately 40 water projects. The Board of Directors intends to continue the process we started. Over the next year, they plan to use our system to digitize the remaining water projects they have competed: more than 900. Our day was very enjoyable, as well as educational and productive.

Day 8 - May 20

Today we traveled to Xela from San Lucas. We drove all over the mountain tops so we got to see the lake from all angles, along with the three volcanoes. Once we got to our hotel and dropped our bags off, we headed over to see Victor, who talked about the history of the Mayans, Guatemala, and introduced Agua del Pueblo. He told us how Guatemala used to be before the revolution, and he discussed the economy...Stay tuned for more on Agua del Pueblo.

Day 7 - May 19

Our day began with a visit to Andrés Tos Toy, a former worker on a finca (a coffee plantation). Andrés was involved in a succesful strike staged by the workers of the finca in order to gain higher pay and more respect from the finca owner, Oscar Diaz, who was regarded as a king in the area. Andrés was a natural leader of the finca workers, and was selected to be the representative for the workers. Andrés was placed in many difficult situations, and he was even threatened with death numerous times. Andrés' story displayed the courage of the Guatemalan people and their desire to be independent. After our visit with Andrés, we then went to the finca where Andrés worked. The finca was still in operation, and the poor living conditions of the workers were evident. Needless to say, we had an extremely educational morning. In the afternoon, our group broke up to explore our interests. One group of students returned to the local hospital to volunteer. Another group went to San Andrés, the town where last year's group went to help build kitchens. During our time in San Andrés, we visited with the locals and brought a photograph and frame to a woman whom last year´s group met. We also shot more pictures of her in the finished kitchen WNEC students started working on last year. She was very proud of her kitchen, and even cleaned up some dishes for a nice picture. Also, in San Andrés we investigated the way in which water is pumped to the town and stored. Shown below, Greg and Jess are looking into the water storage tank that Jay and Greg opened for us to examine. The entire tank is also shown. Tomorrow we will be traveling to Quezaltenango (Xela, as the Mayans refer to it). There we will work with Agua de Pueblo, the water organization Dr. Clemens helped found.

Day 6 - May 18

Last night we had a bonfire with some of the other volunteers and we spoke about our experiences and our learning opportunities for this trip. The bonfire was a lot of fun and it was really informative to hear other peoples' perspectives. Our day began carrying cinder blocks up a hill to a new coffee producing facility. During this time we gained a strong appreciation for the hard work these people do on a daily basis. Some of the students also broke up concrete (pictured above), moved rocks, and dug a ditch to help with the coffee cooperative. While the work was very tiring, we all found it to be a rewarding experience. Three of our biology students extracted teeth (pictured below) in the dental clinic - how about that for on-the-job training?


In the afternoon, some of the students played soccer with the local kids, it was a blast! Around 3:00 we listened to Father Greg inform us about his experiences volunteering at the mission, the history and culture of the Guatemalan people, and their revolution. He also gave us insight into how Agua De Pueblo got started, which is the water projects organization Dr. Clemens helped create. We all really enjoyed father Greg's talk. Tomorrow will be our last day in San Lucas and Dr. Clemens has arranged for us to meet with one of the leaders of the revolution.

Day 5 - May 17

Today we took it easy. In Guatemala, Sunday is their day of rest, as well as their market day. The markets were crowded and full of various types of food and clothing items. This provided our group with some insight into their way of life. We realized the market is where the majority of Guatemalans purchase their goods and clothing items, unlike the clothing and super stores we are accustomed to at home. It was also evident that the people of Guatemala have strong cultural tendancies, such as their style of dress. Our group then went to Mass at the mission's parish and listened to Father Greg, our host. The Mass was pretty similar to a Catholic Mass at home but it was extremely crowded. The church was so crowded, people were even watching outside in the pouring rain. Even though this was our day of rest we still learned much about Guatemalan culture. We are now going to have a bonfire at our hotel with some of the other volunteers to talk about our different experiences. ¡Hasta Lavista!

Day 4-May 16

Today we went on an epic journey across lake Atitlan to Atitlan Nature Reserve to go zip lining. A water taxi took us across the huge, beautiful lake, which is surrounded by 3 volcanoes and many mountains. Upon arriving at the nature reserve we were suited up in our zip lining safety harnesses and began our climb to the first line. On our hike we were able to see monkeys, cross suspension bridges, and see an incredible waterfall. We then began our zip lining experience through the rain forest canopy. We went down 8 different courses and each provided an exhilirating ride and amazing views of the Guatemalan highlands. We then took the water taxi to San Antonio, another small town on the lake, comparable to San Lucas. While there we conversed with the local vendors and learned a lot about their daily lifestyle. The experience was very eye-opening, and they gave us a sense of the hardships here in Guatemala. Despite their hard work, they are all very happy and proud people. Our day was very enjoyable and rewarding and we are so glad that we have the opportunity to be here!

Day 3- May 15

Today was full of adventure! We climbed a mile in elevation, up a very steep volcano to survey the land for a water feasibility project. In the picture to left we hiked up to the saddle point, that is the notch between the two volcanoes in the right side of the image. We used a GPS to determine altitude, distance, and coordinates for the feasibilit project. In the past our hosts have used traditional surveying techniques, including tape measures and tripod-mounted transit. The work that would have formerly taken 2 weeks only took us 4 hours. Our hike was intense but was rewarding not only to us but also to the people of the future settlement of Chanan. This new settlement will be able to house 5000 people. Our hike was a lot of fun, we saw wild orchids, coffee plants, and native workers. We now have a new appreciation for everyone that has to hike to get their wood and water everyday. The true beauty of the country was intensified on the side of the volcano. Our 5 star meal on the hike consisted of peanut-butter and cheddar cheese, it was muy delicioso!








Picture taken from: www.lagoaventura.com/English/VolcanAtitlan.JPG

Day 2 - May 14

Today we got a nice wake up call by Dr. Bruce at approximately 6:45 am to begin our day. We went on a tour of the village which was very enjoyable. We went to San Raymundo, which is going to be a center for the women of the village to learn different skills, such as cooking, sewing, laundry, and medicinal plants. Then we went to the place where Guatemalan coffee is picked, dried, peeled, roasted and packaged. We formed an assembly line to carry cinder blocks up the side of a mountain where they will be used to dry the coffee beans. We did this for approximately two and a half hours. On our journey home we ate the most delicious ice-cream one can imagine, it was so good! Stay tuned for tomorrow's adventures!

Here is the website where you can buy your very own delicious Guatemalan coffee that we helped produce:
http://www.sanlucasmission.org/coffee_mainnav.php

Day 1 - May 13

We made it! The country is beautiful and the people are very welcoming. The trip was longer than expected due to construction, traffic, and the weather. Our hotel is nice and simple, very clean and colorful, and our hosts are very nice. The whole town is silhouetted by volcanoes and a beautiful lake. The mission we are working for is very accommodating, and we were very excited about the wonderful meal they provided after our long day of travel. We are excited to be finding out what we are going to be working on tomorrow and we cannot wait to help the people. Adios.

The Deans and the President Give Their Best Wishes

After a slide show presentation, the students pose for a photo with Assistant Professor of Management Bruce Clemens (back row on the left), Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Steven Northrup (next to Clemens), and, far right, School of Engineering Dean S. Hossein Cheraghi, School of Business Dean Julie Siciliano, and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Saeed Ghahramani.

President Anthony S. Caprio gives the students a presidential sendoff. The students gave President Caprio and the deans each a present: a Western New England College Guatemala Trip T-shirt.

As spring break is quickly approaching, the students are working hard to finish up their annotated bibliographies. As a requirement of the course, each student is assigned a research topic, which they have to arrange an annotated bibliography on as well as write a research paper about. While the research paper is not due until after the trip, so the students can write about their experiences and what they learned, the annotated bibliography is due this Thursday. In the annotated bibliographies each student is required to find ten sources and write a paragraph about each one. These sources will help each student learn more about their topic before they go on the trip, as well as help them write their paper when they return from Guatemala. As we are all aware, it is important to be educated about the issues the people of Guatemala are faced with. This will allow us to have a more rewarding experience.

The students cannot wait until May 13, 2009, when they fly out of Bradley International Airport. They are all eagerly anticipating the trip and are looking forward to learning about Guatemala first hand, meeting new people, and working hard to help improve their lives. The trip is going to be a blast! Only two more months...