Dear Journal,
Today was a busy day. We met with 2 people and one organization today. First this morning, we drove toa meeting with a guy from an organization called CACIF. I don't know what it stands for, but it is essentially a group that brings Chambers of Commerce together. He was a really nice guy and gave us some good infomation about the organization and what it was working towards and how things were going. He told us a lot about the trade market and how small and medium businesses were getting help. He gave us good infomation, but pretty biased information. For example, we talked about CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement). It is an agreement between the United States and several Central American countries that was written to open up the free trade industry. Well, it sounds great, but there is a lot of fine print and essentially it's not a great agreement and highly favors the U.S. This guy working for CACIF told us how it has benefitted Guatemala and how this organization has always supported this agreement. After speaking with him, we went to the Ministry of Economy and spoke with a representative there. We learned just how important and influential the U.S. is to Guatemala. It was very surprizing actually! I was shocked, and actually a little concerned as to the amount that Guatemala depends on the U.S. Again, we asked the representative about CACIF and he said that it had been good and his department was very much in favor of the agreement. I have a feeling we will be hearing a different tune later in the trip as we encounter different, less political, people. After the talk at the ministry, we had a rushed lunch and got in the van for our final venture of the day. We drove and drove and drove and drove for what seemed like forever and finally wound up in what's called the "red zone," meaning very impoverished. It was a very rough part of town and it was hard to see the conditions in which people were living. We toured and learned about an organization called UPAVIM.
It was founded more than 20 years ago by a woman and her husband from Texas (we actually got to meet her today). It is a women's cooperative that works to benefit the neighborhood, in many ways. They offer a day care, school, computer lab (with computer classes), medical center, and many other services to the community at very low rates. In order to fund all this, they make and sell crafts, and fund raise through churches. I was so impressed by the work UPAVIM does; inspired, actually. And one of the coolest parts is by offering these services, they are creating more jobs for women in the community. It was just fabulous. It was definately the highlight of the trip for me so far. On the way back, we stopped to change our money, then at a chocolate shop and a gas station for people who needed their fixes. I didn't need anything. Actually, I have been doing really well so far this trip, not like it's been that long, but besides the allergies everything has gone great. I'm not homesick, I'm not craving anything, except to cuddle with Erik- but I can get over that for now... And I've been getting along really well with everyone. And the food here is really good so far. We have only eaten at the guest house so far, but it's been delicious. 
After dinner tonight, we had a reflection time. Ruth kept it simple since we are not far into the trip, but she asked us what we've found most surprizing, or what we didn't expect, so far. It was interesting to hear what people had to say. Some talked about the disrepair of the city, some about the levels of poverty, some about how the government really doesn't represent the people it's governing. The one that rang truest for me was how much I feel I stick out. Walking down the street, you can spot our group from a mile away, especially me with blond hair. We are worse than sore thumbs, especially when we don't speak Spanish and there are 10 of us. I do feel self-conscious and very... aware when we're walking down the street. Another for me were how there are men with guns all over. Everywhere you go, even the gas station. It's a little annerving. Well, tomorrow is our last day in Guatemala City. I'm kind of glad. Especially since all we've done so far, with the exception of UPAVIM, is political, that that really is not my thing, even when I have half a clue what's going on. Well, I'm really tired. Good night.
Today was a busy day. We met with 2 people and one organization today. First this morning, we drove toa meeting with a guy from an organization called CACIF. I don't know what it stands for, but it is essentially a group that brings Chambers of Commerce together. He was a really nice guy and gave us some good infomation about the organization and what it was working towards and how things were going. He told us a lot about the trade market and how small and medium businesses were getting help. He gave us good infomation, but pretty biased information. For example, we talked about CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement). It is an agreement between the United States and several Central American countries that was written to open up the free trade industry. Well, it sounds great, but there is a lot of fine print and essentially it's not a great agreement and highly favors the U.S. This guy working for CACIF told us how it has benefitted Guatemala and how this organization has always supported this agreement. After speaking with him, we went to the Ministry of Economy and spoke with a representative there. We learned just how important and influential the U.S. is to Guatemala. It was very surprizing actually! I was shocked, and actually a little concerned as to the amount that Guatemala depends on the U.S. Again, we asked the representative about CACIF and he said that it had been good and his department was very much in favor of the agreement. I have a feeling we will be hearing a different tune later in the trip as we encounter different, less political, people. After the talk at the ministry, we had a rushed lunch and got in the van for our final venture of the day. We drove and drove and drove and drove for what seemed like forever and finally wound up in what's called the "red zone," meaning very impoverished. It was a very rough part of town and it was hard to see the conditions in which people were living. We toured and learned about an organization called UPAVIM.
It was founded more than 20 years ago by a woman and her husband from Texas (we actually got to meet her today). It is a women's cooperative that works to benefit the neighborhood, in many ways. They offer a day care, school, computer lab (with computer classes), medical center, and many other services to the community at very low rates. In order to fund all this, they make and sell crafts, and fund raise through churches. I was so impressed by the work UPAVIM does; inspired, actually. And one of the coolest parts is by offering these services, they are creating more jobs for women in the community. It was just fabulous. It was definately the highlight of the trip for me so far. On the way back, we stopped to change our money, then at a chocolate shop and a gas station for people who needed their fixes. I didn't need anything. Actually, I have been doing really well so far this trip, not like it's been that long, but besides the allergies everything has gone great. I'm not homesick, I'm not craving anything, except to cuddle with Erik- but I can get over that for now... And I've been getting along really well with everyone. And the food here is really good so far. We have only eaten at the guest house so far, but it's been delicious. 
After dinner tonight, we had a reflection time. Ruth kept it simple since we are not far into the trip, but she asked us what we've found most surprizing, or what we didn't expect, so far. It was interesting to hear what people had to say. Some talked about the disrepair of the city, some about the levels of poverty, some about how the government really doesn't represent the people it's governing. The one that rang truest for me was how much I feel I stick out. Walking down the street, you can spot our group from a mile away, especially me with blond hair. We are worse than sore thumbs, especially when we don't speak Spanish and there are 10 of us. I do feel self-conscious and very... aware when we're walking down the street. Another for me were how there are men with guns all over. Everywhere you go, even the gas station. It's a little annerving. Well, tomorrow is our last day in Guatemala City. I'm kind of glad. Especially since all we've done so far, with the exception of UPAVIM, is political, that that really is not my thing, even when I have half a clue what's going on. Well, I'm really tired. Good night.
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