Dear Journal,
Last night we arrived in Guatemala City. We met our tour guide, Ruth, at the airport and she took us to the guest house we will be staying in while in Guatemala City, Casa San José. It is very nice. There are 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a big dining place and a gathering room. The staff here is great! They also cook all of our meals, which so far have been delicious. I am in a room with Caren. She's great. We've been talking quite a bit. Actually all of the women (yes, we have 10 females and no males in our group) seem really great. I have had conversations with I think all of them. They all seem like really great people. I think the trip will be really awesome. Today we didn't do a whole lot, but we got a lot of information. We did our orientation this morning. Then, we went to the Central Plaza for a while.
That was really cool. I wish we had money (we haven't been able to change money yet) and more time to explore it and the cool things around it like the cathedral, but we had to get back to the house for a talk. We had two talks today, one wit a woman doctor about healthcare in Guatemala, and one with a man who teaches history. He talked about the history of Guatemala and what steps are being made toward change. He himself is a leader in revolution trying to get the children to think about how their choices can effect change. It was very interesting. He's trying to change the way people think and live and everything. He believes men ahve to stop being macho and be allowed to be sensitive and need to help the women and create more equal gender roles before much of a change can occur. He was great. We also learned about the healthcare from the woman doctor. Most of the population of Guatemala does not have access to healthcare, and those who do cannot afford it. There are high child, infant, and birth death rates and a low life expectancy here. Life expectancy is about 67. And the people that are alive, especially the children, are malnurished, well large percentages. It was kind of sad to hear, but it was good to hear that there are people who are trying to change all of that, like this woman. Besides the two talks and the tour of the Central Plaza, we really didn't do much but hang around the guest house. I didn't care too much because I was tired today and my allergies are really acting up, so that doesn't help. Tomorrow we have 3 talks, some with very important (politically) people. It should be interesting, but honestly, I'm kind of ready to leave Guatemala City. We are kept on a very short leash, like we can't go out after dinner. Also, even though it's a city, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot to do, at least in our part. Today went by really slowly. I think once we leave and are moving around things will start to pick up. Well, I'm off to take a shower. Good night!
Last night we arrived in Guatemala City. We met our tour guide, Ruth, at the airport and she took us to the guest house we will be staying in while in Guatemala City, Casa San José. It is very nice. There are 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a big dining place and a gathering room. The staff here is great! They also cook all of our meals, which so far have been delicious. I am in a room with Caren. She's great. We've been talking quite a bit. Actually all of the women (yes, we have 10 females and no males in our group) seem really great. I have had conversations with I think all of them. They all seem like really great people. I think the trip will be really awesome. Today we didn't do a whole lot, but we got a lot of information. We did our orientation this morning. Then, we went to the Central Plaza for a while.
That was really cool. I wish we had money (we haven't been able to change money yet) and more time to explore it and the cool things around it like the cathedral, but we had to get back to the house for a talk. We had two talks today, one wit a woman doctor about healthcare in Guatemala, and one with a man who teaches history. He talked about the history of Guatemala and what steps are being made toward change. He himself is a leader in revolution trying to get the children to think about how their choices can effect change. It was very interesting. He's trying to change the way people think and live and everything. He believes men ahve to stop being macho and be allowed to be sensitive and need to help the women and create more equal gender roles before much of a change can occur. He was great. We also learned about the healthcare from the woman doctor. Most of the population of Guatemala does not have access to healthcare, and those who do cannot afford it. There are high child, infant, and birth death rates and a low life expectancy here. Life expectancy is about 67. And the people that are alive, especially the children, are malnurished, well large percentages. It was kind of sad to hear, but it was good to hear that there are people who are trying to change all of that, like this woman. Besides the two talks and the tour of the Central Plaza, we really didn't do much but hang around the guest house. I didn't care too much because I was tired today and my allergies are really acting up, so that doesn't help. Tomorrow we have 3 talks, some with very important (politically) people. It should be interesting, but honestly, I'm kind of ready to leave Guatemala City. We are kept on a very short leash, like we can't go out after dinner. Also, even though it's a city, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot to do, at least in our part. Today went by really slowly. I think once we leave and are moving around things will start to pick up. Well, I'm off to take a shower. Good night!
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