September 2, 2011
8/30 Tuesday
Most of the morning was spent catching up with blogging, e-mail correspondence, and documentation of the aldea experiences. In the afternoon, we met up with Fr. Bernie's friend Giovanni. Giovanni is a tech student at the local university; he specializes in information technology, and he will be teaching us how to install and use the free software LINUX on all the computers we are supplying to the aldeas. After a brief but helpful lesson with the computers, we enjoyed an episode of Sopranos prior to heading off to prayer, Mass, dinner, and bed.
8/31 Wednesday
Most of the day consisted of a trip out to the Ostou Aldea, where we delivered the most amount of filters we ever have in one day. Below is a video of preparing for the filter delivery:
The process for presentation and exchange of the filters was the same as days prior. After about an hour of listening to non-distinguishable Qui'Che instructions about how to use the filter, I dismissed myself to play futbol with the little ninos outside.
It would have been better if I had stayed in the village community center. After about 10 minutes I was exhausted, and the kids had made a fool of me. see the progression of my energy in the photos below..
After handing out several filters and enjoying the typical pollo soup and fresco, we walked down the main road in the aldea to a central intersection where we could be picked up by someone going into town.
While I had anticipated receiving my first Spanish lesson today, my Spanish teacher called and cancelled the meeting, saying she had a family emergency and that she would call next week. While I would have loved to improve my Spanish, I wasn't distraught by the news. This gave me time to rest from the aldea trip.
Since we weren't going to be working on Thursday, Bernie suggested that we have a few drinks tonight. We weren't opposed, so Bernie flipped the keys to the Suzuki Jeep to me, passively saying, "Don't crash it." You got it, Bernie.
We had no problems until we were actually leaving the supermarket with our new slew of booze, toiletries, food, and other necessities. Just as I'm driving up to the guard building to hand him the ticket to leave, the car stalls out. I try to shift over into first, and it stalls out again. I did this about 8 times before finally shifting into first safely and departing with a flushed face, nervously trying to avoid eye contact from the people waiting in the cars around me. Since this situation, however, I believe I've gotten a handle on the car, and I feel less nervous about using a manual transmission.
We polished off the night with some delicious whisky drinks. Bernie's friend Raul came to visit, and we swapped stories and shared laughs till late at night.
9/1Thursday
We began yesterday with an early start… 3:30a.m. Our plan: bring Padre Pedro to Antigua for a doctor's appointment, spend a few hours touring around Antigua, and drive back on the same day. Why leave so early? Antigua is about a 5 hour drive away.
The day was great, apart from the twisty, turny road that led to and from Antigua. Upon arriving, we stopped at Pollo Campero (Guatemalan-native fast food restaurant, fasted fast-food I've ever had). After dropping Padre Pedro off at the doctor, Fr. Bernie took us around town and showed us several beautiful churches, vast plazas and parks, and busy, never-ending markets. The city is overshadowed by a handful of volcanoes, especially Volcan Agua, which towers ominously on the east side of the city.
As great as Antigua was, Justin and I happened to have some bad luck with our cameras. I forgot my battery (which I had set out to charge the night before), and Justin's camera died right when we arrived. While I don't have pictures to assist with this day, I will return to Antigua for a weekend soon, and I will show you this gorgeous, Spain-looking city.
Our return was long and included a few eat stops, naps and books. It was right to bed when we returned.
9/2 Friday
Today has and will be spent doing some paint-jobs in the newly erected faith formation buildings. Several cement walls within these buildings will be used for projectors, and Fr. Bernie planned on painting the walls white with a black outlining, creating a movie theatre-like feel for several rooms. Pics to come!
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