Cape Elizabeth Safe Passage Service Team 2010

Thank you everybody! ¡Gracias a todos!

2010-07-02T02:00:00.003-04:00

Thank you to everybody who made this trip possible for the Cape Elizabeth Safe Passage 2010 Team...the Cape community, parents, students, Community Services office, anonymous donors, friends and family. In this photo students are writing thank you cards to donors; everyone wrote at least two cards. We mailed forty thank-you postcards on Monday, June 28, from Antigua, Guatemala.

Almost home!

2010-07-02T01:17:00.000-04:00

Baggage claim in Logan Airport at 1:30 a.m. on June 29. Next step, the big yellow school bus to Cape Elizabeth. And, unlike Sunday's ride to Chichicastenango, no hair-pin turns!

Voyageur Tours mini-bus ride back to Antigua from Chichi

2010-07-02T01:14:00.007-04:00

LOTS of ups, downs & hair pin turns when you drive in the Guatemalan Highlands. You can hear the World Cup results on the radio.

Chichicastenango Excursion

2010-07-02T00:58:00.002-04:00

How does one even begin to describe the explosion of colors, the sounds, smells and atmosphere of Chichicastenango? It has the largest open-air market in Central America and Sunday is a major market day. You're expected to bargain for everything and students did an awesome job using their language skills to get good deals.

Chichicastenango Excursion, Bargaining

2010-07-02T00:45:00.000-04:00

Griffin and others trying to say 'NO' to the persistent sellers.

Chichicastenango Excursion, More Bargaining

2010-07-02T00:30:00.000-04:00

Volcán del Agua

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View of the volcano from Esperanza's home.

¡A comer! Time to eat!

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There was Pepían de Pollo and fresh corn tortillas for all us to eat. Esperanza's Dad was working in the corn field (la milpa) while we were at her house. The tortillas are made from the corn they grow and the chicken in the dish is (was) one of their chickens.

Pepían de Pollo recipe

Grinding coffee beans, movie

2010-07-01T22:29:00.001-04:00

Esperanza's Mom roasts and grinds the coffee beans once a week for their family consumption. Children as young as six drink coffee.

Preparing coffee

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Esperanza's Mom showed us how coffee is roasted over an open fire and then ground on the stone metate. This stone has been passed down from her great, great grandmother. They do not use a electric coffee maker; they just put the ground coffee in the bottom of a pot and cover it with boiling water. They served coffee for us to sample and it was delicioso!

Weaving

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The children are taught to weave at a young age. Esperanza's siblings, ages 6-10, did some simple weaving demonstrations for us. We bought woven bracelets that the children made as well as weavings made by Esperanza's Mom.

Weaving with back-strap loom

2010-07-01T21:44:00.003-04:00

Esperanza's Mom demonstrated the traditional way of weaving with a back-strap loom. She weaves about four hours a day and she said it takes her about a month to make a 'huipil', the traditional women's blouse. She said that there is also a lot of prep work prior to starting the weaving. For example, the thread is soaked in left-over corn water because it contains ground limestone and that softens the thread. The thread has to be dyed, wound, and put into skeins. The designs are quite intricate and have been passed down from generation to generation.

Children's Dance in San Antonio, video clip

2010-07-01T21:36:00.004-04:00

As we walked in Esperanza's home we were greeted by this children's dance. Totally unexpected and a sample of the cultural demonstrations to come.

Esperanza's house

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We were greeted by Esperanza's family as we climbed the hill. The door to enter her house is to the right of the children, her siblings.

CE group walking up the hill towards Esperanza's house. There are milpas, cornfields, on the hill in the distance. They are all over on the surrounding hills.

Arrival in San Antonio de Aguas Calientes

2010-07-01T13:15:00.003-04:00

About twenty minutes from Antigua and we're in San Antonio de Aguas Calientes to meet Esperanza's family. Note the Volcán del Agua in the background. We saw smoke coming out of it while enroute.

This is a view from the bus of the town of San Antonio de Aguas Calientes from the hills.

Boarding the Chicken Bus in Antigua

2010-07-01T13:10:00.001-04:00

Here's the tail end of our group boarding the bus. Esperanza took us to the bus area behind the Antigua Market so we'd all be on the same bus. It would have been a real adventure if we had been split amongst various chicken buses! We planned ahead to avoid this situation.

A chicken bus is probably the most common mode of public transportation in Central America. Usually the buses are old U.S. school buses and they are modified for use in Guatemala, Mexico, and other countries. The original engines are replaced by diesel engines, the last ten feet of the bus are chopped off (to accommodate a smaller turning radius in the streets and on hairpin turns) and the back is re-soldered on, racks are added to the inside and on top, and it's painted vibrant colors. A number of buses are shiny and cleaned daily, such as this bus we rode. In fact, we were on a chicken bus on Saturday, June 26, and there was a flat screen TV with a streaming signal so we watched the World Cup live. Better than Concord Trailways to Logan!

The infamous chicken bus gets its name because it is common to see the top racks overflowing with baskets of goods for the markets, including fruits, vegetables, chickens, textiles, and anything else you can imagine.

The bus cost 3 quetzales to ride, about 36 cents.

Saturday Excursion to Guateque

2010-06-26T12:24:00.000-04:00

1. Watching the World Cup live on the ol' chicken bus!

2. Teaching the Safe Passage teens how to play 'War'.

3. Watching the U.S. vs. Ghana World Cup game live.

Chicken Bus here we come!

2010-06-26T08:56:00.001-04:00

We decided to take the chicken bus to San Antonio because it's only 20 minutes from Antigua and Esperanza will accompany us. The Cape chaperones consulted earlier in the week and decided that one has to experience a Central American chicken bus ride at least once in a lifetime. So, here we are, 23 of us, heading to the bus area.

Friday morning

2010-06-26T08:45:00.001-04:00

Friday we started off with another 7 a.m. breakfast with fresh papaya, cantalope, watermelon, and pineapple, eggs, beans, fried plantains, bread, jam, cereal, granola, yogurt, juice, milk, Antiguan coffee. We met Esperanza, our guide to San Antonio, at 8 a.m., and headed towards the public bus area on foot.

Thursday photos- Projects, volcano, and dinner

2010-06-25T09:25:00.004-04:00

Thursday, June 24, at Camino Seguro

2010-06-25T09:14:00.000-04:00

Thursday was our last day at the Guatemala City Safe Passage project. Soy yo group spent the day at the Guarderia and Playground games was split between the two buildings, Guarderia and the Edificio. Cape students are pros now...they jump right in to interact with the Safe Passage students and their projects have been successful. Some frustrations along the way but we've been learning as we present the lesson to different groups and learn to adapt and change directions.

Today, Friday, we're off to a small village outside of Antigua to learn about life in a small Mayan town. It will be new for all of us and this trip is in lieu of the Pacaya Volcano excursion. Rachel, our team leader from Safe Passage, will go with us. Students will learn how to make tortillas, see a mock traditional Mayan wedding, a Quinceanera celebration, weaving and other traditional customs. Esperanza works at the front desk and after talking to her, she invited us to her village. Rachel says it's safe and Esperanza has taken other groups before. Her family still weaves in the traditional way and they sell their goods in the local markets. We'll have more to report after today. We'll leave at 8 a.m. and return by noon. Students have the rest of the day in Antigua. They are excited to explore Antigua, hit the markets for bargaining, and just relax a bit.

I'll load a few photos from yesterday. Playground games did Skit in a Bag with some Agatha / shelter victims during the afternoon. They laughed and were enamored of our students, especially the tall guys. It gave them a respite from a stressful time of living in temporary shelters until they can return to their homes in the Highlands.

Will save this post now and then upload photos in the next. Have to work quickly with internet connections! Also, excuse typos due to the speed with which we have to save messages.

Thursday volunteering, Team 2, Playground Games

2010-06-24T10:00:00.000-04:00

Playing Dodge Ball with the Safe Passage teens!

Team 1- Helping with shelter victims

2010-06-24T09:25:00.001-04:00

Photo by Mike T.
Team One was asked to help with families who are victims of Storm Agatha so they implemented their SOY YO book project with them. Various NGOs in Guatemala City have offered shelter and aid for families who lost everything in the mudslides and storm damage from Agatha. Safe Passage has invited families to use their facilities for showers, meals, and a quiet, safe place to rest during the day. Team 1 took photos of the families and children, printed them out, and then helped them as they decorated a book about themselves.

Team 1 Photos

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Team 1 Projects

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Team 1 with Pedro's class. They did the Soy Yo and Skit-in-a-Bag project.

Guarderia one-year olds

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Francesca worked with the one-year olds. They are adorable.

Guarderia Team 2

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Caroline helping out on bath day.

Playground duty

2010-06-24T08:45:00.001-04:00

The children loved being pushed on the swings and they giggled and giggled. I think that Chris was at the swings pushing for about 1.5 hours straight. He, Alex, and Griffin were the "swing men".

Wednesday Projects and Volunteering in Guatemala City

2010-06-24T08:39:00.000-04:00

It's Thursday morning and we're preparing for our last full day of actually volunteering at Camino Seguro. I want to post a few photos from yesterday's activities. Team 2 spent the day at the Guarderia and Team 2 spent the day at the Edificio, the main building. I'll post a few photos of our students working at the Guarderia. Their favorite part was working and playing with the children. Caroline got roped into helping out a bath day and I saw her chasing little boys around to try to put their shoes on. Some helped with weeding the garden, others in the kitchen to prepare lunch and wash dishes and most helped out classroom teachers.

More Safe Passage Team volunteering

2010-06-23T23:19:00.000-04:00

Project Implementation- Playground Games group

2010-06-23T09:11:00.001-04:00

We started Tuesday morning working as English tutors in the main building. Soy Yo (Team 1) and Games (Team 2) worked separately all day but we did meet up for lunch.

Here students from an older class are playing Four Square. Cape students modeled it and then Safe Passage students rotated in to play. It was very successful for our first project. Lots of laughter and giggles.

Photos from this post today will be of Team 2. I have to download photos from cameras of Team 1 because I was not with them all day.

Team 1, Soy Yo book, volunteering

2010-06-22T23:48:00.000-04:00

Making the Appreciation Bags for Safe Passage staff

2010-06-22T23:29:00.000-04:00

CE Students put together 130 goodie bags for the Safe Passage teachers, staff, and long-term volunteers. It turns out that the Friday of our week, June 25, is Teacher Day in Guatemala and the teachers have the day off! Students handed out the bags on Thursday during lunch.

Hotel Casa Antigua, our hotel

2010-06-22T09:30:00.000-04:00

Monday night dinner at the Rainbow Cafe

2010-06-22T09:02:00.002-04:00

Dinners have been good these first two nights. Rainbow Cafe has great smoothies, all made with fresh tropical fruits. Lots of nachos, quesadillas, huevos rancheros, and other typical fare. There are a number of vegetarian offerings at the restaurants so that's good.

After dinner we had a team meeting in the courtyard, under the night sky. Kind of different from the CE Community Services building! Tuesday starts our first day of implementing our projects so we had to prepare them. The vans leave at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday so students have to shower, get packs and project materials ready, make lunches and be out to the buffet table by 7 a.m.

It's 6:58 a.m. and the first people in line are Benson, Mike, Peter, Griffin, Alex, Timmy, Jackson, Sam and Daniel. Go figure...all guys! Madeline and Laura T. are here too. Time to drink some Antiguan coffee.

Students are doing an incredible job and we've had some nice compliments our group.

Next installment...Ben, Timmy, and Peter on their way to earning a Guatemalan MBA while marketing World Cup t-shirts! They've conquered the concept of bargaining already.

Touring the Guarderia, Early Childhood Center

2010-06-22T08:51:00.001-04:00

Team 2 is touring the Early Childhood Center. (Playground Games group)

Ben met up with this sponsored child, Maria, and she was SO excited to see him. She jumped up into his arms and gave him a huge hug then asked her teacher if she could go with him on the tour.

Lunch provided by the Cape Elizabeth Team

2010-06-22T08:47:00.000-04:00

Facility Tour - El comedor, the dining hall

2010-06-22T08:45:00.001-04:00

Rachel is explaining the lunch /nutrition program and the importance of access to good food for the children. They feed 600 children and staff everyday. Our team donation pays for lunches this week. If you look above Ben's head you'll see a display and it posts who is donating meals that week. You can see Cape Elizabeth on the yellow paper. Will upload a close-up.

Lunch in the comedor, Monday

2010-06-22T08:40:00.000-04:00

We brought our own lunches to eat. Safe Passage children are not in the picture because this is between sessions.

Safe Passage Program Tour, Monday, June 21

2010-06-22T08:37:00.001-04:00

After breakfast we loaded into two vans at 8: 30 a.m. and headed out for the day. We stopped in the Antigua office first to pick up our t-shirts then off to the city. At 10 a.m., after picking up a security guard to accompany us, we went to an overlook to see the dump. We are in large cemetery and it offers a vantage point. You can see the vultures overhead and some trucks down below. The vastness of the area is hard to capture in a photo. It's extremely deep and it's 14 acres in size. The land is very unstable and they've lost entire trucks in sinkholes. This is the only dump for a city of four million people so you can imagine the tons of trash that are hauled here everyday. The guajeros, workers in the dump, earn between five to fifteen quetzales (40 cents to $2) for every 100 pounds of recyclables that they turn in. 80% of the guajeros are women.

Approaching Guatemala City

2010-06-22T08:29:00.001-04:00

Photo of flying into Guatemala City. You can see a volcano in the distance. I think it's Volcan del Agua but have to inquire to verify. Spectacular scenery as we flew in over the mountains and valleys of the Highlands.

Tuesday morning update

2010-06-22T08:23:00.003-04:00

It's 5:30 a.m., there's an internet connection, and students are still sleeping so it's a good time to update. These will be short because I want to save and post every five minutes or so before the connection is lost.
The first photos that were posted are:
1. Breakfast the first morning in one of the two courtyards. When you look at Jackson and Daniel, you'll see a door behind them, hidden amongst the flora. That is their room. All the rooms are clean, have TVs (World Cup!), and it's a very tranquil setting although we're only one block from the Plaza Central.

2. Buffet breakfast includes fresh pineapple, mango, papaya, orange juice, granola, eggs, beans, cereal, bread, fried plantains, and delicious Antiguan coffee!

3. Guatemala Airport Arrival. As soon as we left the aircraft, prior to Immigration, Customs or Baggage claim, students noticed a World Cup game being broadcast in a cafe below and they are rushed to the window to watch. Could have been in Cape Elizabeth or Guatemala...World Cup fever.

4. Last two photos are baggage claim area and the restaurant on Sunday night.

Sunday arrival & dinner, Monday breakfast

2010-06-21T15:25:00.002-04:00

Saludos de Guatemala!

2010-06-21T10:15:00.000-04:00

Hola a todos,
We arrived safely! Smooth flights, no problems, and in Antigua by 4:30 p.m. We settled into hotel, walked to the Plaza Central to exchange money, (bank was open on Sunday at 6 p.m.), went to Bodegona to buy lunch for Monday and then off to dinner. This update will be brief. Internet connection is spotty at best and I want to upload some photos next.