Welcome back to our Guatemala adventure! Today is day 6 of our ABST to San Lucas. 

We started off our morning at 8am eating breakfast in the biblioteca. Afterwards, we traveled to our project site located in Pampojila. During our time, we carried gravel and cement mix up a hill to the house being built. We worked as a team and formed an assembly line. This allowed us to practice teamwork skills and it was a great bonding activity for our group. At the top of the hill, we made friends with the locals and their children. Nora, Grace, and Cata formed a very special bond with one of the young boys named Chico. Even though this work took a lot of time, it was rewarding to give back to the San Lucas community.

We headed back to the mission for lunch and afterwards we traveled to the women’s center for our cultural day in the life activity where learned how to make tortillas, wash clothing, and different carrying methods. First up, we got to prepare corn tortillas with Guicha. She showed us how to turn the corn into the dough used to create the delicious tortillas! We each got a chance to try make the tortillas. Once we finished making them, we all got to taste them! We made plain corn tortillas and tortillas with a bean paste inside. They were delicioso! Next, we headed inside to learn how women wash clothes in Guatemala. We were all amazed by how much work and effort it takes to wash the clothing but also to start learning how to do it at a young age. Afterwards, we learned about different methods of ways to carry items. For the women, they carried baskets on their heads and we all got a chance to try it with a 5 pound basket. It was extremely difficult! We all had a new found appreciation for the daily responsibilities of Guatemalan women! Then, we learned about a man’s responsibility to gather firewood in order to provide for their family. We learned how they gather the wood and then transport it home or to be sold. This is also a very difficult process as the materials can weigh up to 180 pounds! They may have to walk up to 3 hours just to find the materials which may even be repeated twice in one day! From this we learned how physically taxing the day to day life is for both men and women in Guatemala. We all left the activity with a new found appreciation for their way of life.

We headed back for dinner and had some delicious guacamole!! We enjoyed our time together as we ate and reflected on our day. After dinner, we ended the night with some ice cream and our reflection for the night. 

We are very excited for tomorrow because we have a sunrise hike!! We will be sure to share more with you all tomorrow!

Till the next sunrise!

-Maddie & Nora

The Guatemala Gals and Nathan