This morning we slept in a little bit later than we have so far and had a leisurely breakfast and some down time with our families. In my home my two host brothers, Brandon and Rosman, and I spent the morning playing soccer in the street with some boys from the neighborhood. Around 9:45 some friends from the Rising Minds group came over to the house I am staying in and, as the game of soccer grew, a group of ladies from the neighboring town, San Pablo, came to the house to teach us to make bracelets and hackisacks. The task was a challenging one as we were all paired with a woman and the better Spanish speakers were partnered with women who spoke very limited Spanish, only Tzu tujil, the native Mayan language of the region. Though the language barrier created difficulties, most of us were able to interview our women and try our hand at the challenging art of hackisack and bracelet making. I was paired with Elena, a 30 year-old woman with a husband and four boys.
She told me about the tragic loss of a fifth son, seemingly out of nowhere at 14 months, and the difficulties around money because her husband has limited work. Her dream is to have enough money to buy some land that she can pass down to her boys so that they can have a better life in the future. During this time I also learned how skilled Elena is at crocheting and how difficult it is, but also how little money they make from their work. However, the personal interaction with the women was positive for all as we were able to learn a lot about each other and I think each side gained some respect for the other. I know we gained respect for these women.
After lunch the group went to the widowed women’s cooperative, the associacion de desarollo de mujeres viudas, ADEMVI, and learned the art of natural dying thread. The threads are dyed with different parts of plants including seeds, roots, berries, leaves, and more. Another great way that the women make thread is through the process of unraveling old sweaters and then using this thread in everything from scarves to
hammocks to place mats. After another short interview session with the women and a tuk-tuk, a three-wheeled taxi, ride to San Pedro we started the second of two back-back Paso y Paso projects by helping make simple, easy to read bios for applicants in the area needing money from donors in order to continue their education. This aspect of Rising Minds is through a partner organization focused on improving the lives of Guatemalans through education.
We wrapped up with an evening meeting in which we discussed the day, including the language challenges that morning and found ourselves discussing “economic liberalism” and the effects of economic policy and international intervention in the lives of Guatemalans. So far, evening meeting has been one of my favorite parts of the day because the discussions are eye-opening and fulfilling.
I have found that my ability to communicate with my host family has continued to improve. Tonight I asked my host brothers Rosman and Brandon what they wanted to do in the future. They have high hopes and dreams because they want to be dentists or
doctors.
