Antigua, Guatemala

Yesterday marked exactly three weeks since we got on the bus in Chapel Hill and headed towards Mexico, though it feels like a lot more time has passed. We have finished our first week at the project and it was one of mixed emotions. I'm working with the 5th and 6th grade girls, as I have done for the past two years, and it has been nice to reconnect with the kids I already know and meet the new group of 5th graders. There have been three teachers with my class since July (the class has a reputation of being difficult to handle) but the current teacher is doing a really good job and the girls seem to like and respect her.

Despite the grief that I've felt over the course of the past week and and a half, I've also been moved by how many people have offered their support to Safe Passage and at the number of people who have gathered around the world to remember Hanley. I also found out this past week that there is a documentary about life in the Guatemala City Garbage Dump that has been nominated for an Oscar. The film is called "Recycled Life" and Hanley was interviewed several times in the making of the documentary. I'm looking forward to seeing it and I've heard that DVD's will available in the spring.

My friends and I are getting settled into life in Antigua and are planning to stay and work with Safe Passage until the end of March. Then we'll probably head back up to Mexico for a few weeks because we didn't make it to Oaxaca or the coast and we would like to see some of our friends there before we go to Nicaragua. For now we are content to stay in one place for a little while. The three of us are currently sharing a room in a guest house, but we are hoping to move into an apartment in a couple of weeks. Our daily commute to Guatemala City has been longer than usual due to construction on the road and it has been taking between 1.5-3 hours each morning to get there and then a little over an hour to get home so it has made for some long days. Even though the days are long, I can't complain because there is no where I would rather be.

xoxo