Antigua, Guatemala

Hi everyone,

Greetings from Antigua, Guatemala. Rachel and I arrived here about a week ago and soon after arriving we met up with a friend from high school, Emily Stewart, Rachel's mom and older brother, Leah's dad, and most recently Leah (she flew in from Peru on Thursday night).

It is great to be back in Guatemala after about 8 months away and surrounded by so many wonderful people. Most of us spent this past week volunteering at Safe Passage and it was interesting to see how much the project has changed in the relatively short time since we were last here. Some of the changes are very disappointing, but there are also many positive changes as well. I wasn't able to work with the group of kids that I've worked with in the past because there was already a volunteer in that class, but I'm hoping to switch into that class in the next few weeks. For now I'm working with a fourth grade class in the morning and five and six year olds in the afternoons. The morning class is very challeging, but good and the afternoon class is very sweet, but I spend most of my time taking them to the bathroom.

Yesterday marked one year since Hanley's death (the director and founder of Safe Passage). Yesterday afternoon the project had a mass and celebration of Hanley's life and all students, parents, and friends of the project were invited. Staff and students spent days decorating the project with flowers and photos of Hanley. It was a beautiful event though very sad at the same time. After the mass, presentations by a few people who were close to Hanley, and releasing of about 30 pink balloons (Hanley's favorite color) with notes written by the kids, the documentary of Recycled Life was put on and the kids quieted down as they saw Hanley and heard her voice. Many of them also recognized themselves or their friends as the video rolled. When the video finished about 15 minutes later the five year old girl named Katy in my lap said "Quiero verla otra vez" (I want to see her again) and all I could say was "Me too Katy, me too...."

The past week was full of lots of different emotions and we all went straight to bed last night after dinner at Rainbow Cafe, one of our favorite places to eat here in Antigua. This morning Emily and I went to yoga class and then met up with Rachel and her family at the pool. Her sponsor kid and his family came to Antigua for the day and had a wonderful time playing in the water. In the afternoon Emily treated me to an hour long Mayan massage so it's been an all around relaxing day and definitely made up for a week of riding two hours a day in the packed chicken buses. Tomorrow the whole gang is heading to Lake Atitlan and we'll be there for almost a week hanging out at a beautiful hotel called La Casa del Mundo (the same place my mom and I went last March for a year). After that I'm planning to go back to Safe Passage for another three months or so.

That's all for now,
Love, Katie

To see Nicaragua photos click here.