Xela Xenanigans

Choco Bananos! On Monday, we did the trip to Fuentes Georginas that we couldn't do last Sunday. It was a nice relaxing time we needed after the jam-packed weekend.  The next couple days was filled with the rush to get presentations done. It was crazy to think we were already almost at the end of our stay in Guatemala. Everyone's presentations were super interesting, and it was a really insightful learning session that covered diverse aspects of health problems in Guatemala. Even though things like sex trafficking, malnutrition, and maternal health seem too big and complicated to break down and solve, listening to Dr. Quinn talking about thinking simple and start small stopped me from becoming discouraged. Even though the problem is grand, trying to come up with a solution equally as grand that tries to solve everything is impossible. Something as small as implementing education about washing hands in schools may be enough to spread awareness about sanitation and...

Saturday morning, we took off for the full tour of Semuc Champey. After a good 30 min ride in the back of the pick-up truck, we made it to the first stop. Underwater caves! Like the bat caves, I was kind of terrified the entire time but definitely the craziest thing I've ever done. I mean, we were walking through a cave under a waterfall, with just a candle to light the way. Along the way, I climbed up a mini waterfall with a rope, jumped into pools, and fell down toilet bowls. Not a literal toilet bowl, but it was literally a hole that was just black, with a waterfall roaring through it to make it actually seem like a toilet. You just slip through it into a pool of water below. Some people were brave enough to jump off the mini cliff (maybe around 20 feet) that we stopped by, but I couldn't make myself do the climb up. So I jumped off a mini 2 foot high rock.  Energy for the packed day ahead! After coming out of the caves, the adventure didn't stop there. The next ...

After everyone took a couple hours to recover from that delightful 18 hour trip, we started on our first activity in Semuc. River tubing!  Okay, the title of this post is kind of an exaggeration, but I literally thought I was going to die. So it all started off super fun, the river was super cooling against the scorching heat. I was well ahead the rest of the group because I couldn't slow myself down, but it was fine until a fork came up in the river. Before I knew it, I was floating down the right side, when the guide and everyone else was yelling LEFT LEFT. While they were all yelling SWIM BACK I helplessly flailed my arms and failed miserably to fight the current. I hopped off my tube and tried to swim, but that was an epic failure too. The current was getting stronger and stronger, and the group was soon out of sight and I was surrounded by nothing but trees floating in a river. Thoughts of surviving alone in the jungle like those wild survivor shows filled my head, wh...

Instead of Spanish classes, today we had a tour of the public hospital in Xela. It was a very eye-opening experience that allowed me to get a deeper understanding of the state of health care in Guatemala. It was super crowded, with all the waiting rooms packed and people waiting outside too. Some people traveled over 6 hours to try to see a doctor. I've never lived farther than 20 minutes away from a hospital, so the fact that all of these people have such limited access to check on something as vital and necessary as their health is crazy to think about. It was also amazing to see how many people the hospital was able to treat, despite very limited resources and space. The chairs were losing their backing, and there were quite a few beds in the hallways with patients laying in them. Even under these circumstances, the staff was doing everything they could to give the best medical treatment as possible.  After the tour of the hospital, we got lunch at Tacorazon, a Guatemalan v...

Our afternoon activity for today was listening to lectures from Dr. Rodolfo Sanchez, a specialist in infectious diseases. We learned about rabies and diseases caused by parasites in Guatemala. Many families, especially in more rural areas, prefer witches or traditional medicine over hospitals, which often doesn’t solve illnesses caused by parasites. It’s so crazy how many of these diseases could be easily fixed with a vaccine or medicine from a doctor, but fear or doubt gets in the way. We also talked about how this problem really is a problem without passports, because many communities in the United States have doubts against vaccines or don’t think they’re necessary. Human stubbornness is one of the most difficult things to surpass. Oh, forgot to mention. Before heading to the lectures, Sofia, Elaine, and I got ice cream from Pops in Parque Central. HIGHLY recommend. Cheap but amazing ice cream. You have to try the cappuccino chocolate shell with nuts, it was heavenly wit...

Woke up a little earlier to grab breakfast at Mandarina with Mitchka. I clearly don’t have an obsession with this place. I got one of the breakfast bowls, and Mitchka got an avocado bagel topped with an egg. You already know how I feel about the food here. After a good meal, we got onto a chicken bus to go to a NGO clinic. It was quite a ride. We got a tour of the clinic, and heard one of the employees talk about some things she’s learned from her experience here, including the problem of volunteerism. Before this trip, I never really thought about the possible negative consequences of serving abroad. Even though someone might have good intentions, it doesn’t always mean that it’s going to beneficial for that community. She also said how important it is to know our place in whatever foreign community we go to, and simply observe how things are run, because it’s bound to be different from home. I really appreciate how much we’re learning about cultural differences and how to app...