MARCH 15th:

Today was hell because it our last day here. We went to breakfast at Fernando's, said our goodbyes and left for the airport at 7:45 AM.

Adios!

In Houston, we met up with the South Kam Peru Crew and compared stories. Miles and I drove back with Mr. Buemann from SK. I got home at 5:11 AM! 
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It's crazy being back at home. It feels like I have been living in Antigua forever. I already miss it and will go back the next chance I get! I have learned so much in just the past ten days that I'll keep with me forever. I have also met some friends that I know I'll be friends with for the rest of my life. Thanks for reading my blog; it means a lot to me!

MARCH 13th:

Today was our last day in Antigua. We woke up and went for breakfast at Fernando's as per usual. Then some of us hit the daily market, the one we went to on our first day here. It was so funny to see the newbies trying to talk and barter and work their way around the crazy Guatemalan traffic. We felt like seasoned pros at this time.

Miles and I at the market.

After this we went to McDonald's. The service is so fast, it's like they know what you are going to order. We sat in the beautiful courtyard to eat. We have been told that people have their weddings in the McDonald's courtyard haha.. Sort of hard to believe until you see it. We came back to the hotel and went on the roof to suntan (or for me, lay in the sun with SPF 60..). It was so nice out! Sara and Riley got TORCHED. They are so burnt. We met the rest of the Canadian group that we had met last night.. It's so fun to compare their experiences in Guatemala and in Canada. We went out for dinner at Subway. Spanish Hannah Montana was playing! First TV I have seen in ten days :). After that we walked back down to the market because we all have so many quetzals left that we needed to blow. After that we walked back to the hotel for a team meeting. ANOTHER procession was going on. This time they all wore red robes. People would pay to carry this thousand pound statue. The music was very loud and very heavy. We all met on the roof and reflected on this past week. We talked about not forgetting about the things we saw and learned because it is so easy to slip back into old patterns.

Talking on the roof!

I'll never forget.

MARCH 12th:

Hola! Sorry for the long delay.. Today was Riley's 17th birthday! We went to Lake Atitlan. It was crazy! It was about a two and a half hour drive on the WINDIEST roads. We travelled through some pretty poor towns. The first thing we did once we got to "the most beautiful lake in the world" as it's dubbed, we went ziplining! It was so crazy! We got strapped up and climbed about twenty minutes up a mountain and went down eight different ziplines. It was SO much fun! 

The lake!

Ali, Miles and I! I am terrified at this point.

The lake was so beautiful and it was huge. Most of the water is filled with parasites so you can't swim, but some parts are fine. We out for lunch at the Sunset Cafe. There was an Iron Man going on.. Lots of runners dying in the heat! We took a boat to two different islands. One was crazy -- it was literally built on the side of mountain. All the streets were cobble stone and burned your calves as you CLIMBED up to the shops.

Crazy steep!

We saw lots of women weaving scarves etc. The second island we stopped at was fun. We went into a cafe and got ice cream. All these little boys were asking Shane to buy them ice creams. So he did..all like six of them. Women and their children would hassle you like crazy because they wanted you to buy their goods. They would follow you up the street and back down to the docks where the boat was. We travelled back to the mainland and took the bus home. Everyone fell asleep; we were so exhausted. We came back to Fernando's for dinner and had potato and leek soup, salad and an enchilada. The enchilada kind of looked like a really big pizza pop. For dessert everyone had tiramisu and we sang Happy Birthday to Riley. Fernando and Gerlinde (his wife..they own our hotel next door too..) made me a chocolate cake without eggs. It was soo nice of them. We went up on the roof at night and hung out on the swings. We met a Canadian group from Toronto that was staying here after they had just built two houses this week.

MARCH 11th:

Today we woke up at 7:30 AM and realized it was the last day with the kids :(. So sad! We came to Open Windows and started putting together the desks and then painting them. Ali and Riche sorted through the eight suitcases we brought.

They are both feeling A LOT better, by the way. At 10:30, Teresa wanted to take us to see the finkas. They live on the side of a mountain in San Miguel. It was so sad! They literally have nothing. Once we reached the top of the hill, around thirty kids came to see us. We brought them mints and they were so excited. They were all really dirty and none of them were wearing shoes.. We also brought some soccers balls. Every day they have to walk down the mountain to wash their clothes or attend church or just do daily things that we take for granted. Their houses are made of tin with tarps as roofs. Lots of people in Guatemala have pets that they cannot probably take care of. We have seen hundreds of dogs and horses that are starving! They are all so skinny. So skinny that you can see their rib cages.. When it rains, the kids can hardly walk up the hill because the water is higher than their knees. Their mayor built a cement playground when the majority of the village wanted a place where they could wash their clothes. Teresa said if the mayor was female, he probably would have taken a more maternal approach and would have given the village what they needed. She said that most men don't even think about washing clothes because down here it is considered women's work. I agreed 100%. The kids did not even use the playground, they still just play in the streets.

Cows grazing in town.

The girl on the left is deaf.

The cutest girl I have ever seen.

Me handing out mints.

OG after handing out mints.

A typical home.

We returned back to Open Windows and worked on the desks some more. The Doctor was in today.. One comes a couple times a year.. A group from Winnipeg is coming next week is going to finish the rest. In the afternoon, we helped the kids in the library. At 3, we were all divided up into groups of ten kids and two members of OG. We had to teach them a game.. My group taught jump rope and hopskotch. Some taught soccer baseball, sewing and hand clapping games. When it was time to leave all the kids sat down in the courtyard and gave us cards and certificates. I, once again, cried! 


We left the kids :( at OW and walked to Liz and Tom's house for a bbq. Their stories were so cool. Tom just came down here for a trip similar to ours and then he ended up staying forever. Doesn't sound like a bad plan to me... :) We left there at 7:15 PM. It was hard saying bye to Teresa and the others!

Teresa - Until next time.

We drove home and went to Fernando's to see how he made chocolate and coffee. So cool!

I hope that the snow melts before I get home because the weather is SO nice down here. All my love to my famjam and friends and thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. :)

MARCH 10th:

I do not want to come home. 

At all.
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Ali and I woke up early today (we have the morning off..) and went to Fernando's for breakfast. We came back to the hotel to get Riche, but she couldn't come with us because she had been throwing up :(. Not to worry, it's nothing serious. Probably just dehydration.. But Ali and I went out shopping. We dropped our dirty laundry off at this cute little laundry mat and we will pick it up when we return. We went down to the market and to some of the stores by our hotel. It is still strange that when we walk by McDonald's there is a security guard holding a rifle.. It's like that at the bank too and lots of fast food restaurants. We left for Open Windows at about 11:45 AM, but first we stopped at Teresa's (founder of OW) house for lunch. It was NUTS. She has fourteen bedrooms, three floors and this crazy backyard. She showed us some of her coffee plants (she makes her own coffee..). She has a chef and a maid and her roof is huge and flat so you can sun tan on it. She has a beautiful courtyard in the middle of the house. That's another I like about Guatemala - most of the hotels, houses and restaurants are part indoors and outdoors. The buses picked us up and we went to OW to play with the kids. We read in the library for a bit and then it was time for the big soccer game.

From Ali's and I's trip downtown Antigua.

Zander and Miles re-creating the picture of

 them in newspaper. Hilarious.

Teresa's courtyard.

Miles was armwrestling his little buddy. (Note: the game

of KitKar Bar in the background!)

We walked about fifteen minutes to one of the local soccer fields in San Miguel. Kids had received special permission to get of school to play. Two girls from OW came with us as well. We showed up to the barb wire encased field to see about fifteen boys (all way younger than us) wearing Kamloops Blaze jerseys! A previous team must have donated them and that's what the team wears. Lots of locals came to watch the game and we got murdered 8-0. One of the girls and I listened to my iPod on the sidelines; she also ate my lunch because I was allergic to it haha. Ali and I played pass with two little boys on the side. They were so cute! After the game, we got a huge picture of all of us and I promise I will upload it when I get a chance! We left for the hotel at 5 PM and we were all way to tired for salsa dance lessons.

OG warming up.

The local team lead by Edward! (Note: the Kamloops

jerseys!)

The little cutie I shared my lunch with.

Nothing cuter.

Can I take you home?

After the game!

At 6:30 PM we went for dinner at La Punta, an Italian restaurant. Our pops (Pepsi, Coke, Fanta..) come in glass bottles! Ali and Riche weren't feeling well so they stayed home. We walked back to the hotel and hung out. We were all exhausted!