Guatemala Presentation
Monday, April 19, 2010
As a final part of the class we have to do a community presentation on our experiences in Guatemala. If you have been reading my posts or just want to learn more be sure to come this Thursday night! There will be coffee by donation and Guatemalan merchandise for sale. All proceeds will be turned into a scholarship for students to attend a school we visited outside of Guatemala City. It will be held at 6pm at the Bud Werner Library.
Visiting an artist in Guatemala
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sorry it has taken me so long to write about this trip. We experienced a lot down there and it's hard to continue on with everyday life knowing such horrible things are going on in the world. It takes a long time to process everything we learned, and each time I take a look back at my journal I see things in a different light.
One of my favorite speakers was a woman who was supposed to talk to us about art. She began talking about local painters and then went into traditional weaving. She showed us some traditional clothes and began to explain the meaning behind the patterns.
The up and down lines she is pointing at in the photo represent the double headed snake which has many significant meanings to the Mayan culture. She explained that the up and down represented high points and low points in one's life. When someone very close to you dies you are at the bottom and you grieve for the loss. After so many days of grieving a person says will ask themselves where they want to be emotionally and being to climb up the latter.
Being an American I assumed being at the top all the time would be the ultimate achievement but I was wrong. We are always moving up and down the latter depending on where we are in our lives. Unlike the US way of thinking being happy all the time is the best thing in the world, the important part to them is maintaining balance. When you are at the top you are reminded that things can always get worse, which makes you grateful for what you do have. When you are at the bottom there is the assurance that things will certainly get better.
This woman seemed to be very enlightened. At one point she said "The wisdom of the universe is very large". This saying has definitely stuck with me because it's so true. Often times we find ourselves wondering how we got to a certain point or into a certain situation but if we remind ourselves that there are larger things out there our problems seem much smaller.
She respected that we celebrated different ideas and came from a completely different way of life. It's so interesting to learn about different ways of thinking and how people see the world. Meeting with this woman has only reinforced how bad I want to study philosophy.
Here is some of the artwork they had displayed.
One of my favorite speakers was a woman who was supposed to talk to us about art. She began talking about local painters and then went into traditional weaving. She showed us some traditional clothes and began to explain the meaning behind the patterns.
The up and down lines she is pointing at in the photo represent the double headed snake which has many significant meanings to the Mayan culture. She explained that the up and down represented high points and low points in one's life. When someone very close to you dies you are at the bottom and you grieve for the loss. After so many days of grieving a person says will ask themselves where they want to be emotionally and being to climb up the latter.
Being an American I assumed being at the top all the time would be the ultimate achievement but I was wrong. We are always moving up and down the latter depending on where we are in our lives. Unlike the US way of thinking being happy all the time is the best thing in the world, the important part to them is maintaining balance. When you are at the top you are reminded that things can always get worse, which makes you grateful for what you do have. When you are at the bottom there is the assurance that things will certainly get better.
This woman seemed to be very enlightened. At one point she said "The wisdom of the universe is very large". This saying has definitely stuck with me because it's so true. Often times we find ourselves wondering how we got to a certain point or into a certain situation but if we remind ourselves that there are larger things out there our problems seem much smaller.
She respected that we celebrated different ideas and came from a completely different way of life. It's so interesting to learn about different ways of thinking and how people see the world. Meeting with this woman has only reinforced how bad I want to study philosophy.
Here is some of the artwork they had displayed.
Pictures from Guatemala
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Sorry I didn't make a fancy slide show for this trip. I figured I'd post a few of my favorite/ the most meaningful pictures with descriptions of each. That way you can click on them to enlarge and ask questions if you have any!
The children there were beautiful
We are all Humans
Graffiti for a political group
Sunset over the lake
Boat on the water
A Fisherman
Mayan-Catholic Saints
This used to be a Mayan temple. When the Spanish came they knocked down the temple and built their own, but left the steps.
A memorial for an American priest who was killed by the Guatemalan government
An organization that seeks to find missing people from the war and fights for social justice (This group is largely responsible for the investigations of mass graves)
A Mass Grave
Graffiti on a building formerly owned by the United Fruit Company
A Wall of Missing People
Visiting the Mayan Ruins in Tikal
Star Wars Buffs would understand
A band playing in the park in Antigua
One Hundred USD was worth over 700 Quetzals
The children there were beautiful
We are all Humans
Graffiti for a political group
Sunset over the lake
Boat on the water
A Fisherman
Mayan-Catholic Saints
This used to be a Mayan temple. When the Spanish came they knocked down the temple and built their own, but left the steps.
A memorial for an American priest who was killed by the Guatemalan government
An organization that seeks to find missing people from the war and fights for social justice (This group is largely responsible for the investigations of mass graves)
A Mass Grave
Graffiti on a building formerly owned by the United Fruit Company
A Wall of Missing People
Visiting the Mayan Ruins in Tikal
Star Wars Buffs would understand
A band playing in the park in Antigua
River O
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
When I was growing up my parents put my sisters and I on swim team. We did it all; private club teams, high school teams and anything recreational that had to do with water. For this reason being in water always seemed as natural as being on land. When I took my first ever white water rafting trip two years ago with paddling club I realized my love for water extends beyond that of a 100 
meter chlorine filled swimming pool.
There is nothing like the adrenaline rush of falling into ice cold rapids and figuring out a way to be rescued. Remembering all the fun times I had playing around on rafts and duckies last summer helped me in my decision to sign up for this trip. Each time I rode a ducky down the rapids or guided a raft I felt an adrenaline rush. My heart would start pounding a little faster and my mind would clear up. All thoughts would dissipate as my mind and body focused on one thing: getting through the rapids and having a great time.
We learned so many things on this trip I never would have thought of. I didn’t realize how much wild life depends on the riparian habitat and how small and delicate it is. For those of you who don't know the riparian habitat is the area at the bank of a river. A majority
of wildlife uses it on a daily basis.
We also had an interesting mini lesson about how the state controls the water flow. Basically whoever has the oldest deed has the highest priority when it comes to water. That part upset me because damming water and controlling its usage just doesn’t seem natural. Although we were right there with nature I felt like knowing these rivers are controlled by mankind took away from that a little bit.
My greatest challenge was learning to oar. Oaring is a lot harder than it looks. It takes a lot of strength and coordination. Although I’m still not that great at it I’m happy I had the opportunity to practice.
Overall it was a great trip. I think the group bonded really well and the instructors were great at balancing fun and learning. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
meter chlorine filled swimming pool.There is nothing like the adrenaline rush of falling into ice cold rapids and figuring out a way to be rescued. Remembering all the fun times I had playing around on rafts and duckies last summer helped me in my decision to sign up for this trip. Each time I rode a ducky down the rapids or guided a raft I felt an adrenaline rush. My heart would start pounding a little faster and my mind would clear up. All thoughts would dissipate as my mind and body focused on one thing: getting through the rapids and having a great time.
We learned so many things on this trip I never would have thought of. I didn’t realize how much wild life depends on the riparian habitat and how small and delicate it is. For those of you who don't know the riparian habitat is the area at the bank of a river. A majority
of wildlife uses it on a daily basis.We also had an interesting mini lesson about how the state controls the water flow. Basically whoever has the oldest deed has the highest priority when it comes to water. That part upset me because damming water and controlling its usage just doesn’t seem natural. Although we were right there with nature I felt like knowing these rivers are controlled by mankind took away from that a little bit.
My greatest challenge was learning to oar. Oaring is a lot harder than it looks. It takes a lot of strength and coordination. Although I’m still not that great at it I’m happy I had the opportunity to practice.
Overall it was a great trip. I think the group bonded really well and the instructors were great at balancing fun and learning. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
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