As I’m sitting down to write this week’s post I’m finding myself wondering where to even begin; we have managed to fit so much into the past seven days. Time as a whole is also flying, as today marks the halfway point of our journey (see you soon mom and dad!).

 

We finished up our first two weeks in Panajachel with some really interesting demonstrations from one of Maya Tradition’s key members, Oseas. Our first day was spent learning all about the process of making tinctures. If you’re anything like me and are wondering what in the world tinctures are, they’re best described as a concentrated all-natural solution which you add to a glass of water to remedy a number of common problems like colds or headaches, and are one of the traditional Maya homeopathic medicines that Maya Traditions works to preserve. We got to help grow, harvest, clean, and then treat all of the plants that went into our calming sleep aid tincture, and in one month we’ll get to see the finished product! The following day we all got to flex our crafting muscles to make some homemade soap, once again using only plants and products right from Panajachel. We have to let the finished product set for a month as well, but we spent the next few days walking around with some minty-fresh hands. J

 

After all of the demos, we definitely realized just how much time and work goes into all of the products we often take for granted. It was so heartwarming to see Oseas in his element – he was absolutely beaming to have the chance to pass along the knowledge that’s been passed down through his family for hundreds of years.

 

This took us right up to Friday, when we usually we take a bit of time to relax, but instead we hit the ground running to shuttle to beautiful Antigua for the weekend where we got to network with other sustainable Guatemalan nonprofits and learn all about impact investing. Essentially, impact investors give advice and start up money to companies (both for-profit and nonprofit) whose goals include making a positive difference in the world. This could be achieved by improving their employees qualities of life or using environmentally friendly processes or ingredients to give some examples. We got to meet the owners of some other awesome companies like De La Gente, which helps its coffee growers earn fair wages for their hard work and Fri, an app which offers a safe and secure alternative to money management for users unable to afford banking in Central America. We left excited about the work our partner organization is doing and ready to roll up our sleeves again!

 

Tired but motivated from the weekend, we hopped on a lancha, what they call boats around the Lago Atítlan, to head over to San Juan La Laguna and meet our new host families for the next two weeks! Although we’re missing everyone in Pana, I think it’s safe to say we’re loving all of the amazing experiences we’ve already had in San Juan. The city has worked incredibly hard to preserve its Maya roots, and the traditional trajes and dress are apparent as well as the prevalence of the indigenous language particular to San Juan, Tzutujil. Our very first day the women of the cooperative Flora Juan taught us the intricacies of dying the thread they use to backstrap weave, and once again we were blown away with the behind-the-scenes work that goes into making all of their beautiful products. My host brother, Carlos, also took us to see a rehearsal of a traditional Maya dance group which featured musicians playing instruments like carved wooden flutes, seashells, and even turtle shells!

 

While here we will be working to completely renovate the medicinal herb garden, which will now also house a section of plants the cooperative will harvest to use for their natural dyes. All I will say is that I’m grateful that the person who decided to arm the five of us with machetes and concrete mix was also smart enough to give us a few professionals to guide us.

 

Well, they say that life begins at the end of your comfort zone, and I can attest to how much I’ve been able to learn and grow through all of our adventures: navigating without the help of phone GPS, miming out words when our language skills fall through, and awkwardly handling nearly all of the cultural norms and consequently sending our host families into fits of laughter; however, I think it’s been just as important and life-changing to find out how many similarities we have with the people here. Borders and languages might separate us, but it’s clear that no matter where you go you will find people that love to learn, laugh, and start their day with a hot cup of coffee. On that note, I’m signing off to go watch Harry Potter (in Spanish of course) with my host family, Bye!/¡Adios!/Na’an! J

 

Rachel