Service Trip to San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala
January 13-22, 2011

Father O'Brien blesses the group before they travel to Guatemala on the annual service trip.

Moderators: Mr. Rogers and Ms. Reuter

Students: J. Dobesh,  A. Driessen, J. Edgerton, C. Farley, D. Farley, G. Gubash,
C. Harley, A. Housh, M. Johnson, T. McQuillan, A. Pinto

At the airport - January 13

Above: The group on a tour of the San Lucas parish projects.
Thank you to Mr. Rogers for these photos

Above: After a hard day's work...

Above: Sunday boat tour on Lake Atitlan.

Above: Building a road to increase coffee processing capabilities.

Above: Digging foundations for housing for those affected by tropical storm Agatha.

Above: Coffee. And sleep.

Above: Boys ready for some futbol.

Above: Enjoying a last meal together.

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Friday, January 14, 2011
From: Gubash

We arrived in the city of San Lucas, Guatemala after two taxing flights and one three-hour long car ride filled with exotic scenery and exciting discussion. I have since been reminded of how poorly I deal with travel. Tommy had a scare as well; his passport was stolen by a crazy cowboy in Texas, but luckily it was recovered. We also witnessed a volcanic eruption during the drive to the mission which we have been told is a rare sight. 

Upon arriving at the mission, we have been graced with surprisingly delectable food and extreme hospitality. The people here, as well as the lake and mountains, are amazing. It is surprisingly easy to make friends here, as it can be done with a few sentences of broken Spanish and a simple handshake. Today, January 14th in the year of our Lord 2011, we awoke to an early orientation and a warm meal. After our orientation, we were given a tour of many of the service projects that are being undertaken by the mission of San Lucas Toliman. They are currently working on a women's center, a hospital, an employment center and a school. After gorging on a lunch of rice and tortillas, we began our first work of the trip. We are currently helping to build a road by hauling rocks and dirt. It easily counts as the G in our GTL as it is very strenuous work. The project has been going on for over a year and is still yet to be completed. It is a humbling experience seeing how hard these people work for something that we take for granted in the United States.

The situation here in Guatemala is strikingly different from that in the U.S., but the quaint atmosphere is an enjoyable one. Now on this Friday afternoon, our work done, we are off to relax, eat, wash up, and hopefully put on a dangle show on the soccer pitch. I just realized there is a "ñ" key and it is awesome. Ñ ñ ñ ñ ñ. The keyboards here are different and it is throwing me off. The internet cafe in which I am writing this blog is a gaming haven, as there are multiple adolescents playing World of Warcraft right next to me. It´s awesome. Anyways, adios and buenas suerte from Guatemala.

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Friday, January 14, 2011
From: Edgerton and Dobesh

Today was our first full day in Guatemala. I was definitely a little confused this morning as to where I was when I woke up to the crowing of several roosters at 6:00 a.m. Joe was mad that we didn't all get up with him, whatever. We had our first breakfast at the mission, which consisted of oatmeal, black beans, and of course, coffee. We then took a tour of the various projects of the parish including a coffee processing area, a hospital, a women´s center, and later saw the road that we would be working on. 

We then went back to the parish and had some lunch, we all were pretty pumped to hear what we would be doing. We found out that the we would be working on the road with the volunteers from UST and headed back out there. It was pretty grueling work, hauling rocks and dirt, the Farleys made sure they had the most full wheel barrows at all times... Anyhoo, we finished our first two hours of work and went back to get some dinner. After dinner we went to go to a soccer field and played some locals, one of who was a former pro. So of course being the competitive cadets that we are, we went all out against these guys. Al took the lead of the team with like five goals, Austin played some solid D and got a few for himself, Johnson managed to block a shot with his face, I smashed my face on a goal post and got turf burn all up the left side of my body from slide tackling but did get a goal or two, annnnnnnnnnnd Dobesh missed an open net. When the whistle blew, the cadets had pulled off a ``W´´, with  a final score of 10-9.  Altogether it was a great first day here, and were all super pumped to see what the rest of the week has in store for us. 

Signing off,
J. Edgerton and J. Dobesh

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Saturday, January 15, 2011
From: Pinto

Saturday, we worked for half a day on the road, picking up rocks and dirt and bringing them to lay a foundation for the road. Señora Reuter´s camera and phone got stolen out of her bag while working, yet our spirits are still high and we have no negative judgments about the Guatemalan people. People here are amazingly friendly, every time you walk down the street you are always going to hear a friendlly "good morning" or "good afternoon." After a hard day of work, we had an amazing lunch at the mission, we had chicken, tortillas, some beans, and a delicious cake. We visited a small market set up at the square center, where we ate corn and some french fries. We finally called it a night after watching some local soccer game on TV. We have high hopes from the week we hope to have a fun rest of the week. Greetings to everyone at school and at home. Byeeeeee

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Sunday, January 16, 2011
From: Driessen and Housh

Sunday was our first free day of the trip. We woke up at 7:00 a.m. to arrive at the early morning Mass. The Mass was only in Spanish, thus it was difficult for some of us to understand. Afterwards we had the usual daily breakfast, then went down to the lake to board our boat. When the boat arrived it was more of a ship. Unfortunately it only went two miles an hour, literally. Took us almost three hours to get to our first destination, which was Santiago de Atitlan. We made our dramatic entrance as we crashed into two local boats, seriously, no joke. The locals greeted us with awkward stares and some attitude. We then were able to do some shopping and buy some really cool things. Seeing the market in its prime time was awesome.

After our experience in Santiago we crossed the lake and headed for Panachel. As we were on the boat, we saw several houses on the lake which resembled mansions. We also were really able to take in the beautiful scenery. At Panachel we were running low on time so we only had time for a quick meal. This prevented us from seeing most of the town which was rumored to be incredible. We then went back to San Lucas, where we had some time to reflect on our day and have some pizza. In conclusion we truly did have some great time to hang out with our buddies and enjoy the amazing scenery of Lake Atitlan. Adios Amigos!
 
Over and out,
Driessen and Housh

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Monday, January 17, 2011
From: Housh and D. Farley

Today we woke up and ate our usual breakfast which consisted of oatmeal, beans, rolls, and juice. After we ate our breakfast of champions, we all went out and loaded into our astro van that transported us up one of the mountains to the Women's Center. When we got there we did not realize there was a small person in the front seat and we were surprised when the passenger door opened magically. He was awesome. After our encounter with him, we got the tools from the shed and were given the instructions to smash large rocks into smaller rocks with hammers for them to use. We took turns because there was not enough hammers and after two hours of work we loaded the van to go back to the parish for lunch. We had beef stroganoff and rice with roles of course.

After this we went back up to our regular work spot, the road, and were surprised to hear that we had been doing our job completely wrong the whole time. Because of this, we had to correct our mistake by forming an assembly line with some of the UST volunteers and moved hundreds of boulders up the road to Pinto where he hurled them into position. After working the road, we went back and enjoyed a night on the town. San Lucas is a magical place and the view never gets old. As our journey draws closer to an end, we work to take in as much of the city and sites as possible with our limited time in the hopes that we will never forget this incredible place when we have to finally say goodbye. Greetings and love to all family and the STA community from San Lucas, we will be home soon.
Live long and prosper

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Tuesday, January 18, 2011
From: Driessen and Edgerton

Today we once again woke up to the sounds of roosters calling. We had an outside-of-the-usual breakfast consisting of some Guatemalan eggs, beans, and toast. After breakfast we cleaned the dishes at the parish and prepared to go work for the morning. This morning we had a bit more of a calmer job. We were asked to go pick coffee beans off of the trees. It was pretty nice to have an easier job for once. We were in the shade for most of the time which was also quite soothing. It was a great job to chat with those around us and enjoy the nature of San Lucas. A few of the local workers that came along with us challenged us to a soccer game. We plan on owning them tomorrow night at the local field.

After work we had lunch and went back to our hotel to clean up. The afternoon was different than usual. Instead of working on the road we listened to one of the lead women of the parish. This woman had quite the life story. She grew up in San Lucas during the Civil War. She had some remarkable stories about the violence with the Guatemalan Military and the guerillas. After spending some time with her for a few hours we chilled at the hotel before dinner. Dinner was not so great tonight...not even sure what it was. We're about to head out to the local pizza place to meet with some chicas bonitas. ;))) Hope all is well at home.

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Wednesday, January 19, 2011
From: C. Farley and Gubash

Day 6. Tensions are running high. Rations are running low. This morning we suffered through another breakfast of oatmeal and beans. We were then shipped out to a large plot of land near the women´s center up in the hills where we assisted in the construction of temporary housing. The mud slides last year wreaked havoc on the peoples of San Lucas. Our job was to dig a solid foundation to support one of the many housing units. Our tools consisted of shovels, pick axes, and our own blistered hands and feet. With the sun beating down upon us, we struggled to make much progress. Our comrade, Pinto, although stricken with heat sickness, contributed greatly to our cause. We moved approximately 100 wheelbarrows full of earth in a period of four hours and moved about three feet from our starting position. Although we made little progress, our work was greatly appreciated by the native workers.

Our schedule proceeded as usual and a satisfying lunch followed the work. This along with a short nap granted us much vitality and sustenance. With our spirits rejuvenated, we once again pressed on to the wretched hill where we formed up in the usual assembly line to pass hundreds of stones uphill. God bless Henry Ford. With the help of our friend, Marco, we were able to make considerable progress with the project. After much sweat, tears, and run-ins with a bee hive, dinner arrived and we were finally able to rest our sore and aching limbs. And finally, we are ready to make battle with the locals on the soccer arena as we hope to maintain our winning record. Send us your prayers, we will be needing them. Good night and good luck.

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Thursday, January 20, 2011
From: Harley

Today, for our last day of work, we were told to work on the coffee farm this morning. We were given the tasks of fertilizing the coffee plants and digging up dirt for planting. When we were digging up the soil for the plants we were working next to a sewage outlet that reeked terribly. Then for lunch we headed back to the parish and waited for our next task. Seeing as we started with working on the road and carrying rocks, we ended the trip doing the same. Everyone was full of energy today and we ended up making games and songs to make our rock assembly line fun. As far as food goes it was pretty bland today, like most days, and most of us are planning what we will eat first when we return to America (Panda Express). We are all excited for our trip to Antigua and we hope to come back with some good gifts. At the same time we are all sad to leave Guatemala. But most of all we will miss the people, Adios hombres. 

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Saturday, January 22, 2011
From: Johnson

It is currently 9:00 a.m. in the city of Antigua, which used to be the capital of Guatemala until devastated by an earthquake. Unlike San Lucas, Antigua is a very popular tourist destination, and thus is very Americanized. Upon arriving, the majority of the group chose to eat at Pollo Campero, which was connected to a Telepizza where I could fulfill my dietary needs. Later, we traveled through the marketplace, which was riddled with stores selling knockoff DVDs, fake belt buckles, and switchblade knives. Also, there is a much greater Caucasian presence in Antigua, and many stores and restaurants have menus and signs in both Spanish and English. Everyone is out and about this morning, burning through their last few quetzales. I am personally planning on buying my last glass bottled Coke, which not only tastes better down here, but costs the equivalent of 45 cents. It's been a wonderful experience, and we shall return to the U.S. with great stories and new perspectives.
 
Signing off for the last time,
Johnson