Day 1 Visit to Santa Maria de Jesus

We all arrived safely last night at about 10:00 in San Juan to the warmth of our home stays. This morning we were all sharing stories about how welcoming the Guatemalans have been. We began our day in the town square with a talk from a couple from Mission Impact, Michelle and Gerber (pronounced harebare). They did a great job of preparing us for our visit to Santa Maria in terms of how to interact with the villagers and gave us the background of the political struggles Guatemala has faced. San Juan, our home stay village, is more middle to upper middle class neighbourhood by Guatemalan standards. Santa Maria is predominantly Mayan and less wealthy.

We began by visiting Mission Impact's school for girls. Education for girls in Guatemala is not always available and MI has opened this school to address that inequity. If a girl has not entered school by the time they are 7, it is difficult for them to go back and do so. This school accepts older girls and encourages them to stay longer. Many girls only go to school until about grade 3 because their families want them to help at home.

We then went on a guided tour of Santa Maria with three students from the school as our guides. After that we were treated to meal of traditional Guatemalan food at the house of one the locals. At this same home, three of the children presented us with a card they made and a homemade journal to write about our experiences. After that we walked to a house on the edge of town for a very eye-opening and humbling tour of one of the more average family's homes.

Tonight we are off to Antigua to take part part in the Good Friday celebrations.