Weathered the Storm

First of all, yes, i am safe and sound, having weathered my first tropical storm (Agatha).... ok actually i think she passed to the south of where im at, technically. But i was still a little anxious as we waited for it to hit, not knowing what would happen. However, i am marooned at Lake Atitlan for the time being. I headed here to visit a friend despite the heavy rain, in desperate need of a weekend out of site. Shortly after getting here, we got the news that torrential downpours due to a tropical depression would continue throughout the weekend and that we were not permitted to leave our current location.
So i have been imposing on said friend since friday afternoon. Today, and yesterday, the weather here has been sunny and downright pleasant. However, the standfast for volunteers continues, as road conditions are unsafe for travel in most of the country. There are, however, worse places to be stuck. The town sits a little above the lake so i have an amazing view. Also the town itself is beautiful, a lot of money has been invested in making it ´tourist friendly´ so there are beautiful murals everywhere, actual trash cans, a nice market.
Anyways, wanted to assure you all that i am safe and sound, and waiting to get the all clear so i can make my way back home.

The month of may..

has come and gone, it seems... quickly! Yes, i´ve been busy here, but also frustrated with the internet speed, which is why no posting. So this week, I went on a hike from the town center over the mountains and through the woods to an aldea we also work in. The hike is estimated to be about 35km.... and took us about 7 hours to hike. There were 16 members of the community that are taking a class about tourism. Eventually we would like to develop this hike to the point that they can guide tourists on the hike, which ends in the aldea complete with hot springs, which, yes, we took full advantage of upon arrival. Also, it rained buckets on us about four hours in, we were caught in a thunderstorm with lightning and thunder like right on top of us!

The next day Audrey and I facilitated a workshop on environmental education with the teachers from the schools there. we talked about trash, made recycled art, tire gardens, and then talked about the active learning cycle we use. in the end, they got into groups to make up their own lesson plans. it turned out pretty great. we´re thinking about repeating it in other schools.

In other news, progressing slowly but surely with the bottle classroom. I am very fortunate to see this project being executed so i can learn from its successes and failures. It is challenging at times getting cooperation from the community for this project. Because most of the bottles we received were not filled well, construction is going at the pace that bottles are being filled. This is not the most efficient of systems, and in the future it would be wise to ´approve´ of bottles as they are being collected. All things considered, our contractor is awesome and at the very least, he totally gets the project and is working his you-know-what off to finish the walls of the school. I am hoping to do some manner of bottle construction during my time here so it is a great learning experience for me.

Went hiking in our forest today for a long while, brought mybinoculars and did some birdwatching. i am sooo stoked to have a forest rich in wildlife, and solitude, and green, so close to me in a country that has lost soo much of its original forest cover. what luck,huh? now, if i can instill that same sense of gratitude and wonder in the townfolk here.... thatll be the trick. but already people are bringing picnics up in the forest, running the trails, etc. its great to see a positive reaction in the community.