The morning of March 29th we all woke up packed and ready to go. We ate our last Amalia made breakfast of pineapple pancakes. Our favorite. And we did so with bittersweet feelings in our hearts. All loving the culture and wanting to stay in it while also looking forward to being home again. The best we can do from here is keep what we’ve learned and experienced close to us. We said our farewell to Jane, our fabulous and wonderful hostess! Then off to the airport.

Thanks for reading and keeping along with us. Also thank you for putting up with all my iPod spelling errors. Mostly, thank you all for your support. This trip was incredible and wouldn’t have been possible without all the love, care and support we had behind us. We are really taking so much away from this trip. We’re all changed because of it whether it’s learning to appreciate the little things in our lives, simplifying what we make complicated, supporting others, or never being afraid to give or receive help of any kind. I hope by following along, we’ve been able to pass some of these things along to you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Nikki

PS: Check back for pictures!

Day 7:
The free day! We were given a selection of places to go and things to do for our free day and we chose to go to “The Lake”.  It was this huge, stunningly gorgeous lake 2 and a half hours away from San Miguel Escobar. It was surrounded by volcanos and mountains. The water was so clear! The lake was surrounded with wonderful foliage of all shapes, sizes and colors. The roads and sidewalks were again cobblestone. It was so beautiful I’d say it was paradise.  Ahhhh…

We had a few different options of what we could do. The popular choice was to go zip-lining in the nature reserve on the edge of town. It was quite the nature reserve located within the mountains. So stunning. A foot long lizard even ran past my foot like it was nothing. While some of the group went zip-lining, Cassy, Sophie, Nikki and myself went kayaking in the lake. Jane joined us as well! It only cost us about $3.28/person/hour! It was picture-esk. Just paddling out to the middle of the bay of this massive lake we were in and just looking at everything. There were no words to be said or even to describe how beautiful, peaceful and serene this was. But! There was more to see!

Back on land, the 5 of us went to this fantastic little outdoor cafe for lunch. It was beautiful AND delicious. Who could ask for more?

About half way through, a van pulled up to the area and there was the zip-line crew! Well hey there guys, how was zip lining? They said it was fun. They did 8 different courses that went through the mountains and even past a waterfall. Their longest one lasted about 45 seconds. That’s a pretty long time to fly through trees! They said at the end they got to see some monkeys chow down on bananas! Whoa! The rest of our day at the lake was spent walking up and down their main road. It was filled with little shops and restaurants. Lots to see and take it. Such a pleasant day it was!

Now, I personally get car sick real easy and the winding roads through the mountains, oof, not for me. So I stopped at a pharmacy before heading back to buy some benedryl to knock me out! When I asked for some, they sold it to me by the pill. I thought that was cool because then I didn’t have to buy a whole pack. I talked to Jane about it and she said that’s convenient however, that’s how all the medication is done there, even anti-biotics. So people don’t always get their proper dosage and prices can get weird as well. Another interesting thing I learned about their culture and another thing I find myself reflecting about my own culture. Thought I’d tell you all about that tidbit.

Needless to say I got in the van and the next thing I knew I woke up at a restaurant for dinner! Rad! We ate our final dinner in Guatemala at this really awesome crepe restaurant in Antigua. Crepes? In Guatemala? Yeah! And they were crazy good! Fresh made in a matter of minutes with both savory and sweet kinds. Mmm! And it was a pretty cool restaurant where you even had the option to eat on beanbag chairs out on a patio. Legit. After dinner we bid a fond farewell to Paula (an AGAIG gal who helped us translate at times) and Andy.

(Flambeed crepes!)

Back at the house we had our final reflection in Guatemala. We reflected on how now that we’ve had this experience, what can we take from it? What can we start doing? What can we stop doing? What can we continue to do? Most of us said a lot of the same things. We’d like to start shopping locally more often, care about where our stuff comes from, use more sustainable resources in our lives and simplify. Wed like to stop complaining so much, taking things for granted and stressing out especially the little things because in the end it’s not that big of a deal and were all gonna be okay. We all seem to have taken a lot from this trip that maybe we didn’t think we would. I, for example, didn’t think I’d now start to put so much focus on where I buy things but now I totally am! Main St, USA here I come! Overall, we all got a great experience here in Guatemala.

Day 6:
Today was our day of activities we chose to do through AGAIG. We decided on attending an artisans workshop where we learned some common artisan works such as iron sculpting, wood carving and jade jewelry making. Our other activity was a “Market Scavenger Hunt” where we split into two teams and ran through the giant market in Antigua to shop for food we’d later make into our dinner. Both activities were really fun and helped us identify and learn more about the culture.

So first was our Artisan’s workshop. I personally participated in the Jade jewelry making along with Kari, Nikki and Amber. Jane our tour hostess joined us as well!  We met our Artisan. His name was Francisco, a friendly elderly man who’s been working with jade for 44 years. Jade is a precious stone used by the Mayans of the Guatemalan area for all different things whether I was art or dental work. The kind of jade found in this area is called jadeite. It’s rare and found in very few places around the world. The other kind of jade you see in Asian cultures is called nephrite. We learned all this and so much more from Francisco though Jane translated most of it for us. We then all got to pick out our own little piece of jadeite to carve and polish into jewelry we wanted! It was so fun and so fascinating to see all the steps it takes to make such a beautiful and rare piece of jewelry.

(Making jade jewelry)

I don’t know nearly as much about the other workshops but I got a few descriptions. In the iron working, Taylor, Cassy and Mike carved gorgeous animal shaped garden decorations out of giant pieces of sheet metal. It involved a lot of muscle work, patience and rust colored hands but each piece turned out really fabulous.

In the wood working workshop, they made serving trays. Sophie, Daniel and Carter carved the frames of their trays and then sanded them down. They then were able to pick a piece of traditional indigenous clothing to cut up and form as the center of their trays to then cover with glass. They looked really cool and perfect for serving coffee to future guests at their homes!

Once that was all through, we at lunch at Roberto’s house. He was the wood working artisan. We had Pepian, the national dish of Guatemala! It was delicious. Fresh chicken in a slightly spicey and flavorful sauce with potatoes and rice. And of course tortillas. There are tortillas at just about every meal. All handmade from scratch. They’re incredible! But yes, Pepian. Mmm.

It was then off to the market for our scavenger hunt! Now, I don’t know how to really explain this market to you. It’s kind of one of those you gotta see into believe it kinda things. It’s this large complex, indoors and outdoors, with insanely narrow hallways. Each person with a stand inside of this market had it jam packed with whatever they were selling. Each stand was rather small and dimly lit. Each vender was fighting for your attention to show you what they had or how much cheaper theirs was. It was intense and energetic! So exciting! Once you found what you needed you could barter the price down. Everything was just kind of our in the open whether it was clothes, fruit or even meat. The meat hung from hooks at the front of meat stands. You could go to one stand selling dried fish and the one next to it could be selling shoes. It was pure chaos and so much fun!

Once we had all of our ingredients, we then spent an hour in the artisans market where it was again a lot of booths and stands of venders and artisans tying to sell you things but this was a little more relaxed, spaced out and mostly outdoors. This is where we bought some of our more touristy things for ourselves. We also could buy things from our artisans we worked with or those that work locally with  AGAIG. There was a little mini store set up at the AGAIG offices for us to look at things in. For example, I bought a bag made by Timoteo’s daughter! It was neat to be able to buy things like that that the people we worked with made or their family made.

Once back at the house, some people showered, others went to check out Timoteo’s bio-digester. It’s a whole sustainable system he’s setting up where he has a tank for methane gas where he will collect manure from pigs he will raise on this piece of land. He then will put the manure in the tank and from there has the methane gas that he can take home for his stove. Once the manure is old, he will take it and make it a compost to use as fertilizer for his banana trees or other crops. He’s got a set up made of brick where he will have his own fish pond filled with tilapia. The tilapia will only cost him Q5 each (something like 70 cents) and once he grows the fish, he can turn around and sell them for Q15 each (about 2 dollars). The pig waste will also create algae in this pond which is what tilapia feed from. So for practically nothing, he can sell fish and make some nice profit all while utilizing other affordable and sustainable ways to live as well as maintain his crops. I’m sure it’s a bit of work putting all of it together and maintaining it, but it’s something simple that is so effective. That’s definitely something we can all take away from this trip: how simplicity can be so effective.

I did not go to the bio-digester because Nikki and I stayed at the house to make the evenings dinner! We made some killer nachos. They were a big hit and mighty delicious. All made with food we got at the market! We had a dessert of fried plantains which we were supposed to make with a side of hot chocolate but we ended up just melting the chocolate and covering the plantains in them. Mmm! Andy from AGAIG even came and joined us for our homemade meal!

Words from the Guatemala Crew

Hello there! For this post, I’ve asked the team to say a little something for you all about their experience so far. Here goes!

Carter: I’m really enjoying all the 80s music they play here. 

Nikki K.: I like how everyone says hi or waves. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly. 

Cassy: I can’t decide what my favorite thing is because everything has been so wonderful. I’m not coming home. Sorry parents. 

Sophie: I like all the nice puppies, the nice people, good food, good times. Right on, right on, right on. *mumbles boo boo boo*

Mike: I’ve enjoyed watching everyone experience Giatemala for the first time and I love the sun. 

Daniel: I like speaking Spanish. And I like all of the sounds. I like the sounds. And the fireworks. And the dogs. And the chickens. And being called a Gringo everywhere. 

Amber: I enjoyed hanging out with Timoteo a lot. We hung out with him for like 3 days straight. I like that his face is on my coffee. It just makes my life. 

Taylor: Me gusta galletes. “He went to Francisco’s”. 

Kari: I like how nice everybody has been. I had a tiny conversation with Francisco today and told him his house was very beautiful and he said it’s your house too. It was cool because I didn’t need help saying it in Spanish! 

Nikki R.: It’s been great! I’ve loved experiencing it all and being here. 

Thanks for reading. Check back for more updates! Keep commenting, we love hearing from you! 
Nikki

Day 4:
Today was our first (of two) construction days. Our construction master, if you will, was the coffee farmer from yesterday, Timoteo! Whoa that guy does it all. Today we assisted in building a wall that will in-case a land  that will hold all of the coffee farming machinery and dry processing secure. So construction while still making it all about that coffee. Neat!

When we arrived at the work-site, Carter, Daniel, Amber and Mike built a wooden chamber for a depulping machine. This will be a quick way for that process and the wall built is to in-case the noise so not everyone in the neighborhood has to be like “must be coffee depulping time.”

Meanwhile, Sophie, Taylor, Kari, Cassy and myself built wooden casings to fill the metal rebars with cement. Pretty legit. We then all worked together to pack cement into rebars. Our other Nikki was sick last night so she didn’t join us for the morning but she came back refreshed and ready for action by lunch! Lunch was delivered to us at the work site, homemade, from Timoteo’s family. Noice.

(Hard working ladies)

(Lunch: Construction style)

Once lunch was consumed it was back to work! We spent the rest of the day packing cement, laying brick & mortar and building metal rebars. It was a lot of work but quite the accomplishment!

We arrived back at the house just exhausted. Some of the group went out to find fireworks while the rest showered/relaxed. We then went to Miguel’s for dinner (father of the Armando, the farmer we ate with the second night). Fun fact, families (extended) live together all on the same lot. Commonly when we have dinner at farmers’ houses the farmer will join us for dinner. Well we had the women of the kitchen join us for this dinner! It was super rad to have them join us. Plus one of them had a baby that would not stop staring at Mike durin the dinner so Mike and Kari got to hold the baby. It was adorable.

(Mike and the baby)

After dinner we came back to our house to have a reflection that was based on how were feeling here halfway through our trip. A general agreement of the group was that we were thankful for what we have and interested and excited about all that we’ve learned and have yet to learn.  The day was a long one so Mike surprised us at the end of the reflection with notes from people back home! Oh my gosh, they were a wonderful surprise for us all! We loved them. We all particularly loved Amber’s grandmas list of random facts. Hilarious. Thank you all for your letters!

Day 5:
Another day of construction. We were all a bit hesitant to do another hard day out in the sun. We were all still exhausted and lobster red from yesterday’s burns. But we kept the motivation going and the day actually went super fast! Once at the work site, we knew what to expect and what to do so we got right to work. It was a lot quicker than the previous day so that was nice.

(Working hard or hardly workin? Har har har)

(Bending metal, ya know, the usual)

(Cement everywhere!)

As a surprise, Jane hooked us up with pizza and movies for dinner! Woohoo! A night in to eat and bond. Simply delightful.

(Movie night!)

Right now, were pullin out some fireworks to light off in the streets! “When in Guatemala!”
Check back later for some words/stories from the crew.
Nikki

Interesting Blurbs About Guatemala

-We’ve got to see a volcano erupt (smokes and ash only)

-They typically only have spoons out as their dinner utensil even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally eat with a spoon. also only bowls

-Coffee cups are tiny but pack a lotta punch

-Toilet paper has to go in the garbage NOT the toilet. That applies everywhere here.

-So many stray dogs.

-Electric shower heads to heat the shower. You run the risk of a small shock when turning on/off the shower.

-Houses are gated with large cinder block walls so no one can see inside. Once inside, there’s typically a courtyard surrounded by rooms.

-Frelan, one of the farmers, wore flip flops as we climbed the volcano.

-Typically, ice isn’t used in drinks.

-Elementary school is typically the most education people in this area get. Further schooling is far from town and costs a lot of money.

This one’s from Amber’s page of “facts”
-If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.

Hola from Guatemala!

Holy cow what an incredible last few days! Weve done so much it feels like weve been here for way longer than a few days. Now, where to start… there’s a lot to talk about so this will be a long one…

We left Oshkosh around 11:15pm on Friday night. Drove to O’Hare which we were able to reach by 2:30am. Hopped our 5:15am flight to Houston. Caught our next flight to Guatemala where we landed at 11:10am CA time! It was a shock how hot and humid it was. But it was so incredibly beautiful. Customs and all that fun stuff was a breeze… until we realized Sophie’s luggage never showed. Luckily they told us they’d be able to deliver it around 4pm.

We walked outside the doors and there in front of us were dozens and dozens of people all holding signs or looking for inbound loved ones behind a gate. It was loud and so many people that it was nearly overwhelming. After finding a man named Luis holding up a “OSHKOSH” sign, we were able to hit the road.

(Drive out of the terminal at the Guatemala airport)

We pulled out of the terminal to officially and finally set our eyes on Guatemala in person. Wow! Here we finally were! At this place we’ve been preparing for for months now. All around us were blue sky’s and green trees. There were bright colored buildings and the hustle and bustle of the Guatemala City traffic was intense! The smell of the city was that of fresh grass, summer haze and diesel fuel. The streets had a dusty dirtiness to them but it was an almost forgettable feature when compared to all the bright buildings with beautifully shaped bars over the windows. It was all so exciting! Once we were out of the city, we were able to see so much of Guatemala’s natural beauty as well as the smaller towns. We drove through Antigua  which was ancient and beautiful. Narrow streets of cobble stone in a city with such wonderful life and color. It was surrounded by mountains and valcanos. We then drove to the small side town of San Miguel Escobar which is where we arrived at As Green! On one side of the very narrow street is the As Green offices with the logo painted out front. Across the street was the house they put their service groups in. It’s big and gorgeous. I can’t even believe it!

(On the drive)

(The square in San Miguel Escobar)

Once settled into the house, which was absolutely stunning! Even has a rooftop balcony. Our hostess Jane showed us around the small town of San Miguel Escobar. I’ll post pictures of it. Later we went to dinner at one of the As Green farmers house. His name was Mercedes and spoke no Spanish! So we combined minds to communicate with him. It was fun and the food was incredible. Afterwords details get blurry. I’m pretty sure we were all in bed by 8.

(From our rooftop)

(Handmade tortillas)

Day 2:
We woke up to the sunrise and our cook Amalia making breakfast. Delicious! Soon Jane came by to take us to Antigua for some sights of the area. Our van was late so we played a real intense round of Catchphrase. My team won obviously. We hit the city and it was gorgeous. There will be pictures to come. It had some ancient architecture as well as bright colored buildings and super cobblestone roads. It’s surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. Oh! it’s just wonderful!

First we hiked up to this hill that over looked the city. There was a cross upon it which was all very beautiful.

(Overlooking Antigua)

Next we walked to see some Mayan ruins! SO COOL! so peaceful and incredible.

(Some of the ruins)

(Entrance to the ruins)

We ate lunch at a very American-ized cafe. However we all mostly still ate off the Guatemala menu. As Mike says, “When in Rome, do as the Guatemalans do!” we exchanged cash afterwords and went through the market for some souvenirs.

(Don’t worry, they were smoothies)

It was back to the house were we did an incredibly interesting coffee activity. We learned all about the coffee process then followed by the economics of coffee. We learned how sadly little these farmers make in the grand scheme of it all. A jar of instant coffee is 2.35, right? Well farmers only make 4 cents of that. Holy wow, thats terrible. Here at As Green As It Gets, they make sure their farmers make 100% of the profit.  It’s a really great program they have working here that really benefits those that are truly sincere to their work.
After all this learning we went to dinner at another farmers home. Having all these meals with farmers has allowed us to really get to know the great people that work so hard for quality crop. It’s really neat.
We arrived back at the house and had a rooftop pow-wow to discuss how everyhings going. We ended the night with such a delightful game of Cards Against Humanity.

(The results of the coffee activity)

Day 3:
Today’s the coffee day! We left the house at about 9am to begin our hike up the side of Volcan Agua. It was steep and rocky and slippery with dirt but after over an hour and a half we made it! we were on the side of a volcano over 6000ft above sea level. Whoa! We picked coffee for an hour which was a lot of fun. The winners of the most coffee picked were Amber, Daniel, Kari and myself. We were rewarded with As Green As It Gets water bottles! They look super cool!

(Hiking up Volcan Agua)

(Kari and Timoteo enjoying some avocado picked along the trail)

After lunch at Timoteo’s (the farmer) house he led us through the rest of the coffee process. Everything from depulping the beans from the cherries through a bicycle mechanism…
(Daniel de-pulps)

…to the fermenting process, the drying process, the roasting process…
(Coffee bean roasting on an open fire…)

…and then of purse the grinding/brewing/consuming!
(Carter grinding beans)

It was a great experience to see what all goes into something like coffee. We then got to by some o Timoteo’s coffee! We bought coffee from our coffee farmer. Too cool!

Afterwards we hosed off and a couple of us went exploring through the town for some snacks at little corner stores. Andy from As Green stopped by to give us a run down of what As Green does and why it’s different from other coffee places. He explained more in-depth about the co-op and how the workers are paid. It’s really great to see such a business do what they can to get these hard working individuals the income they deserve.

Dinner tonight was at Gregorio’s house! He also only spoke Spanish. As we walked back from dinner we noticed all of these shrines of Jesus outside of people’s homes were put up. He explained to us that it’s a Monday night ritual during lent where families of the particular church in town pray together to their shrines of  Jesus  that were accompanied by candles and purple flowers. It’s a really interesting and new thing to learn about in this culture.

(The shrines outside of many homes along our walk home)

Well that leads us to now! Wow that’s lot! It took me a http access wifi but now that Ive got it I hope to make these more frequent (nightly?) so they’re not so long! I’ll also be includin words from other folks on the team and possibly some pictures. If not now then for sure when we get back.
Tomorrow it’s off to do some construction!
Until then,
KSFM -Nikki

WE LEAVE TOMORROW AT 11:15PM. AH!

Oh the excitement! We’re all just so thrilled to get this trip underway! We’ve been chatting a lot about what to bring, what not to bring, etc. We have an “ASB Guatemala” facebook group where we’ve been able to chat with each other. Some of our facebook posts to one another this week have been hilarious and really show our excitement! Here are some samples:

Cassy: “oh my god guys… if you have the chance, go onto Google Earth and looks at the photos around where we are going. you will instantly be 10x more excited!!!!!”

Mike: “FYI I have a while bunch of ear plugs. You don’t need to purchase any yourselves.” Apparently the nights are a bit loud.

Nikki K: “I’m ready!”

Nikki R: “Tell me if this is too weird/crazy of an idea: I’m gonna wear sweatpants on the bus/plane but with shorts on underneath so when we get to Guatemala, BAM shorts! Is that weird?”

So needless to say, we’re chatty and excited. And now, as promised, our itinerary!
Saturday, March 22nd:
Depart from O’Hare International (Chicago) @ 5:15am
Layover in Houston
Arrive in Guatemala City @ 11:08am
Get acquainted with humans, area, and stuff.

Sunday, March 23rd
See the sites of Antigua
Get knowledge on coffee

Monday, March 24th
Coffee farming!

Tuesday, March 25th
Construction day (helping build local buildings of sorts, details to come)

Wednesday, March 26th
Construction in the AM
Artisan workshop in the PM

Thursday, March 27th
Possible agricultural hike or more coffee farming in the AM
Market Scavenger Hunt in the PM

Friday, March 28th
Free day!

Saturday, March 29th
We say adios to Guatemala 🙁
Leave @ 12:08pm
Arrive at O’Hare @ 8:00pm

As you could imagine, many more details will come about all of these events as we do them. I am so excited to be able to tell our story of this trip to you all. So keep checking back all next week for possible updates. I’m gonna try my hardest to keep it frequent and filled with photographs and words from other team members.

Off we go!
Nikki

All of this has got us all CRAZY EXCITED! I asked our team a couple of questions:
1. How are you feeling about the trip?
2. Name one thing you’ve packed that’s got a story
3. What are you looking to bring back?

Cassy: “I am definitely excited but still nervous at the same time. Feeling a little bit of everything. I don’t think it has really hit me yet that we’re really going to Guatemala…
I haven’t REALLY started packing yet.
I have become a coffee drinker so I will bring back coffee but also memories and a new perspective to incorporate into my major (environmental studies).”

Carter: “I am stoked! I have started packing but it does not feel real that we are going to Guatemala in a week.
I have three pairs of sunglasses back just in case.
I will be bringing back plenty of coffee and I need to find worry dolls for a family member. Otherwise, all that I will be bringing back is a nice tan, a new perspective on what it means to be sustainable and an appreciation of a culture different than the one I am used to.”

Taylor: “I’m so excited to be traveling on my first international trip to somewhere warm with a GREAT group of people. Yet, I am nervous because of my irrational fear of customs.
Something that’s going to be in my suitcase are my contacts because my mom blessed me with terrible eyesight. I’d hate to miss any of the wonders of the world on this trip!
I’m looking to bring back countless memories and a sense of feel-good accomplishment.”

Amber: “I am extremely excited to go to Central America for a second time! I feel so lucky to be going and the great people I’m going with is even more exciting.
Something in my suitcase… definitely my allergy meds… you guys don’t need to see how scary I look without those haha!
I’m looking to bring back some great memories and a new understanding of a culture different from my own. I think understanding different cultures will play a huge role in my nursing career one day. And of course as much coffee as I can fit into my suitcase!”

Nikki K.: “I’m feeling like this is all coming up so quick! I haven’t really gotten the chance to be nervous yet. I’m super excited though.
I’m with Cassy on this one… I haven’t even thought about what I’m packing yet.
I plan to bring back coffee (of course) and maybe some other cool things for my mom/grandma/dad/sista.”

Sophie: “I’m super excited. I’ve been telling everyone I’ve come across how excited I am. I think all of UWO knows.
I’m bringing about a gajillion pairs of socks, nothing worse than wet feet. And my camera. Can’t wait to capture all the beautiful landscapes.
I will be bringing back coffee for everyone who donated to my trip. And hopefully some cultural shtuff to jazz up my bedroom.”

Daniel: “I’m really excited!!! I need to be somewhere warm where I don’t have to think about school and Guatemala is that place!
I’m bringing pepto, tums and some fancy prescription tummy meds. Such preparation.
I want to bring back lots of knowledge. And some coffee for my mom and girlfriend. And some cool little Guatemala things to remind me of the trip.”

Kari: “I can’t believe spring break is already here! I don’t feel prepared at all because I haven’t had any time to pack or think about packing. I’m a little nervous just because I don’t know what to expect and for our flights and traveling to all go smoothly. I am very excited though!
[I’m bringing] sunscreen and toilet paper!
My boyfriend’s sister’s name is Jade so I am definitely bringing her back some jade! Also, I have about 10 people that asked me to bring back coffee so I’ll be leaving room in my suitcase for that. I’m excited to bring back new memories from a great experience!”

Mike: “I’m prepared mentally… but that’s about it.
[I’m bringing] my foot roller… it makes my feet feel good after intense walking and work. It’s from my mom and goes with me on every trip I take.
I want to purchase a hammock! I saw too many last year to not get one this year.”

Me! (Nikki R.): I’m so excited! I’m really excited to get the experience started!
I am putting some SPF50 in my suitcase because I have had no sun exposure for the past 6 months and the sun hitting my skin will be a culture shock in itself!
I plan on bringing back something unique to the Guatemalan culture. I want to learn as much as I can about the culture in 6 days and want to bring back something that exemplifies and reminds me of what I learned.”

That’s what we’ve got for now! I’ll post one more time before we leave.
Until then,
Nikki

Hello and Welcome!

My name is Nikki Raccio and I will be documenting the lives and adventures of the 2014 Guatemala ASB group! There’s a grand total of 10 of us heading to the small town of Ciudad Vieja just outside of Antigua. We are leaving bright and early Saturday, March 22nd and return again Saturday, March 29th. While there, we will be working on a coffee farm through the organization As Green As It Gets. Their goal is “to help those in poverty by enabling them to increase their income by engaging in well-paying economic activity”. It’s very exciting for all of us to learn just what coffee means for their economy and sustainability as we will be working personally with farmers and the coffee.  (learn more about AGAIG here: https://www.asgreenasitgets.org/). Oh, and did I mention this coffee farm is on the side of a volcano?! Yeah, pretty neat stuff!

We will also be assisting in some local construction for the great citizens of Ciudad Vieja. This means we’ll be getting down and dirty with cement, mortar and dirt while also constructing rebar and hauling brick all with our own two hands. How exciting! And I mean that genuinely!

We as a team have held a few meetings since November to discuss things such as the background of Guatemala, what trips experienced in the past, what we should expect and most importantly we’ve been reflecting on a multitude of things to think about before we leave. We’ve been reflecting on what we’re excited about, what we’re afraid of, what we think things will be like, what we hope to get out of this and what in our own lives can we compare/contrast/change from such an experience. These meetings have allowed us to get to know each other better as well as get pumped for our trip to Guatemala!

And now… introducing our wonderful team:

Student Leader: Cassy

A junior here, Cassy is majoring in environmental studies with a minor in geography. She says she’s most excited about seeing the coffee process and experiencing new things. We’re glad to have her as our student trip leader!

Taylor

A sophomore and second time ASB-er, Taylor is majoring in interactive web design. She is most looking forward to flying on her first international trip and helping out the coffee farmers in a developing country.

Daniel

Daniel is also a sophomore here at UWO, majoring in international studies. He says he is most excited to experience a new culture and eat “nummy” foods. “Nummy” being a direct quote from this goofball.

Nikki K.

In her fourth year as a student, Nikki is an interactive web management major with a journalism minor. She’s most excited about experiencing a different culture. Two Nikki’s on one team, it’s pretty magical.

Amber

Amber is a junior and majoring in nursing. She’s most excited to experience a different culture and helping out those in need! It’s always a good thing to have a nurse on your team!

Carter

Also a junior, Carter is a journalism major here on campus. He is looking forward to traveling outside of the country and experiencing a different culture. His height and love for travel is what will keep us all together!

Kari

Kari is a senior majoring in human services with a minor in art. She is most looking forward to traveling to a new place, helping out the coffee farmers, seeing the process and going on adventures! She’s our planner of entertainment so I’m also excited to see what other adventures she has in store for us!

Sophie 

Sophomore majoring in geography with an emphasis in geospatial technologies, Sophie is super excited to chill on a volcano for a week, see the process of coffee production and learn about Guatemalan culture. She also has a habit of giving people adorable pet names so be on the look out for that as well.

Nikki R.

That’s me! I’m a (super) senior here at UWO and majoring in Music Industry. I’m most excited to travel back to Central America and do some hard work. I’m excited to experience the culture but really do what I can with my being and bare hands to make a difference there and in my head and heart. Experience all that I can. And then tell it all to you great people, of course!

Advising Leader: Mike 

Back in the day, Mike was a communication major and has a Masters of Education. He’s most looking forward to reconnecting with his Guatemalan friends, climbing volcanoes, getting dirty, building things and hanging out with his 9 new best friends! Aw, ain’t that sweet. We’re lucky to have him as our leader!

That’s all I got for now, but as our trip gets closer and closer, you’ll be hearing a lot more from me!

Until then,
Nikki R.