Final week in Guatemala

First day at school
Me at school







Antigua catherdral at night

Finally heading off to Honduras in the next few days and have spent the last week back in Antigua studying more spanish and reading loads of books (5 this week alone). I experienced my second earth tremor last weekend which was apparently 5.2 in strength and lasted 1 and a half minutes - much stronger than the one in Mexico. I was sat outside my room in the sunshine on a rickety wooden chair and didn't really realise for a few seconds what was happening. It wasn't until other peolple came running out of their rooms in a panic that it dawned on me that it was more than a wobbly chair - the whole ground was shaking!! The volcano had just belched quite loudly half an hour before this so people thought it was completely erupting. All was well and there was no damage anywhere and the report in the paper the next day said that it covered a 100km radius. The volcano continues to smoke away and makes loud noises occasionally but no more nights of glowing lava - that was definitely a one off.

Guatemala has been a wonderful place to spend nearly 3 months, mainly because the people are so friendly and have a very relaxed pace of live. It is such an easy place to learn Spanish as everyone speaks slowly. The country also offers such a range of scenary and history that it offers something for everyone (Tikal, Semuc Champey and Lake Atitlan being the highlights). The only downside is the safety at night and the corruption of the government here which is slowing progression in this very poor country, making it very frustrating at times. However, tourism is a way that people here can earn a living and improve their standard of living, including basic health, education and housing.

I have been fortunate to visit many of the voluntary projects here in Anitgua and just this morning visited a school that was built in the Common Hope project. It was the first day that the school was open and so it was full of excitied children. For me, being able to speak in Spanish with the teachers and commicate with the children was amazing. There was one class of 20 which was a special needs class with an age range of 9 - 15 years. The teacher asked if I would come back and volunteer in the classroom - if my visa wasn't running out next week then I would be tempted to stay. I'm sure there will be more opportunities throughout Central America to help.

As I said when I left Mexico, this really is a great country to visit. And if you are interested in voluntary projects there is so much opportunity to get involved. I'm sure I will be writing the same about Honduras next month!!

(I've included a mixture of pics from the previous weeks in Antigua)