4.4.10

Semana Santa in Antigua

After I got back from Momos and had a good 24 hours of rest to get all sickness out of my system, it was time to celebrate Semana Santa! Semana Santa translates to Holy Week and in my opionion it’s one of the biggest pre-Easter celebrations in Latin America. I remember learning about Semana Santa in my high school Spanish classes and I was excited to be a part of it albeit nothing’s as cool as it seemed in high school. Mainly Guatemala is known for their carpets. Anyone can make a carpet out of any material for the processions. The carpets or alfolmbras are traditionally made out of colorful sawdust but you can use anything: flowers, food, etc. I had the honor and luck to help make TWO alfolmbras with the family I’m living with. Like most things in life, once you do it you have more appreciation for it. So alfolmbra making was a similar experience. Our alfolmbras were simple and nice yet time consuming and a bit challenging to make. After you make the alfolmbra you basically wait for the procession to come and destroy it. During this process I got to hang out and meet the extended family of the family I live with. It has been an interesting and at time lazy week and I’m excited to get back to my normal work routine but I’m happy I can say I have finally experienced Semana Santa in Guate!





Another Tank!

Hello all! About a week ago I went back up north to Momostenango with Greg and some volunteers to build the third rain water catchment tank of the year. This time we decided to try an above ground, can-shaped tank. We ran into some problems like volunteer-shortage, over working, working on a really tall tank, illness, etc. but all around it was a very successful process. Since it was the first of its kind, we know the process can only get easier. In addition the scaffolding was nuts and I swear I can put "stunt double" on my CV now! Here are some pictures!