Soooo our trip this past weekend was very interesting. We went to Chichicastenango, a highlands of Guatemala. Chichi has the biggest artisan market in all of Central America. It was so overwhelming, and very easy to get lost in. Luckily, Caroline has an amazing sense of direction, and I followed her like a lost puppy all day. I bought so many fun textiles, many gifts for my family that I'm very excited about.
Chichi, while the market was beautiful, the town itself was incredibly depressed and in severe poverty. It was a hard situation for us all. Confusion and guilt set in when I took out quite a bit of money to spend at this market, and the people around me had little to nothing. Even the stray dogs were skinnier.
Before Chichi we stopped at a women's cooperative, and that was incredible, my favorite thing that we've done this far. This group of women are all widows from the war, their stories were powerful and very sad. They were such strong women and to this day have to face the people who killed their husbands, unable to say or do anything about the horrible crimes they committed. This weekend was very hard, but I'm glad it happened. I learned a lot.
I also got very sick! Yay. On the ride back yesterday I could tell my body was not happy with me, and this morning it fought against me with all its might. I went to school and left within 10 minutes. Today has made me realize how many amazing people I have already met on my journey. My mamá mixed up a drink of warm water, alka-seltzer, lime, and salt...it was gross but maybe it helped? Who knows. She has been checking up on me often, and put together a lunch that is also supposed to make me feel better. My professora came to my house to bring me hand written notes of what we were going to do today as well as another drink that's supposed to help my tummy. Which is just hard for me to wrap my head around, wow. And Gloria came and checked on me also. The kind nature of this culture and these incredible women make me never want to leave. I am so lucky.
Hannah
Here are some pictures from this weekend. The colors will make your eyeballs the happiest ever.
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