Day of Surprises

Monday night Panajachel called bedtime with a power outage.  Now we were warned that this could happen but usually only lasted a few hours or so.  Therefore I went to bed without thinking too much about it.  Tuesday morning dawned with, surprise! no power.  Which meant no water and no shower for Danelle.  I felt worse for those who had to work with me that day but at least we were all in the same boat.  Luckily, the saving grace that morning was the fact that there was still coffee due to a gas stove.  After my first cup, my dirty hair didn't seem like such a big deal. 

  


The bus that day was taking us to the town of Conception in the mountains.  We were to work in a school.  On the way, our bus driver suddenly pulls over on the side of the road.  Looking out the window, I realize we are right next to a beautiful three tiered waterfall.  We all got out and some of us even climbed up part way.  We could see all the volcanoes surrounding Lake Atitlan. 


The school at Conception was really fun to work in.  The walls were all decorated with the kid's artwork.  We worked at miniature table and chairs.  We had many curious visitors peeking in on us.  They were fun to interact with.  They loved having their picture taken and then shown to them on the camera.  Such a simple thing that I take for granted all the time brought so many kids joy that day. 

My job for the day was to run the pharmacy.  I learned how to properly dose patients, especially children who need a special calculation.  I sorted medications and filled orders.  I learned even more Spanish explaining to the patients how to properly take the medications or when to apply the cream.  Luckily everything was written out on labels so I could try to explain in my butchered Spanish and then point to the label I stickered on.  Hopefully one of those ways made sense.  The big medical winners of the day were scabies, GI worms, and rashes.  Once again we were surprised with a lunch of black beans, rice, and corn tortillas from the local women.  During lunch break, I played some soccer with the kids.  Now I haven't played soccer in years and am completely horrible.  These kids definitely schooled me but it was a lot of fun.   

After all our work was completed, we got some time to explore the town.  The church in the center of town is simply beautiful.  It is in it's final stages of being repainted so is this bright white beacon up on the hill.  Another spontaneous soccer game broke out in the streets.  It was amazing.  As soon as the soccer ball was placed on the ground, several children came out of the woodwork to play.  On our way out of town, we got stuck behind a funeral ceremony.  A whole bunch of people were gathered around this small fire in the center of the road.  The coffin was then carried down the road while the crowd followed.  Though I understood very little of what was going on, it was interesting to watch. 







Later back in Panajachel, we stopped at this special shop that the trip veterans knew about.  Turns out every year they order a tres leche cake from the same woman.  She makes it special for our group.  It was the best tres leche I have ever had!  We all enjoyed our appetizer that evening. 

Afterwards we watched the sunset behind the volcanoes across the lake.  We were blessed with electricity when we got back so my shower did happen that day.  It was still fairly early so we all went to the hotel pool.  After working (really playing) off our cake we grabbed dinner.  I had the best guacamole I've ever had.  The night ended with a specialty rum from the area and more card games.  Overall a very fun day.