Written by Central America Students, Matilda & Leila
This week we pushed off the shores of San Marcos and landed ourselves on the opposite side of the lake in a small welcoming town with the name of San Juan.
Here, we began our Spanish lessons at a local Eco School where we grow our skills in one on one classes in the mornings followed by alternating days of art classes, and other group activities.
Some sharpen their embroidery skills while others are taking broad strokes learning how to paint with new color and skill!
On days where we don’t have art classes we find ourselves taking tours of local cultural sites, including a coffee tour in the very backyard of our school. Today’s visit was to a local healer and woman of great respect, Nana Maria.
In our little downtime many take opportunities to independently explore this beautiful artists’ town, go to basketball games, admire the many beautiful murals that line the streets, and even trying many local restaurants in between delicious home cooked meals from our host families. But that doesn’t mean this stretch of our adventures has been without adversity,
After days of students feeling ill, we took a visit to the clinic only to find that roughly half of our group had fallen victims to a parasite! Since this can’t be transferred from person to person the verdict is still out on where it came from. But with medication and much needed rest, many are feeling on the mend and we’re hopeful that we’ll be back to full health before we know it.
Despite this, we have maintained high spirits and the support of one another within our tight group has never been stronger, and has led to increased bonding! Now that more group members are on the mend, we look forward to being together in good health and continuing our adventure. There’s so many exciting things to see and we can’t wait to see them!
