By Asia and Ethan
Asia and Ethan checking in after this very busy week! It started out with a bumpy ride to Cerro De Oro where we experienced a yoga and meditation retreat led by our zen OEs. We tried out acro yoga, yin yoga, and mastered our sun salutations. This was a great time to relax and have time for self-reflection. During the day we had a lot of free time to explore the waters. Despite the blooming algae, we found time to hike on the shore rocks, fish, and kayak. Every day we had a local chef make our completely plant-based breakfasts and lunches straight from the garden. For dinners, our group got to get creative and feed our cravings as we came up with our own meals and cooked for everyone. We ended our nights with bonfires and talks on vulnerability, personal mantras, self-care, and intentions.
Next, we headed to Guatemala City where we met Alfredo and Clara, a lovely couple, as well as business partners for G-22. Over lunch, we had introductions and discussed sustainable architecture and the work that G-22 does. Alfredo took us on a walk through the city, stopping to get choco-bananos (our favorite). We got to visit the Popol Vuh Museum that opened late just for us, showing a culture exhibit. We finished the sustainability talk in the protected pond and garden. After dinner we explored Alfredo and Clara’s apartment that has been redesigned more times than they could count, exhibiting the ever-changing life of an architect.
We closed out the week at the G-22 Farm. The export here is coffee that ships to many countries. We toured the extensive process plant on the grounds and got to taste it during lunch. Alfredo showed us many techniques for sustainability to take into our everyday lives, such as ways to wash dishes and different designs of kitchens and bathrooms. Our assignment at the farm was to design and build a home for a sweet, hard-working widow named Elena and a new kitchen for Mario and Ana Rosa on the farm. Although there wasn’t enough time to finish the scraped kitchen, we changed Elena’s life with her new home for her family and Alfredo’s help finding her work on the farm. The last night there was emotional as Elena and her children saw the big reveal and said a prayer for all of us. This week proved to be very challenging, yet extremely insightful and eye-opening seeing the amazing outcome of our work.
Be on the lookout for another blog about our time at LCC soon!
