Day 4

We arose this morning at an earlier hour than usual; breakfast was scheduled for 7 AM, bright and early. Following breakfast, we were treated to a lecture about Guatemala and the issues facing its people, given by professor Victor from the University of San Carlos.  The professor presented the lecture in Spanish and our translator Jose relayed the information to us in English.  As part of his presentation, Victor told us all about his most recent book he was working on.  One very powerful quote from his talk and book that stood out was “People could not exist without agriculture, however agriculture could still thrive without humans”.  His presentation was very up to date and made us all really think about how we treat our planet.

Following this presentation, we all gathered our belongings and packed ourselves into the bus yet again. This time our destination was the actual university that Professor Victor lectures at, USAC, which was surprisingly one of the only public universities in the whole area. This all gave us a shock; private universities still exist, however they are very expensive and not widely available to a majority of the Guatemalan people. This visit to the university was designed to allow our very own professor Rust to deliver his own presentation. The lecture was on the importance of healthcare in general, as well as the need for repair and maintenance of specific medical technologies. We attended the talk along with a group of hospital technicians. During this lecture, he broke down numerous important medical technologies and machines that are vital to patients. Most importantly, he described how the technologies functioned, how they could fail under certain conditions, and how to fix them. His presentation involved interaction with the audience, and it worked to give a thorough description of the topics he was explaining. After the talk, we took a quick tour of the campus grounds.

Following Dr. Rust’s Lecture, the group headed out to have our late lunch at Santa Escolastica café, located in a seminary school. Our meal consisted of meat and rice and a very tasty soup. After finishing off our food, we walked around the seminary and soaked in the aesthetic ambiance of the area.  Our day was not finished just yet, we then traveled to the cemetery in Xela. This experience was undeniably unique; the concept of death in Guatemala and most central American nations is that of celebration, versus our more somber view of death in the United States. Every gravestone was a different color, ranging from bright yellow to cyan, grand crypts were scattered throughout the complex, and uniquely shaped mausoleums were not an uncommon sight.  Our host Jose showed us around the grounds and described how everyone buried in the beginning section of the cemetery had to pay a monthly fee of Q 250, and would have their remains removed if not paid for.  As we ventured deeper, we entered a different section of the cemetery where people did not have a required monthly fee, and the difference was obvious. People buried here had a very simple burial compared to people in the earlier sections, who had whole crypts for themselves and family members.  During this visit, we actually experienced a funeral procession on its way to bury their loved one. As they walked by, we saw the women of the group draped in purple which symbolized pain, and this very powerful emotion was palpable as a passerby.

After leaving the cemetery, we headed back to the hotel with some time to spare, and took a small trip to the market once again to purchase some last minute trinkets. After our market venture, we had our very own Spanish dance lessons with a local law student who also taught dance.  We learned how to dance the Bachata, Salsa and Merengue.

-Sean and Joe