Evening of Day 9

Hello again! We woke up early this morning (6:15) and had breakfast with our host families. Two more poor people were added to our sick list. Ten down, seven to go.... We met at Anadesa and rode in the back of a pick up to the lake front. We then crammed into a small boat for the hour trip across Lake Atitlan to Santiago. Here we had more time in the market due to our driver being caught in rock slide traffic and Ryan treated us to Valentine´s Day popsicles. Oh yes, HAPPY VALENTINE¨S DAY!! Edwin, our driver, arrived at Santiago two hours late. In these two hours of waiting, we were kept entertained primarily by Matt´s antics. Matt, looking slightly zoned out, tried to cross a busy intersection to go to the bathroom. Looking both ways he proceeded halfway through the intersection before being caught between three ´tuk tuks´ (the three wheeled taxi thingies). Matt, startled from his own world, jumped as the ´tuk tuks´ honked at him and proceeded to play what looked like chicken or happy feet in the middle of the intersection. This took place for probably four or five seconds but was absolutely hilarious. Matt then scampered sheepishly across to the bathroom. Edwin drove us to a gas station down the road where we transfered into a local van so that we wouldn´t be charged by corrupt construction workers. We then drove down a dusty, very rough road, bottoming out continuously until we arrived at an inconspicuous path. Our van left us as we tramped down the small footpath that wound down the mountain side among farmer´s fields consisting of corn, avacado trees, and apple trees. We arrived 15 minutes later at a random collection of small buildings. Once inside we noticed the stark constrast between the drab outside and vibrant inside covered in scarves, blankets, and other textiles. The ladies fed us a lovely chicken lunch. We then heard a moving story translated from Ketche to Spanish to English. She told of the problem in the village during the civil war that led to the death of many husbands and fathers because of internal corruption in the village. This forced the ladies to provide for themselves and create the Woman´s Cooperative which is made up of widowed women. These ladies now sell their wares for fair prices to Ten Thousand Villages. We then had a chance to purchase items straight from the makers and even watched a tapestry being made. After saying our goodbyes we hiked back up to the van. Once in the van we set a new record for the most people in/on a fifteen passenger van. The new record is 24. The seventeen of us jammed in the van, plus the driver and two locals. As we bounced our way down the road, four people hopped onto the top of the van for a lift to the top of the hill. This is a common practice in Guatemala. We switched back into Edwin´s van and drove the remaining four hours back to Guatemala city. Semilla had many new inhabitants but still felt like home. Tonight we look forward to going to bed early (as in five minutes after this blog is completed...). Tomorrow we head off to Bezeleel and from there to Monterrico. Blogging times will again be hit and miss at best but we hope to keep you as up to date as we can! Ian, Krista, and everyone else (who are probably sleeping right now)