Viaje de Estudios a la Platacion de Cafe

On Saturday, we went on one of our first field trips in Guatemala, visiting a coffee plantation, as coffee is one of Guatemala's largest exports. We toured the plantation, which was huge, learned about the delicate processing of coffee, and hiked into the mountains to see a waterfall. The knowledge we gained varied quite widely. For instance, I thought coffee was actually from a bean, when it is more like a fruit, and it's called a coffee cherry. The process of preparing coffee is so delicate that the slightest mistake, leaving the beans soaking too long or drying too long, will ruin the entire batch. I also learned that it takes three years for one mature tree to produce one pound of coffee. Now consider that fact when you think of how much coffee is consumed around the world on a daily basis.

Another interesting fact is the coffee industry is a multi-billion dollar industry each year, yet the workers at plantations see only 10% of that money, working long hours of hard labour for very little pay. The owner of the plantation led the tour with a translator. He is one of the richest men in Guatemala, but his attitude was so different from those of richer people in Canada and the United States. I hadn't realized how much there was to processes coffee and it was neat to learn about it. The hike to the waterfall was a huge highlight for my day. The hike was rather long, with many parts that involved scaling large rocks with a rope. It was an invigorating hike, and the perfect day for hiking. While we didn't learn as much about the plantation while on the hike, we were able to practice speaking Spanish with the guards who managed to do the hike while carrying guns and packs.

This week we are staying in host homes in downtown Antigua, where we are learning to put the Spanish skills we have obtained over the last week into practice while continuing in our Spanish and Theology classes. On Saturday, we will be driving to Chimaltenango, where we will be staying at Guatemala Bible Seminary, attending classes there and preparing for our ten day ministry practicum that is to come.

This morning was the last morning I had to take the chicken bus into Antigua, and it was the busiest I have seen the buses yet. The first bus was too full, and on the second one that came by, the one we caught, we were literally hanging out the front door because there was so little room on the bus itself. Today was the first day of school for the Guatemalans, so town was and is much busier and us girls have experienced more of the "machismo" culture today in the past week.

Prayer requests for this week include the ability to communicate effectively with our host families, learning to practice our Spanish. Safety while wandering around town without our Impact leaders or directors, and Spiritual growth within the next week. I ask personally for growth in my confidence in speaking Spanish, and for preparation for the ministry projects that lie ahead.