By Ivania Sibrian, Trip Leader, Route Of The Maya
One of the things I enjoy most about being a Trip Leader for OAT's Route of The Maya adventure is helping my travelers experience A Day in the Life of a Guatemalan village—which includes a visit to the Grand Circle Foundation-sponsored school.
Our travelers prepare to start this great adventure early in the morning. They bring gifts they have transported from their homes to give to families during their home-hosted visits and supplies for the children we’ll see at school, including coloring books, board games, notebooks, toothbrushes, and pencils.
The adventure starts when our driver takes us by bus to the local bus terminal in Antigua, Guatemala. During our drive to the terminal, I give my travelers instructions about items we need to buy at the local market to bring to the school. This food is given to the teachers, and will be used to prepare the meal that the children have every day at school. I also give our travelers three quetzales (local money) and tell them to keep it for our next discovery.
Ivania takes her travelers to a local market in Guatemala to test their Spanish skills and do some shopping for food items.
Walking around the Antigua market is an adventure in itself: Hundreds of people visit the market every day to buy fruits, vegetables, shoes, chickens, flowers, candles, and many other things they need in their everyday lives. The market is very colorful and it’s a great opportunity for travelers to learn about the daily life of local communities. If you like to take pictures, this is an adventure you should not miss. The local people are very friendly, and even if they’ve never seen us before, they smile and greet us with a “good morning.”
For 30 minutes, we walk around the market and travelers buy food for the children. I have already given them a piece of paper with the name of a specific food product (in Spanish) they have to buy. With their limited Spanish, they have to first find out what the product is, and then find where they can buy it. Travelers have fun buying the items and interacting with local people at the market. After they finish their first assignment, we walk to the end of the market to continue our adventure.
Travelers have the chance to experience one of Guatemala’s unique modes of transportation: the chicken bus.
As we exit the market, travelers find themselves at the local bus terminal. Our next “discovery” is to walk around the chicken bus terminal and find a bus that will take us to the town of San Antonio Aguas Calientes. After travelers find the bus, I take a picture of them in front of the bus so that they’re able to remember their adventure traveling on a very unique mode of transportation in Guatemala.
The chicken bus—which is actually a colorfully decorated school bus one might find in America, is normally used to transport people and local goods between towns in Guatemala and Honduras. The name “chicken” was added because Guatemalans tend to transport animals on these buses as well. It’s not only a unique form of transportation—but a fun way to get around. You should see the expression on my travelers’ faces when I tell them to get inside the bus. They think I’m crazy! The bus ride lasts for about 30 minutes—and travelers experience all kinds of adventures inside the bus. You never know what is going to happen, but I’m sure that this particular discovery will always remain in their memories. From the time they enter the bus to the time they exit, OAT travelers experience a true sense of local transportation. The money I provided at the beginning of our activity is the money they use to pay their bus fare.
During a visit to Oficial Parvulos School, sponsored by Grand Circle Foundation, children take travelers by the hand as they enter the building.
Santa Catarina Barahona is our final destination. The schoolchildren at Oficial Parvulos School are ready and eager for their presentations. Each traveler is met outside the school by a child and, after taking them by the hand, they walk inside the school to continue with our A Day in the Life experience.
The school presentations begin when the national flags of Guatemala and the United States are brought into the room. Then, the children sing the Guatemalan national anthem. The children also perform traditional dances, give small presentations about their daily activities at home, and invite our travelers to dance with them.
Schoolchildren give presentations about their daily activities at home.
Our travelers end the day sharing a home-hosted meal with local families. They have the opportunity to learn more about the Mayan culture and day-to-day activities of each family.
Our visit to the Grand Circle Foundation school and A Day in the Life was created to give back to the world we travel—and also to change people’s lives in the communities we visit. After seeing the smiles on my travelers’ and the schoolchildren’s faces, I realize that we’re changing hundreds of lives day after day.
Experience A Day in the Life of a Guatemalan village on our The Route of the Maya adventure.