Opportunity to Help the Children of Salacuim

Our new scholarship program is now up and running.  Visit the website for more information.  Please consider supporting the children of Salacuim!

Scholarship Website

Developing Scholarship Program

While living in Salacuim for the last 6 months we've been developing ideas for a program for you all (various blog readers and others) to help us with some type of community based project. We've decided that the most effective way to help right now is to provide scholarships for local childern to do something that most of us take for granted in the US--go to school. In the case of a 1st - 6th grade education about $100 can send a child to school for a year and give them a chance to explore their dreams.

We're planning on posting more details on how to help within a week here on this website. Check back soon!

Corps of Engineers Newlsetter Article

The St. Paul District Corps of Engineers had an article about us in the latest newsletter. Here's a link...

our article: http://www.lachua.org/corbyandkari/corpsofengineers_article.pdf
newsletter: http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/docs/crosscurrents/2006August-September.pdf

Día de Independencia

The 15th of September marked the 185th anniversary of Guatemalan (as well as Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica) independence from Spain in 1821. Our community of Salacuim took the day off to celebrate. The parade reminded me of our own independance day celebrations in Sheyenne, North Dakota...horses, bands, candy, dances, and community togetherness. Also the youth group we work with culminated their 2 month long soccer tournament with a chamionship game that drew what seemed like the whole town to watch. I had a chance to play in the "jovenes vs. ancianos" (translated youth vs. elderly) soccer game, where the ancianos won 2-1.

To get a feel for the celebration, check out our photos @
http://www.flickr.com/photos/corbylewis/sets/72157594295220796/

Maps of Our Area

We wanted to share a basic map of where our site is and where we're located in Guatemala. Aquí es.

La Cantidad de Agua es Increíble

Our Peace Corps site is within an ecosystem known as Selva Tropical Lluviosa (Tropical Rain Forest). We’re in the middle of the rainy season. Guatemalans actually call the season from June-October “winter” and reserve the term “summer” for the drier months during winter in the US. For us the quantity of water has been incredible. This area receives about 175 inches of rain each year! Incredible when you compare it to the 30 inches of precipitation that Minnesota gets, especially this year from the way it sounds.

Although it has meant a few muddy shoes, clean clothes that never dry, and occasionally being trapped under some type of roof between the office and home the rainy season has been enjoyable. Most of the rain is at night, so its possible to stay dry during daytime activities and the sound of 5 inches of rain overnight on your tin roof without any sound insulation is something magical.

I thought a few people might be interested in this average monthly rainfall chart and rainfall data from June of this year….

Host family pictures during "reconnect" meeting

Few new pictures

We've recently added a group of new pictures to our photo site....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corbylewis/

Laguna Lachuá National Park

Laguna Lachuá National Park is one of the most pristine areas in Guatemala and also one of the least visited parks in Central America. Part of our goal is to work with the communities surrounding the park to help protect and conserve its resources. Below are some of our favorite pictures of the park.

4th of July week

It's time for a new post. The lack of entries are a good indication that we are settling into a routine here and just living life. It seems like there are few blog worthy reports on a daily basis. The rainy season is in full swing and our new challenge is dealing with molding clothes. We have been putting our heads down and working hard lately. Corby on designing and developing a new building for the police in a near by aldea and Kari on designs for the national park that they will for merchandise, brochures, web sites and any sort of publicity material. Our free time has been filled with working with a local youth group, teaching English classes at one of the schools in Salacuim and helping the neighborhood kids with their homework.

Last week we were able to escape to Guatemala City where we met the other 200 volunteers and had a 4th of July party. It seems strange to celebrate Independence Day in another country, but it seems to be more meaningful than it ever was at home now that we are here. After the party we were able to take a trip to the south coast and visit Monterrico. We spent 3 days on the black sand beaches of the pacific where we virtually had the place to ourselves. After spending a month in our site it was wonderful to relax and enjoy another part of Guatemala we had never seen before.