Four thousand words worth of pictures de Antigua

And my cobblestone obsession grows....

Memserizing old church facade

A parade of characters in prepartion for Holy Week: Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday!

Yes, that is two months away, and yes these are animated cartoon characters.

Maddie soaking up some Guatemalan culture at Paseo de los Museos

On Monday, Maddie and I meet with our first two contacts from two local non-profit organizations here in Antigua.  We´re hoping to gain some insight about how they were started, how they´ve sustained themselves, and what successes they´ve had.

Look forward to my next post from Xela!  Finalmente.

Thanks for reading,

Dana

Love at first sight

Well, the day finally came for Maddie and I to meet.. two hours late of course.

I boarded a seemingly fully functional plane in Miami, only to be told that some sort of fluid was leaking and that we had to re-board another plane.  So, two hours later than planned I exited the airport looking for her shining face.  Good thing I facebook stalked her...

We skipped out on Guatemala City and went straight to Antigua thanks to our great cabbie contact, Eduardo.  Antigua is a quaint old city of cobblestone streets and old mopeds.  Unfortunately there´s a subway and a citibank on the corner, and there are more tourists here than at the Miami Airport.

Well, we have our first meeting on Monday after which we will head out to move into our apartment in Xela.  Oh yeah, we have an apartment for the month of February.  An AWESOME apartment two blocks away from el parque central.

More soon,

Dana AND MADDIE

A day in the life..

Thursday afternoon after I last wrote, I walked with Bibi, Jackie, and Sonia to the biblioteca.  Yes, you might be reading Spanglish from here on out.  Anyway, I got to participate in Krysta and Jackie's clase de ciencias naturales about the different ecosystems in Ecuador, as well as take Haley and Sarah's women's exercise class.  It was aerobics and it was hard to squat the next day, so good job girls.

Friday I spent some time writing interview questions for my Guatemalan contacts until it was time to go to the library again.  I keep calling them interviews, but they're going to be more like friendly, informational sessions.  Also, if any of you have any suggestions, feel free to pass them along.

La clase de arte in the library was a lot of fun with Chet and Sonia, who cleverly saved cloth flour bags and had the kids fill them with discarded clothing scraps to make pillows!  They came out really great and I think the kids had a lot of fun.  Thursday and Friday also gave me some time to talk about Guatemala with Bibi (the Ecuador country director) and some of the PDs-- suggestions, room for improvement, ideas, etc.  The more perspectives, the better, and I am hoping to hear everyone's before I leave.

Friday and Saturday also brought a reunion with the one and only Michael Seager while roaming around Quito! It was short but sweet, and his Spanish fluency gives me high hopes.

A super exciting Michael Seager reunion!

Some real Manna love in Quito with PDs Sonia, Shawn, Sarah, Krysta, and Jackie

And finally today.. Que magnifico, but man am I tired.  Chet, Jackie, Mike, Sonia, and I just returned from hiking for seven hours up Volcan Pasochoa!  Yes, after only four days of acclimatizing, I thought it would be a good idea to climb up another 900 meters (or about 3,000 feet of pure altitude).

Eagle spotting!

Diving off into the clouds after reaching the peak

Our hike leaders jumping for joy

Well, it's time to rest my bones.  Looking forward to our Monday morning meeting for some more pearls of wisdom from the Ecuador team.

Hasta luego,

Dana

Safe, sound, and on the ground

Hola amigos,

I am excited to report that the feasibility trip has officially begun!  I flew into Quito, Ecuador last night and found Bibi and Jackie's shining faces greeting me at the airport.  The taxi ride was a series of deja vus for me as I recalled landing in Quito less than 2 years ago.  It is wonderful to be back in Ecuador.  Somehow I missed the stray dogs and insane traffic patterns.

The volunteer house in Conocoto is incredible, combining American luxuries and stunning vistas.  I can see Cotopaxi from the window!  I have my very own room in "the apartment," which is really the rented third floor of someone's house.  All the PDs have been incredibly hospitable and open to explaining their daily tasks and positions.  I am impressed by the delegation of chores, and somehow, in a 9-person house, no toes seemed to be stepped on.  Some things really need to be changed if they ever expect to be on MTV's The Real World: Ecuador.

Over the course of this week I will be attending all their organizational meetings, including a PR meeting in 20 minutes.  Later today we're going to walk to the library where all of their programs take place.  They have such a great selection of classes available to the community already, and the library has only been open for about 10 months!  There's English, Science, Art, and Fitness classes, all of which I will get to experience before I leave.

Well, it is a beautiful day, time for the meeting, and then outside!  Don't worry grandma, I'm wearing sunscreen.

loving every minute,

Dana

Four Days!?

How do the days pass so quickly?  I have been in Delray Beach, Florida visiting my grandparents for a few days now, but will be returning to good old New Jersey (not the Jersey shore for those of you who associate NJ with nothing else) tomorrow.  Then come the last minute preparations before I take off for Quito, Ecuador!!!  Not only do I get to soak up infinite amounts of MPI knowledge, but I get to spend my first week with some new friends and an old one-- shout out to Jackie Weidman(!)  Want to see what they're up to in Ecuador?

Week 2 will begin as Maddie and I finally meet in Guatemala City!  I think we're more than ready for the second phase of our friendship (phase 1: gchat).

In addition to giving you a brief status update and glimpse into my itinerary, I wanted to remind everyone to vote for Manna in the Chase Community Giving Campaign on Facebook.  Thank you to everyone who voted for Manna in the first round to award us $25,000!  This time we have the chance to win $100,000 or even one million dollars!

The final countdown,

Danita

New Year, New Country

Two weeks from tomorrow Maddie Jalandoni and I will be taking off for Guatemala! We're embarking on a two-month-long feasibility trip to Quetzaltenango (Xela) for the non-profit, Manna Project International. For more info on Manna, click here!

During the first week I will be training with the current program directors in one of MPI's existing locations (either Ecuador or Nicaragua).  After what I'm referring to as my acclimation period, where I've hopefully learned all there is to know about Manna, brushed up my Spanish skills, and made some new friends, I'll be air-bound to Guatemala City to start the real feasibility study.


Briefly stated, our goals are to meet with contacts, community leaders, and townspeople in and around Xela to assess needs, willingness, and capacity.  We will be working with many contacts we have already been speaking with, but hope to also meet and build new relationships.  If you know anyone I should be in touch with, please let me know.  At the end of eight weeks, my hope is that I will have found a new niche for a permanent MPI site.


We're not shooting for the moon here, just following up on a great lead.  Despite the broad nature and scope of our work, our agenda and goal is realistic.  I like to think that when you believe in what you do, even the hardest task becomes achievable.  So do what you like, and like what you do.

Well, I'm on board, and I hope you are too!  To learn more and/or show your support of our work, click on the piggy bank below.  Thanks in advance.  We really couldn't do it without you.

Don't want to send your donation into cyberspace?  Send your support (made payable to Manna Project International) by mail and don't forget to mention my name:

Manna Project International

PO Box 121052

Nashville, TN  37212

Let's keep in touch,

Dana