We will be leaving early tomorrow morning for Santiago.... I do want Peggy and Vikki to journal some of their impressions of the past few days.

Vikki and Peggy: The drive out to Rabinal was full of twists and turns. The area is mountainous and we went around several mountains to get to our destination. The scenery was absolutely beautiful!

Walking to the next home to inspect floors

San Rafael is the village where the women in the weaving group live. Our visit there was a special experience. The women first fed us two different kinds of chicken soup, both of which were good. After the meal, the women had a program for us. Several of the women gave speeches, two groups of women danced, and two groups of women played a game. They gave all of us gifts and we gave each of them knives. Going to some of the women's homes and seeing their new floors and walls was the highlight. The women were so proud of their new floors. When asked what they liked about their floors, they said cleaning was so much easier than when they had mud floors and the new floor was better to weave on. One child said he could study better with the new floors. I was reminded of the things we share with these women, e.g., wanting cleaning to be easier and the desire to make our homes pleasant (some of the women had beautiful flower gardens). At one of the houses, Maria showed us how she does the weaving. I thought the scarves were beautiful before we came but now I have even more appreciation for them.

Woman and child in front of home with new cement floors

When we first arrived, the women and children were all assembled at the "supervisor's" house. All of the homes are 2 rooms with a covered veranda. Everyone was in native dress and it appeared to be their finest. The little girls were also in native dress, but the little boys were quite western. It was awkward at first, not speaking the language. The children were shy and the adults had already eaten, therefore, they watched us eat! The bowls were very large and we each got 2 of them! The children would peak around the veranda at us but quickly disappear when we acknowledged them. I asked through an interpreter if I could take a picture and that really broke the ice. They got to see themselves on the digital camera and were quite thrilled, everyone gathering around me to see their images. Pretty soon, the children were swamping me for photo opps and hanging around and trying to capture our attention. That's when the fun began. They really warmed up to us from then on.

Peggy and the children looking at pictures

We spent the night in a small hotel in Rabinal. Today was market day in Rabinal and we went to the market early as the people were setting out their wares. There were all different kinds of things for sale but I was especially interested in the produce and other food items for sale. I saw many familiar items--tomatoes, carrots, onions--but there were other things that I didn't know. After breakfast we went to the cemetery to visit the memorials to the peasants who were killed in the the massacres of the early 1980s. The artwork on the memorials depicting the horrible acts done to the people were quite sobering. The people in this area have lived through some horrific times. Then back in the car and the long twisty turny ride back to Guatemala City to regroup for the trip tomorrow to Santiago. More later.