Helen update #2

9/6/09
Hi there,
I'm in Antigua today. My family lives in Santo Tomas. I took the two buses to come into the town by myself so I could be independent and live like an adult again. My two goals for today - work out in a gym and access the internet and catch up online again. The guatemalan bus system is not very structured, so I'm happy to report that I didn't get too lost getting here. Score!!!

There's a new college graduate, Beck, who works for this organization and is based in Antigua by herself (with the Guatemalan employees). I met her in Antigua and we went to the gym together. Not bad -- good workout for 35 Q = $4.50. Also, they had showers and I rented a towel for $1.25. Now I get to use the internet for a bit, and we'll grab lunch later.

Yesterday I went on a campaign to Esquintla. It was my chance to see the outreach to the community and how the "entrepreneurs" give vision exams to the community and sell reading glasses/ sunglasses, etc. It was a long day, but really rewarding, eye-opening. I've been waking up between 5-6:30 am every day. I go to bed around 9-10 pm. Attaching some photos of the campaign. We actually went to a really big city, but I think we went to a poor neighborhood. The event was "sponsored/ supported" by a local church, so they helped to set up a tent for us to work outside. I spent the first day as a photographer/ videoographer only. One of the women we saw was a 95-year old woman who couldn't see out of one eye. Apparently she had a cataract that is so bad that it has impacted her vision. Our team offers referrals to a clinic in Antigua which can give a free consultation to see how bad the cataract is and offer discounted surgery. She reminded me a little bit of ngoai. She was frail, but active and had a sharp mind and was really pragmatic and definitely knew about sacrifice for the family. The chances of her going through with the surgery is low because she feels like she can live like this. We'll see if her family supports her to do the surgery or not.
Testing out this coffee shop network to see if I can upload all these pics for you guys.

I'll go on another campaign later this week. My spanish is getting better. My head is filled with new spanish vocab. I feel really comfortable here. I'm using my street smarts. I keep an eye on my belongings. People here are kind. The bus attendants are really good about giving us our change back. I hear the mentality changes when you go into guatemala city so I won't be spending any time over there.

I'm doing well. I'm safe! I love you all!
Helen