Welcome back to 2-2-2 Tuesday!
Here are 2 Cultural Highlights, 2 Quotes, and 2 Brief Stories for you to enjoy.
Inspired by Antigua, Guatemala
2 CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS
1.
What’s Your Money Worth?:
How do you keep your math skills sharp while traveling? Calculate currency exchange rates.
Here’s a quick look at a few funny examples we’ve encountered up to this point in our journey:
– Expect hot chocolate at a nice cafe in Guatemala to cost 25.14 Quetzales.
– Need sunscreen? A bottle in Nicaragua will set you back 430.56 Cordobas. Yikes.
– In Costa Rica, a mountain bike is advertised as a “great deal” at 99,999 Colónes. Deep breath. When you do the math, it’s less than $200.
– Last, and also least, my 1.75 haircut in El Salvador was truly $1.75, since they use the country uses the USD as their national currency 🙂
At the time of this post, 1 USD is equivalent to:
7.80 Guatemalan Quetzales; 36.55 Nicaraguan Cordobas; 542.87 Costa Rican Colónes
Happy travels.
2.
The Ultimate Easter Celebrations: Antigua, Guatemala:
Who doesn’t love Easter bunnies, egg hunts, and Cadbury eggs? We will miss them this year 🙁
Fortunately, Antigua has traditions of their own. They are different, but there’s no shortage of excitement! It’s estimated that this small city swells from around 46,000 to 200,000 people during Holy Week. Large masses of people flood the streets, climb stairs, and stretch around poles to score a great view.
The “Processions” are essentially grand parades that start several weeks before Easter. You can expect ear drum popping church bells ringing and fireworks to heighten the anticipation. Then, you might see men and women step forward in elaborate costumes (masks included) as they yell and sword fight in a struggle between good and evil.
Every street is uniquely decorated with hundreds of thousands of colorful flowers arranged into beautiful pictures. Music fills the air with trumpets, drums, trombones, flutes, and cymbals. Massive floats are carried on the shoulders of locals who sway in unison to the music. These floats are HUGE. More than one thousand locals shoulder a float during the duration of the parade.
Farah and I decided to walk with a procession for at least thirty minutes until we reached a restaurant we had been craving. Because the restaurant was on the route, it felt like we were given a royal escort to dinner.
If you have a minute get a bigger taste of processions, consider checking out them out on YouTube.WC
2 QUOTES TO CONSIDER
1. “Perfect is the enemy of good.” – Voltaire
2. The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.” – Mark Twain
2 BRIEF STORIES
1.
On the first day of clinic, one special young man transitioned from patient into a volunteer. Alex, a selfless 19-year-old with impressive English skills, stepped up and asked us if he could help with interpreting. Performing a wide variety of tasks, he continued showing up the next few days to offer his time and energy. People helping people. It’s a beautiful thing.
The big picture goal of these medical trips is to empower local communities to be more self-reliant in preventing and managing chronic illness. It will take this kind of effort and collaboration. Thanks Alex!
2.
Shout Out To Joyce University Nursing Students:
Ten students have already made a huge impact on the lives of countless Guatemalans. Prior to departing for this trip, they raised substantial funds for medications, clothing, and backpacks. They also created excellent educational handouts in Spanish.
Farah and I have been impressed watching them demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the clinical setting. They have quickly become more accurate and efficient in obtaining and presenting history and objective findings. These are critical skills in their future careers. More inspiring has been to observe them give their hearts to the people they serve in the form of compliments, smiles, hugs, and listening ears. Gran trabajo, estudiantes!
Great post!!
Especially love the picture of the TREE!!