During the next few weeks, Emily Roper of the Elon University softball team will give a weekly blog on her experiences of being abroad in Guatemala this summer. Roper, who is a human service major, is completing her practicum at Casa Jackson Baby Care where she will help care and feed for malnourished babies. Below is her entry from her first week in Antigua, Guatemala.
Week Two
It's week two in Guatemala and I'm still having a great time! I am still working with the malnourished babies at Casa Jackson and they have made huge strides since last week. I feel like a proud mama bear! Today, a five-month baby girl named Keila was given permission to go home with her mother! To add to it, the little girl I had my very first day, Sugely, is now smiley and happy and interacts with the other kids when she once completely lacked stimulation and never smiled. Finally, today we got to see a little boy named Jesús' have his father and brother visit him. He was so happy! The babies bring me so much joy!
This weekend, we visited a town called Panajachel, which is located on the shore of Lake Atitlán. Volcanoes also surround it and it's the most beautiful place I've ever been! After a week of hard work, it was wonderful to relax on a lake and in a resort hotel (with the luxury of hot water!) for a night. On the way home from Panajachel, we stopped in a town called Chichicastenango where the market goes on for a square mile in the street! It was amazing. We bought gifts there and enjoyed lunch before returning to our home in Antigua.
My time here so far has been amazing, and I can hardly believe there is only a week left! This has definitely been a worthwhile trip and a fun adventure, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity!
By Emily Roper-- ELON --
