Trip ReportMallika SaranVisiting Guatemala was definitely one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Before we left I was somewhat apprehensive since I had never travelled anywhere in Central or South America and I do not speak Spanish. However when we arrived all my apprehensions vanished –the country was beautiful and the people were very warm and friendly. During the trip we visited Guatemala City, Antigua and Lake Atitlan. We landed in Guatemala City, a bustling, modern and cosmopolitan city. After which we drove to Antigua. We spent most of the trip in quaint Anitgua with a two day break in Lake Lake Atitlan was beautiful and tranquil. It was unpolluted though there were several modern villages that surrounded it. Most of our work sites were in and around Antigua.Visiting the workshops near Antigua was an eye opening experience. We first visited the brick and tile makers. Talking to them we learned about the hardships that they face particularly in the mixing and burning processes. I was amazed at their apparent satisfaction with the traditional methods that they use. In many ways I view this “satisfaction” as a blessing and a curse as I feel that it reduced their innovative capacity. After this we visited TPS. The level of creativity there was truly inspiring particulary with the dry composting latrine and wood stove. Unfortunately due to several factors we did not end up working with TPS. We then visited the shoe factory. Thefactory itself was primitive however they workers were extremely skilled producing very high quality shoes. Perhaps the most inspiring visit of our trip was on the last day to Transitions wherethe IMI wheelchairs are made. Most of the workers in the factory are themselves in wheel chairs.It was very inspiring to watch them as they had achieved so much and overcome great adversity. We also visited last year’s work site in Pasajquim. Pasajquim was the first place that I saw the poverty that plagues Guatemala since most of the areas that we had visited till then were relatively affluent. Despite the poverty, the villagers were very enterprising and had an entrepreneurial spirit, particularly the ladies selling the corn shellers. The warmth with which they welcomed us was testimony to the difference that the class had made in their lives.The one part of the trip that I know that I will treasure is the friendships that I made there. I felt that it was truly amazing that a group of people who did not really know each other too well got along so well for an extended period of time in such close confines. The Guatemalan students were the perfect hosts and made us feel completely at home. They took us out and helped us withour Spanish when we went to the markets so that we would not get ripped off!On the whole the trip was an amazing experience. If I had the chance to do it over, I would have learned some Spanish before so that I would have been able to communicate with the local people better. I also would have liked to spend a little more time there so that we could have done some amount of sightseeing particularly visiting Tikal. Lastly, I would like to thank all of the people who made this trip possible and so