Semana Rural ‘05  Ana Cristina Sáenz Eyla Luján

On Sunday we had to meet at school at 12:00pm, because the bus was leaving at 1 o’clock. We went with Mrs. Tichy, Mrs. Trappl, Nelly, Pitu and Mr. Ebner. We were all very excited. The journey took us 5 hours! When we got there we picked our room. Mr. Ebner told us we had to wake up at 6 am, because breakfast was at 7. At 8 in the evening we played some group games with Pitu. On Monday we went to the “Presa Chixoy”. We had to walk 15 km!! We went from the camp to the dam walking!! It took us about 5 hours to get there! When we finally got there, we had lunch. Then, a guide showed us the installation. He also showed us how the dam worked. Then we went down the stairs of the dam. That was really scary, exhausting and exciting. On Tuesday and Wednesday we were separated into 4 groups, and each group was going to do some activities with a different teacher: One group went with Pitu to do the friendship route. There you had to decipher the games with all your group members. That was an activity to learn about group work and support. Another group went with Mrs. Tichy to San Cristóbal. We went to a factory, to see how the blankets of San Cristóbal were made. We were all amazed when we saw that they earned only Q. 4.50 per blanket. We also saw how women to the “tapetios”. We watched how the paper with flowers was made. We could also make our own paper! Another group went also with Mrs. Trappl to San Cristóbal. We saw how men make marimbas and candles. We went to a museum, and learned about the Mayas, their traditions and their instruments. We also tasted the cocoa. The last group went with Mr. Ebner to a mountain. There we learned about nature and plants. Mr. Ebner also taught us that trees are our friends!! On Thursday we were really sad, because that was our last day in Chichoj! In the morning we went to an orchid’s garden. There we saw a lot of beautiful orchids and other cryptogams. Then we went to the finca Dieseldorf. There we learned how coffee was picked. We could taste the coffee they produce. In the afternoon we went to the “Grutas del Rey Marcos”. Inside the cave we saw a lot of stalactites and stalagmites. We also stayed in total silence and darkness for a minute. In the evening we had dinner and packed our stuff. On Friday we had breakfast at 6:30 am. We had a great time there and the food was really good! We learned a lot during the week, and the activities were very interesting. Thank you Mr. Ebner, Mrs. Trappl, Mrs. Tichy, Nelly and Pitu! We had a great time there!