Day 1

So the main reason we are here is to learn about and immerse ourselves in the community and culture of the people of El Remate, Guatemala, about 25 miles SW of the ancient ruins of Tikal. The needs of this community are great and much progress is being made, but it is still very much a 3rd world culture. It was not until 2000 that this part of the country had running water and was connected to the electrical grid. Until then, women were going to the river to bring water to their homes. There is only one paved road in the entire town which was funded by the last democratic government after many years of civil war and political unrest. Many buildings look abandoned and are in fact "in progress" and are completed in stages over multiple seasons, and sometimes years when enough money has been saved up by the owner of the land in this " hand to mouth" society. Most inhabitants of this region are transplants from other parts of Guatemala because so many indigenous people had been killed. The area is being repopulated and a new culture is forming and blending many traditions together from its people.