Lyndon students travel to Guatemala for service-learning trip
Stephanie Tyler
Issue date: 3/12/10 Section: Opinion
This February Break, 11 Lyndon students decided to do something different with their time off. Instead of going on vacation or heading home to visit family, these students traveled to Guatemala to volunteer their time at a school and to learn about the history, politics, and social issues that the people of Guatemala face.
The students left Lyndon early on February 18 to start their day-long journey to Guatemala. Once they arrived to Guatemala City, they traveled by van to the city of Antigua to spend the night. Antigua is one of first cities established by the Spanish in what is now the country of Guatemala. The students had an opportunity to explore Antigua the next morning where they were able to visit a churches, spend some time in the park, and see ruins that remain from an earthquake that took place decades ago. Students also had the experience of exploring a typical Guatemala market, which included household goods, clothing, food, and artisan goods. After exploring Antigua, the students took a long van ride to Xela (aka - Quetzaltenango) where they would spend most of their trip. Upon arrival to Xela, students checked into their hostel and spent the night relaxing, walking through the historical center of the city, and getting ready for their trip the next day.
Saturday morning the students traveled to Finca Santa Elena, a coffee and banana plantation located about 90 minutes outside of Xela. There, the students learned about the labor-intensive process of coffee production from coffee plant to package, the struggles of running a coffee plantation under pressures of globalization, and the land struggle that faced Guatemala for many years. The students also had an opportunity to hike through the plantation to see the coffee and bananas plants, see typical vegetation in the region, and learned that banana trees are actually a type of grass (much like bamboo) and that pineapples grow on plants that look more like bushes than trees.
The students left Lyndon early on February 18 to start their day-long journey to Guatemala. Once they arrived to Guatemala City, they traveled by van to the city of Antigua to spend the night. Antigua is one of first cities established by the Spanish in what is now the country of Guatemala. The students had an opportunity to explore Antigua the next morning where they were able to visit a churches, spend some time in the park, and see ruins that remain from an earthquake that took place decades ago. Students also had the experience of exploring a typical Guatemala market, which included household goods, clothing, food, and artisan goods. After exploring Antigua, the students took a long van ride to Xela (aka - Quetzaltenango) where they would spend most of their trip. Upon arrival to Xela, students checked into their hostel and spent the night relaxing, walking through the historical center of the city, and getting ready for their trip the next day.
Saturday morning the students traveled to Finca Santa Elena, a coffee and banana plantation located about 90 minutes outside of Xela. There, the students learned about the labor-intensive process of coffee production from coffee plant to package, the struggles of running a coffee plantation under pressures of globalization, and the land struggle that faced Guatemala for many years. The students also had an opportunity to hike through the plantation to see the coffee and bananas plants, see typical vegetation in the region, and learned that banana trees are actually a type of grass (much like bamboo) and that pineapples grow on plants that look more like bushes than trees.
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