My Home: Antigua

It rained today.
Hardcore.








This is the view out of my window. I was taking a nap, and BOOM!

The loudest thunderclaps I´ve ever heard in my life! I was so startled that I started shaking until I fell back asleep. :)

Here´s more of an idea of my living situation.



Here´s my room. It´s very comfortable. My roommate Lauren and I are living with a nice couple. We`re occupying what used to be their sons´ rooms. It´s nice because there´s an internet cafe right nextdoor.










This is the view from one of my windows into the backside of the house.





Mynor Melgar was our guest speaker in class today. He is a human rights lawyer who is the first to successfully prosecute officers accused of human rights abuses.

Antigua!

Hola mi companeros!

So, I made it to Guatemala after believing I missed the flight out of Houston, TX. No lie, it is gorgeous here. The photos I've taken do not match up to the reality of all that is Antigua. Here is a random shot I took yesterday. I took it while driving in a bus on a bumpy cobblestone road.



The inner courtyard in my professor´s home. The colors are much more vivid than this.








I´ll post some more tomorrow. I have to go read 30 pages before meeting our guest spéaker in class tomorrow. He is the first lawyer ever to successfully prosecute members of the army who committed crimes against humanity during Guatemala's 30 year civil war.

Prelude

I'll be documenting and reflecting on my three weeks in Guatemala. I'm going as a participant in a UW exploration seminar called "The Shifting Terrain of Human Rights in Contemporary Guatemala." The history of this country and its contemporary struggles follow a pattern of experiences in many other parts of the world. I'm taking this opportunity to take witness, make connections, and then share what I've learned.

In preparation, our class holds book club meetings. Our reading selection includes:

• Silence on the Mountain: Wilkinson
• Bitter Fruit: Schlesinger & Kinser
• Enrique's Journey: Nazario
• Paradise in Ashes: Manz
• I, Rigoberta Menchu: Menchu