Bye Xela!!

So, I am back home in Canada now and thought it would be a good idea to finish my blog.....
My time in Xela went so fast, but I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to experience all that I did. My volunteer quest at the laundromat, although challenging was very rewarding. I do feel as if I left the laundromat, kind of in a hard place, as we never were able to find a general manager (its still in the works, altogether there is no one to finish up the job). I really wish i was able to take care of that problem while i was there, but i wasn't. So i am going to have to focus on the fact that i did do a lot of promoting and advertising for the business and that i did end up getting some art from the kids in the shelter into the laundromat location.
I could have spent another 3 months there, easily, and been busy with little things. Alhtough, i don't know how far the ladies at the shelter would have let me go .... as they were kind of protective over their books and other important information.. however, maybe if i had stayed longer they would have let me in? I don't know.
I just hope that the person that goes down there can finish up where I left off, because I have said 1000384923 times, that place needs some TLC, and gen. manager would do that.
So, thank you everyone for taking time out of your lives to read this blog, i really appreciate it. I hope there wasn't too many grammatical errors, spelling errors or that i wasn't too boring!!!!!
I look forward to the next time I have to do write a blog..... b/c that will mean I am doing another very interesting, rewarding trip!
Take care.

I should have known!

hey all
so i was feeling guilty that i hadn't posted in a while, but i just realized that i seem to manage to get online to do it every Monday. which is perfect!

as for any developments with the laundromat..... well, we have yet to have one of the meetings with the coordinators at the universities. i guess i should not have had such high expectations when i last blogged. each time we have visited (with a pre arranged meeting time) there has been some reason or the next as to why we couldn't discuss anything. BUT tomorrow we are going again, and i am crossing my fingers that something will happen!

we have made the poster that i think i told you all about a few blogs ago - it says (in Spanish and colored in by the children) "thank you for all your help" and there are about 30 cut out hands all decorated by the children surrounding it. I'm really impressed, and I'm excited to get it up in the laundromat. we are going to frame it first, so it can have a life of longer than a day!

my life here is still going great. last Tuesday i got deathly ill - well okay, not deathly, but very ill from eating fish. apparently the fish i ate that Sunday before was bad and infected my stomach some way. but w/e...I'm fine now!!

i leave in about a week - this is super sad to think about, as i am becoming very attached to my host family as well as Marlo the coordinator at my school..... i also found a kitten today and i know i am going to fall in love with it. her name is besito, and i found her on the street being taken care of by a complete drunk- when i found the kitten she was tied to a leash wrapped around the passed out guys hand.
but she is doing fine now, and I'm getting her spade in a few days. :-)

okay! i have got to run......

luego

Developments

Hey All,
So thought I would fill you all in on what is going on at the laundromat.

Basically I have contacted all the schools in Xela that have a business program and set up a meeting with the coordinator of the programs. I want to meet with them in order to discuss getting us an intern for 5 to 6 months...and that way we will have a full time general manager.
We have written up sort of a proposition to give to the coordinators so that they know a little bit about the organization behind the laundromat and the reasons why we want an intern.
We have our first meeting tomorrow and then another on Wednesday - i really hope they go well and something comes out of them!
I am also getting together some art that the children at the shelter made so that i can put it up in the Laundromat - i thought this would be a great way to bring the shelter closer to the La Lavandaria.
As for other updates, I hiked Tajumulcu this weekend. The highest point in central America - it was a two day, very challenging but rewarding hike and i am extremely happy to have done (although my body is telling me otherwise today!).
My Spanish is getting better by the day and I have adjusted completely to the lifestyle here in Xela (coffee at breakfast, lunch and dinner!)
Anyways, hope ur enjoying the blog as much as I enjoy writing it.
Will let you know asap how the meetings go and things progress!
Luego!

Almost a week in!

Hello All,

Wow, so I have already been here for almost a week- that is just an incredible thought. Time flies when you are having fun I guess!

And having fun is what I am doing- not only with my volunteer job but also in all other aspects of my life here in Guatemala. I am now beginning to meet great friends, one from Germany, and one from England and a few from the US. We go out in the evenings, have a beer or so and chat underneath the Guatemala stars and the presence of the Xela Cathedral. It's beautiful I tell you!

In regards to my volunteer position, it is going great. Yesterday, we worked like dogs getting flyers, posters and frequent customer cards printed and distributed to all the schools, cafes and hostels in the city. I’m hoping with that little bit of promotion that business will pick up this week and for next few- although that could be debatable considering the season for tourists and travellers is dyeing down and therefore there are less people in town to be doing their laundry. But nevertheless, there is no way it can hurt us....

That is the first project I wanted to tackle for the Laundromat and I believe it was the easiest (as they were doing absolutely nothing!). My next project is to find the Laundromat an intern, as currently there is no one that is solely responsible for the business and it is pretty much being run by a lady who sees it as one of her last priorities (as she is also the coordinator of the women’s shelter that is connected to the Laundromat).

I see this as a huge issue, because without someone who is completely dedicated to the business, it will fail - as little things like promotions and budgeting will not get done. For example, the current manager (Maria is her name) thought it would be a good idea to just buy a new dryer the last time one of them broke (instead of getting a repair man for an hour and fixing it).

So as for now, those are the two problems (promotions and a proper general manager) that I am taking by the reins and hopefully solving. I am in love with what I am doing and I am so happy that I will leave here feeling as though I accomplished something.

Well, I should probably stop playing around and get started on my research.... yay.

Thanks for reading this again :-) If you have any questions, feel free to ask! And if you would like to see pictures, go to my Facebook page (feel free too add me as a friend too!)

Rebecca

The first day = very exciting

Hey All,
So, I arrived in Xela yesterday evening. After a 2 hour plane ride and a 4 hour bus ride (in a huge bus with a diver that went 80 miles per hour on the worst, winding roads in the world) i arrived at my destination. I am living with a host family in a small, but quaint little home in the center of the city. So far the food is amazing, my bed is comfertable and well, the showers...are um... lets just say not as hot as i would like, but it could be worse!

Anyways, today I met with the coordiator who is organizing my volunteer activities here...... she and I basically talked about what I wanted to do wtih the luandromat and it looks as though im going to be able to have quite a bit of leverage.... although, there is so much work that needs to be done.

Apparently, last year a volunteer came down for 2 months and wrote up an entire business plan on the laundromat and so i have decided to use her plan (which from what iv read so far is just amazing and very accurate) to implement some of her ideas while i am here.... so, really, it worked out great. she did the back ground work and now it is my job to make things happen.

It looks as though it will be challenging but i am super excited to begin.

Anyways this internet cafe is closing as i write this, so id better go. But I will update the blog as much as possible!

Hasta Luego!

Hey All
So I am off for Xela in a week!

I am going to admit that I am very nervous- I found out that I am the only volunteer for my specific project for half of my time there!! I really hope that I will become good friends with my host family and the other women i'll be working with at the shelter.

I'v decided that there is no way I am going to be bored while in Xela- it just dawned on me that I am working in a laundromat!! I will always be able to help the women do their daily work- even though thats not what I went down there for specifically, atleast I will be able to help do something!

Anyways, I was told there will be an internet cafe that I can use while in Xela, so I will be able to update the blog once in a while. :-)

Talk to you soon,
Stay posted!
Rebecca

A little while before departure

hey everyone,

so here i go again on one of my many adventures - this time i am volunteering in Guatemala. My motivations for this years volunteer trip however are slightly different than they were last year when i went to Costa Rica. Last year, i merely wanted to volunteer my time abroad, feel needed and give my time to something important.
however, this year, after having finished my first year at business school (Richard Ivey School of Business in London, ON) i am motivated to volunteer abroad in order to use the skills that i have learned and practiced over the past 10 months. My year at Ivey as inspired me to use my business degree for good and to help lesser developed countries better themselves. i want to use my knowledge of business in order to help people and businesses realize their full potential; something they would not otherwise be able to do, due to their lack of education and resources available to them.

I initially wanted to go to Argentina, to work within an NGO helping out with marketing, administration duties etc. However after a lot more research and investigation i stumbled across a different organization that offered me a much more specific and detailed account of what I would be doing and the skills that were needed in order to help.
This project, called The Guatemala Laundromat Project, is located in Xela, Guatemala (about 4 hours out of the capital)- this project is one that involves not only sustainable development for the people of that community but also women's advancement. Below is the link that will take you to the PDF that properly explains what I will be doing there.

http://www.unitedplanet.org/quest/documents/GuatemalaLaundromatProject.pdf

I am extremely excited to embark on this adventure; you have no idea how exciting it is to think that you will soon be using your education to make a difference for people. I am so looking forward to putting my everything into this project and taking it all as seriously as possible.... always keeping in mind of course that I am just a guest, giving ideas and lending a hand - i have no right to change around everything that they have already established, rather give ideas and thoughts on ways to make it better.

Well, I look forward to keeping you all updated on my departure and my time while there. I don't know if i mentioned when and for how long i am going for. I will be leaving the beginning of August and going for 4 weeks. At which time I return to Canada to finished off my HBA at Ivey.
Thanks for reading this, and please stay posted for more information and updates! Of course a week or so before departure i will post a note briefing everyone on my expectations, fears and concerns before and during my stay in Guatemala.

I would like to thank Ivey Connects as well as the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at Ivey for their continuous support.