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