Love the life you live. Live the life you love.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Los Chapines






Well, Jenny tells me that I need to participate in our blogging so I thought I would show some pictures from my recent trip to Guatemala. Eric Harris was kind enough to take me to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (where I served my mission) to participate in a medical mission. We worked in conjunction with the medical school in Xela (the mayan name for Quetzaltenango). We worked from Monday through Friday and we were able to have a day to hang-out and explore in Antigua, a beautiful city near the capital of Guatemala.

The picture above is of one the many volcanos in Guatemala. I lived at the base of it for 6 months during my mission. One of the beautiful things about Guatemala is the drastic change in scenery due to the elevation changes. Xela sits around 9,000 ft. and is filled with pine trees, yet the coast looks tropical just like you would assume. This second picture is of the same volcano from the costal side













This next image shows the people of San Francisco El Alto lined up  to be treated. San Francisco El Alto is a small town about 45min. from where we were staying in Xela, and sits at the top of a mountain. You'll notice the "tipica" clothing the women are wearing. Most of the people in this town survive by making this clothing themselves and selling it at the local market.

This is the group of volunteers from the states with a few of the patients.



















Yes, in case you are wondering....that's me and that is a tooth in my hand.  Oh, and yep I was the one pulling it too.  Ssshhhh....don't tell her that it was my first time. It went well, I mean, the tooth did come out.  Actually, Eric and Kevin taught me a lot about dentistry and allowed me to participate when it was appropriate.  

These next two pictures will most likely not make any sense to you unless you have done this yourself.  Most of you probably don't know what "Jowlers" are or perhaps as Eric says, "Shaky Face!!!"  I know you are going to go and try this after you see it so please make sure to put at least one photo on your blog of yourself looking as stupid if not more stupid than I do.  This is how it works... loosen your face up and then shake it as fast as you can and then take a picture. This is how we entertained ourselves in Guatemala, after our work was done of course!







9 comments:

coryshay said...

How crazy is this... My dad served his mission there, and that's where I got my name....What do you know?

Kira said...

It definitely looks like a fun trip!! But, Chris I think you should leave the blogging to Jenny!!:)

Liz said...

Chris! How nice to know you're still alive and kicking. And fun to see very familiar pictures (my parents just finished a mission in Guatemala in January). What a great opportunity for you. Awesome faces at the end, too. I'll have to get Dan to try that and take a picture for you. :)

Joe, D.D.S. said...

I'm jealous of the medical mission. Someday we'll go together. I'm actually going to Mexico City in October to pull some teeth. The adrenaline rush you feel when your first tooth is pulled is incredible. You look official but where is your eye protection?

Tiffany said...

Chris that looks like a lot of fun I didn't know that you did anything medical I thought you were a business guy! Looks like you guys are having a lot of fun, keep blogging it is fun to see what you guys are up to!

Kim said...

What a neat trip and purpose. Hey, my kids need their wisdom teeth extracted....would you give me a deal?

Maybe you should let Jenny do the blogging so you don't get behind on the laundry.....HA!

daniell miner said...

chris! you are seriously the BEST!! we miss you guys! it was soo good to see you when we were in town! thanks for the mario go kart fun!
ps. chris! i havnt forgotton that you tricked me!!!! ha ha!

Mary Ann & Joe Mackey said...

Chris you are hilarious! Your Jowler/Shaky Face pictures are so funny and a little disturbing at the same time! Oh how jealous I am you got to go back to your mission and STILL keep serving. That is awesome. I would love to do that as a nurse some day. Hey Jenny when are we going to get together again? I miss you!

Kim said...

Alright you two, when was the last time you looked at the date of your last post?