In between delivering books, Cooperative for Education volunteers took time to shop for souvenirs. Here, alumnae Kathi Lawrenz and Michele Spaeth try on traditional Guatemalan clothing in the town of Santiago with the help of a Mayan woman. The ashes from the country's numerous active volcanoes make the soil in the Guatemalan highlands fertile for farming. Here, in the shadow of some of the volcanoes, corn dries on the patio of a house. People in the villages also grow beans, peas, beets, carrots and coffee.
Coffee accounts for roughly one-third of the country's exports.
During a day hike up one of the country's mountains, Cooperative for Education volunteers looked over the village of Aldea Chipiacul, a typical village in the Guatemalan highlands. The Mayan Indians flourished in Guatemala for more than 1,000 years before the country became a Spanish colony from 1524-1821. The mixture of Spanish and Mayan features resulted in some beautiful people. Boys dressed in white at the Pre-Seminario San Jose School dance to native music during the festivities put on to celebrate the arrival of the books. The Cooperative for Education volunteers were treated as honored guest at each of the 11 schools they visited.