Santa Catarina Barahona was the host village for the OAT “Day in the Life” experience. In the morning we visited the Antigua local market where Carlos gave us a list of foods to buy for the school we were to visit later. He gave us Q100 which nearly paid for

      1 botella de a elite para cocinor (a bottle of cooking oil)

    10 liberas de azucar (sugar)

      3 libras de incaparina (a fortified mixture of grains)

      2 libras de mosh (oatmeal)

      2 libras de arroz (rice)

We then took a "chicken" bus (so called because it's so crowded, sometimes with people or goods on the roof rack) to the small town where we visited a kindergarten school, where children 4 to 6 sang and danced. We presented the school's principal with the food we'd bought as well as school supplies.

We took tuctucs (3-wheeled taxis) to lunch at the home of one of the children's aunts and learned more about the current Mayan customs. Lunch was pepian, a tomato stew into which we put boiled rice, chicken, and vegetables. The stew was cooked in a large ceramic pot over a fire in a wheel barrow. As the family spoke little English, we were required to speak in Spanish or use gestures. After lunch the hostess demonstrated weaving on her back-strap loom. She used to sell her goods in Antigua, but she now stays home to care for her children. On the way back to the square, we stopped for a demonstration in the shop where our tortillas had been made. I was given a chance to try to shape one, but I failed miserably.

We walked back to the village square where we boarded our OAT bus and drove to see a man who makes little worry dolls (each in about 8 or 10 minutes). We then drove to visit a macadamia nut farm, owned by an expat American. The farm is entirely organic and he told us about the benefits of these nuts, originally from Australia. We tasted nuts as well as pancakes made from macadamia nuts topped with macadamia butter and blueberry preserves. We were then treated to facials using macadamia extract products.