We
had our last Guatemalan breakfast at Donde Monica, and we packed all our items
on the bus. Then, Neri drove us for the
last time to the airport, and we all jammed out to Grace’s tunes. As we drove through Guatemala City, I
pondered upon how many of us on the trip would return to Guatemala to do
service again.
I
believe we were all sad to leave, but mostly, we were sad to leave behind the
bonds that we formed in Los Andes. In
particular, I think we were missing the kids, such as Nestor and Rosemary, and
the leaders. We met such intellectual
and inspiring people in the span of ten days, from Nelson and his family to
Olga. I can’t forget to mention the very
many Albertos we encountered!
I’m
so grateful to have been apart of this A/B experience because it got me outside
of my comfort zone, I picked up a few Spanish terms (especially colors of paint
that we used), and it has introduced me to fourteen amazing people/new friends. I look forward to working with the group to
make an impact on our own community.
Whether or not all of us choose to
return to Guatemala to do service, I believe our trip has shown us that we can
make an impact on communities by investing our time and influencing young
minds. Something that I will never
forget from this trip is when Olga told us that one of her friends did a
research study in which they asked Guatemalan kids what they wanted to be when
they grew up. Most of the kids answered
the question with their parents’ professions, for example, a farmer. The problem with this is that none of the
kids aspired to be anything more than that.
These kids should inspire to have goals, and I’m hoping that by the
presence of our University of Maryland group, that we have encouraged the kids
in the community to continue with higher education (and hopefully college, if
they can afford it) in order to reach for the stars!
Sarahann's part:
Sarahann's part:
Saying goodbye is always hard. But for me, saying goodbye to Guatemala was one of the hardest goodbyes I have ever given. The friendships we have made both with the Los Andes community and with each other have been amazing, and I am so grateful for all of the wonderful memories made on this AB trip. But, most of all, I am grateful for the way AB has opened my eyes to the world of service and to community development. Even though I never really had a full conversation with any of the people in Los Andes (fyi, my Spanish is horrible), I feel like I’m leaving a part of me in that schoolhouse. What makes it the hardest is that I never know if I’ll have the chance to go back to Los Andes and see the people I’ve met. It’s hard to think that these amazing people spend their days picking coffee, while I spend mine on a comfy college campus. The stark differences in lifestyle are hard for me to swallow, and returning home will be an adventure of its own.
As we sat in the Atlanta airport, taking last minute pictures of the group, chowing down on good ol’ American fast food, shouting “Timber,” “McDons,” and “Shots Fired,” it was hard not to realize how much of a community was built between the 15 of us. While I am sad to leave Los Andes, I am so excited to see what the 15 of us can accomplish. We’ve already started brainstorming ways to keep our connection with Los Andes going and *cross your fingers* hopefully raising some money. I joked a few times that we were “Social Change Soldiers” because of our army-green AB shirts—but, you know, I actually believe that. In some way or another, this trip has impacted each and every one of us; and we really are going to change the world.
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