Shirley: Now that I'm reflecting over the things that happened
in Sibinal, I'd like to share about the emotional level on my part. I started
off excited and with so much energy to work, but slowly that energy started
running lower and lower. In the middle of the trip, I got sick with fever,
stomach ache, headache, and that pretty much had me in bed all day. My body was
just exhausted and it needed a day off. After that I just felt tired. I wanted
to work so bad and visit the families that we had helped but I physically
couldn't. My body was giving in on me. At the beginning of the journey, I was
letting all the emotions take over. Part of it was because it was close to
Christmas and I missed my family and being with them. Anything that I saw
relating to family, I cried. I believe it was December 23rd, this day was so
emotional for me because I remembered we did Christmas for Guatemalan Children
and visited two families. I cried in the middle of the event and while listening
to the stories of both families.
It was emotional especially going to Doña
Eldina and seeing Delman, which is a kid with special needs, talking about where
he puts the sick chickens and making space for all of us visitors to sit. Gosh,
such a smart kid, to hear that he's bullied in school because of his
disabilities broke my heart. I got to spend time with him while Franco and other team members were measuring the kitchen to see how much materials were
needed for the concrete floor. Delman showed us a drawing he made, which to me looked
like scribbles; however, he was describing everything in his new house. He
mentioned the concrete floor in the living space, the new plancha (stove), and
he even drew the concrete floor that was going to be put in the kitchen. I
don't know why but I felt such an emptiness in my heart after that day. Later
that night, I texted my mom and told her how I was feeling. She said that I had
to get strength from somewhere in order to do the kind of humanitarian work we were doing
because it is something beautiful that not a lot of people are willing to do.
From that day on, it was like I built an emotional barrier. I became very
strong when it came to seeing similar situations. For example, when we were tasked with giving the sick children their medications twice a day.
Apart from all of the obstacles that I personally had
to go through, I don't regret working three jobs and struggling through school
to make this trip happen. It is truly something that I am passionate about and
that I am proud to be part of. There are too many experiences to fit into a
blog, not a lot of people are willing to listen to some, and others are just
for me keep in the bottom of my heart. I will never forget this experience. It
is one thing to say you'll do it, and another one to actually do it. I never
thought that with being so young (19 years old), I'd accomplish something so
rewarding for my life. To be honest, this trip wouldn't have been possible for
the amazing team that came from the states. We worked so hard and it all paid
off. I will also never get tired of thanking you, the donors. I'm very thankful
for you and your heart to trust us and our work. Thank you!
It's been a few days since we got home from Guatemala
and especially today, I've had time to really think about the trip and reflect
upon all the experiences I had. I want to share about how I felt coming
to the city after the work was done. I felt a little odd seeing so many
foreigners (no offense). Everything is extremely different. I mean when we got
to Sibinal, everyone greeted us and made us feel welcomed. When we got to
Antigua, the only ones that greeted us were the hotel people and because that
is their job. I don't know, I missed seeing the interactions between people in
Sibinal like the young taxi drivers all waiting in El Centro for someone to ask
for their services or Doña Julia and her comadres (friends) talking and joking
around while making tortillas for our quesadillas. The little things of their
culture is what I missed coming back to the city because I wasn't seeing that anymore.
It's weird because I've been to Antigua before. The first time I went with
Avila University and I felt like seven months later, there are less people dressed in
traditional Guatemalan clothes, like the cortes, and more westernized. This is
one of the reasons I love tradition and culture. I don't think for a second a
person should change who they are to fit into the pressures of the rest of the
world. I loved going to visit families and seeing the humble homes, cooking
traditional meals, and sometimes talking to their relatives in the indigenous Mayan
Ma’am language.
Coming back home, I've definitely had reverse culture
shock. It happened to me when I first came home from Guatemala the first time and now it's
happening again. I find myself throwing the toilet paper in the toilet and
feeling super weird about it. I drove my car to work and felt weird.
My body has also taken time to adjust to the food. Unfortunately, I
felt very sick and was vomiting everything I ate. I'm guessing it was all the
junk and processed foods. I mean, it is understandable after eating healthy food for the past three weeks in Guatemala. But I'm doing better! Since I
haven't started school yet, I've been sitting at home wondering about this trip.
I've sat in my couch pretty much all day kinda wishing there was a volcano nearby
I can go hike or maybe a Centro I can go walk around and maybe eat some fries
and mayo or tortas. Things like that make me miss Guatemala so much.
