Hello all! Today is our last full day in Guatemala– we’re heading out early tomorrow (like 3am early) to get on a plane for Nicaragua! I know that I speak for the whole group when I say that these weeks in Guatemala have been absolutely amazing. We’ve seen amazing sights, learned things we could never learn anywhere else, and met incredible people. We’ve had our ups and downs like any other group, but we always manage to pull through stronger and closer than we were before. I’m so honored to be a part of that kind of a group.
For the past week, we were in a very small Mayan town called Pasac through an organization there called Roots and Wings which teaches computer skills to indigenous Mayan kids. We were in homestays, but hardly spent any time there besides sleeping. Cristobal, who’s in charge of Roots and Wings, kept us very busy with activities all week! Accompanied by our fearless guides Francisco, Zacarias, and Elio, we spent our days exploring, playing, helping, and most of all learning about the culture and history of Pasac. We even got the chance to have a class in K’iche’, the primary language spoken there, and a class on the Mayan number system.
Staying in Pasac was a very humbling and eye-opening experience. The people there aren’t used to having outsiders in their town, so we were stared at all the time. I mean ALL the time. I couldn’t walk the 5 minutes from my homestay to the Roots and Wings center without stares from around 10 people and 2-3 shouts of ‘Hola, gringo!’ It’s such a different feeling, but I think it’s been a very important lesson and experience. It’s given us a tiny glimpse into what it’s like to be a minority. Despite all the staring, the people of Pasac couldn’t have been sweeter. They, especially the kids, were very excited to have us. The fact that we wanted to learn about their culture meant so much to them, and they were eager to teach!
In spite of the roosters that decided morning was 3am, Pasac has been one of my favorite weeks so far. I can’t wait to begin our adventure in Nicaragua tomorrow!
-Maggie