my trip to guatemala

on august 16 i went down to guatemala with my roommate ashlee to teach english in a town called patzicia. while there we traveled to panajachel and antigua. it was my first time going to a third-world country. i delayed writing this post knowing that writing about it would mean that it was actually over, signifying that i had returned to the real world, with my real job, and real life problems.

in guatemala, all of that was gone and it was a wonderful break. once you read on, you'll see that my trip down there wasn't exactly easy, but the lessons i learned and the experiences i had made it beyond invaluable. i wanted to go down there and learn to open my heart more. and to come back more humble. and to be exposed. all of which happened.

my first days back i felt like a different person. extreme for having only been there a short time, perhaps. but i loved that feeling; it was invigorating. gone was the rush of everyday life and i came back, if only for a fleeting moment, as an observer. the change in my surroundings allowed me to come back and feel as though i was not part of the hussle and bussle that is life. there have been rare moments in my life where, for whatever reason, i don't actually feel caught up in living my life. and i can slow down long enough to actually see what's important. those are the moments that change you.

and that is what guatemala did for me. i came back and my first thoughts were not to run head-first back into my life. i wanted to soak in for as long as possible the sights and sounds that i had seen. i wanted to cling to the thoughts of the people i saw down there. i wanted to let my desire to help them fuel me as long as possible.

but as is always the case, life creeps back in. work takes over, as does the day-to-day tasks we all must complete. but i would like to think that it was not all in vain. guatemala, in even the smallest way, changed me. i came back with a deep appreciation for being born in the country that i was. and a greater love for all of god's children. and with the realization that i have to keep myself better grounded on what's important in life.

i was surrounded down there by people who truly had little to nothing. and here i am with such abundance. it creates quite the dilemma. what do we do, those who have been given so much? i don't feel as though i came back with a concrete solution other than to learn to give. to give of our time to others. to give of our hearts. to give of our finances. it can be across the globe or across the street. but the message is the same, learn to give.

i hope that i can take the lessons i learned and not let them be fleeting memories from a great, yet trying, trip...

this is my story.