I just spent the last 13 days in the states after 8 months in Guatemala. I ate way more food than I thought humanly possible, drank far too much and filled every minute with friends and family. I am so incredibly grateful for my amazing friends and family. This trip literally would not have been possible without their help. I feel so lucky to have what I have.
With a 20 hour trip ahead of me tomorrow I can’t help but think about how different I am than the last time I made this trip. Going into this journey I was absolutely terrified, I cried all the way to my first layover. Now with a belly full of good food, some great memories with friends/family and the knowledge of what awaits me when I land; I am pretty happy to see Guatemala again.
Since my last post some things have changed. School let out for the rest of the year so I had to fill my time with other activities. I taught English three days a week with my site mate which was actually pretty great.
Unlike my classes in the schools, English is something you can really measure results. You can’t really measure self esteem accurately but whether or not someone can conjugate verbs is. I also facilitated two camps. One was a physical education camp with 27 of my students. I taught them about the importance of a proper diet and exercise. Guatemala is definitely a country of malnutrition with a good majority of the population underweight and lacking a large amount of nutrients.
My second camp was an all girls’ camp with the goal of teaching them self esteem, leadership and empowerment. The first camp was a big success and was great time. Unfortunately, the second didn’t go quite as planned but that’s ok. I will try again next year and learn from my mistakes.
Things are still going strong with the boy. I feel incredibly fortunate to have a great man during such a crazy time in my life. He treats me so well and really has helped make my life complete in Guatemala. I still can’t believe that I found such an amazing boyfriend in a third world country.
These next couple of weeks I will be planning for my first official school year which starts on the 15th. I am so excited to see what the next 18 months have in store for me. Thank you for your continued support and Happy New Year!!
