A lot has happened since late December, when I received my invitation kit. I have to admit, once I got the news that I was being sent to Guatemala, I wasn’t immediately excited. I mean, I had heard of Guatemala before, but I didn’t really know much about the country. Boy was I in for a pleasant surprise! My first reading assignment was the Guatemala Welcome Book. I eagerly read the book within hours! Guatemala has had volunteers since 1963, over 4,500! Volunteers work in all types of sectors, including agriculture, youth development, small business and municipal development, as well as health (my sector). This is what it states about the program I’m working in:
Rural Home Preventive Health
Volunteers in this project work with the Ministry of Health and teach rural families about health and simple technologies that can improve family health conditions. Volunteers work directly with families and community groups to build technologies such as improved cooking stoves, water systems, and waste treatment facilities (e.g., latrines).
Sounds just like my kind of work, doesn’t it? Lol….
I was also happy to learn that being a vegetarian is “not difficult” but this is mostly in the poorer areas … since eating meat is more likely to occur with the wealthy. However, they do serve meat during special occasions, so I’m going to have to figure out how to remain a vegetarian, especially when participating in those special occasions. Wish me lots of good luck with that! =)
Let’s just say, this is going to be the biggest challenge of my life! I more so concerned with learning the language. I remember how much I struggled in college taking classes. The language is spoken so fast! It seems that I’m still trying to figure out the first sentence when the person speaking is on the fourth sentence! Awww… but I’m confident I’ll get it with no problems. It’s nothing like immersion, and also the fact that your survival depends on learning the language…
I’ve just bought my luggage, I’m roughly down to 2 months left and boy is it getting hard. I’ve already started saying goodbye to people. I have to admit, it’s been much easier than I thought it would be. I keep reminding myself of the adventure I’m about to embark upon and all of the excitement! So, that’s what keeps me going. Knowing that this is one of my dreams, I’m just embracing all of the positive …
Until next time...
Love,
Shantrice
