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Alternative Spring Break: Guatemala
Charlene Chang, Alternative Break, Co-Site Leader
Horseback riding on a volcano, hiking in a forest sheltering the Mayan ruins of Tikal and the ecstatic screams and laughter of girls in Guatemala City were only a few of the many memories of my amazing “alternative” spring break as an international volunteer.
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| Students in Chang's group bonded with girls who lived in a home for orphans and children whose families live in extreme poverty. |
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This year, as a leader of the Alternative Spring Break Guatemala group of 10 UCSD students, I embarked on a week-long volunteer trip and I learned that education is an important part of service. Our group was assigned to renovate and paint a home and playground for girls ages 5 to 16, who are orphans from rural areas or whose families live in extreme poverty.
The most memorable parts of the experience were interactions with the girls. Despite the fact that we spent only three out of six work days with them at their home, Hogar Tío Juan, we reached a new understanding of their culture and formed many new relationships. I remember talking to Antonia, a 15-year-old, who shared with me her immense interest in math and her aspirations to go to a university to become a math professor. Some of us even learned a few words in Quiché, a Mayan dialect that many of the girls learned before Spanish.
I confronted a different set of issues and new challenges in Guatemala from those on my first alternative break experience in Costa Rica, which set high expectations for gaining deep cultural understanding through volunteer work. On this year’s trip, we had three extra days to travel on our own. We took full advantage of that time by going horseback riding and hiking up the active volcano Pacaya in Ciudad Guatemala. I remember Lorenzo, the old Guatemalan man, who led my horse on the dirt paths climbing up the volcano. He told me how many times he had hiked these paths. Even his 8-year-old nephew, who would run to catch up with us, knew the trails by heart. Flying to Flores and spending an entire day uncovering the fascinating history of the Mayan ruins of Tikal and asking Pancho, a little boy, for directions as we got lost in the indigenous village of Santiago on Lake Atitlan also left us with memorable encounters with the local people.
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| Chang and a fellow student pose in front of Mayan ruins in Guatemala. |
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I realized at the end of the trip that my experience was framed by leadership, which created another dimension of learning. As one of the trip’s leaders, I was responsible for how much and what my group members learned on this service trip. We traveled more than we had planned, but the interaction with the local people we encountered was just as, and probably even more, of an enriching experience. I learned so much about Guatemala’s history and the effects of the brutal killings and massacres of thousands of indigenous villages in the Guatemalan civil war through my encounters as a tourist talking to locals about their home and their country. I later came to an understanding that education IS service.
Once again, I come back to another spring quarter with a completely satisfying and constructive “alternative” spring break that will leave me with truly unforgettable memories and bonds with my fellow students and newly formed relationships with the girls of Hogar Tío Juan. I only hope that I was able to inspire students to lead trips of their own or to take an active role as responsible global citizens and educate others about the inequalities and difficulties that people of other countries face.
Most importantly, education is service in all regards because it requires you to step into another culture and initiates one-on-one contact with local people, an act that breaks down cultural barriers and opens doorways to communication and cross-cultural understanding. |
