When we first got to Guatemala, everyone told us that the
days would be long but the months would go by fast. I didn’t really understand
that until now. When I look back over the last 23 months, I have mixed feelings
about my experience. I will always be thankful for the things I will take away
from this. Friends, spanish, a new understanding of myself, a strong grasp on
what it takes to live in another culture. But at the same time I wonder what it
is I will leave behind. I haven’t created a legacy here. The people I have
worked with will one day forget my name. I will become just another gringa who
came from the States and tried her best (in horrible broken Spanish) to help. I
will be replaced by another gringo just like every person before me. I
sometimes wonder if I could have done more. I think every volunteer starts to
think about that when the months start moving faster and our service abruptly comes
to a close. And we all come to the same conclusion. Of course we could have
done more. But we try not to dwell on that and we focus on the things we had
the opportunity to accomplish and the relationships we had a chance to build. But
it leaves us with a lingering question… Is the point of our Peace Corps service
more about the impact we make on the country we live in for two years? Or is it
about the impact that country has on us?
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tres Meses Mas
Tomorrow marks three months left to go. I only have three
more months in Guatemala. Three more months. I hear myself constantly repeating
it in my head like a bad pop song. I can’t believe I have lived in Guatemala for
almost two years. Sometimes I can’t wrap my head around it. How did I do it?
How did I get to this point? Truthfully, I have no idea. I don’t even remember
what was going through my head when I signed up for the Peace Corps.
Excitement? Yes. Fear? Definitely. Believing I would change the world and
figure out where my life was going? I’m not that naive. Thinking I was about to
begin one of the biggest adventures of my life? I had no idea. But it has been.
This experience has changed me in ways I have not even realized yet. It has
forced me to grow. To step outside my comfort zone. It has been an uphill
battle (literally). But now I’m almost there. And what is going through my
head? Excitement? Yes. Fear? Definitely. Believing I will change the world and
figure out where my life is going? I’m not that naïve. Thinking I am about to
begin one of the biggest adventures of my life? I have no idea. But let’s hope
so. Three more months. Only three more months.
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Good morning how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because trough them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Guatemala? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Guatemala in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Avenida Juan de la Cierva, 44
28902 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez
Hi Sara
ReplyDeleteSadly, today is the first I heard of Sergio Mack's passing back in March. As i began searching to find out more about what happened i came upon several volunteers blog. I was a volunteer outside of Chimal from 2000-2002, part of Sergio's Healthy Schools crew. Its amazing to read the posts of current volunteers and read what you feel like could just as easily been your own written thoughts.
You may not currently "see" the fruits of your labor, but I GUARANTEE that you are having an impact on the community within which you are living. It may not be in the way that you thought it would be and it probably is not blatantly obvious, but you have touched peoples lives in so many different ways that you cannot even see or fathom until you step outside of it and reflect back on it. Americans tend to focus on the "results” reaching lofty goals and objectives etc. After you are gone, you will have a chance to reflect on what you just did and see all of the amazing things that you saw, did and achieved. When you get back here...yes, maybe some of your friends have gotten married, some people have had kids but life has gone on as usual,. You will pick up the relationships and they become even more rich because you have an insight and perspective to share that is unique and life changing. I encourage you to share your stories because people love to hear about it and it also help you in transition! When you return , you continue to experience Peace Corps - via continued friendships, new friendships with other RPCV's, staying connected to Guatemala and Latin America (which is how i read your post!) and the list goes on.
When I met up with Sergio back in August of last year I heard from him how the healthy schools program had evolved since we did it. Yes, in large part because of his leadership and vision...but very much because of all of the cumulative contributions we each made and that is pretty darn amazing. The program was transformed! He also informed me that one of the schools I supported was the highest performing school in the country. I know that that is not all because of me...but I WAS a piece of that puzzle and how exciting is that? PLease know that what you have done is amazing cherish the last 3 months that you have there in terms of finishing your work, solidifying relationships etc. Because you will not ever have that same type of opportunity. THis is truly the experience of a lifetime, as lackluster as it may seem at the time.I wish you the best of luck in completing your time there and your reintegration back into your life in the US or wherever you plan to go next. Sincerely, Sara Andrist