Guatemala Reflections
Towards the end of our journey in Guatemala, our faculty director Scott Cloutier requested that we each reveal something that we learned about our study abroad group. Naturally, I was petrified. I have very acute social anxiety and—despite loving every single wonderful person on our bus that day—I wanted more than anything in the world to pull out my comfy Guatemalan blanket and hide. It was difficult for me to put everything we’d encountered together in just a few short phrases. It wasn’t until after we’d arrived back home that I was able to appreciate how this journey had mentally and emotionally changed me.
For me, the two most personal takeaways from studying in Guatemala were broadening my worldview and developing self-confidence. It’s easy to sit in a classroom and create opinions about sustainability challenges in other countries, but until you can actually experience what it’s like to live with those challenges, you can’t create sustainable solutions. In fact, there were many times in Guatemala when something I perceived to be a challenge wasn’t a challenge at all. This also made me much more sensitive to people’s vulnerability. We were American strangers asking locals very personal questions, but the majority of people we asked were very willing to help us (and also feed us!).
Being immersed in a Spanish-speaking country was also great for my shyness (although I didn’t realize it while on the bus that day!). I’m much less concerned about making mistakes while I speak, and instead I can focus on the content of my conversations. I’ve also found a new little joy in my job as a food sampler: drawing people in with the smell of bagel pizzas and then ensnaring them into a conversation about food waste or the struggles our neighbors in Central America. It’s very surprising how many people are willing to engage in a constructive conversation about immigration when you withhold pizza from them.
Studying in Guatemala and working with such a wonderful team made this an unforgettable experience. Anyone who has the privilege of studying here next summer, in the words of our faculty director, only needs to remember two things: to go in with an open mind and an open heart!
