Relative Riches

Anderson throwing a fist pump in Tikal

When you're in a less-developed country for any period of time, it isn't long before you start to think about the socioeconomic differences between the people there and yourself. You don't need to read the statistics to realize the enormous gap existing between the standards of living in the U.S. and some other countries. Even here in Antigua, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Central America, there are a number of people who, in relative terms, live on next to nothing. As one would imagine, there are even more underprivileged people in rural areas (the majority of Guatemala) that don't have thousands of tourists dumping money into the local economy.

As I've been observing these radical socioeconomic differences, I've been relearning some obvious truths. Heather Castle, the senior high youth pastor at Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church, once said that "Much of life is all about relearning the things you already know." I've found this to be incredibly true over the semester. Here are a couple of the obvious truths I've been relearning on a deeper level.

I don't know what it's like to be without. I don't. Given my education, experiences, and connections in the United States, it not unlikely that I could go through my entire life without really ever wondering how my basic needs will be met. I don't say that in some form of lofty arrogance; I say that with the realization that I've been given so much and will never be able to fully understand what it's like to grow up with absent or abusive parents, inconsistent or insufficient provision of food/water/clothing/housing, or there being little to no possibility of furthering my education.  

Humans, regardless of our vast differences, share the same needs. I wrote about this in an earlier post, but it's something that I'm continually finding to be true. From the wealthy CEO, to the alcoholic veteran without a home, to the pregnant teenager working at Burger King, to the pastor of a church, to the single mother who strips at night,  to the quarterback of Division 1 football team, to the confused and lonely foster child.. Everyone shares some commonalities; no matter your nationality, occupation, gender, sexual orientation, race, or family background.
(If you haven't read the earlier post about this, check it out).

Money, possessions, and prosperity have little or no correlation to JOY. It's incredible to watch when people who have such little to hope for have such enormous levels of joy; particularly kids. There was a Christmas party today at the school, Nuestros Ahijados, where I've been doing my practicum. Of the 400+ children who where there, a large number of them come from rough home situations. Lots of them live in homes without floors and for many of them, their economic situation makes even graduating high school appear to be nearly unrealistic. And yet in the midst of all of the reasons they may have to be depressed or to have a grim outlook on life, they are full of happiness and contentment and satisfaction and joy. It's a wonderful reminder about how the physical "stuff" of this world really doesn't determine happiness. It's something much deeper and even much more simple. 'Tis a wonderful thing.

The Currency of Time

One of the things I've come to appreciate about the culture of Guatemala (along with several other parts of the world) is the absence of hurry in daily activities. In the United States, we give incredible value to efficiency. After all, time is money, right? We're always interested in how we might save more time, or how we're investing our time, or how we're spending our time. I once heard

somebody say that "Time is the currency of college students". Because time is so often discussed in terms of economic value, we seem to believe that the more we have, the better off we'll be.

As it turns out, the rest of the world doesn't always share this obsession with monetizing time. There is a term frequently used here known as "Guatemalan Time". Namely, that when you're told a time for a bus, meeting, or any other activity, you ought to know that it's only a ballpark estimate, at best, with a margin of error of 2-3 hours or more. You ought not be surprised when the 8:00am bus doesn't decide to show up until around 9:00am, without any notice. "You'll get there when you get there", is sort of the catch phrase around these parts. There's a sense that things will happen eventually, so there's no need to rush.

While such deviations from what I've known as normal may not seem significant, I have found there to be a great deal of value in living with a decreased level of hurry. Granted, I have a different type of class load, no job, and fewer social activities to keep me occupied. So, I certainly have more free time here than at home. But there's something about the attitude many Guatemalans seem to share about time that is both appalling and appealing. Appalling because I've always valued promptness, but appealing because it allows room for less stress.

Now, I don't think we ought to throw promptness out of the window, or that we ought never consider how we're using the time we have. It's healthy and beneficial to consistently evaluate what we're doing with our time. But I do believe that maybe there's something we're missing out on due to our culture's lust to board the train of non-stop hurry. To transcend our culture's addiction to rushed business may not be to show up to work 2 hours late, or vow to always make your friends wait on you. Maybe it's waking up an hour earlier, or eliminating certain items on your daily to-do list.
Whatever it might be, try changing something up in your schedule that allows you to taste a bit of the sweet thing known as "Guatemalan Time".          

(Side note: If you happen to believe the things the Bible says, there's a ton in there about chilling out. It's kind of great, I think.)

Playas y Volcanes

This week has had no shortages of new experiences. On Tuesday, I started my practicum with Nuestros Ahijados. It's an organization that has a variety of services related to education, social work, rehabilitation for malnourished children, and much more. I'm working with their social workers for the next 6 weeks in San Felipe, a small town just outside of Antigua. The workers there are some incredible humans and it's been encouraging how welcoming they've been to me as I tag along with them. I'm really looking forward to next Tuesday, because I'll be going with one of the social workers as he does home visits. It'll be interesting. Also great about this opportunity is that it's another good opportunity to continue improving my Spanish.

We spent last weekend at a small, rustic "resort" on the Pacific ocean. I don't even really know how to describe it. It took twenty minutes on a sketchy boat to get to the place, and upon arriving we were informed that the little bungalows were, in fact, for us to stay in. It looked like a scene out of a movie. It was amazing. Not to mention that this all-inclusive stay was only $30 a night. Wonderful time.

Yesterday, I went with my roommate, Austin, and one of our housemates, Ashley, to climb one of the volcanoes here, Volcan de Pacaya. It's one of the ones that you can almost always see while walking around Antigua, so it was pretty cool to actually go up. After about an hour drive to the volcano, we went up with a group and guide for a good two hours.



We weren't able to go all the way to the crater (it's still an active volcano), but we were able to go a decent way up. Unfortunately, we picked a cloudy day to go, so we didn't really get to see any breathtaking views of Guatemala, but it was still incredible and it started to let up towards the end of our little journey. One of the coolest things about the excursion, however, was going where the volcano had erupted earlier this year, and roasting some marshmallows. So. Cool.

It's crazy that there's only about 6 more weeks before we head home. Time flies when you're having fun. There have been some rare occasions where I miss my Americans, but most of time I find myself absolutely loving life here. I've probably mentioned this before, but it's awesome how small Antigua is. You are hard-pressed to go out of the house and not run into someone you know. It gives the city an a small-town flavor, despite the thousands of tourists that stroll through.

Highlights of the last few weeks

•  I'm proud to have "successfully" completed 6 weeks of Spanish classes. In case you didn't read my last post, which you probably should, it's kind of nice now because I'm able to actually engage in some conversation with people and feel sort of comfortable with basic conversations. (I could easily take another 6 months of classes and still have a plethora of Spanish to learn.) Because Antigua is so small, it's pretty easy to see people you know just about every time you go out. Despite all of the tourists and the number of times I hear "Ay man, you need some weed?", the city has somewhat of small-town feeling that I've grown to really like.

• I successfully made it into my 21st year of life. This past Saturday, our whole house went out to McDonald's for lunch together and had a great time. It was the first time we all went somewhere together and it kind of felt like we were a little family *sniff*. We then had a cake later on at the house and watched a movie. I also got to FaceTime my parents and some of my brothers, so it was a lovely birthday.

• I've recently been able to spend a lot of time with Anderson, the 10-year-old that we're living with. He's a super bright young guy and has been a ton of fun to be with. He's been through more difficulties in his ten years than I have in twice the amount of time, and yet he always has what seems to be very authentic joy. He's also a great teacher when it comes to Spanish, kite-making, and Guatemalan swag. Today, he just randomly grabbed me and gave me a massive hug. It was so great. I love the kid.

• There was a Texan who moved down here to Antigua to open up a legitimate BBQ restaurant and we had the privilege of eating from there this weekend. Now, I like Guatemalan food. But it was a thing of beauty to allow the carnivore inside of me to surface and enjoy some fine Texan cooking. 

• I visited a couple of different places at which I'll be volunteering over the next couple of months. As I've mentioned before, it's such and encouragement to see some people who are doing incredible things for people in need here. I'm really excited for the upcoming weeks as I'll be spending some time at a couple of different places learning from the people and getting to interact with them a bit more. 

If you want to see more pictures, check Facebook. Thanks for reading!

Note:
If you or someone you know is interested in studying abroad in the near future, be sure to look into something called the Gilman Scholarship. I was a recipient of the scholarship and it was really helpful in making it possible for me to come to Guatemala. Click here for more info. 

Two ears, One mouth

If you haven't picked up on it by now, I'm not big on creative titles for these posts. Anyway, today was my last Spanish lesson at La Union. Therefore, I thought it'd be appropriate to share some thoughts I've been having as I've been studying Guatemalan linguistics.

When we first arrived 6 weeks ago (it's been that long?), we were met by people from La Union at the airport. Despite their friendliness and hospitality, I immediately found myself in an incredibly uncomfortable position. They were talking to me and I couldn't understand a word they were saying.
That was when I started questioning the rationality of my decision to study in a foreign country for 14 weeks. It was quite unnerving.

The first couple of weeks were equally uncomfortable. At each meal in our house, we (usually) only speak in Spanish. I don't think I've ever done so much listening in my life. Also, in the first few weeks, I continually needed help with pretty much everything I did. Whether it was checking out at the grocery store, ordering a meal in a restaurant, or asking simple questions, I couldn't do it without one of my Spring Arborians helping me out.

Now, lest you gather from this that I have since become fluent, don't be led astray. Every time I talk with people outside of the school, I'm reminded that it's not normal for people to talk to you like you're 3 years old, as my teacher sometimes has to do with me. Haha...again, it's been a bit of a humbling experience. But I've definitely improved a ton, which is highly beneficial for my social life. (You don't make a lot of friends when you don't know how to talk.) Also, I gave a 20+ minute presentation this week at school, totally in Spanish. Although quite sloppy, it was a great experience and I'd never imagined I'd be able to do that a month ago.

One of the things I've started to learn from this experience is that I have had a bad habit of judging a person's level of intelligence by their ability to communicate their ideas. It wasn't until being here that I understood how frustrating it is to be unable to communicate. For example, a student gave a presentation yesterday at school that led to some really great conversation about the different faiths that people in our group had. When it came my turn to share my thoughts on the presentation and my own beliefs, I was quite upset because of my inability to deeply communicate my thoughts.

I couldn't help but think of all the times I've been around people who weren't able to speak English very well and when I have assumed that because they didn't say much, they didn't have much to say. Now, obviously that's an absurd attitude with which to interact with the world. But I think it's so easy to do sometimes.
Imagine you're at the Secretary of State office and are behind a Hispanic lady who's holding up the line because she's unable to understand what she's being asked. For some of us, our initial response might would be to become frustrated with the fact that she doesn't know English.
After all, she's in the United States; she ought to go out and learn the language.

For some of us, we don't think about her story; where's she coming from; where she's going. We don't think about her family situation; about her kids and what of man her husband is. We don't think about how she may be exploited at work because of her inability to understand English. We don't think about the embarrassment she may feel knowing that everyone in the room is impatiently watching her struggle to understand what's being said to her. We don't think. We just feel. And all too often we let our feelings of impatience and frustration direct our actions and words.

Imagine if our impatience and frustrations were replaced with genuine care and an attempt at understanding the person's predicament. How might that change the situations we find ourselves in with people of different backgrounds?

I don't venture to compartmentalize every English-speaking American into impatient and selfish beasts. But as a whole, there's no debating that we have a lot of room for improvement in regards to the ways we interact with people of other languages.
Learning another language is helping me to begin to understand the commonalities humans share. It's helping me see some of the ways in which I can better interact with other people and it's giving me a healthier perspective on people who are different than me.
   

By the way.......
Forgive me if these posts seem to be characterized by grim cynicism. I'm actually really having a blast here. Like, seriously though. It's so great. My next post will be about some of the more light-hearted joys we've been having over the last couple of weeks.
Skim my Facebook page from time to time if you're interested in seeing pictures. Thanks for reading!

#title

There has been no shortage of education, activities, and fun here in Guatemala over the last several days. Last week we went to San Antonio (the Guatemalan one) for the afternoon and got to learn a little bit about Mayan culture from some of the indigenous people living there. It's been really interesting to learn some the differences in their culture in contrast to the culture the Spaniards brought after Columbus and his people came. In the past several decades, Mayans have faced extensive discrimination and oppression over the past several decades, and although laws were passed in the 1990s to officially grant equality for Mayan people, there is still some prejudice and discrimination that goes on. All of that to say, it was really cool to learn from people who have maintained strong roots in their heritage in spite of all the opposition they've faced. Also, they have some beautiful and meaningful traditions pertaining to marriage and family that I found to be compelling.

This past weekend we returned to Guatemala City, only this time we spent more time talking with some interesting people rather than visiting numerous tourist spots. The people we heard from work in a few different ministries in and around Guatemala City. Rather than reciting all of the wonderful stories and lessons they had to share, I'll fill you in on a few reoccurring themes in relation to the needs of people in Guatemala, and humanity as a whole.

People need dignity. It's not uncommon for humans to find their identify and value in their work. Obviously, this is unhealthy regardless of one's occupation. But imagine someone who's work is sifting through a garbage dump for 10 hours a day, getting raped everyday as a sex slave, or working for absurdly low wages on a farm. What conclusions are they likely to make about their value as a human being? Although this problem certainly isn't limited to underdeveloped countries, it's especially prevalent in places like Guatemala.

People need hope. We need a reason to get up in the morning and a reason to live. We need purpose. And we need to know that no matter how bad life is or has been, there's a chance it can be something different in the future. This isn't just a "religious" need, it's a need that all humans share. I think that's probably why the Bible talks about so much about hope. It's critical for the vitality of life. It's what keeps us going. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great example of someone who knew how to hope. In spite of the afflictions his race had endured for hundreds of years, he so strongly believed things could change that it ended up costing him his life. The impact that his hopefulness has had on America is profound, and serves as a testament to the significance of hope.

People need to be enabled. This point is crucial because it's one way the aforementioned needs are met. It was so encouraging to hear from the people over the weekend who do just this. They're providing rehabilitation to drug dealers by letting them into their homes and helping them find work. They're building schools for kids, which serves as both an alternative to joining gangs and as an open door to immense opportunity.

It's been kind of crazy and overwhelming at times to see the immense hurt and needs in this country, But at the same time, it is so cool to see that there are people who are doing incredible things to meet some serious needs of the communities around them.
So the question that forms from all of this in my mind is, "What does this mean for me, and how ought I respond?" I'm working on the answer to that. But this post is long enough so I'll hold off for now. Thanks for reading and hope you're doing well!

By the way, if you want to check out some recent pictures, check out my Facebook page *here*.        

The Problem of Charity

Hola chicos y chicas. Throughout the semester, my four colleagues and myself have been taking a class with Professor Nemecek that discusses the history, economy, and current events of Guatemala. From time to time, guest speakers are brought in to share. This week, we had a guy named Matt Creelman come and speak to us about the country and some of the things he's been a part of while living in Guatemala over the past several years. Although Matt first came to Latin  America as a journalist, he has since done a lot of work in partnering with communities to help develop self-sustaining business projects.

Now, because Guatemala has an enormous amount of people living in poverty, there have been a number of non-profit organizations, church groups, and other efforts that have come to the country to provide assistance. Because of Matt's experiences, he had some wonderful insight on efforts made by these groups to "serve" the people of Guatemala. To put it bluntly, Matt was extremely pessimistic about organizations that provide help. So many people come to impoverished nations and only focus on providing for needs temporarily, rather than helping people develop long-term strategies to provide for themselves. If you only teach people how to receive, you probably haven't really made much of a long-term difference. Real change, as I'm beginning to believe, comes from partnering with communities to establish methods with which to generate long-term, regular revenue.

Lest you think I'm now against mission trips to third-world countries, hear me out. It's a wonderful thing to go on a missions trip and serve people. It really is. And these kinds of things can make a big impact on peoples' lives. Also, there are a ton of non-government organizations with great intentions of making the world a better place. These are good things and good people. I have no doubt that the hearts of the people are in the right place (in a lot of cases); they really want to love people by serving them. In particular, mission trips can help develop a more healthy global perspective, and also help people contextualize the difficulties they face. Again, this is a wonderful opportunity and I encourage people to participate in missions trips and other service-oriented activities.

However, good intentions are not sufficient for long-term solutions to many of the problems in the world. 

What I very much appreciated about hearing from Matt was how passionate he was to come alongside people and not only provide for their needs, but help come up with ways for people to provide for themselves. One of the ways in which this is possible is through what is known as micro-financing. Micro-financing agencies offer loans to small business owners and entrepreneurs who would likely be unable to get a loan from a bank. (Many of the banks have all sorts of requirements that are unrealistic for many, and often charge excessive interest rates)
With micro-financing organizations, after the lender reviews and approves the business proposal, the loan is given to the person with little or no interest. This allows for people to start and grow businesses, rather than continue in underpaid, inconsistent jobs.

I've been learning a lot about the concept of micro-lending over the last several weeks and am convinced it's one of perhaps many ways in which peoples' lives can be improved. A girl from my school is currently doing an internship at Namaste Direct, a non-profit organization providing micro-loans to women in Guatemala (click here for a link to their Facebook page).

Kiva is a larger organization that has sort of owned the idea of micro-financing. On their website, they allow users to loan money (in amounts as low as $25) to people around the world who need loans to help/start businesses. I really encourage you to check out their website (click here) and learn how it works. You can scroll through and read business proposals that people have written, and then decide if you'd like to loan that individual/business money. After putting money out for the loan, you are given updates on the business and how it's doing. Also interesting to note is that Kiva loans have a 98% repayment rate, meaning that almost everyone who loans money eventually gets repaid.
Kiva does a good job at making sure the micro-financing agencies they work with are legit and not charging excessive amounts, but be aware there are still some illegitimate agencies out there.  

If you're still reading at this point, forgive me if I sound bitter towards missions trips, NGO's, and other charitable causes. I'm really not. I simply want to suggest that there may be ways through which  we can better serve others and improve the world around us.


"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
1 John 3:18  
 

"Guate Guate Guate"

Every weekday here is spent at La Union from 8am-12pm studying Spanish. During the twenty(ish) minute walk there, me and my fellow Americans will almost inevitably hear the daily cry: "Guate Guate Guate!", which is an indication by the workers of Chicken Buses (see picture below) that they're headed to Guatemala City, the capital city of the country. This past weekend our group headed to the infamous city to check out some of the sights.

We checked into the Barcelo Hotel after the 30 minute drive to the city and were pleasantly surprised by the grandeur of the place (view from our room below). After working my way out of the glorious bed that I had settled into, our group spent the afternoon at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. On display were all sorts of ancient Mayan artifacts that are estimated to be more than 3,000 years old. That in itself was a bit hard to comprehend. When I consider what the world was like in the early 1900s, it is difficult to picture even with history books, artifacts, and other visual aids. To touch and see stone artwork from 1,500 BC was really something. Many of the artifacts were taken from the ancient city of Tikal, a place in the northern part of the country that I'm extremely excited to visit later in the semester. 

Another cool stop we made while in the city was at the National Palace. It was constructed by a Guatemalan dictator in the early 1940s and now operates primarily as a museum. Below is a picture of our group inside the a courtyard in the palace (with  Libby, Paul's assistant, and without Sydney). During the tour of the museum, and throughout discussions in our classes, it has been interesting to learn of Guatemala's conflict-filled history. I could probably write quite a bit reflecting on the topic as I'm continuing to learn about this country's history, but I'll spare you for now. (Next week we're going to a place in Guatemala City that is still uncovering the remains of victims of the civil war, and I'll probably have some ramblings on the topic then.)

Another cool experience was attending Casa De Dios on Sunday morning. It was my first time attending a Latino mega-church. The entire service was in Spanish, although there were headsets for the Spanish rookies like me. If the beautiful building doesn't make you interested in visiting, the pastor's name will (Cash Luna). 

As for now, Spanish classes are continuing to challenge me. Although I'm beginning to comprehend much more than I was originally, it turns out that Guatemalans like to speak incredibly rapidly. I mean, probably no more so than Americans when speaking English. But I'm just now realizing that my teacher has been talking to me as I might speak with a 3-year-old. Ha, it's a process. I'm still enjoying it and starting to talk with some of the people at the school more. There really are some awesome people working there, and each week brings new students from all over the world. 

Thanks for reading and stay classy. 

One of the quaintly decorated Chicken Buses

 Some important Japanese people were in town for the weekend, so we had lots of soldiers hanging around the outside of our hotel. 

Grabbed this picture as we walked into church (Casa de Dio)

Inside the museum; you can see several of the stone tablets on display

Inside the National Palace

 Inside a courtyard in the National Palace

Good looking Spring Arborians

 Austin is a regular Guatemalan patriot.

This was taken directly following a bad spill Austin's camera took. RIP,

By the way, one of the ways that I was able to pay for this semester was through something called the Gilman Scholarship. It's available to hundreds of students every year who are studying abroad. If you know someone studying abroad in the future, make sure they check it out.  http://www.iie.org/programs/gilman-scholarship-program

Hola mi amigos! We have been here in Guatemala for about a week now, although it seems as though it's been much much longer. (In a good way.)

Volcano be smoking

We arrived in Guatemala City last Friday (September 5) and drove the 17 miles up and down mountains to the city of Antigua. People from the Spanish school greeted us with all sorts of love and have been incredibly welcoming and hospitable. The first weekend was spent settling into our host family's home here, attending an Episcopalian service with our professor, Paul Nemecek, and trying out a few local restaurants.

It was then that we also discovered the joy down here known as the local market, where there are literally hundreds of vendors for about 4 square blocks selling everything from pirated DVDs, imitation Beats by Dr. Dre., fresh produce, clothing, animals, and just about anything else you can possibly imagine. Although bartering is the norm in the market, I'm probably going to hold off until my Spanish abilities increase.

Speaking of which, Spanish lessons here have been going great. I go each day from 8-12 to La Union, one of the many language schools in the city. My instructor, Veronica, is a wonderful lady with much more patience than I. I'm loving the 1-on-1 learning environment and cannot imagine trying to learn a new language in a conventional classroom. 'Tis the way to do it. It has also been  really interesting to meet other students at the school, as people come from all over the world to study here. So, I'm looking forward to the 5 more weeks I have at La Union.

This past Sunday (September 14) we went to a bilingual church in town called Inglesia Del Camino. It was a really cool experience and we met a few really cool people there, so I'm looking forward to getting to know the people there better. 

I could probably write several more paragraphs, but I'll spare ya'll for now. It still doesn't quite feel like we'll be here for another 3 months, but I'm excited that's the case.

Below are a few pictures over the last several days. Thanks for reading!

La Union, Spanish school

View inside the courtyard of our house

Inside our house

Ditto

  A view of Volcán de Agua from outside of our house.

Inglesia Del Camino

Me and Veronica at school. She's wasn't all about getting her picture taken.

Inside La Union Spanish school

Me and Manuel, one of the most jolly Guatemalan men there is.

This is Anderson. We live with him and his mom, Cindy. This guy's quite a baller.

Today (September 15) is Guatemala's day of independence, so we enjoyed a sort of neighborhood cookout with the community. On the menu was cornbread, corn, and a corn-based beverage called Atole (I think).

  

Hola!

Hey there, friends. It's been a long time coming, but tomorrow I'm heading south to study in Guatemala for the fall semester. I'm going with 4 other students to live in Antigua until Christmas break. We're going to be living with a family there, taking classes with a professor from my school (Spring Arbor University) as well as a Spanish school called La Union.

Considering I've never taken any Spanish classes before, this should be quite an interesting experience. The good news is that starting Monday, I'll be spending 4 hours a day with a Spanish tutor. Bless their soul... 

Today I actually started feeling a bit nervous for the semester, but that's probably a good indicator that I might be trespassing beyond the land known as  Thomas' Comfort Zone. I'm really excited for all that is in store over the next few months, whatever that is. Ha, I really have no idea what to expect. Regardless of whatever "culture shock" awaits me, I'm more concerned at the moment on preparing myself for the reality of hanging out with elementary children who will, no doubt, be far more advanced in their soccer skills than I. 

Stay posted for weekly(ish) updates!