Student Testimonials

Nicole Soukup

Guatamala

If you want to take a trip to somewhere fun and where you will get as much if not more than what you paid for, then I suggest going to Guatemala. I believe that travel is a key part in anyone's education; I know that my trip to Guatemala changed my life.

Two years ago I was asked by the priest in my hometown if I would be interested in going to Guatemala for eight days. My home parish has a mission/sister parish in San Lucas, Guatemala and every year Father takes 35 teens with him to work at the mission. I immediately said yes. The trip was $1000 (after expenses) and I covered most of the cost through fundraisers.

It was a harsh wake up call as soon as the airplane landed at the airport. From the window of the plane, I could see tin boxes that were as big as dorm rooms. With no running water and dirt floors, Father explained that is how most of the Guatemalans live. Since the agreement that ended the civil war in Guatemala, people are not better off but they are trying to make a difference.

The ride from the airport in Guatemala City was breathtaking. Guatemala is filled with mountains and volcanoes. In fact, every major mountain you see is probably a volcano!

Once we reached the mission we were shown our rooms. Thankfully they were not tin boxes but much like a motel room with a small black and white TV, and tiled floors. The beds were hard as rocks though, but after daily work at the mission it seemed perfect.

Daily work at the mission ranged from bending rebar, sifting sand for sand bags, to reforestation, or sorting coffee beans. All of it headed by the locals, the mission only helps provide workers and supplies, one of whom told me he would never be able to figure out why we, who have so much, come to work for them, who have nothing. My favorite daily job was when I got to help the guys in the group mix cement by hand. The Guatemalans do not have most of the tools like we do; most of the jobs had to be done manually with hand made tools. We worked from 8 in the morning till 5 at night with an hour lunch. By the end of the day we were covered head to toe in dirt and cement.

One of the hard adjustments to Guatemala was the food. Everything was a bit bitter and had a different color to it. After all the hard work it was still delicious.

The two things that struck me the most about Guatemala were the children and the fincas. Whether they were trying to sell me something or just literally hanging on me, there were children always present and they were always cheerful, even when the situation they were in wasn't. Most of the children we saw were shouting for dulce or candy. We couldn't give them any because their teeth were rotting from all the candy tourists had given them and they don't brush their teeth.

The other startling experience was the fincas. The fincas could be compared to the slave houses of the 1800's. The Mayans who work the coffee fields for rich land owners live in debt there. They literally have nothing but their faith and what we gave them when we visited. Yet even they were happy. Before we left I asked a local why everyone was so happy. He explained that is was because they had hope for a better tomorrow and a better future for their children and grandchildren. That is what will forever endure me to Guatemala, their hope for a better tomorrow.

My advice for anyone even thinking about going to Guatemala is: do it! Go to Guatemala, but be careful. Drug trafficking is on the rise and so is theft. If you go, go with a group of people. Either way Guatemala is a great place to be.