Guatemala con mi Mama

January 3rd - 19th 

I needed to get out of the house and work on some goals of mine, instead of being a lazy bum with no job in NH, so I decided to head to Guatemala again to attend the same Spanish school, Sevilla,  that I went to last year. I told my mom that I was going and she said that she'd come with!!! :) That was wonderful news!!! We went and stayed with the family that I stayed with last year, Iris, and her two boys. I was also able to take her around some of the mos beautiful spots in Guatemala. We spent 3 days out at Lake Atitlan. We stayed in Panajachel but visited Santa Clara and San Pedro enjoyed the scenery from the boats. We also went to the markets in Chichicastenango.

Santa Clara y San Pedro

Antigua

My mom and I talked about the luxeries that we so often look past at home... like toilettes that you can actually put toilette paper in, hot water, food that we enjoy, roads that don't make us sick and  people that we can communicate with easily. It is fun to travel and be amidst others homes and lives for a while, but it is also nice to be home! So, my mom left for home... and I stayed a while longer to continue my spanish skills.


Estoy feliz y orgulloso de mí mismo. Estudié mucho y me siento que puedo hablar mejor que antes! Tengo mucho mas aprender pero, poco a poco, correcto?   Por lo menos, estoy tratando de aprender! :) Voy a continuar estudiar y tomar clases.

It was hard to be away from Matt, but we spoke daily on Skype, and I feel a bit more satisfied that I was working toward a goal that means a lot to me! I hope to continue to progress! Matt is planning on taking Spanish lessons soon! That will be fun when we can both practice and mess up together :) Isn't that sweet of him to do that! I love him!


I could end now, with just saying what I have, but I did want to share an experience that really opened my eyes....

This trip was a great experience, but I had one very eye opening experience while I was there, and that was when I spent some time volunteering at the local hospital called the Hospital Privado Hermano Pedro.  There were so many individuals there in very bad shape! Dr.'s go there to perform the cleft lip and palate surgeries, which are needed, but honestly if that's all you have then you are in the best shape of anyone there! I feel bad even describing the deformities that almost all of them had, so I won't. I initially went there cause I wanted to see if I could help in any way but I left there feeling helpless, realizing that there is really nothing I could do for them. I have spent a lot of time in hospitals, care centers, and group home settings, but this hospital proved to be unbearable for me! I left crying every time! I hope my attempts at reading Spanish books to them at least brought some sense of  change or delightment to their monotonous days. There was really nothing else that I could do for them, except for feed them, which was very difficult for me to do as well! The only food that some of them get is a bottle several times a day, like a baby. Most individuals do not even have the ability to hold the bottle to drink. As I stood there with the bottle in my hand tilted so that they could drink it, I just wished there was something I could do for them!

I am so overly blessed in my life with so many undeserved blessings. I don't know how I could live such a life, while others live such a small fraction of life. I know that God will compensate them in the next life, but seeing them in this life was very hard to do! Because I am able bodied I hope that throughout my life I can find opportunities to help those who aren't able to do things for themselves. I walked away from that hospital saying, "I will never ask Heavenly Father for another thing in my life!" I am already so blessed with just my health, but then when you add family, faith, and all of the things I thought I needed which are just really unnecessary luxuries,
I can't ask for more! Growing up I used to have a favorite poem that is very fitting.... it is called:

"The World is Mine"

Today upon a bus I saw
A girl with golden hair;
She seemed so gay, I envied her,
And wish that I were half so fair;
I watched her as she rose to leave,
And saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and wore a crutch,
But as she passed--a smile.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine;
I have two legs--the world is mine.

Later on I bought some sweets.
The boy who sold them had such charm,
I thought I'd stop and talk awhile.
If I were late, t'would do no harm.
And as we talked he said,
"Thank you, sir, you've really been so kind.
It's nice to talk to folks like you
Because, you see, I'm blind"
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine;
I have two eyes--the world is mine

Later, walking down the street,
I met a boy with eyes so blue.
But he stood and watched the others play;
It seemed he knew not what to do.
I paused, and then I said,
"Why don't you join the others, dear?"
But he looked straight ahead without a word,
And then I knew, he couldn't hear.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine;
I have two ears--the world is mine.

Two legs to take me where I go,
Two eyes to see the sunset's glow,
Two ears to hear all I should know,
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine;
I'm blest, indeed, the world is mine.

Dr. Tennyson Guyer

I am grateful that there are many programs to help people with disabilities now, and I hope to be a part of them! I am also so blessed to live the life that I lead and will never forget it!!!!