What We Take for Granted

I have learned a lot in the past few days since I’ve been in Guatemala. One, I am homesick more than I thought I would be; two, that just reading about the country doesn’t give you a feel at all of what it is truly like; also, I have learned social cues. It is things that I wouldn’t think of normally back in the United States. They are simple things such as telling the guide I was tired after a 9 A.M. hour long seminar. He became quickly concerned and contacted Chiz and asked him if I was happy with the trip.

Also, before my trip I really should have invested into Rosetta Stone. My Spanish is awful. I often find myself asking first if they speak English and then if I don’t understand I respond with, “No comprendo.”

The truth of the matter is that the culture shock hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, I am a sheltered white kid from the suburbs of Detroit. I wasn’t as shocked when we visited the real Guatemala, where we put in filters for the five homes. Yes, it was impoverished to an extreme level. But this was to be expected, and in a way I’ve been desensitized. Nothing is too shocking after watching Fox 2 News for years on end. It is very poor here; it is heartbreaking to see a dog that lives on the volcano that lives on nothing but marshmallow leftovers. I was kind of shocked when a beggar called me stingy because I didn’t want to spend any more money. I kind of made a mistake when I straight up told her “No” rather than “No, gracias.”

I have more to learn about the culture and society than I have to teach the Guatemalans about the American way of life. I was rattled when we first got here: our Wifi was down for the first couple of days. Something obviously we take for granted back in the U.S. It is not so simple without it: I couldn’t use my 3G signal for internet. I was completely disconnected from everyone and it was not a good time, to say the least. And when I did get Wifi for a good four minutes at the local union for Americans visiting the country, it was heaven on earth. I was connected. My phone was finally getting updates and it was like Christmas morning. In this four minutes I had already tweeted and texted my friends via Imessage. Safe to say, this is where I was most culturally shocked: without the instant gratification.

Another thing I am getting used to is not having hot water. The showers are pretty cold; well, at least when I use them. Others claim that they are somewhat comfortable. While showering as in America, I would take my sweet time and raise the water bill. I would say the showers here are brief for obvious reasons.

While my Spanish consists of “hola,” and “no comprendo,” we understand each other with smiles, nods, and high fives with a fist bump. My days at the school are being spent as being taught rather than teaching with my awful Spanish. Myself and Chiz have been playing word games and picking up on Spanish while teaching the kids some English. Such as today, we played Spanish and English hangman with the 6th graders. They are learning basic words, and so are we.

At recess, being the sports fanatic that I am, I usually pass around the futbol. Even though the country isn’t a traditional soccer power such as Brazil or Spain, it is still a loved passion. In both classrooms we have caught them while the teacher is out of the room, playing soccer. We quickly shoot down their misbehavior, and ask them if soccer is acceptable in the class.

As I mentioned before I am homesick, even though I am now connected. I do miss my mom’s cooking, and little comfort foods such as Tania’s pizza. I miss being able to wake up every morning, with hot water and Sportscenter on my TV. I miss my good friends, and being able to chill with them on a daily basis, but this is to be expected when I am in a different country. I really didn’t think I would miss the good ol’ United States; I guess you really appreciate it more when you’re not there.

And before this trip I knew that my comfort zone would be stretched and it has been. I am a picky eater. I do not do fish, hardboiled eggs or zucchini. I have forewarned our cook that I do not eat fish. I have had to skip a meal because I didn’t want to get sick and have it ruin my experience, so I settled for Dominos instead. Some things are still available here in developing countries. I have much thanks for those options when I can’t stomach the food.

We still have a lot of work to do for this developing country, but I will appreciate the essentials that are to be expected back in the United States. Yes my Spanish will still be awful at the end of this trip. But we are making an impact on the communities more than we realize. What we take for granted is considered a luxury here. Anyways, this is me signing off. I’ll be back with more stories about how I appreciate the internet or something.   

Follow our trip on Twitter: @schisnell

Download the movie