First Week in Guatemala

When we first arrived in Guatemala, I couldn't believe we were actually here. Until the bus dropped us off in Antigua and we began to walk on the cobblestone streets, everything felt unreal. I got to meet my host family which includes a host grandmother, Angelita, her husband, Elizeo, their granddaughter, Rebeca, and their puppy, Pepino. Although it took a while to get used to, brushing my teeth in their special outdoor sink, taking colder showers than I'm used to, not flushing the toilet paper, and living in a house where large areas are open air patios seem second nature.

I'm really grateful to my host family because they have been very welcoming and I am especially grateful to Angelita. She always tries to make different dishes for us to try and she bought us a lot of delicious fresh fruit to eat. I think that the avocados and mangos in Guatemala are the most delicious ones I've ever tasted. Angelita told me about her strong beliefs about food and how she never goes out to buy food off the street for her visiting students because she doesn't want them to get sick. I'm also really grateful to Whitney for being a wonderful roomate who I can trust and rely on.

So far I've taught two English classes in San Pedro. Emily and I are in charge of classes 2A and 2B. I was surprised by how excited the kids were to learn and I'm really happy about how close I feel to them already. It was really touching to see the kids draw pictures for us with our names on them. One girl named Cindy gave me one that has a teddy bear with our names on it.

One night I came into our room and saw a lot of bugs on our nightstand. I had seen a lot of bugs before in Guatemala but this was the first time that there was such an overwhelming amount of them on my stuff. The next day we did construction for the first time. There was no way to escape from the bugs and when I returned home I slipped into bed and fell asleep without a second thought. I was both really proud of myself for working despite all of the bugs and really grateful for the house I am staying in.

---Samantha Bergman