The Beginning

I leave for Guatemala in exactly one week! In preparation I recently read a wise Hindu proverb: “Pitiful is the one who, fearing failure, makes no beginning.” This seems to perfectly articulate a goal I’ve adapted over the past months: to act with confidence in order to pursue my own dreams, no matter the security of the future. It is important for people to act responsibly without the hesitation that stems from fear of failure. What is failure but another opportunity to learn? This week, through all the forced reading and newspaper articles about Guatemala presented and driven by my parents, I’ve only grown more and more anxious to begin this new adventure in Guatemala.  This trip was sparked almost two months ago by a revelation I had. I realized that I’ve never before challenged myself physically and mentally, at the same time, beyond a point of comfort.   Living overseas, especially in a developed country like Germany has taught me invaluable things; yet I’ve never had to really push myself. I’ve never known hunger or such extremes of physical exhaustion.  I’m impatient to learn more about these feelings that plague a majority of the world.  I want to discover my limits by comparing them to theirs. In Guatemala I’m eager to hopefully catch a glimpse of this other, ever-present world.

Guatemala is ranked as one of the lowest countries in Latin America.  Haiti remains the only country of the area that is lower on the UN Human Development Index.  While more than half of the population lives in poverty (as classified by $2 of income a day per person or less), I will be staying in a village called Antigua.  It is located near the southern end of the country. Here I will be working with a non-profit organization by the name of Constu Casa.  During my two-week stay I will be building a basic house for a family living in extreme poverty.  Constu Casa has built of 480 houses since its foundation in 2004 for families that cannot afford standard living necessities.  Needless to say, I expect much from my stay.  I will be housed with a local family and will be working alongside local masons and construction workers in earnest effort to improve my Spanish.  I want to learn more about the language I love and also explore this depressing, yet colorful and bright culture.  Mostly, however, I am excited to build.  I want to get my hands dirty and fall asleep at night from physical exhaustion.  I want to know that I helped make a difference in but one family’s life through my own hard work and my own ambitious sixteen-year-old hands.