When i signed up for the Guatemala trip i wasnt clear on what was to be expected, i had never been out of non-neighboring countries of the US, and i certainly wasnt experienced in doing outdoor activities. Of the things i was sure of i knew i would be doing some sort of community service, bargain with vendors, and most importantly eat a lot of food. It wasnt until i stepped foot on the ARCAS site that i realized i had gotten myself into an obtuse task of hard work.
The ARCAS visit was almost purely labor but it rarely felt like it. I was given the oppurtunity to feed spider monkeys and clean their cages. I had never been that upclose and personal with a wild animal, so even though i was hauling monkey poo into a bucket i actually really enjoyed it. The monkeys were such a joy to be around and made me smile, it was hard not to play or talk to them. Id have to say the most challenging part of ARCAS was not so fun, but i wouldnt change anything at all. We had to work in the fields getting the dirt (well im almost sure it was goat droppings) ready and turned so that we could help ARCAS become more self sustainable and plant their own garden. I had never been worked that hard in my life and to think that people have been doing this everyday for litte pay and many years is just spine rattling. I have gained so much respect for workers.
After we left our volunteering part of our journey in ARCAS we arrived at the ancient ruins of Uaxactun and Tikal. Both of the sites left me abosolutly at awe. I was interested into the amount of time, knowledge, patience, endurance, and determination it took the ancient mayans to build their living quarters. They knew more than a lot of people from the 21st centurary with all of its resources would even know. It is amazing i honestly cant believe i was able to see this, when i stepped on every ancient ground i could envision how it would be to be Mayan and how my everyday life would be (our tour guide Roxy was also amazing at creating this picture for me). Every body needs to experiance a visit to an ancient ruin because it really puts into perspective what humans were capable of then and what we are capable or incapable of doing now. The best part of this visit was the fact that i got to hold a turantula, yes an 8 legged creature that is fuzzy and feared!
The 3rd part of our trip in Guatemala was the physically challenging part, man o man was i exsuasted! i did so many things i wouldnt have even thought i could do prior to this trip such as a 20 mile mountain bike journey, hiking up a what seems to be oversized volcano, learning the importance of communication skills with my partner through kyaking, bargaining my way to getting souveners i most likely wont even use in my lifetime, fighting a mad case of spicy diarea, and conversng in spanish with words i didnt even know that i knew!
As we are on our 4th part of our trip here in antigua i am honestly sad its ending. Last night was the first night leading up to semana santa and the streets were so festive and full of life, i had so much food and i dont even know how to pronounce some of it, it was great. Today is the walking tour of antigua im excited to see how this all goes and tomorrow we leave back to sunny san diego.
I am almost sure this is the best experiance of my life, i am super stoked about traveling and hopefully this is the beginning of great adventures. I would love to travel through world school anytime after such a great experiance. Jen was great, my teachers were great, everything was honestly fantastic, and i garuntee you this blog is no hyperbole.
ashley matthews 11th grade
high tech high media arts
april 4, 2009
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