Editor’s note: While the earlier post on Dunn School students’ work with Constru Casa in Guatemala, covered the big-picture, it was short on student voices reflecting on their experiences. Dunn’s Paul Larsen was kind enough to help strengthen the coverage.
He sends one their student’s (Emma ’13) thoughts on her Guatemalan experiences. Succinctly, life is greater than the sum of one’s stuff.
Guatemala is a small country about two thirds the size of California, population of 13,276,517. It’s mostly mountains. Formerly a Mayan Civilization, it’s capitol is Guatemala City, built near the ruins of Kaminaljuyu. The city of Antigua, where we stayed, was built within ruins, still using the ancient cobblestone streets. Guatemala won its independence from Spain in 1821 and has been through a number of revolutions since then. It only recently had its first free election, in 1945. Natural disasters are common, with the capitol moved multiple times due to earthquakes, volcanic activity, and mudslides. There are about eight Quetzals per American dollar, and about six more colors on a bill.
What we did in Guatemala was build. We dug trenches and chipped holes in cinderblocks. For every foot of finished trenched we managed, an elderly man had dug two. We carried as many cinderblocks as we could down the hill, while a woman walked past us with two cinderblocks on her head, one in her arms, and her child on her back. I can’t put into words how much respect I had for these people.
One Quetzal can buy an entire sliced mango, complete with salt and chili powder. Thirty Quetzals, after much bargaining, can buy a handmade flute off of a street vendor. But what we gained in Guatemala was not something you could buy, not even something you can price. What we learned in Guatemala was more than how to drive a hard bargain or walk on cobblestone streets. What we learned is not something you can put into textbooks or even put into words. But mostly, what we created in Guatemala was not just a concrete house, it was more than that. It was more than a roof and some walls; it was more than a home for people who had never had one before. Even though many people in the hillside town of San Mateo can’t get running water, even though many cannot eat, Senora Martin told us, they are not poor people. They have their feet to carry them, their arms to work, their heads to think, and their hearts to love.
Photo credit: catherinetodd2 via Creative Commons
