I went to Tamahu, Guatemala last April for ten days with a group of about 12-15 students. I went through a non-profit organization called Mir Pace (www.mirpace.org) Our first night in Guatemala, we stayed in the extradinary Guatemala City. The following morning, we were up early to head to our bus that would take us to the village of Tamahu, seven hours away in the mountains. The drive was long, and hot but with the little spanish I knew from school and my handy spanish dictionary and phrase book I attempted to have conversations with a couple village people from Tamahu, who took the time out of thier day to get us in Guatemala City.
It was small talk, but it made me that much more excited to arrive in Tamahu.
Later in the afternoon, we arrived in the village of Tamahu. Since the catholic church in Tamahu, was who was organizing our stay we spent alot of time there. This helped us to better understand the culture, since religion deeply influences it. The hyms were lovely, they were in Spanish obviously, but played with different instruments we aren't used to in America.
The next day, the work began for the week. We split up into two different groups and we went to two different sites to build houses for two of the many unfortunate families in Tamahu. Here we worked with some local carpenters and began to build simple houses. We made our own form of cement by grinding the sand (which I will say is VERY tedious work) then, we mixed it with buckets of water and we had to constantly keep it moist. Previously, before we arrived with the same cement mixture then molded into blocks. These blocks we used to build the house, with the cement, and our hands.
<----Here is the Crew I worked with and the house (Still a working progress in the picture!)We spent a total of five days working on the houses, from about eight in the morning till dinner at five. We had a break at noon, to go back to Marta Lana's home. Marta Lana made all our meals. The children of the family we were building the house for, loved to help us. They made the tedious work so worth it, and much more enjoyable.
When we werent working on the houses, we were either attending church, play futbol (soccer) with the kids, or exploring the exotic village. One afternoon, we took a hike up one of the mountains in Tamahu. Here we met, some people from the tribes in Guatemala. We brought them soap, water, bubbles, and food. They were extremly welcoming, however even with my little spanish it would not get be far for the tibes in Guatemala didnt speak english. They spoke pacum, instead.
One day we went to youth group service in the city of Coban. It was our third day in Guatemala, and since it was Sunday we couldnt start working on the houses. Instead, we got to know the culture a little better by interacting with Guatemalan teens, and listening to thier performances. It was a very fun and productive day.
We didnt just build houses, to help the people of Tamahu. We brought, basic english books, food, water and money for the church (which would go to the people.) One afternoon, after lunch we went up to the schools. Here we talked to the elementary age children.
All the children were so wonderful. It was one of my favorite parts about Tamahu. All the kids were all so curious! It just made me very excited to be there, and help them. I especially loved, when they asked what words were in english. Such as gato=cat, perro=dog and so on. It just made me smile. I also brought bubbles, and the children were SO entertained by them. They absoultly loved them! It was wonderful!
However, the all trip wasnt as cheery as the kids smiles. We were slamed with reality, as these children lived with close to nothing. The families struggles to sruvive, food was rare, and water was scarce (it was the dry season.)
This trip, helped me, personally, to decided what I wanted to pursue after college. I plan to be in the Peace Corp for several years, helping whoever and what I can do. It was a life changing experience, and it is something I will NEVER forget.
