Post written by Kim McDermott, a United Planet Volunteer
Our first impression of Guatemala during our first few days was sensory overload! The colorful woven fabrics, loud streets with honking horns and brightly painted buses, crowded markets, new foods and towering volcanoes made a vibrant kaleidoscope of sensations. We learned something new everywhere we looked, and we couldn’t stop soaking it in. After a few days we started our volunteer abroad work, which was a combination of playing with kids in a daycare, providing physical exams and health advice for them, working with kids in a domestic violence shelter, and giving educational talks to the Moms. For my daughter, playing with and reading to the smallest kids was the most fun. I have many wonderful memories of her big grin in the middle of multiple loving affectionate toddlers! My favorite part was talking with and getting to know the Moms, hearing their stories and helping them with advice about infant development and nutrition. We basically made our own schedule and plan after seeing the volunteer locations and seeing the needs. We would volunteer for half a day, then spend the other half either taking a Spanish class or going on an outing or doing an activity. Our one-on-one Spanish classes were super; the teachers were extremely knowledgeable and qualified. The cultural activities included taking a traditional weaving class, taking a bus to a large outdoor market, going to small outlying towns to explore, visiting a recycled glass factory, and doing an overnight hike with a guide. Each of them exposed us to another aspect of life or culture in Guatemala, so we really felt like we were seeing the culture from many angles. It added a lot to the experience to live with a host family and eat with them. We learned a lot about Guatemalan foods and tried many new dishes! We tried to make the best of the time we did have with our host families. It was really special to me to get to have an experience like this with my 13 year-old daughter. We got to know each other better and had lots of fun and didn’t get on each other’s nerves too much! I think she broadened her awareness of the world (and of how fortunate we are), and I did too. I know the experience will change me in ways I don’t even realize yet, and I hope to do something like this again in the future.
ABOUT UNITED PLANET
United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual exchange in more than 40 countries.
