The Time for Reflection

As everyone is posting their farewell blog posts, now is the time for reflection. However, I feel like a lot of our posts will be similar, so let me try to keep this short for you…

As I look back on this past month, I still can’t believe how fast it’s gone by and all that I was able to do because of it. I’ve done more than I thought was possible to squeeze into a month, and I don’t regret a second of it. 

During the course of this trip, I went from the metropolis of Houston, Texas to the Highlands of Guatemala, the black shores of Monterrico, Belize’s New River, and then out to the Caribbean at Caye Caulker. From Ocean to Ocean, this trip was an experience that I will never forget. It was also filled with a bunch of firsts…

This trip included my first time…

Traveling to Guatemala and Belize,

Staying in a homestay,

Me and Dina

Hiking a Volcano and seeing it erupt,

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Seeing the Pacific Ocean and black sand beaches of Monterrico,

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Coming back to a city covered in ash,

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(this is only a tiny fraction of the ash that covered the city)

Attending class in a foreign country,

Making chocolate from scratch (and then drinking it!),

Standing in ruins in the downtown of Antigua,

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Wearing a hairnet (and looking great),

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Bartering for souvenirs (I got a lot… oops)

Seeing a Tapir, jaguar, toucan, bushdog, and a whole zoo of other Native Belizean animals,

Standing on top of an ancient pyramid higher than the trees,

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(multiple, I might add),

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Eating Lobster,

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Seeing a manta ray, Shark, and Green Turtle (all in the same day too),

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Getting bit by a bird,

Going kayaking on the sea,

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Seeing a Seahorse (can you find it?),

going swimming with my professors,

And feeling truly at home in a foreign country.

This month has been one to remember, and one that I won’t forget. And who knows, maybe you’ll see me in another new country getting some more firsts under my belt next summer.

  • Natalie

PS… If you’re ever going to Antigua, PLEASE BRING ME WITH YOU.

We’re Not Done Yet

We only have a few days left of the program (sad), so let me catch you up a bit…

It has been almost a week since we left Antigua, and have been pretty busy since. We’ve been traveling practically everyday, hopping from hotel to hotel and adventure to adventure (cue the Maya temples in the background).

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However, all of this moving around makes me realize how much I appreciated living in a homestay and the environment and stability that it provided. The night before we left Antigua, I realized that I had fallen in love with Antigua and my homestay family.

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Staying in a homestay is strange, because you can’t treat it like your home and it’s not a hotel. It’s somewhere in the middle. You live with a family that you have never met before and are basically adopted into their family for the length of your stay. They feed you three meals a day (something I am still not used to), make sure you’re feeling ok, and will even give you advice if you need it. You get siblings that play Uno with you and laugh with you and jam out to music after dinner with you. These people actually care about your well being and will do anything in their power to make you feel as though their home is your home.

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Since leaving Antigua, it has been a stark change from the slow moving lifestyle. We have joined the hustle and bustle of Belize and within less than a week, we’ve…

  • visited Tikal,

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  • crossed the border into Belize,
  • learned how to make tortillas from scratch,
  • Visited the Belize Zoo, which is a sanctuary for Belize’s indigenous animals (and where I FINALLY saw a toucan),

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  • visited our LAST Maya Site of the trip (Lamanai),

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  • and travelled to Caye Caulker, the last stop of the Program.

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There is less than a week left and it feels as though we’ve just gotten here and are just getting started. I’m not ready for the program to end. However, now is not yet the time for reflection, so until that time, I will be soaking in the Caye Caulker sun.

 

Dinner at Dona Lucky and Jose’s

Having been in Antigua for a week, I am beginning to gain a sense of familiarity here. The streets, the food, and the people. My home-stay parents, Dona Lucky and Jose, are some of the kindest, most genuine people I have met. When I first walked into the house, my first instinct is to ask where to leave my shoes (because in Asian culture we do not walk into homes with our shoes on). Jose immediately said, “no worries! This is YOUR home now!”. Dinner quickly became the time of the day I most look forward to. We have a full table: Maya, Andres, Scilla, and I (from UT), Mateus from Brazil, Carlos and Tom from Ireland, and another Tom from the UK (all volunteering for a school in Guatemala City). Not only do we have amazing food served for us, but we always have great laughs and conversations, even with the language barrier. Jose said his dream was to have a large kitchen with a big dining table for his family. He says he never imagined his family to come from all parts of the world, but yet here we are.

One night, Mateus brought his camera to the dinner table, and before we knew it we had a full-blown photo-shoot (mostly of Jose and Lucky, but some group pictures too). Jose and Lucky could not stop giggling and laughing through it all, and I made a comment on how photogenic they are. Lucky responded in Spanish, “it is because we are happy! If you are happy, it will show in the picture. You need to have souls like kids.”

It amazes me how quickly my home-stay became a second home to me. Not only does this place fulfill my physical needs of food and shelter, but moreover it feeds my soul. In a house with 10 people whom I had only known for about a week, I feel incredible content and at peace here.

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An Amazing First Week in Guatemala

Coming to Guatemala, I didn’t know exactly what to expect, and to be completely honest, I was nervous about this new experience, but in just a few days I’ve had such an incredible time with the new amazing fiends I’ve made and experienced things I never thought I would.

We started our first weekend off with a bang by going to hike the volcano Pacaya and staying at the beautiful black sand beach in Monterrico. The early morning hike was definitely an ordeal that was pretty difficult, but the forest was gorgeous and the view at the top made it all worth it; it was breathtaking.

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Then, we continued our adventure into Monterrico where we stayed at a beach house on the coast. The beach was unique with its black sand, and the waves, while brutal, were incredibly fun to swim in.

Finally, returning to Antigua we learned of the eruption from Fuego that caused so much devastation, and we were reminded that the environment we were in, while beautiful, is still volatile and alive. While Antigua was not affected drastically, we couldn’t help but feel some pain for those affected, and seeing the community come together to help the victims of the eruption was a testament to the strength of Guatemala and its people.

Nature’s Personality, Revealed

One of the most persistent and stubborn questions Maya anthropologists have encountered asks, how exactly did the Maya civilization decline into disappearance? Certain aspects of the answer are decipherable; guns, germs and steel that were brought over by European conquistadors were certainly a contributing factor to the decline of all Native American populations, in North, South, and Central America. But what else? How did the ancient Maya civilization, which lasted more than a millennium and a half, fall to ruin?
I’ve been thinking about this question a lot while I’m here in Antigua, Guatemala. I thought about it before we came, and I somehow can’t get it out of my mind. Seeing the modern day Maya occupy every street corner and meander through the square is a constant reminder that though the civilization itself is gone, the Maya people are still alive and active today. However, after visiting our first site of Maya ruins, Iximche, this morning, I again found myself pondering the same question: how did the ancient Maya fall?
In a city surrounded by natural beauty, it’s easy to see why the natural world played (plays) such a big role in the lives of the Maya; it infiltrated nearly every aspect of their societies. Last weekend, we took a trip to hike the volcano Pacaya, where we trekked through lush forest up a path littered with volcanic pumice in all shades, from bright red to deep black. Our guide, Cesar, tried to convince me to eat one. I politely declined. When we arrived at the top of the mountain, the forest had receded in exchange for vibrant green grasses and bushes dotted with colorful fruits and flowers. The cracks in the side of the volcano emitted a barely noticeable amount of heat, and massive piles of rocks made great vantage points from which to see the whole mountainside. Upon our descent, Pacaya surprised everyone by spitting out tufts of smoke, red clouds and the occasional bit of rock and lava. We all felt pretty small compared to the massive volcano, and we were pleased that Pacaya deemed us worthy enough visitors to put on a little show just for us!

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Afterwards, we headed to the beaches of Monterrico, where the sand is volcanic black and the waves were twice our size. Again, we felt small compared to nature. Or at least I did, when the waves picked me off my feet that were firmly planted on the sand bar, spun me around and spit me back on shore. I felt like a too small dog toy being chewed by a dog that needed something bigger to play with. Regardless, the water was clear and the beach was beautiful, and we had a fantastic time playing with the Pacific.

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That weekend, it was easy to get caught up in the natural beauty of the Maya environment. The beach, the mountain, and the forest were all friendly to us, and we were lucky to have clear skies and moderate weather. I felt like the country was showing off, as if to say, “See? Do you now understand why the people here love the land? Aren’t I pretty, and don’t I have such pleasant, moderate behavior? You should stick around, and if you don’t, you should make sure other people get to see how lovely I am before I’m gone.”
Then, as if to do a complete 180, Fuego erupted the very next morning, desolating towns and taking dozens of lives. Fuego threw some ash into the streets of Antigua, but no major damage was felt in our temporary home. Still, something felt inconsistent about the eruption. The natural environment of Guatemala showed us the most beautiful and peaceful weekend; this felt like a betrayal, or the breaking of a promise. Nature turned on the people that showed it abundant respect. What message was nature meaning to communicate?

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Shawn William Miller’s book, “An Environmental History of Latin America,” put the events of this weekend in simple, clear terms; “Sometimes nature conquers, and the story offers no morality play, no declension narrative. For all we know, [Native American people] were America’s most ecologically sensible, harmonious, and friendly culture. In the end, nature did not care,” (Miller, 48). Nature isn’t here for us, and it wasn’t here for the Maya. It does exactly what it wants to do, without regard for how we might feel about it. The colossal force the natural world possesses is unfathomable, and occurrences like the eruption of Fuego are only glimpses into the power the natural environment has over our fate. The Maya, just like the rest of us, have been able to fashion nature as a tool for our use, but at the end of the day, we are nothing more than another mammal lucky enough to survive nature’s mood swings.
Seeing the natural beauty of Guatemala directly contrasted to the natural wrath of Guatemala was jarring, to say the least. One could even call it scary. Nature flipped like a switch this weekend, exhibiting her highest and lowest points in the matter of a few hours. This weekend, I returned again to the disappearance of the Maya, and wondered if they spent every day fearfully waiting for nature to flip her switch like she did this weekend, hoping that their sacrifices to the gods would be enough to spare them from their inevitable fate for a little while longer. They might’ve thought their pyramids were strong enough, that their food resources were ample enough, that their religious practices were humble enough. In the end, it seems that they found what I found, and what Miller had the courage to say out loud; that nature just does not care. Despite this cryptic message I understood this weekend, I cannot help but admire nature for its passive indifference to the beauty and civilization we are able to create. For every pyramid we build, nature can grow a mountain bigger. For every stelae constructed, nature can grow a tree taller. Nature is, undoubtedly, a more beautiful and powerful force than we are, and her apathy towards humans makes me revere her all the more.

A Volcanic Weekend- Elliot

Hey everyone! It’s been a pretty eventful week. I’ll start from the beginning, which is the highlight. Saturday started at 5 in the morning for us as we prepped to make the climb up to the volcanic fields of Mount Pacaya, which ended up being a blast! Our tour guide was chill and nice, the views were amazing, and we got to see some lava shoot from the top (from a safe distance). As a side note to all the rock connoisseurs out there, I will say the dried lava boulders at the top had pretty immaculate formations and surprisingly fun rock climbing routes. After our descent we made our way to the volcanic beach at Monterrico. The beach was beautiful, the airbnb was beautiful, and the surf was beautiful. Not much to say other then that. It was an amazing weekend away. Though Sunday, on our way back to Antigua, brought rumors of tragedy; Fuego had erupted and it was bad.

Cars covered in ash passed, people were sweeping off the streets, the highways were in gridlock, and we didn’t know what was going on. When we returned to Antigua, it was almost unrecognizable. The once colorful city was covered in layers of black and grey. We were given an update on the situation and it was worse then just extreme ash fall, lava had creeped into towns close to the volcano and other cities were buried in thick layers of volcanic debris. The events of the volcano were tragic and scary, made worse by slow aid; however the people of Guatemala banded together to give help to those who needed it. The cities are getting cleaner and many of those stranded have been saved.

Fuego’s eruption and its consequences are tragic, however, they have also shown me the beauty of Guatemala and its citizens. They have addressed the situation together and have done everything in their power to help. The unity and love felt here is indescribable and resonating. At the will of the environment, Guatemala stands strong.

For elliot

Back to Reality Already?

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Goodbyes are hard. Imagine it being a month and you’ve gotten to spend some pretty awesome and some pretty intense moments with the people around you, and right as you’re creating bonds and friendships with the people you’ve met, boom you have to go. Advice time: appreciate every moment on this trip even if it’s difficult to digest. Although I have been on other study abroad programs in the past, this has been the most challenging. I say that because you see things you wouldn’t normally see, experience things you wouldn’t normally experience, and learn things that you wouldn’t really learn if you didn’t experience them there. You have the opportunity to interact with the arts and culture first hand. It’s tangible. It’s alive. It has been mentally and physically challenging, but it has been so rewarding.

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Before we left, we were given a reverse culture shock “orientation.” You must be asking yourself what that means, right? We thought the same thing, but it’s real my friends. It means exactly what it sounds like. You really will get a culture shock whenever you go back to the life you had before this trip. There won’t be any more walking through cobble stone streets to go to Casa Herrera to have class, or going on a stroll through the central park, or pushing your way through the most colorful markets you’ll ever see. Point is, you’ll have to prepare yourself to go to Guatemala and Belize, and just as much when you go back home. You have to give yourself time to get used to going back simply because you’re not the same person you initially were.

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When leaving Central America each of us was given a quote. Mine was by Henry Miller: “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” That is exactly what I felt all throughout this trip. So, my post is an homage of having the opportunity to experience, see, hear, taste, touch, feel, and most importantly, expose myself to things I hadn’t previously given myself to. Travelling doesn’t have to just be a trip from Point A to Point B, but rather, the growth you experience in between them.

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And finally, I just want to say thank you to all the people I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to. I’ve learned so much from each and every one of you. Gracias a todos!

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All the Firsts, but (fingers crossed) not the Lasts

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I tried to quantify this trip:
• 28 days
• 2 countries
• 16 students
• 1 professor
• 1 earthquake
• 10+ excursions
• Countless smiles

And yet, this doesn’t even come close to capturing what this trip truly encompassed. It was memorable to say the least. Most of the 28 days were spent in Antigua, a picturesque and vibrant city. The cobblestone streets, although deadly when wet, only perpetuated the charm of the brightly colored buildings. Every turn of the corner was greeted by a warm “Buenos dias!” or “Buenas noches!” or even a simple smile. Life moves at a slower rate with people taking time to sit in el Parque Central and soak up the sun and the day. Such little things that made a world of difference.

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Apart from these details I can’t even imagine what this experience would’ve been like without all the people I got to know better on this trip. Would anyone else laugh as much as Rylie and Rebecca did come 6 AM every day when, shocking, the bread was YET AGAIN ready? Would any other group of people agree to “vote people off the island” in a friendly-yet-incredibly-competitive game of Survivor (Guatemala Edition)? So with that I would like to send a virtual thank you to everyone who came on this trip and contributed to this incredible experience. Thank you Ali, Armando, Cheyenne, Felicia, Gabe, Gaby, Hayley, JJ, Kelly, Lauren, Quinn, Rebecca, Rylie, Sofia, and Vero—wouldn’t have wanted to do this with anyone else

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On a side note: When was the last time you did/experienced for the first time? Before this trip I honestly couldn’t remember. Here came Guatemala and Belize to end that streak. Things were definitely new, for the first time I—saw/climbed a volcano, witnessed one erupting, experienced an earthquake, saw a tapir, swam with a manatee, participated in a Maya ceremony and climbed temples at various Maya archaeological sites. Not to brag, but I think that’s a pretty impressive list for the 28 days!!

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I cannot speak for everyone on this trip, however, every experience felt truly unique. I felt lucky to have participated, because while Europe (and other places) is charming in its own right I don’t think I could have ever found and experienced many of the activities I did on this trip if I were to have gone to Guatemala by myself.

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Let me just say, if you’re considering study abroad, DO IT. You will not regret it, the things I was able to learn on this trip while immersing myself in the culture and ambiance of Guatemala have been unforgettable.

The Time I Faced My Fear(s)

It was from five feet away that I could see the scales of the Boa glistening in the sun. The adrenaline from hearing my friends gush about the Belize Zoo had me excited to explore, but I wasn’t expecting to face one of my biggest fears in the yellow eyes. From a zookeeper’s neck hung a green and brown Boa Constrictor, stretching about five feet long. My friends who had been talking to me suddenly became unintelligible voices in the back of my mind as I realized that I wanted to hold the boa. As you can imagine, my instinctual internal voice was screaming “NO! DO! NOT! HOLD! THE! DEADLY! REPTILE!”

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The sweat on my forehead and the clamminess of my hands were reinforcing this, but my mouth was doing something completely different (as usual) “Can we hold the boa?” I said to the zookeeper breathily. He looked at me surprised because I was one of the first to walk in from our group. I guess people don’t normally ask to hold the dangerous reptile before observing the zoo. “Uhh.. sure.” He replied while beginning to remove the neck scarf of a snake. He placed it gently on to my shoulders and I felt its scales against my skin. She (the constrictor) tightened her tummy muscles around my neck to adjust to her new perch and there was a hissing sound near my right ear as she expressed her dislike for me. “shh shh shh” the zookeeper whispered at her and pet behind her head like she was a dog. I felt the blood leave my face as I tried to remain calm under the weight of a snake that was not liking me. “Just relax.” The zookeeper said to me more so than to the snake. I took a few deep breaths, counted to three, and let my shoulders and neck relax. “Not so bad, huh?” The zookeeper said to me as I held the snake more confidently. After about twenty seconds, I had relaxed fully and decided to pass the snake off to the zookeeper. I left with my thoughts a blur.

Many people think that study abroad is meant to make you learn a new language or study in a classroom setting in another country but the reality is just like the one I had – you are abroad to make new experiences and learn from them. Holding a Boa Constrictor, petting a stingray, and climbing to the top of the second largest point in Belize are some of the things that have taught me a lot about who I am, as a person and a student. I understand more than ever what it is that American life has me taking for granted and I see how this trip has already transformed my life path. As grueling as the process can be and as costly as the bill is, Guatemala and Belize were two of the best countries I have come to see in my lifetime and I hope that anyone reading this gets the curiosity to go and see parts of the world some people never have before.

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Not a goodbye, but an hasta luego

June 17, 2017 I can’t believe our time in Antigua and the highlands is coming to an end. Since we arrived here, I’ve had the opportunity to do so much. Visiting archeological sites and museums has been particularly enriching, but it’s only a small fraction of what I’ve experienced here.

The fruit here is outstanding. The bananas are sweeter, the pineapple juicier, and the mangos? They melt in your mouth. One of my sweetest memories is sitting on a rock, dangling my feet in the water of Lago Atitlan, nibbling on an avocado in the brilliance of a benevolent sun (I’ve come to consider sunny days a luxury during this rainy season). Did I mention that the avocados are incredible?

Antigua is charming and picturesque, but you might know that from the photos. What pictures can’t convey is the sound of what seems like 100 different birds whistling and chirping throughout the day (though I’m sure it can attributed to just a few exuberant ones). The smells of pepián (the national food), torillas, and various types of freshly baked bread exude from every doorway. There’s the chatter of women in the market, the cadence of languages thousands of years old. The sound of hands slapping masa for tortillas against the comal. The smiles of schoolchildren as they wave hello, grinning shyly. The feel of the breeze upon my face atop of Cerro de la Cruz while overlooking the city. I have savored every moment.

That’s not to say I haven’t taken it a bit for granted. I arrived here on May 25. We depart tomorrow, June 18. In less than a month, Antigua has felt more and more like home each day. For every convent, museum, store, or ruin I’ve visited, it seems like I’ve missed twice as many. This isn’t a city that can be absorbed all at once. Some days I had to stay home to avoid feeling inundated with it all. I could probably spend another month here and not have seen everything. That’s okay. It gives me more incentive to return someday. The people here are so friendly and warm. The women are absolutely beautiful. I really hope they know that. I didn’t see a single tourist that outshone the smile of a Maya woman. My host, Doña Ruth, is 86 years old and has a thick, shining crop of still mostly-black hair. “I’ve never dyed it. It’s all natural,” she told me with a twinkle in her eye. “We live well here in Guatemala. It’s been good to me.”

Guatemala has been good to me too.

The land, the clear air, and the fresh food may be good, but the circumstances under which many Guatemalans live are not always so. Antigua is more or less a place for those of privilege. Here many people have cars and electricity and running water. I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to travel outside the city to help bring me and my tourist’s perspective back down to earth. More than 59% of Guatemalans live in poverty. For many, basic amenities such as electricity and clean water (never mind running water) are a luxury. 1.5 million people live on less than two dollars a day. The stunning natural beauty belies the fact that many are struggling to survive. This is more apparent in towns outside the city, especially those dotting the mountainsides.

I aspire to forget none of this. For every thing that I enjoy here, there may be someone that will never get the chance to in their own country. As a future graduate in Global Policy, it is my goal to help develop impoverished nations such as Guatemala so that all may enjoy the fruits of this beautiful earth. It’s the very least I could do for all the kindness this country has shown me.