Summer as an athlete is typically focused around training for the upcoming season. While there is always a week or two that are best served as an opportunity to recharge and provide some balance to the rigor of in-season intensity, this summer I chose to do something I’ve never done before, go to a place I’ve never been before, and experience things I’ve never experienced before. This past June I spent ten days traveling around Guatemala with seventeen strangers.
It’s easy to live life when from the moment you were born you’ve been coddled with love, support, every basic human necessity you could possibly ask for and much more. But as we grow, learn, and gain perspective on the wealth of life that many of us have been handed for no explainable reason, there comes a time when that awareness is best served as a manifestation of action. A winning lottery ticket is useless if it’s never cashed.
This past year, I’ve truly felt the urge and responsibility to step out of my comfort zone and give back. I’ve always felt a looming sense of guilt in this way. Like I’m dishonoring the less fortunate by being an American that’s been given everything. Finally, I saw an opportunity to venture out and give back. I saw an opportunity to interact with the world in a way that scared me and that I’d never done before but I knew would ultimately create a positive impact.
John Bunyan said “you have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” In essence, that’s why I chose to go on this trip.
I found this trip through a group called Vivid Roots whose mission is to inspire people to live vividly and make a sustainable impact in the world. Their goal is to meld service, adventure, culture, and connection into one unforgettable journey. Unlike a lot of service trips, Vivid Roots approaches service as an essential pillar within a broader foundation for a passion-filled, challenging, and exciting lifestyle.
Eighteen of us started out as strangers, but nothing proves to create a stronger bond than shared emotional experiences. And the trip was jam packed with emotional and perspective shifting moments. Moments of utter confusion and sadness were balanced with moments of complete mental clarity and joy. Though I speak no spanish, one powerful lesson that I learned in Guatemala was that a smile serves as a universal language.
We experienced the best of Guatemalan culture. We cooked a homemade Guatemalan meal and ventured through the cobblestone streets of Antigua, one of the most historic and beautiful cities in Guatemala. We adventured through some of the most scenic and breathtaking areas of the country like the Rio Dulce, spending 3 nights in a hotel only accessible by boat. We spent a day on an island of Belize. We ziplined through the countryside. From the top of a neighboring dormant volcano, I saw Volcan de Fuego erupt in real time. Those ten days truly captured what it means to adventure. However, most rewardingly, we helped renovate an elementary school in a small underdeveloped village tucked away in the mountains of San Jacinto, Chiquimula, Guatemala.
The school we worked on had a failing roof with giant holes. Especially during rainy season, this becomes a major issue. It’s hard to imagine trying to listen and learn while water pours from the roof above your head, drilling into a bucket like the sound of a beebee gun. While most American children couldn’t fathom their school literally falling apart as they sit at their desk, in San Jacinto this was happening on a regular basis. We provided new roofing, repainted the entire building, installed more advanced plumbing mechanisms, cleaned the schoolyard, and revitalized the aura of the school.
Getting the opportunity to play games, develop a connection, and make the children smile was undoubtedly one of the most gratifying experiences of the whole trip. Their faces made the scope of our impact truly set in. Words didn’t need to be spoken. We could feel their genuine appreciation.
San Jacinto’s unemployment rate is about 90% - a statistic that is largely due to the ruralness, lack of resources, and underdevelopment of the area. The school that we worked on was a 30 minute drive up into the mountains from where we were staying in Chiquimula. Most of the kids who attend live on the mountain side in adobe-built huts. We had the opportunity to see a house up-close and personal and the living standards are nothing short of inconceivable. The level of poverty is hard to explain. Access to clean water and food is scarce which puts a huge emphasis on the importance of a school in which children are able to be fed and given clean drinking water.
By the end of our time in San Jacinto, our presence felt as though it had been solidified both literally and emotionally. Our handprints were left painted on the walls of the school. And the children chased our truck waving adios as we drove back into the mountains for the last time.
Seven days before I was scheduled to fly from Boston to Guatemala City, the largest volcanic eruption in over 100 years occurred at Volcan de Fuego only twenty-seven miles from Guatemala City. With the eruption all over the news, the airport temporarily shut down, and Guatemala in a state of emergency, my parents became extremely concerned with the situation and strongly encouraged me to reconsider my plans. Vivid Roots’ reassurance that conditions were safe combined with healthy doses of both nerves and faith provided the perfect recipe to make the experience that much more meaningful. My experience served as a stark reminder that in order to be rewarded by life, it often takes a hunger to chase something in which there’s a lack of knowing and a lack of comfort. After all, we only regret the things we don’t do and we only have the memories of the things we do.
