You always hear about them, those amazing abroad experience stories. Travellers are more than happy to share stories from their adventures and dole out advice on how “everyone should do it.” Unfortunately, for many of us, abroad experiences are simply out of the question. We may not have the financial resources, we may want to focus on our academics or we may simply have no one to go with; many of us have a laundry list of reasons why we can’t travel. Lucky for us, the Student Experience Office at Carleton University has an amazing Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program. The ASB program understands the needs of the average student and provides timely and affordable abroad experiences for program participants; needless to say, this program is incredible.
The ASB program incorporates community service learning, a visionary idea where students are paired with a community organization in a mutually beneficial arrangement; students gain meaningful life experiences while completing work for the organization. Each school year, a number of pre-determined trips take place in the study break of the winter semester. Applications for the ASB programs are typically due in the fall semester of each year and all applicants are interviewed prior to being accepted into the program. Accepted participants are then divided among the various trips; participant preferences for which trip to partake in is considered. Over the school year, ASB participants meet for pre-departure training where they listen to thought-provoking speakers, engage in team-building activities and discussion groups. Each ASB trip has an associated cost, which includes housing and transportation. Trip costs can range from approximately $200 to $1900; however, participants have numerous opportunities to fundraise and procure donations through the program, which significantly reduces trip costs.
I was interviewed in mid-October last year and selected to be a part of Team Guatemala, where I had the opportunity to travel to San Marcos La Laguna, a remote village in rural Guatemala. Our trip was facilitated through Students Offering Support (SOS), an international organization that connects universities with non-governmental organizations (NGO) in regions around the world. Team Guatemala’s mandate was to aid Pura Vida Atitlan, a local NGO, to develop environmental sustainability and increase access to nutrition information within San Marcos La Laguna. Team Guatemala met several times over the fall and winter semester, learning a great deal about each other through icebreaker activities, fundraising activities (e.g. bake sales, silent auctions, etc.) and group breakfasts. We developed a great group dynamic and as February inched closer, we collectively grew eager to reach San Marcos.
We departed late on Friday night before reading week and bused to Montreal. From Montreal we then boarded a flight to Miami and subsequently a flight to Guatemala City. Upon our arrival in Guatemala City, program organizers from SOS greeted us at the airport and drove us, scaling volcanoes along the way, to San Marcos La Laguna. San Marcos is a small village of about 2000 people that borders Lake Atitlan, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. The community is also nested in dense natural greenery and is surrounded by a number of active volcanoes as well as being located directly on top of an active volcano. Guatemala’s natural beauty and terrain was absolutely breathtaking from the outset.
Team Guatemala settled into our hostel and quickly began our service projects. We spent two days at a primary school in a neighbouring community called Solola, where we built walls enclosing the school from the outside community; these walls provided a safe space for the children to play uninterrupted during their school day. Following the environmental sustainability theme of our trip, Team Guatemala built the walls in the primary school from eco-ladrillos (or eco-bricks), a task that entailed filling pop bottles with plastic littering the Solola community. We spent another day in a kindergarten in San Marcos clearing away debris from fallen trees in the playground and sprucing up the classrooms. Our final volunteer day centered on the nutrition and healthcare theme, Team Guatemala conducted a health check in a local elementary school and distributed Spanish reading materials that emphasized the benefits of eating healthy to kids. Books were rare in the San Marcos community and the kids were absolutely ecstatic to be given books.
In addition to our community service activities during the daytime, our team had engaging group discussions each evening. These group sessions were effective in helping team members synthesize the importance of our daily service and relate what we learned that day to our education and our lives. Our trip organizers also ensured that we had time to relax and enjoy the Guatemalan culture during our stay. We visited Mayan museums, participated in a Mayan New Year blessing ceremony, frequented the local merchants and of course, sampled delicious Guatemalan chocolate; a healthy balance of learning and cultural activities was definitely achieved.
Although my trip to Guatemala was short, it was an enlightening opportunity made possible by the Carleton University ASB program. I was able to experience a new culture, gain perspective on how individuals in another society live their lives and finally, establish an amazing new group of friends. Travelling challenged me to see and inevitably attempt to understand a world outside my comfort zone. My Guatemalan travels allowed me to realize how small I am in the world but that no matter where I am, my actions can have direct and powerful effects on the lives of others. Creating positive change no matter where you are is an unparalleled feeling that everyone should experience at least once.