This Is for Guatemala

I would like this post to be a personal thank you to the people I’ve met over the past few weeks. I have come to terms that I won’t write as heartfelt of a post as many of the girls on the trip, but I would like to thank you all for helping me learn so much which I have a passion for more than anything else. Never would I have thought I would’ve been a part of a team like this. On all previous teams I have been a part of I was always a leader of some form because of my experience, knowledge, or passion for hard work. There would always be some skillset I could offer that was unique to other team members. With our amazing team, I was not the most experienced, knowledgeable, or hardest worker. I was more often than not the least experienced, knowledgeable, or slowest worker.

Before leaving for Guatemala, I had never been West of the Mississippi River. I did not know any other languages. I was unsure of my personal strength and ability to overcome some of the challenges we would face in Guatemala. Over the past few weeks, I learned so much about travel and humanitarian engineering. Prior to leaving and while we were on flights many of my classmates helped me learn some Spanish and specific terms to be able to help the children with STEM projects. Many of you have helped me navigate airports and complete customs forms. I’ve received a lot of help reading Spanish in Pana (including some menus in English). I received a lot of good insight and advice on how to deal with illness. And most importantly you have all been so receptive to answering my hundreds of questions about all kinds of different things. I would not have had a successful trip and amazing experience if it were not for all of you helping me along the way.

One unique experience I had was being apart of the conversation with Miguel, the restaurant owner at the dinner with music. He shared many of his experiences with Rachel, Adithya, and I. He explained that Guatemala is not a poor country. They have oceans, mountains, volcanoes, lakes, amazing fruit and coffee, and plentiful natural resources. They live the life of millionaires. One of the biggest problems he identified is that some people have the mindset that they are poor and there is nothing they can do. His favorite thing about the United States was that many of us have the mindset that people can work hard and accomplish anything they want. He believed in the importance of inspiration. He wanted to go out and inspire his people.

Thank you all for leading me through my first international experience. Thank you all for teaching me so much about everything. Thank you all for having patience with me throughout the trip. Thank you all for being so resilient and displaying so much strength. Every day I continued to find so much inspiration from all of you. And the highest human act is to inspire.

Thank you, Matt Parsons

Matt Parsons 5-18-19

I had not flown in a plane since I was 6 years old and I had never been West of the Mississippi River. I was excited to travel to see Guatemala, but especially excited to travel with the group of people that are on the trip. At 3:00 a.m. Tara’s mom picked Maya, Tyler, and I up from Maya’s apartment to take us to the airport. At the airport I was excited to see everyone and begin our journey to Guatemala. I have a passion for learning things so I was intrigued by how the airport worked and what the process was for flying. Checking the bags was simple and then we went through security. My dad had me get TSA Pre-Check prior to leaving and I was able to get through security in less than a minute. Everyone else went through in ten minutes which was faster than I expected. The Columbus airport was simple and relaxing. I enjoyed flying. My favorite parts were take-off, landing, and any bumpiness in the sky. The rest was simply sitting in a seat in the sky which was cool, but wasn’t as exciting to do for many hours.

I liked the Houston airport. I was appreciative of Adithya trusting me to navigate the airport independently because that is something I have never done before. I got Chick-fil-a for lunch and the prices were cheaper there than normal. I called my dad before getting on the flight to Guatemala because it was the last time that I would have cell phone service. Our flight was delayed a lot, but I enjoyed walking the airport and playing games at the gate. On the Houston flight I loved playing Picross with Hannah C. on the Nintendo Switch. Seeing the mountains in Guatemala from the plane was exciting. The largest mountains I had previously seen were in Tennessee.

Going through customs and immigration were much easier than expected. I was stopped by a security guard for additional review, but he was very kind and welcomed me into the country. I also loved driving through the country and was amazed by how different things were than the United States. I was surprised to see many of the typical fast food restaurants in Guatemala. I would have liked to know where we were at different parts of the route to trace the path we took to Pana. I was worried I would not do well on the long car ride, but I liked it. I appreciate the strength my teammates showed on the way to Pana. Many of them knew they would struggle with motion sickness, but signed up anyway to help Mayan Families. They were living with no fear and no doubt which is something I also strive to do.

I am thankful for everyone on the trip helping me through the process of going through the airport and traveling to a new place. Hannah and Tara helped me with some Spanish on the flights. Everyone has been an amazing role model for me and I am appreciative of their patience explaining things to me.