For my STEP Signature Project, I went on a Buc-I-Serv trip to Antigua, Guatemala. We worked with a local non-profit called Constru Case, that works to build houses for families in extreme poverty. With Constru Case we built a house for a family of six to improve their living conditions from a small tin structure to a brick house. Guatemala is an extremely beautiful country that is extremely impoverished due to high amounts political corruption and gang violence. So any amount of service and help that is offered they accept willingly.

One thing that struck my attention is how fortunate I have been to grow up and live in America. Though we are not perfect, and we do have our own problems here, it truly is the greatest country in the world. Some of the takeaways that I got from being in a country like Guatemala is a sense of gratitude even for the little things like hot water, clean water, doctors, medicine, etc. Being in Guatemala made me want to continue my efforts in service, as there are so many people in the world that struggle to meet their basic needs to survive. For example, 1 in 20 kids die in Guatemala due to unsanitary water. This has given me a perspective on just how many people need help and has guided me to investigate doing more service in the States as well.

The first event that exposed me to new experiences was traveling to jobsite where we would work for the week. This was a surreal experience as there were volcanoes in the background with farms stretching up the sides of them. The city we walked and drove through was also very poor many people used donkeys for work, carrying stuff they would sell at the market. Family is also a huge aspect of their culture there were generations of families sitting in one room working to prepare food or sitting worshiping in church which is something that I believe American’s value a lot less vs their society. People are also very fit in Antigua, there were many times you would see people running up mountains or biking. I am not sure if that is due to poverty or if it is for fun. Our driver was a coach of the cross-country club and he said they would run up a volcano, that took us 3 hours to hike, twice a week. Which I found astounding. It was just fascinating to me the difference in culture and some ways we as Americans live differently. Some of these differences I liked and wanted to take away from Guatemalan culture as I believe Americans could benefit form more family oriented and healthy lifestyles.

Another event that caused me to gain a lot of gratitude for living in America and grow relationships with the team in Guatemala was getting sick with a virus. I am beyond grateful for everyone that helped take care of me; form going to the doctor, to getting medicine, and providing meals while I was unwell. The house mom we had was so generous and caring. I told her “My Mom would give you the biggest hug if she could, knowing the care that I was in”. The little moment like that brought me closer to Elvira, Julissa, and the Constru Casa team. I am so thankful to have met such amazing people service focused people.

Another amazing aspect of our trip was being able to go to a local school, where we had a “party” and gave out gifts we brought to many of the student form the area. As I said before many of these family don’t have money so even basic school supplies are hard to come by and being able to provide kids with materials was a great experience. The kids were also super excited that we were there, and they danced, played, and even got to break a piñata which was super fun to watch. Many kids are also not able to go to school in Guatemala due to a variety of conditions, so I thought seeing them growing in learning in an environment away from home was empowering to them even though they were still young.

One change I want to make is being more involved in service. I also want to set aside money when I get a full-time role to be able to donate to organizations or people whether it be in my city, country, international, or someone in need at the store. I believe that people are created to help and serve other people and I want to do my part in that. Having this experience has also made me want to plan more international trips around service, you get to see an impact you make while on a vacation. Service also allows you to see the “other side of the country” that most tourists are exposed to when going on a typical vacation.