Guatemala, here I come!

By Siddhanth Paralkar

Hola amigos, cómo estás? (Hello friends, how are you?).
No hablo español muy bien (I do not speak Spanish very well).
Habla usted Inglés? (Do you speak English?)

I guess this will be the only amount of Spanish I may end up speaking in Guatemala. Staying in the United States for the last nine months has made me a mono-linguist compared to India where I used to speak in almost three languages. I know so far that the Hispanic culture is expressive enough and that a language barrier will probably not impede my attempt to understand the Guatemalans.

As the climate in Guatemala is tropical, I do not know about my American classmates that if they would enjoy it, but it will be definitely remind me of the weather back home in Mumbai, India. It may sound funny, but I am eagerly waiting to sweat profusely in the humid heat in Guatemala. Likewise relating to the food in India, I hope I get to eat some really spicy food on this trip.

This will be the second country that I will travel to outside India. When I told my parents that I am going for a study abroad program, they responded with this rhetorical question, “How much more abroad do you want to go?” They are very funny sometimes and although they were happy about where I am going, they expressed so much worry as though I am going out on a battlefield(not a physical one for sure, but it may become a mental one).

I chose the Sustainable Neighborhoods for Happiness™ program in Guatemala for studying abroad as this was the one that precisely matched my interests in sustainability and community development. I personally believe that happiness always exists within all, experiencing it depends on how much does one value people and things around them. Sustainability should always begin at a local level, so it highly depends on how resilient communities are. This study abroad program will give me an opportunity to know what the definition of happiness for a Guatemalan is. How do they perceive and practice sustainability? Is it a part of their tradition already or is it something that they seek from the developed nations?

All I need to do now is start packing my stuff, read and research about Guatemala and borrow my friend’s camera. I hope I do not end up like those crazy tourists who take cliché photos posing in front of buildings and monuments. I look forward to building great bonds of friendship and document a fresh adventure of comradery. Learn, absorb and retain my experiences, but foremost of all is the journey itself, and I want to cherish each and every moment of it.