Wednesday, January 9, 2013

A Warm Welcome to the Village of Santa Teresa



By Ashley Ostrem

I have never been welcomed in a place as I have been in Guatemala.  We arrived, after a long travel day, to the village we all now know as home in Santa Teresa.  The three professors and ten students were welcomed by singing, dancing, and the playing of the Marimba.  As we began to communicate with children in Spanish, the attachment to the families, children and village set in.  Whether it is from the family dinners to the mid-day soccer games, you truly do become a family.

During our working days, we have been replanting trees that were planted during last year’s previous trip to prevent future erosion.  Steep hikes and the hot sun have been a couple of obstacles we have faced so far.  But already done with two days of work, we have planted around 300 hundred trees.  The picture attached shows us as we were planting the trees during day one.


I have already been blown away by this unforgettable experience.  Prior to the trip I had been told stories and shown pictures, but these past few days, views of the mountains, and relationships formed prove that the pictures and stories do not do this experience justice.

I can’t wait to see what else this experience has in store.

1 comment:

  1. This is awesome!! Love what you're all doing together. Keep up the great work!

    ReplyDelete