Georgia Peake explains her reasons for choosing to volunteer in Guatemala with Travellers Worldwide…..

People always ask me what made me choose to go to Guatemala. The honest answer is that there is no answer. I don’t have some reason that covers exactly what made me choose Guatemala and this project.

I had the option to go anywhere I wanted, a million different organisations offered hundreds of countries and projects. But when I first met Natalie and together we sifted through so many organisations, something just “clicked” with Travellers. Without even speaking to them, I felt like they were who I was going to volunteer with and when I did speak to them, they gave the courage to travel so far away from home and do something amazing. Travellers gave me the confidence to do it.

There are so many countries, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, yet I chose Guatemala, don’t get me wrong, I considered Kenya for a long time, but I was always a little bit hesitant. I browsed through Travellers website and found Guatemala and something felt right, all over again, just like the feeling that made me decide to go with Travellers, I got a feeling it had to be Guatemala. I booked as soon as I had all the information and had managed to convince my parents.

I wanted to feel charitable, like I said, the volunteers I had met had all spoke of this amazing sense of pride and content as they handed food to a child whose face lit up, who may not have been fed if not for them, and this is something I craved. I wanted to feel this overwhelming sense of doing something good for people. I wanted to be part of something generous, education and at times, in such a wonderful country, magical!

Volunteering would of course give me an extra something to talk about on my CV and of course this is very important, but not to me, though I’ll be putting it on there, it wasn’t behind my motivation to volunteer, it is just an added perk. I am actually glad however, that it will give me an interesting edge for job interviews, though I didn’t realise until my tutor told me it is all they’d want to talk about!

I’m an adventurous person, with food, with sports, with books, with every aspect of my life. I guess in a way, this trip is an adventure. I am, after all, going to a country full of volcanoes and places that are completely alien to me, including the food and culture! It fills me with so much excitement to think that I can experience this whole new world and explore this completely new (to me, that is) country.

I also suppose the thrill of a trip I am going on independently is something that made me want to do it, the idea that i’m going alone to Central America is a massive thought! Seventeen and leaving England for Guatemala is a massive step. I want to be able to step onto a plane and think “this is it, i’m going.” I’ll be seeing something new, somewhere none of my family have seen, something untainted with memories or personal history. Something I can have fresh memories of. I’ll be without my parents and family, full of enthusiasm. I suppose that’s a dream come true for any one who wants to learn about other cultures and about themselves.

Another reason would be that I care about people. It’s the reason I’m training as a nurse. I actually want to help people, even in the smallest ways. I just want to be the kind of person who people can rely on to help them out, be it as a nurse, a volunteer, or in my person life, with my friends and my family. I have worked in paediatrics and adult nursing, on seven week placements and it has opened my eyes to how amazing different people are. I want to work with children, because the work I have done with them so far has made me realize how magical they are. Something as small as a yellow crayon and a piece of paper can keep them entertained and happy for hours! They are non stop, energetic and full of life and working with them in Guatemala, I believe, will reinforce the view I have about working with them, and give me more experience with working with them.

I aim at some point to take a gap year, this trip in a way will help build me up for that and that is another reason I want to go, because it will give me some idea of what to expect taking an entire year away to work in different countries. It will give me a chance to see the “real world” outside of a cosy small town, with its supermarkets full of anything I need, anytime I need.

At some point on my course, I have to do a unit on voluntary work, and this is something I can use when I do that, so it will also give me an edge educationally, as well as helping me learn Spanish and other key skills, like communication and about the different culture.

I want to see the world, beautiful places, untouched scenery, places that aren’t perfect, but are different and new, and something to explore. I want to see the chicken buses other Guatemalan volunteers talk about and I want to eat Guatemalan food and sleep on a new bed under a new sky. I want to live in a village surrounded by volcanoes and have to think about more than just if that pair of shoes I like are still in stock!

I want to meet new people, make new friends and experience a new way of life. There is no one reason I can give anyone saying “why I chose to volunteer in Guatemala”, there are millions of reasons why I want to go, why I can’t wait and now count down the days. Even then, there are still reasons that even I am still discovering, it was only last week I realised I want to go because I’ve never actually seen a volcano up close and this is my chance! These reasons barely scratch the surface of why I am going. You can only truly understand if you have done it or are going to do it, and I honestly hope you have, or will.

If you’d like to find out more about our projects in Guatemala, click HERE

Karin Laudin shares a typical day with us on her project in Antigua, Guatemala:

My alarm clock goes off at 6.15. (I hear the roosters crowing long before). I am first into the  shared bathroom at 6.30. I head downstairs for breakfast with the family and other volunteers at 7.00. At 7.30 I leave the house and walk a block to the corner to catch my bus (camioneta): either to San Felipe or to Jocotenango, both about 10 minutes away. I get to the school gates at 8.00 although the students and teachers have been there since 7.30. Generally I assist the teacher in the classroom – this is varied and depends on your abilities/interests and the school time table. Mostly I have helped teach English and the teacher and pupils are grateful to have conversations with English speakers. There is a break at 10.15 and at the school project the students receive a nourishing drink and snack. The concrete playground becomes a football pitch, often with several games at once. The girls play twice a week and the boys three times a week (shared field). Classes begin again at 10.40 and I work until 12.00. School continues until 2.30-3.00 so you can arrange what times suit you. I get the bus home and get off at the market place. It is a site of colour, chaos and fascination. I walk 2 blocks home and am grateful to enter the shade and coolness of the house. After lunch, there is time for a brief siesta. I have the afternoon available to revise Spanish, attend my Spanish class or relax as I choose. Late afternoon is a beautiful time in Antigua – the sun casts a warm, golden light over the buildings. It’s pleasant to walk or sit in the park and watch the world go by.

Supper is at 6.45 and this is a sociable, relaxed affair. It’s great to exchange news and views with your host family and co-volunteers. We practice our Spanish and it’s fun to be communicating in a new language. After 8 p.m I may go to the internet cafe or visit friends or, of course, do some Spanish homework.

If you’d like to find out more about our projects in Guatemala, click HERE

Devereaux Swaim had such a good time on her placements in Argentina and Guatemala, that when she got back she wrote about it for her local newspaper. For the full story, click on the picture below and you’ll be taken to the full article:

For more information on our projects in Argentina, click HERE and for details of our projects in Guatemala click HERE

Yes….you did read that correctly, Chicken Bus! Not a bus full of Chickens, but one of the modes of public transport that gets you from A to B in Central America.

Now you may wonder, if they’re not full of chickens, why on earth are they called that?? It’s because your neighbour, the guy in front of you, the old lady behind….probably the driver are all very likely to have their chickens sitting on their lap….you might not even fit because of all the chickens– the poor ticket collector usually rides along holding on to the ladder at the back of the bus.

Ok, so I may have over-exaggerated slightly, it’s not compulsory to carry a chicken to ride on the bus!

Let me explain one of my BEST experiences travelling EVER– I was late to the bus station and the bus was already leaving (laden with all the chickens and their owners!) but literally every local in the bus station seemed to know which bus I needed to be on and shouted at me to run for it. I got to the back of the bus and the ticket collector grabbed my hand and dragged me on to the bus – I was pretty proud of myself, a true Indiana Jones moment!

5 hours later I was still on the same bus, but seemed to have a new Guatemalan family! Everyone wanted a chat, which was great considering they didn’t speak any English and my Spanish is limited to ‘Hola’ and ‘Cerveza Por Favor’ – lots of sign language later, I was invited for dinner at virtually all of the passengers houses. I chose a very sweet looking old lady and her granddaughter and made a ‘quick’ stop there before heading to my hostel . 3 hours later and about 20 pounds heavier I rocked up to the hostel, to find the staff panicking that I’d got the wrong bus!

Basically, if you ever want to do any independent travel in Guatemala, you’re going to come across the loveliest, friendliest people in the world….and a chicken bus is definitely an experience not to be missed. I’m very disappointed when I get on a bus now I’m home and the lady next to me doesn’t start talking to me, the guy opposite doesn’t have 10 chickens with him, the engine sounds like it might get us to our destination, it’s not painted in psychedelic colours and the ticket collector isn’t hanging off the back of the bus ….

If you’d like to find out more about our projects in Guatemala, click HERE