Opening Thoughts

I am a chronicler of information-- sometimes to a fault. I knew prior to departing that going on a long trip to Guatemala would prove to be a unique experience, and I wanted to capture every moment to relive again and again. Being able to share my observations and thoughts would be crucial to having my friends and family understand just what I was doing hundreds of miles away in a third world country for a week and a half. And, while I stopped short of bringing the camcorder, I went forth armed with my other high-tech gadgetry, including my new digital camera and plenty of memory storage in the hopes of recording all I could about my journey. But, my arsenal was not complete without my inkpen-- my personally favorite tool.

Each night in Guatemala, I sat up in bed at the end of the day and tried to organize in my head all the things we saw, all the history we learned, all the wonder we experienced, sometimes writing for two to three hours nonstop by the light of the bedside lamp, or in the case of a few nights, by candlelight.

So many people we met, so many facts we digested, so many places we visited. It was a wonder I could keep everything straight. My aim in keeping this journal was to record all I could remember about what we did each day. In the interest of time, information won out over creativity. Many of my entries play out as matter-of-fact. I admit I would have loved to pepper my writing with enjoyable prose and descriptions worthy of a novel, but this was not the vehicle to accomplish that feat at this time. I left home with a blank journal and returned home with it completely full. I transferred my handwritten scribbles into 37 full size typed pages, keeping the original tone most of the time, but perhaps adding a bit of information learned after the fact, or a better description of something when words originally failed me at 11:45 on the night I tried to put it all together.

The forty or so of us who traveled together all have our own recollections of the events in which we participated. Gathered here is my account as best as I can recall of everything noteworthy, and sometimes not so noteworthy, that I experienced. To those who accompanied me on this journey who may read my account, I will apologize in advance if I attributed an action or word to the wrong person, or if my facts don't check out as others remember them. For those who are "going along for the ride" with me in this blog, you'll have to take my word for it that this is a true and accurate presentation of what occurred those 10 days as seen from my perspective.

A note on reading this blog. Typically, the newest day is the latest and topmost entry of all the posts, with the expectation that the author will treat us with more brain fodder the next day as events unfold in real time. This blog was constructed in reverse since my trip has already occurred and it makes for an easier read to just start at the top and work down day by day.

A special thanks to Cooperative for Education and its employees, further known herein as "Staff" and the special people who I traveled with, further known herein as the "team" or "group" members. Without you, this diary could not be possible.

COED has something special going for it. Sharing this diary is one of the several, yet unique, means I hope to keep its spirit and message alive within me and the people with whom I share...

My Guatemalan Experience