So here’s a few pics from our trip to the Fuentes Georginas hot springs and the Chicabal lagoon with our friends from school, courtesy of Paula. She’s an amazing photographer!
Also, here’s some pics from our official graduation from Spanish school. We got certificates and everything! Man, did we learn a lot! Not just the language, but also so much about Guatemala’s history, economy, politics…learning what we have as really opened our eyes. Unfortunately, with this new information, we realized just how complicated the situation in Guatemala is, and not just them, but the issues that all countries face in regards to governing people, deciding what is fair and unfair for the people, creating relationships with other nations, balancing government and business, and globalizing. It seems all the systems are flawed and the solutions aren’t simple, because the causes are so convoluted.
In any case, it always seems to come down to education. Knowledge is the key. Keep learning and hearing both sides of the story. The more you think someone is incorrect, the more you should learn about their perspective. It’s a good challenge!
For example, it’s interesting to learn a few details about the armed conflict (1960 – 1996) in Guatemala and The United States’ role in it. It’s easier to understand now why people want to protest things like free-trade, globalization, and The School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. We realized how embarrassingly little we knew (and still don’t know) about recent world history, especially considering the massive role our own country has played in shaping dozens of countries around the world.
It seems that our biggest goal as members of the human race, regardless of country of birth, religion, or other factors that seem to make people different from one another, is that we should strive to refrain from de-humanizing any other group of people, or making people prove their worthiness to be on this planet, or finding “others” to blame our problems on. We all talk about “love” and how important it is. I think we get this in theory, but have a difficult time putting it into practice. We can choose to either be a person of fear, or a person of love and compassion. We’ve been reflecting upon what we’ve seen and heard in the countries we’ve visited and how it relates to our own country, and over and over we keep seeing these patterns of one group being blamed for all the problems, which in turn, leads to more problems. It’s happening now in the US, but we have a range of groups to choose from (illegal immigrants, homosexuals, muslims, etc.). If we have learned anything from history, it’s that choosing a group to attack always ends up being something we’ll apologize for later (i.e. Native Americans, African Americans, Women, Japanese Americans (during WWII in the US)…).
I know it’s a little bit heavy, but it’s important stuff to think about. It’s hard to avoid when it’s staring you in the face.
Also, here’s some pics from our official graduation from Spanish school. We got certificates and everything! Man, did we learn a lot! Not just the language, but also so much about Guatemala’s history, economy, politics…learning what we have as really opened our eyes. Unfortunately, with this new information, we realized just how complicated the situation in Guatemala is, and not just them, but the issues that all countries face in regards to governing people, deciding what is fair and unfair for the people, creating relationships with other nations, balancing government and business, and globalizing. It seems all the systems are flawed and the solutions aren’t simple, because the causes are so convoluted.
In any case, it always seems to come down to education. Knowledge is the key. Keep learning and hearing both sides of the story. The more you think someone is incorrect, the more you should learn about their perspective. It’s a good challenge!
For example, it’s interesting to learn a few details about the armed conflict (1960 – 1996) in Guatemala and The United States’ role in it. It’s easier to understand now why people want to protest things like free-trade, globalization, and The School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. We realized how embarrassingly little we knew (and still don’t know) about recent world history, especially considering the massive role our own country has played in shaping dozens of countries around the world.
It seems that our biggest goal as members of the human race, regardless of country of birth, religion, or other factors that seem to make people different from one another, is that we should strive to refrain from de-humanizing any other group of people, or making people prove their worthiness to be on this planet, or finding “others” to blame our problems on. We all talk about “love” and how important it is. I think we get this in theory, but have a difficult time putting it into practice. We can choose to either be a person of fear, or a person of love and compassion. We’ve been reflecting upon what we’ve seen and heard in the countries we’ve visited and how it relates to our own country, and over and over we keep seeing these patterns of one group being blamed for all the problems, which in turn, leads to more problems. It’s happening now in the US, but we have a range of groups to choose from (illegal immigrants, homosexuals, muslims, etc.). If we have learned anything from history, it’s that choosing a group to attack always ends up being something we’ll apologize for later (i.e. Native Americans, African Americans, Women, Japanese Americans (during WWII in the US)…).
I know it’s a little bit heavy, but it’s important stuff to think about. It’s hard to avoid when it’s staring you in the face.
