Leah Cohen - First days in Guatemala

From first coming to Guatemala I have been aware of the marked differences between it, and the United States. The weather; hot in the morning with showers in the afternoon, then dry and cold at night as if the deluge never happened. In the middle of the town people crowd around selling their wares, bargaining for money and a good exchange. At the school in San Pedro the children are rowdy, and rambunctious, full of energy and curiosity as to what these new people have in store for them. Their shouts reverberate around the classes, they laugh and yell and play clapping games. They seem similar to children from the US, full of in-containable energy and vigor, however this was not the thing that caught my eye the first day we went to teach at their school.

Unlike in the US where the children when done with recess run inside leaving trash scattered everywhere, in Guatemala these once wildly playing children become a well oiled machine. They scour their playground and clean it with buckets of water and brooms until all signs of the revelry are gone. This really stood out to me because it made me realize the difference between children in the US who see school as a requirement, something that they are made to do, and the children in Guatemala who may not all have the opportunity to go to school. I know I have taken for granted that school is a right not a privilege and have treated it as such, but the kids in Guatemala take care of their school because for them it is something that they get to do, that they have the privilege to partake in, and they treat their school with respect because of it.