If I can have any positive impact during my service, that is what is most important, and I am happy to say that, while small, I believe I have had some positive impacts since being here. I think I have had positive impacts when I co-lead engaging and interactive activities with patojos (Guatemalan specific term for youth) to Comadronas (Indigenous midwives), when I greet people around town with a smile on my face or go for runs in my community demonstrating a healthy habit and that girls are athletes, too, and when I use the few phrases of Mam I know, Palestina’s Indigenous Mayan language, to build confianza (trust) and show interest in the beautiful Indigenous, majority culture, of Palestina.
However, more than that, in the eight official months of service I have completed, I know that the people I have met and Guatemala have had a much more significant positive impact on me than I have had on them, or will be able to during my remaining 18 months. My Spanish has improved exponentially thanks to the help of language teachers, my community and strangers who are willing to converse with me. My future feels clearer thanks to the experiences I’ve gained. I think I will most likely do something that involves counseling and vulnerable youth. My hopes that we can work towards a more just and equitable world have flourished, seeing the passion, empathy and hard work given by others around me.
With that being said, why should you, Ms.
