When I first considered applying for the World Race, I wondered how I was going to decide which route to go on. Many of the countries on routes were the same, but in different orders, and some featured different regions of the world. I decided to go in September – July seemed too soon and I wanted to apply before the January routes were released. So I landed on September and checked out the five routes that were available. I think I scanned the list for less than five minutes before I chose the one I would apply for, and it was for one reason.
Guatemala
There was only one route that included it, and I knew that it was the one for me. I had been there for two weeks in August 2013, and as soon as I left I knew I wanted to go back someday – my tentative post-college plans before I found of about the World Race were to go to language school for a month or two, learn Spanish, and see if I could “plug in” with ministries or nonprofits there. (And I don’t feel too bad about giving up language school for the race, because four months in Central America will provide plenty of hands-on learning.)
Anyway – why Guatemala? My Enactus team back when it was called SIFE (a campus organization focused on entrepreneurial action) had a project based there for seven years. The last time they sent a team there was the summer before I came to Roberts, but a lot of people who went on the trips had nothing but good things to say about it. I remember wishing I could go, but since that project was completed, my chances seemed limited.
And then my friend Mark (who loves Guatemala probably more than the average Guatemalan person and is actually moving there in August – read his blog here) started another project for Guatemala, focusing on an orphanage that he had visited multiple times, even spending a whole summer there. The project meant that another team would go there, and I jumped on the opportunity.
Unfortunately the project and trip didn’t work out the way we’d planned it, but we still went and made use of our time, teaching and serving in a few different settings. Even though I was disappointed that our plans were redirected, I appreciated the multi-faceted view of Guatemala. From the everyday lives of families in a remote, rural village to children growing up in an orphanage in the middle of a dangerous city, and then a brief glance into a community found within a city dump, everywhere I looked I saw a country in need. Yet it was still a beautiful place with untapped potential, and I place I could see myself going back to.
So I chose the route that started in Guatemala, and if it wasn’t the first country on the route, I might not have. I would be afraid I would forget to live in the moment in the 10 other countries if I had to anticipate Guatemala throughout a significant chunk of the race. And while I have no idea where in the country I’ll be, maybe I can convince my team to visit Hogar Mama Carmen, an orphanage in Guatemala City and my favorite place from my last trip, on one of our days off. Just maybe.
Knowing that in about four months I’ll be getting on a plane to Guatemala once again brings me so much joy and makes me look forward to the Race even more than I already would be.
