Guatemala – Community Learning II | EMU Intercultural Learning

5 April, 2025

Over the past two weeks, our group has been split up in different Guatemalan Departments. Our community learning experiences were connected to our majors, and included countless experiences and journeys. I had the pleasure of staying in San Juan for these weeks.

I spent my days working in a clinic, AMI, along with two other nursing majors, Kaylin and Sarah. We were able to rotate between three specialties in the clinic. I spent days taking vitals for patients with the nurse, sorting through piles upon piles of medicine for the pharmacy, and writing in four different lab books for just one patient. The experience was great, and I am so thankful for it. My favorite days were the days that I got to sit in on consultations with the pediatrician and observe how a diagnosis works. These two weeks allowed me to get firsthand experience as well as practice the Spanish I have learned thus far. While nerve-racking at some points, I’m proud of the three of us for being helping hands to the clinic staff, and expanding our knowledge one day at a time.

-Ivy Miller

Rujotay

About the organization – This group started about six years ago between two friends. One lives here in Comalapa and the other in Guatemala City. Their mission mostly has to do with education and takes the form of school outreach programs and working with the community. Their active programs are composting, running a coffee shop, and other smaller outreaches.

Composting is the main focus and the part that makes an impact on this area. They collect compostable material from around 40 houses in Comalapa and take it to a plot of land outside the city to process it into compost. They also get students from a local school to come and work with them in the composting plant. I think this is such an important mission because it helps the youth see the impact of their actions. If you never see the direct impact, you can live in ignorance and avoid seeing the results of your decisions. This organization is doing a lot of good in an area that has a lot of potential.

-Sam Myers

ANADESA

I spent the last two weeks, during the community learning portion of our term, back in Santiago Atitlán with the organization ANADESA. I worked at their location in Chukmuk with two of their teachers and another member from our group, Emae. These past two weeks were full of new experiences, new connections, lots of crafting, and a new language that surrounded me. This area around Santiago Atitlán spoke Tz’utujil, one of the 22 indigenous Maya languages spoken in Guatemala. Work and home were filled with a language I didn’t know. While this sometimes made it difficult to find my place, I

appreciated the use of their native language. It helped me see authentic interactions between my family, teachers, students, and community. I also spent so much of my time observing and witnessing and accompanying my coworkers.

While my time was brief, I felt like I experienced so much. I felt like I was a part of the daily rhythm and like I was able to lighten the load of the teachers. I was able to see their passion for education and not just with the kids, but with the women from the community as well. I learned how to navigate the truck route and plan for our departure by boat. My time was definitely full of challenges and frustration and boredom, as well as laughter and gratitude and beauty. I am excited to see where our last adventures will take us and what they will teach us!

-Malia Bauman