Camino Seguro

Like the first day of school, Michael and I left our homestay especially early to meet the Camino Seguro bus to Guatemala City. Lunchbags in hand, we waited by the bus stop eager to begin work. We took unassuming seats behind the wheelwell, you know, not too close to the front to signify seniority, not too close to the back to impose on the "bad" kids. Upon arrival, after some grueling traffic, we navigated our way to the kitchen to begin work with Isabel "el jefe". Immediately I was set to work by cutting the fat off of about 50 halves of chickens as Isabel would butcher the halves into tiny pieces. I desperately tried to keep up with her frantic pace, sometimes resorting to ripping the fat off with my hands. All the chopped meat, fresh vegetables, and spices were added to a gigantic pot to make pepian, a local Guatemalan dish, in order to feed over 500 children during the course of the day. It was certainly gratifying as the children would pop their heads through the serving window, to hand them what could potentially be their only meal of the day. The next portion of the afternoon was spent observing volunteers in the classroom. Michael and I have been charged with the responsibility of helping develop a new training module for new volunteers at Camino Seguro. We will also be leading weekly team building excercises for the volunteers and staff. After taking notes, walking a young boy to the bathroom, helping a young girl with a counting excercise, and marveling at just what the term "rainy season" in Guatemala truly means, I made my way back to the kitchen to help where needed. Mopping floors, scrubbing mountainous cauldrons of their leftover stew, and racing Michael to see who could dice the most carrots (which I clearly won), I paused to reflect on the day. There are many pieces to what enables an organization to effect change. I would normally be the guy to gravitate towards the direct interaction with the children. Yet this opportunity has provided me with the understanding that value and importance, like a glacier, go far deeper than the surface. The bus ride home was warm with conversation, a far cry from the silence of the early morning trip. Michael slept the entire way, then crawled into bed at 6 PM and has yet to awaken as I sit here journaling the day's events. The trip appears to be taking its toll on him! So as not to disturb him, I walked down to the living room to sit with the family. Amparo (the matriarch), sat facing the television, knees touching the screen engaged in her telenovella. Jennifer sat on the couch, doodling romantic musings to her boyfriend Jorge with a freshly shaved red pencil. Oscar, jumped around the room, speaking in a foreign animal tongue, spinning his chinese star around the room, arm shrouded in his Superman wristband. Ingrid sat in the lazy chair watching her two children with one eye and coloring her son's homework with the other half of her attention. Lily sat upright in her own couch, legs sprawled over the armrest, sipping juice, entranced with the soap actor's dreamy eyes and wavy hair. I sat somewhere in the middle, lightly picking at a guitar and marvelling in the peacefulness of this moment. Bliss...

A little update...
Day 3 at Camino Seguro. I have now pretended to lose a finger in a vegetable blender to entertain some kids and scare the living daylights out of Isabel. Tomorrow, I have secured some fake blood to escalate things a bit in the kitchen games. Michael and I have also been helping count the inventory in the Camino Seguro warehouse. I have counted 4400 rubber bands, 2632 paper clips, 845 rulers, 3054 pencils, and 2228 erasers. Tomorrow? Making ourselves available to help wherever needed will always provide exciting and unexpected opportunities. It is the Full Hearts' way of doing things.

gregorio