Guatemala

Dad, Two years ago I told a young white woman that you were of Guatemalan descent. Instantly, her blue eyes beamed with interest as we sat on opposite sides of a small wooden bench. Noting her enthusiasm, I felt the pressure of an ancient and indistinct sadness well up inside of me. I had declared that my father was a member of the nation, and as his more educated heir, it was now my duty to answer as its ambassador. Averting her gaze in an attempt to halt the forthcoming barrage of questions,…

By the time I was a senior in high school, I had already traveled to Guatemala once for a service trip. Now, towards the end of February break of my senior year, I was in the middle of the rural countryside in Guatemala, traveling a familiar rocky road in a grey van. I was with fellow students who went on the trip the year before, and we were on our way to visit the community we had become acquainted with exactly a year earlier. Going down a winding, bumpy road in a strange country with a…

It’s almost been a full week here in Honduras and I have found that I have not missed home yet. If anything I feel very at home here because of how friendly everyone I have met has been. It was our first free day and it was a day well spent! Today after breakfast, I met Julia who is Mr. Carlos’ wife. Julia has a son in my 4th grade class, Marco, and a daughter Daniela who is in 3rd grade. Julia came over to give some of us manicures and pedicures. Although I did not get either, I still spent the…

Four years ago, my life took a path I had not imagined. I was presented with the opportunity to travel to Guatemala and help indigenous Mayans in some of the most poverty stricken regions. Now this may sound like an ordinary service trip to travel internationally and give charity to a stranger and feel good about yourself, but the experience was much more. Yes, I built stoves in homes, handed out water filters, food, chickens, and participated in eye clinics; but the immersion and interaction…

I have experienced much grace through the trouble and poverty I have witnessed through my mission trips to Guatemala. I went to Guatemala June 9-16, 2014, and August 4-11, 2015 (and I plan on going back August 2016). Seeing the conditions these people live in daily, has helped me take to heart the kind of help they are in need of. Many of these people have no home, no family or no money to provide for their family, yet they are still thankful. Most of the time little boys and girls won’t have…

color were sold because of their capacity and their strength to handle works that white people wouldn’t do or were unable to do because of their position. As time goes by there is still evidence of this type of exploitation in the post-modern world. Guatemala, Chile, Honduras just to name a few are countries rich in natural resources, lands, and other raw materials.…

The accident. I wasn’t supposed to be driving. Cars are very rare in Guatemala, and very expensive and the fact that we had a car was probably impressive enough. But I wasn't taking any chances with this girl. It being my first time driving, I did okay. Got out of the make shift garage and down the street alright. After that…

start to begin to explain who my mom does things the way she does everyday. First off as you might know I am adapted from Guatemala. Everyday I wake up and I am so thankful that my mom (and dad) were there and decided to adapt a baby from Guatemala. To start I am deeply sad end that Guatemala and the U.S of A government can come to some solution that will allow baby's from Guatemala to come to the U.S. That is the most ridiculous thing that I ever heard! Okay Back to the topic, my parent have…

From 1946 to 1948 The United States conducted what is now known as "The Guatemala Syphilis Experiment". As part of the experiment "Doctors infected soldiers, prostitutes, prisoners and mental patients with syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases, without the informed consent of the subjects[...] [resulting] in at least 83 deaths." () Certainly the prisoners who had sex with infected prostitutes hired by the researchers to do so, would be under the scope of persons with "diminished…

When conducting research on another human being, rules must be put in place to protect the dignity and health of that person. That being said, if the person is under no physical or emotional distress, there should not be a need to stop a researcher from continuing or sharing their findings. A reasonable stance in this case would mean do not harm, if that was not explicitly obvious to begin with if you are a decent human being. A person may be your test subject, but that does not mean you can…