Guatemala Winter Break 2009-10

Trip Destination: Guatemala, Central America.  Participants spend time in Guatemala City, the capitol, as well as smaller towns and rural parts of the country.

Trip Dates:  Approximately 7, 8 or 9 days toward the end of winter break 2009-10.

Coordinating Organizations:  Boston College Campus Ministry, in collaboration with the Center for Global Education, an organization that has hosted Boston College delegations for many years (www.augsburg.edu/global/).

Center for Global Education Philosophy:  The pedagogy of all programs encourages an interdisciplinary approach to learning in which the content and process are strongly interrelated.  Participants are both teachers and learners, engaged in a continuing interplay between action and reflection.  The method is participatory, problem-posing and experiential.  Participants are invited to consider both theory and application in the context of their own experience.

Itinerary:  Guatemala is a beautiful country with a tragic history, most recently during a 36-year armed conflict, the effects of which still resound today.  The Center for Global Education designs the trip’s itinerary and coordinates each day’s activities, which include meetings and conversations with representatives of the Church, the government, political parties, and non-governmental organizations involved with and committed to human rights and land rights, globalization and trade, sustainable agriculture and development, health, education, post-war transition and reconciliation, among other topics.  While learning about macro-level social, economic, political and religious issues from various perspectives, participants have the opportunity to learn first hand about the joys and struggles of people profoundly impacted by policies and situations they can’t control. 

It is possible that participants may stay for a few days in beautiful San Lucas Toliman, a rural community where mostly people of Maya decent live, set on the shore of Lake Atitlán in the Sierra Madre Mountains, and learn about and participate in local parish-sponsored projects, such as coffee production and reforestation, sponsored by Guatemalans who are involved with the Catholic parish at San Lucas Toliman.

During the trip, participants must expect to live simply.  They likely will eat food that is not always familiar or plentiful, sleep in beds or other places that are often less comfortable than they might be accustomed to, bathe rarely, and experience limited personal space. 
Prayer, reflection, journaling, and sharing with each other are core aspects of this experience before, during, and after the trip.  Each participant is expected to share about her/his faith, in all of its joys and struggles, and to explore how faith, and the gifts they have been given, connect to living in solidarity with the Poor.

Language Proficiency Required:  Although being able to speak Spanish is useful while on the trip, applicants do not need to be able to speak any language other than English to participate.

Safety:  Boston College Campus Ministry seriously considers the U.S. Department of State’s published statements regarding public safety in a potential host country.  For travel-related information and recommendations published by the U.S. Department of State, please check the U.S. Department of State’s website: http://www.state.gov/travel/.

Health/Immunizations:  Boston College Campus Ministry requests that participants seriously consider protecting themselves before traveling outside of the U.S. with the immunizations and other preventative measures recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).  For more travel-related information and recommendations published by the CDC, please check the CDC’s website: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/regionCentralAmerica.aspx.