Up to date...finally

So I think all the other posts I just made will catch me up to do date on my trips, highs, lows, and everything in between in the last month. This last week has continued to go very well and I’m happy to say that being positive is VERY easy lately and my previous struggles have taken a back seat to having a great time here. My work with SonRisas has really turned around since the 1^st of July and we had another meeting last week where at the end of the meeting we discussed our progress with each job and received instant feedback and recommendations. It has made me so happy that our concerns were listened to, both sides are from it benefiting, and I’m overall extremely happy with the outcome.

This last weekend we were supposed to meet for the first time on Saturday with SonRisas to do activities, games, and lessons with all the children but unfortunately it was canceled due to a serious problem that came up with one of the main contributors and collaborators of SonRisas who always comes to work with the children. This was once again something very frustrating, but again it was out of my control so I had to accept it, move on, and contribute to the organization in other ways.

When I step back and take a look at my trip so far I can see a lot of ups and downs but I can label it all a learning experience. Before I came down here I was expecting to learn how an NGO functions and hopefully learn many ways to contribute and help the organization grow. I have learned a lot about SonRisas, but so far I think I have learned more about how to cope with unexpected environments and how to make them positive. Still, I have helped, contributed to, and learned about SonRisas while being here for my first five weeks, but I think that I have learned more about how to assert myself to make my situation positive, enjoyable, and productive. I still have over four weeks here in Guatemala and I am positive that I will be able to contribute to SonRisas, as well as continuing my personal growth.

The good news keeps coming from Guate,

Jesse