Wednesday, May 13-Quincy Mears

Hola from Guatemala, it's Quincy here. Today was a fun-packed day. The sun came up around four in the morning, so I pondered life while watching the sun peak around the mountains. Soon after, a mango fell off of the tree I was sitting close to. It was a great morning snack.
We started the day with touring the clinic. They serve many people throughout the day with needs such as ophthalmology, natural pathology, emergency room, pharmacy, and lab. I was very interested with the natural teas they use to treat their patients. I'm very excited to observe the naturopath appointment in action.
We continued on to touring the school, Asunción. It was humbling to see their excitement of being at school. They go to school for subjects specific to their future careers. They sang a song for their mothers as well as all of ours. Mother's Day is taken very seriously here as they celebrate it the whole month of May. A couple of us played a basketball game with some of the girls. I was pleasantly surprised with how well they played. We called ourselves the Equipo de Gringo. I think the score was around 2 to 20. During mass I sat next to some of the girls going to school. The singing and participation was great and inspiring. I often times got confused and would ask to find the right song. We ended the night with dinner with the nuns, Father Kevin, and all the students who live at the school. The children were very forthcoming to talk with us. I taught a group of kids how to say the sign of cross in English. They were very excited about this.
In the end, many of the group members have commented on the poverty here. I was a little confused because this wasn't something that came to my mind when considering what I have taken from the day. All that came to mind was their joy. This is the kind of joy I want to strive for not only every day for the rest of my time here in Guatemala; but also, when I return back to the United States. Everyone here is extremely friendly and willing to work with me, even when I accidentally said words in Portuguese.

Quincy Mears