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This blog shares the experiences of Goshen College students participating in the Study-Service Term in Guatemala.
Over three weeks in this Central American country, students are exploring the theme of Hispanic identities and resilience by learning firsthand about the challenges facing young people and the strength of community responses across Guatemala. Through field trips, guest speakers, homestays and service, they are engaging with history, culture and daily life in both Guatemala City and smaller Mayan villages near Lake Atitlán. These reflections invite readers into the students’ moments of growth, connection and understanding as they encounter new perspectives and witness resilience in action.
By Millie Liddell Yesterday we had the wonderful opportunity to visit Chocolate del Obispo in the town of San Juan del Obispo. We learned about this family-run business and how they incorporate traditional and modern methods to produce chocolate; it…
By Egypt Boyd So, you found yourself hiking Pacaya, a volcano in Guatemala. Don’t panic—I’ve got the perfect guide to help you get through it. Step 1: Mental preparation. I hope you mentally prepared. Some do this by going to…
During our last week in Guatemala, we were able to visit two university campuses and interact with students. This is a particularly interesting moment for higher education in Guatemala, following the election of a new president, or rector, for Guatemala’s…
In 1996, Guatemala signed a peace accord that ended the 36-year civil war. One of the many challenges in the post-conflict era has been to bear witness to the historical memory of the communities most affected during the war. The…
By Caoimhe Farrell The inspiration for this poem was a visit to San Jacinto, Chimaltenango, where our group had the opportunity to help plant trees surrounding a football field. Young boys ran around with machetes to dig holes for our…
By Teo Kingsley “How can we love the land, if we don’t know details about the land?” Benita Simón Mendoza asked our group when we visited Rujotay, the organization she helped found in San Juan Comalapa. During a two-night trip…
By Claire Reichenbach Just over halfway through our time here in Guatemala, our group had the opportunity to attend a program entitled the Citizen Training School. The Citizen Training School is composed of university-aged students and runs from March to…
By Jessie Price Over the course of two days, our group visited Lago Atitlán to observe, learn, and interact with the local Mayan communities living around the lake. Here we were immersed in Tz’utujil culture, as the culture in each…
By Brandon Lomas On the last day of our first week in Guatemala we visited the town of Santiago Atitlán, which is on the southwestern shore of Lake Atitlán. While in Santiago we had the opportunity to stay the night…
By Ana Alves Machado Last week, we visited the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura or as Guatemalans nicknamed it “El Guacamolón” (The Big Avocado), because of its distinctive green color. It is located in Guatemala City’s historic center. Today it…
By Dahlia Thut and Josh Chupp On the first full day of the Guatemala May Term SST, our group visited a program called Puerta de Esperanza, which means Door of Hope. Puerta de Esperanza is located just outside of La…
By Elizabeth Miller Morning: Good morning from Guatemala! Enjoy this view from the garden of the Semilla campus, which we be our home base for the duration of our course. We have a full day today, including an opening orientation and…
Only 10 days until we embark for Guatemala! Elizabeth Miller and Neil Richer are excited to be leading the “Youth and Resilience” Guatemala SST this year, accompanied by their two daughters.
By Elizabeth Miller ’06, Asst. Prof. of History / Director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism Benita directed the bus to park next to Comalapa’s town dump, as she began to tell the members of the Goshen...
by Mariela Esparza, a class of 2023 English major. Day 6: Mayan spirituality lecture – SEMILLA We received our guest speaker, Ronaldo, at 9 a.m. on Monday. Ronaldo told us that for the Mayans, everything spiritual was grounded in tangible…
Augusta Nafziger is a junior writing and music double major from Weyers Cave, Virginia. Our second day in Guatemala began with a delicious breakfast (thank you Reyna and Ingrid!), followed by a guest speaker lecture by Israel Ortiz, a professor at...
Jakyra Green graduated this year as an English and Secondary Education major. I will skip summarizing boring logistics and I’ll dive straight into the heart of my short but rewarding experience in Guatemala. Despite being here less than a week,...
We’re here! Yesterday’s one-stop flight to Guatemala was uneventful — almost easy — and we arrived at 9pm hora de Guate (11pm Eastern) although it was closer to 1pm Eastern by the time we made it to CASAS and took this...