Andrew Bergman ’14 wanted to spend his summer helping people and seeing the world.

Still in his freshman year, he wasn’t shy about inviting others to join him in his quest to visit a developing country; he set up flyers in the cafeteria, posted announcements around the College, and contacted Spanish professors, who he hoped would share information about his intended upcoming service trip.

The only requirements for the trip were to be dedicated to service and to be proficient in Spanish.

Through his efforts, Bergman was able to find seven other students ready for the challenge: Marina Gutierrez-Jones ’14, Alex Gardner ’14, Megan Richman ’14, Veronica Salas ’14, Daniel Price ’14, Angelica Ferreira ’14, and Tracy Kao ’12.

Through United Planet, an international volunteering society, Bergman was able to choose a location, focusing on finding a developing nation, where their time and resources would be best spent.

“We narrowed it down to a selection of places first – Mexico, Ecuador, and others. But Guatemala seemed like a perfect place for us to conduct a meaningful project,” he said.

During their ten-day trip to Finca la Florida, Guatemala – which is a rural mountain village, 7 to 8 hours from Guatemala City – the group of eight students assisted in the construction of the village’s schoolhouse, mentored the children at the school, and worked in the coffee fields.

“There are 300 children in this little village, and their schoolhouse only has one room, so we helped to build a second room for them,” said Bergman.

Aided by funds from the Center for Human Rights Leadership, the Kravis Leadership Institute, and the Dean of Students Office, Bergman and his group of volunteers were able to fund part of their trip. The other part of the funding has come from their own grassroots efforts to raise money – they worked with ASCMC to clean up after school events, they worked closely with businesses in the Claremont Village, and they even canvassed the residential area of Claremont.

The group is still raising funds to cover expenses for the trip, and Bergman can be contacted at (530) 575-5061 or at abergman14@students.claremontmckenna.edu.

Bergman explains the trip as hands-on learning: “It’s largely about self-development. Seeing one culture mix with another culture, especially one that faces extreme hardship on a daily basis, is essential to understanding oneself. It will be a valuable experience for me and the other students. And I’m excited to foster and lead that.”

“The trip was eye-opening,” says Daniel Price, a participant. “It was interesting to personally interact with a society so vastly different from our own.”

When I first told my friends that I was going to Guatemala, I remember their reactions, their eyes wide open, staring at me, they asked me “really?”, “but why,” “it is not a place where I would think to go…” “it’s just so far!” And now, when I tell them what I did there, the only thing they say is that they can’t wait to see the photos I took.

The first place where I stayed in Guatemala was Antigua. It is a lovely colonial city which, unfortunately, has been destroyed by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions many times. Everywhere in the city, you can see old churches with a beautiful facade, but only ruins behind it. One thing that I like in Antigua, and it is also true for all the places I visited in Guatemala, is that the streets are really colorful. There are houses painted in all kind of colors, from yellow to blue and pink. In the streets you also see women and children in traditional clothes. I love the fact that locals don’t wear the traditional dress for tourists: it is just their everyday clothes!

Later, I left Antigua to go to Livingston. I cannot find the words to say how different the atmosphere there was. First, you can access it only by boat, and once you reach this remote city, you immediately notice it’s African roots. This Guatemalan Rasta city has found its own balance between the cultures of Jamaica and Guatemala where people speak Garifuna, a language that I have never heard before.

The last side of Guatemala I wanted to talk about is, of course, the Mayan civilization. You can find Mayan ruins in many places in Guatemala. I went to Quirigua, which is one of the best places in Guatemala to see steles which are large carvings made on vertical pieces of stone or wood. Indeed, all the sculptures are very well preserved, but what impressed me the most was of course the ruins of Tikal. Tikal was a major urban center of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, and today, it is a huge natural park in the jungle where you can see Mayan Temples, observatories, and many other buildings from the fourth century B.C .to the tenth century A.D. It is really an amazing feeling to walk in the jungle and suddenly see a building that is ten centuries old appear in front of you!

My travels in Guatemala were a wonderful experience and I recommend the trip to everyone.

Marlo was like a second mother to me in Guatemala. She was great in terms of scheduling activities to educate me about the food and culture of Xela, as well as informing me about which sights to visit to get the best experience possible. I was paired up with a great teacher at the school who was not only able to educate me in the Spanish language, but also about the history, politics and current situation of Guatemala. Marlo shared her personal experiences with me as well, and she is truly an inspiration. She is an amazing person who is dedicated to bettering the lives of people around her, and it is obvious that she has the heart needed to serve as an in-country coordinator for United Planet. Her influence is a big part of why I would go back to Guatemala to volunteer and visit again.

I loved living with a host family, and meeting other volunteers that were living in the same home. The family was wonderful and very kind. I became instant friends with the other people living there as well. It was definitely insightful to live with a family instead of in a hostel or hotel. Spanish lessons at Kie Balam were great as well. I improved my Spanish through some grammar lessons, but mostly conversation practice which was very effective. I was also able to converse with my teacher about cultural, political, and historical issues concerning both Guatemala and the US – in Spanish! It was very exciting to be able to do that. The activities scheduled by Marlo at the school were so much fun (making chocolate, cooking lessons, pot-luck dinners, salsa lessons, field trips) and allowed me to bond with other students and volunteers who were also at the school. The kind, open-minded, culturally inquisitive people that I met on my Quest were amazing.

I also liked the fact that although we had a schedule, it was flexible, so we had time for other activities and trips in conjunction with Spanish lessons and volunteering. I liked having the freedom to choose what I was going to do, and I also liked that we were encouraged/allowed to use local transportation like chicken buses and mini-buses, as opposed to taxis and private shuttles (when possible). It definitely provided a more well-rounded experience and allowed me to immerse myself in the local culture to truly get a feel for life in Guatemala.

The most challenging part of my experience was leaving behind the children that I was working with at the battered women’s shelter. Their stories were heartbreaking and unfortunately due to high demand, the women’s shelter is only able to host residents for one year. Facing the realities of life in Xela was quite difficult, but the experience opened my eyes and inspired me to do something to better the situation.

Without sounding too redundant, I think this great experience made me realize that the world does not live the same way as I do in the United States. I have traveled extensively and done service projects before, but this trip made the biggest impact on me. The experience gave me better a perspective on our world situation and what I want my role in bettering our world to be. Meeting so many new friends from different backgrounds through volunteering and school was great. We were able to bond immediately and went on trips together after just a few days of knowing each other. The kind-hearted people that housed us and helped us along the way also touched me, and Guatemala now holds a big place in my heart. I will definitely be keeping in touch with the friends I made, and will be going back in the future.

Since its opening in January 2008, Lavandería Planeta Unido has provided employment for four women full time, plus two part time jobs for adolescents living in the shelter. Haydee was one of the first women to work there when the laundromat opened. She said “I’m proud to have worked here and to have provided a good service, it’s been a great experience.”Haydee lived in the shelter for a year with her seven children and, after saving enough money, moved on to a new house in another town. Currently, Zuyapa, another long-term shelter resident, runs the laundromat. An average day for her begins at 8 am when she picks up laundry at several local language schools that use the delivery service. The three washers and three dryers are then in constant use until lunch time when the laundromat closes at 6pm. Zuyapa, who is 18, says “I like working here because I like to talk to people, and it helps me fund my studies. I don’t work here on Saturdays as I go to college.”

But of course, it’s not all been plain sailing as anyone who has any experience of setting up a business will know. There have been many additional challenges, such as a break-in that resulted in the theft of a washing machine and occasional power cuts and water shortages. But this is all part of working in Guatemala. Lavanderia Planeta Unido has survived and continues to do well.

Our first impression of Guatemala during our first few days was sensory overload! The colorful woven fabrics, loud streets with honking horns and brightly painted buses, crowded markets, new foods and towering volcanoes made a vibrant kaleidoscope of sensations. We learned something new everywhere we looked, and we couldn’t stop soaking it in. After a few days we started our volunteer abroad work, which was a combination of playing with kids in a daycare, providing physical exams and health advice for them, working with kids in a domestic violence shelter, and giving educational talks to the Moms. For my daughter, playing with and reading to the smallest kids was the most fun. I have many wonderful memories of her big grin in the middle of multiple loving affectionate toddlers! My favorite part was talking with and getting to know the Moms, hearing their stories and helping them with advice about infant development and nutrition. We basically made our own schedule and plan after seeing the volunteer locations and seeing the needs. We would volunteer for half a day, then spend the other half either taking a Spanish class or going on an outing or doing an activity. Our one-on-one Spanish classes were super; the teachers were extremely knowledgeable and qualified. The cultural activities included taking a traditional weaving class, taking a bus to a large outdoor market, going to small outlying towns to explore, visiting a recycled glass factory, and doing an overnight hike with a guide. Each of them exposed us to another aspect of life or culture in Guatemala, so we really felt like we were seeing the culture from many angles. It added a lot to the experience to live with a host family and eat with them. We learned a lot about Guatemalan foods and tried many new dishes! We tried to make the best of the time we did have with our host families. It was really special to me to get to have an experience like this with my 13 year-old daughter. We got to know each other better and had lots of fun and didn’t get on each other’s nerves too much! I think she broadened her awareness of the world (and of how fortunate we are), and I did too. I know the experience will change me in ways I don’t even realize yet, and I hope to do something like this again in the future.

Salsa – spicy, fiery, hot, delicious! Of course I am talking about the dance! Like all dance forms, the music and movements represent cultural customs and history, making salsa dancing much more than just a fun, sultry dance.

The origin of salsa dancing is contested with many places claiming to be its “birthplace” — the leaders being Cuba and Puerto Rico. Salsa is a distillation of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances. The Latin music we hear today has most of its origins in Cuba where the blending of African drum rhythms and Spanish guitar evolved into a variety of Latin American music.

I fell in love with salsa while studying Spanish and living with a host family in Antigua, Guatemala back in 2002. One day I noticed a flyer announcing salsa lessons for $3.50. Who could resist? I was hooked after my first five minutes! It was a combination of the contagious music, fun moves and the chance to learn more about Antigua from a local’s perspective. I took classes five nights per week and joined my new friends at the salsa clubs on the weekends.

After returning to the States, I was not able to continue exploring my new-found passion until I moved to Boston in 2004. Since then, I have taken endless classes and joined a company called MetaMovements (www.metamovements.com). I now train with the student performance team and teach classes both in the studio and at salsa clubs in Boston. I also dance and teach Rueda de Casino – a Cuban dance with casino-style salsa moves done to salsa music, but the dancing couples are in a circle and all complete the same moves as they are called out by the group’s leader. It is a fun twist on salsa as dancers switch partners throughout the song, making it a very community-oriented dance. You can never stop learning salsa and rueda! The longer I dance, the more questions I have and the more I want to learn!

I am grateful that my job at United Planet requires me to visit many of our volunteer abroad programs worldwide. It has afforded me the chance to dance salsa in many countries including Japan, Peru, Costa Rica and Ecuador. Dance serves as a common language that negates the need for words!

MetaMovements Salsa Team

I love dancing with an international group of dancers and spreading the love of salsa! I encourage everyone to find a form of dance that connects with them and explore it to the fullest – its moves, music and history. I think everyone can dance!