Nos Vemos
Six weeks in Guatemala, 20 planned Instagram posts for Mercado Global, 12 matcha lattes from Cafe Loco, two sunrise hikes, one fever, one bruise on my chin from a 12m (40ft) cliff jump, and countless memories.
I still cannot believe I was living in Guatemala for six weeks. It flew by so fast and it felt like I was living in a dream. I had the best six weeks of my life and I couldn’t have asked for a better company to work for, a better country to live in, and a better partner to be with. When everyone asked me how Guatemala was, all I could say was how I loved every single second of it, even though that is a lie because I did not enjoy the cold showers but except for that I swear I enjoyed every single second! When everyone asked me a follow-up question of what I liked about Guatemala, I told them that I absolutely loved everything about the country. I enjoyed the Mayan culture and traditions, the food, nature, the people, my work, and everything. I also recommended them to actually go there and experience it themselves, but so far none of them have shown interest, which is really sad. Erin and I loved it so much that we are actually already planning to come back in the spring!
Before actually setting foot to Guatemala I had no idea what to expect from my internship and what my life was going to be like. I did not expect myself to fall in love with this place so much. I also did not know how much I loved this place until it was my last day here and it was really hard to say bye to all of my friends and Guatemala. It actually hurt my heart and we tried to prolong saying bye as long as possible until our shuttle came. One of the many things I liked about Guatemala was that instead of saying bye (adios), people said nos vemos. This literally translates to we will see each other. Instead of saying bye to my friends here, I said nos vemos because I hate saying goodbyes and now I have an excuse to come back here and see them again.
This program not only taught me important marketing skills, but opened my eyes to a whole new way of traveling, immersing myself in the culture, and about myself as well. Getting exposed to the real marketing concepts used in the workplace was a great learning experience for me. I realized that putting ideas into reality is harder than it looks and I learned that a lot of effort is needed to be put in even for the simplest task. Because I was the only marketing intern, I was in charge of their August and September Instagram pictures and captions. It was a lot of responsibility because I was the only one working on it and it is something that the customers directly engage with, but I enjoyed doing it and learned a lot about social media marketing. Before I left I finished the September Instagram plan as well and it was cool to leave something behind hat would still be used after I left. From the six weeks that I worked at Mercado Global, I not only learned about general work etiquette but also marketing skills that I could use in the future.
As I had more time to process about the time I had in Guatemala, the more I realized that I learned so much about myself. From interacting with my partner and another intern, I realized that I could improve on being fully present in the moment. When I did a Mayan reading, the guy told me that I am a “visionary” and can focus on getting something done, but I also get distracted easily. My mind just goes to places if I do not try to focus on being in the present. I noticed that I kept on missing something that they noticed because while my body was physically there, my mind was not present at that moment and was thinking about something else. This was a really good thing to notice and realize before I start my semester abroad.
Before going to Guatemala, I thought I was well-traveled. I quickly realized that I have so much more to see and that the world is big. I have traveled to many countries but they were all mainstream tourist destinations and very superficial. Going to Guatemala was the first time I traveled to a developing nation and spending enough time to get to know the place. To be honest, if I did not have the opportunity to go to Guatemala, I would have never traveled to Guatemala. Now I am eager to travel to not-so-known travel destinations and have a more meaningful connection with the place because of this incredible experience in Guatemala.
I also learned that there are many ways to live your life. I used to think that the best way to live life was to get a stable job, get a husband, raise a family, and spend the rest of your life with your family. But after talking to many backpackers and listening to their stories, I realized that everyone had very different and unique life stories. But all of them had one thing in common. They were all genuinely happy and living life to their fullest. One person was just hopping from one country to another and sustaining herself by working at hostels and just working while traveling and literally making the whole world her home. I did not even know there was a way to live like that but after hearing this I realized that society forces us to think that there is only one way to live, which is to work to be able to live, but what she taught me was that living comes before working.
As I am unpacking my suitcase from Guatemala and packing my suitcases for my semester abroad in Barcelona, I again do not know what to expect, but all I know is that I need to have a backpacker mindset and create meaningful connections with the people and place wherever I go.
