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Interviewer: This is Steve. He's been volunteering with A Broader View here in Shala Guatemala.
Steve, maybe you can introduce yourself quickly. Steve: I'm Steve. I'm currently living in
Alaska. I grew up in Michigan in the United States. This is my first volunteering trip
and it went really well. I enjoyed it a lot. Interviewer: At what project did you volunteer?
Steve: The orphanage in Shala in Guatemala. Interviewer: What were your daily tasks at
the projects? Steve: Help out wherever it was needed. I
was in this classroom a lot helping with arts and crafts and out at recess. I would play
foot ball with the kids. Help out and generally just be with the kids and support them in
whatever they were doing. Interviewer: What was the most memorable thing
of your volunteer experience? Steve: I don't know. Probably the people I
volunteered with and the kids. There's so many of them. I learned a lot from them and
it was opening the whole experience. The other volunteers with A Broader View were all really
cool. After volunteering in Spanish, we'd go on different hikes and activities. It was
overall really good, memorable. Interviewer: How was your accommodation like?
Steve: The host family was amazing. Sandra and Sergio were really awesome and the house
was very nice. The food was amazing. It was a really laid back fun atmosphere, a lot of
joking. I felt at home the first day. Sandra was super helpful with everything and overall
it was one of the best home stays I've ever done. It was really really good.
Interviewer: You also did Spanish classes? Did you like it and was it helpful?
Steve: Yeah, it was definitely pretty helpful. My teacher is really interesting. He taught
me a lot about the history of Shala and culture. We talked a lot about different topics like
that and really practiced just general conversation. That was helpful.
Interviewer: Nice. What did you do in Shala in your free time?
Steve: In my free time in Shala, one weekend me and two other volunteers and I went horseback
riding outside of Shala. That was pretty fun. It was a good day and a good time. This last
weekend, another volunteer and I took the chicken bus out to the hot springs and up
in the mountains. That was really really cool. It was really fun just getting there. It was
a beautiful drive and the next day, Sunday, we climbed up Santa Maria, which is the volcano.
Left at 5:00 in the morning. It was a good strenuous hike. We spent a couple of hours
at the top and watched a couple of eruptions from the other volcano nearby. It was really
good. I wish I had more time here. There's a lot to do. Shala is really a beautiful city
and safe and really active. I liked it a lot. Interviewer: Good. Why did you choose A Broader
View and how was their support? Steve: This was my first time volunteering.
There's so many organizations online and I really had no clue where to start. I found
jobs through Cool Works before, which is a web site and they popped up on there and I
was getting off of work in two weeks and I hadn't made any plans and I called Sarah at
the headquarters. I explained I only have two weeks and I'm sorry about the short notice.
She found me this program really fast and was really helpful and supportive. Before
I knew it, I had everything I needed to go. It was really very thoroughly done and everything
has gone super smooth. The support staff here, Juan and Pedro have been amazing, super reliable
and friendly, very easy to get hold of and supportive. Overall, the whole trip has gone
off without a hitch. It's been really smooth and no problems at all.
Interviewer: Would you recommend this program to future volunteers and do you maybe have
any tips for them, what to do and what to bring?
Steve: I definitely recommend the program. Coming into the orphanage was very opening
for me. I'd expected it to be pretty chaotic and out of hand, but it took some time to
get used to and I was really open minded about it. Sometimes even when you feel like you're
not helping that much, just your presence to the kids is a lot so that means a lot to
them, little hugs and everything like that means so much to them even though sometimes
it feels like you're not physically doing too much, but just talking with the kids and
being there really means a lot to them. I would say definitely keep an open mind when
you come and really have no expectations. Be ready for anything and then be prepared
to dial the clock back a little bit, because everything's a little bit slower, but once
you get used to it, it's kind of nice. There's no rush. Always be ready to be 15 minutes
late for everything. It works out good. It's smooth and not too much of a hassle also.
Interviewer: Thanks a lot for all the good advice and for all your good work.
Steve: Oh cool. Thank you. Interviewer: I hope you have a good trip back.
Steve: I definitely will. Thank you. I hope to volunteer again with you guys and looking
forward to planning another trip. Interviewer: Thank you.
Steve: You're welcome.