Hello, friends and family,
As you may have heard, the Webb’s are preparing for another grand adventure! This one promises to be challenging and exciting, since much of the itinerary takes us to “developing” countries and exotic, mysterious lands. On August 30, we depart for Guatemala, where we will spend a month studying Spanish in Quetzeltenango, Guatemala’s second largest city. We’ll live with a host family, arranged by the school and, after a month or so of language lessons, we hope to be habla-ing well enough to begin volunteering at Safe Passage in Guatemala City. This is a program that serves the children of the workers in the massive, toxic city dump. It was begun by Hanley Denning, a wonderful young woman from Maine, and has grown into a large, successful program that gives hope and education to these children.
Our itinerary calls for us to return to Maine in mid-December and then head out again for the far east and then Europe. All tolled, we’ll be away for a year.
We are getting excited, nervous, a bit stressed as Departure Day approaches. We have spent the summer emptying our house, completing projects that have languished for years, getting shots for all manner of nasty-sounding diseases, working with an agent to find a renter for our house, and saying good-bye to those close to us.
There is some trepidation as we leave our comfort zone and head out to unknown parts where life, for most people, is much more difficult than here in Gorham, Maine. We hope that we can add a little bit of goodness to the lives of the children at Safe Passage, and we fully expect to learn lots about the world and ourselves.
Why, any reasonable person might ask, do we want to leave the comforts of family and friends, and a privileged life in our yuppie enclave? Adventure, service, learning, and exploration are all part of the mix, as well as the awareness of the effects of aging and the limited time available to us for such trips.
We hear voices questioning the rationale for such a trip, along with admissions that this is out of the comfort zone of most. Part of the adventure for us is testing our own comfort zone, exploring how people live, and seeing what this says about our own lives and nationality. Part of the attraction is exploring the unknown, to see what’s over the next hill and to learn about other cultures and how these cultures contrast with our own. Part of the lure is meeting new people and connecting with the wider world. All of this is not really possible in a two week vacation trip or by reading a guide book. We want to experience a longer stay, learn a language, and share experiences with others. So, stay tuned as we write about our adventures here while taking a leap into the unknown.
As you may have heard, the Webb’s are preparing for another grand adventure! This one promises to be challenging and exciting, since much of the itinerary takes us to “developing” countries and exotic, mysterious lands. On August 30, we depart for Guatemala, where we will spend a month studying Spanish in Quetzeltenango, Guatemala’s second largest city. We’ll live with a host family, arranged by the school and, after a month or so of language lessons, we hope to be habla-ing well enough to begin volunteering at Safe Passage in Guatemala City. This is a program that serves the children of the workers in the massive, toxic city dump. It was begun by Hanley Denning, a wonderful young woman from Maine, and has grown into a large, successful program that gives hope and education to these children.
Our itinerary calls for us to return to Maine in mid-December and then head out again for the far east and then Europe. All tolled, we’ll be away for a year.
We are getting excited, nervous, a bit stressed as Departure Day approaches. We have spent the summer emptying our house, completing projects that have languished for years, getting shots for all manner of nasty-sounding diseases, working with an agent to find a renter for our house, and saying good-bye to those close to us.
There is some trepidation as we leave our comfort zone and head out to unknown parts where life, for most people, is much more difficult than here in Gorham, Maine. We hope that we can add a little bit of goodness to the lives of the children at Safe Passage, and we fully expect to learn lots about the world and ourselves.
Why, any reasonable person might ask, do we want to leave the comforts of family and friends, and a privileged life in our yuppie enclave? Adventure, service, learning, and exploration are all part of the mix, as well as the awareness of the effects of aging and the limited time available to us for such trips.
We hear voices questioning the rationale for such a trip, along with admissions that this is out of the comfort zone of most. Part of the adventure for us is testing our own comfort zone, exploring how people live, and seeing what this says about our own lives and nationality. Part of the attraction is exploring the unknown, to see what’s over the next hill and to learn about other cultures and how these cultures contrast with our own. Part of the lure is meeting new people and connecting with the wider world. All of this is not really possible in a two week vacation trip or by reading a guide book. We want to experience a longer stay, learn a language, and share experiences with others. So, stay tuned as we write about our adventures here while taking a leap into the unknown.
