It was a cloudy morning, the window next to the bedside table was cracked open, and a chilly breeze blew in the room. Indigo was sleeping until she heard a motorcycle zooming through the streets of Guatemala City. Indigo Smith ’18 ,woke up, closed the window, and stretched in excitement to start her day, in this lovely city.

Indigo gets ready and heads out to tackle her first activity. First, she walks to the nearby school to help out. It doesn’t have the best appearance: the floors, tables and bulletin boards certainly could use some improvement. After visiting the school, she heads out of the building and notices the outhouses.

Her task while in Guatemala City is to help build indoor bathrooms for the students. Even though the weather was pretty chilly and rainy during her stay- low 70s and 60s due to hurricane Earl that struck nearby Belize- Indigo manages to dig a 3 meter deep hole, and successfully builds indoor stalls. She does this with little to no experience in construction or maintenance work, besides helping build sets through tech theater at Regina.

Indigo was chosen to go to Guatemala City through a scholarship program from Girls Hope/Boys Hope. Indigo has a passion for helping others and would do anything to help needy people. She already does volunteer work in Chicago at the animal clinic. In the next few days, Indigo will meet many people, and spend most of her time with the children who are truly her inspiration.

Indigo remarks, “They’re so sweet and you literally would never see a child with a frown on their face, they’re like the happiest kids ever.”

As her visit soon comes to an end, she says her goodbyes and thanks everyone for letting her have the opportunity to stay for a week, where she was completely out of her comfort zone. It has been her first time doing out of state service, and she says it is very different from Chicago. The culture really stood out: Everyone seemed very welcoming and kind.

Shortly, she heads back to her dorm, packs her suitcase, and makes it to the airport, back to Chicago. On her flight she reflects on her trip. From this experience, Indigo has learned to become more open minded and optomistic. The overall message she would like to share to Regina students is to take Spanish class seriously, because in the long run it will be of great value.