One Way United

I have been home now for almost a week and in some ways the whole entire journey feels like some sort of dream that I have just woken up from. Did I really just spend the last 8 months traveling through Latin America? Did I really see penguins in Patagonia, hitchhike through southern Chile, swim in a secret spot in Iguazu Falls, witness a midnight Incan ritual in the middle of Lake Titicaca, hike the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, or become the one of the first tourists to see ancient Incan walls with white-stoned llamas? Did I really see the endless Bolivian salt flats, go bike riding in the Atacama desert, float through the Amazon jungle, watch volcanic eruptions in Costa Rica, see giant ancient Mayan pyramids, or meet the new Vice President of Peru in the middle of an election day riot? I feel like I bumped my head, dreamed the whole thing, and woke up in my bed at my parents house. I don’t know how to answer when people ask me, “how does it feel to be back?” In a way it feels like I never left. Sure my house changed colors and my cat got fatter but all in all it seems like not much has changed.

Like in any crazy dream, it took a little time to compeletely adjust back to reality. It took a while walking through the Dallas airport thirsty before I realized the purpose of the shiny silver thing. It took a little bit of driving before I realized that I would not see random drunks peeing in the streets, children playing everywhere, starved dogs frolicking about, chicken busses careening out of control, or hear the constant honking of horns. I feel completely awake now but I find solace in the fact that the dream was real. I really did and saw all those things. I really lived out of a backpack for 8 months. I may be back to what people like to call “the real world,” but for the majority of 2006 that dream was my “real world.” Every time a person I met from my journey emails me, my face lights up as I am reminded that the crazy, unfathomable dream actually happened. I have now woken up from one dream and am ready to begin another. I don’t know what will happen yet but I am excited to experience it. For me, there is no reality.

*I know a lot of you may be curious about the details of my return back to Seattle. I decided on the 9th that I was going to come home so I bought a ticket that day and came home on the night of the 12th. I have spent the last week just surprising people (including my sister on her birthday). Nobody had any idea I was coming home…I led my parents to believe I was going to volunteer with Safe Passage for a month or longer. There will be more to come on One Way United. There are still some pictures that I will post of the trip and I will write more on my decision to come home, my final days, what this journey has taught me, highlights, and so on. But for now, I want to say thank you to everybody that supported us as we were living a dream. There have been so many people that have prayed for us and have been so encouraging before and throughout the journey. Thank you!

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*Pictures of the thursday tour in Guatemala City are now up*

Hanley Denning was just an ordinary recent graduate when she was studying Spanish in Antigua. The day before she left home, she got an invitation to see the Guatemala City garbage dump. There she witnessed the dark reality that thousands of people faced everyday living there. Finding things from the dump to recycle was their only income. The children helped by digging through the trash or taking care of children smaller than themselves. Everywhere, she saw poverty at its worse. People lived in cardboard boxes and everyday, they would do the same thing. They would dig through the trash. To survive. They only lived days at a time and the saddest part was there was no hope. There were children everywhere who would never be able to afford an education and whose potential would never be realized. They had no options in life, except for digging through the trash, hoping to find enough material to survive on. Hanley was so moved by what she saw, that she decided to do something about it.

In 1999, Hanley founded Safe Passage (Camino Seguro). It was an organization designed to fight poverty in the Guatemala City garbage dump through education. She raised $2000 before coming down to Guatemala. Her original plan was to select 15 children for her program. She started at a small chapel located next to the dump with the initial intention of providing a safe place for a meal while gradually building an educational program. From these humble beginnings, the organization exploded. Over 500 children are served today and Safe Passage is now one of the most successful children´s non governmental organization in Central America, raising $100,000 per month in support with hundreds of volunteers coming to help from all areas of the world.

I got a chance to take a tour of this organization and I was very impressed. On Tuesday, I visited Casa Hogar which is located in the town of San Pedro, a few kilometers away from Antigua. Casa Hogar was originally meant to be a Condominium but after years of trying to sell, the builder finally leased it to Safe Passage at a very cheap price. This is a place where neglected children living without homes can go and receive an education in a safe place. The children there were just like children. They were happy, full of life, and curious about the new visitors. As I walked around and witnessed how content the children were and knowing the hopeless situation from where they came from, it just made me so happy. These children would have the opportunity to go to college. These children would have choices. All because a young lady cared and was moved to act.

On Thursday, I visited the sites Safe Passage has near the dump in Guatemala City. The tour was led as a sort of crescendo. He led us first to the chapel where it all began. Then we went to their current primary education center where the younger children learn. The building is actually a warehouse right next to the dump complete with a cement slab as a floor and grey walls. However, it appears they tried to make it as colorful as possible as everywhere there are posters and drawings. After that we were taken to the recently constructed primary education center. The land purchased is directly on top of where the dump used to be. A couple of people from the University of Washington constructed all the buildings and did all the landscaping for the site and they did a fantastic job. This facility is not being used yet but it will be a great improvement to the spot they have now. After that, we visited the old Casa Hogar, simply a tiny house crammed in between other houses. This is now being used as a small educational center. Finally we visited the school for the older chilren. It is a huge building complete with dozens of actual classrooms, a library, a cafeteria, and even a computer room! I have to say I was extremely impressed on how big this organization has grown to be. This program, after only seven years, already has two college graduates, and there will no doubt be hundreds more.

Still, the children lucky enough to be involved with Safe Passage, only comprise roughly 25% of the entire population of children living in the dump. Despite the great success of the project, there is still a tremendous need. Thousands of children still dig through the trash to survive. If you have an interest in supporting Safe Passage or are just curious about it here is their website. This is a great organization making a huge difference.

*On a random note, I had one of those small world moments. I was accompanied on both tours by a couple that stayed at the same hostel that we stayed at in Quito, Ecuador. They have a fearless little girl who loves to be in the middle of everything which made for a fun tour! They plan on volunteering at Casa Hogar for 2 months. I am still undecided on what I am going to do.

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So this is it: my final post at One Way United. I won’t say much here, but there’s plenty of other things for you to see. My spot on the people page has been massively updated. In it you will find an end of trip piece. Be forewarned, it’s pretty long and pretty personal. I was as brief as I could manage, but hey, I was gone nearly 8 months! You will also find a collage of my favorite pictures of the trip and some of the stories behind them. Should be informative for those of you who haven’t been following along (you know who you are ). I also added one last special album to the photo gallery so check that out too when you get a chance.

So at last my time here comes to an end. It’s been one long wild ride and now it is time to move on to something else…with adequate rest time in between of course. Love to all and God bless.

Always,

Adam

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