Point Loma High School senior Mikayla Hafner, 17, spent three hot July weeks working in a Guatemalan daycare facility as part of an international volunteer program.
Hafner and other Cross-Cultural Solutions volunteers were stationed in Guatemala City, where they each cared for groups of 3 to 4-year-old children who only spoke Spanish.
Throughout her trip, Hafner documented her experiences in a journal.
“The facility is surprisingly nice and the children seem very well cared for, despite their dirty clothes,” she wrote. “The language barrier is quite frustrating, but after only about four hours of my work, my comprehension got a lot better. I even know the [Spanish] word for ‘spit’ because I had to brush the children’s teeth.”
Hafner said she taught the children songs like, ‘The Itsy, Bitsy Spider’ and ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,’ which they eventually learned to sing without her help.
On her decision to make the trip, Hafner explained, “I wanted to do something important. I didn’t have any plans for the summer and I’ve always wanted to travel abroad.”
Still, Rosalyn Hafner said she initially had reservations regarding her daughter’s plans.
“When Mikayla brought up the idea of going to Guatemala with Cross-Cultural Solutions, I, at first, was very apprehensive,” she said. “On the other hand, I place a high value on traveling outside of the country and knew that Mikayla and [her friend] Haylee would come back more mature and wiser if they could arrange to go.”
In order to raise the $3,000 needed for the trip, Hafner said she appealed to friends and family members, writing them letters to explain the purpose of her trip.
“In the letter I enclosed a flyer saying that I would pick up junk for free, and then sell it at a yard sale as another means of raising money,” she explained.
In addition to her volunteer work, Hafner said she also traveled to nearby cities Tikal, Antigua and Iximche where she visited ancient Mayan ruins and toured an old colonial city.
Hafner said her experiences changed her outlook on life here in San Diego.
“It did get me a little more clued into the world,” she said. “Besides the fact that we speak different languages, I play the same games and make the same faces as I do with the children I care for in San Diego.”
Of future travels, Hafner said she’d love to visit Tanzania, Africa. “I definitely plan to do more international volunteer work in the future,” she said. “This trip was very eye-opening for me and I can’t wait to embark on another fabulous adventure.”
Cross-Cultural Solutions is a non-profit organization that provides volunteer opportunities around the world that “foster cultural understanding,” according to its Web site.
For more information on Cross-Cultural solutions, go to: www.crossculturalsolutions.org.