Guatemala Research Trip 2009Trip ReportPeter NgoThis summer's trip to Guatemala was an amazing opportunity that I was thrilled to be a part of. It was a huge, eye-opening step into a world that I'd only recently discovered and alreadybecome emotionally immersed in: the world of social entrepreneurship and engineering for society.I'd never gone anywhere south of San Diego before, so this trip was a great first-encounter with Latin America, and a great test-drive opportunity for the Spanish I'd learned in high school but never used. I was amazed by the rich culture of Guatemalans, who were resourceful and tried to work with what they had, not necessarily going out to buy finished products. This was part of the strong independent spirit I saw in the people we met. I noticed fewbeggars, and those who had homes worked hard for sustenance as well as fulfillment. The traditional markets were filled with individuals who tried to sell their craft, who fought to eke outa living using their skills, without giving up or succumbing to beggary. Julio Cesar, though we later elected not to work with him, toils after his dream of bettering lives for rural Guatemalans –a remarkable story, considering his difficult past. All this contrasts with situation of the destitute here in Los Angeles, where it appears to me that many lack a drive to improve or work for better futures, relying instead on their felt entitlement to aid. The spirit of endurance in the rural Maya as well as the poor at large in Guatemala was endearing and something I was glad to have witnessed.The first museum trip hinted at the strong oral tradition of the rural people of Guatemala, who transfer skills, history, and knowledge from generation to generation without writing. This truth was supported later by our surveys of villagers, who said that they trust a neighbor's word of mouth over commercial advertisements and claims. Surveys also suggested that people would rather perform water filter maintenance by themselves after being taught than pay for regular visits from trained technicians. These facts seemed to invalidate the business model from last year's iteration, which involved technicians picked from each community performing production,regular maintenance, and material management. Guatemalans are hard-working and strong in their spirit of self-sufficiency and self-improvement, and will obtain what they need if they recognize it and can afford it. This has led our team in deciding to develop the water filter as a marketable product kit, with an emphasis on ease of use that is reflected in our efforts to streamline our list of procedures for the customer.Guatemala also taught me humility as a guest of another country and of a different people. The poor and sometimes appalling living conditions did not come as too great a surprise, but the truly amazing thing was the hardiness of Guatemalans in the face of hardship. It spoke measures to the amount of good capable there if resources (material and intellectual) are carefully introduced and nurtured and if doors opened for the people. The perspective gained has given me enthusiasm to tackle the project problem and to see it from the eyes of the people we are working with.Learning these things and experiencing the lives of Guatemalans, especially those in ruraland poor areas, was one of the most enriching experiences I've ever had, and yet I felt these werelacking in the trip. I felt there was far too much non-work or "fun" scheduled into the trip – from the campout to the museum and ruin visits to the stay in Antigua, a tourist-friendly town. I did not feel we were going to Guatemala as tourists or to have fun and work, I really had thought wewere going there to have fun working. We only had an hour or so's glimpse of Pasajquim, which was integral to last year's research and trip experience. It was hard to truly gain an understanding of life there, and it felt like we were intruding with our quick appear-and-disappear act. I was expecting and would have appreciated a trip closer to last year's – full integration with rural life and community, with any and all scheduled fun/tourist time at the very end of the trip.Group discussions were scattershot and distracted by evening hunger or fatigue. I felt they should have been more structured, and that pre-trip activities might have encouraged more exchanges between teams rather than between Ken/Luzmi and a single team. Meals should have been quick, light, and well-conducted. The time wasted on fine dining was excessive and created antagonism within the group and inefficiency.The atmosphere of Antigua was one of tourism, which I felt was immensely distracting and frustrating, and indeed it seemed to be the atmosphere of much of our stay in Guatemala. Pre-trip meetings should have emphasized work before/over fun and the trip itinerary should have been planned accordingly. I had gone into the trip expecting to learn and interact and discuss a lot more than we ended up doing, and I was very unhappy with other students' complaints about discomfort and with constant reminders of scheduling, which seemed necessitated by an unclear itinerary. I believe previous years' students should have a larger role indesigning the trip schedule for future students, to both improve the quality of the experience, minimize wasted time and unnecessary discomfort, and to lighten the load of Juan Carlos and theGuatemalan side of the ME 105 trip