Not many trips have you hiking up volcanoes near rivers of magma, or traveling by boat from coast town to coast town across one of the world’s deepest lakes or drinking in bars where bottle service costs no more than a tank of gas. These are just a few of the things that UC Irvine’s Hillel’s Alternative Spring Break to Guatemala had to offer students this year. The trip allowed students to explore the lifestyle and culture of Guatemala, while also spending time helping and playing with the children of Los Patojos. Los Patojos is a young organization that provides a place for disadvantaged Guatemalan children to eat, play and have fun. It’s a place for the children to escape the problems of Guatemala and, sometimes, the violence in their own households. In an impoverished society where it’s usually difficult for children who don’t come from wealthy families to make something of themselves, Los Patojos offers them a much-needed setting to develop direction in life.
If I’m no longer a student, does the label “starving college student” no longer apply?
Okay, “starving” is an exaggeration. I still have some ice cream in my freezer.
A pristine, white doghouse sits in Sean Alexander McWillie’s backyard. Outside, it resembles some of the original 1965 Brutalist-style architecture found on campus, like the kind seen at Social Science Tower. The insulation is made from re-purposed Styrofoam and it is completely sustainable. Even the roof, which slopes downward so the water can drain from the back, has a small garden growing from it. Inside, it is spacious and beautiful, perfect for Jolly.
If I had it in me as a first grader to hate Sun Yi-Qiang, I would have. But I was much too feeble, much too timid and much too innocent. So I feared him instead.
