El verano en Guatemala!

This week, I received some very exciting news. I got the position in Guatemala for which I applied.
I am soooooo excited. I get to work in a legal aid clinic in Rabinal, and town in an area about 5 hours north of the capital where some of the most terrible human rights abuses of the civil war occured in 1982 during the civil war. I get to work in international human rights law, prepparing things that will go before the Inter American court of Human Rights. I get to work with the people on case work and go to court occasionally in a near-by town supporting the people who we with.

I get to speak Spanish. I get to immerse myself in a country that I have never been to before, and where I have always wanted to go (not that that doesn't mean I don't want to go to every country...). I get to change things on an individual level, chipping away at something on a broader level at the same time. I get to use this law that I have been learning all year to do good things, justice things. I get to learn about the history and culture of these people. I get to read in the evenings, and speak to people all day.

When I met with the partner on Thursday I mentioned that it was perfect. Like...in a game of match this person to this job, I would get matched with doing International Human Rights work in a Spanish speaking country for the summer. I am so excited and I feel really fortunate to be able to have this amazing opportunity. I feel really lucky and honoured to be as, Jack said, a flag bearer for lots of others who aren't able to go at this point in their lives.

I will be swapping my Victorian nights for Guatemalan evenings near the beginning of May...but not before a visit home first. I'm a happy woman this evening.
Rach
from a beautiful, clear, starry, stunning, and not cold (!) Victorian Night.