By Bryan Jurado, BS in Data Science
When I first joined Spartan Global Development Fund this semester one of the things I was most excited about was getting to help small businesses. I was also hoping that one day we would be able to meet our field partner, Vilma Garcia, whether it be in Guatemala or in the United States. Luckily, the latter came true. It was in November when we got notice that Vilma would be visiting the United States for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a group and with the help of Professor Stenzel, we arranged a time to set up a dinner with Vilma to welcome her. We soon began preparing questions to ask Vilma to get to know her better.
Eventually the day came and a group of us were able to attend dinner with Vilma at Professor Stenzel’s house. When we arrived we were greeted by Vilma and her host mom, Carol. Accompanying them were Vilma’s two sons, Diego and Santiago. After greeting one another, we started off by thanking Vilma for her hard work. Additionally, Vilma gave each of us some coffee from Walter, one of our borrowers in Antigua. As the night progressed we were able to learn more about Guatemalan culture, Antigua, and Vilma’s time in the US. Vilma originally came to the United States with a program called Doctors Without Borders. She was only in her early teens when she needed to get surgery on her foot. She was received in America by Carol and her family, where they would continue to host her until she was able to fully recover. Vilma was able to learn English fluently during her three years in the US. I remember asking Vilma if she had ever considered staying in the US, to which she replied that she has such a strong love for Guatemala and its culture, that she could not see her living anywhere else. We also learned more about Guatemalan culture, and were shown many of the crafts that the women weave and sell. Vilma is very involved in Antigua’s community and she goes out of her way to help others. As the night came to an end, we shared some laughs, ate some cake, and took some pictures together.
After this, I had thought that I would not see Vilma again. However, a couple of days before Thanksgiving I was met with a phone call from Carol and Vilma inviting me to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. When I first met Vilma, we exchanged a lot about our own cultures and some similarities. I grew up in Wyoming with both of my parents being immigrants from Mexico and with MSU being so far from Wyoming, I wasn’t able to go home for Thanksgiving. So when Vilma invited me, I was ecstatic to attend and eat a lovely dinner. Carol and Vilma took me into their home where I was able to get to know Carol, Vilma, and her two sons better. Vilma’s boys were excited to play in snow for the first time, as they had never seen it in person before. I learned more about Antigua, which has volcanoes where you can hike and roast Marshmallows, or as they say in Guatemala, Angelitos (“little angels”). We also exchanged the differences between our languages and words that are different in Mexico compared to Guatemala. I also got to learn about Carol and her husband’s trip to Guatemala where they visited Vilma. I was grateful to get the chance to learn more about their lives and am happy that we have such a great field partner working with us. At the end of my visit, I thanked Vilma and Carol and said goodbye to Vilma’s sons. Hopefully in the future we can visit Guatemala!