Two or three months ago, I left QT with the promise of writing a blog post… It took me so long because, clearly, I’m just a simple Italian living her “dolce vita” in Central America, but most of all because putting into words everything I experienced and learned during my four months in the chaos of QT has been a tough job.

QT is an endless spiral of hiking, chopping, and preparing sleeping bags, but somehow and unexpectedly, in the breaks between all of this, a special bond is created. It’s a bond with the land and the people of Guatemala, and it’s a bond between strangers with such different backgrounds who find themselves sharing everything, from small tents to socks to stories and dreams.

In QT, I found blisters and tired legs, and I found friends. I learned how to cook for 20 hungry meat-eaters as a vegetarian with the tiniest interest in cooking (yes, Ben, I’m almost exclusively talking about you). I learned how to interpret British rigid smiles (…of course, I’m referring to Annelie’s British smile and not Conrad’s). I learned how to hug tighter because of a really skinny Italian guy, and how to be bold and free because of a red-haired Italian girl.

QT gave me the possibility to go up and down volcanoes (sometimes more down than up, learning how to slide down an extremely muddy trail on my butt) with people who slowly changed me, and gave me the space to express myself. I consider myself extremely lucky to have had the possibility to experience some of this.

Sam showed me how to be freely weird, Gia how to be present, Ricardo how to… well, Ricardo showed me how to be Ricardo, which is probably something I’ll never be able to achieve. Raul showed me the power of salt (I still haven’t understood it, though) and how to strongly follow what you believe in. Dama showed me how to care and make people feel seen, Jake how to dance like nobody else, and Katy how to laugh at things. Being a QT guide equipped me with some more practical skills, like setting up a rain tarp in the middle of a huge storm at the top of a volcano, or making the best guacamole. But beyond that, it gave me endless lessons in kindness, patience, and courage.

What I’m trying to say is that what I’ve learned in QT, I’ve learned from the wonderful people who allow this special organization to keep working after so many years. And if this is possible because of volunteers, it must mean that there is something deeply magical behind it.

Being a QT guide made me a better person (at least, I hope so) and gifted me with an adventure I’ll carry with me forever. If you’re lucky enough to hike with these people, remember that behind a short hike during your travels there is so much care, effort, and desire to make an impact:)