Learning in Nicaragua, A Hanover High School Student writes about her Bridges experience
I learned so much from the (Bridges) experience, I don't know where to begin. In the classic sense of learning, I learned about Nicaragua--it's history, music, culture...The most significant realization of cultural difference for me came when E and I were curious about how people with so much compassion and love for one another could treat starving animals with such neglect. Jacob (Bridges' international volunteer coordinator) told us about a Venezuelan song called "Casas de Carton" (Cardboard Houses) with a verse about, "How happy, the dogs live, in the rich exploiter's home. You won't believe this, but there are schools for dogs and they educate them, so they don't tear the newspaper." Basically explaining that people in poorer countries don't understand places like the USA, where dogs go to school and get surgery, when they can't even afford those things for their children. Suddenly I completely understood.
Even more importantly, I learned about the importance of love and community--that when you have these things, you don't need much beyond the basics to be happy. I gained confidence in myself and my ability to work hard. I saw that despite not being the strongest person in the bunch, I could still do my part. The most significant things I learned, though, seem impossible to articulate. I just see everything differently, and feel differently about myself and the world around me: education actually feels like a privilege, the fact that I didn't get into some of my favorite colleges completely trivial, and I wonder how on earth a house as big as mine was built....
The best way I can describe it is that my world has, in fact, been turned right-side up. I wish that everyone could be able to go on this trip, be able to see and feel what I now see and feel; it is such a worth while experience. I haven't stopped thinking about Nicaraguasince our arrival back home, and despite how good it feels to be clean, every time I think about it, I think about how much I want to go back. I even debated trying to spend a semester down there next year, before remembering my lack of Spanish skills. I know that everything I have learned, and my new perceptions, will stay with me for the rest of my life. The trip has also altered the course of my life in that I definitely plan on doing more community service work, and generally just being more dedicated to helping people across our world. It would be a complete travesty if this trip couldn't run in the future; a week of school is like learning absolutely nothing compared to everything I've watched every single person on the Nicaraguatrip soak up and take into their minds, hearts, and character. It is frustrating not being able to convey how moving the whole trip was, or why, but the above is the best I can do. Hasta Pronto, M
