Day 9: fun day!!!!
Student Trip Blog
Fortunately, our sickness are not contagious—all the joys, tears, and laughter are. For day 6, we visited a community called Canada De Las Palmas. Although many of us faced language barriers, we deeply connected with the elderly and children in the community. Our hearts were open—warmed and shattered by stories—as we toured their houses and helped them with chores. After we wiped our tears (especially with Diana’s house where Alina, Gabriel, Elliot, and Allison were), we gave the kids shoulder rides and ate the lunch we cooked together. Not only were the people amazing, but we were also uplifted by the stray animals such as the two kittens. We said “queso” as we took our group picture and waved goodbye. As hard as it was, our time there came to an end. Many of the kids hung on but we pried them away, yet they ran after the bus with us and attempted to climb through the window. Even though our time was short, our connection and attachment ran deep. A lot of us broke into tears, the village reminded us of family. It triggered homesickness, but we also learned that we built another home here. To alleviate us being sad, we made an impromptu stop for ice cream at Helados Bon. Luckily, we are here in Constanza during the Festival de la Cosecha (the only delegation who gets to go), as we ate delicious food and witnessed their agricultural culture during their harvest. Once we got back to our accommodation, we conducted a self-reflection of what it means to be a community. It is now halfway through the program and our bonds only grow stronger. Holy shirt it will be even sadder to say farewell to each other when the time comes—the tears after leaving the community is just a start. Please keep commented as we have enjoyed reading them aloud at nightly meeting.
Signing off,
Alina & Kai