My Overall Experience with Give
By: Mitchell T. Weeks
MAY 02,
2013
If you’re reading this blog, most
likely you’re questioning whether or not you’re ready to embark on a journey
across the world to either Nicaragua
or Africa with the G.I.V.E volunteer program.
If this is the case, you and I are in the same boat at this point in my
journal. I’m approaching my 30-day countdown for my trip to Managua , Nicaragua Nicaragua
atmosphere, the people that I’ll meet, and the love that I’ll experience. I
look back to a little over 6 months ago when I made this decision, and I can’t
believe that it’s no longer an idea or a thought, but an actual plan of action.
Being a part of this trip was no easy decision for me as there were many
factors involved in the final decision to take the plunge. My journey started
the day I heard about this program, and for me, it all began like this:
About 6 months ago I was a
22-year-old Psychology student who was about to graduate with no real plans for
immediate graduate school or any specific career path. I was sitting in my
Human Sexuality course counting the minutes until class was over when the
professor allowed a guest speaker to have a few minutes in front of the class.
At first I was reluctant to even listen due to this random person wasting my
class time, but he seemed to have something important to say. After grabbing
our attention with a few activities that would be covered during the trip, he
started to become more enthusiastic as he went through his speech. He explained
the G.I.V.E program, and I was instantly intrigued due to the fact the program
didn't really have any specific group affiliation. It made me feel good that
random people with no immediate ties got together to achieve the same goal for
a common good. The instant fascination I felt for the program combined with
reading an inspirational book called Arise a few months before persuaded
me to take a flyer from the guest speaker. I was pretty inspired, but I had no
real plans on attending one of these intense, expensive volunteer
programs. I played with the idea for a
few weeks with some of my close friends asking if they would be interested in
going, but no one really seemed too excited about it. I got tired of bugging
people because I honestly wasn't even sure how badly I wanted to go myself.
Even though I quit bugging people, I continued thinking about the trip, and I decided
to fill out the application anyways in case I eventually wanted to sign up.
Unfortunately, at this time in my
life, I had recently been diagnosed with cancerous polyps in my bladder. I was
going through a pretty rough time wondering what the future would have in store
for me. At first I stayed home a lot and wanted to be with family. I knew I
wasn't in immediate danger of death or anything like that, but it definitely
felt debilitating for months. My only defense for the cancer was to change my
lifestyle and to try to polish up my diet. I began to find motivation in the
idea of being proactive against the cancer. I made significant diet changes
along with some expensive payments for a nice bike and a blender. Fortunately,
I was able to rid myself of the polyps without any serious treatments, and I
have been clear for the last 6 months. I was starting to feel healthier after a
few months of my new diet; this really made me think of all the ways that
G.I.V.E could help me to continue changing my life. I learned in Psychology
that there has been a dilemma for years about whether or not the mind and body
are interconnected. Many Psychologists now believe that there is definitely a
connection between the mind and body, and due to some of my life experiences, I
completely agree with this belief. When I feel good mentally, I also feel
physically well. I was beginning to experience this on a first-hand level when
I started a healthy kale-based diet. I started thinking to myself, if just
eating healthy could change my life so drastically, then what could going on a
two-week volunteer trip do for my physique and health? Coincidentally, my new
found health kick was accompanied by a new inspiration to read and relax my
soul, which lead me to read a very inspirational book that I mentioned earlier.
Arise by Clayton and Ellen Kershaw fell
into my hands one evening at my local Ralphs which I had originally gone to to
rent a Redbox. I have no idea what led me to check out the book section, but
when I got there, there was a radiant picture of the two authors with a group
of children from Africa that captured my attention. I read the inside part of
the cover and decided the combination of baseball and humanity was a good
enough reason to go ahead and buy it on a whim. If it weren't for reading this
book, I’m not sure I would have ever finally put down a deposit on a G.I.V.E.
volunteer trip. The cancer really got me
thinking about what I've accomplished in my life, and I realized that nothing I
had done really impacted the world on a large enough scale for me to be
satisfied. Of course snorkeling, fishing, and sand boarding in the Caribbean sounds awesome, but the closer I get to the
trip, the more I realize how much the volunteer portion of the trip will affect
me. I've already experienced so much love from my family and friends since I
made the decision to go to Nicaragua .
It’s crazy to see how many people are interested in what you have to say and
what you think when you show interest in the bigger picture.
JUNE 5,
2013
A lot has happened since I wrote a
month ago, and I am now exactly one week away from my trip date, June 12th. I
started to read other blogs posted on the G.I.V.E. website, and it really
helped motivate me to continue writing on my own blog because I feel like it
helped ease my insecurities of my upcoming trip ,and I would love to do the
same for others. One night after reading a blog, I was randomly inspired to
begin writing down plans for a business, which is related to my new found
health kick, Kale Smoothies. The next morning I started brainstorming and
basically advertising to friends and family. This kept me really busy the last
few weeks by getting some weekly customers which made me way less anxious about
the trip. I am really enthusiastic about getting this going and possibly
creating a new opportunity for myself. I've never really thought of having my
own company, but I am actually getting very good feedback. Even though I’m
excited about the business, I am also excited to get away from it all so I can
have some time to think it through. I know I am already a changed person from
accepting the challenge to go on this trip, and I’m hoping to find out what
this world has to offer me. My emotions are going wild; I feel like this week
couldn't go by any slower; I've been packing since the G.I.V.E. leaders sent us
our packing list. Although I’m scared, I feel semi-prepared.
JUNE 14,
2013
A few days
ago I set off on my own from LAX to Miami , Florida where I met a small group of other volunteers in
a connecting flight to Managua ,
Nicaragua Miami
whom was with his family on their way to Barcelona .
This plane ride was about 5 hours long, so I had quite a bit of time to chat
with this man. I had come to learn that he was also a successful business
owner, like the last guy I had met, but of multiple Oyster Bars. We ended up
bouncing business plans off each other for our new projects, both of which were
very rudimentary ideas, but also very passionate ideas. During our conversation he even said to me,
“No person you ever come across will ever be the same again.” He then continued to tell me that I was his
“green light” meaning his inspiration to go ahead and put effort into his new
winery project. That quote will stick with me the rest of my life. It made me
feel so powerful and made me inspired to be more outgoing. I may even name my
new business “The Green Light” in recognition of the memory. I will always
remember those conversations with those two men because that’s the day I truly
learned to take the time to meet a stranger. I am blessed that my trip started
off in this way, and I hope to continue this trip with this exact mindset.
I landed in Miami and luckily had some very tenacious
people in our group who accepted the challenge to get us grouped up as soon as
possible. One of which was Mario Ayar, who I’ll give a shout out to for
starting our G.I.V.E. Facebook Group a month prior to the trip and getting us
all prepared to meet. From Miami our group
traveled together to Managua
where we got to meet our G.I.V.E. leaders and also our 24-hour-a-day sauna that
we would be living in for the next seven days. The group leaders quickly
introduced themselves and showed us that they were on top of things by getting
us into a bus and on our way with no time to spare. I instantly made four or five
close friends on that 3-hour bus ride to Jiquillio, which was the place we
would be staying at for the first half of the trip. We also played a funny name game on the bus
with one of our leaders, Amy, and some of the nicknames from it stuck with
those people. I was in good spirits on this first day. I was determined to
continue meeting the other members of the group since the first members I sat
by were so awesome. It was great to learn how many similarities we all had, and
I felt like no one was holding back from being themselves. I mean, we are all
on vacation; right? The great thing about us all being on vacation though is
that we were all on vacation to find ourselves. I could already see it in a lot
of the volunteers only a few days in. We are all conquering fears, whatever
they may be, and we are all in on it together. I learned that some of the
people had never even been on an airplane before and now they are leaving to
another country with strangers. This made me feel a little better about my own
insecurities that I still am fighting in these first few days of my trip.
Fortunately, and unfortunately, my next amazing experience after the bus ride
had to have been almost dying in the Pacific Ocean .
I probably can’t convince you that it was an amazing experience, but it took me
at least a day to realize that it really was. I decided to go kayak on some
large waves, and I flipped my kayak during high tide. It was a solid ten
minutes of fighting waves with no progress until Monty, the owner of the hotel
in Jiquillio, came with his kayak to scoop me up. At that moment Matt, our
group leader, and Amy, another group leader, were also in full alert and were
making their way to me to help out. After I got to shore, all of them were so
amazing at helping me recover from the stress of the situation. I couldn't have
asked for better people to be around. At that time I knew I would be in good
hands for the rest of the trip. That
incident gave me faith in others and that is why the experience was amazing for
me. It was one of those moments I will definitely tell my grand kids about in my
later years.
JUNE 17,
2013
Jerry, a
very important part of the operations at Monty’s, took the other boys and me
out fishing. This fishing trip was way more than just ordinary for me though.
We started off towards the ocean from a river-like area in a 20-foot skiff.
After about ten minutes, we saw that we were headed towards the ocean, which we
already knew, but there were no harbors like where I am from. Eventually the boys and I start asking about
the waves that we are approaching and how we would get passed them. The captain
then stops the skiff at the edge of the waves and starts to scan the break.
Suddenly he takes off along the side of a breaking wave. As our hearts started pumping,
we started shouting in excitement as we reached for our cameras. Riding waves
in a boat, are you serious? Our dumbfounded faces as we broke the last waves
into the choppy Caribbean must have been
priceless to our fishing guides. Jerry was cracking jokes on all of us. He is
one of the most happy-go-lucky people I have ever met. You can really tell that
he loves the life he is leading and that he has been very successful in life.
He also made sure our fishing adventure didn’t just stop at riding waves in a
boat. On our way to our first fishing spot, a group of about six dolphins
joined us on our journey. They were jumping and riding alongside our boat for
about five to ten minutes. I felt like
the fishing trip literally was one exciting thing after the other. We finally
got to start fishing and Kevin from our group got the first bite. Everyone was
stoked that we already had action on a line. He proceeded to reel in our first
Tuna, and at that time, we learned that it was one of his first times fishing. That
was exciting for me to watch because fishing is something I love to do, and I
love to share the experience with others. Each of us then caught our own Tunas
and compared sizes to see who had won our group wager on who’d get the biggest
fish. Kody had been the winner at this point, but Jerry had other plans in mind
and threw one of the Tunas that Joel (another group member) had caught on the
hook as bait. He had been seasick for the majority of the trip, but managed to
catch a Tuna which became my bait. After about 30 minutes of no action other
than one bite, there was a large pull on my pole. Jerry assured me that this
was the monster, the legendary Rooster fish that you can find in the Pacific Ocean . I had been fishing plenty of times, but
never had fought anything like this before. Even with the helpful tips from
Jerry and motivating cheers from the boys, I struggled back and forth with the
beast for 45 minutes before finally getting it into the boat. I can’t explain
to you how amazing the vibe was on the boat at that time. The adrenaline rush
was the only thing keeping me standing with all my exhausted muscles. The ride
back to camp knowing we had experienced something most fishermen dream of and
having the satisfaction of bringing back dinner for over 50 people was amazing.
I couldn't thank Jerry enough for this experience!
Other than
the fishing trip, I also had one of the most heartwarming experiences I've ever
had. During a work day yesterday, a
group of about ten guys around our age came by the school and were just hanging
out and talking. At first I recall some of us being kind of startled by the
group of guys, but eventually they asked us when they would be able to start
coming to the school to learn. After hearing that, I swear our group worked
twice as hard from then on out. It was a very uplifting experience. The good
feelings from the work site carried on into the night and everyone was having a
great time. One of my favorite nights of just pure fun conversation occurred on
this night. One of the other group members Haley and I stayed up late talking
to the newly-hired bartender at Monty’s. This kid Carlos is amazing, and if you
have the pleasure of meeting him then I am happy for you. He had only started
learning English three months prior to receiving the job at Monty’s, and he
held full conversations with us all night. He not only impressed us with his
quick learning of the English language, but with his showmanship. He was not
just a bartender, he was also a show. I
will never forget the ridiculous conversations that we all had together. I’m
glad Haley and I got the chance to truly meet and get to know Carlos. He is
definitely another inspiring person that I will keep in touch with from here on
out.
JUNE 19,
2013
The second to last day in Jiquillio
we had the volcano trip planned, and had planned to visit the city of Leon for some tourism and
souvenir buying. We started up the mountain on a bus down a bumpy road for
about 30 minutes. We eventually passed signs that said things in Spanish that I
translated to basically mean we shouldn’t be there and it was unsafe. No one knew what to expect from this volcano
trip. We pulled up to a building that had all of our sledding supplies and
signed in the visitor log. Whether we were scared, excited, or just plain
tired, we all grabbed our water, sleds, and long-sleeved clothes and started
our 30 minute hike up the volcano. This was an active volcano to be exact,
which had actually erupted a week or so prior to our trip. The volcano looked
pretty steep, but the hike started out pretty normal until we gained some
elevation. The wind level on this volcano was surprising. At first I was a
little put off by this, but the path you take to the top is very safe and
tolerable even if you have some fears. We finally made it to the top where we
sled down from and set all our stuff down. We then continued on to the crater
point of the volcano and took a series of funny pictures. One thing I thought
was sweet and pretty interesting was feeling the warmth of the volcano when you
lay down. There’s definitely something amazing about being in a place that
could be completely covered in lava at any moment. I had been feeling horrible
during the hike up the volcano, but had so much fun at the top that I started
feeling better. After messing around, we all lined up to take our turns
sledding down the mountain. The look down was intense for me. It felt so steep
and there was an area where you couldn’t even see the next slope of the
volcano. I took a place towards the back of the line and carefully watched how
others were taking on the challenge. After watching a few people move at a
snail’s pace at the beginning and then gradually pick up speed, I felt a little
more comfortable. The experience itself was pretty intense. At first I went
slow, but with my weight and height there really wasn’t any going slow. Luckily
the fun of it masked my fear of the speed, and I continued down the rest of the
volcano at a relatively controlled speed. Once I was near the bottom, I decided
to let loose and went as fast as I could, which was awesome. I wish I would
have been a little less scared in the beginning, but other than that, I had an
awesome time. Soon after that I started
to feel very dehydrated. I ended up throwing up from having heat exhaustion,
and unfortunately after the volcano, we still had plans as a group to visit Leon Square .
I slept the whole ride to Leon and then
when we arrived, I was fortunate enough to find a place to sleep in the
pizzeria where we were eating at. My prayers were answered at that point
because it was the first air-conditioned place we had been into for days. After
everyone ate, we met up at the Town
Square and then split up to scan the city for a
few hours. I was unable to participate, so I found a shady bush near Leon church to
sleep under. I realized that sleeping in the middle of another country isn't
really the easiest thing to do, so I ended up laying there and occasionally
buying a Popsicle to cool myself off. Eventually two of our group leaders returned
to the Town Square
to check in on me. I got to spend the next 30 minutes with just them hanging
out and talking about the city. Prior to them being there, I was feeling pretty
helpless and I think one of the leaders, Amy, had noticed it in my voice. She
began talking about the church and she told me about a song she had learned on
another trip, which she then proceeded to sing to me. I honestly don’t know how
to even respond to the greatness of this gesture. No one has ever taken their
time to sing to me, and she did it without any embarrassment or anything other
than pure generosity. She is an angel
and a true gem on this earth.
Later that night there was a party
to celebrate Monty’s Surf Camp as the safest destination in all of Nicaragua from
Trip Advisor. The festivities started with a feast and a live mariachi band.
The night then continued on to a beautiful speech by Monty himself as well as
another speech by Jerry. They both acknowledge how important their staff was to
the fluency of their amazing hotel, and we couldn't have agreed more with the
words they had to say. They were always up by 4 a.m. preparing breakfast, doing
our laundry by hand, and attending to whatever else that would keep up our
living situation while we were there. They even had a guard who walked the camp
the entire night. He couldn't speak a lick of English, and I couldn't speak
much Spanish to him, but our smiles and nods back and forth were enough to
build a friendship. The party then continued with the mayor of Jiquillio showing
up, as well as many other people from the town. They had a firework show right
off the beach as mariachi music accompanied the sound of the waves in between
each set of fireworks. It was like no other party I had ever been to in The
States, and it was well deserved for everyone there which made it even better.
JUNE 20,
2013
We headed out of Jiquillio back to Managua where we would
fly to Big Corn and then take a skiff to Little Corn Island. Everyone was
really excited to change things up a little bit. We knew that the manual labor
was for the most part over and that we’d get to finally spend more time working
with the kids. When we landed in Big Corn, it was much cooler in temperature to
our surprise. I was happy to finally not be sweating. We took a short taxi ride
over to the skiff that would take us across the Caribbean .
Once we were loaded up, we set off for a 45 minute ride. I won’t lie, the ride
was a little bumpy and had some of the girls pretty choked up, but I thought it
was a lot of fun. I guess I was already used to it from the fishing trip we
took earlier in the week. Being in a small boat in choppy water can be scary,
but for me being with everyone and being part of the experience was way worth
it. Not to mention, we got to see the water change color from a beautiful clear
blue to an even more clear turquoise color. I had never been in any water mass
that was as pretty. After 40 minutes of cruising the gorgeous choppy water, we
could see the Island just past the waves. As
we approached, five flags were massed along the shore: A flag of Bob Marley,
the Canadian Flag, the American Flag, another Rasta flag, and a Nicaragua flag.
There were palm trees everywhere, colorful huts, and a group of people waiting
for us to jump one by one from the boat onto the black sandy beach. I liked the fact that they were waiting for
us; it made me feel welcome and excited for the days to come. Once we all had
our bags, it was time to settle in, which started with Matt handing out fresh
coconuts to everyone for us to try. Ahh, my first island-like experience! I am
so happy I was able to share it with so many great people. The enculturation
continued with a small traditional concert followed by dance lessons from a few
of the locals. The first night on the island was turning into a small party of
sorts. Most of the group members got up and tried dancing, or at least clapped
along to the fun rhythm of the island music. I decided to walk over and mingle
with some of the musicians and found out that I’m horrible at the bongo, but I
had fun getting laughed at and meeting the locals. Already on the first night
another member Haley and I got new nicknames from the locals. My long hair
caught me the title of “Jesus” and her small tattoo of a crescent moon gave her
the name “Moongirl”. One of the first
people we met was the singer of the band named Young Blessed. His brothers and
he were very friendly and made us feel welcome as well as the others we had
just met, such as the workers at Grace’s Place “cool spot” where we were
staying. Grace’s Place is relatively large with colorful huts and a small
kitchen. It also has fresh water showers in the rooms and a few bigger beds
then Jiquillio. It was nice having the larger bed since I’m 6’ 4” and the
shower in the room was a plus because you didn’t have to wait for everyone
else. Overall, I’m excited to change things up, and I am ready to start this
second week off as well as the first.
JUNE
21, 2013
What! Hot chocolate! … Waking up
today to large jugs of coffee and hot chocolate on the table next to coconut
bread French toast was amazing. We didn't know what types of food to expect on
the island, so this was a great surprise. After eating, we set off for our
tasks of the day. I offered to help with the kitchen in the school for the
first shift, and I set off with four or five others. We cleared, leveled the
floor of the kitchen, and then started to clear off the sides of the walls.
During this time a few younger children from the island shyly confronted us. We
found supplies for them to use and they began to help us with the walls while
we got the cement ready for the floor. It was awesome to see the young children
taking interest in their school and in the project itself without anyone asking
them to. After a while, it was lunch time and we went back to Grace’s Place
until it was time to go to the reading room. When we got there, I took a look
at all the books they had available and then chose one to read with a small boy
and another group member, Kevin. We had more workers than kids for this class
session, so some of use doubled up with the kids. I wasn't really sure what to
do, so at first Kevin was just reading the book out loud. Then after a while we
got a feel for the education level of the child and started having him help us
read. When we finished the book, we took pictures from it and associated them
with the text. Eventually, we were trying to have the child recognize and write
the words himself. It was fun trying to build a curriculum for the kids and
luckily there were a few other group members who helped us out along the way.
Sammi Rothney was also there all summer in the reading room to help out and was
doing an excellent job getting us coordinated with different activities for the
kids. My first experience teaching children in a school setting happened to be
in Nicaragua
and it was more than inspiring. It was inspiring in more than one way for me. I
may even possibly pursue a career in child development, but I want to
definitely go back to school now for my Master’s Degree. Seeing the children
have fun learning and wanting to participate made me think about how important
learning is no matter how much you think you already know.
Every day on this trip I get
drowned with inspiration by my group leaders, peers, and people that we are
helping. You would think that by this time with all the fun things I had
already done on the trip that I would be 100% on board and going with the flow.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case and not until today did I realize that I
was being blind to the full experience of this trip. After our last reading
room session for the day, we were all going to have dinner and then meet up at
a place called Casa Iguana for a trivia night. I was reluctant to go and wasn't
too interested in playing some trivia game, but Matt told me to go with the
flow. I finally decided that I’d be better off hanging out with the whole group
for the night and ended up going, but not participating. Within an hour I
regretted ever thinking that I should skip the event. I started off hanging out
with a group and bouncing answers off of them to help out, but ended up going
over to another area where I met the owner of Casa Iguana. Abner and I
immediately had plenty to talk about, and he introduced me to the two
bartenders who were from the U.S.
The two bartenders, Liz and Ashley, were a lot of fun and got me trying all
sorts of great drinks. I had my first ever Basilito, which is a different
version of a Mojito with basil instead of mint and Fresca. I also tried my
first Jalapeño shot. The Basilito was absolutely delicious, and I am definitely
going to try and re-create it at home. As for the Jalapeño shot, that was a fun
once-in-a-lifetime thing because I’d never ever try it again. I ended up
connecting so well with them that one of the group leaders Sarah and I ended up
staying there hanging out even after it closed for the night. I am so glad I
got persuaded by Matt to go ahead and join everyone. If I hadn't gone, I
wouldn't have met any new friends nor had such a good time. I am feeling very
thankful at the moment, so until next time Casa Iguana (much love).
JUNE 22,
2013
The next day I went to the reading
room in the morning and played some sort of card game with the kids. We then
played bingo as an entire group, which worked out great since we had a group
member per child to help them play. I found it pretty awesome how well the kids
listened and how interested in the game they were. As far as I could tell,
there was absolutely no authority for these children, especially at school. The
kids all sat and participated for the entire game, which was very impressive. I
haven’t spent a whole lot of time with children in a classroom setting, but I
know in the U.S.
there would be some kids running around being crazy and not being interested in
the game at all. Once again I found out how much these kids were teaching me
the importance of knowledge.
Later that night everyone was
pretty exhausted and were just hanging out at different cafes. I ended up
running into Young Blessed and Moongirl, and we decided to go on a tour of the
island. We walked around for hours checking out different areas of the island.
Young Blessed was singing as we hiked around and telling us about the different
people who lived there. We also ran into a dog that had been following everyone
around earlier on in the day. He ended up staying with us on our hike for the
whole time, so it was like we had gained an extra to our group. The dog had
multiple names, but I stuck with calling him Shadow or Lassie. Watching him run
around and chase chickens was hilarious, but dangerous as well I found out.
Luckily we had Young Blessed with us to tell the locals the dog wasn't with us
because they were pissed about the chickens being chased. We also stopped at a
pond area and Young Blessed showed us some fisherman’s left over fishing lines
that we checked to see if they had maybe caught something. We then walked
around searching for turtles along the edge of the pond. Going around learning
about the island from a local was an awesome experience that not many people
get to do. Even Young Blessed was expressing how much he loved Moongirl and me
for really hanging out and getting to know him and his home. This night was one
of the nights on the trip I will never forget.
JUNE 23,
2013
The next day was our fun day on the
island where we got to go snorkeling and/or horseback riding. I was so excited
for the snorkeling that I bought an underwater camera before the trip so that I
could document it. I went on the horseback riding trip before the snorkeling
with 3 other group members. Our guide was another local like Young Blessed that
we had met on the first day on the island. He basically threw us up on the
horses and told us a few basic commands and we were off. I was surprised at how
quickly we were traveling around. As we went along, our guide was singing and
climbing trees keeping us entertained, although it was unneeded due to the
amazing nature that surrounded us. He first took us to a ledge that overlooked
the Caribbean and knocked us down some
coconuts to drink while we soaked in the beautiful view. Then after about an
hour of riding the trails through the forest-like terrain, we ended up on an
open area of beach. He stopped us here and had us practice taking the horses
into a trot. Riding a horse at a decent speed without any training was kind of
scary, but way too much fun. My horse eventually became moody against me and I
actually got ran into a tree with my right knee. It hurt, but overall I was
fine and the guide actually made a temporary bandage for me until we got back.
For me, it was just one more thing that has made this trip so eventful. Between
hiking around with Young Blessed and then horseback riding around, I feel as
though I have a pretty good grasp of what the entire island is like. When we
finally returned to Cool Spot, it was time for snorkeling. Everyone loaded up
in a boat like the one we came to the island on, and we headed out towards the
edge of the reef where the waves started. We got our gear and our small lecture
on what to do and then people started hopping off the boat. Some people had
been snorkeling and/or scuba diving before and weren't scared at all, but even
though I was excited, I was still pretty scared. Another group member was
swimming close to the boat like I was, and we started to talk each other into
swimming off with the rest of the group. After a while we caught up to a few
others, but even being in the pack wasn't helping. I was uncomfortable in the
gear and realized that snorkeling wasn't for me. Luckily, I was able to do it
for the short time that I did, faced a few fears, got to take some awesome
pictures, and actually had some fun. I definitely am glad I got the experience
and may try scuba diving or something again in the future. The underwater atmosphere
is so amazing and different, but also ambiguous. The underwater nature and the
mix of adrenaline from being in a whole different world make for an amazing
experience. I hope I can maybe conquer my fear with more time in the water
because the rest of the group also got to see a nurse shark and everyone had so
much fun.
Later that night a few of us headed
out to Tranquillo Café for some Wi-Fi and happy hour. I was also hungry and had
been told that the BLT was very good by more than one person, so I decided to
order it. I am not even a fan of BLT’s, but this sandwich took me to food
heaven. When you’re eating things that aren’t normally in your diet for two
weeks and then you pick up a huge BLT stuffed with bacon and avocado on the
side, you’ll understand what I mean. If you get the chance to make this trip,
go for that BLT. You won’t regret it. It complimented happy hour well, and was
a perfect ending to a long fun-filled day.
JUNE 24,
2013
Today Matt decided to start a side
project near the edge of the school to accompany the kitchen we built there. He
asked a few of us to help clear out a large section of plants for a garden that
would eventually be feeding the students of the school. I jumped on this
project right away with full force. I've always wanted to plant my own
vegetable garden and now I had the chance to do it for over a hundred kids. We
got right to work and with in 30 minutes there were about five kids that ran
over to help. These kids had wonderful work ethics and were taking over the
operation as much as they possibly could. It was the coolest type of
inspiration I have had in a long time. Some of the kids couldn't have been much
older than ten years old and they were teaching us how to use machetes. At
first I was terrified, but I realized how second nature it was for these kids.
Compared to American children who would have been playing swords or something
ridiculously dangerous, these kids didn't even need to be told not to play with
the tools. If anything, we had to tell them to share because they all wanted to
work the entire time. We worked hard for a solid four hours getting most of the
area cleared out and then headed for lunch.
We went to a small pizza shack to meet up with the rest of the group who
had been either scuba diving or working at the reading room. The pizza place
was very unique. For those of you who like lobster, they've got a lobster
pizza. If I wasn't allergic, I would have been indulging like the rest of the
group on the tasty creation, but instead I got to enjoy the other great pizza
choices. This was definitely a treat for me since I had missed out on the pizza
in Leon
due to being ill. During this time some of the children from the reading room
were walking by. It was cool seeing them recognize us and then talking to them
outside of the reading room. Particularly for me, one young girl named Charis
caught my eye. She was a lovable girl I had the pleasure of being in a group
with at the reading room. She opened my heart with her great attitude and
amazing smile. She was the perfect mixture of bravery and shyness when it came
to meeting all of us. When she smiled and acknowledge me from the rest of the
group at lunch it made me feel like a million bucks. I hope everyone who goes
on one of these trips gets to experience that same feeling I had at that point
in time. After lunch it was time to get
back to work. Another four hours went by and even though I was exhausted, I saw
Young Blessed and a ton of the locals playing basketball, so I had to join
them. It was fun playing a sport with people who played in a different style
than I grew up learning. They are so passionate about basketball and it made me
really feel sad at the level of poverty on the island. They had only one court
with bent rims and a semi flat ball. All things I normally would take for
granted due to having full access to these things my entire life. I then
promised them that when I returned, I would bring as many basketballs as
possible for them. I hope to start a small donation drive for some sports
equipment as well as toothbrushes and toothpaste. All of the people there are
truly grateful for what we do and I made it a point to get some of the local’s
emails to keep in touch with them.
After basketball I joined up with
the group to go to a jungle party the island was having at a place called
Agular’s. It was our last night on Little Corn and we were ready to have one
last great time with all the locals. We enjoyed a bonfire as well some pool,
arm wrestling locals, and a whole lot of dancing. We didn't stop until about 4
in the morning and finally walked back to Cool Spot where we all decided to hop
into the ocean. Swimming with the whole group in the dark at 4 in the morning
on our last night was super liberating to say the least. Then we finally headed
for bed at sunrise, tired as can be, but had no care in the world. It was
complete freedom!
JUNE 25,
2013
The final night of our trip was
long and sad, but also heartwarming. We set off on our skiff and plane ride
back to Managua
where we stayed our last night before returning home on the morning of the 26th.
We all walked to the nearest McDonald’s and got to try a bunch of cool items
that you won’t find in the U.S.
We then went back to the hostel to settle in for a relaxing movie, but once we
were back, everyone ended up grouping up and just talking about the great time
we had. The group leaders got all of us together and had each person say a
little something about their experience. This was plausibly one of my favorite
parts of the trip. I love the idea of reflection and think it is very important
for a person’s inner peace and satisfaction. Hearing how everyone interpreted
the trip in their own point of view was enlightening. As people went on about
their experiences, I had more and more I wanted to say, but the closer it got
to me speaking something hilarious happened. I have mentioned him once already,
but everyone knows it would be wrong of me not to mess with him at least once
in this blog. The speeches were getting pretty intense and everyone was in the
zone listening intently and then THUMP! All of a sudden Mario had sprung a
solid five feet from his chair into a dive. No one knew what was going on, and
we still may never know, but it was hilarious. I don’t think I will forget that
moment for a long time. It was a perfect last night shenanigan to go along with
our serious deep-hearted speeches.
JUNE 28,
2013
I was truly lucky to have had the
chance to go with Matt, (co-founder of G.I.V.E.), one of the hardest working
people I've ever met; Amy, the sweetest girl on the planet; and Sarah, who
amazed us all when we found out it was her first time guiding a trip. She did
fantastic as well as Matt and Amy, and I consider them all extended family from
here on out. My group was absolutely amazing as well. Everything I wanted to
say in my speech has been said in this blog journal for everyone to read,
rather than just my group. One of the most amazing things about our group is
how we constantly caught ourselves saying how comfortable we were walking up to
anyone from the group and just joining them for dinner, a drink, a deep
conversation, and/ or whatever else you would normally do with a close friend.
There is no doubt in my mind that I will be in contact with most of my group
members for a long portion of my life if not for all of it. Our trip was
drama-free and it made for an experience of a lifetime. I was especially proud
of how well the girls got along considering they were the majority of us. I am so excited to see how everyone will grow
from here on out as well as how G.I.V.E. will continue to grow. I can’t wait to
go back to our work sites in some amount of time and see them in actual use. It
gives me one more thing I can truly say I’m living for. The knowledge I gained
during this trip is incomparable to any other two weeks of my entire life, and
I owe it all to the people I met and got the pleasure to be around.
If I had any extra advice for the trip, I
would say don’t be afraid to do fundraising and ask for money. What you’re doing is
amazing and people will realize this and would love to help you. Another tip is
to make sure you utilize your group leaders and other group members. Everyone
is in on it together and everyone will be going through most of the same
problems. I can’t explain to you how much counting on these strangers changed
my life. It’s an awesome feeling knowing your safe even when you’re out of your
comfort zone. Last but not least, stay patient and come to work hard. There was
nothing better than the group leaders explaining to us how well we worked. We
got our work done and partied later if we could even move or bodies. One of the
most satisfying feelings I had on the trip was pure exhaustion. I mentioned not
being satisfied early on in my blog entry before I even took the trip, and now
I know something much more amazing about satisfaction. No matter what
difference I make in the world, I will never be truly satisfied because what
makes the world amazing is the fact that there is always more to seek from it.
Whether it be satisfaction, love, or knowledge, there is always more to
acquire. I think this is especially true when it comes to giving to others.
This trip has made me realize that this is a high priority for me. Even though
I’m working, trying to continue school for a master’s degree, and trying to
start a business, I know for a fact I will continue volunteering around the
world. I read this quote that said, “Time is the greatest gift you can give
because you can never get time back.” I think that is volunteering in a nutshell. As humans we value our time so much with the
mindset that there’s so little time in a day, and we’re all counting the days
till we eventually die. Rather than
dwell on this time passing, we've got to take it and do something useful with
it because when you do, you can make every minute feel infinite. So from my
G.I.V.E. group to yours, “We Don’t Care, We Love It!!!”
Sincerely,
Mitchell T. Weeks, Aka - “Jesus”
_*_*_*_ kiip di baal
ruolin _*_*_*_
