"Hearts of Service"
Two weeks ago I accompanied 8 students and another teacher on a Service and Justice trip to central Mexico. Below is the reflection I wrote. If you are interested in what the students had to say about the experience check out the service blog's site at: http://sacredsfservice.wordpress.com/
So we’ve been home for two weeks, and I promised Mr. O’Connor I would write a reflection about our service trip with Community Links to Cholula, Mexico. I keep putting it off, because I have been having a very difficult time finding just the right words to capture the experience. So I will start by sharing with you some passages from my own reflections that I wrote during the trip…
Upon Arrival: “I am already overwhelmed by the culture, history, and beauty of Mexico City. It is, an a word, spectacular. The program we are participating in and our leader Arturo are also wonderful, and beyond my original expectations. I hope to open myself to this a new experience and not rely on my previous journeys. I hope I can communicate my love of peoples and cultures to the students and support Mr. O’Connor as he leads on this already amazing adventure….”
Mexico City: “My good friend David Martinez was able to meet up with us, and what phenomenally beautiful day. We went early on the metro to a square in Mexico City, D.F. that really exemplified all the different cultural impacts and histories here. The students and I were awed by Arturo’s impassioned mini-lectures on cultural anthropology. We also visited our Sacred Heart School here and were able to go to Frida Khalo’s childhood home (La Casa Azul) – so wonderful! We are just beginning this trip and already I am dreading returning home…”
Meeting Ina y Manuel – The Journey to Cholula: “… Once in Cholula we went to the amazing home of Ina and Manuel who are working with Community Links to provide an after-school center for the children in Tecuanipan and help educate the Community here about waste management and it’s effects on their supply of clean surface water. I think already they will have a profound impact on my future, worldview, or both. They live with such a positive and thoughtful perspective and have such a joyful, compassionate, and insightful attitude toward change/interaction/community. I see the students absorbing this experience, and I am struck by how afraid I am of returning home and leaving this adventure behind me. I, we, must find a way to live this way more fully and more in our every days…”
The Salamander: “… I am very proud of the Salamander that Jono and I built in the ecological toilet at Ina and Manuel’s. I’m not sure how we ended up with that job (apparently we look ‘artsy’) or how we figured it out, but it turned out quite spectacular. Jono was tireless in his excitement to get it just right and we worked really well together to figure out creative ways to support such a large installation piece made from earth and glass. I think we were motivated by Mr. O’Connor and the other boys working so hard to clear the way for the foundation of the classroom and chopping bamboo for the roof. Very impressive …”
As you can see, I really had such a wonderful experience with the students, and Mr. O’Connor, and all the staff from Community Links. The guys were polite and open to the challenges of the trip, and I am grateful for their personal insights along the way. Now that we are home, I find myself thinking often of Ina and Manuel’s home, and of my host-family in Tecuanipan that I shared with Thomas and Jordan. I have already made Dona Rosa’s blue corn tortilla and frijoles with salsa picanta at home, and shared the Nahuatl numbers I learned from Don Alfredo as we switched roles, and he became the teacher, telling me about his family’s history and tales of the land that he works. I am still grateful to Analy for giving us her room and welcoming three strangers from San Francisco into their home and family. I chuckled to myself the other day as Jordan held the door for me on the stairs and I remembered him and Thomas sitting shyly at the dinner table while Don Alfredo bellowed “… with confidence! You are family now!” I am so grateful to have shared this experience with Mr. O’Connor and with the students… watching them question and learn and take into consideration this adventure and how it put their lives in a different, more aware and more worldly perspective. I was very proud of the guys for their openness and hard work – both physically and emotionally.
And a special thanks to Jono and Thomas for getting me up early and keeping me on pace to do a 5 mile run in Cholula and see the sun come up over the Volcano! Beautiful!
And to Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Teixeira for allowing me to be apart of such a great journey!
So we’ve been home for two weeks, and I promised Mr. O’Connor I would write a reflection about our service trip with Community Links to Cholula, Mexico. I keep putting it off, because I have been having a very difficult time finding just the right words to capture the experience. So I will start by sharing with you some passages from my own reflections that I wrote during the trip…
Upon Arrival: “I am already overwhelmed by the culture, history, and beauty of Mexico City. It is, an a word, spectacular. The program we are participating in and our leader Arturo are also wonderful, and beyond my original expectations. I hope to open myself to this a new experience and not rely on my previous journeys. I hope I can communicate my love of peoples and cultures to the students and support Mr. O’Connor as he leads on this already amazing adventure….”
Mexico City: “My good friend David Martinez was able to meet up with us, and what phenomenally beautiful day. We went early on the metro to a square in Mexico City, D.F. that really exemplified all the different cultural impacts and histories here. The students and I were awed by Arturo’s impassioned mini-lectures on cultural anthropology. We also visited our Sacred Heart School here and were able to go to Frida Khalo’s childhood home (La Casa Azul) – so wonderful! We are just beginning this trip and already I am dreading returning home…”
Meeting Ina y Manuel – The Journey to Cholula: “… Once in Cholula we went to the amazing home of Ina and Manuel who are working with Community Links to provide an after-school center for the children in Tecuanipan and help educate the Community here about waste management and it’s effects on their supply of clean surface water. I think already they will have a profound impact on my future, worldview, or both. They live with such a positive and thoughtful perspective and have such a joyful, compassionate, and insightful attitude toward change/interaction/community. I see the students absorbing this experience, and I am struck by how afraid I am of returning home and leaving this adventure behind me. I, we, must find a way to live this way more fully and more in our every days…”
The Salamander: “… I am very proud of the Salamander that Jono and I built in the ecological toilet at Ina and Manuel’s. I’m not sure how we ended up with that job (apparently we look ‘artsy’) or how we figured it out, but it turned out quite spectacular. Jono was tireless in his excitement to get it just right and we worked really well together to figure out creative ways to support such a large installation piece made from earth and glass. I think we were motivated by Mr. O’Connor and the other boys working so hard to clear the way for the foundation of the classroom and chopping bamboo for the roof. Very impressive …”
As you can see, I really had such a wonderful experience with the students, and Mr. O’Connor, and all the staff from Community Links. The guys were polite and open to the challenges of the trip, and I am grateful for their personal insights along the way. Now that we are home, I find myself thinking often of Ina and Manuel’s home, and of my host-family in Tecuanipan that I shared with Thomas and Jordan. I have already made Dona Rosa’s blue corn tortilla and frijoles with salsa picanta at home, and shared the Nahuatl numbers I learned from Don Alfredo as we switched roles, and he became the teacher, telling me about his family’s history and tales of the land that he works. I am still grateful to Analy for giving us her room and welcoming three strangers from San Francisco into their home and family. I chuckled to myself the other day as Jordan held the door for me on the stairs and I remembered him and Thomas sitting shyly at the dinner table while Don Alfredo bellowed “… with confidence! You are family now!” I am so grateful to have shared this experience with Mr. O’Connor and with the students… watching them question and learn and take into consideration this adventure and how it put their lives in a different, more aware and more worldly perspective. I was very proud of the guys for their openness and hard work – both physically and emotionally.
And a special thanks to Jono and Thomas for getting me up early and keeping me on pace to do a 5 mile run in Cholula and see the sun come up over the Volcano! Beautiful!And to Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Teixeira for allowing me to be apart of such a great journey!
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world:
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
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