Home Stays: Learning and Living in the Moment
My first home stay was in Costa Rica in 2009. It was a 2 day home stay, nothing long, and nothing too extreme. I had my own bed in a nice middle-class family’s house and was surrounded by those in my travel group. They all stayed in houses next to mine. However, I remember being humbled, inspired, and affected by my experience… an experience that later led me to take a Gap Year. I found a passion for getting to know other peoples and cultures. I loved speaking Spanish and being pushed out of my comfort zone; I found it to be scary, exhilarating, fun, exciting, different.
After graduating high school, I set out to Bolivia in Peru, chasing those exact emotions. I quickly found myself out of my comfort zone in Bolivia, which at the time was Latin America’s second poorest country. I traveled in a Gap Year group of 12, called Where There Be Dragons, where we strayed off the normal, beaten path and trekked through rural parts of Bolivia, getting to know new cultures. I was able to witness poor conditions in all social sectors: health, education, the environment… a lack of infrastructure, corruption, you name it. Although I witness poverty around me, I was infatuated with the amount of hospitality, love, and happiness the Bolivians showed me. I stayed in some of the poorest conditions - sleeping on a pile of potatoes in a closet of an adobe brick house, going to the bathroom wherever I could find a discrete place within the community, taking cold, cold bucket baths, eating on the dirt floor sharing scraps with guinea pigs… while at first these things seemed extreme and shocking conditions (especially when that cold bucket hit your back), I eventually became accustomed to it. I actually enjoyed it. It was such a simple way of living. There were no material goods, objects or anything else that got in the way of my enjoyment of the company that surrounded me. We were happy with what we had and what we had were each others stories, jokes, laughs, smiles, and joy. By building relationships with my home stay family and community members, I was able to get a better understanding of the needs within the community, but also of their strengths. One learns how resilient people are. How strong and determined they are. Traveling is one thing, and living and communicating within a community is another— I learned the importance of building trustworthy relationships as it is the key to the hearts of the community and the key to change. My home stay experiences are always invaluable ones, ones to learn and grow from those you are exchanging with.
I will always continue to learn from people. It is my passion. I love living outside my comfort zone. Listening to the experiences, histories, and ideas of others. I believe it is our way to true social change and the key to a better world. We all need to listen, live in the moment, and learn from one another.
Naty Pelota
By Natalie Ball
Sam's Homestay Home Run!
Oscar (aka Benny 'the jet' Rodriguez) |
By Sam Schadt
Camp J.A.M (Juegas, Artes, Musica)
Camp J.A.M. is in full swing and the kids are loving the variety of activities we provide. Tuesday we made drums and let the children loose to express themselves in a musical way. Here you can see the kids participating in our quick lesson about what a crescendo is... or in put more plainly, a race to see who can play the loudest. It is so wonderful to see the kids engaged in fun and safe play!
By Julie Sawyer
Home-stays in Cedro Galán!
For the next three weeks, the Program Directors of the Nicaragua are be on a rotating schedule of week-long home-stays in the community of Cedro Galán. This week, Juliene, Brittny, and myself find ourselves completely immersed in Nicaraguan culture as we start off our home-stay experiences.
I have been fortunate enough to be welcomed into the home of a woman who is regarded as of one of the best cooks in the community. Aside from the delicious food, I have been enjoying spending time with the whole family and improving my Spanish. Despite the fact that three generations are living together in one house, everyone was more than happy to make space for me.
Thus far, I have been blown away by the hospitality and generosity and I am beyond grateful to my new Nicaraguan family for making me feel so at home. Despite the fact that life here is very different from that of the United States, this home-stay experience has reminded me that home is always where the heart is!
By Gretchen Heine