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Thursday, 24 April 2008 |
Kelsey is a Junior at Nerinx Hall High School and a member of St. Stephen Protomartyr Parish. She participated in the March 2008 Uxpanapa, Mexico Immersion Trip with Nerinx Hall, St. John Vianney, and St. Mary’s students.
 I worked on a mural during my week in La Chinantla. Myself, one other Nerinx girl, two St. Mary's boys, one Mexican boy, and one Mexican girl worked on this all week. We started with a blank concrete wall 96' long and 6' tall, and we ended with an amazing mural of all different sports. We decided to paint it with a sports theme because another group was building a basketball court right next to the wall, and the recreation center was right in front of it. We divided the wall into sections and painted basketball, volleyball, baseball, soccer, rock climbing, skate boarding, and surfing.
We actually finished the mural after only 4 days, so we got to paint another thing also. We painted a flag for DIF, which is group that gives aid in the area. They provide milk or rice or beans to families that simply cannot feed their children. They mostly help women and children. We painted the flag that they will take to all of their future promotional campaigns or meetings. It is a way to advertise their group. The flag looked amazing, and it felt so good to be a part of something that will really help people in La Chinantla for many years to come.
I am honestly shocked at the amount of work we got done in a matter of 5 days! It all looked amazing, and I was so proud to have done these jobs. We got to sign our names on the mural, and I know it will be there forever. It was so cool to leave that part of me behind for everyone to enjoy.
While working was our main goal, we also did so many fun activities. Honestly, it did not feel like a service trip at all. Every day we had a new activity to do. For example, on Easter Sunday we went to the river all day. The Uxpanapa River is in the middle of a rain forest. We drove for about 30 minutes and then took a 1/2 mile or so hike down to the river. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life. Easter was one of my favorite days. We all swam, threw each other in the river, and played sports on the beach. It was really cool to see all of the Americans and Mexicans playing and laughing together at the river. Another day, we had a 4 on 4 soccer and volleyball tournament. My team won soccer!!! On the last night we had a fiesta. We cleared out the rec center and brought in a "D.J.” We listened to Spanish rap and hip hop and danced like crazy all night.
All in all, this spring break was honestly one of the best experiences of my life so far. I absolutely loved every second of it. I met so many new friends. After the week was over, everyone just cried and cried because we honestly felt like we had known these Mexican kids for our entire lives. I really can call them some of my best friends. I also learned so much about the Mexican culture. I lived immersed in it, ate its food, met its people, spoke its language, and ultimately learned to love it. Finally, I learned so much about myself. I learned that I am actually a lot better at Spanish than I thought I was. I learned that I really love art. I learned that I love new things. I learned that I don't need all of the stuff that I have. I would be happy with taking a bucket shower everyday! Some of the things that we have here in the U.S. are so unnecessary. The people in La Chinantla have close to nothing, yet they are sooooo happy and so full of life.
I want to go back next year. I cannot think of another way to spend my spring break that could possibly beat this. Words cannot even explain. You have to go experience it for yourself. I think foreign service trips should be required for everyone. I feel like I am a better person because I went on this trip. It honestly was a life changing experience.
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