The morning is bittersweet as we gather our belongings into the van. We say our goodbyes to Freddy and then travel the long journey back to Santo Domingo. When we arrive in the city we stop in a market and stock up on goods for the international market for next year. The market is overwhelming and loud, I get what I need and do my best to blend in until everyone else is finished.
Our flights back allow for a lot of time to reflect on the week. At one point in our trip we met an American, let’s call him Luke. He was frustrated by the multitude of groups that come down to villages for an inexpensive vacation, build a house, and leave feeling great about themselves. This infuriated almost all of us, as we were leaving feeling frustrated and helpless. It became very clear to me that it is because Luke does not know our group that he does not understand why we came. Yes, we did work on a house. Yes, that will make a difference to Moira and her family. However, in the wise words of Erina, “I have a hard time believing any of us traveled all this way just to build a house.” The true value in this trip was in the stories we shared, and the relationships we built. Not one of us is leaving feeling happy with our work and done with the community, rather I feel like each one of us has had our world ripped wide open. It is easy to go about our days ignoring the fact that we are so blessed and privileged to be living the lives we live. It is easy to assume that these impoverished communities all over the world need us to come in and help them out. What I’ve seen is that we will get nowhere if we help because we think we have all these things to give to others. The only way there is peace, the only way we acknowledge the worth in other human beings, is when we communicate because we know we can learn from each other.
These amazing men and women have a culture and a sense of family that has been completely erased from our culture, if it ever existed at all. There, cousins carry each other and brothers and sisters resemble parents to each other, sometimes out of necessity but mostly out of tradition. If every day I love a little bit more and appreciate a little bit more it will be because of what I have learned from this little village buried in the hills of a country thousands of miles away. Our work there, and the passion I feel in my heart for working with others is by no means satisfied, rather I know this is the beautiful beginning to what will be a life long journey of service for me. As I said earlier, the more you know the more there is to know, the more you learn the more there is to learn, and the more you do the more there is to do. So, at the end of my college career I see the beginning of my life journey; a winding path fueled by a unending cycle of knowing, learning, doing, and sharing.
-Meredith
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