From the moment we arrived to Santiago, I could already tell that this would be an experience that would teach me so much.
The scenery is breathtaking, the people are humble and hardworking, and I could not have picked a better group of girls (and Mr.G) to come with.
After experiencing our first day in the small town of Navarrete at the comedor I was just overwhelmed by emotions. Everything I had witnessed that day was extremely eye opening.
Working at the comedor with the children and staff made me realize how privileged I am to live in a place where running water is accessible pretty much anywhere I go. A place where my family and friends love me unconditionally and would do anything to see me succeed and make my dreams a reality.
Today, I witnessed a child (about the age of 9) walking through the neighborhood, offering to clean peoples’ shoes for money. There is nothing wrong with this, but when do you ever see a child in our country, especially at that age, struggling to provide for themselves and their family?
Children in our country often do not value the privileges that they have. Instead, they are searching for new ways to spend money on unnecessary products.The products that children buy in our society such as smartphones, iPods, and other electronics can be very useful with moderation but can hinder a child’s social skills. At the comedor, children were ecstatic about using old worn out toys, broken play equipment and just being outside running around. Whenever one of us would take pictures, they would look at our phones asking what they were. They had never seen an iPhone before. In the US it would almost be unheard of for a child to not know what a selfie is. I loved seeing the expression on their faces whenever they would try to take pictures on my phone!
It was so great to see how these children enjoyed the little things that life provided them. But if you think really think about it, those things we might consider as “little things” are actually bigs things to them and that is a very humbling thought.
Overall, I’m absolutely loving every minute here!
Rowan University Service Trip 