At first, I thought that the sports program I was interning at was simply that, sports. This past week showed me that it is so much more than that. On Wednesday, I got to go to an end of the school year fiesta at a community center in the town. This celebration included puppet shows, singing, dancing, slideshows, and movies all performed by the students that attend the after school program. Parents were invited to attend and watch the performances and the atmosphere was buzzing with the anticipation summer vacation has for all children. It is so nice to see how the sports program is so tightly integrated with the after school program and vice versa. Both programs are run by the same organization, but they do not necessarily have to be supportive of one another and so tightly intertwined. I think it is a great thing that they are, though. By supporting the different programs, the children understand that education is important and so is physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. Also, going out and playing sports for an hour or two a day greatly increases a child’s ability to listen attentively at school by giving them a physical and mental outlet. I am pointing this out because in my past experience in the United States, programs always seem like they are competing with one another. There is always some type of tension between different sports teams, or sports teams and the school system, or one coach and another, the list could go on. I just thought that this was normal and part of a natural system of constantly trying to be better than someone or something else. I believe this can be detrimental for children because it instills in them a sense of urgency to be the best at everything instead of teaching them the importance of collaboration and the importance of diversity and understanding that differences are important and valuable to society. This organization is definitely doing it right by working together and having all of the programs supporting one another. All of the adults that work in these programs are great role models for the children and, from what I have witnessed, have a true passion for helping them succeed as much as they can in all ways possible.
Thursday was a lot like Wednesday because we did not play any games, instead we went to a San Juan water party with other after school programs in the area. Again, this was so refreshing to see how the other programs collaborated to make a fun afternoon for the children that could not be possible by one program alone. The children had a blast playing in the firehose, making bubbles, and celebrating. My one complaint was that nobody ever communicated to me that I would be attending a water party so I was really not prepared or dressed for the occasion. I found out that I was going to a water party on my way to the party and when I acted surprised and confused Miguelo seemed surprised I didn’t know that a San Juan Fiesta included water. I wish there was better communication in my internship and I knew what to expect more, that way I would be able to interact with the children better and be able to prepare. I have found it very difficult to communicate with Miguelo because he has a very laid back and go with the flow personality. I am usually totally fine with that, but with the language barrier, it makes it very difficult to even know what is going on. A lot of the time, even when he uses google translate it makes absolutely no sense and I am just left guessing what we are going to be doing for that day or the next day. This internship has definitely kept me on my toes and has taught me how to be more relaxed. I suppose I could be a good thing for me since I like to have a lot of structure and routine in my everyday life. I know sometimes it would be better if I relaxed a bit and just let everything work out.
Wednesday night was definitely a highlight of my week. The gang got together at Mike’s house and he made us his staple meal, cheeseburgers. They were muy delicioso. Of course there was guacamole, too, which always is a welcomed add-on. Anyway, we ate cheeseburgers and watched a movie called The Human Experience. It was a wonderful documentary following two young men as they embarked on multiple journeys stretching from their home in New York to a Leper Colony in Africa. This documentary portrayed the similarities that all humans share. It does not matter if you're homeless, a sick, abandoned child, a leper, or any other minority in the world, we all have basic needs and wants that apply to all of the human race. There is a common thread that stretches through all of humanity. What I took from the documentary is that there are so many people that need help and need these basic needs to be fulfilled; they need love and compassion and acceptance and a sense of belonging. If they do not receive these things then their humanity is stripped from them and that is unacceptable, nobody deserves to feel that way. In the past year I have started to engage in service activities that focus on helping minority groups of all kinds. I have learned and gained a lot from the people I have helped and I know that I want to continue finding ways to help those around me, as well as traveling to help those in other parts of the world. Not only do I help them, I also get the opportunity to learn more about myself and humanity. Through my travels thus far, I can relate to the documentary and vouch that this common human experience is real. I have also been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my future and what kind of work I want to do. After this year’s experiences, I am positive that whatever I decide to do will involve helping others, creating a sustainable earth, or finding ways to make the world more peaceful. Hopefully I can find a creative way to achieve all three!
