Final Reflection

By: Cera Cantu

I would be surprised if anyone came home from this trip without learning something new about themselves or those around them. For me, the most important thing I learned was to not take anything for granted. This could be anything from natural resources, technology, time, or people. Along with this, I learned to be patient and deal with problems as they come.

While we were in the villages, I was very cautious about my water use. I didn’t want to use too much of the water they had available. This made me wonder why I wasn’t as thoughtful about water usage when I was home. Lack of useable water is a problem for everybody. I hope to keep being as conscientious about my use of resources while I am home. I enjoyed the limited time we were able to use electronics because we were able to spend quality time together and with the people we met. Even when we lost power in one of the villages, we were still able to have an enjoyable night together. While on the trip, I constantly lost track of time. Since I didn’t always have to worry about time, I was a lot more relaxed, and I was a lot more easygoing. I noticed this when I came back from the trip and had to quickly move out of my house and graduate. Not worrying about what I had to do next allowed me to be flexible. This is something I would like to continue practicing. Lastly, the way the people treated us made me rethink how I treat others. They were so open, warm, and loving to us. I want to pass that experience on to others because it made me feel welcome and connected to the people. The people we met have so much to teach others. They were flexible and knew how to problem solve better than I probably could. Also, they were willing to share what they know with us. We just have to be willing to listen.