Service is considered doing something that is helping or giving back to the community. Along with this, you do it because you truly care about it and not to receive something in return. And Melanie and I did this during this Christmas break. Our 1-week trip to Boston was done to give this life-changing experience to one teenager from our community. And not just this one student, but ourselves and the rest of the people involved in this trip. We got to meet new people, learn about a different community, culture and country. We made new friends and created relationships with many people. For Nayeli it was more enriching as she got to spend 6 full days hearing english and put it to practice. It was also her first time in The States so she was truly amazed by how different it is from our small country and everything that we are used to. All the host families were extremely welcoming which we are really thankful for. At the beginning it was a little bit challenging for Nayeli to feel at home as the language they were speaking is not the one we are used to but also its her first exchange program, which means that it was hard for her to get used to living in a random house with people that we have never met. However, that's where I came in. I stayed with her to help her with this. I wanted her to not be shy, to tell me if she needed anything and I would have her speak to them on her own in order for her to start creating a connection with the family. After the second day, she felt more welcomed, she didn't need me to translate what our host parents were saying and she would start conversations on her own with others. I consider that we all felt the same even if it wasn't our first time in the country or being hosted by a family. And it was easier for us regarding the language, but I feel that this is what made the experience much better, as we would all help each other in any way. Another aspect of this Service that we did was when we attended school. One of the days we went, Nayeli got the opportunity to go on her own with a foreign student from Spain. It was truly a great idea to have her do that as she got to spend time with someone that was in her shoes once. She personally said that she had a great time and was truly amazed by the school. For all of us it was very different as we are used to our small school (especially us coming from La Paz) and it was very fun getting to experience walking through the halls, from one building to another, with hundreds of students, eating at an actual cafeteria, going to the library and seeing how they have different buildings for different sections/subjects. At the end of the trip, everyone was happy and really empowered by the experience. I am really happy and proud of Melanie and I. Even though we had many challenges and obstacles along the way, we know that we were able to make it happen and getting all the positive feedback from everyone was very motivating and heartwarming!
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