I think in the beginning I had very specific goals that I wanted to accomplish in such a short time. My group of three had made a tentative schedule for our first week here, and after taking a look at it yesterday, we realized we were very behind. At first this disappointed me. To add to my initial disappointment, when visiting my host-dad’s mother, she began telling me about past volunteers from other organizations and how they brought things to the community and taught English among other things. She then asked if my group was here for more of a cultural experience; to live in a different country as a vacation type thing. This made me sad. I explained that while yes exchanging cultural is a personal goal for each volunteer, AMIGOS, is about collaborating with communities, fostering relationships and only after decide together what projects can be accomplished. I told her that’s why it may have seemed like we were here to solely learn about a community and its culture. Luckily, she understood where I was coming from and seemed to appreciate the fact that my group and I genuinely wanted to get to know the community. As I mentioned, I was a bit disappointed by our lack of concrete accomplishments. But after explaining to Harvey’s mom what we were about, in a way I reassured myself that my group and I were taking the right steps, slow as they may seem to US. Now, I think that by remembering that it will definitely take time to reach our biggest goals, but it’s just as important to recognize the small goals we accomplish in the meantime.
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