Cresent School, Toronto - Students talk about their Honduran Experience

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My Experience in Honduras During March. 2005.

I traveled with seven other students and two teachers from my school to Honduras to spend about a week and a half in Cofradia, helping with the construction of a new kitchen building and teaching English. It's been about two months now since I've returned from my trip and even though my tan has already faded away, I can still remember riding through the dust-filled air on the back of a pickup truck and playing soccer in the street at night. Before embarking on the trip, I really had no idea what to expect. I had traveled to several countries before and had even been to South America once. However, on all these trips, I was in the position of a tourist, there to see the tallest building or to eat the most exotic food, and the most I gained from these experiences were simply several dozen photographs. This trip, however, was something completely different. Those two weeks were an exhilarating ride through the culture and community of rural Honduras.

But what was different about this journey from my previous ones was that it was much more than just seeing another country, experiencing a new culture, speaking a new language, and meeting new people. I learned to see from the perspective of the people living there. It was like giving up being a Canadian and being a Honduran instead. Of course, I dare not say that I arrived at a complete understanding, or even close, but I was able to realize the reality that existed for others. At first, I was a little nervous regarding the language barrier, because I did not speak any Spanish at all prior to the trip, but this was overcome very quickly (in fact, right after we landed at the airport) with the help of the friends I made and the family I was staying with. Soon, my conversations with the children at the school and their families went beyond favorite movies and the weather to about things like politics and Darwinism and actually being able to exchange ideas. And seeing the school building through my own eyes and being there in person to interact with the students and participate in their daily activities gave me a first hand view of what it is like to live there. Between teaching English and helping with the construction of the kitchen building, we were able to play soccer and other games with the children. The friendliness with which they welcomed us was really heart-warming. It took me a while, but I was finally able to change my attitude. It was like learning to look at everything with a different light: from "I will be here for two weeks" to "this is where they live." To realize that these conditions, which to me were only temporary, was to them more or less permanent. It was the way things were. It was a simple realization, but a very profound one for me. Another thing I've had the privilege to take back with me, other than a few simple phrases of Spanish, is the knowledge that the decisions I make everyday and the way I choose to live my life here in North America can have a very big influence on people living on the other side of the globe, with completely different conditions. What I choose to buy, what I choose to wear, and what I choose to support can all make a difference in other people's lives. I will never forget my experience in Cofradia and the friends that I had made. And the best part of all is that the lessons I had learned were ones which no amount of classroom time or textbook-reading could have taught me. - Willy