My first semester at Harvard was a whirlwind of redbrick buildings, late night/early mornings at Lamont library, trying to navigate through peculiar social scenes and first impressions of my classmates.
I was wrapped up in my experience in the “Harvard Bubble,” and decided a trip to Nicaragua and then back to Honduras was a much-needed break to allow me to recharge and reassess who I was and what I wanted out of college.
I started winter break by heading to Nicaragua for two weeks of development work with four students from other New England colleges and four from Miami Dade college. We helped launch the inaugural Tengo Un Sueño project through “Friends of Students for 60,000,” which provides extra classroom support, community involvement, and supplies to make sure that a class of first graders graduates from high school.
The trip was a “volunteer-cation” because when we were not working, we got to explore the beauty of Nicaragua, including surfing down a volcano, Cerro Negro, swimming in a freshwater lagoon and horseback riding on the mountains at sunset.
After an almost-missed, last-one-to-board-the-plane flight from Nicaragua to Miami, my roommate met me at the Miami airport and we were off to Honduras to visit the kids at the orphanage I taught at this past summer.
Seeing the same 22 faces that I read to, played and danced with for the month of June reminded me that, in spite of everything that has happened in my life since June, nothing had changed in my relationship with the kids.
The only important things – the songs we dance to (Te Amo by Makano), the English expressions I taught them, and the books we read together – were remembered and cherished by them and myself alike.
Then, my roommate and I went to an island off the coast of Honduras, Utila, to get our open-water dive certification at a dive hostel. The island of Utila is known for its diving and nightlife, and is mainly occupied by dive junkies and backpackers from all over the world. I heard many diverse stories at the hostel including ones from an Oregon cranberry farmer, a soldier just returned from Afghanistan and a member of the Israeli army.
After four days of underwater and written tests, my roommate and I were dubbed PADI open-water scuba divers. We got to explore the coral reefs of Utila and encountered sea turtles and barracudas, but sadly, no whale sharks.
Returning to Harvard after a month of being in la vida sencilla – the simple life – was weird – in a good way. Sporting a new tan, friends and experiences, it was fun coming back to everything just the way I left it, but with a fresh perspective. I want to carry on la vida sencilla in college, really getting to know people, taking time to appreciate where I am, who I am with and only caring about things that matter while letting everything else fall into place.
