This trip is all about immersion and learning from the culture of Nicaragua. The person that embraces this the most is not a student, but one of our instructors, Mitch. He graduated from Providence College and might attend MIT for graduate school in the Fall. With all of his education, he could be making huge amounts of money at some corporate job but instead he chooses to live on an active volcano in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, directing a sustainable farm. He has been here long enough to appreciate the small things such as random well in the middle of the country that provided him the best water he had ever tasted. Mitch encouraged us to travel the world while we are still young, which this trip has inspired all of us to do.
Henry C.
Today we brought the kids the only thing that could cause a greater amount of excitement than our presence itself: soccer balls. We visited the boys side, and when they realized what we had brought, their exuberance was overflowing. The kids quickly separated us all into three teams mixed of Los Quinchos and us, and the games began.
The kids could not have looked more in their element, as the rest of us ran up and down the field, trying to keep up with the Quinchos who seemed to have an endless amount of energy. While my team may not have scored for any of our three games, playing soccer with those kids was an incredibly powerful experience, and I really felt like it was the most I had connected with the kids so far on the trip. They took me in as their teammate even though my best shot attempt ended up somewhere between 20 and 30 feet above the goal, and it really meant a lot to me. We may not be able to completely communicate with words all the time but being able to connect through our common love for sports and soccer brought us all closer today in a way I will never forget. Hopefully they can teach me some moves, so next time I’m some use to my teammates on the field.
-Ben Greer
“¿Barca o Madrid?”
“Prefiero Barca, pero mi equipo favorito es Manchester United.”
With my minimal Spanish abilty, some conversations with Los Quinchos can be difficult. However, talking with the kids about football, our favorite teams, and our favorite players, provided an opportinity to communicate and bond with the children. Today I created a lot of relationships through soccer, both through conversation and on the field.
When we were playing, I immediately noticed a carefree attitude from the kids. Unlike in the States, where sports are generally accompanied with competitiveness and seriousness, Los Quinchos always played with smiles on their faces, and never argued with each other. This was great for me to witness, because it taught me to appreciate my ability to play soccer everyday. While I have multiple soccer balls, and three good pairs of Nike Soccer cleats, the kids didn’t have a good ball until we brought them some.
Today’s time with Los Quinchos showed me that soccer can bring people together, even with a language barrier.
-Dalton Ruh
We had been talking about this day for months, the day we would finally be meeting the boys and girls of Los Quinchos. We were told numerous times that the children were all very welcoming and loving, but when we got to actually experience this, we all realized that they were even more inviting and loving than what we could ever have imagined. After hearing so much about them and not knowing what to expect, it was really neat seeing where they lived, the activities they participated in around the farm, and how they interacted with us. We weren’t at the farm for long, yet we could already see the different personalities in the bunch and it was really interesting to see how each boy interacted with each other and also us. -Latty
When we visited them again later that night, we were in for a show. Literally. They boys and girls put on a circus for us, showing us their skills which consisted of dancing, hula hoops, acting, and stilts. Once they completed their show, they invited us onto their stage to dance with them. All of the people in our group were all in to dance with the kids of Los Quinchos. Rafael, a very adorable and petite young boy, quickly glued himself on to a few of the girls, looking out for them to see that they did not get wet, as there was a storm that night. Later he taught each and every person in our group how to dance together, even in that short period of time. As for myself, after the dancing, I ended up sitting with a little boy named Jimmy. He had been quiet all night, not dancing, but watching. As soon as the scene became calmer and we could hear each other, he began questioning me about my many rings and bracelets, making sure to take all of my rings off to put them on himself and compare his hand to mine. In doing so, we played some counting games and he taught me some spanish. When it was time for the boys to walk back, I could tell he was reluctant to leave. I didn’t even want him to leave. He made sure to know if he would see me tomorrow and I reassured him that I would be here. For the most part of this trip, I had spent so much time worrying about how I didn’t speak Spanish and how I wouldn’t be able to connect with the boys. After meeting Jimmy, I realized that the language gap means nothing to a 10 year old boy and we were still able to connect. I am so thrilled to be able to say I still have time to hang out and meet all of the other boys and bond more with my newest friend, Jimmy. -Kelsey
