An Illuminating Experience

I still remember the fateful day when an enthusiastic man with an Australian accent entered my math class and changed my life in under thirty seconds, or at least provided a catalyst for change. After looking at the ISV pamphlet I just knew that I had to go on one of these trips. The staff helped me decide on the Dominican Republic based on my interest in childhood education. The following summer I found myself riding a Safari truck, surrounded by friends, watching a rainbow of houses on stilts, a lush tropical forest, and waving locals, zoom by as we rode up a mountain to the place where we would spend many hours digging, shoveling and laying bricks. The neatest part about the construction project was the locals that helped us. At one point, an elderly woman asked to borrow my pick axe and proceeded to clear out more weeds than I had in the last half hour in thirty seconds. Her strength and character was inspiring. Later that week I found myself teaching a yoga lesson in Spanish to a group of beautiful children. When we asked the pre-schoolers who their role model was, they unanimously replied, "Yos", or God. To see the simple joy that I could bring through throwing a ball with a young child, or conversing to another about baseball, changed my heart forever. I witnessed a lunar rainbow and a million smiles that were equally illuminating while in the Dominican Republic. But what really made this trip life changing for me, was the friendships I formed with my fellow volunteers. It took but two weeks for me to fall in love with the country the culture, and a dozen people that I just met. I am a more educated, more compassionate person because of that trip, but most importantly, I was inspired to promote change through education and compassion.