Our lives seem to become so busy that it is easy to forget what we have experienced and live our hectic lives ignoring the issues present in our neighboring country. Esperanza is a program and a community that we cannot forget. I recently spent two weeks in Tijuana, Mexico and it completely solidified the fact that I will continue to make an effort to return to the posada and support the program for many years to come. Esperanza has become so much more than a week spent working on a person’s house. The week spent working is the foundation for bridging two communities. Not only are you given the opportunity to grow within the community of those you traveled to Mexico with, you also begin building relationships with people of a completely different culture.
My two week visit consisted of a different group each week, many of whom I had never met before. Each group had a mix of different ages and different walks of life, yet we melded together well. I gained many long-lasting friendships in each group. I also became closer to those people we interacted with who make up the Esperanza program. I enjoyed listening to their stories, playing with their kids and helping to build their home which they have been waiting so long to accomplish this pivotal moment in their life. It made me feel like these people I had just met were my long lost friends.the foundation for bridging two communities. Not only are you given the opportunity to grow within the community of those you traveled to Mexico with, you also begin building relationships with people of a completely different culture.
One of the most influential parts of this trip was two social occasions that I was involved in while I was there. We went to a Xolos game (the local soccer team) and also went out one night to celebrate a birthday party. During these two events I saw the volunteers and local participants of Esperanza in an environment outside of work. I became highly aware of the fact that even with our cultural differences, we shared the same human nature in the desire to have a good time and enjoy friends. At this moment I thought of all the things I hear at home, in the United States, about the poverty in Tijuana and I realized that while there is visible financial poverty here, there is also a wealth of laughter, dancing, family and friends.
Our cultures are different, but both have something unique to offer one another. Often volunteers begin the week with a feeling of sympathy for the community members, because they are struggling to build a home with less amenities than the homes they are used to in the United States. Yet, in my experience, by the end of the week volunteers don’t leave feeling sympathetic, they leave feeling enriched and with a much greater appreciation for the important things in life; friends and family. They leave feeling as though they have been given something rather than solely giving something.
In conclusion, I have found, the more I visit a place and experience all that it has to offer, the more comfortable I become. Every time I return to Esperanza that familiarity increase, I reconnect with friends and take with me much more than I could possibly give in my time in Tijuana and with the Esperanza program.
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