Living in a barn, with the pigs...

So, at 16 years old, the summer after my sophomore year in High School my eyes were opened and my world began to change. I spent this summer in Michoacán, Mexico participating in the Amigos De Las Americas Program.

http://www.amigoslink.org/

Like I said, I grew up in an affluent "snuburb" and never wanted for anything.  I had great parents and an overall "perfect" life.  But something was missing.  There was a hole.

Participating in the program was the first moment that the hole began to shrink.  I spent the summer in a very rural community with no running water nor electricity, living in this great families barn.  I was paired up with two other Americans, whom I did not know, and we were charged with motivating the community to improve their hygiene and public sanitation through latrine building and water purification.  It was incredible and life changing.

When the summer began, I knew no more Spanish than hola, gracias, por favor, and baño (which was not a useful word seeing as there weren't any!).  This family embraced us and loved us as if we were there own kids, their own flesh and blood.  They had "nothing" compared to us and shared more than I had ever seen.  It rocked my world and changed my view of myself and the world.  That summer I fell in love with the Spanish language, realizing that it was not a textbook, but rather amazing people, a lively culture, and an opportunity to see the world while changing myself and others.