After a long trip home Sunday, we arrived in Lewisburg at about 3:15 Monday morning. The rumors were true. We were welcomed by about a foot of snow on the ground! I think all of us made a gasping noise as we stepped off the bus without winter coats. At least two of us literally ran home pulling our suitcases because we were so cold while some of our fellow Brigadistas had to shovel out their cars before heading home.
I've spent a good part of today unpacking, listening to a CD of Nicaraguan music, and reflecting on the experiences we've had over the past week. Coming back to the U.S. makes you realize how differently and comfortably we live here and how much we take for granted.
I have to say that I was a little freaked out as I stepped into the steaming hot shower last night (after a week of air temperature water, hot was just wierd). I quickly solved the problem by turning the temperature way down, even though I was still freezing from the walk back from the bus. The fluorescent lights also appeared very strange after a week of natural or dull electric lighting. I could once again drink water out of the faucet or even ice cold water from the fridge.
These differences in comforts serve to remind me of all the people in Nueva Vida struggling for everything they have. Water and electricity can never be taken for granted when there is no money to pay for such luxuries. Here, you can just go to the caf if you're hungry. There, the vast majority of the people must count every penny and hope there's enough at the end of the day to be able to feed their family. All family members work together in this fight, even the children. Yet, they miraculously seem to maintain vibrant attitudes and rejoice in the "assets" -mainly friends and family that they do have.
However, spending a week working amongst the Nicaraguans, I learned that they are not so fundamentally different from us. They may be able to mix cement much faster than us and carry much heavier loads, and we may have better computer skills and have seen more places. However, we all meet at the basic level of human interaction. We have the same desire to succeed and we laugh and smile about the same things.
Through my participation on the Brigade, I have gained a new sense of responsibility to care for and accept people - no matter what walk of life they come from. After all, we share the same earth and we must work together to make the biggest difference possible. Although we may have helped the people of Nueva Vida in some small ways over the last week, the people of Nueva Vida have helped us even more to gain a new appreciation for life and all that it has to offer, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Our challenge now is to not forget all that we have learned as we go about our days here at Bucknell. I just hope that, one day, I have another opportunity to participate in something as meaningful as the Brigade.
