Saturday, June 30 – Everything happens for a reason. Today, we left our host families. As I am hugging my host mother, I realized how grateful I am. She did not have to do everything she did for me. Accepting a stranger into her home, cooking meals and treating me like I was her child. My host mother has made me realize that the scariest trials we face can become our greatest revelations. I was terrified the first night I entered my host family’s home. I did not know the language well, and I was not familiar with the people, their culture, or their way of life. But after four days in their home, we built a strong bond, and now we are connected.
Upon leaving our host families, we arrived in Tobati, a beautiful city, for a day of hiking. We first visited an artisan shop and browsed through all of the beautiful pieces and artifacts, most of which were created by hand by local artists. After a bit of shopping, we prepared for our hike. I did not want to do the hike at all. I tried my hardest to get out of it, but you can’t delay the inevitable. I ended up in the front of our hiking line. At the beginning of the hike, I was complaining and upset. Why me? Why am I here? Why can’t I have a break today? Why? Why? Why? All of these questions ran through my mind over and over again, but, nevertheless, I was on the hike.
Midway through the hike, we stopped at a cave. In groups of five, we sported hard hats and face masks and explored the cave; I was in the last group. When my turn came, we went inside the cave and saw Fool’s Gold, gold that is actually useless. It takes so much money to extract the gold from the rock that by the time it comes out, you have spent more money on the extraction process than what the gold is actually worth. The next thing we saw were spiders… All 20 kinds of them! At this point in our adventure, I was just like “No. Just no!” The tour guide showed us the sleeping bats, the last surprise on our cave expedition. He shined the flashlights on the bats, and they started flying. I lost it! I screamed and jumped and tried to run out of the cave! As I exited the cave, I was reminded that this hike was still not over.
The descent, walking down the hill, was worse than coming up. It was slippery, steep and slightly wet from the previous day’s rain. At one point I gave up, and I didn’t want to keep going. I stopped and cried. But I thought why did you come all this way to Paraguay only to give up? Only to say “No.” You need to try the things you aren’t used to or don’t have access to in the United States. With my inner strength and this realization, I pushed on. I am grateful for Ms. Bundy, Alex, and the tour guides for helping me and pushing me to finish the hike.
I found the answers to my initial questions at the end of the hike. I am in Paraguay to learn about the country and the culture. I am in Paraguay to learn more about myself. I was accepted into this program – which not everyone gets an opportunity to do. So, this is my time to step out of my comfort zone and embrace all experiences, and I refuse to waste it!
Joy C., Paul Public Charter School