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Cultures'influence on sport
Cultures'influence on sport
Cultures'influence on sport
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“Pato … Pato … Pato …. GANSO!” The words pierced the warm, stagnant air, followed by a brief flurry of footsteps circling me like a shark stalking its prey. For the first time in a long time, I was lost in the moment. It seemed so surreal, yet I knew that it would be a moment I would never forget. As my mind snapped back to reality, I began to question, how did I get here? How have I become one of forty participants in a Spanish version of ‘duck duck goose’ in a remote town in the Dominican Republic? A few months before, my high school had offered the unique opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip. By no means a luxurious vacation, the trip offered very limited accommodations that discouraged many students from participating. However, I jumped at the opportunity as a way to expand my perspective, challenge my comfort zone, appreciate life’s blessings, and connect with others and their culture. Our task in the Dominican Republic was to lead a sports camp every morning, and an …show more content…
The reason I so eagerly volunteered for the Dominican trip was because of my natural curiosity and unique aspiration to challenge my comfort zone. Ever since I was a child, I always enjoyed exploring the unknown. And I don’t mean just floating down our local river in an inflatable inner tube (which I’ve done multiple times). My parents have also instilled in me a curiosity to discover new places, and I have been fortunate enough to visit 47 U.S. states – lacking only Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Hawaii – and have developed an appreciation for different ways of life from the American Indian living without running water or electricity in the Taos Pueblo (N.M.) to the corn farmer spending 16 hours a day tending to his Iowan fields, to the Alaskan fisherman who leaves the shores for weeks at a
Alvarez, Julia. "An American Childhood in the Dominican Republic." American Scholar 56.1 (1987): 71. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
...join so long ago I never really knew I 'd end up here doing what I do. It seems like the common theme for me is seeing something and saying “I can 't do that” then pursuing it until I can. One of my fondest memories is watching someone at the percussion concert play a marimba solo when I was in sixth grade and just looking over at Justin molder and laughing saying “wow I can 't do that” now I do that all the time. I didn 't think I could ever be the leader of a group like this it seemed like too much for me, but now after watching and being in this program and seeing where it could go and what I can do, I want to help take it there. I feel great about next year no matter what happens but I 'm ready to step up, I 'm ready take on whatever I have to to make this year the best year yet. Not just for me but for us all every last one of us in this great family I call home.
Imagine leaving everything you have ever known for your whole life behind. Your family, your friends, the comfort of having something familiar, all gone. All for a dangerous journey to get to a foreign place, having a fear that you might not have a chance of making it. Many people endure this expedition like Enrique in search for a better life. Sonia Nazario has done an outstanding job with Enrique’s Journey, making you feel as though you are on this journey with Enrique, making this trek from Honduras to the U.S. I find it to be a rare occasion if I can make it through the first page of a nonfiction book without waking up an hour later and finding it on the floor. This book, however, almost feels as though it should be a fiction novel. I found it so hard to put down, that even
I was born in Guatemala in a city called, called Guatemala City. Life in Guatemala is hard which is why my parents brought me into the United States when I was eight months old. Some of the things that makes life in Guatemala hard is the violence. However, Guatemala has plenty of hard working men, women, and children who usually get forced to begin working as soon as they are able to walk. However, unlike many other countries, Guatemala has a huge crime rate. I care about the innocent hard working people that live in Guatemala and receive letters, threatening to be killed if they do not pay a certain amount of money at a certain amount of time.
It was quite fitting that the main base for the location setting of this story was in New Jersey, which is a quintessential destination for Dominican immigration. Many of the topics of Dominican society that were discussed in this
I was also in Algulitos, a program where high school students teach younger students Spanish. I led a classroom of second graders every Friday while integrating fun and learning. I was very excited to be involved in this program because it was an opportunity to be a successful role model for younger children. I developed many friendships ...
The thought of traveling sounds so fun, interesting and spontaneous. The two places I hope to travel to the most are Puerto Rico and Germany. I would like to travel to Puerto Rico because I would love to learn more about the place I was descended from. My reasoning for wanting to travel to Germany is because it’s outside the U.S. I have never been to another country, and I’m curious to see how different it is from here. I also picked two places that are very different from each other, so I could have a total different experience on each trip. These two places have some similarities, but they are more different then not. Overall, I would just love to explore and see a place that is so different from the customs, traditions,
I was born in the Dominican Republic, November 2, 1982. I lived and grew up in a countryside where everybody knew each other. My childhood years were full of wonderful experiences where I felt loved by my parents and my family. I went to school around 6 years old. I had to walk around 30 minutes to get there from my house. My father was a farmer who had to work long hours in order to sustain our big family. My mother was a housewife; she was in charge of taking care of us. I have five siblings, three boys and two girls. I remember that at that time we did not have many things in our house. We did not have electricity and also we did not have a service of water. I remembered that my father had to go to the river to get water for the necessities of the house. At that time my family was very poor, but my
As my father and I finally fit the statue of the little Virgin Mary in the back of the car, it was time to get on the road. I could already taste the guavas from my great grandfather’s ranch. Feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin. The smell of my aunt’s cooking. Hearing the excitement of my great grandmother’s voice. I wanted to be there already, be in the beautiful country of Mexico. My thoughts wandered as we left my house. How much welcome, love, and the sadness of leaving was going to happen. It was too soon to find out.
As my family and I walked into the plane, we were excited. The plane ride to jamaica stopped in L.A. and, after that, it went to jamaica. When we arrived in Jamaica it was really hot, but it was wet. I immediately took off my sweater I was wearing on the plane. We took a bus to our hotel. Then we started swimming in the water park. Every night there was a show in the main stage. The next day we woke up early to go to chukka. It was awesome. We saw a great house, rode on horses, and did a challenge course. After we came back from Chukka, we went to the water park and swimming pool at the hotel. Then we ate at fresh, which we went most of the time. The next day we woke up earlier to go to the dolphin cove. The bus was an hour late, but the wait
If someone was to ask me two years ago what I wanted to be I would have greeted them with silence. Before I was a very anti-social person and I didn’t really like speaking much in front of a public, audience, or even my small group of friends. I was the type of girl who preferred staying home in the weekends and watch Netflix instead of going out. But everything changed when I went on a missionary trip with my church to Mexicali. The church I attend has a group of volunteers who go every 2-3 months on the weekends to Mexicali. In these trips we distribute clothes, food, essentials, toys, and candies for all the kids and people in Mexico that live in poverty. Many people who live there live in harsh conditions and are struggling to provide a home for their families. My first trip was a life changing experience because it changed the person who I was. I became an active and outgoing person. I became to appreciate and value the possessions I have at home. Every time I see the kids at Mexicali content when they receive a pair of shoes or a piece sandwich it makes me pleased of myself because I’m able to help them with what I can. Throughout these series of trips I discover my passion and how I have a soft spot for kids. Since Mexicali and where I live have a very large driving distance and I can’t go every day I also volunteer to help kids and adults around my community also. I have help
Also, I enjoy challenges that have helped me develop as a human being. For example, chairing committees in Model Congress provided me with opportunities to work with students of different ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Similarly, my volunteer activitiesworking on Thanksgiving Food Drives for the homeless, the Interact Food Drives, and Hurricane Relief effortsenabled me to improve my ability to collaborate with a variety of people.
The summer after my freshman year in college, I went back to Honduras to volunteer with the children who had leukemia at the National Public Hospital. I have never been as intimidated as my first day, when I followed the attending oncologist, while he was showing me the pediatric unit. He also explained my duties, which were attending and playing with the children. When I was left to start my job, I felt almost as nuisance in the midst of that hectic hospital room. Unsure on how to approach the patients, I looked around and found a tender smiling face. Although I was nervous, the warmth of his expression gave me the confidence to walk towards his bed. After a long and pleasant talk, I learned that Diego was from a remote rural town, and that his father visited him three days a week because he had to work to support his family. Diego suffered from a severe form of leukemia and had been hospitalized for nine months. Due to his poor health, he was unable to walk or even sit up in his bed. Hence, he developed atrophy in his legs causing them to lose strength and mobility. Yet with a huge sparkle in his eyes, Diego shared with me his dreams of becoming a great soccer player. As I turned away to retrieve the board games that he requested, I was moved by his courage to dream despite the hardships he was enduring at such a young age. This encounter was the beginning of an important turning point in my life. What initially began as a job became a real duty for me. I felt compelled and obligated to the children whom I interacted with, gaining satisfaction in doing so. At first, it seemed I was doing them a favor but rather it was the children that made an impact in my life. After I left Diego’s bedside that day, I was heartbroken to see h...
One of the things I was put in charge of was translating. I was able to translate a sermon we put on for the kids at a vacation bible school type of camp. That was super challenging to know that people were dependent on me, but it is also where I began to see where God had blessed me in my life and where I could be used on this trip. How lucky was I to be given the capability to speak Spanish fluently? It was at this moment that I finally became thankful for the talents God had given me. The trip opened my eyes and I was grateful for the opportunity to share what God had given to me. Another task we had the privilege of helping them with was building them a new chicken coop. We built a new roof and cleaned it up so that the chickens wouldn’t get so hot. The tricky part was communicating that we built exactly what they wanted. Therefore I was there to both help construct, but also help get communication between us and the owners under control. I remember having to go on the road to pick up some supplies. I was with my dad and one of the workers at the orphanage. The actual supply run was not what made the event memorable, it was actually when we stopped for coffee. We were able to sit down and ask him questions. I remember asking why he did what he did, like I just didn’t understand why, he did not make much money and it was not easy what he did. He simply looked at me and said that he loved serving the
...rvice. After three more WorldChangers trips, this passion to be a servant to others has grown to have a deep effect on my work ethic, influencing me to do the best job I can when helping others in order to show God’s love to the fullest. As John Hope Franklin claimed, “I would use my energies to make me a better person.” With the wisdom acquired from experiences like WorldChangers and from fellow brothers-in-Christ like various youth pastors, I’ve gained a purpose behind the efforts put into my hard work.