The coast trip was a pretty nice way to end our
intercultural trips. It was really nice being able to bond with our grade for
one last time but also learn new things about the local community.
On the first day we got to interact with the community
straight away and learn about some of the activities they do regularly such as
using coconut for multiple functions, weaving leaves together and making
clothing. We were split into three different groups and we went to different
stations. The first station I went to was learning how to use a coconut. I was so surprised by how many functions the coconut
has. The people use the shell as a spoons, and the insides for cooking, they
also extract the oil for lotion and cooking and sometimes they also create earrings
to sell. Learning how they create all of these products was really fascinating
and I didn’t know coconuts had all those functions. I realized if you aren't privileged
enough to have many resources you have to be creative with the little that you have
and these people demonstrated that very well. From this experience I learned to
be more appreciative of the things I have. Then we went to the tailor and the
majority of us asked him to sew clothing. I was surprised by how fast he was
able to finish sewing all our clothing. Then the last station we went to was the
leaf weaving where we learned how the people weave the large palm tree leaves
together to help create roofs and for other items.
On the trip we also did some creativity activities which was
creating bracelets out of plastic slippers. I was surprised by how much you can
create from one small item. Whenever I go to the Massai market and see all the
little items that they create I never really think about how strenuous it is to
create all those pieces until I sat and made my own flip flop bracelet. It took me about an hour
to make one and now I really appreciate the effort and time these people put
into making all those amazing items. After creating my bracelet I saw other people
creating amazing things such as turtle and fish key chains, and bouncy balls I
really wanted to go and try making everything. However, I enjoyed making the bracelet
so much that I decided to make another one.
I personally am a person who enjoys using my hands and making things so
doing this activity was very fun and different for me.
During this intercultural trip many of the things I participated
in were a first for me for an example going to the coast in Kenya, making flip
flop bracelets and snorkeling. Snorkeling was my favorite activity by far
especially since I had never done it before. When I got into the water I was a
bit nervous because I had never really used the snorkeling masks before and
breathing through the tube was a bit nerve racking. But, as I started swimming
it started to feel a bit normal. When I looked into the water it felt like I was
in a different world! It was so amazing and I didn't really want to leave that
world. Which is one of the reasons why I
went snorkeling a second time instead of going onto the little beach. Even though I really liked snorkeling I had a
few problems when I was snorkeling. On the way back to the boat the top of the
breathing tube came of so even when I was barley on the surface looking into
the water. Salt water would still enter my tube and into my mouth. By the end
of the day I’m pretty sure I swallowed a gallon of salt water! At times water
also went into my goggles and I was blinded with stinging salt water. Other than that I really enjoyed snorkeling and
next time I wouldn't mind going diving and exploring the deep sea.
On the third day our group had the service day where first
we helped build the tree nursery and then for the second half of the day we
helped build the dispensary for the health clinic. This was a very tiring day
yet it was very rewarding to think that the little we were helping build will last
for years to come. What we had to do for the tree nursery was help build the foundation
by mixing A LOT of cement and placing it onto the ground floor. The tree
nursery was where they planted the baby seedlings and the cement that we were
helping place would help retain the water so that they wouldn't waste any
water. Once the trees started to branch and grow roots they would move the little trees and place
them into the actual dirt where they could grow their roots into the ground. At
the dispensary for the health clinic our job was to collect the mounds of dirt
that the other group had already dug out into trenches and we had to place the dirt
on one side of the floor. This was also very tiring but it was worth it. By the
end of the day we had accomplished a lot and I was very proud of what we had
done for this beautiful community.
Overall this intercultural trip was a very fun trip because
we were able to learn new things about the local community, give back to the people
and have fun in the sun. J
