Personal Narrative: Home, Ecuador

Upon our arrival to The Dominican Republic, my mother informed me that we were going to spend most of our vacation at my grandparent’s house. Immediately, I was filled with exhilaration. After so many years, I would finally visit my beloved grandparents. I had already visualized what spending the summer at their house would be like. Rolling in the sand of the clear see-through beaches, listening to the birds sing and chirp around us as we savor our early morning breakfast, enjoying the sound of waves smashing into the rocks on the shore, and laying in an air-conditioned room when the temperature got too high.

One grand adventure that I went on this summer was a missions trip to the Dominican Republic. It was probably the best two weeks of my life and not a day goes by that I don’t think about it and want so badly to go back. I didn’t always have those feelings though… The first couple days were pretty rough from lack of sleep, being in a totally new environment in a country I have never been before, being way out of comfort zone and being slightly home sick. The first full day at our site I nearly had a panic attack because I just couldn't get over the language barrier and that was the first time I have ever worked with kids. I just felt so helpless and that I was’t showing these kids God’s love. But I was because just being there for them showed them God’s love.

I am Carlos Peru. I was born and raised in Anthony, New Mexico. Everything I’ve ever gotten was due to my hard work. My whole life I was never given anything and this lifestyle grew me to be the person I am today and also the things I like today. I wouldn’t take any of it back. Given I didn’t like every day I still wouldn’t trade it for anything. These things made my major life choices such as my major, my favorite books, and movies and such things like that. My major is neuroscience and I found this love through a friend of my fathers. He is an accomplished anesthesiologist and one day I got to see a surgery love and I loved what the surgeons and doctor got to do and I loved it. From that point on and even to this day I continue to pursue

Throughout my high school experience up until now I've been alone, I've never had a group of friends, or any friends at all. At times I'd feel sad, hoping that someone would try and talk to me, but I struggled with attempting to put in the effort to strengthen any bonds with

When I was 4 years old, my mother decided to send me and my siblings to live with our grandparents in Honduras. I was born in Long Beach, CA, USA, however, my mother was struggling to give us a better life working as a housekeeper, and it wasn’t until I was 12 years old that we were reunited in New York. Nevertheless, my mother’s sacrifice to send my siblings and me to her country was indeed positive; hence, today am bilingual and have respect for diversity.

My grandmother, Anastasia Herrera, fearing my father’s death was imminent, put him on a plane bound to the United States. Apparently, my dad, barely fifteen years old at the time, had joined the Constitutionalists revolution in Santo Domingo. This rebel group was comprised of military agitators and civilian combatants fighting against Trujillistas or politicos adopting the imperialistic ideals of the fallen Dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. My father was not an idle supporter, but rather an active participant who manufactured Molotov cocktails, flinging bombs at law enforcement officers in the streets while the civil war gained momentum.

-I learned error, I made it the Dominican Republic and was to have given affection, friendship and confidence to people who did not deserve. This happened out of nowhere and It was created a serious mistake in my life, people existed which gave him affection, help and there was no care about anything. I started to love and treat them like family to me, they were people who shared daily, at school, my free time and the more things. Always looking for the best for everyone on Regardless nothing, always I wanted to know how they were, everything.

The day has finally come to go on vacation. My family and I departed promptly from our house at 4:30 in the morning. Our flight was scheduled for 7 in the morning at Pittsburgh International Airport. We had to arrive their early because all people flying international had to be their two hours before the flight would leave. We boarded the flight out to Punta Cana, which is located in the Dominican Republic. I can remember that I was so excited to go, that I was the first on the flight. I am pretty sure that it took about three hours to get to the Dominican Republic from Pittsburgh. It was a really long flight to me because I could not wait to get there and I just wanted to land. Finally, the moment has come and we landed. When we departed

The first day of my life took place in a military hospital in Wurzburg, Germany. My father was an officer in the U.S. Army and my mother stayed in the home. While living in Germany I attended a German school where my brother and I were the only students who spoke English. Despite the fact that we did not speak the same language, we were able to interact the same way most young children would. As an adult I have often thought that my desire to travel and search for diverse human relationships was influenced by my early childhood.

To be an expert at something is to do something multiple times until you're good at it and it becomes easy. I can honestly say my experiences this summer were something to remember forever, I learned about so much new culture, tried so much new and interesting food, and experienced so many new things from different places. One place especially was Costa Rica, but not just one part of Costa Rica, I went to six different cities in two weeks. From horseback riding and zip lining through a tropical rainforest, to exploring the beautiful volcanoes and waterfalls, to getting involved in the folkloric dancing, I would say I'm becoming more of an expert in experiencing new things and being adventurous.

It was the last day of my trip, and while I was washing plates in my grandmother’s house, the sunlight was reflected on the plates to my eyes. The fear going through my veins, my mind confused with everything that have happened two weeks ago. Uncertainty of what event would destroy or rebuild my heart. What would happen next ?. The future is unpredictable, so far that is a concept that now I understand. Considering the time spent in my country Colombia , vacations, friends, and parties were the words that stay on my mind for the first two weeks, otherwise the next two weeks were not what I planned. Firstable I was not supposed to be there for these last two weeks, but I am grateful. “No puedes viajar hoy” were the words asserted by the airline

From the moment I set foot outside San Jose Airport, I knew this trip to Costa Rica would be an amazing experience. Mountains which surrounds the airport was breathtaking and signaled the great experienced that was in stored for us. Our tour guide Daniel was very helpful and explained in vivid detail about the surroundings. The environment resembled very much about my home country Sri Lanka, and it gave me an overwhelming feel of happiness, almost like I came back home. I was feeling a little sad because my roommate Shannon missed her flight, but on the way to the hotel, Dr. Rhodd announced that she would luckily be joining us the next day.

“Tell me, how does a pathetic, worthless, but yet intelligent person get into this mess and end up here?” Seymour asks, not really expecting an answer, but to dignify his still anger, uses his carved, smooth surface of his wooden baseball bat to strike her left knee, which has fell off for the fifth time now, since she awoken in the mysterious room. She was tired, hungry, thirsty, homesick, and yet so furious the adrenaline pumped bitter life into her and she sat, ropes to her chest, arms, and legs, thinking about life before this moment. “She gets the million dollar questions correct, but only by taking wild guesses,” she manages to say, hoping this sacred fuel will last forever. Before taking another swing at her leg, he chuckles, and then

I struggled a lot when I was younger. It was hard for me to fit in and make friends. I was always isolated

Now that I’m home here in The United States, I’ve become more grateful that I live here. After being in Vietnam and experiencing the way of life there I have far more appreciation for everything, for example, we have a lot of different kinds of food here in the U.S., but in Vietnam food is harder to come by and is limited due to how less fortunate people are. In The United States, we have heaters and cooling systems, while in my ancestral country they don't have these simple things unless you have money. In the U.S., even our housing and clothing are better. It's easily accessible here at home, but in Vietnam, people often steal to have clothes for their family against their will. My culture and tradition affected my point of view of my lifestyle