Fiesta Day in San Martin Arriba with Ohio Unversity Team
6/17/2010
After a little gift exchange and a few words spoken, one of the biggest personalities of San Martin, Arnulfo, busted out a radio and started a little dance party. Most fun we have had yet. Immediately, all the little ones (6-10 years old) started jamming. It was hilarious. All ages joined in and everyone, participating or not, had a good time. It was truly a celebration of a long week of hard work. Later that night in our class session we talked about how much we felt like a part of the community. For a class centered around the theory and practice of service learning, it was a perfect ending of a week filled with the highs and lows of a service oriented trip. There will be language barriers, awkward moments and culture barriers in trips such as these but moments like this dance make those uncomfortable moments more than worth it. Arnulfo made a speech telling us to come back next year then added he would prefer if we came back sooner - not to work but to play soccer and share a meal. That is true hospitality.