To Be Is To Be Perceived

After staying at Whistling Bird and getting to experience the great area of Nigrel, we traveled south to a much more rural and remote setting around the Treasure Beach area. One of the first things I noticed about the area was that there were a lot more space around each property. The place we are staying at is different from anything I've stayed at before. Each room is spacious and looks out over the outdoor pool and the beautiful ocean. Here we are able to leave our windows and doors open because the resort is located at the end of dirt road that is basically deserted. It really feels like  am in my own little world and I never want to leave.

When I arrived at the next school their were many things that surprised me about the differences from the first school we worked at. This school was much bigger and looked much more kept after. It had two separate buildings, one was a basic school that had young kids about the same age as the first school we visited. The other building housed grades ages one through six. The school overall was very clean and like before had great kids that were very excited to have visitors. I was with the group that worked on painting the barriers of the fence around the school with oil paint. It sounds like a simple job but actually it was rather difficult and took a lot of time. One of the things that I was told was to prevent getting paint on any of the children's clothes because corporal punishment is still used here and it really surprised me to think that this still happens. I grew up living in certain conditions and sometimes things don't click for me until I experience them directly. While painting one of the neighbors of the school stopped by to say hello and thank us for the work being done. I don't know why but it always surprises me when people from the area come by and talk with us but the genuine interest they take in the community makes me realize how stuck in our own little world we are back in the states. When we broke for lunch, we were provided food from the school this time. It was delicious! I then got to spend some time with some of the kids and play a game of freeze tag and red rover. It was really cool to see that these elementary school games that I played growing up are universal at every school. 

When we got back from working at the school we had are nightly discussion focused on privilege. We stood in a line and took steps forward or backwards based on whether we had been discriminated against or if we had some form of privilege given to us while growing up. I thought it was a very cool activity that showed to never judge someone by what is seen on the surface because we don't know what they have experienced throughout life. No matter how much privilege we are born into or come to have in life it is important to be aware of where you stand and possibly use that privilege in some way that can give you more of a worldy view. When I am spending time with theses kids I know I am more privileged then them but it never really crosses my mind because I am just communicating with them on a basic human level that consists of kindness and understanding. When I reflect back on it at the end of the day it's very humbling to realize. It reminds me of a quote from the movie Cloud Atlas that says "To be is to perceived. And so to know thyself is only possible through the eyes of the other." I think that is very applicable to my situation at the moment. By meeting these different people through this trip I have learned more about myself by becoming aware and having more of an understanding of the world around me.

Morgan