PAGE 6

Building Connections Across The World: NicaraguaWe built bridges.

Bridges between people. Bridges over hardships. Bridges between cultures. Bridges across hearts. Twelve Shrine juniors and seniors journeyed to Central America this past February on a mission: to open hearts. The group worked with Cantera, a non-profit organization in Nicaragua focused on providing people with the resources, education, and outlets they need to find a way to work toward their dreams. Working on Cantera’s farm and at many of the youth centers run by the organization, we had a chance to do service while becoming completely immersed in a culture outside of our own. On this page we wanted to share some of our favorite memories from our journey. Many, many pictures captured amazing experiences, but they will never be able to do the actual moment justice. Trying to share what we experienced can prove to be somewhat dif-ficult at times. It is hard to explain the feeling of being out of your comfort zone, yet feeling so at home. The people welcomed us openly and were in-credibly friendly. They all have such a peace and happiness within them- they have so little but have worked hard to get to where they are, and are working harder still to move their family, community, and country forward. We fell in love with everything about the country - the nature’s beauty, the bright, abun-dant colors, the warmth of the air, and the warmth of the people. The influence of the American culture was clear- many kids we met talked about their love for Beyonce, and all though rice and beans are the staple food, a McDonalds and a Burger King could be found in the main area of the capital city. We realized that all though there may be huge spaces of land between cultures, human nature is similar no matter where you are. Kids love to play. Teens love dancing, music, Facebook, and Youtube. Parents care about providing for their families, and families care about each other. Smiles transcend language, even if someone is laughing at your attempt to stumble through a Spanish sentence. We left the trip feeling connected to a broader world. It turns out that with love, friendship, and open hearts, we can build bridges across the world.

BY ADDISON MAUCK AND VICTORIA ARMENIOSTAFF WRITERS

A smile truly is universal. Make that tickling is universal. When we first arrived at this preschool run by the Cantera center, the language barrier made it difficult to connect with the children. But we quickly learned that no matter what country you are in, children love to laugh and run around. A few of us started tickling the little kids, and before we knew it we were playing tag, duck duck goose, and giving piggyback rides. Using the school supplies we collected from Shrine students, we colored pictures and played with stickers. By the end we were no longer visitors from another county in their eyes, but friends.

Just as we were about to trek our way down the beautiful mountain that we climbed, Maddy Bernhard ‘13 spotted out actor Justin Long! You may have seen him in movies like Accepted, Dodgeball or as the voice of Alvin in Alvin and the Chipmunks! He was super down-to-earth, friendly and didn’t mind posing for a few pictures with us. I managed to strike up a conversation with him when we saw him a little later, and he said he was on vacation.

PAGE 7

Building Connections Across The World: Nicaragua

We met Beneth at one of Cantera’s youth centers, and neither of us could speak any of each other’s language. Thankfully, there is no one language to friendship. A Cantera volunteer translated our conversation for us as we walked to Beneth’s house, which he so graciously in-vited us to visit. Later we realized how grateful he was that we were interested in visiting him, and how much it meant to his family that we came by. This was something none of us really expected from the trip. Every time we toured a house or visited somewhere, we only thought about how grateful we were for each opportunity. We did not realize how much we touched others just by being there. Our conversation with Beneth gave us a new perspective on how similar we all are. Beneth talked about how much he loved American music, even though he does not know any English. When we told him we went to a Catholic high school, he started asking us what we thought about the pope resigning, and we were reminded that our faith connects us to people around the world. As we got closer to Beneth’s house, he sped away on his bicycle so that, when he got there, he could be standing with his mother at the front gate waiting to greet us. The family’s love for each other filled their humble home, and their appreciation for every-thing they had was truly inspiring.

A smile truly is universal. Make that tickling is universal. When we first arrived at this preschool run by the Cantera center, the language barrier made it difficult to connect with the children. But we quickly learned that no matter what country you are in, children love to laugh and run around. A few of us started tickling the little kids, and before we knew it we were playing tag, duck duck goose, and giving piggyback rides. Using the school supplies we collected from Shrine students, we colored pictures and played with stickers. By the end we were no longer visitors from another county in their eyes, but friends.

“The most important thing is love. That’s all you need. Love is universal.”

Marin Smith ‘14

“It opened my eyes to how little materialistic things matter. One thing that really stuck out to me was a

quote from one of the women we met, ‘We come into this world with nothing, therefore

everything we have is a gift.’”Michael Guirey ‘14

“It’s a positive life experience that has changed my outlook on life

and who I am as a person.” Erin Butler ‘14