Post trip: Anna Huebner

 

On the first night of the trip, I arrived long after everybody else. Susan was talking to a quiet room of other kids who silently looked up at me from the circle as I sat down. The last night, we sat on the couch encircling the living room, sadly counting the hours until we had to say goodbye. Going into the program, I would never have expected such a stark change, nor could I have hoped to grow such love for the people I would only get to know for a week. Not only did I get to grow so much in a short time, but so did everybody else.

One of the things I learned pertained to one of the seven Cs, the consciousness of self. It seemed like for others, this C was learning about self-boundaries, but for me, it was about breaking through the barriers I thought I had. Knowing yourself isn't about knowing what you can do; it's knowing when that isn't enough, and you need to push yourself to do more. The seven Cs also introduced new ideas to me. I didn't know what congruence is, but it's an important idea. When we came up with commitment trees, I came up with the goal of stepping up for other people. I decided to start with small steps, and since being home, I've had the chance to take my coworker's shifts. It's small for me, but I know it's significant for others. The final C I took away from this week was controversy with civility. Teamwork was getting along well, almost perfectly, and mainly having the same ideas. It turns out that it's almost better for there to be disagreement. It makes the team more well-rounded and goes with the reality that not everything is perfect. Getting over small bumps and moving on is vital for a team to work out. These were all ideas I didn't know about but want to continue to apply to my life. 

The teamwork aspect stemmed from the leadership part of the program. I've always applied leadership as simply taking control of a group and providing direction, but it's a complicated system with different parts (which we classified as colors). Leaders can have different strengths, so it's good not to lead alone. Different leaders can balance each other out, both with skills and by letting other leaders sit back, which is also important.

The program also showed us the beauty of the island. Our opportunities for kilo, which means observe, were the most impactful to me. It surprised me how much I took advantage of the time in the bay and drylands forest. Putting my phone away lets me focus on parts of nature I usually wouldn't. I heard the birds and saw things like ants crawling on the ground. I got to feel connected to the land while partaking in an essential part of their culture. The people, their practices, and their land (even just the ocean) are so unique compared to the midwest where I come from, so every part of every day being new let me make the most of my experiences this week.

And while I'll cherish the learning from the week, it would have been impossible without this amazing group of students and our leaders. It took halfway through the week, when we moved into the house, for an impact to be seen. Last year I did a week-long college program, and I didn't feel sad about leaving that or as if I would miss my roommates/ classmates there a lot. This Saturday leaving everybody could not have been more different. Staying up late with everybody, having fun in the vans, and making a big table for the last few meals so everybody could sit together was incredibly special. I could not have asked for a better week.