Peter Bigelow, 19, of Lakeland, FL was one of our summer volunteers this past month.
Bigelow came with his brother, Luke, 22, for five weeks working in the classroom teaching English and doing various community service projects.
Taking Spanish at Southeastern University, Bigelow wanted to do more than practice his Spanish this summer.
“I was interested in spending time in another country during the summer to practice my Spanish, and experience another culture so different from mine,” said Bigelow.
He set his goals and achieved them!
“My main personal goal was to improve my conversational Spanish fluency. After my time in Roatán I found myself more comfortable in conversation and I was able to listen and speak Spanish more smoothly while not having to translate mentally what I wanted to say before saying it.”
Growing up in Lakeland, FL, Bigelow wanted to experience another culture.
“It was an amazing experience to be able to spend a month being part of another culture and spending time with the community in Roatán. I loved staying with a host family in the middle of Oak Ridge. It let us live inside the same community that we were teaching and playing soccer in, rather than coming into the community to teach and then leaving each evening to go back to a hotel. Living amongst people many of whom spoke only Spanish also forced me to practice my Spanish, which was a great thing,” explained Bigelow.
The young man also had much to say about working with CANFF, “I think it was well organized as far as CANFF has control. Some of the days classes were canceled at the last minute or our schedules were changed, but that was a result of the school and their much more relaxed culture and I did not have a problem with it.”
Besides improving his bilingual skills, Bigelow learned to appreciate what he has been blessed with.
“This trip has given me a greater appreciation for some of the everyday comforts of home, such as potable water and clean streets, but it has also showed me that just because people do not have some of these things does not mean that they are not as happy as people that do have such things. Most of the people in Oak Ridge were happy and enjoyed their lives as much or more than many Americans do even though they lived below what we would consider “comfortable.’ They enjoyed spending time with their family and friends.”
He enjoyed spending time with his brother this summer, as both were the only fluent English speakers. However, sibling bonding was not the best part of the trip.
“The best part of the experience for me was being part of the community and spending time with the people and experiencing the differences in culture. I loved teaching the children and playing soccer with the other guys as well as getting to know the people from Oak Ridge during our time there. The community is a very friendly place and a place that is easy to feel a part of after only a week or so of being there.”
If possible, Bigelow plans on returning, but he is grateful for at least walking away with the experience and plans on encouraging friends and more family to take on the adventure.
At the beginning of the trip, Bigelow’s computer broke leaving the blog inactive for bit, but he promised to update it soon.
-Stephanie Schroepfer
