How was your trip?

School is now back in session and the number one question on every student's mind is, "How was your break?" For me, that question is particularly significant.

During Spring Break, I traveled to Nicaragua as a participant on an American Jewish World Service (AJWS) program organized by UNC Hillel.  AJWS has an extensive curriculum on social justice that it uses during its programs to provide context for discussions on Judaism.

Our final group learning activity in the AJWS curriculum involved how I will teach others the lessons we learned during our program. We practiced role-playing the question, "How was your trip?," in an effort to develop a concise, clear, effective statement that would inform and inspire.

By the end of the week, we had finished the first stage of construction

Mine goes something like this: "I had a great time in Nicaragua over the break. We helped to build a school building in a rural Nicaraguan village, and we learned about sustainable, organic agriculture. The village we were in, San Carlos, is part of a cooperative that uses sustainability to promote education, political and economic empowerment. We loved meeting the children and the community we were impacting, especially by chatting with local government workers."

When we started, the walls were only three feet tall.

And then, I "neglect" to ask about the other person's break activity...a bit harsh, I know. I just hate drawing the focus away from the poverty we witnessed.

I'm trying my best to be diligent and to avoid giving the lazy answer of "it was great" because I know we have a limited window in which to promote this cause. The opportunity raised by this social situation now that we returned is too valuable to waste, especially if we start a new fundraising or awareness effort.

My mind is teeming with ideas on how we can bring our experiences back to campus. Our group has decided to meet regularly to continue our social justice learning and to work on advocacy efforts. As I think about my summer plans, I see great potential for this curriculum and for my experiences in Nicaragua to carry over to the work I will do in Zanzibar.

But enough about me. How was your trip?