Everything abruptly started at 6:45 A.M. On a sticky summer morning while most of Houston slept soundly in their warm beds, I boarded a flight to Miami International Airport with around 20 other members of the Houston Chapter. We were all about to start a summer that we would never forget.

I don't know what made me decide to do AMIGOS. Last fall, I knew I wanted to try something different for the approaching summer but I didn't know exactly what to do. I asked my parents for suggestions and as soon as my dad mentioned AMIGOS there was no changing my mind. I knew what I wanted to do.

As my dad drove me to the international office for my interview I was more than eager. For years, I remember my dad telling me about how his summers in South America had changed his life significantly. His stories of sleeping in a jail for the summer, hour long walks through a jungle, or vaccinating 100 people a day fascinated me. All of this simply to help people. I wanted to have those same kinds of experiences!

Almost a year ago, I popped a balloon which held the key to my summer. My country assignment. My dad stood right by my side as I found out I would spend eight weeks of my summer in Costa Rica. Together we bought my hiking backpack and the many supplies I would need for the summer. As we bought the water purifying tablets, the cot, and the mosquito netting I could see a flashback in my father's eyes of his summer.

As I boarded that plane last summer, I knew I would come back a different person. My summer in Costa Rica turned out very different from what I expected. My partner and I, along with 20 other people were assigned to the first year project of working in pre-schools. We spent the first week laminating folders. As the new project was slowly worked out, I often found comfort in reading my dad's journal which I brought along.

Every time I read a page in the worn journal, I thought, 26 years ago, my dad was doing the exact same thing. When mail came every week, my partners and I would gather around and read letters from my dad together. It seemed we all found comfort in reading the words of someone who had gone through the same thing as us.

Soon, our project developed. We began to help build classrooms, teach English, help the pre-schoolers play soccer, paint murals, and form a youth group. As we integrated into the Costa Rican culture, we spent weekends playing games with kids on their doorsteps and watching soccer with our families. There is nothing more exciting than when the Costa Rican soccer team scores a goal and cheers ring up around the block.

The best part of my visit occurred my second week there. I was walking in the park near my host family's house when the back of my earring fell off. As I bent down to try and find it, I was amazed to see three other people bend down to help me. I repeatedly told them that it was okay; it seemed like a lost cause to find an insignificant earring back in the midst of the bushy green grass, but they refused to stop. For the next ten minutes those three strangers insisted on helping me find the back of my earring. We never found it, but that ceased to matter. The kindness of those people in the park made up for it. That experience pulled me into the new and different Costa Rican culture, and by the end of my eight week stay, I didn't want to leave. As the eight weeks quickly ended, I would often hear my partners comment on how their parents weren't going to understand exactly what they went through because they had never been in any type of similar situation. Hearing those comments brought an instant smile to my face, because I knew my father would understand.

In mid-August, as my plane landed and I slowly walked to where my family was waiting, I found comfort in my dad being there. I walked off that plane a different person than I was when I got on. I had new experiences, friends, and a new family all the way in Costa Rica.

So, this fall when I was deciding what to do for next summer I again had no doubt in my mind. I am doing AMIGOS again. Just like my dad.

Last Updated
2/6/02 6:43 PM