I think this class has been a great learning experience. In this class we were presented with a vast and diverse variety of readings that challenged our thoughts in every paragraph. I had never before considered the arguments presented by many of the reading we had. There were many times were I was surprised and engrossed by the history I learned, and the testimonies I heard. For example, the authors who presented the detrimental aspects of voluntarism, really made me question whether my desire to go on services trips came from a selfish place or not. This was specially conflicting for me because a dream of mine has always been do service for people who really need it. Continuing, this class also showed me the incredible work that NGOs could actually do and that it is possible to find ways to help people just from an idea. I think one of my main interests when I came into this class was to figure how an individual could help develop communities to provide the people in them with better living conditions. This class has definitely provided me with a lot of the knowledge I need if I’m ever able to do this in the future. At the same time it made this goal seem possible, where as before when I thought about helping with the development of others I didn’t even know where to start. Furthermore, for me getting to hear the stories of the people of Bridges and the people of Compas was really inspiring. I was really touched by how they dedicated their lives to their dreams to help people.

Additionally, I’m really grateful for this class because I made me so aware of the situation in Nicaragua. Before I took this class I knew very little about the history and struggles in Nicaragua. Now I feel like I’m so much more aware of the situation of the people and understand why it is that they might have a struggling economy and are the second poorest country in Latin America. It’s very important to be aware of these things especially if you hope to understand people and interact with them in the future.