Hey all, Luigi back here again with another post. This week's post is going to be about the club's recent trip to Ensenada, Mexico. Right after finals last week, ten of our members including myself, along with four of our Rotarians went to an orphanage and then to a dental clinic in Ensenada.
Our trip started very early in the morning, as we met up at the flagpoles at around 4:30 in the morning. The Rotarians got there at around 5, picked us up, and we took off. Once we got in the van, most of us just instantly fell asleep, and when we woke up we were at the border. They had to check our van since it was a big vehicle, but everything went smoothly after that, sort of. After a few hours of getting lost, and with the help of the kind local people, we finally got to the orphanage we were assigned to help at around noon. While we were there we dropped off gifts, and we got a feel of what it was like at the orphanage. The orphanage had lots of green grass fields, and there were plenty of children running around and playing soccer. It honestly felt like it was a nice place to live. We didn’t stay long because we had to go to the dental clinic, and so we left.
Once we got there, the Rotarians wasted no time in giving us our tasks. Those who could speak Spanish were designated as translators, while the others assisted the doctors and interacted with the kids and played sports. I was personally designated to help give eye exams. A lot of us were tired after helping out at the clinic, but we were only halfway through the day.
We went back to the orphanage and handed out the gifts we brought to the kids. It was quite a nice experience seeing the expressions on their faces as we gave them books and toys. Then, we were given a tour of the dorms that were recently built. After that, we had a chance to meet two women who grew up in that orphanage and who are now going to college. They talked about how they wanted to make an impact and change their lives. To be honest, I don’t remember exactly what they said, but what I do remember was that I felt inspired by what they were trying to do. They are actually in the picture above (they’re the two women right next to each other in the second row, right in the middle of the picture).
After that, we went to a beach house that belonged to a friend of one of the Rotarians, where we were going to stay for the night. Since it was still early, we went out for dinner at a local restaurant where we enjoyed each others company throughout the cool Mexican night. It was pretty lit.
All in all, it was a great bonding experience for everyone. I definitely felt that we all grew closer to one another through this experience we shared together. I hope that we have more events like this in the future!
