Comalapa Adventures with Nate & Kora

Written by Central America Students, Nate K. and Kora B.

Hey everyone, this is Nate and Kora talking and we can’t wait to share our recap from this past week!

Upon our arrival in Comalapa on the 24th, we started our adventures with a welcoming introduction from our amazing host, Omar. Having given us a tour of the unique sustainable practices used throughout the community, we gained a greater appreciation for how small efforts go a long way in conservation. To start off our week, Omar shared the rich artistic history that makes Comalapa such a unique town, including talented local artists, one being Roberto who lived with us and shared his passion by showing us his art gallery. Afterwords, we ventured down muddy paths, corn fields, and windy roads to experience the culture by learning about the longest mural in Central America which entailed the deep history. The majority of the week included vigorous volunteer work, such as building a wall to prevent destructive erosion, creating a drinkable water tank, and building a kitchen. Throughout this week we have had delicious meals, one being a cooking class in which we made guacamole, salad, meat, and juice. On our off day, we took advantage of the weather and saw a waterfall at a park where we also played intense soccer. Without the availability of washing machines, we used our resources to clean our clothes.

Some of the highlights of the week were helping the community with our different service projects, going to a cooking class, and giving everyone their own “alliteration” nicknames. While we were in the trench getting down and dirty, we learned a lot about sustainability and how to work with a group in a new environment. Our 5th night, we had an amazing cooking class during a storm where we learned about culture while cooking delicious traditional food. With spirits down from sickness throughout the group, some of us decided to create “alliteration” nicknames for everyone, such “linguistic luffa”. At dinner we shared the names and enjoyed each others laughter.

Something that not only challenged our group but also the community was the result of people getting Covid. This had an impact on the group dynamic because we missed some of the most impactful members that contribute to discussions and the environment. Also, keeping in mind that the community we’re in is at a higher risk due to lack of access to healthcare, we had to navigate around the issue by wearing masks when passing local residents / staying positive.

In what ways have you grown since the start of the program?

Since the start of this program, we have all grown as a whole by getting closer with bonding activities, sharing living space, and being with each other 24/7. On an individual scale, we witnessed what is considered extreme poverty which opened our eyes to how we see the world.

What are you most grateful for this week?

We are grateful to help out the community with amazing leaders such as Matt, the founder of Long Way Home, and Adam, the contractor who designed the project. We have learned a lot by immersing ourselves in a new environment, which has opened our eyes to new ideals, such as valuing family, and the process of work rather than focusing only on the product.