Some more thoughts for Creative Corners in an attempt to conclude...

Monique has asked me to write something as a biographical entry for the Creative Corners website in terms of my experience in South America, and it is hard to sum up the awesomeness of the experience I had with this organization. First and foremost, this is a smaller organization that is alive with personality and personal attention as a result. Monique works with volunteers on a very personal level for you to get the most out of your experience and whatever you might be looking for. When I first explored about who I wanted to volunteer with in relevance to individuals and specific organizations, I was really interested in finding a project where I could have an immersion experience with a host family and work with children where creative expression was a large concentration in teaching the children. This is indeed one of the specialties of Creative Corners. I wanted to use my creative outlets to teach and impact children through possibly teaching artistic projects. While this was not my individualistic role entirely, I was given opportunities to express my own creativity. For example, at an orphanage in the Sacred Valley, I painted a mural of what I would consider the equivalent of a Colorado landscape with a cabin, a barn, some mountains in the background, and a fresh moonlit sky. The ladies in the business office often complimented the creation by commenting that it was much better than staring at a blank wall. I have always wanted to do such a project, and Creative Corners provided the opportunity to do such. You can literally design your own project. When I got to the orphanage, the facilitator of the orphanage literally asked me, “What would you like to do?” At that moment, I did not have an exact answer, but as I found inspiration from William P. Young’s novel, The Shack, my picture was complete in my head with a miraculous meeting the main character of the book has with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father in a dream the book so brilliantly depicts. My image slowly emerged as I began to draw the underlying outline of my painting to be, and it slowly formed into a creation I was blessed with the opportunity to create.

As you may deduce by such a mural, I am a very spiritual individual, and I was seeking to leave the States for a summer to spiritually revive and rediscover some things in my life that have been missing for quite some time. As you might say, I was looking for a renewal through a purpose in serving others, and even now upon my return into the States, it will take a few weeks to absorb all that has happened in Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. My trip and my journeys almost feel like a dream in of themselves. I am so thankful for what has occurred but at the same time still so shocked that it was so incredible! I experienced the beauty of nature’s creation firsthand in the projects I participated in, in the families I lived with, and in the surrounding landscapes of the beautiful places I was able to visit. Creative Corners and more specifically Cusco provided my escape to revive, reenergize, and reevaluate my current position in life between my first and second year of graduate school at Auburn University.

Another instance comes freshly to mind. I volunteered on three projects in three different sites…an orphanage in the Sacred Valley (as I previously mentioned), an at-risk program for street kids in the city of Cusco (often referred to as Inti), and a Deaf school in La Paz, Bolivia. At Inti, I would often work individually one on one or in a group with the teenagers with disabilities (adolescents, not small children). I have a background working with children with disabilities; so in some instances, I would almost prefer to work with disabled children more so than anyone else. I instantly noticed they took orders rather well, and while they did not always understand my Alabamian accent in my attempts to speak elementary Spanish, the gardening experience was so much fun! I have never worked with such an eclectic group of personalities with what I would consider very tedious work. Many of them formed blisters on their hands from working so hard, but the important thing is that when they were not goofing off just being boys playing with each other, they were working together and simultaneously having fun with a different approach to traditional education. Many unexpected surprises during my travels occurred when I was suddenly assigned a task that formed a new memory to take back home with me.
If you are looking for an adventure through creativity and new challenges, then you will not miss out by working with Monique, representing Creative Corners. You will change lives, and your life itself will be changed with exposure to new paradigms and new cultures. If your summer is anything like mine was, it may be one of the best times that life presents in your direction.

Go to South America and meet some of the most amazing people you will ever have a chance to encounter and work with. I did not regret my decision to go, and I had so much fun I may even be going back next year. Thanks for reading.