Trek Talk: Nicaragua
Baseball
August 2008
My name is Ryan Anderson and I am a senior at Clemente High School in Chicago, IL.
Going to Nicaragua on a Trek for Knowledge can be described as the best experience of my life. I learned so much from this trip and I am so thankful for the opportunity.
The purpose of the trip was to help lay the foundation for a school and also to give American students the opportunity to experience a new culture. At the end of the trip, though, something I didn’t anticipate occurred. I became a new person.
The life lessons learned from the experience is something I will cherish for a lifetime. Seeing the way the people lived in peace and how happy they were really showed me that happiness is what’s most important.
The whole village was a family and they all looked out for one another, which is so rare to find. I could try and get into specifics to make others understand what I learned but the reality is that I will never be able to fully explain my experience.
Baseball is huge in Nicaragua and going over there I was really excited to play. I never got the opportunity but I learned more about the sport.
My host dad, Jose Ramon, had one piece of modern day technology in the house - a radio. On most nights he would put on music and force my roommate and Trek Team member Jake to dance. But on a few occasions our dad put on baseball via radio.
At this time I went into the dining area and listened for a while, not understanding a word. At that moment I felt a connection to my host dad because we had something in common - we both liked baseball.
The next day we talked to a war veteran about his experiences. We then began to ask questions about other things and I asked who his favorite baseball team was. He said the Texas Rangers. When I asked him why, he replied with one name. He was speaking of Vicente Padilla and as I talked to more and more Nicaraguans they all gave the same answer.
These people rallied behind him not as individuals but as a whole. The people in the village are truly the happiest in the world because they always unite no matter if it is baseball or helping build the school. The greatest lesson learned is that material things don’t really matter in the end because if you aren’t happy, you have nothing.