I had high expectations for this trip, and I was a little nervous trying to temper those heading into it.  I had heard so much about Nicaragua, La Chureca and LtN, and now I had an opportunity to experience it myself.  What if it didn’t click for me? What if the kids were overwhelmed, or even worse bored?  What if my lame Spanish kept me from interacting in any depth?  Well, my language skills did turn out to be abysmal, but everything else exceeded my expectations.  We didn’t replicate anyone else’s experience, it may have been “better”, or “worse”, than any previous trip, it doesn’t matter.  The trip was ours and it was awesome.

On one level, the incredible experience of the trip is simply about my own enjoyment and experience.  I had fun, I absolutely fell in love with the children, I felt a sense of immediate gratification for what we were able to do for Noel and Magale and their family (and who couldn’t feel good about helping those munchkins!)  If I had to choose digging the “French drain” for Noel’s family or chillin on Nantucket for a week, I’ll take the digging (although if I could have both that would be nice too!)

Meeting some new great people on our equipo, and being able to spend more time with Brad (an incredible person, very talented in many different ways) all contributed to my personal experience.  It was also a great family experience for me.  We were all fully engaged, in the moment, not trying to think of what vacation-like thing to do next.  No phones or email, just us together ALL THE TIME!  That was amazing, and I think fairly impossible to replicate.  In short, as simple as it is, the abrazos, besos y sonrisas with the kids, and the joy of being lost in the moment of playing lacrosse whether the ball was a mango, a lime, a rock or a tennis ball, and whether the field was a gravel and dirt pitch, a muddy lane, or a sports complex, all contributed to an amazing experience.