Climb On!

The following is a reflection written by Rachael Brugman, one of this year's Little Village House Volunteers.

As I reflect on my first month at Amate, I cannot help to realize how fast this year will fly by. Just yesterday we were meeting each other for the first time, unpacking our belongings and attending orientation. Now I can feel myself adjusting to life in the city, settling in at my work site, and getting to know my roommates on a deeper level. When looking back on our orientation weeks, one specific day really stood out to my roommates and me. As much as we enjoyed the discussions about chores and petty cash; visiting Irons Oaks and engaging in some physical fun was the highlight of the beginning weeks of our year together.

Irons Oaks is an outdoor facility that provides team building exercises for many ages on their 37-acre nature preserve. For our visit we were presented with various physical challenges that promoted team work, good communication, positive feedback, emotional support, as well as self-reflection on our own strengths and weaknesses. Early on in the day I found my housemates and I to have a bit of a competitive streak in each of us; asking our leader to time us on our activities and if we beat the last “record”. Even with this competitiveness, we never forgot to work together, constantly collaborating on the best strategies to accomplish the challenges put in front of our team. Throughout the day we completed six different activities; each one showing us to work together, strategize, and have fun while supporting each other.

One particular activity stuck out to me after the day had ended. It included each person walking across a low tightrope while the remaining housemates acted as spotters walking alongside ready to catch the person if he or she would happen to fall (I am happy to say that no one did!). Before we began the tightrope walk each person would ask the spotters if they were ready. The spotters would respond back with a positive and encouraging “Climb on!” followed by the person climbing onto the tightrope and walking across. It felt a bit cheesy at the time but it was great to know that my housemates were there to catch me if I were to fall. I think it is important to remember this as we find ourselves struggling with our own issues and problems in our communities or at our work sites. We only have to look around us to find support and encouragement; knowing that if we shall ever fall, our housemates will be there to catch us. It is an indescribable feeling knowing how much support I have around me!

I have heard many times during orientation that the struggles and challenges we will face as a community will present us with opportunities to become closer and form relationships. I believe accomplishing the challenges we were presented with at Irons Oaks provided everyone opportunities to grow closer together as we stepped outside our comfort zones and pushed our limits both physically and mentally. At the end of the day we had a lot of fun laughing, strategizing, and working together, while also realizing we will be able to apply what we learned at Irons Oaks to our lives in our communities and at our work sites.