During the summer after my junior year, I traveled to the Latin American country of Belize through the organization called Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) with three missionaries and fifteen college students. This organization puts on many mission trips throughout the year, and after talking with one of the individuals leading the trip, I decided to embark on this journey. During our seventeen days in this beautiful country, we immersed ourselves completely in the Belizean culture through constantly interacting with its people and practicing their way of life. The majority of our time was spent working and caring for the extremely sick and dying through the Belize Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation. Our interactions consisted of grooming the patients, doing any chores or housework they wanted completed, discussing life and its many gifts, singing numerous songs, and, of course, dancing and smiling like fools. There was also time spent praying with these individuals and asking for God’s healing and transformative power in their lives. These were very profound and intimate moments and made me realize how people of completely different backgrounds can come together and be united through a simple action. The rest of our time in Belize was allocated to cleaning, painting, and furnishing a house with the hopes of a hospice patient and nurse making it their home in the near future. I do believe I made a difference in the lives of these individuals by being present in their suffering and caring for and loving them deeply. I am certain that I was also changed because of this wonderful experience and the beautiful people I was lucky enough to encounter.
This medical mission trip helped me to grow deeply in awareness of myself as an individual and member of a culture. As a result, I believe I achieved Level 3 of Self-Awareness, “recognizes new perspectives about own cultural rules and biases and compares own culture with other individuals and their cultures.” Through interacting and observing individuals from Belize, I was able to learn and understand their culture and compare it to my own. One of the biggest lessons I learned is that individuals in this country were very willing to sacrifice their time and agendas to simply be present, spend time with others, and accomplish what they are set out to do. This resulted in great inner happiness and peace that could be seen from any bystander. There were many situations that exemplified this idea, and I believe it ultimately ties back to their core value of practicing gratitude and fully living the life they have been given. For example, there was an instance where my mission team and several Belizeans were waiting to celebrate Mass but the pastor didn’t show up until almost an hour late. Instead of the Belizeans leaving and assuming the pastor wouldn’t come, they waited patiently with hope that he would arrive and that staying in this moment was the most important thing they could do. If this was to happen in the United States, I can almost guarantee everyone would have gotten up and left. Individuals in my culture are often living out of a strict schedule and rarely take the time to truly just be and soak in their environment. I think this creates a life where purpose is associated with productivity and results in many of the little gifts of life being neglected and even seen as a burden. The inner happiness and peace are often lacking and replaced with anxiety and sadness. Through my time in Belize, I learned that each culture has its own positives and negatives, and it is these differences that distinguish one culture from another and allow for richness and diversity in life. However, I think it is important to learn from other cultures in order to create the best environment where one can flourish and live the best life. Practicing living in the moment and being grateful for the people and situations in my life is one way I can implement what I have learned from the Belizean culture.
I believe this experience also helped me to attain Level 4 of Self-Awareness, “perceives one’s personal style, prejudices, projections, and habits of mind that both shape and impede our own understanding; shows awareness of what one does not understand and why understanding is so difficult.” Throughout my time in Belize, I learned that truly understanding other cultures is difficult to accomplish because of our own biases and beliefs that have been shaped by our own culture. To truly enter into another culture without these habits of mind would be impossible because of the many outside factors that have already influenced how we think and behave today. I do not necessarily think this is a bad thing, for it is really outside of one’s control, but is rather a limitation that prevents true understanding. I think the biggest thing one can do is be aware of one’s own cultural influences and prejudices in order to try to have an open mind and willingness to learn. For example, I know within my culture that income, appearance, and one’s career are often ways to classify individuals and determine their social ranking. Therefore, it is usually one’s goal in life to make a lot of money, look really good, and have the best career. This can lead to placing one’s worth and honor on these external things and make it easy to judge others based on their successes and failures. From what I experienced and observed in Belize, everyone is seen for their real self and loved despite what they can or cannot accomplish. This was difficult for me to comprehend and practice since it is very unlike the American culture, which demonstrates how we are influenced by our own beliefs and practices. Understanding is difficult when we have been raised to believe and act in a certain way and having an awareness and open mind is the best strategy to allow for growth.