It's almost time for me to go home, so on my second to last chapter meeting I was asked to give a speech for AFS. Although I knew a lot of the people that were there, and they were only about 50 people, it was, to my surprise, a lot scarier than speaking to my schools assembly all that time ago. This was the opportunity to thank AFS for what they did for me and to give a little insight of my year here. I took advantage of this opportunity and reflected on what I've learnt here, on how I've changed.
Hope you enjoy it!
Hi! My name is Camila and I come from a little island in the Caribbean called the Dominican Republic. I have now been in New Zealand for almost ten months that have slipped away so fast and so charged I've hardly noticed.
A Dominican artist once described our country by saying that "the devil had reached a corner of paradise". I come from a developing country, where poverty, disease and corruption are part of everyday life. I was raised understanding that the world was unfair, that people lied and that those in power cheated. With a politician mother I did not just see half of my country, the pretty side, but I saw all of it. And yet I love my country so, so much, and I truly believe it is a wonderful place where beauty, kindness and joy come together.
Coming here dramatically changed my view of the world, of my country. I realized that there was a whole different world. I learnt that it was possible to walk around freely and safely, and so I take every chance I have to wander around and enjoy the freedom.
I learnt that there are places where poverty isn't an issue. I did some community service for Te Raa Mokopuna Day in Massey, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Auckland and what I saw wasn't at all what I had expected: those poor children still had a home, food everyday and access to education; a very well off middle class back home.
I learnt that political campaign isn't about the amount of money you have in the bank but of the ideal of government you believe in.
I learnt that schools weren't designed to group you to your social class and alienate you from the others, but bring you all together.
And I keep learning day by day:
I learnt about myself and what I am capable of doing. I found the strength in me to leave behind everything I knew and took for granted, go to a different place, different family, different school and to still be able to settle down, fit in and feel at home.
I learnt how to leave behind cultural differences and appreciate everyone for what they are, learn from them as much as they learn from me.
I learnt that my country, which was the world to me, all I knew, is actually really small and no one here knows anything about it, and even if I tried explaining where it is, they still wouldn't know.
I learnt that there are different types of family, that sharing a house isn't always easy, that there are things they do that upset you, but that there are definitely things you do that upset them.
But the most important thing I learnt was learning to love this place, with all my heart, in the same way I love my country. To love every bit of it, from the wonderful and amazingly helpful, loving and caring family I got, to the incredible friends I've made, from my cozy house in city centre to my enormous school in the shore, from its beautiful beaches to its awe-inspiring picks. New Zealand is now my home and it's going to be so hard, so hard leaving it.
And that is the knowledge AFS has given me, and that I will take home with me. Because AFS has shown me not to take things for granted, not to look at the world and say "Oh that's just the way it is", but that I can take all the things I've learnt and do my bit to change the world, to change my country. That things can be different and that there is something I can do to make it better. I will carry this new knowledge I've discovered and share it with everyone back home.
So thank you AFS for teaching me so much. And thanks to all of you that have been there for me but a very special thanks to my host family, for being as amazing as you are.
Thank you!