[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Poem for part 1
Here’s a summary of the first half of our trip through a poem that I wrote along the way 🙂 sorry it’s long but it barely scratches the surface of the first half of this trip.
These people take life with a grain of salt
They were born into poverty and that’s no one’s fault
It’s hard to imagine living this way
But if given the choice these people would stay
They have so little, yet they have so much
Happy lives that nobody can touch
They work hard and never complain,
Cuz as far as they know this is the only way
No stop signs, lights, blinkers, or stress
Maybe Americans should start thinking less
Bonfires and fireworks throughout the streets
Eating empanadas and other sweet treats
Kids with bottle rockets running around
Admiring the sparklers and all the loud sounds
They love to pose for the camera shots
I also give them candy which they love lots
Their smiles make me weak at the knees
I wish that I could take them back overseas
Markets flooded with crazy ass foods
Everybody in unbreakable moods
Playing limbo with the local kids
Using heavy metal tools to make filter lids
Cleaning sand, gravel, and rocks
Spending our spare time napping in ‘mocks
Hours on hours making dirt less dirty
Screwing molds together to make the filters sturdy
Filling molds with concrete and letting them set
This is an experience we will never forget
We met two girls both four years old
I would definitely buy them if they could be sold
These girls are named Ava and Gaya
There faces sweetened than the local papaya
The Sunday market was pretty unreal
Seeing so many skinned chickens was pretty surreal
The vibrant colors blind your eyes
While vendors sell you empanadas and pies
Everybody riding motorbikes, but in no hurry
Dogs lounging in the streets all cute and furry
Have you ever seen nine year olds drive?
Make sure you look both ways if you want to survive
People fit six people to a motorcycle
Imagine putting your whole family on one bicycle
Homemade fireworks explode all night
The party doesn’t stop when there’s no longer light
The food is incredible wherever you go
It’s crazy that these people have never seen snow
We got on a boat on the Amazon river
The cool breeze gave me a shiver
Being on that boat was pretty unreal
But what followed was the most surreal
We had to transport all of our stuff
But little did we know it would be far beyond tough
Most of the group did not follow the plan
They took all the light stuff and simply just ran
Quickly we found ourselves in torrential downpour
We had no idea what the jungle has in store
We were completely soaked down to the bone
It was just me, mom, and jack and we were all alone
We stood under a banana tree cracking up
Who knew this was where our lives would end up
The community was so green and pretty
I’d rather be there than any other city
The kids laughed calling us gringos and white
I guess so many Americans was an unfamiliar sight
The stars illuminated the entire sky
If you say you’ve seen better then that’s simply a lie
We all cracked up until it was time for bed
And I guess I slept talk, who knows what I said
We were awoken by chickens, pigs, and dogs
Ecstatic to move 200-pound filters over logs
We labored hard the entire day
Shedding blood and sweat the entire way
Through river beds, huge hills, and so much more
It’s safe to say we will be sore
You really should’ve seen this trail
Genuinely surprised we lived to tell the tale
Yesterday we met some other whites
If they stay here moms gonna start some fights
The Germans is what we have deemed their name **they’re American it’s long story
They call themselves engineers, they’re pretty lame
You have no idea how filthy we are
Overall our aesthetics are far below par
The kids poke their heads out of the school and smile
For them I would walk a thousand miles
The kids had never played with bubbles before
We gave them soccer balls, jerseys and so much more
The kids were so excited for one another
Playing with these kids made me miss my brother
Transporting these filters seemed to never end
Finally, we found a shortcut up the river bend
We had finally found a solution at last
But that plan backfired incredibly fast
The river decided to completely fill up
I think mom cried like a lil pup
We had to drag sand down the riverbank
Many would have rather walked a plank
But not us, we were tough
However, the thick, deep mud made it rough
We fell over laughing countless times
For transporting filters could be punishment for crimes
But in the end when all was said in done
Those four days were incredibly fun
There was a community fire to celebrate this feat
Dancing with the elders was pretty neat
The kids performed an incredible dance
Which we enjoyed even with soaking wet pants
We sang the national anthem in front of them all
Our singing was gnarly, they were probably appalled
The kids were hanging on us in every which way
They loved being photographed and loved to play
This trip was rewarding in so many ways
It’s crazy that we were only there for four days
It’s crazy that people live there for all of their years
The sight of their water almost brought me to tears
Can you imagine doing the same thing every day?
The same survival routine, the same games to play
I sat there with my legs hanging over the concrete wall
Realizing that to be happy you don’t have to have it all
Sitting on that structure I had never been more content
Because those hard days were days well spent
I had never bonded with people so quick
I guess braving the Amazon will do the trick
This trip made me feel luckier than a four leaf clover
While the work is done, the fun is far from over
We supplied people with water than a Colorado pond
All the while forming and unbreakable bond
Lou is now mom and Riley now dad
No picture or story can capture the experience we had
We couldn’t save the whole world in only four days
But we helped the people we could in unimaginable ways
After this experience I fell kinda strange
For now my view of the world has forever changed
-Emma Hall[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]