Como se dice volunteer?

I went to the initial meeting of a new organization at school yesterday. It is the service portion of the surgery club (of which I am already a member). It is call the “Unite for Sight” club and is a local chapter of a national group. Their focus is on providing eye related services (exams, glasses, cataract treatment, etc) to underserved populations. That’s not really my thing (I mean eye stuff, not helping underserved populations), but in the meeting they discussed something pretty cool. There are short-term summer international internships available for interested students. These students go to a needy area and provide services. It gives a great opportunity to provide service, have a cool international experience, and possibly work on a language. I am thinking about looking into a 2-3 week program in Mexico. The main obstacle is funding the trip. However, many students solicit sponsorship from professional organizations and practitioners. If I decide to go on one of these excursions, I will need to do that.

For anyone reading this that may not know, I am a Mormon. As such, I had a chance to serve as a missionary for two years. I was called to serve in Tokyo Japan and was there from 1993 to 1995. As a result of that assignment, I was required to learn Japanese. Growing up, I always had a fascination with Japan and the language. When I submitted my paperwork for missionary consideration, I indicated that I had minor Japanese language training (I’d had a few private lessons from a Japanese friend’s dad). At that time, I did NOT want to go to a Spanish speaking mission. Well, I was called to Japan and I loved it! Don’t get me wrong though, I loved Japan and would not trade the experiences that I had there for anything, but living in Arizona, sometimes I wish that I had learned Spanish. It’d be more useful to me now. I did take Spanish in high school and still remember quite a bit of it. I also have an elective available this next quarter at school that I think I will fill with a Spanish class. Maybe if I do that, and I go on a summer Internship, I will be able to speak well enough to consider Spanish an asset.

Tendremos que esperar y ver!