Iowa State University Athletics and the community of La Angostura, Oaxaca, Mexico
On August 2nd, 2024, our Iowa State Athletic group started the journey to Oaxaca, Mexico. Our group represented 10 athletes across three different sports and six staff members. Everyone had excited nerves and was eager to get there. So much of this experience was unknown.
Our trip started at the Des Moines Airport around 8 am and had a smooth flight to the Dallas Airport. With an expected 5-hour layover we spent our time getting to know our group members over some wings and watching the Olympics at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in the airport. We also did group discussions to better prepare for our arrival to La Angostura. After getting seated on our flight to Oaxaca, we had some opportunities to speak to native Oaxacans which got us more excited for our arrival. Unexpectedly we were informed that we would have to reschedule our flight due to mechanical issues with our plane and spent the night in Dallas.
At 3:00 am we headed back to the airport to get on our 5 am flight to Oaxaca. Most of our group took a well-deserved nap before landing. When de-boarding the plane we walked on the tarmac and were met with the beautiful mountainous scenery. The nerves set in as we made our way through customs. Juan Carlos greeted us at the airport and was very welcoming and informative. We took shuttles to breakfast and met the student translators, Eli, Fito, and Vane. We all opened up to each other as we drove to La Angostura.
On our 3-hour drive to La Angostura we were able to stop at a nearby market and explore the culture that Tlaxiaco had to offer. We arrived at La Angostura and were greeted with a beautiful welcoming ceremony from the community. They gave speeches and we could tell that they were excited to have us.
We woke up at 6 am all three days of work. Our bodies continually got more tired, sore, and bruised as our connections with the community got stronger, more meaningful, and more memorable. While working together on the project with the locals, we got to see how much of an impact we were all making and that was something truly special for the group. After each day of work, we ended the night with a community activity. These activities included basketball, soccer, a hike, and card games. One of our favorites was learning how to make authentic La Angostura coffee from our friend Authorro. This is where our connections truly flourished.
The highlight of the week was on Thursday when we had our community celebration on the court. There were over 250 people from all around La Angostura who showed up and celebrated the new court being completed! The celebration started with several speeches from respected community members followed by traditional dances from locals as well as talents presented by a couple of our group members.
We danced together with the community through the night and some of our favorites to teach were the Juicy Wiggle (an Iowa State Signature dance) and Wobble. It was special to see how special it was for the court to bring us all together. The celebration was a reflection of all the love that was poured into this project.
Saying our goodbyes was hard but our group left knowing there will always be a piece of us in La Angostura and La Angostura will always be with us in our hearts. They taught us the importance of community, service, hard work, kindness, and generosity- lessons we will never forget. Thank you Courts For Kids and the people of La Angostura for this life-changing opportunity.
~ Love, Abbi Crum - Swim and Dive, Ella O’Neall - Track and Field, Iowa State University Athletics
Volunteer Quotes:
“I learned that I am very service-oriented and that even small acts can make a difference. Obviously, we were building the sports court, but I found helping with dishes of food was a great way to connect to the locals.” ~ Madi Dohrn.
“From the community I learned that hard work can take on many forms and that looking out for the people in your circle often leads to greater happiness, fulfillment, friendship, and experiences than looking out only for oneself can provide.” ~ Alaina Breitbach
“The high point of the trip for me was the celebration and inauguration of the court. Seeing all the local men and women we worked so hard with smiling and dancing made all the scrapes and bruises fade away.” ~ Jeff Spaur
“I learned the true definition of community. Their ability to be aligned in almost every activity is something I took notice of. Everyone in the community had roles that helped the community run. Spending time in this community has challenged me to be a better neighbor and community member.” ~ Shamaree Brown
“We got to learn some of their dances during the celebration at the end, and the community had fun learning some of our American line dances. Even though language barriers, we all got to party together.” ~ Sammie Hildreth
“I think La Angostura showed me that you really don’t need a lot to be happy in this world. That all we really need is to focus on the important things in this life.” ~ Ella O’Neall
“I thought it would be really hard to connect with the community, especially because I speak no Spanish, but we all found ways to get along and have a great time.” ~ Abbi Crum
“This trip put me in a new headspace to be ready and willing to serve and jump at opportunities to work on group projects. Now I’ll be more excited to work in teams because of the positive experience I had on this trip.” ~ Kaia Holtkamp
“I love the reciprocity in the service work and how the work (and learning) is shared with the community itself” ~ Megan Myers
“I feel like after this trip, I am going to live more in the present. They hardly ever were on their phones during group events. And didn’t seem to let little things that could possibly have an effect in their future change their outlook.” ~ Kinsey Christianson
Community Quotes:
“First I want to thank Derek for looking at our community, which really lacks a lot, and to bring together two flags was something very exciting. Two different languages that in sport, friendship and harmony became one. These young people brought us a court but they took our hearts with them. I have nothing but words of gratitude because they made the impossible a reality. Thank you, God bless you, and remember that in La Angostura there are families waiting for you to come back whenever you like.” ~ Rigoberto Ojeda
“An excellent project applying knowledge, physical strength, harmony, and above all uniting two nations, Mexico and the United States. It was a great pleasure to meet them all. Very successful.” ~ Margarita Ortiz
“For me it was a great project that we needed for our children of the community. It was a great experience to share with the university students the work, coexistence and activities. We have great memories of them and I hope that someday we can share those beautiful moments.” ~ Uciel Ramirez
“Thanks for the support, thanks to the foundation for the resources allocated for this project, and the young students are excellent people, cheerful, respectful and hardworking. A court was built, which we needed very much, thanks for everything and see you soon.” ~ Juan Ojeda
“We are very grateful for the project that was carried out because it was much needed in the community. And grateful to everyone for the work that was done and these young university students are greatly missed.” ~ Ana Isabel Gonzalez
“I am very grateful with this beautiful project and with the people who came to help us and left us with our mouths open to see how men and women work in the same way. We miss them very much. It was an extraordinary experience and we hope that at some point we will see each other again because they are excellent people.” ~ Telesforo Arriaga
