Orientation
First, I need to mention orientation. Our SALT orientation was combined with the orientation of young people coming to the U.S. and Canada from other countries to participate in a program similar to ours. There were over 100 of us there together of many different cultures and languages, and yet comanality. It was so energizing to find connection with others my age, in my similar situation, and also with similar interests and perspectives. It was a special week to me, and a nice stepping stone into my year here.
Nicaragua
I am now about to wrap up my second full week in Nicaragua. There has been much to take in, but I will try to convey some of it to you.
I am currently with a temporary host family for the first six weeks of my experience (only 4 weeks left with them!). For these six weeks I am soley studying Spanish and adjusting to Nicaragua. After that I will move to my permanant home and start work at Hogar Belen. My host family now consists of an older women, Josefa, and her two grown daughters, Maria and Veronica. They have absolutely welcomed us (me and another SALTer-Kayon) into thier homes with open arms. And it must be said that they cook the most amazing food! :)
A typical day for me these first six weeks looks like this:
- 2 hours with a Spanish tutor in the morning
- lunch at my host family´s house
- 2 hours of Spanish school in the afternoon
- dinner with my family
- Studying Spanish, visiting with my host family, and other little excursions :)
Some of my biggest adjustments so far:
-City life!:
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua, and does not have a similar atmosphere to rural NW Ohio! There are always a lot of people, noise, and activity at all hours. I´m becoming more accustomed to it, but I will be relieved when I move just outside of the city in a few weeks to my permanant home for the year.
-Language barriar:
The language barriar is humbling. I often feel like a child. Though the silly mistakes are humorous at times, it gets frustrating to not be able to carry on conversation past surface level. I have to remind myself often, "little by little" :)
-Heat:
I have discovered a new level of hot. Someone told us when we arrived to just get used to a layer of sweat covering our bodies all the time, which is really true. I´m looking forward to December- I hear it gets down to the 70s!
-Life:
Like I said, there has been a lot here to take in. I am faced with much to think about here that I could ignore in the U.S. Being faced daily with the reality of poverty is difficult.
Some of my favorite things so far :)
-The sound of the rain : The house that I live in has a tin roof, and when it rains hard you can´t even carry on conversation. I love it!
-My host family
-Playing cards with my host sister
-Pitayha Juice
-Successful conversations in Spanish
-The MCC team here
-The other night I hand washed all of my clothes. I started right after dinner and was done in time for bed, but it was a real sense of accomplishment. It also gave me a true respect for the women here.
So that has been my past few weeks! Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. It means a lot to me. It has been a real blessing to see God´s daily provision in such an intense month for me.
Until next time...:)
6 comments:
emma!
wonderful to receive your blog!
here, it is a typical friday night
in northwest ohio,the weather is beautiful, not too hot, not too cold.
we stepped out on the patio,
and could hear the wauseon high
school band, and the crowds, and the announcer at the football
stadium as though they were in our backyard. bailey, who follows me everywhere was wondering what was going on...
we love you and miss you.nate and
ang are in pennsylvania with friends for the holiday weekend.
do they celebrate labor day in
nicarauga? love you,
mom and dad
Hola Emma!
It was great reading your blog; it reminded me of my first experiences in Latin America--in Colombia, then Costa Rica, then Bolivia.
Karen and I were with some MCC friends from Bolivia this weekend in Holmes County area. We all know Angela Opimi(MCC Nicaragua country rep)--have you gotten to know her yet? Give her a big abrazo from me when you see her! And tell her that I'm leading a cross-cultural group to Bolivia next May.
Blessings to you as you continue to learn espanol and prepare for your teaching assignment. I look forward to reading more of your blogs!
Tig
Greetings Emma! It was so good to read your blog and hear the latest happenings in your life! Sometime you'll have to explain what pithya (or something like that) juice is. :) I pray for you as you continue to adjust to a whole new world. I have survived my third week of teaching and it continues to bring new challenges to my life each day. I strive to get better each week. This weekend was Labor Day weekend, so it has been wonderful to have a little extra time to get refreshed and ready for this upcoming week. I will keep checking your blog, but I just wanted to let you know I enjoyed reading and look forward to hearing more! Hope you are having a fabulous day!! love cindy
Hi, Emma!!
I SOOO enjoyed reading your blog entries:) Thank you for setting this up--what a great way to share your experience and connect with people:)
It's Labor Day Weekend here...nice to have an extra day to breathe a little. I've been doing relax-y type things...putting off writing a paper which I may regret later, but so be it:)
I loved reading about your favorite things...hard rain on a tin roof...that would be so great:) And it sounds like Spanish training day in and day out--much needed, but I bet that is tiring! I'm sure you are doing great:) You have a heart for people and that cannot be stopped by a language barrier:)
Know that I'll be checking your blog and that I look forward to hearing more about your experiences. Thanks again for sharing in this way!
---Love ya, Ang
What a beautiful entry! It's such a gift to read about and receive a taste of your experience. It was also wonderful to talk to you a few days ago. I just got back from camping in PA with college friends, several of whom have spent at least one year in a Central American country, and it's great to share that connection with them and you. Your willingness to learn and grow from even the small aspects of your experience is inspiring. I love you and can't wait to hear from you again soon. Continue to keep us posted!
EMMA!!! I hope all is continuing to go well for you! I think about and pray for you often! I can only imagine all the experiences you are having as you become more accustomed to life in Nicaragua. I admire your bravery in stepping out in faith as you trust God with all you will encounter this year.
I look forward to continuing to hear about how things are progressing for you! Know that you are loved and thought about often!
I love you dear friend!
Hannah
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