Reflections on Year One

On August 4th, we celebrated our 1 year nica-versary. August 4th, 2015 we took a flight from orientation in Pittsburgh to hot, sweaty Managua. 1 year ago we were nervous and excited about what awaited us over the next years. 1 year ago we had no idea what we were actually getting into :) And now 1 year in I can say that what we got into has been amazing, challenging, beautiful, rewarding, difficult, fun, and new and exciting.

Thinking back on the last year it seem that days went SLOW, but with each month turn of the calendar we  couldn’t believe another month had passed. And now staring down year 2, we can’t believe we are looking towards the “downhill” slope of our volunteer term. How did this happen?
We often catch ourselves admiring the beauty and especially the weather here in San Nicolas. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful and tranquilo spot to learn spanish, learn a new community and culture, and teach English (amongst many other things!) We feel like the luckiest volunteers in the world. And this isn’t even considering the people who make up the community of San Nicolas.

There are so many people in town who have taken us under their wing, whether that’s inviting us over for dinner, or teaching us the correct way to say “I hope that it will rain today.” (Dang, subjunctive!), or just a simple smile and “adios” on the streets. I know that we will always be the “gring@s” or the “cheles” but it has been such a blessing to feel accepted by our community here in San Nicolas. I thought I knew about hospitality and what it means to be a good host, but so many here in Nicaragua have shown us what it means to TRULY host someone with time, talk, and a cafecito (a bit of coffee!) 

By 1 year mark, I thought and hoped I may have a more clear answer to “what are you doing here? What is your work/job?” While I still don’t have a perfect or a very graceful answer to these questions, I feel like I can answer more confidently, with more understanding and insight into what “accompaniment” means. Don’t get my wrong, accompany someone is super hard to define and is truly a life-long journey. I have found joys and challenges in accompanying people in Nicaragua, but the same goes for any relationship I have, my marriage, my friends, as a social worker, I expect to always be learning about what true accompaniment means. It’s hard, but it’s important!

So…1 year in. What ARE we doing here? We teach English, we assist with anything/everything at the high school in town, I work with a multi-grade elementary classroom, I have a semi-successful women’s workout class, we invite people into our home and are invited into homes of others, we build relationships with our student and neighbors, we speak a lot of Spanish, we ask a lot of questions, we are confused often, and we learn something new everyday. It may be a pretty scattered answer, but it is what we do.

Looking back to 1 year ago when I was writing my “purpose statement” during orientation this is what I wrote, I am reposting this so I can be reminded as we head into year 2:

“I commit myself to accompaniment; walking beside the people of my community.

I commit myself to vulnerability; acknowledging my own fears and insecurities.

I recommit myself to my marriage; understanding that we are two individuals with unique experiences.

I commit myself to presence; striving for awareness of what I am receiving and what I am giving.

I commit myself to being open; growing and learning on  this journey.”

At our VMM retreat in January I added: “I commit myself to self-love, self-reflection, and self-understanding” (I was not very kind or patient with myself during this time. I was super hard on myself in my rate of learning Spanish, building relationships and was struggling to find my role/purpose/success here. Thus this “self-centered” addition to my purpose statement )

And today I would like to add: “I commit myself to being present in each moment, with each person that I encounter. Knowing that there are many “lasts” to come in year 2”

Whew. So cheers to a wonderful journey so far. A journey of growth, of learning many new things about myself, and cheers to DOING IT! Learning Spanish, living in a new culture, making friends, teaching, talking in Spanish, living very closely with my husband, cleaning, being, washing clothes by hand, using a latrine, fighting for a spot on the bus, helping, organizing, trying new foods, and most importantly accompanying…I am doing it! Not always doing it well or great. But I do it. Everyday. As my good friend texts me in times of desperation, “YOU CAN DO IT!” :) So here’s to another year of doing it! Accompanying, being, learning, and soaking up this unique experience.

August 2015

January 2016

July 2016

Love.