Ay Nicaragua, Nicaragüita. La flor más linda de mi querer

Well friends, it has been quite some time since I’ve written much of anything on this blog. I’ll try and pick it up again. I’ve had lots of ups and downs during my time here, but recently mostly just ups. I was able to go home for Christmas and then to Toronto for an ecumenical training in January. Stepping out of Nicaragua for a short time was exactly what I needed to be refreshed and re-energized for a busy schedule in the coming months. Seeing friends and family, and then gaining valuable insight from fellow participants and leaders of the training session has given me a new drive for what I’m doing here. Everything about Nicaragua looks a little bit brighter these days. I feel like I’m settling into my life here, and that this country that once felt very distant is becoming my home- for a while, anyways.

I’ve been enjoying the gradual process of integrating myself into the culture here, which seems to be picking up speed in the month since I’ve returned. I've been meeting new people, and getting closer to ones I've known for awhile. I went to the Maná concert awhile back and have gone to see a couple Nicaraguan groups as well. I went to a salsa and bachata dance class a couple weeks ago. Turns out I'm still really bad at bachata, but hey, I certainly had fun trying. I've come to learn that the unplanned, random encounters I have with people are often the most enjoyable. The waiting- waiting for meetings that never started on time, for authorizations that took days, for my internet to work, waiting in the heat when the bus broke down- the waiting that frustrated me so much before doesn't usually bother me anymore. I thought I was a pretty calm person before, but here patience has taken on a whole new meaning. The hours spent waiting for something or someone are the times when good conversation comes out, and the relationships build.

I’ve realized that I need to just relax on a lot of things. There is very little that is really worth the energy of getting worked up about. This country’s unofficial motto, of ‘Anything is possible in Nicaragua’ seems to be true most of the time, and I’m finding that the plans I work on for two weeks often get traded in for plans that require a 45 second phone call in the last second. And usually plan B (or C or D) works better anyways. Therefore, why not just relax and trust that things will work out? (Unless you are working with the ministry of health to allow medical delegations into the country. Then you should get out your letterhead, your translating skills, your dictionary, and warn your notary public that you will be needing about six different letters notarized a month in advance. You really just have to appreciate bureaucracy no matter what country you're in :)

Hopefully I passed the ‘test of fire’ as the Bishop calls it, with my first delegation from South Dakota. A medical team from Gloria Dei came and went this past week. We went to a few different rural communities to give medical consults, and had one clinic here in Managua. One of the highlights for me was when we broke into small groups and spent a night with different families in one of the communities. The time flew by, after a late arrival due to mechanical problems on one of their flight legs. In true Nicaraguan fashion, we just changed plans at the last minute, and everything went really pretty smoothly. Being with a delegation is such a fun experience for me because I’m right in the middle of two different cultures- one culture I’ve lived in my whole life, and the other I’m learning about on a daily basis. I love being able to blend the two worlds together, translating people’s stories through words and personal experiences. I learn a lot about both in the process, and it’s fun to share bits and pieces of my new life with people that speak my language.

The vendors that walk up and down our street selling everything from food to lottery tickets to ‘things from the oven’ (literally cosas del horno) to branch cutting services with their machetes have become normal. Riding jam packed yellow school buses in the morning has become routine. And purchasing little bags of drinking water from guys that carry out of car windows doesn’t faze me anymore. But somehow there are still things that always catch my attention or make me smile.

Seeing men riding on horse-pulled carts alongside expensive SUVs on the highways still gets me every time. Literally, a horse and cart in the middle of the highway, going around the roundabouts. You would think there’d be more accidents…

When Gloria Dei was here there was a small car accident right outside of the church. And by car accident I mean a car ran into the back of a horse and cart. The horse didn’t seem terribly hurt, just a little agitated. But really, only in Nicaragua…

While doing a home stay/overnight in a rural community with Gloria Dei, we discovered that the family’s dog was named “Scott.” Pronounced, “Escót” by the Nicaraguan tongue, I was a curious as to why this dog would be named that, because it’s certainly not a Spanish name. Well, it turns out he was named after Scott brand toilet paper, because he looks like the dog that is their logo.

The other day on the bus I saw a middle aged man wearing a t-shirt tucked in to a pair of dress pants with a nice pair of shoes. And then I did a double take and realized that in scrolling 90’s neon letters, his shirt said, and I quote, “This is what the world’s greatest grandma looks like”.

Ay Nicaragua, Nicaraguita...

Alright, that’s about all I’ve got for now. There’s another delegation coming on Thursday, so I imagine I’ll have more stories after they come. In the mean time, keep me posted on the happenings of the world up north, and take care!