Nica Times

It’s the hottest month of the year in Nicaragua and we have not completely melted yet. Actually, I think we are quickly becoming climatized. Some days I break down and turn the AC on because my arms are sticking to the table while I do my homework and it can become a bit overwhelming. But other times, once I’ve cooled down, the AC is too much. 

Class update: Dustin is doing great at fine tuning his spanish. His teacher likes to bust his chops incessantly about what he does and does not know. Although, there seems to be quite a bit of chop busting going on from him too. I’m getting better at conversing with my teacher. It has made the class more fun and makes the four hours go by quicker. I’m getting hammered with verb conjugations and while I can’t possibly remember ALL the verbs she’s been giving me all the time, I am getting more comfortable using the more common ones correctly. We have 2 1/2 more weeks left and I intend on soaking up as much as I can. I’m looking forward to getting to Port to engage with the kids in the orphanage on a whole new level - without a translator!

This weekend we are in Managua for several reasons. We are trying to locate a suitable place to stay when we are working on the west coast for OrphaNetwork. Our friend Alvaro is going to accompany us. Later, we’ll be shopping for items we’ll be needing in Port and could use now in Granada - nothing crazy, just things to make life a little bit easier here. I love Granada but it’s a very noisy town so it’s nice to wake up to silence and a dark room!

Last week, our good friend Nicole came to visit us for a few days. It was great to see a familiar face in our context. It was fun to hang out and relax and also show her a part of Nicaragua since it was her first time here. This week, I have another friend, Jen, coming to visit. Jen has been to Puerto Cabezas before with us and I’m looking forward to showing her some of the west coast. 

Dustin has been really busy with school, working for ONET, and doing his regular job! I try to help out as I can but there’s not much for me to help with at this point. He’s been a real trooper getting through it all while going to school. 

I’m mainly focused on my spanish. I still have one last online TESOL certification course that I’ve been neglecting but I’m hoping to start that this weekend. If not, I’ll definitely crank it out once my spanish classes are over. Next week I am meeting with a Pastor from Nueva Vida to discuss starting the adult literacy training over there. I’m so excited to see some classes get started. Right now, we are just going to discuss potential teachers and near future training of those teachers.

That about sums it up for now. I hope to write more frequently once school is over when we really get into what we are doing here.

Breathe

View of Old City Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

Dustin and I are back in Nicaragua (this time for a while) and our whirlwind visit to the U.S., Israel/Palestine, Jordan, and the U.S. again is now over. Knowing that we’ll be here for an extended time makes it easier to rest (a little) and get settled into our surroundings.

Our trip to Israel/Palestine can’t be summarized in one adjective like awesome or great. While it was those things, it was many other things on many different levels.  I’m still processing it so I can articulate what I observed and experience without either A. talking for hours on end or B. losing my audience. It’s never easy to fully talk about and do a place justice to someone who wasn’t there with you experiencing the same thing. So for now, all I’m going to say this that there is a lot that is not shown or discussed on the news - about both sides. It was an invaluable experience to be able to talk with and be among both Palestinians and Israelis on the same trip and listening to what they have to say about their histories and the current conflict. More on that at another time.

I think one of my favorite places we visited was the Sea of Galilee. Not only is it beautiful, it’s the place where Jesus carried out most of his ministry. There are several places we visited that were “believed” to be certain spots where Jesus did this or Jesus  did that. But the sea is the sea and it was fun to imagine some of the events that went on there. We had time to sit along the banks, alone, to pray to and to listen to what God might be saying. Later on, many of us decided to get baptized in the sea. Not a bad place to have it done if you ask me! I’ve already been baptized but did it again and had Dustin do it. It was an awesome experience. 

Dustin and me at the Monastery, Petra

After the trip, a small group of us jumped over to Jordan for a few days to meet with some people that we know. My brother, who was on a trip from Prague and Budapest, flew over to Amman to join us. We first went to Petra and hiked all the way to the top to the Monastery. On the way down we decided to ride donkeys to give our feet a rest and to make it out quickly. We laughed the entire way down as our donkeys would randomly start running and would clump together so our legs were wedged between other donkeys and knees were in places they shouldn’t be. 

Mike in a Roman amphitheater in downtown Amman

In Amman, Mike and I had the opportunity to break away from the group and spend some quality time together while roaming around the city eating amazing food and shopping. Thanks to Dori who was our guide that afternoon! Mike stayed in Amman for two extra days and had a great time with our friends. 

One of the great things about this trip were the friendships that were made. Some friendships were brand new while others were strengthened and went to a deeper level. It’s great to be around likeminded individuals who have similar passions. 

Kind of a vague and general blog about our trip but I don’t want to write a novel in one blog.  Now, I am focused on language school and getting started on my work for ONET and continuing my work on the literacy component of the PEACE plan.