This time last year, I went to Jinotega, Nicaragua for an Alternative Spring Break trip. It is no exaggeration to say that the trip was life changing. I travelled with an amazing group, and I met some great people while we were there. We went to Jinotega to teach English with an organization called Outreach360. Outreach360 teaches English and Spanish skills to local students, to supplement their learning in school, in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic, as well as in Jinotega. As volunteers, we taught a class in the morning and a class in the afternoon, and helped to move the students through their curriculum course pack. After we finished teaching, we were able to experience the local culture by visiting markets and cafes, going on hikes and exploring the neighbourhood. Since I hadn’t started my blog by the time I went to Nicaragua last year, and my Reading Week is necessarily less exciting this year (I’m halfway through a fifty page undergraduate thesis), I decided to write about the experience now. It should come as no surprise that I kept a detailed journal while I was there, writing a total of fifty pages of reflection. Rather than attempt to write about the experience a year later, I’m going to share some excerpts from my journal.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
German Pomares is up on a hill and is much poorer than the area where our house is located. The houses in the area are not of colourful stucco and wrought iron, but rather, of wood and tin. The colour changes here. In this area, it is clear that Nicaragua is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, after Haiti. We spoke about this in reflection. Many said they were shocked by the poverty. While it is not what I was accustom to, in a sense I expected it. It resembled the poorest communities I’ve seen worldwide. What shocked me was how much I loved it. This sounds like something only a self-righteous tourist would say, but it felt so real. It wasn’t a community established as a tourist destination, like several communities I’ve seen in Mexico. It was filled with people surrounded by their reality, not thinking about how an outsider would perceive them. I felt so much love in that area. The children smiled, and adolescents petted scrawny dogs. Clothes hung on lines blowing towards mud streets. Garbage gathered in forgotten corners, but still people seemed proud of what they had.
I wondered what the people of Jinotega would think of our cities. They may see them as places that are flawed. Toronto, my favourite city, lacks the colour and camaraderie of German Pomares. I’ve never felt some much joy in a community. In Toronto, there’s a feeling of anxiety.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
I loved today, I felt so much love for the team and for the kids around me. Today was what I hoped to experience. Even if I don’t have another experience like this, I’ll remember and appreciate this moment.
Working with Rony was the greatest. I worked with him one on one, and I felt like I was able to push him to his full potential. Several times he wrote rather than copied. I felt like we made a real connection and communicated love (one of the Outreach360 Goals and Principles.) When he smiled, I felt all warm and fuzzy inside! I really like the final group of boys I work with, along with Cara, Falana and Pritika. The boys are rambunctious, but respond really well to individual attention. I hope they know how smart we think they are. I really saw their potential for greatness, and I hope I communicated that.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Today was the final day at the learning centre. I was sad to see the kids go because I know I will not have the chance to watch them progress. I know it is illogical, but I feel like if I stayed with them, I could protect them. It will break my heart if they don’t achieve their full potential. Nicaragua has so many cultural norms that are negative. Today, I sat with a girl who read a book with the line, “If I soil my dress, my mother will beat me.” The girl didn’t even react to it. I hope that these smart, beautiful girls will not be victims of their male dominated society. I also fear that these amazing boys will become the kind of men who suppress women.
I thought of all the people I see on the streets standing in groups, and I realized we don’t see groups like that at home because loitering is prohibited in cities. Jinotega’s culture seems to be a culture of loitering, just hanging around without purpose or direction. I feel like if I leave, I won’t be able to keep this from happening.
Thursday, continued
We made a few final preparations and took off for a hike to Peña de la Cruz. I took off with my Johnny Bauer baseball hat and my arsenal of cameras. It was unbelievable to finally climb the mountain that had been a constant background from the day of our arrival. I felt the mountains call to me. We started through town, and then through the cemetery.
It was a difficult hike, first up stairs and then over tangled paths. At each stop, we marvelled at the view and at the smallness of the buildings below us. I made a turn and was astounded to have made it to the top. The valleys were beautiful on both sides. We could see the entire city, and mountains beyond mountains.
The sun was perfect, my favourite time of day. We saw a bird glide on the wind, and I felt I could do the same. We climbed up to the cross in small groups, even those of us who were afraid of heights. (I have never been afraid of heights.) To see everyone’s excitement was amazing. It felt like the most beautiful place in the world. I was so thankful to see what so few will see.
The cross is an icon of Jinotega, though it is not internationally known, both regrettably and thankfully. While I wish everyone could see it and feel inspired, it makes it such a rare privilege to see what most don’t even know they’re missing. I felt at one with the mountains, and as though I communicated with the sun. I embraced it all.
Friday, February 22, 2013
We went on a beautiful walk through what is called the Cloud Forest. While we walked, I thought about the trip and the people I will go back home to.This trip has really taught me how to love everyone. During reflection, I thought of Rick Majerus (Saint Louis University basketball coach, who died in December 2012) and his favourite saying, “I don’t like, I love.” When I first read it, I thought it would come to mean something to me eventually, though at the time it didn’t. I understand it now. I feel it. Though I don’t necessarily like everyone, I love them. I think I’ve learned how to communicate love. The challenge is to practice this. I reflected on this on the bus ride home when I sat next to Sara, with The Band in my ears and the sun in my eyes.
Many people have said that they don’t want to go home, that they want to stay here forever, or at least delay their return to their hectic lives. I’m ready to go home because I feel like I’ve learned so much, and now I’m ready to apply what I’ve learned to my daily life. Outreach360 allows all who comes through their doors to “release the hero within.” I could live with positivity and enthusiasm if I stayed with Outreach360, but Jinotega is not my community or my reality. I must apply these values to my daily life. If I can continue to love myself as I do now, I’ll be able to communicate with love. I’m ready for the next challenge, to maintain these values in a society that does not know and in some cases, does not care for these values. Maybe now I’ll be able to live the way I resolved to, until such a time that I’m not so much living according to a set of values, I’m living as I’m meant to.
The experience starts tomorrow when I walk out the door.
All photos were taken with my Diana+ film camera, except where specified.
The title for this post comes from the song we sang with the kids at recess called ‘Once There Was a Wizard.’ The line it comes from is “Once there was a wizard who went to Jinotega. Gotta feel the magic!” We all felt the magic.
Song of the Day: Ready 2 Go by Martin Solveig
