Day 26 February 23, 2009 (Mon)

So this post will basically be about my weekend because it was incredible.

We rented a beach house for one night out in Penaloya. We met up early saturday morning. It was myself, Stephen and Dan, Jeff and two of Dan's guy friends. My friend Kate came along which I am so thankful for because I probably would have lost my mind being the only girl for so long. The trip is about an hour and a half, give or take. We stopped in Leon to buy food and had to drive on roads that were under construction sometimes and other roads that were just rocks or dust. I'm just happy we were traveling during the day because on that whole stretch of road, there was not one single street light and when it gets dark out here, it's ridiculously dark. So we got to the house and to our sheer amazement, it was gorgeous. Most of my photos are on Facebook but I'll post a couple so you can see just what I mean. We had this little door that opened to the beach and ultimately the Pacific Ocean. Unbelievably breathtaking. I spent a lot of time just in awe of the majesty of creation and its Creator.

Day 20 February 17, 2009 (Tues)

Today, yes this is tuesday finally. We took a field trip to Santa Maria and Leon. Santa Maria is a town that was built after the major mudslide. They said it rained for like 10 days straight then one day all the mud just started coming down the hill and burried people and killed so many. It's illegal to go live on the mountain now though some still do. This happened October 1998 and they just had a memorial this past october marking 10 years. Really sad. We talked to this one woman about her story. She survived because she was at work in Managua which is about 1 hour away or so. In the mudslide she lost both parents, 4 kids, a few brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, in-laws everything. Only one son survived and the mudslide broke his legs so he was stuck for hours. The story was absolutely heartbreaking. When she got home, everything was gone. The son that did survive was carried out in a cart full of dead people, he was the only one alive. He, to this day is terrified and refuses to sleep in Santa Maria so he moved to Managua. Everyone who lived in the town lost someone in the mudslide. I took a few pictures of the mountain and you can still see the path of the mud that slid down. A bold reminder...

Leon was really cool. It is much calmer than Managua. We ate lunch there and it seriously was the longest I have ever waited for food EVER. We ordered and sat around for the longest time then I look up and see our waitress walk back to the restaurant with grocery bags in her hand. She had to go buy our food and we had already been waiting forever. Then we had to wait for it to cook. Now mind you, this is not a busy restuarant. The other people that were there were men and all they had was beer. Being here definitely teaches one something about patience because you can't hurry things up...they just happen whenever they happen. Not very North American at all...haha.

Day 17 February 14, 2009 (Sat)

First off, last night was super fun. I stayed the night at Kate Greenway's house and we just chilled and watched "Nights in Rodanthe," that Richard Gere, Diane Lane movie. It was interesting but I'm still not sure if I liked it because it was kind of wierd and had some parts in the plot that came out of nowhere. But anywho, on Saturday morning, I got back home and helped Maria clean up the house and decorate for the party we had Saturday night.

It was in celebration of two things: 1. Valentine's Day/Love & Friendship Day 2. They are launching their youth ministry Impacto Juvenil so a ton of people came out and we just had a great night. We played games, ate food and just got the chance to meet all sorts of new people. I loved it and I uploaded some pictures on Facebook so be sure to check them out!

Day 16 February 13,2009 (Fri)

I haven't had much to say during this week. It's basic school work and homework. I watched a good movie I'd recommend called Fog of War. It's an interesting documentary about Robert McNamara who was the U.S. Secretary of Defense during the Cold War and Vietnam. It doesn't make the government look to good but it's an interesting film to note. Check it out. Other than that, nothing truly interesting or out of the ordinary has happened this week. Or perhaps what seemed outrageous a week ago is slowly becoming the norm so I don't react quite as strongly. This morning on the bus we were listening to Celine Dion sing that Titanic song "My heart will go on," and I also heard "Dust in the Wind" which totally made me think of the Will Ferrell movie 'Old School.' It was great! It's still just the morning so if something happens, I'll be sure to let everyone know.

Day 11 February 8, 2009 (Sun - Domingo)

"We can learn nothing except by going from the known to the unkown (Claude Bernard)."

It's truly been a great weekend! This morning we went to church, a different one from last week. Somebody gave me a little insight that they're taking me to churches founded by North Americans so I feel 'at home' sort of. Completely unnecessary but a kind gesture. The church services are still all in Spanish though. This week I understood more random words that last week before I had any spanish classes. I am confident that each week will get easier. After church Alex, Maria, Cesar and I went out for pizza. I love it when they do little thing that are American that they figure I'll like. Once again I don't need special treatment but the pizza was delicious. At the restuarant we watched the Celtics/Spurs game. It was like Americano day or something. I think it must of been a real touristy spot because there was a chinese food place, Mexican food and Subway all right across the street.

At night was the best part though. On Sunday nights, Alex and Maria do church in their home. So like 12 people came over and we sang some worship songs and had a pastor do a sermon. It was really cool plus a few people have studied English here in one of the universities so they were excited to practice on me and I figure since they know what it's like to learn an unfamiliar language, we'll get along just fine. They were super nice and one girl invited me over to come meet her family. Making Nica friends I am! I loved it and to finish off the night we watched Jack Bauer on "24" using the projector screen on the wall for a big screen movie night. It was so great!

Day 10 February 7, 2009 (Sat)

"I can't give you much, but I can tell your story (Unknown)."

I finally got to sleep in! Well sleeping in was waking up at 7am so I don't know what you might call it but I call it magic. We lounged around the house most of the morning. A couple nieces and nephews were there so we watched Saturday morning cartoons for hours and hours. It was great! I haven't done that in forever.

After lunch, I went with Alex, Maria, Stephen and a few of Maria's siblings and their kids to do the coolest thing. It goes right along with the quote I chose for the day. Alex and Maria invited me along on this youth outreach. I thought it was through their church but nope, it's just them and their big hearts trying to make a difference. We went to a really poor barrio (neighborhood). Now to be clear, Nicaragua is a pretty poor country overall. People exist in poverty here. Most people who work 8-10 hour jobs and earn under $2 A DAY!! There are even more people who don't work and lots who don't have an education. Adults and children alike so to say that I could tell this neighborhood was extremely poor is saying a lot. Now I'm sure there may be other areas in Nicaragua with even less and I honestly hope I get to see those places too because there's something about these images that don't leave the human spirit alone.

Homes were made of tin on the side or roof used like shingles nailed together or rested against one another. People used anything they could to cover their homes like plastic bags or sheets and clothing. Dirt floors and most of what I saw was one room so you sleep and eat in the same space. I saw kids getting washed outside with a bucket of water. No security except barbed wire as a gate to most dwellings but you basically can have no significantly valuable items because essentionally you live outside, it's very open and vulnerable. Humbling.

So we drove through and got out to walk around and tell these parents and kids that we were going to do something special for the ninos down the road. Be sure to look at the pictures I'll have posted on facebook. It was pretty cool to see these kids and moms excited about what we were doing. The little ones traveled down that dirt road, hand in hand. So we sang a couple songs while Alex played guitar. Then Maria preached about Jesus! After all that, we fed them. At home Maria had fixed this extremely large bowl of spaghetti. They brought along 2-3 loaves of bread and every single kid there received a plate of food, bread and a juice. They stood in line so nicely and waited to get served. Then they sat around and ate every drop. I dunno but it's the kind of story that almost brings me to tears.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that God is omnipresent and I know that God was there on that dirt road next to that old airport runway strip standing under the hot sun with those bright hearts and brilliant smiles. I may not speak the language very well but I understood everything that happened there that day. I believe part of the reason I am here is to experience God in ways that I never have before. To know trust and faith and humility outside of the comforts of my United States. As I stood around, I thought of all that I could do and everything my money could help pay for here. Not that I have much but I have something to offer. I wanted to offer the world but I didn't promise anyone anything. There was one girl I have a photo with. Her name is Judy and she can't afford to go to school. I probably could help pay for it but if I can't do it for all, I can't do it for anyone they say here so I can't do that but I can tell her story in pictures and words, through laughter and tears. I'll tell her story and more hoping it empowers others. Even if it doesn't change anyone else's life, it'll change mine.

Day 9 February 6, 2009 (Fri)

This will be short because not much happened on Friday. At night, I hung out with another one of Maria's sister. She has eleven brothers and sisters so when any of them come over, it gets loud pretty quickly. I love it though...kind of like home. Anywho her name is Lucia and she's going to be a lawyer like one of her other sisters. She wants to learn English better so we spent the night practicing each other's languages. It wasn't perfect conversations but we talked for a couple hours at least. The conversation got pretty deep too so that was definitely a cool cross-cultural communication moment.

Day 8 February 5, 2009 (Thurs)

"Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it (Christopher Morley)."

This morning, I finally figured out how to tell Maria that she was feeding me too much food. I probably looked funny because I didn't know the exact words. She ate with me and she had about half a spoonful of food on her plate and I had about three times as much. I'm not kidding. I mean it is sweet that they want to treat guests so well but I also want to fit in the seat in a month when I'm still riding the bus. So I pointed to her plate and said something about how small it was then I pointed to my plate and was like Grande! comida or something so I asked if my plate could look like hers tomorrow. She laughed and was like yes, poquito comida. I think we understand each other...haha.

After lunch it was sweet. I saw Kate Greenway! She used to go to Trinity. Her family now lives in Managua about 2 miles from the Nehemiah Center. We hung out a little bit and went to this coffee shop called Cafe Latina or something. It was great to see her and we'll definitely hang out as much as possible while I'm here. I'm excited to know someone who knows Nicaragua.

The ride home was certainly interesting. Dan and I were walking because everybody else had left then we got picked up by this lady Ulma who works at the Nehemiah Center. So we hopped into the back of her pickup truck and rode like the rest of the Nicaraguan people do. Fittin in. The roads are terrible though. Not paved usually like how I'm used to but mostly like cobblestone almost. Lots of pot holes and the painted lanes mean absolutely nothing. If three or four cars can fit across the lane then they will. Oh man.

Day 7 February 4, 2009 (Wed)

Quotes:

'Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it (Unknown).'

I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words each hour, each day, everyday, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, and the action which follows becomes as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every action necessary for my success. I will act now. I will repeat these words again and again and again. I will walk where failures fear to walk. I will work when failures seek rest. I will act now for now is all I have. Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now. Success will not wait. If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the person (Og Mandino).

I hate bugs. I feel bad killing them but one of us always has to go. I mostly don't like the crunchthat big bugs make. That being said, this morning there was the biggest cockroach in my shower. Seriously, it had to be the size of Cuba. I mean it opened the door, offered me a cigar and everything. Said, hey come in, let's chat." I'm telling you the thing was huge. It was gross and thus death was imminent. Other than that I'd say it was a great morning.

Today was Spanish class. Boy is that a lot of information for 3 hours. Our professor knows like 20 english words so it gets really hard sometimes. Thank goodness for my spanish-english dictionary though. Lots of homework today. Not from Spanish class. It was only the first day so the homework was like, 'go have a conversation with your family tonight.' That's great for me. Actually that's exactly what I did. When I got home, Alex and Maria were leaving. I think they were on their way to church or something because they were really dressed up. Maria's sister Esther came over though to chill out with me. She's a lawyer (abogado). I'm never by myself which is great because if something happened I don't think I could flip through my dictionary fast enough! She was really excited to talk to me. We chatted quite a bit actually even though she doesn't speak English much either. Context clues are the best thing in the world. Then she taught me the word for everything in the house. I think she likes teaching me stuff. We ate a bit and watched tv. She gave me this fruit juice that was fresh oranges and melon. Soooo Good! Soon we may have a fiesta because more family just came to the house. Homework and Fiestas!! Muy bien! Well hasta manana...

There is No One LIke Our God

Christ Tomlin - Check out the video if you want:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61LamkXfwk

This is how I feel today...empowered!!!

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are


You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God


For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

There is no one like our god
There is no one like our God


Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

Day 6 February 3, 2009

King Whitney Jr. - - Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

Hello World. I can hardly tell you much I love waking up to nature singing, the sun, the hills, the lakes, the palm tree right outside my window. It may sound cheesy but it's truth. Today, I got up at a decent time though it was still early, made it to the bus and school on time. I'm definitely getting more used to it all. It's just a very lively culture, always moving. I wonder if they sleep because Maria and Alex are always up way before I am...just happy and stuff.

Today's class was film making. I only have three classes for 7 weeks then my internship will begin so class will be instense because it will all last only until Spring Break which is March 20. We talked a bit about spring break and where we might go. It's awesome because we get 10 days off. We might go to Honduras or Costa Rica or Panama or any place really. There are lots of choices and it's completly up to us. We can go scuba diving, white water rafting, hiking, zip-lining through the rainforest or visit the Mayan Ruins which sounds cool because I've learned about that stuff in art history classes with Rowley. There is a ton of things to choose from so if anyone out there can get a few days off and wants to come visit or travel, let me know!!

Back to school stuff, we had class then ate lunch at the kids' school next door. They're so cute, everyone's in uniform with white tops and navy blue bottoms, I remember those days. A funny thing, we were waiting in line for our food which was delicious grilled chicken, gallo pinto and this tasty fruit juice but there is this small group of bright white faces with blond hair and all surrounded by all these spanish faces around the lunch tables and Dan goes, "Who's white kids are those?" Ah, Dan...

So as we ate lunch me, Dan, and Stephen watched the funniest movie of all time. It's called American Movie and it's a documentary about this guy named Mike Borchardt or something and he is making a horror movie but it just tells his story and process. He's a complete loser and totally seems like Napoleon Dynamite or something like this cannot be real and yet it is. It's genius and won some big film festival award. Watch it if you love movies or don't because it's worth it. I do want you to be aware however that there is a good share of bad language, mostly the "F" word so it's not quite a family film but worth checking out. I definitely recommend this movie to my loving boyfriend who may just as well be the next Quentin Tarantino someday who knows, both are genius with movies. We need this film at home!

At the end of the day it was great because Alex had come up to the school to work on his webpage for his website because he's a graphic designer and he has all these projects he's currently working on. It's pretty cool actually but he gave me a ride home of course and he also gave Stephen and Dan a ride which was cool becaue then we didn't have to walk or take any buses. It was really hot out and traveling can most certainly be tiresome. But yes dad, I am drinking plenty of water.

Day 5 February 2, 2009

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1: 2-4 Message)

Well classes started today. Man I am totally not used to waking up so early anymore. It was a struggle and I almost didn't make it. I hit snooze like 3 or 4 times so about 20-30 minutes passed. Maria had my breakfast waiting when I got up! Phenomenal but they feed me so much food!! I had hot dogs, eggs, 2 rolls, yogurt, something else that I can't remember and this really thick drink that looked like a protein shake. Who even knows? And in their culture it's typically rude not to finish everything on the plate so I eat tons. But I do walk more now than I ever have in my life. So many hills, walking to buses and school and all that. It's rough man.

Well we only have one class every day but it lasts a full 3 hours. Dang. We are still done by noon though so it's cool. We have lunch then do whatever. We can leave, stay, go home, go out. It's sweet. Today was History. It's the history of Nicaragua. There's a lot to be said about it. As I learn, so will you, don't worry. It's interesting though, intriguing and sad. Lots of politics, lots of corruption. Being from Chicago, I certainly know plenty about all of that (sad face). All afternoon though I worked on setting up this intense blog. I want to have an entry for every day, a document for everyone to see and a record for my future when I want to look back and reflect. It's also great therapy to write down these days of my life and allow others in to comment and reflect as well. Thank you for being part of this. It is definitely a lot of work though. I've been trying to put up more photos on this blog but it takes forever so they will all by on my FACEBOOK page. You can search for me: Dilaun White on that main page. I don't let free loading internet junkies look at my personal information so you'll probably have to sign up to Facebook and send me a friend request so you can view my photos. It may sound complicated but I promise this is all relatively simple. Then you can see where I've been and where I'm going in full color.

Back to the day, well after class, I walked to the bus with a few people. It's cool to just walk and look at the unique beauty of this place. It's not traditionally beautiful, poverty is abundantly clear in most cases but nonetheless it is beautiful to me. It is funny though because on the walk in to the Nehemiah Center and home, there is this ridiculously long path which takes a good 15-20 minutes. On one corner there is this group of men who literally sit outside all day waiting for trucks to drive by and ask for workers. They just sit all day though. It reminds me of that Jim Carrey movie Fun with Dick & Jane. But these guys like I've heard would happen whistle and say crazy things to us ladies when we walk past. I'm just glad I don't know that much Spanish yet so it's easy to ignore them. I have no idea that they're talking to me or about me anyway. One time some guy was talking and I thought he was saying something to the ladies I was with but he said something like bonita negrita or something which means like beautiful black girl. People are funny. It can get annoying but I don't care. I said that looking and speaking is one thing but if someone tries to touch me, then we have a serious problem and the sweet Dilaun will certainly disappear. I don't play that. But they don't do anything, they just talk noise.

A couple interesting things about Nicaragua I thought I'd share in this entry: First of all, the currency. It's cordobas and roughly 20 cordobas = $1 in the U.S. It's insane how cheap stuff is. One bus costs like 2.50 cords which is like 20 cents in dollars. A movie is like $3.50 in US dollars and there's a 2 for 1 movie deal on Tuesdays. Wild! We take 2 buses to get to school and to get home.

Another thing is dogs. There are dogs EVERYWHERE!! Not owned by anyone...just there walking around all over. Some people do own dogs and keep them chained up but many dogs just roam the streets eating garbage and such. They don't bother people and seem scared usually. I still would never touch one. What I want to know is where the heck are they coming from?

Another thing that's interesting and different is that there are no street names. Not only no street signs but no street names. I was told that after the earthquake years ago, they just didn't do street names anymore because everything was destroyed. When they tried it, people had gotten used to their own version of directions so it wasn't worth spending the money to creat signs no one would use. So Only major roads have names and even then it's usually the kilometer it falls on or something. So when people tell directions, they use a landmark and say go 3 blocks from that then right and down 6 blocks and so on. Wow, you really gotta know where you live. No addresses either. How do they survive? They manage well actually.

Finally, cold showers. Oh yes, no hot water my friends. At first I was like :cringe: but it's really not bad at all. When I wake up in the morning, it's already like 80 degrees or higher it feels like. We are much closer to the equator down here. I get up by about 6 am so by the time I shower and get dressed, I'm already hot again. I finally get it and so living in hot weather, I now appreciate cold showers.

To make it clear, these are all things that I've noticed, no complaints about any of it, just observations. But I also have to make it clear that I have cable tv and internet at my house so I'll take a cold shower anyday. Thanks for reading!!

Day 4 February 1, 2009

Wow. It's February. I made it past the first couple days so far and I'm confident about what's to come. I definitely am learning my share of spanish words. It's broken of course much like Alex and Maria's english. We seem to manage though really well. Still, there is quite a ways to go. I must say, chillin at home with mi familia is pretty sweet. They are cool peoples and I think our relationship is going to get tighter as we go. Well today is Sunday and I went with Alex and Maria to church. It was this church called Hosana. It was gigantic. First of all, it was far from the house and service started at ten. We left about 9:45 or so. One thing I like and dislike about the Nicaraguan culture is the subject of punctuality. They are never "on time" as we Americans would call it because they don't have to be. It is a foundational structure in their culture to show up whenever they show up. If you have a meeting at 9am and they show up 30 mins, 60 mins or even an hour and a half later at times, it's ok because it's to be expected. At church people show up whenever they want and leave whenever they want. It was on the nicer side of town and reminded me a bit of my own home church. There were these beautiful large glass windows and they stay open the whole service so there can be a decent breeze flowing. The church also sits on a hill and it overlooks Laguna de Managua (the lake of Managua) and it is gorgeous. You can see a little bit of this on the photo right at the top of my blog which I took. Muy bonita! In church I didn't understand much but some of the songs were songs that I've sung in my church so that was cool. Afterwards, they talked to a few people and introduced me to some friends they know.

When we left, we went to la supermercado PriceMart for a rug, some folding chairs and a box of donuts. Americans ya know?!! haha I don't ask for these things but they are sweet for trying to make me feel like I'm back home. I like that. I also do think they are trying to get me fat. The portions I receive during breakfast and dinner at home are easily 2-3 times as much as everyone else. La gordita (fat girl, roughly) Maria told me. No Gracias!!!

Then we went to get lunch at some Pollo restaurante (chicken). It was really tasty. There was onion, corn tortillas, bean dip and chicken of course. For dessert we got a little cup that was like flan and bread pudding. Delicioso. We also saw the pastor there so I met him and his family. At home, I took a short nap because the -itis had set in.

Since it was SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!! We went to an Americano restaurante called Hippos. We all had stuff like burgers and fries. I had a bacon burger (Dominic I'm sure you are surprised to hear that) :-) If you didn't know, Pittsburgh won of course but it was a good game. The fourth quarter is always so interesting. Afterwards, caught a taxi and went straight to bed at home. School begins Monday morning and from now on, Monday through Friday I gotta get up by 5:30 or 6am to catch the bus by 7 and get to class by 9. Aye Dios Mio! And yet Santo, Santo, Santo el Senor Dios poderoso. Buenas noche. (translation: Oh my God! and yet Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. Good night.)

Day 3 January 31, 2009

I do wish I had been told about the "make sure shorts are at least to the knee or below" rule. Nicaraguan men and women are very conservation in their clothing. It produces less attention which makes sense and the women who wear short stuff are usually prostitutes. Not that my clothing choices are ridiculous but I definitely need to go shopping ahaha! I was so glad this morning when I woke up and had a fan going. I'm pretty sure if Maria and Alex didn't buy one for me last night, I would have suffocated. This heat is outrageous. I slept really well and got over the shock of being here. I know that it'll take some inner strength on my part and the support of my loved ones back home but I'm only here a few short months. No more tears since Dom's email yesterday. Last night I read scripture and journaled. I think I'm going to use Proverbs as my book of choice for this trip. I'm reading that in my NIV and James in my Message bible. I'll post verses that stand out from time to time. Me and the kids watched a soccer game and the Latino Disney channel again. It was a movie with that girl from Princess Diaries. This house is sweet. I'm glad I'm here. A perfect fit and if were not for Alex and Maria being so energetic yet chill, Nicaragua coulda put my torch out like Survivor, hung it up, no stallionaire chain like on Real Chance of Love. I might have opted out...gone home. Who knows?

Todo el dia we had an activity around the city of Managua. I'll post some of the photos but it was basically so we could try to get to know the city, the buses and taxis. It was a really long day but it went pretty smooth. We did take the crazy buses I had talked about in previous posts but it didn't seem that wild while I was on it. People keep to themselves...getting on and getting off.  I still gotta keep my head on straight of course but I'm understanding Nicaraguans are people just like I am. We just move to different rhythms. It was a lot of fun today though. We had two guys. One Nicaraguan and one North American who spoke spanish really well and translated for us when Selin our Nica friend couldn't find the right words. We went all over the city, to malls like Metro Centro (an Americanish mall with movie theater and stuff), out to eat, to Mercado Huembes which is like a big flea market, Loma de Tiscapa which is a landmark with a lot of history involving the earthquake that destroyed the city, the wars, the revolution, the Plaza de la Revolucion which has the President's house and Esperanza coffee shop where they have internet hook-ups. It was cool though I don't remember all the buses we take and taxis are interesting. They name a price and you can always get it for less.

At night Alex and Maria had a bible study for children at the house. It was cool and they even did a couple songs in English for me. Later we ate then watched Pirates of the Carribean yet again on the Disney channel. 

Day 2 January 30, 2009

I really would have been glad to say that I woke up this morning happily adjusted and ready for all the new experiences I will have this semester. It's my last semester of college. But to be honest, it just was not like that at all. The only things I was excited about this morning was the bright, hot sun and the pineapple at breakfast. I was very uneasy. I, at this point am thinking that I will certainly never get used to any of this. It's too different and I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go home. I want to be with my boyfriend and family. I want to see familiar sights and do the things that make me comfortable. I want to be able to stay outside after the sun goes down which is about 6pm. Being here, I am forcing myself into things that make me UNcomfortable. Who DOES that? Honestly?? I wanted to cry all day, hoping I didn't make a bad decision. Well at least cry for most of it. We had orientation all day and it was just listening to all the things that are different and all the emotions that we'll experience. How dangerous some things can be and how cautious I must be. The boys seem like they're cool, calm and collected which is what I try to do but I know they feel like I do. Feeling like this is completely overwhelming all at once. The Nehemiah Center where we had orientation is really pretty. There are both North American and Nicaraguan people on staff. It's really cool. Very open space. It's an equal mix of indoors and outdoors with nature. It was a very long day of orientation and nervousness and hesitation but also encouragement because I know that I will survive. I just gotta be smart and remember all those things my parents have taught me about watching my surroundings. 

I also got an email from Dominic today that really helped me put this whole experience back into perspective. He's great at that even thousands of miles away. He's very supportive :-) (I love you...sorry everyone else but that was just for him) Your words put me at peace and God will watch over me, you're right.  Anyways, I also got to talk on the phone with my mom for a quick second. I'm just glad she picked up the phone. I LOVE YOU MOM and DAD and MO and MONEY and ADEOLA!! Don't be nervous, I'll be okay. You did your part by training up your child in the way I should go and now that I'm older, I won't depart from it. I'm praying for you just as you're praying for me.

Tonight, I met my host parents, Alex and Maria Suarez. I'm so lucky. I live in a good neighborhood and close to other people that work at the Nehemiah Center. They are great though and will totally make this experience richer. They speak little to no english so communicating is a bit challenging but I am learning and so are they. I have my own room. They have a niece and nephew who stay with them often, Emily and Nolan who don't speak English at all but we watch the Disney channel in Spanish together and bond. We went grocery shopping the first night. They have a membership at this grocery store called PriceMart which is like Sam's Club and WalMart put together. Then they got me dinner at Subway which is funny and completely unexpected. When I'm with them, people assume I'm either Latina, Haitian or Carribean because black people usually come from the Carribean coast and speak spanish. Even though people speak and I don't understand, it is nice knowing I don't stand out as much since I have dark skin like the Nicaraguans do as opposed to Dan and Stephen who are bright white lights and occasionally rich moving targets. :)

Oh and the photos I posted are of my room. I also have my own bathroom which is cool. Just some of my stuff and then a view out of my room into the living room. As hopefully you can see, the architecture leaves things very open. Even though it's about 90 degrees and will only get hotter in the coming months, there is no air conditioning. The air is natural and comes through the open spaces. Notice how the wall does not connect to the ceiling but leaves room like a big window should be there. This is how all houses are built. The breeze is beautiful. The birds are right outside and the sun beams down right into the house. See the beautiful palm tree outside my room, I wake up to that every morning.

Day 1 January 29, 2009

Finally got on the plane. Said my last good-byes. Bittersweet. On one hand, I am terribly sad to go for I will miss the comforts of home, my family, my language etc. On the other hand, I am about to embark on a journey not many others are as fortunate to take in a lifetime. The plane rides were fairly short. 3 hours from Chicago to Houston. 3 hour layover. Then 3 hours from Houston to Managua. This trip includes Daniel Sealy from Trinity, Stephen Winkelman from Cornerstone and myself. Jeff DeKock is the program director who also traveled with us. We are all very very different people with different personalities so it'll certainly be interesting to see how this all pans out over the upcoming months. Dan and I speak no Spanish while Stephen speaks a little. He also has been all over to different places around the world like Dubai in India, Germany and most recently in Costa Rica. All for mission trips. Here we are, a unique group of students on a journey abroad. 

When we first arrived...ok even before all this, as a side note: The flight from Chicago to Houston was a jet and it was so small that my small carry-on bag wouldn't fit. I was in the second to last seat and every time I looked out the window, I could see the engine by my face. No me gusta! Okay anyways, so we land in Managua and many passengers were North Americans on vacation or mission trips. Needless to say, when we arrive we certainly look like we don't belong.  So we go through customs and it takes FOREVER well just the line I happened to be in. So after that, you pick up your luggage and stand in another long line to get questioned about your luggage before you leave. Well when we were in Chicago, Jeff checked some of his video equipment as my second bag. As I'm standing in the customs line, I find out that it's all super high-tech equipment that could seem suspicious. GREAT!! (sarcasm) Yeah so I basically lie to the girl because she asked if I had clothes in one of my bags and I said yes. Personally this can't really be my fault because she could have phrased the question better.  Anyways, that's done but then it's real Nicaraguan people. These people certainly hustle well. Everybody's trying to get something especially from all the super "rich" Northerners that just arrived.  Learning to say "No" used to be hard for me but I think it'll become my favorite word after this trip.

Going through traffic is one surprise after the other. First of all it was shocking. Red lights and stop signs are optional at night. Usually during the day too. If you pause and honk the horn to warn people, that's considered safe driving. Buses are the cheapest form of transportation so those are every where. We saw one barrel through a red light and totally could've killed anyone on the road. Another was absolutely packed with people and had spanish music blaring. A moving party they are.  Roads are terrible and every corner like in some Chicago neighborhoods or all around Miami are people. People are every where all on the grind. Washing windows, begging, selling fruits which I would never ever buy. I've seen this before so that's no big deal but something I hadn't seen was a man dressed as a clown juggling between cars at about 10 pm. This is truly another world. I mean Talk about culture shock.