Goodbyes

I will be in chilly Minnesota around 10:00 tonight!!  All of the other students already left about 5:30 this morning, so I am alone at the Nehemiah Center and thought it would be a good time to write my last blog post.  This last week has been full of fun, but also full of goodbyes.

Last Friday, we went to the pre-school graduation for my cousin Mareling.  It was fun to have a big family get together and the younger cousins were all hyper and crazy, so it reminded me of my family at home.  Saturday was spent finishing up homework things and buying the rest of the souvenirs I needed.  Sunday I went with Lisa, her host sister Yenny, and another girl from our church, Maria to the movie theater and central park.  We watched the new Twilight movie, which we all thought was terrible and made fun of the whole time, and then went out for ice cream.  It was a fun night and Yenny and Maria made sure that lots of pictures were taken. 
Monday we went to the Nehemiah Center for two of our final presentations for class.  They all went really well and were very creative. All of our classes have been pretty laid back and we are very comfortable around each other, so it made for fun presentations.  Tuesday we had our last presentation and then went out for ice cream with Zhenia, our professor and friend here in Nicaragua. 
Tuesday night I also had a goodbye dinner with my family.  Many extended family members came, and we all ate around a table for the first time all semester.  I even got to help cook the supper, another first!  After eating, my mom had everyone go around the table and say things to me, which was really sweet.  Then we had a piñata that my sister made.  Unfortunately, most of the candy had shattered by the time the piñata was broken open, but it was still a fun time and we got to see my papito break out some dance moves.  After most of the family had left, Oscar and Indira taught me some new card games and then I taught them one, Presidents.  They loved playing that so we ended up playing it the next night too!  Once everyone else had left, my mom and sisters and I sat on the porch for the last time.  
Wednesday was my last full day in Leon, so we made the most of it.  For lunch we went to Tip Top, the Nicaragua version of KFC and had a "Christmas turkey" family dinner.  In the evening, we had our Despedida, or the goodbye party with all the families hosting students.  It was a fun time, we had another piñata, each family had a special activity planned, and then after supper, us students did a fun skit.  After the party, it was interesting because Wednesday was a holiday in Nicaragua.  It is called the "Griteria" and is similar to our Halloween in appearance, but has very different motives.  It is a Catholic holiday, meaning our Evangelical families don't really support it, and all of the rich families put an altar in their house to the Virgin Mary.  Everyone else then goes around with giant bags and gets candy, food, plastic cups, and other items from the houses.  The streets were very full this night, so it was kind of crazy out.  We didn't do anything too exciting, we went to visit another family from the church and I got to kind of watch what was going on, and then when us kids were bored, we went back to our house.  Indira and Oscar wanted to play Presidents again, so I taught Xochilt and Jefferson and we all played.  Later, Lisa and Yenny stopped by to play/watch too.  We ended up playing cards until about 1, with Papito and Mama joining in later on.  It was a fun last night with my family with memories that will last a lifetime.  
Yesterday, we left our families in the morning to come to Managua.  We spent the day at a private pool, doing some debriefing and mostly hanging around and goofing off.  Alicia and Maynor were there to spend the day with us.  After supper, we had cake for Curtis's birthday that is tomorrow.  I was excited because with all this celebrating and parties we've been having, cake, or any type of dessert, is not a thing that gets eaten, which is sad because that is my favorite part!  The rest of the night was fun hanging out with the other students, as we remembered all the funny times we had over the semester.  
I am now trying to prepare myself to experience a cold shock when I step off the plane in Minneapolis.  I have a busy 4 weeks planned until school starts again, so I hope I am able to keep moving enough to not notice the cold. 
Thank you so much for your prayers during the semester! I had such a great experience and learned so much.  Continue to pray for safe travels today, a joyous holiday season, and our families here in Nicaragua who were sad to see us go.

One week left!

With one week left, I think it is appropriate to list some of the things I’m looking forward to when I get back to the US. 

• Milk-I haven’t had an actual glass of milk since being here, which for this milk-aholic, hasn’t been easy
• Twizzlers- I’m not sure why, but this week I suddenly developed a craving for these
• Chocolate-this is something I’ve craved all semester, as there isn’t much chocolate here
• Fresh chocolate chip cookies/basically all desserts- Also something that I absolutely love and haven’t been able to have here
• Bread-The bread here is usually pretty dry and flavorless, so I am looking forward to really good bread, maybe even some homemade by my grandma
• Peanut butter- For some reason, PB&J sandwiches are one of the first things I missed when I got here, so I am excited to be able to have a PB&J sandwich, Reese’s peanut butter cups, and anything with peanut butter!
• Driving- I don’t usually like to drive if I don’t have to, but after a semester of public transportation, I am excited to be able to go where I want when I want again
• Target- I love this store and miss it when I am just in Sioux Center, so it will be exciting to go shopping again, in any larger store for that matter
• Church- I have been to church an average of 2-3 times per week here, and it would take me a whole other post to describe it, so I’ll just say it’s different and I am excited to get back to worshipping in English and in a style that I am more comfortable with
• Family- This is probably the longest I have ever been away from my family, and while I’m not super homesick, it will be really nice to see them again!
• Friends- Thank goodness for Skype, which has allowed me to stay in contact with my friends and family, but I am excited to get to hang out with my friends again and be crazy with them

There are also some things that I will miss when I go home:

• The weather- this is probably going to be the thing I miss the most, not going to lie…this weather is perfect!  I will probably freeze for the rest of the winter in Minnesota/Iowa, so don’t be surprised if I am always bundled up.
• My host family- They have been a great family to live with and have already told me many times I have to come back and visit with my family sometime
• Fruit- There is always fresh fruit, or fruit juice around here, which is hard to find in winter in the mid-west
• Pulperias- These are small “convenience” stores that are usually connected to the owner’s home.  There are about 2 or 3 on every block and they are very convenient if you need a snack, drink, notebook, or pretty much any other basic need.  Contrary to my previous comment about being able to go to a big store, I will miss these little stores too.
• Prices- Everything here is very cheap, I can get an ice cream cone for about 35 cents, a bottle of pop for a dollar, or a bag of chips for less than 10 cents.  It’s going to be hard for me to get used to paying full prices for everything again.
• Ice cream- speaking of ice cream, I’m going to miss its availability here.  There are ice cream carts that are constantly where ever you are and the  Eskimo ice cream stores have delicious ice cream, again for really cheap.  Blue Bunny just isn’t the same.

And since I haven't posted pictures for a while...here are a few from the last few weeks

Mama, Me, Indira, and Oscar at the Quinceanos celebration 

Gigantonas like this one roam the streets with drummers telling stories, and one night my family paid for one to dance for us

The Gigantona with her band of drummers and Pepe Cabezon, who also dances

This afternoon, I am going with my family to a pre-school graduation for my cousin.  The pre-school graduation is just as big of a deal as a high school graduation, so we will all be dressed up and then have dinner at their house afterwards.  I am pretty excited to see what it will be like.  The rest of the weekend I will be finishing up projects and papers for my classes next week.  

Please keep Alicia, our program coordinator, in your prayers as she is expecting a baby and has been placed on bed rest for the week.  It throws some changes in our schedule for the week, but we are hoping for the best!

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was the first Thanksgiving I have ever spent away from family.  That being said, it was nothing to exciting.  I didn’t really feel like I was missing out on anything because I know that I will be there in just 2 short weeks, plus it is a whole lot warmer here!  I had a very uneventful week at Rancho Ebenezer and came back yesterday so I could spend a little more time here in Leon with my family.  I also got the chance to Skype with my family after they finished turkey dinner.  The plans for the weekend are to work on my final projects and papers, and maybe head to the beach.  

Since it was Thanksgiving yesterday, here are a few things I am grateful for:

• My family and friends that I get to see soon!
• The wonderful family I have here
• My awesome classmates who have been there to share all the crazy experiences
• Skype, so I can talk to people all over the world
•  Life, and the long life that my great-grandmother had
• The amazing chance I have had to spend over 3 months in Nicaragua
• Music to listen to at night and whenever I need some me time
• Animals and the chance to learn about them no matter where I go
• My Spanish improving so I can have actual conversations with my host family
• An education that will hopefully leave me prepared for a job in May
•  Most of all, a God who forgives our sins and loves us no matter what

Most of these are pretty typical and cliché, but I can’t think of anything too creative right now.

Too many thoughts

Being at Rancho Ebenezer usually gives me lots of time to think about things and the beginning of this week was no different.  I’m not usually one to share my thoughts with everyone, but here are just a few things I’ve been thinking about lately. 

The future: As my time here is quickly coming to an end and I have to realize that I am a senior in college, I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do when I graduate and have to “grow up.”  I haven’t come to any solid decisions, but my experiences here in Nicaragua have definitely given me more to think about and helped me see options for my future.  Right now, these are the three things running through my head the most. 1) I still look back on my experience this past summer and through college and would love to work on a farm with animals…somewhere. 2) I am still very interested in animal nutrition and would love to find a job that deals with that…just not sure what that job would be. 3) I would still love to work overseas with farmers in developing countries at some point.  Besides these ideas, I have had to think about where I want to be, how many of these jobs I am actually qualified for, and where would I find these kind of jobs. 

Then I was listening to music this week and the song At Your Feet by Casting Crowns came on.  One verse especially spoke to me:

Here at Your feet

I lay my future down

All of my dreams

I give to You now and

I find peace

I find peace

So, in my search for what the future brings, I lay the worries at Jesus’s feet while I continue searching and deciding.

Goodbyes: I met a girl from New Zealand on the bus this week and after parting our separate ways I got thinking about something I have thought about many times before.  It always amazes me how many times we meet people and then say goodbye without knowing if we will ever see them again.  It could be someone we talked to for an hour on a bus or someone we spent a week with on a trip, but once you each leave, each person goes on with their own life.  It’s especially crazy here, being in a different country, meeting new people almost every week.  In a month, we will go back to another country, while many of the people we have met will never get the chance to leave Nicaragua, and others will go on to other parts of the world.  Now being involved with the CRC and Dutch community through Dordt, many of these people we meet we are bound to make connections with at some point in the future because that is how the Dutch people are, but there are many we may never see again.  Saying goodbye in December to my host family will be difficult most likely, because, although I hope to get back here someday, only God knows our futures.  It will be more difficult than saying goodbye to my friends and family in the States was, because I knew in August that I would most likely be seeing everyone again shortly.  

Ok, enough of my thoughts for now.  Thankfully, after a Monday full of those thoughts, my brain was busy the rest of the week learning.  Tuesday I learned all there is to know about rabbits.  In the morning, Carlos taught me what he knows and I learned about breeding rabbits and saw the charts where they keep track of all the rabbits.  In the afternoon, I went with Yaser, who takes care of rabbits all day long.  He taught me more about the care of rabbits and I got to tattoo a few rabbits’ ears.  Since all of this was in Spanish, my brain had to work extra hard to understand and retain the information, but I think I learned a lot.  Wednesday I also did a lot of learning in the afternoon.  I went with Carlos to a presentation in town on chickens.  A lot of the information was pretty basic stuff, but still interesting.  It was especially neat to see the differences between what I know about chicken production in the Midwest compared to Central America.

Now I am in Leon for a short weekend before going back to Rancho Ebenezer.  Tomorrow I am excited because we are going to a Quinceanara.  I hope that it is as fun as I think it will be.  Other than that, I am busy working on final papers and projects for my classes, so I keep plenty busy.

It is hard to believe that my time here is coming to an end, but I am super excited to see everyone and super not excited to be cold…but I’ll survive.

Costa Rica- Pura Vida

Pura Vida is the slogan of Costa Rica and means pure life.  This week we got to spend time in Nicaragua’s neighbor to the south.  While there, we got to be tourists, students, and we got to relax.  We left our houses last Saturday morning for Managua where we went ziplining on Mombacho volcano.  It was awesome! There were 11 platforms and various different types of ziplines.  Then Sunday morning we got up super early to be on the 7:00 bus to Costa Rica.  It was election day here in Nicaragua, so not many people were leaving the country and the border crossing went fairly quick.  We got to San Jose by 3:30, an hour and a half earlier than expected.  Then we got to go to where we would be spending the week.  

 We were each responsible for taking pictures of the people behind us ziplining, so here is Maynor on one of the lines.

We stayed at Whitworth College campus, in an old French restaurant up in the mountains.  As soon as we got there, we knew we were going to be spoiled.  It is a beautiful place with surroundings that remind me of Colorado.  Other plusses of staying there: hot showers and really good food!  The downside: it was cold!!! We were not expecting it to be quite that cold, so we spent many nights shivering in front of a fire.  Because it was so cold up at the campus, we forgot that spending all day Tuesday in the city would be warmer.  

 A view from the campus of Whitworth University

We went into San Jose Tuesday morning to a neighborhood called La Carpio.  This neighborhood is primarily made up of Nicaraguans who have immigrated over the last 20 years looking for a better life.  We spent the morning with Christ for the City, playing soccer and volleyball with the kids there.  Then in the afternoon, we went around with Cesar, a pastor who lives in La Carpio.  Cesar is very well respected in the community and took us to a bunch of different houses and people walking in the streets.  We got the chance to interview the people about their lives in Costa Rica and their homeland of Nicaragua.  It was very interesting, as Cesar took us to the poorest of the poor in La Carpio.  We even talked to a gang member who was staking out his gang’s territory.  Unfortunately, none of us had thought to put on sunscreen that morning and we all looked like we had been at the beach for too long by the end of the day.

Monday we spent on the campus doing things for class.  In the morning we had a long anticipated debate over different theories of development we have been learning over the semester.  We weren’t entirely prepared, but it went fairly well I think.  In the afternoon we got the chance to walk around the 27 acre campus, full of trees and blackberries.  Then we watched a movie called Nica/raguense, about the Costa Rican view of Nicaraguans living in their country.  It was an interesting preview of what we would see Tuesday in La Carpio.

To complement our learning about the Nicaraguan immigration, Tuesday night we had a speaker from the Costa Rican Housing department come in and speak to us.  All of the discussions were especially interesting because we had Maynor, a Nicaraguan, with us.  Maynor had never been to Costa Rica before, but had many preconceptions about the country and its people coming from a rivalry between the two countries.  This brought an interesting twist to many of our conversations and gave us an extra view into the relationship between these neighboring countries.

The rest of the week we got to spend being tourists for the most part.  We spent Wednesday in downtown San Jose, walking down the main drag and visiting the Museum of Gold.  It is definitely a different world from Nicaragua in Costa Rica.  Everything is much more American/European looking and it is not hard to see that Costa Rica is a richer country.  It was really hard to believe we were still in Central America with the cooler climate and the modern things all around us. 

Yesterday, our last day in Costa Rica, we were going to go to Volcano Poas, but it was too cloudy, so instead we headed to a Waterfall garden.  It was rainy while we were there, but it was still a really cool place to go.  On the walk down to the waterfalls, there were many plants and animals, like a zoo and botanical garden mixed in one.  We got to hold toucans, see all different kinds of hummingbirds up close, play with a jaguar through the glass, and try some traditional Costa Rican cake and tea.  Then we walked down to the 4 waterfalls.  It was a beautiful hike, with many fun pictures taken along the way.

 Me holding a toucan!! It felt super weird.

 An awesome tree frog

 One of the waterfalls

This morning we had to leave at 3:30, so most of us just stayed up all night and slept on the bus ride.  Thankfully, our travels all went without any big problems and now we are all in Leon, although very tired.  Next week, everyone starts their Service Learning portion of the semester.  I will go back to Rancho Ebenezer, but this time I get to stay Monday through Friday, so I am hoping to get to do some new things.  Four weeks from today I will be flying back to the bitter cold of Minnesota.  Crazy! The time here has just flown by, so I am hoping to make the most of the last month.