Reflection

By the time I'm done here in Nicaragua, I will be able to share pictures, stories, projects, and adventures, but nobody back home will fully understand the experiences, challenges, people, culture, and happiness I've encountered, undergone, tolerated, fought, etc.  It has been quite a roller coaster of a life here so far and I'm sure the second year will have much more in store for me.  Teaching has become a little sporadic lately, and I'm having feelings of not being able to accomplish much and laziness, but I need to move on and just continue with the things that I can control.

I feel incredibly blessed by the encouragement and support from family and friends outside of my little Peace Corps world, outside of my Nicaragua bubble.  I also feel so blessed for what I have here.  This is a part of me.  It's different.  It's strange sometimes.  It's overwhelming.  It's so different than moving to another city to go to school for 2 years and renting an apartment.  I'm living with these people.  I've become part of their family, and they're part of mine.  My Peace Corps friends and Nicaraguans alike.  I've been asked to be the godmother of my little nephew here.  It's certainly going to be hard to leave this place and have to say goodbye, but I have all of next year to prepare myself.  I'm not sure exactly how that will go, but I know that God has been preparing me for this.  It's incredible to see the kinds of people I have met here (both American and Nica) and how they've shaped my world view.  An experience like this definitely opens up your eyes, mind, and heart to see, listen, and feel who others are and what they are about.  Although we may share different beliefs, cultural dynamics, backgrounds and experiences, we are still able to communicate, live, and share our lives together.  I think of this as an incredible learning experience.

I like the word "incredible" because it means "beyond belief".  I never could have imagined how my life here in Peace Corps and in Nicaragua would be.  I never could have imagined who I would have met and what I would have said.  But, I love it.  It's things like this that take us for surprise and take us beyond what we ever expected and force us to trust, hold on tight, and enjoy the adventure.