San Juan Surf

This week my brother and sister-in-law came out to visit for spring break. We headed out to the Pacific Coast with the intent of surfing and relaxing at the beach everyday. I am happy to report that is exactly what we did.

Although my previous attempt to surf failed, this one did not. I got up multiple times and can't wait till the next time I get to ride the waves. We rented a beautiful house that was only a five minuet or less drive to the beach. My brother Vince's favorite part of the trip was the 4 cylinder turbo-diesel Toyota Hilux. San Juan del Sur is full of steep mountains creating bumpy rides, but we throughly enjoyed them together.

Having air conditioning and a blanket to sleep with was another one of my highlights. Overall, the week was spectacular; we surfed, talked, relaxed, ate, and played cards. I feel re-energized now. God has been showing me a lot and I am excited to see what else he has in store for the next 7 weeks of my internship.

Love and Peace

P.S. If you read my blog and have not clicked "follow" I would love it if you did. That way I can know who I am writing to. Thanks!

Buen Trato, Cada Rato

Yesterday I went up to Chinandega, about 2 1/2 hours north, for the day. I went with an organization that I will be working with for the next 7 weeks. We visited a couple of secondary schools, 7-12th graders, to talk to them about domestic violence. We gave them a vaccination against abuse, the vaccination was a lollipop. The students faces were filled with relief, they thought we were actually going to give them a shot!

Along with the lolipop, we gave them a bookmark. The book mark had a white heart where the students would put thier fingerprint. This was thier pledge that they would not be a violent person and they would treat people with respect. We also gave them a bracelet.

The organization is called Buen Trato Cada Rato. They are working to prevent domestic violence before it becomes a huge problem. The Nehemiah Center has many programs that try and prevent epidemics and such before they become overwhelming. I think that is a good thing to do, instead of waiting to act until it becomes a big problem.

It was a long day and I wasn't feeling very good, but it was really cool to see what this organization actually does. This is one of the organizations that I will be writing for.

AND I'M VERY EXCITED BECAUSE I'M ON SPRING BREAK!

Centro Nehemias

The Nehemiah Center is where I spend most of my time. It is an organization that contains multiple non-profits that are working to rebuild the walls of Nicaragua. Nicaragua has had many natural disasters, wars, and political instability. The organizations within the center work in various cities in Nicaragua to train the leaders with a biblical worldview, help communities see what potential they have, and aids them along in the process. The offices are all open and form a square, all surrounding the gazebo.

The top/middle picture is the "Rancheron." This is where we eat our lunches with the staff, relax, and many times have class. The top/left photo is Leonor and I. Leonor and I talk everyday. She has become a good friend of mine. We have English class once or twice a week because she is studying English and gets good practice with me. Likewise, I can practice my Spanish with her.

The top/right is Mercedes. Mercedes cooks us lunch everyday. I am blessed to eat her food, its muy sabroso (very tasty)!

Tomorrow I am having my last day of class, I will be taking my Spanish Final, it should take me three hours to complete! We had a meeting this week to finalize my internship plans. I will start it after spring break.

I have a couple main objectives during my seven week internship:

1. To work closely with the Nehemiah Center staff on materials in support of the work being done on HIV/AIDS and Domestic Violence. This will include promotional materials which will be used to attract donors and articles which can be used in publications.
2. To pursue an independent study on the issue of sex trafficking in Nicaragua. I will do research on the topic and summarize my findings.

3. Work on the promotion of the Trinity Semester in Nicaragua program. This includes coming up with creative strategies, gathering personal testimonies, rewriting promotional materials, etc.

Next week is Spring Break. My brother and sister-in-law, Vince and Lauren, are heading down to Nicaragua. Greg and I will be spending the week in San Juan Del Sur with them. I am really looking forward to relaxing and seeing some family!

Love and Peace

Gracias a Dios es Viernes

Out of all the Gringo(name for Americans) restaurants to have, Managua has TGIFridays. We need a break from the culture immersion and were in serious need of a night out; we headed to TGIF for dessert.

While devouring our scrumptious dessert, we realized what a family we have become. Its amazing how we never run out of things to talk about. This year, they decided to do things a bit differently and have us all live together in one house. The first month it was a bit difficult because all you want to do is experience the culture without any hindrances. Living with three other North Americans hinders that a bit.

Now, during the second month, we are extremely grateful to have each other. Living in a culture that has virtually no similarities to your usual one definitely has its ups and downs. Having others to "talk through" the frustrations and funny moments is extremely important in this context. Even though we all come from different worlds, we have all have the same thing in common, everything here is different.

I am grateful for my roommates here. I am grateful for this opportunity to be stretched.

I am also grateful for my health because somehow, I am the only one out of us four who is not sick. I escaped the sick house to relax at Cafe Latina and get some homework done for the afternoon. Pray for them though, all of their stomachs are churning.

Love and Peace

Feliz Cumpleanos Gregorio!

Greg had his 21st birthday on Monday! Everyone made it very special for him.

The day was started when Roberto and Yasert(I found out is spelled Jasser), played a wake up song and a birthday song outside of Greg's door. Jasser played the marimba and Roberto played a ukulele.

After class, I took Greg out to Todoasada for dinner. Todoasada is this great "hole in the wall" restaurant, that is only tree blocks from our house, with the most delicious meat and ensalada! Greg got carne asada(some type of beef) and I got pollo(chicken). It is one of our favorite places in Managua to eat.

After dinner, Greg and I walked back home and we had a fiesta. There was cake, very loud music, many speeches, toasts, singing, and laughter. Then on Tuesday, Griselda made a special dinner in honor of Greg's birthday.


Nicas Love to Celebrate Life!

Ometepe

Ometepe was beautiful. It took five hours to get there. We had to take a bus and a ferry, but it was worth it. We had planned on doing some adventurous things like hiking, biking, kayaking, etc., but that did not happen. We decided to relax, I was very happy about that decision.

We stayed in two different hostels. The first night we saw a beautiful sun set and took a walk through the little town. The second night we were at Finca Magdelena. B-E-Autiful. Everything is so cheap so, we lived it up and ate some really good food, walked to a rocky beach, and played cards all night while staring at the two volcanoes in the short distance.

It took a lot of energy to get everywhere, but I slept in this morning till 7am. I feel rested and ready to start my last two weeks of class.

Love and Peace

Hay Muchas Cosas

A month in. A bit homesick. A lot to process at one time.

In the midst of every great thing there are always moments where you wish you could speed up time, or at least pause it to breathe. Yesterday I had a moment and thanks to Greg, I could talk it out.

At this particular point in my life I have a lot to think about, as far as my future goes. I have fallen in love with a lot of Nica things. If you don't know me, I get really excited and passionate about good things easily. In my brain, every other second I say I am going to move here, then the next one i am saying I just want to go back to Chicago. Its very exhausting. I am aware that I do not need to make that decision right now, so the next second I think "Joanna, stop thinking about that!"

Yesterday I was chopping away, dicing carrots and celery for dinner. Little ants were running rampantly across the table and the food. All I wanted to do was go and grab some bleach and raid, exterminate, and throw away the food! I had to contain my self, Griselda never seems to mind the ants, I didn't want to offend her. It is not that she is a dirty person at all, ants everywhere in the house is just normal. I have been able to get over some of my phobia of ants, but on days where I'm home sick and my mind is all over the place, its hard to find the strength to get over myself.