León is HOT. It's a heavy heat, reaching 38C/ 100F during the day and only cooling to 23C/ 73F at night. As we wait for the rains to come in a month, the air is starting to feel heavier. In Spanish, the word most often used is "suffocating." And they say it only gets worse until May when the rain comes.
In the midst of feeling hot, I've been wondering if sweating isn't such a cultural "gross" here as it is back home. I remember as a kid in junior high and high school there were always derogatory comments about "pitting out" when a person had sweat stains under their arms. Of course, a hard worker or a sports player will sweat, and it's not looked down upon unless they smell overly bad. On the other hand, people apologize for sweaty hugs in my circles.
Here, people walk around with soaking shirts, continue to kiss cheeks, and carry on as normal. Maybe I just don't hear the negative comments, but it seems like no one is grossed out by the sweatiness here. Maybe they're just used to it. One way or the other, it's something I need to adjust to yet.
Also, in the heat I tend to get crabby more easily (and I think others do too), so I'm praying for an extra measure of grace, peace, and patience in the next few months. Plus a few escapes to cooler climes. Guatemala last week was a wonderful reprieve, and I think a spiritual retreat on the lake during Holy Week will be also.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Impact Clubs
I just attended a really great week of sessions on a model for working with youth called Impact Clubs. It was born in Romania and focuses on experiential learning and community service-learning projects. Therefore, I got to meet two people from Romania! It was my job to "be their best friend" in the words of my supervisor, Steve. They arrived the weekend before the training, and indeed, I got to know Octavia and Kelly as friends. We went out to eat, prepared materials for the training, and talked about cultural differences among Nicaragua, Romania, and the US.
On Monday morning when the training began, I was both a participant as well as a resource person for logistics. We had a group of 31 participants including 2 Hondurans, 2 Mexicans, and Nicaraguans from ETU as well as partner organizations in the Nehemiah Center network. Throughout the week, we formed good relationships and got to know each other better. Because the Caminantes (Cohort of Missioners program) had already scheduled a visit to Guatemala to visit another group of the Cohort, we had to leave the training two days early. But I was comforted because I'll get to see the majority of the participants again within the next few months.
You see, we are going to start using this program in Nicaragua. And I have been chosen to be one of the local coaches, along with Roberto (my boss in ETU at the Nehemiah Center) and Guissel (my fellow member of the Cohort). So we will do follow-up visits with the leaders who were at this training week and encourage them in the process of starting a club.
These clubs are weekly meetings with a group of 10-20 youth in approximately the same age range. They meet weekly to play games, reflect on different themes, and plan community service-and-learning projects. The leaders' job is to FACILITATE discussion and learning. This will be a challenge in the Nicaraguan Christian community where preaching and teaching is more common than questioning and listening. However, it's a good thing for us to learn. I hope that God will give us as local coaches the skills, attitudes, and values we need to be good local coaches. And that we can be leaders of clubs in León, too!
On Monday morning when the training began, I was both a participant as well as a resource person for logistics. We had a group of 31 participants including 2 Hondurans, 2 Mexicans, and Nicaraguans from ETU as well as partner organizations in the Nehemiah Center network. Throughout the week, we formed good relationships and got to know each other better. Because the Caminantes (Cohort of Missioners program) had already scheduled a visit to Guatemala to visit another group of the Cohort, we had to leave the training two days early. But I was comforted because I'll get to see the majority of the participants again within the next few months.
You see, we are going to start using this program in Nicaragua. And I have been chosen to be one of the local coaches, along with Roberto (my boss in ETU at the Nehemiah Center) and Guissel (my fellow member of the Cohort). So we will do follow-up visits with the leaders who were at this training week and encourage them in the process of starting a club.
These clubs are weekly meetings with a group of 10-20 youth in approximately the same age range. They meet weekly to play games, reflect on different themes, and plan community service-and-learning projects. The leaders' job is to FACILITATE discussion and learning. This will be a challenge in the Nicaraguan Christian community where preaching and teaching is more common than questioning and listening. However, it's a good thing for us to learn. I hope that God will give us as local coaches the skills, attitudes, and values we need to be good local coaches. And that we can be leaders of clubs in León, too!
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Youth
The term "jóvenes" in Spanish literally means "youth." But the concept of youth in Nicaragua is different from the concept of youth in North America, at least in my experience.
For one thing, in my North American experience, once a person is out on their own (aka college), she is a "young adult" or some other useless term, but not a youth. When you're out of high school, you don't go to youth group anymore. You don't get youth prices at ball games or movie theatres. There are occasional youth nights at church, but those are geared toward teenagers. Once you hit twenty or move out of the house, you might even be taken seriously as a person rather than as a representative voice of the "youth." (Okay, that's a bit harsh... but sometimes it's true).
In my Nicaraguan experience, young people live with their families until they start their own families, and even afterwards there is usually a strong connection with their parents. "Jóvenes" can refer to anyone from 12 to 30, really, and the rules stretch for exceptions. Anyone who is unmarried without children counts as a youth, and they are invited to and expected to participate in youth activities. However, the youth are also more in charge of their own activities. They direct the weekly youth services at church. Young adults are in charge of organizing activities for other youth, but also for an entire congregation. Young people work in and out of the house to make money and to contribute to their families.
So in Nicaragua, the youth are a special segment of the population in some ways, but they are not isolated. They are given responsibilities in their communities from a youth age. When I visit with ETU teams who are directing a model of community development in their neighborhoods, I am with a range of people from age 16 to 60. The teenagers are not taken less seriously than the experienced pastors in the group.
With this outlook, I have begun to accept again that I am a "youth." Though I am not fully considered an adult here, I still have responsibilities in the greater community.
I have also been thinking about "youth" lately because this week I am involved in a training session for a model of working with youth called Impact Clubs. The trainers have come from Romania, and I am their guide and helper this weekend. Next week I will participate in the sessions with 35 other people to learn about how to lead these youth groups in my specific setting. I will write more about the IMPACT club training when I learn more. So far, I have been getting to know Octavia, telling her about my interpretation of Nicaragua, and learning about Romania as well. In other words, I'm accompanying her and walking alongside her in preparation for this intensive training week. It's a pretty appropriate role for me in this program of Missioners (Caminantes in Spanish) where our goal is to engage in many facets of life with people around us. And all the while, I'm a youth who can reach out to other young people as well as play a leadership role with other adults.
For one thing, in my North American experience, once a person is out on their own (aka college), she is a "young adult" or some other useless term, but not a youth. When you're out of high school, you don't go to youth group anymore. You don't get youth prices at ball games or movie theatres. There are occasional youth nights at church, but those are geared toward teenagers. Once you hit twenty or move out of the house, you might even be taken seriously as a person rather than as a representative voice of the "youth." (Okay, that's a bit harsh... but sometimes it's true).
In my Nicaraguan experience, young people live with their families until they start their own families, and even afterwards there is usually a strong connection with their parents. "Jóvenes" can refer to anyone from 12 to 30, really, and the rules stretch for exceptions. Anyone who is unmarried without children counts as a youth, and they are invited to and expected to participate in youth activities. However, the youth are also more in charge of their own activities. They direct the weekly youth services at church. Young adults are in charge of organizing activities for other youth, but also for an entire congregation. Young people work in and out of the house to make money and to contribute to their families.
So in Nicaragua, the youth are a special segment of the population in some ways, but they are not isolated. They are given responsibilities in their communities from a youth age. When I visit with ETU teams who are directing a model of community development in their neighborhoods, I am with a range of people from age 16 to 60. The teenagers are not taken less seriously than the experienced pastors in the group.
With this outlook, I have begun to accept again that I am a "youth." Though I am not fully considered an adult here, I still have responsibilities in the greater community.
I have also been thinking about "youth" lately because this week I am involved in a training session for a model of working with youth called Impact Clubs. The trainers have come from Romania, and I am their guide and helper this weekend. Next week I will participate in the sessions with 35 other people to learn about how to lead these youth groups in my specific setting. I will write more about the IMPACT club training when I learn more. So far, I have been getting to know Octavia, telling her about my interpretation of Nicaragua, and learning about Romania as well. In other words, I'm accompanying her and walking alongside her in preparation for this intensive training week. It's a pretty appropriate role for me in this program of Missioners (Caminantes in Spanish) where our goal is to engage in many facets of life with people around us. And all the while, I'm a youth who can reach out to other young people as well as play a leadership role with other adults.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Generosity
In this time of Lent, a lot of people are giving things up. It's a good spiritual discipline to give up certain things for a time in order to grow closer to God. However, this year, I learned about an opportunity to give things away instead of giving them up.
It's called 40 acts, and it is a challenge that includes the 40 days of Lent. Every day, participants are challenged to give something to others in large and small acts of generosity. Journaling about these acts is also encouraged.
One day, I wrote a thank you note to our cleaning lady. Another time I wrote a list of my spheres of influence and considered what positive message I could share with one of those spheres. Some days I do better and some days I don't know how to complete the challenge, or I feel too uncomfortable to follow through.
Nonetheless, I have been becoming more aware of thankfulness in my life. And even when I fail to carry out the generosity challenge, it helps me reflect on how living with open hands and an open heart can change the world. So, for example, even though I don't think that starting up a car (even a small one) is worth it to go 10 blocks, I can accept the generous offer of my host family to bring me to the bus terminal. Instead of struggling by myself or walking for twenty minutes, I accept their offer to take me. And in some ways, accepting a gesture that goes against my basic principles (such as caring for the environment and minimizing use of automobiles) is an act of generosity too.
So, try it. Live extravagantly, thinking the best of others, offering smiles and thank yous freely, and going over the top for the sake of other people.
It's called 40 acts, and it is a challenge that includes the 40 days of Lent. Every day, participants are challenged to give something to others in large and small acts of generosity. Journaling about these acts is also encouraged.
One day, I wrote a thank you note to our cleaning lady. Another time I wrote a list of my spheres of influence and considered what positive message I could share with one of those spheres. Some days I do better and some days I don't know how to complete the challenge, or I feel too uncomfortable to follow through.
Nonetheless, I have been becoming more aware of thankfulness in my life. And even when I fail to carry out the generosity challenge, it helps me reflect on how living with open hands and an open heart can change the world. So, for example, even though I don't think that starting up a car (even a small one) is worth it to go 10 blocks, I can accept the generous offer of my host family to bring me to the bus terminal. Instead of struggling by myself or walking for twenty minutes, I accept their offer to take me. And in some ways, accepting a gesture that goes against my basic principles (such as caring for the environment and minimizing use of automobiles) is an act of generosity too.
So, try it. Live extravagantly, thinking the best of others, offering smiles and thank yous freely, and going over the top for the sake of other people.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Introductions: Familia Sierra Quirós
Two months ago, Roberto knocked on the door of house in León, not too far from the Pali supermarket. The woman of the house was in the midst of preparing for church, but she answered the door. Roberto was a familiar face for Idalia Quirós because he had been a responsible person for the Dordt student she had just hosted in the fall semester. Roberto and his wife visited with Idalia and asked if she would be willing to have another young woman from the United States living with her family. She hesitated only because she didn't know which room to put the girl in.
The food is great, the house is comfortable. We have internet, private bathrooms, and a wonderfully open and cool back yard. I get along with the family, and they allow me to be independent. They also invite me along to their activities, but if I can't go, they don't pressure me. Mario has lots of cross-cultural experience, and the family is aware that I come from a different place and different way of doing things. (Below, we are hanging out at a restaurant, and Idalia's brother is in the picture instead of Idalia.)
Idalia's husband, Mario, who works on a Carnival cruise ship 10 months of the year, was home on vacation, and they were in the master bedroom. Rebecca, 9 years old, was in the other large bedroom with a bathroom. Samuel, 12, and Albert, 17, share the room that adjoins so they can all share the bathroom. The family rents 15 rooms to people in their patio, but Idalia felt uncomfortable about putting a young American outside of the house and sharing a bathroom with the other tenants. No worries, Roberto and his wife said, this girl is all-terrain. She can live any way she needs to. So the Sierra-Quirós family said yes, and two days later, I moved in with them. Unbeknownst to me, they had a flurry of activities changing rooms and giving me the boys' room with a separate bathroom in the kitchen. When I arrived on January 6, I found a comfortable house, and they told me that in a month when Mario went back to work, I would change rooms to the master bedroom because Idalia always shared with Rebecca so neither would feel alone.
(from left to right: Idalia, Albert, Rebecca, Mario, Samuel)
The story above is a picture of the heart of this family. They are generous and open, willing to adapt and welcome people into their space. Idalia is very active in their church - she is the church secretary and treasurer - and visitors always come to the door asking for her. They always receive something to drink as they sit in the rocking chairs in the large front room. The kids are respectful yet playful. They help their mom (though not always) and generally get along with usual sibling bickering.
This is a great place to live. Idalia makes the best gallo pinto, and I love her beans especially. Sometimes she makes special Nicaraguan dishes, like tacos or empanadas.
The thing I love most about this family is their genuine heart. I'm not tossed back and forth by inconsistencies. They don't ask me to keep secrets from other family members or lie to each other. They treat each other with respect, and they respect God. Everyone in the family goes to church, and Jesus is important to them. They are a moderate family as far as doctrines, and I feel comfortable to ask questions and to disagree with them. It's a healthy spiritual and emotional environment.
We also have a lot of fun together. We've gone to the beach, visited family members, helped a local ministry move from one house to another. We eat together, watch TV together, and hang out in the backyard together. The kids laugh at me when they notice that I'm watching to see how to eat something or stumble over Spanish words. I laugh at them when they pronounce "I'm bilingual!" after I affirm that they used an English word correctly or when they are surprised that I want to ride in the back of the truck. I help the kids with homework or pick up Rebecca from school sometimes. They lend me their bicycle to go to meetings or run errands.
I'm very thankful for my host family. I didn't know them three years ago, and I could not have imagined such a good fit before I came. Living with Idalia, Mario, Albert, Samuel, and Rebecca has been a blessed experience thus far, and I trust that our good relationship will continue.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)