Okay, so I know that after my last post, you're all probably going to be thinking that I'm the most bi-polar person ever...but this is what's going on right now here in Francia Sirpi: I have officially reached the end of that "honeymoon" period that they always told us about in SM class. Nothing dramatic has happened, but I've just been thinking a lot and it's really starting to sink in that I'll be here for 9 months. Up until now, I've been dealing with the change in cultures pretty well because I think that I've been able to pull a lot from my experience from going to school in Spain for a year. That has helped a lot. But Spain is just another civilization, not a third-world country. I'm always excited for new experiences and challenges, but I think now the novelty has worn off and reality has sunk in. This isn't just a fun-fun trip. This is my life now. I'm living in a jungle, thousands of miles from home, in a completely foreign culture with solar panel lights, limited technology, and no internet. NOTHING reminds me of home.
I guess I am realizing just how much I DON'T understand this culture. Apart from the Miskito language, which sounds nothing like any language I've ever heard, the people that I've come to serve cause me the most trouble. I guess one of the things that bothers me the most is the promiscuity here. Pretty much any girl over the age of 12 is a prime-time prize for any male in the village. The guys are very lewd and it is impossible to go anywhere without being whistled at or stared down shamelessly.
Just the other day, during the festivities for Nicaraguan Independence Day, they celebrated by having numerous culture dances. Let me just say that after watching those dances, there remains little question as to why girls at age 13, 14, 15 etc. are pregnant here. These school kids were all up into each other while they danced in the middle of the crowd. The looks in these guys' eyes scared me. They'd grin knowingly at each other as they got up on a girl. - So disgusting!. What's worse is that families, the parents and small children, just look on, seemingly unaffected. I felt horrified and uncomfortable just watching all of this.
Any way a girl might address a guy is taken as a com-on. Guys shout and motion at girls as if they were nothing more than sex objects. I know that as an SM, we are suppose to accustom ourselves to the culture, but to me, at least initially as an American foreigner, it really comes across as highly socially offensive. Ugh.
Also, we cannot trust ANY of the locals. They are all very crafty and work out ways to squeeze every possible penny out of your hands. They lie, they steal - even if they are our friends or members of the church. I'm normally a very trusting person but it's tough always having to be on your guard, not knowing if these people are lying to your face or not.
Even though these things are irritating me, at the same time I really feel for these people.
The people have nothing. They are so poor and they suffer so much. My entire life I've always felt like we've never been comfortably well-off. Nothing has ever been easy. But here, I feel FILTHY rich. Literally Filthy. A few days ago we went to visit some of the village people in the huts. We climbed up the lean-to ladders that accessed the huts and carefully maneuvered over the floorboards, trying to step on the studs because we felt like the damp floorboards might break. The huts smell like smoke because of the small coal fire they burn in the corner. Dirty, faded sheets hang in the windows as curtains. There's usually a shelf or two that holds everything the family owns; a few random rusted dishes, a few machetes, some other stuff and maybe a couple of books if there is a family member that is literate. There are no mosquito nets and not enough beds. I'm not sure where the children sleep......and most of the people smell like sweat and grime. The older people are missing teeth and have dark leathery skin. Even though they might look like they are 80 years old and on their death bed, it's probably more accurate to assume that they're only about 50 years old. It's a hard life.
I feel so bad for these people and their living conditions. These people have lived their whole lives with what I would consider "less than the necessities". I feel like such an absolutely selfish person for having a life that most American's would term "average". No wonder we get pegged with the reputation of being materialistic.
Overall, I'm just overwhelmed by how much I have to learn and do here. I feel so unprepared for everything. But then again, how could I possibly prepare myself for this? I have so much to learn.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Good times......good times!
Buenas Dias!
This past week has been one of the most interesting weeks of my life so far. I guess not just because of stuff that has happened to me, but also just learning how to fit into this Nicaraguan culture. I can honestly say that I'm loving it so far! Here's a few stories why:
Last week we had a huge campmeeting for all the neighboring villages to come together. It's crazy how much these people sacrifice to come to these meetings. No one has vehicles here, only bikes, if they're lucky, so many of the people started a couple day journey on foot to go to this campmeeting. They carry everything they need to survive and then camp out when they arrive, building tiny fires to cook over, and families sleep under trees together; so different from the SoCal campmeeting I remember going to.
All of us SM's had a great time at campmeeting. We all got to give our testimony during one of the meetings and, of course, we were asked to do special music on the spot. We're getting pretty good at this impromptu special music deal. One morning when we showed up to the meeting, there were no more seats available. We grabbed the only empty bench left from way out in the sun and dragged it closer so we could pay attention to the message. Even though it was only about 9:00 AM, it was already BLAZING hot. Eventually, the pastor who was speaking turned to all of us fair skinned Americanos and seriously asked: "You want to come sit up on the stage? You white people are all going to burn up!" Immediately everyone in the congregation stared over at us to see our reaction, and as if on queue, our entire bench suddenly collapsed, dumping all of us onto our backs in the grass. It was one of the most hilarious moments we could have imagined. We just lay on the ground laughing at the perfect timing. The audience all chuckled, but they sure gained their composure faster than we did. We slowly got to our feet and DID go sit up on the platform in front of everyone. It was all we could do not to look at each other and burst out laughing again. "Good times... good times" we all agreed.
While we attended the campmeeting, we stayed at our friends, Clint and Marilyn's house in Tronquera (about 1 1/2 hours away from Francia Sirpi). They are SDA missionaries as well and run a plane ministry that they have set up to transfer seriously ill villagers to larger towns and cities for urgent medical care. They have a creek at their house that all of us got to swim in. We were so excited because we cannot swim in our creek here in Francia - too many friendlies. We were also able to use the creek for bathing in the morning as well as cooling off in the afternoon. Here, I have never seen so many exotic creatures in my life! Someone already brought an armadillo hoping to sell it. Also, Clint and Marilyn have an anteater as a pet, and then a man walked up to the gate with a beautiful toucan. Of course Clint and Marilyn's kids wanted it, but Marilyn responded with the classic line of: "No honey, you can't have a toucan as a pet, you already have an anteater." - "Good times" once again.
Another thing that I did this week that I NEVER thought I would do is wash laundry washboard style. Apparently I'm going to get pretty proficient at it - it's our only option. Let me say it was an experience. We all got very wet, very soapy and we eventually realized that we did not have jungle-worthy muscles. After hours of scrubbing and rinsing and wringing and drying, Chelsea, Bri, Jericca and I all decided that we will never again take machine washers for granted. God Bless Technology!
On Thursday, I got to go on my first mobile clinic! Clint flew the doctor and me out to a village called Lapan. It took us only 30 minutes to fly there, but it would have taken us 12 hours to drive there. We flew over some amazing stuff; miles and miles of deep, unexplored jungle. Clint said that no humans have ever set foot in there. How crazy is that?! When we landed on the grassy airstrip in Lapan, we had to hike for 1/2 hour into the village - through mud. I definitely lost my boot and fell in the mud. Ha ha! When I finally arrived in the village the people kinda snickered at me with the lower half of my body covered in slimy mud. I'm sure they were thinking that I was this incredibly challenged gringa who didn't have a clue what she was doing in a place like that. Oh man! Well the mobile clinic was a success! I learned so many new things! - such as how to recognize asthma and pneumonia via a stethoscope, how to determine how old a fetus is by using anatomical landmarks, I gave my first assisted injection, and I also began to figure out what sorts of medicines treat the different respective illnesses. I love learning all this new stuff! For lunch we had some guys chop down some coconuts for us to drink and then we ate PB & J sandwishes that Marily made for us! Oh man - say no more... That was one of the best meals I've had here yet! After we finished up we hoped on the plane again and headed into Port, on the Caribbean, to pick up supplies and meet up with the rest of the group.
God is good! Just this week I got to see a Caribbean sunrise, I had the privilege to assist in 3 surgeries, and I got to talk to my family when I was in port! It's been a good week. Also, I'm really in awe of God right now! I am just now realizing how He can take insignificant pieces of our lives and turn them into something invaluable for Him. This happened to me this last week when I was thinking of two elective classes I took when I was in Spain: Spanish for Healthcare Professionals, and Oral Translation. Just this week I have used all the skills I learned in those two classes to be able to help people down here. All this time I thought I had just picked those classes because they sounded like fun - but I guess God kinda got the last laugh, knowing I'd be here two years later. Like I said, God is good!
Please continue to keep all of us in your prayers! We're all having to make a lot of adjustments and change the way we do everything to live this new lifestyle.
This past week has been one of the most interesting weeks of my life so far. I guess not just because of stuff that has happened to me, but also just learning how to fit into this Nicaraguan culture. I can honestly say that I'm loving it so far! Here's a few stories why:
Last week we had a huge campmeeting for all the neighboring villages to come together. It's crazy how much these people sacrifice to come to these meetings. No one has vehicles here, only bikes, if they're lucky, so many of the people started a couple day journey on foot to go to this campmeeting. They carry everything they need to survive and then camp out when they arrive, building tiny fires to cook over, and families sleep under trees together; so different from the SoCal campmeeting I remember going to.
All of us SM's had a great time at campmeeting. We all got to give our testimony during one of the meetings and, of course, we were asked to do special music on the spot. We're getting pretty good at this impromptu special music deal. One morning when we showed up to the meeting, there were no more seats available. We grabbed the only empty bench left from way out in the sun and dragged it closer so we could pay attention to the message. Even though it was only about 9:00 AM, it was already BLAZING hot. Eventually, the pastor who was speaking turned to all of us fair skinned Americanos and seriously asked: "You want to come sit up on the stage? You white people are all going to burn up!" Immediately everyone in the congregation stared over at us to see our reaction, and as if on queue, our entire bench suddenly collapsed, dumping all of us onto our backs in the grass. It was one of the most hilarious moments we could have imagined. We just lay on the ground laughing at the perfect timing. The audience all chuckled, but they sure gained their composure faster than we did. We slowly got to our feet and DID go sit up on the platform in front of everyone. It was all we could do not to look at each other and burst out laughing again. "Good times... good times" we all agreed.
While we attended the campmeeting, we stayed at our friends, Clint and Marilyn's house in Tronquera (about 1 1/2 hours away from Francia Sirpi). They are SDA missionaries as well and run a plane ministry that they have set up to transfer seriously ill villagers to larger towns and cities for urgent medical care. They have a creek at their house that all of us got to swim in. We were so excited because we cannot swim in our creek here in Francia - too many friendlies. We were also able to use the creek for bathing in the morning as well as cooling off in the afternoon. Here, I have never seen so many exotic creatures in my life! Someone already brought an armadillo hoping to sell it. Also, Clint and Marilyn have an anteater as a pet, and then a man walked up to the gate with a beautiful toucan. Of course Clint and Marilyn's kids wanted it, but Marilyn responded with the classic line of: "No honey, you can't have a toucan as a pet, you already have an anteater." - "Good times" once again.
Another thing that I did this week that I NEVER thought I would do is wash laundry washboard style. Apparently I'm going to get pretty proficient at it - it's our only option. Let me say it was an experience. We all got very wet, very soapy and we eventually realized that we did not have jungle-worthy muscles. After hours of scrubbing and rinsing and wringing and drying, Chelsea, Bri, Jericca and I all decided that we will never again take machine washers for granted. God Bless Technology!
On Thursday, I got to go on my first mobile clinic! Clint flew the doctor and me out to a village called Lapan. It took us only 30 minutes to fly there, but it would have taken us 12 hours to drive there. We flew over some amazing stuff; miles and miles of deep, unexplored jungle. Clint said that no humans have ever set foot in there. How crazy is that?! When we landed on the grassy airstrip in Lapan, we had to hike for 1/2 hour into the village - through mud. I definitely lost my boot and fell in the mud. Ha ha! When I finally arrived in the village the people kinda snickered at me with the lower half of my body covered in slimy mud. I'm sure they were thinking that I was this incredibly challenged gringa who didn't have a clue what she was doing in a place like that. Oh man! Well the mobile clinic was a success! I learned so many new things! - such as how to recognize asthma and pneumonia via a stethoscope, how to determine how old a fetus is by using anatomical landmarks, I gave my first assisted injection, and I also began to figure out what sorts of medicines treat the different respective illnesses. I love learning all this new stuff! For lunch we had some guys chop down some coconuts for us to drink and then we ate PB & J sandwishes that Marily made for us! Oh man - say no more... That was one of the best meals I've had here yet! After we finished up we hoped on the plane again and headed into Port, on the Caribbean, to pick up supplies and meet up with the rest of the group.
God is good! Just this week I got to see a Caribbean sunrise, I had the privilege to assist in 3 surgeries, and I got to talk to my family when I was in port! It's been a good week. Also, I'm really in awe of God right now! I am just now realizing how He can take insignificant pieces of our lives and turn them into something invaluable for Him. This happened to me this last week when I was thinking of two elective classes I took when I was in Spain: Spanish for Healthcare Professionals, and Oral Translation. Just this week I have used all the skills I learned in those two classes to be able to help people down here. All this time I thought I had just picked those classes because they sounded like fun - but I guess God kinda got the last laugh, knowing I'd be here two years later. Like I said, God is good!
Please continue to keep all of us in your prayers! We're all having to make a lot of adjustments and change the way we do everything to live this new lifestyle.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Never a Dull Moment, Never a Cool moment
Hey guys!
I'm sure you all know by now that we have safely arrived at the Tasba Raya Mission. It is so HOT here! My goodness, i knew it was going to be a hot day when I woke up at 5:30am and was already sweating at 5:45am. Praise the Lord for cold showers!
We've been really busy in the last week settling in, meeting the village people, trying to organize work schedules, and starting work in the clinic. I know i haven't written in quite a while, and i have a lot to catch up on, but I think that our trip out here is worth noting.
The next morning after arriving in Managua we went back to the airport at 7am to purchase our already reserved airplane tickets to Waspam (a town about 2 hours from Francia Sirpi) However, when we asked about our reservations we were told that the airlines was already booked for the next two days. Apparently you can book tickets, but if they are not payed for, they can be given away to anyone willing to pay on the spot. Fantastic. After hearing this we were all a little discouraged and felt a little stranded too; all six of us SM's were in Nicaragua, but still over 300 miles from our final destination. Our solution was to load everyone up in the land cruiser and take a roadtrip. In retrospect, I definitely underestimated my understanding of a Nicaraguan roadtrip. I expected our journey to last a few hours, but our 300 mile trek turned out to take THREE days - 29 hours of just driving time. I wouldn't have been so bad, but the road conditions were incredibly horrible. It seems like we spent our whole trip maneuvering around/through potholes. In case you didn't notice - 29 hours to cover 300 miles really isn't a great ratio. We also managed to run over two snakes and a pig in the process. In the end we all agreed that we all got a lot "closer" through the experience. haha
We have done SO many new things in the short time we've been here i feel like i've learned so much already!
My bed is now surrounded by a beautiful green mosquito net. I now take cold showers. I wash all my fruits and vegetables in chlorinated water, It's always a surprise to see what we'll find in the outhouses; tarantulas, cockroaches, bull frogs, or bats anyone? We have considered getting an anteater as a pet, machetes and machine guns are common, No one speaks english, I am always sooo HOT. The heat index for yesterday was 146 degrees F! What kind of place did i come to???!?
So far the theme of my life down here has pretty much been: Never a dull moment; Never a cool moment.
I have some awesome stories to tell ya'll later, but i gotta sleep now!
I miss you all and I hope life is just grand in America ;)
I'm sure you all know by now that we have safely arrived at the Tasba Raya Mission. It is so HOT here! My goodness, i knew it was going to be a hot day when I woke up at 5:30am and was already sweating at 5:45am. Praise the Lord for cold showers!
We've been really busy in the last week settling in, meeting the village people, trying to organize work schedules, and starting work in the clinic. I know i haven't written in quite a while, and i have a lot to catch up on, but I think that our trip out here is worth noting.
The next morning after arriving in Managua we went back to the airport at 7am to purchase our already reserved airplane tickets to Waspam (a town about 2 hours from Francia Sirpi) However, when we asked about our reservations we were told that the airlines was already booked for the next two days. Apparently you can book tickets, but if they are not payed for, they can be given away to anyone willing to pay on the spot. Fantastic. After hearing this we were all a little discouraged and felt a little stranded too; all six of us SM's were in Nicaragua, but still over 300 miles from our final destination. Our solution was to load everyone up in the land cruiser and take a roadtrip. In retrospect, I definitely underestimated my understanding of a Nicaraguan roadtrip. I expected our journey to last a few hours, but our 300 mile trek turned out to take THREE days - 29 hours of just driving time. I wouldn't have been so bad, but the road conditions were incredibly horrible. It seems like we spent our whole trip maneuvering around/through potholes. In case you didn't notice - 29 hours to cover 300 miles really isn't a great ratio. We also managed to run over two snakes and a pig in the process. In the end we all agreed that we all got a lot "closer" through the experience. haha
We have done SO many new things in the short time we've been here i feel like i've learned so much already!
My bed is now surrounded by a beautiful green mosquito net. I now take cold showers. I wash all my fruits and vegetables in chlorinated water, It's always a surprise to see what we'll find in the outhouses; tarantulas, cockroaches, bull frogs, or bats anyone? We have considered getting an anteater as a pet, machetes and machine guns are common, No one speaks english, I am always sooo HOT. The heat index for yesterday was 146 degrees F! What kind of place did i come to???!?
So far the theme of my life down here has pretty much been: Never a dull moment; Never a cool moment.
I have some awesome stories to tell ya'll later, but i gotta sleep now!
I miss you all and I hope life is just grand in America ;)
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