3 Month Reflection

In two weeks my experience in Nicaragua fulfilled a feeling of lending a helping hand of service while immersing myself in a foreign culture that complements the classes I’ve been taking in college for years. I had never studied abroad nor took one step outside of the United States until the El Sauce internship because I was intimidated by leaving the familiar behind to experience the new. But now I reflect on my journey proudly as one of the most productive, entertaining, and life changing experiences in my life.

The term service internship briefly describes two of my activities in El Sauce, the community service and the education internship. For service, patching and repairing the house of a stranger was incredible in multiple variations. I felt a feeling of accomplishment that only came from feeling tired after a day of hard selfless work, and each day I looked forward to the next. The labor was beneficial to me (now I can mix cement and build walls) and rewarding to Paco and Noel in that their house is flood proof for the next rain season. My conversations with Paco were like taking an intensive Spanish conversation class which opened my linguistic abilities beyond the class, plus it was interesting to hear Nicaraguan opinions of world politics.

The other half of the term is internship. I was an aide to Kellan and Yacarely’s English class in El Sauce which reversed my student-like position. I went from Spanish student to English teacher for Spanish speakers. I swear I was lenient with grades, and it had nothing to do with how nice the students in the class were. Three night classes a week were enough time to form bonds and form friendship. I still exchange e-mails with some of the students who I consider real life international friends who I met in their part of the world.

A lot happened during my journey which created a sense of awareness. The reality is that Nicaragua is similar to my daily life in the United States, but there are many differences that I was aware of because they were normal for the daily life in Nicaragua that I wasn’t used to. I was born and raised in the busy city of New York City so choosing Geneseo was a cultural shock in itself. The shock I experienced when I was exposed to the culture of Nicaragua was the opposite of what I expected. The atmosphere in El Sauce and the attitude of the Saueños were calm and tranquil, in great contrast to those of New York City. The tranquility from the people is so strong that I felt more relaxed just by passing by others and the calmness radiated in the air such that when I was cranky because I got to work late, Paco told me I could sleep in as long as I wanted, anything that I considered a bother or stressful was never as bad as it appeared in Nicaragua.

Adjusting to life in Nicaragua was enjoyable. The laid back sensation mixed well with learning about the customs and history of Nicaragua. I feel like I developed my abilities of communication, the Spanish language, and adapting to new unfamiliar scenarios. I feel a part of my self that grew in Nicaragua and was assimilated to my original self. I like to exercise my calm flow of Nicaragua self in problematic situations because of how well it agrees with my original self. Overall, I want to return to El Sauce and visit other areas of Central America.