Battle-Tested; Yet Still Standing :-)

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

¿Tonces mis amigos, familia, profesores, etc? It’s DJM coming back for another blog about this Central American journey. Not much has been going in my life over here in the heart of the Americas. As some of you know, most universities are taking finals at this point or have finished their semester. While that is not the case for me, I have been working on several papers here at UNAN. To tell you the truth, I haven’t had much to do as far as schoolwork is concerned. The system of education down here is centered on group work, so that pretty much means that I haven’t been doing much. While I should be boiling over with excitement, I found myself in an interesting place that has me wanting to do more. We haven't taken many excursions since our last trip to the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. We went to the House of Carlos Mejia Godoy for a concert and some much needed fellowship last Friday night. While I have always been fascinated with Nicaraguan music, I continue to admire the beauty of the music here in Central America. As I sat there and listened to the music, I never once had to question the passion or pride in the music, nor the musicians. Other than that, I have been working to improve my Spanish, and while it has been difficult at times, I can truly say that I'm proud of the progress that I've made. I have also been working through jobs applications, internship paperwork, and all things associated with this upcoming year. As my time here in Managua begins to draw closer to the end, I am reminded of how much I've experienced, felt, seen, and thought. To be truthful, I can't even begin to put into words all the things that have occurred during my semester here in Nicaragua. The people, places, and things have impacted the way that I view the world, as well as granted me the opportunity to engage in conversations about race and stereotypes. Whether it be with my host family, at my volunteer job, or at UNAN, the task has been equally difficult. I think that the only way that I can adequately express how I've felt during my time here is that I've been battle-tested, but I remain standing; standing on the promises that these experiences will better the way that I live and think. To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping. This has served as a constant reminder as I have lived my life as a gringa in a country that has embraced my openness and willingness to explore new terrain. As always, I will leave you with a quote:

"Letting go doesn't mean giving up... it means moving on. It is one of the hardest things a person can do. Starting at birth, we grasp on to anything we can get our hands on, and hold on as if we will cease to exist when we let go. We feel that letting go is giving up, quitting, and that as we all know is cowardly. But as we grow older we are forced to change our way of thinking. We are forced to realize that letting go means accepting things that cannot be. It means maturing and moving on, no matter how hard you have to fight yourself to do so."

Paz y Bien :-)
Hasta Siempre,
DJM