What an amazing trip to Nicaragua! Currently I am in Seattle airport on my way back from Nicaragua. This time it was harder saying goodbye than times prior. I think it was because I learned so much about others and myself on this trip.
In traveling to the most remote parts of Nicaragua, one must assume some road hazards will present themselves. As we drove the big yellow bus through the mountains we came upon a most unfortunate event, mud.
Of course, with a little extra man power, this would not persist to be a problem and soon thereafter we were off toward our make shift clinic.
Here is a picture of my office.....
And here is a picture of my desk.
And here is the toilet throne......Holding your breath while you pee was a like chewing gum and walking, something that should not be so hard, but for some reason is!
One day we actually set up our clinic on a coffee plantation. It was absolutely beautiful! Everywhere you looked there were coffee trees, rolling hills, and flowers. I did not take many pictures on this trip aside from the little dresses because we had an assigned photographer with us, so once I get her pictures I will post some, it was just gorgeous!
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| People leaving our clinic |
Many of the people that I saw actually worked on one of the many coffee plantations. It seems to be very hard and labor intensive work. One man I saw was actually bit by a snake while picking the coffee beans!
By far, though, my favorite part of the trip was seeing the children with their little dresses. Thankfully one of the women working ropa (clothing) was able to take some pictures of the little girls. They were extremely busy handing out clothing, but graciously she stopped to capture these smiles.
The little girl below was actually deaf and could not speak. I was told that she picked out this dress herself and had a huge smile as she left.
Perhaps the most moving of my little gifts came from this girl. Before I left, my colleague, Stacy, gave me some special beanie baby toys to take with me. Her mother had passed a few years ago and after putting it off, Stacey finally decided to part with her mother's favorite collectibles.
I was saving a butterfly (her mother's favorite) for a special little girl all week long. When this child sat down I noticed a sparkled butterfly on her T-shirt. When we were done with our visit I asked her if she liked butterflies....with a huge smile she pointed to her shirt and said yes!
I then pulled out Stacy's gift and the little girls eyes just lit up. From the time I gave her the toy and until she left, she kept holding it to her heart. People actually came up to me and asked if I given it to her because they noticed how much she loved it. It was almost like Stacy's mom had singled her out.
We saw almost 800 people during out trip. Most had no access to medical care either because of their location from the nearest clinic, or because they were too poor to afford the medicines. We saw a lot of pathology, many sick children, and even a few very difficult and sad cases. And even though many of the people waited hours to be seen, they all received us with great thanks.
This elderly woman kept hugging and kissing me on the cheek when were were finished. She kept thanking the American doctors for thinking of the people in Nicaragua. It was a very tender moment for me and still draws tears to my eyes.
So, here's what I have learned:
You think that because you understand “one” that you must therefore understand “two” because one plus one makes two. But you forget that you must also understand “and”
– Sufi teaching story
The above quote pretty much sums up my time in Nicaragua, it was the AND. Throughout my time I kept seeing all of these happy people…how could this be with such poverty? How did they retain their joy when life was so difficult? I mean poverty + lack of resources = unhappiness, right?
For example, these little children spent hours playing with an old tire and a stick.....try to entertain your children with those things in America! I was watching them from afar and could not get over how happy they were. Even at the orphanage, the children found fun with a plastic chair!
It baffled me the entire time! Finally one night at dinner as I sat with the interpreters, I grew enough courage to ask.
I started with what I had noticed: the difficulties, hard life, labor intensive jobs for little pay, oppression, etc and then asked how their families continued to be so positive.
Here’s what they said.
In America you have abundance and opportunity. Not just to go to college and have good jobs, but to also buy cars, own bigger homes, go on vacations, and have many of the same things (two tv’s, many pairs of shoes, etc).
However, as you accumulate all of this stuff (and much of it is extra repeats of things we already own) comes more stress. You have jobs inside, spend less time with your families, buy your meals from packages, and often complain about your circumstances of somehow not having enough.
Here in Nicaragua, we may not have all of your luxuries, but we also do have all of your stress. We know we will never be able to buy a bigger house or own a car. And if we do not work, we will not eat. Still, our families are together and there is a great sense of pride that comes from a long day of work and being able to put food on our table.
We do not worry about buying extra things because we only are able to supply what we need right now. It is freeing to live this simply. We don't have time to worry about tomorrow because we live for today.
I thought long and hard about this….could this be the answer? Living simply? Sure, I enjoy many of the perks of being an American; clean water, hot showers, access to medical care, the right to vote, modern conveniences like a washer and dryer, but when it comes down to it, there is a lot that I could easily live without or have in moderation.
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| Women hand washing their clothes in the river |
I am extremely thankful for my freedoms here, but also feel very disconnected with our persistent gluttony, especially when it comes off the expense of others. Coming home from a 3rd world country only reinforced my views.
My friend is right, though, my high cost living comes at a great expense. I have to work longer hours to pay for my lifestyle and as a result spend less time doing the things that actually give me great joy. Still, the greatest expense comes with the environmental cost of meeting my demands. There is just so much waste and pollution.
Ian and I have made great strides to live more simply, but in my returning to the states, I am making a more determined effort to lessen my carbon footprint. It's just the right thing to do for myself, for my earth, and for my fellow man.
So thank you, Nicaragua, for allowing me to come into your beautiful country and serve your beautiful people!
Sarah
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