We are almost ready
for blast off, folks. In 10 days, my
next batch of students will arrive bright-eyed and travel-weary to the small
airport of Augusto Sandino. A greeting of
humid air and my smiling face and waving hands is the extent of their grand
welcoming party to the city of Managua. And
so will begin their journey from naïve and curious students to savvy cross-cultural
vagabonds. Their mission: survive the
next 3 ½ months of classes, trips, language acquisition, homestays, foreign
foods and power-sapping heat. My
mission: make it the best experience they’ve ever had.
Now, I’m not boasting in my extraordinary skills at
accommodating “greenies” to the international playground I currently play
in. Nor am I touting my refined skills
at teaching and providing inspiring guidance to those caught in the murky
whirlpools of cross-cultural living.
What I’m saying is that I enjoy setting for myself such lofty goals so
as to push myself to go the extra mile and do it even better than last
time. I know what I’m capable of, but I
also know how easy it is to become cozy in the arms of “excellence”. So, there will be none of that here. I will celebrate, yes, by patting myself on
the back and eating my favorite ice cream (pitahaya) BUT then I put my game
face back on and jump back into the arena.
My goals are high, but my determination is even higher.
Thinking of my new students, I can’t help but put myself
into their shoes and remember what it was like for me. I can’t forget those first few steps I took
into a bright and scary new world known as Costa Rica and then later in
Nicaragua. I may have played it off as cool,
but on the inside I was terrified. I had
absolutely no idea what to expect, which makes it incredibly difficult to
properly prepare yourself for anything.
Essentially, I lived those first few months on the tips of my toes, agilely
and clumsily dodging and weaving and fighting any obstacle that suddenly found
its way onto my path. I could only react
to the world around me, never predict.
But then, slowly and after many a sleepless night, a miracle
happened. I was no longer afraid. The next day no longer was such a scary monster
to me; instead, it presented itself as a semi-known challenge that I would (and
could) face.
So, in these past few months but most especially in these
past few days, I have been doing my best to prepare my corner of Nicaragua for
these 8 students. I haven’t fallen for
the lie that I can take away the scary mystery of living here, but I can set up
ways to provide support for the students when they face those moments of unsureness
and fear. I can’t write up a list of
“Things to Do in Nicaragua so that You Never Have a Bad Day”, but I can provide
a list of resources to provide more insight into the culture and life
here. I can’t de-bug and de-parasite the
entire nation so that no student will ever get sick, but I can teach host
families and students to be aware of hygiene and to use caution in food and
beverage consumption. I can’t make the
world perfect, but I can be there when you fall down.
I’m excited. I’ll
admit it. I can’t wait to meet these 8 students
in person (finally!). I’ve only been
thinking about them since they signed up way back in April. I know their profiles by heart. I can guess at their personality and sense of
humor through the emails I have had with them.
I know what they look like and who will stick out here in a crowd and
who will blend right in. I know them,
and yet I am so very aware that they are still a complete mystery to me. I’m antsy and I simply cannot wait to finally
meet the person behind the name and to have the privilege of walking alongside of
them during their journey this semester.
Please pray for these students. Pray that they come open-hearted,
open-minded, and open-eyed. Pray that
they will be touched by the Nicaraguans here and that they will in turn touch
the lives of those they come to know.
Pray for our faculty and staff.
Pray for perseverance and energy and joy, even when the number of papers
to grade seems just too many. Pray for
our host families. Pray for patience and
guidance and wisdom, especially when they just can’t understand their student’s
broken Spanish. And finally, please pray
for me. Pray for wisdom and perseverance
and joy, especially as this semester will be my last here in Nicaragua (and you
know I hate goodbyes).
Stay tuned!
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