Orientation & Settling In

Greetings,

Between my orientation period led by Daniel Schutrum-Boward and the bi-annual Visedal trip, it has been a whirlwind week here in Managua. I am finally settled into my new home, the Backpacker’s Inn, and have decided to post a short update and some reflections for all those back home before starting my work with the scholars tomorrow afternoon.

My father, Matt, and I arrived in Managua late last Monday after battling storms and delays all down the east coast. On Tuesday, we set out so I could acquaint myself with the Huembes market (which included placing a food order for the food distribution activity to come later), saw some sights of political and cultural significance, and visited the Tipitapa crew (Everth, Belen, Aura and Silvia). While we were in Tipitapa, we were treated to a ride on Everth’s latest business venture, a bicycle-cart that he rents after school/studying to transport people to and from the market. It was great to see the pride he has in being able to earn money while providing a useful service to his neighbors (and of course keeping up with his grades). Towards the end the day, we had coffee with Jass Selva, a student in her last year at UNAN College in Managua. She is an incredible individual, and will be a great resource during the lessons the next two weeks with the scholars and as a mentor for the Visedal girls well beyond my brief stay.

Esmir, Justin, Daniel and Taylor (front) with Everth (back) and his newest business venture.

Wednesday included stops at the Backpacker’s Inn, Viva Spanish School (where I will be taking classes the next two weeks) and Tiscapa, which we had a great deal of fun zip lining down. Around noon we, including Jass, met a handful of the older scholars for lunch at McDonald’s to discuss goals, plans for after high school, and some of the steps that must be taken in order to pursue higher education. Following lunch, we all traveled up to UNAN, where Jass provided us a tour and answered the scholars' questions. It was an enlightening experience that highlighted the progress, and room for improvement on our end, in working with the scholars to isolate and work towards achieving goals.

Taylor, Esmir and Matt at the Masaya Volcano on Thursday.

Daniel did a great job during my orientation period, and by the time the trip members arrived Thursday night I felt completely prepared for my weeks here. I am very grateful for Daniel, not only for his help and guidance throughout the preparation process, but for the relationships he has developed with the scholars and all the work he does for Visedal.

The formal Visedal trip was another great experience, not only being able to resume friendships made with scholars in December, but also to gain insight from the perspectives and observations of all participants both new to international service and Visedal veterans. A few highlights from the trip worth mentioning include the goal-setting activity and food-distribution activity. The scholars took the goal setting activity very seriously, and it was inspiring to see how many of them not only had goals, but knew the steps they need to take to achieve them. I am excited that Visedal has decided to place an emphasis on goals, and cannot wait to see all that the scholars will accomplish in the coming years.

For the food distribution activity in Vera Cruz, Dylan, Daniel and I decided to give four of the older members, Winny, Aura, Jonathan and Carlos, sovereignty in determining how the project should be carried out. The leadership, poise, and maturity this group exemplified was phenomenal. They ensured each scholar had the opportunity to distribute food, and handled themselves well when we ran out of food. In one particular example that amazed me, Winny spotted an elderly woman and her granddaughter slowly moving toward our location, obviously well beyond the crowd and unlikely to receive food before it ran out. She gave a bag of food to Everth, who ran down to meet the woman and ensure she received a bag… it was awesome. I am hoping to meet with the scholars and Esmir on Friday to discuss what they thought were the strengths and weaknesses of our activity, the role of leadership in community service projects, and some of their goals or ideas moving forward. I hope to keep you posted as the scholars explore the role of service in their own lives and develop their interests in the topic.

So much for attempting to keep this short.

Until next time,

Taylor