Miss You Already

Welp, my time with Omi, Steven, and Amanda has come and quickly gone…

Being able to laugh, and reminisce, and relax among family was the most amazing gift I could have ever asked for.  Recalling inside jokes and “good times” from “back in the day” was so refreshing.  I had really been missing that since all the people I live around on a daily basis have histories together that I'm just not a part of.  Sure, I have friends here now, and we have good times together, but you don't realize how many times a day people bring up stories/memories from the past, until you're the only one who's not included in them.  Therefore I treasured every single belly laugh, movie quote reference, and “remember that time...”  Not to mention the intellectual stimulation and the ability to speak in a language that I can fully manipulate.

It was also just amazing in general to have them here with me in Nicaragua, especially when none of them would have ever considered coming here, or to any other country like this anytime in the near future.  Getting to show them where I live and introducing them to my friends and family here was absolutely priceless for me.  Watching my students/counterparts/host families interact with them, and seeing the connections made even across the language barrier was beautiful. 

On the flip side, having them here made me realize that I really have changed a lot since I've arrived.  I forgot how disarming it was to walk through the bustling marketplace when I first got here.  I forgot how nervous I used to be every time I had to approach the bus station and navigate my way through the yelling “cobras” to find the bus I needed.  It's normal for me now, to assume things will be running behind schedule, to understand that I'll be sweating through any activity I take part in, to expect conversations with people on the street to slow me down a little, to have a stranger's child sit on my lap on an overcrowded bus.  If I'm headed on a long trip, I just pack a few extra cords so I can buy some street food or a fresco (both of which are served in plastic baggies on any bus I might be on) so it doesn't occur to me to pack snacks anymore.  Cold water showers are normal for me – as a matter of fact, a running water shower is a treat!  Supposedly, none of these things were a problem for my visitors (because they're awesome), but I guess I forgot about the culture shock they were all bound to experience here.  I had 7 months to gradually “acostombrarme” (get used) to the differences here, and they had 4 days to experience it all at once – not to mention the fact that it was one of the two hottest months of the year!

Conclusions?

1. Sure we ran around a lot, but the memories we made were unforgettable. =)

2. My family is the best in the world and I couldn't have asked for anything more than just having you all guys with me. <3 

3. Hiking a volcano is wayyyyy harder than it sounds.  That's right folks, we scaled Volcan Maderas! (All but Omi of course.) Check out this view from the side of one volcano to the other!