A New Journey

About three weeks ago, I had an interview with Lisa-Marie, Jen Gutmann, and Karlie Cummins about something that I was very excited about. The subject was a service trip to the Naserian School and Orphanage in Arusha, Tanzania, which services 150 kids, 32 of whom live in the orphanage, and I was applying to go. After several hours of anxious waiting and clinging to my phone, I got a call from Lisa-Marie. "How do you think you did?" she asked me, and then she told me that I will be the student mentor for the first trip to Tanzania! This is a huge honor for me and an amazing opportunity. I will be helping teach English in the school, and, most importantly, giving love to the children living in the orphanage who desperately need it. There are no words to describe how much I am looking forward to this trip. I am so excited for this amazing opportunity!

Day 6

Today, our final day at the school, was filled with indescribable emotion, laughter, tears, and partying. I started the morning off by working with Zulema, Astrid, and Maria Jose, playing mostly with clay and markers. We also played a pick-up game of kickball with half the school that the kids who are deaf organized completely on their own. I saw all the growth that every kid had made and felt every connection that had formed between us this morning- I can't begin to say how much every hug this morning meant to me.

Around, 10:30 a.m., the party began. The kitchen was decorated with streamers and balloons, and the teachers were cooking rice, chicken, and coleslaw. Every child got a meal and a cup of soda (which was refilled more than once), and they ate until they were too full to keep eating. It was fantastic to be able to give them so much food that they were so full and couldn't finish- so many of these kids are malnourished. During the party, families of the students and the kids we visited on home visits showed up, and we were able to say hello to them as well. Rosa (Rosita is what Aleyda called her), Jose Manuel (in all his sassy glory), Milagro (who will start attending Escuela Especial on Monday!!!!), and Julisa were all there. Several of the kids got to help crack open the pinata, and when the candy finally spilled out, there was a mad dash to fill their pockets. It was one of the best parties I've ever been to.

The kids left a bit after 12:00 p.m., the time school usually gets out. We said our (tearful) goodbyes, sometimes not being able to let go of each student for a while, and watched them walk home or board the bus. When everyone was finally on their way home, we boarded our own van and went back to the hotel. I can't stop thinking about how much I miss every single one of those kids. I came to love them so much over the past five days. Their intelligence and ability to surprise everyone with how much they knew changed the way I will think about people with disabilities forever. The way that some of their families treat them only inspires me more to help them and people like them, giving as many hugs and kisses and words of kindness as possible. They have changed me in so many ways, some that I am not even aware of yet, and I will never be able to forget how special this week was. Truthfully, it brings tears to my eyes to think that I might not see them ever again, but I remember how much good we all did this week and how much we changed their lives, and it makes me feel a little better. I am so grateful to have met them, and they'll be in my heart always!

Day 5

In the morning, I worked in the arts and crafts classroom, where they teach life skills to the girls that attend the class. We did a lot of coloring and sweeping, and even though it was hot, I really enjoyed working with these girls and getting to know them better, because they are all so unique.

This afternoon, Tyra, Sammie, Max, Sarah, three of our translators, and I went on two more home visits. We first visited the home of a sweet fourteen-year-old girl named Milagro and checked up on her, giving her family diapers and a bag of food. Walking into her house, I knew that she was not well taken care of, but I had no idea how bad her situation really was. Milagro has cerebral palsy, and her mother has done the minimal amount of physical therapy that could possibly be done, so her tendons were tight, she had no muscle tone, and her arms and legs had been stuck growing in the same position for so long that they were contorted and she could barely move. She was so skinny and dirty -it was obvious that her mother hadn't been taking care of her- that she must've been miserable, but the enormous smile that spread across her face when we hugged and kissed her was unforgettable. She was so excited to have people be loving and kind to her for the first time in so long, and it was such an honor to be able to be a source of that love. Her mother, knowing that we would be reporting our findings to Lisa Marie and trying to help Milagro, put on some music and started singing to her child, putting on a show for the rest of us, when in reality that was probably the first time her mother had even talked to her in days. However, despite how we feel about her mother, we are all intent on bringing Milagro to our party at the school tomorrow, where she will be socializing with all of the kids there and receiving love and affection from all of us.

The second house we visited was home to Julisa, who was twenty-three and also had cerebral palsy. When we got to where she lived, her mother pulled her out of a tiny room on the side of the house. We found out that she is rarely taken out of this room. She hasn't bathed in a while (though her mother said she has, it was evident that this was not the case), she has seizures almost every day, and she hasn't pooped in fifteen days. The only toy that she plays with is a pink trash bag. After talking to her mother more and taking pictures with Julisa, we said our goodbyes and gave Julisa a hug. She was very enthusiastic about the hugging, and when Max came up to her, she held on to him as long and as well as she could. However, this will not be the last time that we see her, because she also might come to Escuela Especial for our party tomorrow! I look forward to seeing her then!

Seeing these girls today was such an incredible experience. They were both so sweet, and I wanted to take them back home with me. But seeing how they lived and what their families were like brought tears to my eyes. I don't understand how someone could treat their human child with such blatant disregard. Our translator, Zack, said to Milagro's mother today, "Do you believe in God? This is an angel sent to you from Heaven. You have to take care of her for the rest of your life." Zack hit the nail on the head- every child, every human life is so precious, especially Milagro's and Julisa's. The fact that their families don't understand that and put so little effort into caring for them makes me incredibly angry. I feel better, though, knowing that I will see them tomorrow and I'll be able to give them a million hugs, a million kisses, and all the love that they deserve.

Tonight, we are preparing 130 bags for every family who sends their child to Escuela Especial. I can't wait to see the kids' faces when we give them to them! We are going to have an amazing goodbye party tomorrow, where we'll celebrate everything that the kids have taught us and what we have taught them. It's going to be an exciting day!

Day 4

I can't believe it's Wednesday already! This week has gone by so fast. We have made a lot of progress and done some amazing things.

This morning I went on three home visits with Aleyda, our translator, Carmen Margherita, the physical therapist who leads the home visits in the morning, and Tyra, my friend and teammate. The first house we visited was home to a little boy named Earling. He was a month and a half old, and he lived with his sister (who was two years old), his mother, and one other person. Earling has one leg that was much shorter than the other. Because he has a disability, his father made Earling, his mother, and his sister leave their house and live somewhere farther away and much smaller. However, Earling was adorable and well cared for by his family, and I'll get to see him soon because his mother said that he's going to Escuela Especial on Friday!

The second family we visited is temporarily living in a house that they take care of for another family. Eight people live with them, including the precious little Rosita, who is the child we were there to see. Rosita is a three-year-old with cerebral paralysis, and since she is sick today, Carmen didn't do physical therapy with her. Instead, we asked questions and found out that she's had a fever for the past three or four days, and she had several missing teeth and wasn't eating. Later in the day, we told Lisa Marie about this, and hopefully we'll be able to get Rosita to a doctor soon.

Our final journey was to see a boy named Jose Manuel. He is currently two years old, and was born with his arms connected to his torso and his legs stuck together, without elbow joints. He had surgery, and now his limbs are separated. Carmen did exercises with him that helped him strengthen his arms. She had him use both of his hands to play on a toy piano (he was really excited about that), and throw a pencil across the room. My favorite part about this visit was when Tyra and I left and he called "Bye, honey!" after us in Spanish (which Aleyda translated, and then laughed at).

These home visits were really enlightening. Just like in Cambodia, the living conditions were much worse than any of us are accustomed to. I am so fortunate to be living in a two-story house with enough rooms and a loving family. Today I experienced the cruelty of some people, like Earling's father, and the kindness of those like Rosita's brother, who was holding her lovingly during our entire visit. As the day went on, I was more and more appreciative of my own family and the things they do for me.

In the later part of the morning, I worked with Zulema, who is very talkative, but doesn't say words that you can understand. At first, we worked on writing, and I held her hand and helped her practice writing the letters of the alphabet. Then, since Ava helped her say "boca" yesterday, I tried holding up flashcards and pronouncing each word with her. Though she didn't say any of the words I wanted her to, it made my day when I held up the card for "eyes" and she rubbed her own eyes and then clapped, knowing she'd gotten it right.

Each day here is different from the last. I learn something new from a student every time I work with them, and it is so great to feel like I'm giving them something by teaching them. I have seen how great these students are, and I look forward to doing more tomorrow!

Day 3

Today was really productive. I started the morning off by working in the pre-school classroom. There are five kids in this room: Victor, Jose Andres, Francisco, Josuan, and Ever, who are just about the cutest things in the entire world. Victor didn't leave my side almost the whole time, which was adorable. We colored together, and I tried to teach him the names of the colors in Spanish. I also worked with Ever (who is incredibly smart even with his autism) on numbers and the alphabet. When he was able to say all of the numbers up to ten, we started working on letters. They were a lot more challenging for him. I figured out that he would only say the letter when I wrote it with the crayon that he gave to me. I’d write the letters several times and then say them so that he could imitate me, and eventually he would say "A" and "B"! He disengaged after "B", but it was unbelievably rewarding to continuously try to get him to say something and then finally get him to say it.

I payed a lot of attention to Josuan, who has cerebral palsy and needs to strengthen the muscles in his hands and arms. I gave him some clay at first, but he wouldn't hold on to it, so I tried holding his hand and prompting him to squeeze back. This was also one of those situations when you have to repeatedly try to get the child to do what you ask them to, but I eventually got one definite squeeze from him before we switched classrooms, which warmed my heart because it mean progress.

After lunch, I worked with a boy (appropriately) named Darwin. Darwin also has cerebral palsy, but he is incredibly smart. In class, he is currently doing what the rest of his classmates can do, but if his teacher pushed him and he had more resources, he could do so much more. Today I worked on addition and subtraction with him. His teacher said that he didn't know how to do either form of math, but Sarah told me that he's done it with her before, and I decided to try it. Through our translator, Zach, I did simple addition and subtraction with him and he picked it up straight away. The huge smile that spread across his face when we congratulated him was easily my favorite part of the day. 

Darwin is an example of most of the kids at Escuela Especial. They all have so much potential, and only lack resources and the individual tutoring that we have in the states. I see in Darwin what I saw in Tanya, Ever, and all the other children at this school. I am honored to be able to be teaching and interacting with these kids, and it makes me so excited to think about what they could be in the world if we give them enough help and love.

Tomorrow is another day, and I intend to do all that I can to help these kids!

Day 2

Today was an exciting start to the week. I was a little out of my depth this morning when working wth the kids who are deaf, who were much smarter than I expected. AJ and I collaborated and decided to use her lesson plan - involving matching and math - to assess their knowledge. They added the numbers we gave them and found matches to the cards very easily and with little difficulty or confusion. I was so impressed with how much they knew. We did these lessons in two classrooms and with eleven kids, and we got the same result both times. It was really humbling to leave the classrooms feeling so amazed at these kids and realizing how ignorant most able-bodied people are. We automatically assume that people with disabilities are lost causes, when really they are much smarter than we think they are and they have the potential to do great things, which is exactly what I saw in the classrooms for the deaf today.

Since it's a bit tedious to sign every letter of your name over and over every time you want to say it, the kids who are deaf come up with unique signs for each person, like a nickname. The signs consist of the first letter of your name and then one of your characteristics. For me, they signed the letter "N" and held it up to their eyebrow, which I thought was funny. I'll take it as a compliment!

One of my favorite kids was Yohana. She is a short and spunky girl who wore a black headband, and it was a pleasure to watch her in class. Another of my favorites was Tanya, who was probably the smartest girl in the class. She always raised her hand to tell the teacher the answer to whatever question was asked, and she would try to teach us words in sign language, which went over my head a bit. It's amazing how they remember all of this and can sign faster than you can imagine! I look forward to seeing both of them tomorrow.

At lunch time, I talked to a girl named Diana. She was very sweet, and I appreciated how patient she was with me and my Spanish skills. I learned that she and I are the same age, and that she lives in San Jorge, where the school is. I also met Zuelma and Maura, both of whom loved being picked up and getting kisses. They were also sweethearts, and it made me happy to be able to hug, kiss, and give them love.

In the final hours of the morning, I worked with Michele, Anthony, Levi, and Tatiana in Ana Marie's first grade room. These kids had no shortage of energy, and they kept me active the whole time. Tatiana especially ran around with me, and it was funny when I made her laugh by tickling her. I also helped Anthony, who had cerebral palsy, by stretching out his legs and helping him sit up. He had an adorable smile, and he would laugh every time I kissed him on the cheek. He was definitely another favorite of mine.

When the kids went home and we said our goodbyes, I thought about how lucky we are as Americans to have such good medical care and schools for kids with disabilities. In America, children like these are able to get the special education and medicine that they need to be healthy and live normal lives, but here it's very hard for the kids at Escuela Especial to learn the things that could get them a job in the future, on top of being looked down on by employers. This week, I hope we are able to change that. I think we can teach them so much, or at least inspire them enough to succeed. I'm ready to give it my all again tomorrow and make a difference!

Day 1

Saludos de Nicaragua! Greetings from Nicaragua! After months of hard work and a day of travel, we are FINALLY here. Our hotel has rooms that 3-4 of us share, hammocks and palm trees out front, and is only a short walk from Lake Nicaragua. From there you can see not one, but two volcanoes, windmills, and beautiful green trees.

We arrived last night at 1:00 a.m. and fell asleep shortly after. At 6:30 a.m., we woke up to start the day. We got to Escuela Especial at about 7:45. Our first order of business was to clean the classrooms. I started with the windows, some started with the bathrooms, and some started by cleaning the toys. It was hot, and every time I wiped something down more dirt seemed to appear on it, but once I left the room I was confident it was as clean as possible. Eventually, we pulled out all of the furniture and wiped it down. Then, we scrubbed the walls and mopped the floors. By 2:00 p.m., we were completely finished and the school was spotless. It was great to see the results of our hard work and how clean it is now. I was really proud of myself and everyone here for doing such a good job. Even with the sun beating down on us and less that five hours of sleep, we managed to all be nice to each other, work hard, and make the school a nicer place for the kids. I drove away from Escuela Especial today thinking about how big these efforts are going to seem to the kids. In Nicaragua, children with disabilities are not treated well, and I think that having people come to their school and clean and spend time with them will be huge.

Tomorrow will be unlike anything I've ever experienced. I will be assisting two teachers: Alan and Lidya, who teach fifth and sixth grade. This will be the first time that I will use the lesson plans that I came up with earlier. This will also be my first time working with so many children with disabilities at once. To be honest, the idea of coming in tomorrow and being trusted to teach these children is a little scary, but I'm up for the challenge. My worries before we went in today were that I won't bond with the kids straight away or they won't like me or I won't be a good enough teacher. But the friendliness of the teachers at the school and my chaperones' descriptions of the kids put my mind at ease a little bit. I hope that tomorrow will go well, but if there's one thing I know, it's that these children will teach me just as much as I could possibly teach them.

We got used to the climate and the heat, and we learned what it is going to be like to work with these kids. I think that today was valuable beause I realized how much work I am going to need to put in to succeed and acheive my goals here. I have heard so many great things about these kids. I have been preparing for this trip for months, and now it is time to give it my all. Today I walked away appreciating even more the privileges that I take for granted: clean floors, vacuums, my house, my education, and the quality of my school, to name a few. Everything here is so different from Vail that it is hard not to realize how lucky I am to live where I do and be clean, safe, and well-fed each day. I'm looking forward to crawling into bed tonight and meeting the kids in the morning!

Be sure to follow everyone else!

Everyone going on a service trip this year to Nicaragua has a blog on blogspot. Make sure that you follow them!


Ava: avanicaragua.blogspot.com
Max: maxbnicaragua.blogspot.com
Nathaniel: nicarauga13.blogspot.com
Morgan: morgannicaragua.blogspot.com
AJ: ajdaviesnicaragua.blogspot.com
Harry: harrynicaragua.blogspot.com
Sammie: nicaragua-sammiehaase.blogspot.com
Tyra: tryranicaragua.blogspot.com
Gena: genawachendorfer.blogspot.com
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Nicaragua!

A year ago today, I had never been outside of this country. I had never been to a completely different continent, building relationships with phenomenal children, trying to communicate when I had never even heard the national language before! Over seven months ago, as you all know, I went to an orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and that all changed. As of now, I can say that I've never been to a Spanish-speaking country and I've never worked with children with disabilities. However, in just over two months, I will have done both of those things, too! In April, I will be going on another service trip with Children's Global Alliance, this time to Rivas, Nicaragua. We will be working at Escuela Especial Sor Maria Romero, which is a school for children with special needs. There are eighty-seven children who attend this school, as well as twenty kids who are too disabled to attend school, whom we will be making home visits to. Not only will we be assisting in classrooms and working with the kids using lesson plans that we each came up with, but we will be cleaning the school and repairing some facilities.

Things have been moving quickly since I was first accepted to go on this trip in December. Our team has already had several meetings, and we each wrote reports on a handful of disabilities (including autism and Asperger's Syndrome, cerebral palsy, Down's Syndrome, and deafness). There have already been fundraisers, and Ansley Burnett, Gena Wachendorfer, and I are planning one for February 28th at Old Forge Pizza in Edwards. (When we figure out all of the information, I will post more about it.) Also, I have reached my fundraising goal. There was a great number of people who donated, and I would like to thank each and every one of them! It means so much to me that there are people who are willing to support me and this trip by making a monetary donation or donating clothing. Thank you!

Even though we have come so far already, we still have a ways to go until we are fully prepared to start working at Escuela Especial. I have yet to log community service hours, which I'm hoping will be at June Creek Elementary School or Edwards Elementary School, working with the children there who have special needs. I think this will be a really good opportunity for us to gain some experience working with these kids and understanding how to adapt to their learning and communication challenges. Also, we are trying to learn a bit of Nicaraguan Sign Language. We are starting with the alphabet (we can already sign our names), and I think that we're going to learn some basic phrases to help us talk to the kids. We are studying basic Spanish phrases, too, so that we can have an easier time teaching the kids and giving them positive reinforcement.

It's hard to believe that I only have two months to go! Again, thank you to everyone who donated towards my trip, and look out for an announcement about our upcoming fundraiser!