my journey contines

… in the recent blog department. sorry about that. i’ve had so much on my plate and even more on my mind, that my blog seems to have drifted to the back shelf. but i don’t want that to happen because i appreciate and value your support — and i notice very quickly that my daily readers starts to drop when i stop posting regularly. so let’s keep that up. and by let’s, i mean me and you — that’s right. it takes two. i write. you read (and write - still love comments!!) haha…

1) jobs. the job hunt continues, and while i’ve come across a great bunch of NGO and done some good networking, made good contacts, etc…. i am still without a job. not here in Nicaragua, not in Toronto, and not in any other city in the world at this moment. press on.

2) Nicaragua/Canada. this is a tough one. tough in that really some days lately i wish i didn’t have emotions!! i mean, ok no i take it back. but at least that they weren’t so strong. it’s been emotional enough with culture shock and some normal challenges of living abroad - but I think the culture shock of going home after living here for a while is going to be worse and hit me harder. i am not sure what any of you would suggest  (Lorna, any ideas?), but i packed one of my suitcases so that I will have less stuff in my room and so that I will see it each day to adjust to the idea of leaving. so far it isn’t working. Don’t get me wrong (mom, dad, Andrew!!), i am looking forward to being home with my family. but this is going to be super hard. prayers appreciated. and at least most of my friends have e-mail so I can keep in touch. Nicaragua — I will be back!! but it’s the things that bugged me in the beginning that i’ve become accustomed to… the comments when you’re walking, the taxi drivers (oh the joys), the Spanish!, the music, the heat (i’ve even adjusted to the heat for the most part), the food (mmm), all of it. i shall miss it all. and then the culture shock of seeing the waste (not that you don’t see it here, you do…) but the excess and wealth of the West when I go back to Canada.

3) other things. really, i have some great friends. fabulous friends. but who’s going to want to sit down and look through all the billions of pics I took. right? right. and i do have tons of pics… and while i’ll be looking at them and trying to adjust back to my old home, i need to remember things like “have a nutshell version”, because not everybody that asks wants to hear the whole story, all 7 months. hehe those that want to know more will ask! what else? hmm… well everybody’s life has obviously continued while i’ve been gone!! note to self: continue to show interest and ask questions about THEIR lives. you’ve missed a lot too.

4) unknowns. today one of my good friends informed me that his girlfriend of 3 years (3 year anniversary past on Sunday) died in a bus accident. she had gone to Honduras to celebrate her birthday and was on her way back when there was a bus accident. i am incredibly sad and heart-broken for Juan who is truly one of the most genuine guys I’ve met in Nicaragua, a real friend! (unlike the many men here who are questionable and very much the opposite) please pray for him and for his g/fs family during this difficult time of loss.

 *other notes to self*
- buy a mac. other computers suck, as is noted by the 5th and final computer of the last year crashing and burning as the mother board gave out on the second computer. ugh!
- back up all of your stuff every day, or at least make note of what’s new and back it up. you never know when your computer will die. lol. (lesson learned - finally)
- do one thing every day that scares you. (you will notice i stole this line from my previous post with the lyrics from the Sunscreen Song)
- think with more than your heart in all moments.
- do not completely ignore your heart.
- get enough sleep. you are no longer 18. you cannot do all nighters. it will haunt you for at least a couple days after, and you need those days.”
- network network network network network…
- make enough time every day, at the start of your day, for God. if you do not make the time, your day will not make the time for you - priorities!
- make enough time every day for yourself! can be at any point in the day - no computer, no phone, music is okay - journal and take some you time. “fill your cup” as a certain friend has said.
- make an effort with friends and the people that are important to you. when they stop, continue making the effort. true friends are hard to find and although it’s a two way street — life is busy. keep on them haha.
- love red hair. despite what some people might say - it rocks. and you wear it well (hahaha)
- continue to blog and live your life one day at a time, looking straight out ahead and waiting for those real pearls.

Updates with friends: Cristyne is super excited to have me home and I am excited to see her. She is my person (a quote from Grey’s Anatomy — in case you aren’t familiar with it), which means a great friend. Yay! Monique is continuing things with her music career. Check out her blog and songs here. Mirna and I can almost always speak only in Spanish now - that’s exciting!!! Noel is still in Honduras, back from a great vacation for Semana Santa. Beth got the job!!! Rebecca sounded great when I talked to her on Skype the other day and can still be found in Israel. Marshall (my one housemate) is leaving for Toronto in 3 days. Kiki is staying here for a while longer and doing a great job with the annual report (stress free!) Jessi went home and I miss her. Matt is still in Afghanistan. Dawn, Jeremiah, and Josh are still looking for the right job — as am I!! Lorna has also made the switch to WordPress (good choice!!) and continues to blog and take beautiful pictures!!! Mandie continues to rock my socks — we’ve been good friends since we were 12 and it’s still going strong (thanks for the good talk!!)

For many others of you I’m not sure — we need to connect! That and I couldn’t literally write about everybody hehe…

Anyways as you can see I still have lots to say, so I’ll continue funneling it through the blog.

Thanks for reading!
Shannon

p.s. I also now have red hair. As you can see here. hehe…

for a few reasons I’ve started up another blog. to see the blog, click HERE. i did this for a few reasons.

1) to practice my Spanish on an ongoing basis.
2) for my Spanish-speaking friends, who are unable to understand my English blog.

enjoy!
Shannon

is it even possible for another computer to fry on me. there was one day, once upon a time, where i believed i was good with computer. however, with time they must be making them better but to break faster because another computer crashed on me!!! i was using it and the screen just went black. not to mention that the screws always fall out of it… grrr. I HATE COMPUTERS.

also the job search continues. that´s not new, but continuing. and cool. wide open world of possibilities!

anyways i´m still reachable!! just on the cell. my email will be hard to access unless my computer magically gets fixed. here´s hoping.

miss u. thanks for reading, as always.
shannon

… to live life in my bubble with food in a fridge, a bed to sleep on, clothes in a closet, and a roof over my head. it’s REAL that we are among the richest in the world with these luxuries, not wrong, but real. but the disproportionate distribution of things is the part that is wrong. each person starts doing something small to impact those stats, and they’d start to change slowly but surely.

one by one… they get blogs!!! woot woot. joe and mary got a blog and i’ve updated my list on the side of blogs that i read to include that. i know joe from grad school and got to know mary as well. btw (i miss you guys!!!). it’s been a little difficult to connect but it’s great to know that they now have a blog, so please check it out: http://www.josephandmaryb.blogspot.com/

a few of you are still left to get blogs: jeremiah, dawn, brian, hemen, and i REALLY doubt matt will start blogging anytime soon haha. rosa - get yours up and running again! hehe

thanks for reading!
Shannon

just wanted to show it’s not all that different. lol

The Shell station - looks just the same as at home, except it’s always full serve. And you have to make sure they put in the amount you ask for or else they might leave it short and keep the change.

The grocery store, really nice, near my house. Owned by Walmart.

i don’t think it will hit me until i’m home, and even then maybe not until after a little while. i was sitting in a taxi yestereday driving around just trying to absorb as much as possible of my surroundings. and while i know this is not everybody’s passion, i wish that my family and close friends could be here even for a short time to share in this experience.

there are little children, i’d say from the age of 4 in the middle of the street rolling on the grass that divides to two lanes, fighting, that run up and start trying to clean your windshield when you drive by. they’ve got the puppy dog eyes perfected as they ask you for “un peso” and hold out their hand.  this is always sad. why are they out so late at night? why aren’t they in school? there are some questions for a good research project and there’s possibility for change there for sure. but one of the things that gets me even more is when there are mentally/physically handicapped people that are in the middle of the roads begging for money. it just seems so wrong and it’s one of those things that at least for now, i remain helpless to.

the majority of my time here has been spent in the sun as really the rainy season only lasted till about November and maybe early December… it’s starting to get very hot again but the sun is always out! it’s beautiful. i so am not looking forward to the snow.

yesterday i was walking and talking to some people in various organizations about possible work opportunities in the future… at one point i found myself not lost, but confused about where my destination was. (i knew the area more or less)… i stopped and asked for directions from 4 people, each of which gave me a different answer, but they were so helpful!!  finally i stopped at a little food stand, like a mini outdoor convenience stand… they were so friendly and initially amused at me rusty spanish (although i was amazed as i continually feel more confident and able to better communicate!!) anyways, before i left, i decided to get a hotdog and bottle of water and sat down to talk. it ended up that they invited me to their house and to go with them to the beach this weekend… hahaha. i love it!

the holiday weekend here is called Semana Santa and it really started tomorrow. businesses close and pretty much everybody heads to the beach. i will also be heading to the beach with a few friends, to San Juan del Sur (I haven’t been there yet.)… take pics, I sure will. you know me.

i’m also debating what will make the transition easier. do i need to set up my suitcase and start packing? just so that i can look at it each day and have the realization start to sink in? eek i don’t know… any ideas?

thanks for reading,
Shannon

the date is set, the ticket is paid and I will be arriving back in Toronto April 10th. i’m coming home!

thanks for reading,
Shannon

i have many updates although now is not the best time, i just wanted to leave a quick post and i’ll write more later.

updates may or may not include: going to Costa Rica, being in yet another taxi that ran out of gas, teaching English conversation classes, the ever-continuing job search, spanish, and so much more.

hahaha did it work? are you on the edge of your seat waiting to here more?

well here’s something exciting to push you over the edge. i’m going to be going home in a month, maybe less. wow. time flies.

ok so 680 didn’t hire me for my snazzy catchy lines. but you’ll be back, back to read more…

thanks
Shannon

did i even spell that correctly?

sometimes it’s annoying to always be in my head because lately it’s been operating in overdrive!!! i really don’t know what the next step is… but i DO know that i have my family excitedly waiting for me to return home, be it April 4th or April 15th or somewhere in between. i love that i am always welcome there… and it feels that i’ve been gone a long time. i need some time to wind down and figure out what is next. i have no clue.