my journey contines

first saw this not from watching the Superbowl… but from Rebecca’s blog. i thought it was funny so also wanted to share it. hehe…

thanks for watching
Shannon

i was in Tecuamame on Thursday… i’ve been there before when i went to observe/interview participants from the gender focus group - “family income security strategies”. i always get a little nervous when i’m going to need to speak Spanish — although I love it!! but… if i’m with people that speak both English and Spanish then I get nervous that i’ll say the wrong thing or sound silly. and sometimes even with adults i still get nervous if they only speak Spanish. i don’t know, it would be different if i was living with a host family i suppose - in terms of my language.

anyways.

i get a lot of looks when i’m there - not looks as though they are looking at me strange. but obviously because i don’t look like they do, i’m a “chella”… once they find out i can speak a little Spanish they are super friendly. their kids all are around me regardless of if i can understand them or not (that doesn’t slow them down at all). here are a few pics from both the training session and from being with the kids. to see more pics, check out my flickr. (remember if you haven’t requested access, for security, it won’t let you view them — so ask me please!)

Maria - 62 yrs old - Sesame Producer alongside her husband

Reina - 45 yrs old - Sesame Producer’s Wife
(Owns her own business and as a result of the PRODUMER project has been able to purchase a refrigerator and support her daughter in university)

Some of the training session participants - receiving training on crop diversification, particularly with cotton

Training session

A group of children (not children of the participants) that saw me and my camera and asked me to take their photo…

Now I wanted also to share a little story. It’s not a big deal… but it just hit me. I remember when I was at Urbana 2006, we were talking about the importance of reaching out to those which are outcast by society, or not even to say so strongly - but just avoided. The people that many in society feel uncomfortable around. Just like Jesus did in the Bible - to even reach out and physically touch those people. A hug, a pat on the back, whatever. Well, today I had a moment with that. The little girl in the middle in the above picture was a little developmentally delayed. Also she some type of birth defect in her hand which seemed to have remove sensation and control - so she couldn’t move it. Also she had a deep open wound on her wrist of that hand - I don’t know if she couldn’t feel it or what… But she took a liking to me and sat right next to me wanting to see all the pictures that I had taken, wanting me to take a picture with her. When I first saw her, around the same time as the above pic, her hair was so mangled and dirty that you wouldn’t be able to run your fingers through it. She was filthy and her clothes were ripped and worn. But boy did her face light up when she saw the camera! When she was sitting next to me, I found myself looking at her wrist, hoping to avoid contact; but as she had no control, she continued to push her wrist against my jeans or rub against my arm. It was in this moment that I caught myself. Why am I thinking this way? How can I sit here and push away from this little girl… I just felt convicted a bit. And I reached out and put my arm around her and took a picture.

Me & the little girl ( I didn’t learn her name)

We need to show love in tangible ways to the people around us — be it a phone call, a pat on the back, making them lunch, whatever. People need to know that they are loved. It’s a lonely world…

(Put one foot in…)

Two of the little girls.

Mom & Daughter (one of the producer participants)

This is a restaurant… there are sticks on the roof (a thin sheet of corrugated metal) to hold it down…

It was a great experience. I love going to the field. I love meeting people. I love hearing their stories. Everybody has a story.

Thanks for reading,
Shannon

Hi guys!!

Do any of you have pictures from Bahama Breeze? Somehow I lost all of mine from that last day Please let me know if u do and send them to my gmail?

Miss you.
Shannon

well i arrived safe and sound - my friend Brenda picked me up at the airport… felt like a long day! although i arrived back around 1pm. i arrived, that is, minus one suitcase… grr. how can one arrive but not the other? i put them together. hehe…

i just relaxed tonight. easing back into it.

AND my friend Noel came! he’s teaching English in Honduras right now, but flew in tonight, actually on the same flight as Marshall, to spend a few days here before taking off to Honduras.

thanks for reading
shannon

oh, p.s. this is a funny picture i took today on my way home:

(It says, in case you can’t read it. “Jesus te amo” (Jesus I love you) and “Playboy”. This is on the back of a school bus, as you can see… )

first and foremost, to wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2008! Wow… i hope that you all had a safe and happy holiday season with friends and/or family and loved ones. i wish you all the best as you set out for a new year filled with opportunities and change.

also, the time has come to pack up my things and return to Managua. it’s been, as i’ve already said, wonderful to be home. i really have had an amazing time. and it’s hard to leave my family, because you know me - and you know we’re really close.

anyways, if you can just keep me in your thoughts and prayers - i’d really appreciate it. i’ve still been struggling a bit whether it’s culture shock, 3-month “wall”, just the crash that comes after working so hard for a year straight with so many changes — or maybe a combination!! i’ve been having a hard time. and would appreciate your continued prayers.

also, i love e-mails as it’s always great to hear from friends and family from home and abroad. keep ‘em coming!

as always, thanks for reading.
shannon

today i slept until 12:30pm… can’t remember the last time i did that. it was fabulous - i’ve been so tired. and i think after the last year, which really looking back on was incredibly busy and intense, i’m just tired, so so tired. but it’s been good.

i did some errands with my dad and went to my grandpa’s. mom, dad, grandpa and i visited for a while, which was nice. and then we picked up grandma and went out for a nice dinner at a restaurant nearby — DELICIOUS. but i must say i’m sure my stomach has shrunken because i was full so fast.

it’s so nice to be back with my family. i love Christmas.

thanks for reading
Shannon

P.S. safe travels to all of you that are travelling during the holiday season!

… and i’m about 1/2 way home. Or something like that….

this morning a friend Brenda took me to the airport in Managua. i got there, checked in without problems, and went to check my e-mail (for free in the Managua airport) while waiting to kill the time. i was a little concerned when i went through security and they stopped me to look through every item in my purse and backpack… they asked if my external harddrive opened. i tried to explain that it was broken (in my broken spanish - because the external casing is cracked) and then motioned that i had dropped it. i think i got my point by. hahaha… anyways, when he walked away and just left me there, i waited. until he looked at me and told me “Go!”. excellent communicator.

the flight was scheduled to leave at 1pm… we took off at 2:45pm. i had booked a window seat and surprisingly had nobody next to me!! so i was able to stretch out on the 3 seats, it was great…

now i’m in Atlanta, waiting for my final connecting flight to Toronto. it’s been delayed twice and now they’re saying we won’t leave until 10:15pm. but alas, i’m almost home so it’s all good.

i’m looking forward to being home.

thanks for reading,
shannon

… i want to go home …

In our pre-departure training we learned how everybody deals with living abroad in different ways. Some of us arrive on a high and crash after three months…. some of us arrive scared, and by 3 months in we’re loving it. Some are somewhat mellow all throughout…

I’ve heard about the “3 month mark” several times… and I believe I experienced it this weekend. For some reason, despite all of the things that I love (and I really do love it here!), I just felt really sad. I missed many of the little things from home, my family, and things I used to take for granted (re: being able to walk by myself at night, being able to communicate perfectly with almost anybody i run into, and being able to drink the water without thinking twice…)

So it really hit me. There were a lot of things that bugged me and I just didn’t want to be here. It was not a good day. I called my family — thankfully they let me just talk it out. I couldn’t really explain it… I just was venting I guess.

But I love it here, so it was just a day. And now it passed… once again, I love it here. I’m not sad. In fact, if anything I’m kind of sad to be leaving… I’d like to be staying here for Christmas. But I’m so happy I’m going to be able to spend it with my family.

Quite a difference between the street here and the street at home. Take a look!

hehehe… okay so it’s a little premature but it made me laugh….

check it out.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1326879218