my journey contines

i’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. yea, maybe even more than usual, believe it or not… you see, i’ve been thinking about overall how wonderful it’s been to be here in Nicaragua (i know i had a hard time for a while there…). and then i think *gulp* i haven’t been in Toronto for almost a year and a half. my roots will always be there, and that’s where my family is and i can’t WAIT to be with them again. although i also feel like all these new friends i have are now all over the world… and that’s a tad bit lonely. i guess that comes with the territory in this job? but it’s a bit scary.

you see i was also thinking of travelling. my internship is finished April 4th… and i was thinking about the grand idea i’d had to go backpacking through Central America. i was a little afraid that it’ s a now or never thing. when am i going to have the opportunity to come back here? and it’s much easier when i’m young, and single and don’t have a job (minus the $ part…). that’s not to say that i imagine myself getting married anytime soon unless there’s somebody very important that some of you have waiting for me to meet? ahahaha… but. in all seriousness, yea. i bought this awesome backpack!! i wanted to use it… soooooooooo these are some of the ifs, ors and buts in my head at the moment.

and when i DO come home. then what? it’s exciting, right? the world is my oyster. but i don’t like oysters… haha. i like home and my family. and change is good. it’s the one certain thing in this world, next to death and taxes. and sheryl crow always told me that “A Change Would Do You Good”…

*gulp*

the next unknown.

thanks for reading
Shannon

Hi everybody! As you can see, I’ve decided to move my blog over to wordpress.com. Please make note of the new blog address: http://shannonbrisco.wordpress.com

I’m still figuring out how to move over my little map of where my readers are and adjust the info on the side, so bear with me

As always, thanks so much for reading.
Shannon

check out more new pics on my flickr.

http://flickr.com/photos/sbrisco

by the way, you don’t have to just search through ALL the pics. that wouldn’t be so exciting because I have tons. rather, feel free to click on a group on the right hand side — they’re organized into where I was (Eastern, January in Nicaragua, Christmas in Toronto, etc.) and as here, feel free to leave comments hehe…

thanks for reading
shannon

did you laugh when you read the title. some of you did? or maybe only if chris says it… lol.

well it was one of those days/nights and maybe still is where i might express myself a bit stronger than usual…. reading my blog, if you do, you’ll realize that i write pretty much the same way that i speak. so it is normal that emotions will be conveyed through my blogging. today is that day.

last night i cried myself to sleep. i don’t exactly know why. my roommate was already sleeping… so it was a quiet crying but i did. i’ve been here 3 weeks today and i hadn’t cried yet. in fact, i struggled a bit but managed not to cry even at the airport when my parents dropped me off. (if i had started then i wouldn’t have stopped…) anyways… i think just a variety of the differences are getting to me, or got to me yesterday.

that whole curve that we studied in cross-cultural preparedness? it hits different people differently. some people never get sad. some never adjust. others crash around 3 months and then it’s all up hill. i’m doing fine, i still love it here! just things getting to me and yesterday was just an off day… i turned on my ipod and fell asleep listening to Snow Patrol and Joshua Radin.

a few things i love:

• having palm trees in my yard and out my window
• hearing music i love (most of the time i like it)
• practicing Spanish
• taking rides in taxis that are similar to rides at wonderland. will you survive? will you fall out? hahaha…
• bartering for the price of a taxi and feeling satisfied when you feel you’ve reached a fair price.

a few things that i’m trying to adjust to:

• not being able to say more then “hello, how are you” to people i meet. (too shy and not sure of my language enough yet)
• having to always be with my housemates (who are great), being so dependent on others
• the ANNOYING dj’s that never let a song play even 1/2 way through without interrupting with “Ay yi yi!!!” or other stuff
• yes doesn’t always mean yes. yes might mean no.
• my neighbours knowing almost everything i do

a few things that are bugging me:

• getting charged way too much for a short taxi ride because it’s obvious that i’m not a local or because i can’t communicate well
• being hot and “glowing” almost all the time because of the heat (but i love that i’m missing winter!!)
• getting hooted at and stared at so often

It doesn’t mean that I don’t like it here. I do!! just thinking “aloud” on my blog. And many of these things I knew mentally before coming… but it can rub you wrong on certain days I guess.

I also really miss having my friends to hang out with and talk to, and my family. It seems like it will take forever to make friends here.

Thanks for reading!
Shannon

hola!

well, i’ve been here for one week now. i’m pretty much settled at my place and i REALLY like it!! still adjusting to waking up early, but because i’m going to bed “early” it’s getting easier. i don’t hate my alarm clock quite as much…

no easing into the adjustment work-wise though… i’m really busy with lots to do. not to mention the 2 classes online… but who works best under pressure? *this girl* (janell-ism)

i’ve been working at the office in the morning for about 5-6 hours and then i go home and hit up a cafe. it’s awesome to be able to connect to the Internet and if you can find a place w/ air conditioning! haha.

i miss all of you (from home and “from Philly”)… so thankful for the net so we can easily keep in touch.

and…. before I go. HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBECCA!!! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you. But next best thing? Blogging about it? ahaha…. I hope you have an awesome day. You are a great friend.

thanks for reading!
Shannon

Today was another day at work. We caught a taxi to work around 9 (not as early a morning)… I did some reading to get some background information on the projects that I’ll be involved in (annual reports, etc.). We have the option to get lunch + delivery charge for 25 Córdoba (approx $1.50 USD) and it’s quite delicious. Usually chicken and/or steak w/ rice, a salad and some plantain chips. Yum. I went and sat w/ the ladies from the office and mostly just listened.

I really hope I can learn Spanish soon – you know me, I’m a little bit of a chatterbox and I love people! So it’s hard not being able to communicate… I think that the other times I’ve travelled I’ve been more confident and/or willing to use my Spanish as, although very limited, it’s been more substantial than the language known by my friends/family I’ve been with. This time, however, I’m around people that are almost bilingual! So I’m much more timid and holding it back to try speaking. I need to kick myself and get into gear!! I can’t wait to start Spanish lessons (I think it’ll be next Monday…)

After work tonight we went out for dinner at a café not too far from where I live… it is very nice and actually has wireless Internet!! We met a lady that works at CIDA here in Nicaragua and the bunch of us went to the ballet! That’s right, ballet. In downtown Managua. There was a power outage in this part of the city, so outside was very dark but they had a generator so inside was fine. We saw the Angolan ballet – it was very interesting, totally different than any type of ballet I’ve ever seen!

Thanks for reading!
Shannon

buenas dias

ya i feel that’s about all i know right now. although that’s not true, i’m surprised at how little i understand compared to what i thought. i guess it will just take some time, and soon i’ll be in language school too.

09/04/2007:
soooo… i am currently uploading a video image of the lightning we passed during our flight. we flew a different route instead of over the ocean so as to avoid the bad parts of the storm, but the flight was still very bumpy… it was a long day. i’m so glad that Kiki and Marshall were travelling with me. Keith, Wendy and another guy (i’m sorry can’t remember his name) met us and packed our luggage to head home. it was pouring rain and after unpacking my stuff i fell into bed.

09/05/2007:
wakie, wakie rise and shine… at 5:30am!!! yea, for those of you who know me well, this was quite an adjustment. at least the time change works in my favour (in my mind/body that was 7:30am still). not that a relatively light sleeper COULD sleep in as everything’s buzzing as of 5:30/6am anyways… cars driving by, honking horns, music, etc. even the heavy sleeper might wake up because it gets hot so early… but we are sooo blessed to have A/C. what a wonderful invention!!!

i woke up at 5:30 to have a shower, at which point i found the shower didn’t work. nor did the toilet flush — but the power may have been out. so i had a good ol’ bucket shower and used the “toilet-flushing technique” that i picked up in Cuba. hehe, another comment. blessed to have buckets. anyways, got ready had breakfast (my boss had been so kind as to pick up some basic groceries for me and my housemates for our arrival). when he came we headed out and stopped for breakfast on the way. we had “quesillos” which are hot tortillas with a slab of some sort of cheese and onions inside and then warm cream poured on top. it was pretty good.

we went to Leon for a meeting my boss had and i was an observer. it is really hard to observe when you don’t speak the language. so although i could understand the occasional word (which i later found out that the man had adjusted his spanish to “Gringo Spanish” to make it easier for me to understand… although i STILL had a hard time… haha), it was hard at times to stay awake. i guess a mix of the heat and not understanding and being tired from travelling the day before… there were going to be 4 other people joining us at the meeting. 2 of the men that had confirmed the day before never showed. then our next meeting was cancelled. and the last meeting was over lunch, so we went to a little restaurant. i am going to be drinking a lot of “Fanta” (like orange pop… if you’ve been in Central America you know it well)

then we headed back to the office, where i was introduced to everybody — all of which i do not remember their names. i’ll have to write them down. i did a lot of *smile and nod* today, having no clue what was being said many times. haha… oh boy. there’s a girl that does cleaning and pours coffee etc. nobody seems to know her name. i am going to get to know her. did you see the movie “What Women Want?”… she reminded me of the girl that did errands there and nobody recognized her. (not saying people are mean to her but maybe that she isn’t really engaged with much…) anyways, yes. i am going to do that.

we left work and went to the mall to buy cell phones. i now have a cell phone. (that was quick! e-mail me if you want the #) then we went to the bank. i now have some local currency, which is called “córdoba”. we continued from there to go get groceries. there was a pretty big grocery store that had clothes and everything… i got some groceries: spaghetti, parmesan cheese, cereal, 1% milk (yay!! not skim, but YAY… i was worried i wouldn’t be able to get it), frozen peas, chicken strips, turkey, hot dogs and buns, etc. so although i have my KD (kraft dinner) i will have a lot of other food i’m used to eating. i’ll save the KD for a really bad day.

the drive home was an adventure!! wendy drove us and it was pouring rain, plus there was a power outage near the office so much of the lights/street lights were off… also, the “defrost” or defog (whatever it’s called) didn’t work. so Marshall and Wendy kept wiping the front windshield so that we could see. it was quite an adventure… lol.

not long after getting home, i passed out. i was so tired. not before having a nice cool shower — which was working then. (yay) and journalling (in that journal you gave me Rebecca!). i went to bed at 9:30, so early night for me. slept really well!

that’s my update until today. miss you guys! i was able to speak to my mom and dad briefly which was awesome and i’ve gotten e-mails from a few of you. keep ‘em coming!

thanks for reading,
love,
shannon

… no i’m not really in denial. i’m so excited for the next chapter of my life! i can’t believe this Philly portion has gone by so fast though. again, sorry i haven’t blogged lately — no, wait i’m not sorry (i apologize too much :P) haha… but ya, it’s been so busy and i haven’t been getting tons of sleep, etc.

also, I talked to the two people that are going to be working as interns in nicaragua as well on skype this week. still figuring out housing… got an e-mail about possible housing options so that will probably get figured out this week — exciting!

and ALSO, i got a call today from rafael which was nice. another great friend from back home and I hadn’t talked to him in ages… although I might not have been so alert having gone to bed at some ridiculous hour — it was great to hear from you, rafael. i appreciate your interest in my journey and am excited to hear about all God’s doing in your life. remember He has a plan for you!! (and you, all you other readers!!!)

this coming Friday is my commencement. i can’t believe it. this has been wonderful. and my family is coming!! i’m so excited! mom, dad, andrew, grandma and andrew’s girlfriend, jess.

1 month today i fly to nicaragua. crazy!

well that was kind of a quick update, i’ll try to get back on track. really appreciate your reading and following along. still love the comments, keep ‘em coming!

shannon

crazy busy time of year, end of semester, little time left. i will post more soon!!!

thanks
shannon

it’s truly amazing how much 6 months can change and shape you. imagine in a year!

a year ago i didn’t know that i would be where i am now. in fact if you’d asked me, i would’ve even laughed (or giggled). it just seemed impossible. but how amazing is it that God opens doors, and makes all things possible when they are in His will. financially, logistically, just on all different levels i wouldn’t have seen that it would be possible for me to be here at Eastern. but here I am! and i’m getting closer and closer to my next “adventure”.

growing up in the church i often heard people say “God told me…” or “I knew God’s call on my life when…” i didn’t quite understand that because i’d never audibly heard or strongly sensed God’s direction. until about March 2006 when i was sitting in a missions chapel at Tyndale. i remember clearly coming home to talk with my parents… “God wants me to work in missions. Not as a “tradition” missionary, but in international development in some capacity”. It’s a really neat thing to sense that clear direction in your life. all of the sudden the things that before seemed scary or that might seem to be stepping out on a limb don’t seem scary when you feel you have a calling and purpose behind you.

if you had known me, and i’ve said this to several people lately in conversation, a few years ago… i wasn’t a big outdoors person (this has really changed!), i was a picky eater (changing…), and i totally hated bugs (hasn’t changed yet). my dad joked that this was funny, where God was calling me it would be a stretch to my previous personality. i am so excited though to take this next step! not everybody is called to work internationally, and there is nothing wrong with that! i don’t think necessarily that i’ll be abroad forever, but at least for the next while i believe that’s where i’ll be! and i’m excited seeing how much God has changed and shaped me in these last 6 months especially… to think - WOW! i have so much to learn, experience, and do… and i’m so truly blessed to have the opportunity to do it!

thanks for sharing my journey with me, as i blog/journal/and post pics and share my thoughts. it’s really exciting that you take an interest in my life and what i’m doing! stay tuned!!

thanks for reading!
shannon

p.s. update me on you too though!! if you have a blog, send me the address or drop me an e-mail at shannonbrisco@hotmail.com to give me an update on what’s going on in your world!