Happy Nicaversary to Us!

Today we celebrate our one-year anniversary of being in Nicaragua and the half-way mark in our two-year term here in San Nicolas.

We like to measure our time here with the growth of our neighbor-baby, Maydorcito, who was born on September 15, 2013, just six days after we got to Nicaragua. According to this measurement, we have been on Nicaraguan soil long enough for a brand-new human being to start learning how to walk. While Maydorcito has been learning how to turn over and then crawl and then start eating real food and then start walking, we have been learning how to speak Spanish and cook beans and wash our clothes by hand and chop down banana trees.

The Maydorcito measurement is also an apt one because when we first got here, Maydorcito would shriek in terror every time he saw Davie. Men around here don't really have beards, and Davie's bushy red beard just freaked him out. But just within the last month or two, Maydorcito's 11-year-old cousin Isa has been bringing him over to our house every day. And maybe it's because Davie gives Maydorcito his heart-shaped key chain to play with, or maybe it's just because he sees Davie more often, but Maydorcito isn't scared of Davie anymore. So it is that over the last year, people in San Nicolas have gradually become more accustomed to the gringos in town (most people don't even stare at us anymore), and we have gradually become more accustomed to them.

Today we celebrate all that we have accomplished here in San Nicolas this year. Here are some of those accomplishments:

- We have co-taught about 450 hours of English classes with the Nicaraguan English teacher, Vilma, at the only public high school anywhere around San Nicolas. On Monday-Wednesday mornings, I (Sarah) co-teach 7^th through 9^th grades and Davie co-teaches 10^th and 11^th grades. We help Vilma (whose English isn't great) teach correct English pronunciation and discipline the students. When Vilma doesn't show up to teach (which happens not infrequently), we fill in to teach her English classes, attempting to bring more games and activities into our lessons. This is tough and often discouraging work in a community where so few students will ever actually use English, but there are moments of inspiration. Last week, for instance, Davie carried on a conversation for several minutes totally in English with one apathetic-seeming senior boy, who had obviously learned something in his five years of English classes.

- We've planned and taught 90 hours of our own after-school English class for students who are really enthusiastic about learning English. We hold these classes on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons in our house, and have about five students who attend semi-regularly. This class goes at a much faster pace than the normal public-school English class, and with such a small group, we're able to incorporate lots of games, movies, and field trips into our lesson plans. The students who attend this class are all notably better at English than the rest of our students.

- Together we've worked a total of 320 hours at a local organic farm. On Thursday mornings, we ride our bikes to La Garnacha, a nearby organic farm and ecotourist center, where we help clean and bag carrots and other vegetables. We try to support this association in whatever ways we can; La Garnacha is very unique in this area for its organic methods, local art, and community orientation. Weird-shaped carrots and gossip from our coworkers keep us entertained on these Thursday mornings, and in the afternoon we often help package coffee or solve technological mysteries that our coworkers encounter.

- Davie has spent 160 hours hawking organic produce and local art at the farmers market in Esteli on Fridays. La Garnacha has a stand at this weekly market, where they sell a collection of organic produce, their own renowned Tilcit cheese, earrings made from pine needles, and other locally-crafted food and art. Lots of gringos pass through this market, so La Garnacha likes to have a fluent English-speaker like Davie on hand.

- I have intensively tutored two women in English. These women, Maria and Nidia, are both much more advanced English-speakers than anyone else in San Nicolas, and at this point they just need regular practice to feel confident speaking in English. I enjoy being able to speak in English with someone besides Davie, and Maria and Nidia have become two of my best friends here.

- We've hosted or participated in at least 30 cooking “classes” with various community members. Most of our social gatherings here center around cooking; people are always telling us they want to learn how to make pizza or cupcakes, and we've asked them to teach us how to make various Nicaraguan dishes in return. Our most frequent cooking companions are a group of elementary-school kids, who whenever they see us invariably ask, “When are we going to cook next?”

- Davie has typed up at least 70 letters and documents for the school. Since no other teacher has ever taken a typing class or had much experience with computers, Davie has become the unofficial school secretary. Davie has also attempted to make computer navigation and document-writing easier by organizing all of the 'My Documents' folders and creating templates for grading purposes.

- I have helped the local library organize its books by the Dewey Decimal System. In the small, unlit, and frankly uncreative library you can find me on Friday mornings working away with pen, stickers, and tape. The collection of books is small, but at least now you can easily find a book you're looking for.

- Davie has raised funds to buy seven new balls for the school sports program. Thanks to our supporters, the school now has three new basketballs, three new volleyballs, and a new soccer ball, all of which the P.E. teacher, Reynaldo, has been using every day to teach sports. It is really exciting to see the P.E. program be able to get more kids involved in the activities.

- I have started a book club with four high school students, who have begun to read The Hunger Games. Books are scarce here, so most people have never read any books for fun before. We'll see what happens, but I'm hoping to get these four students hooked on reading.

Of course, not all of our accomplishments are significant – much of our work is just the normal, day-to-day work of any person working in the Nicaraguan campo. What has been most significant in our year in San Nicolas is the connections we've developed with people whose lives have been so different from our own. Connecting with someone from a different cultural background is the surest way to broaden and enrich your world, I believe. And if this is true, our worlds, along with the worlds of our fellow San Nicolaseños, have certainly been broadened and enriched significantly this year.