Inspiration

Sometimes we need little pick-me-ups to make it through the day... :)

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."
Mark Twain

0 degrees North

Yadira (Blue shirt in back) and her family in front of their new home we helped them build. Jason-John is in wheel-chair and he was my friend! (I'm in back wearing red).
Coffee beans drying


Back in Wisconsin.
I am lucky to have a nice home, clean sheets, hot showers, an abundance of food, American coffee and the love of family and friends. This is not the first time going through an adjustment back to the United States culture. I can't be insensitive saying that it gets easier each time but it does. I think the awareness that here is home and I can't change that I grew up in a very privileged city and family compared to a lot of people I have met in the world. I don't take it for granted.
What doesn't get easier is telling people my stories.
The class I was in while I went to Nicaragua was supposed to teach us how to tell a personal narrative about community development. For three days now I have sat down to my Sony Vaio Laptop with a $2.00 cup of coffee, my notebook, the guidelines, assigned readings and pictures on facebook at my favorite coffee shop. I stare at the blank screen, scan my notes and desperately search for words to write. It doesn't help that I picked what my professor called "an abstract" topic... on deforestation. Yet environmental issues are my passion and I thought that would be easy to write about... turns out, it isn't. My topic lacks the 'grotesque and exoticism' that readers are enraptured by. Land cleared for crops and logging... sounds similar to Wisconsin.
I have stories about the people, about the culture, about the poverty, about the nature. What is hard is telling a story that will impact others, that will transport them, that will help them understand and see what I truly saw.

So, I sit and pray for inspiration for 3,000 words of inspiration to be exact. And right now I am just thankful for my hot coffee.


Psalm Posted on the walls of on of our host families:
Psalm 91:4
"He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

Being a Nica

Nicaragua

The light breeze blows as I sit around and look at the beautiful woman around me it is hard not to feel peaceful. The mango trees have small green fruits and the palm and guava trees make Managua the tropical land I anticipated. The smell is reminiscent of other countries I have been to before such as Cambodia and Bali without the smell of incense, as Nicaragua is primarily a Catholic nation. The air is thick with the smell of burning garbage and fruitiness. I feel at home. The family I am living with for the week has four generations in one home. Great grandma (abuela), grandma, Urielle (son and our host dad) and his daughter(and other nieces and nephews who are around eight years old.) The sense of community here is astounding. I am learning how ´to be´ more and more each day and foster a lack of urgency in my daily tasks.

The Little Small Things

The first day of 2012 came as a startle as I lazily slam the snooze button for the fifth time. My eyes snap open look at the clock and my heart drops as I realize I am forty-five minutes late for work and my only triumph is “At least I didn’t have to open today”. I glance out the window confused that it is light out then I remember it is 6:45 am. With the hazy glow I see puffs of white floating and I nearly screamed with joy except the hush of sleeping house. I scramble out the door and claim the first foot print in the fluffy white carpet and inhale a deep breath of mild winter morning air. 2012 has arrived with a washing “white as snow.”

I am now sitting on my bed, January first, and reading assigned articles for the 3-week Interim class, Writing Community Development in Nicaragua Class, that starts in the morning. I can’t escape the peace and anticipations I feel about the New Year. I revel that I live in a great state with a record breaking football team with a second line quarterback that is more than capable of stealing the show. I see my gold OPI crackle nail polish shimmer as I type and feel continually delighted at my holiday splurge. The past year has attested to be a highlight of the smaller things. My blessings I count when the snowflakes dance, seeing the Northern lights radiate green on Lake Michigan for the first time ever, I learn a new song on guitar, strumming the banjo, the fireplace glow at the flip of a switch, watching “chopped” marathons on the food network, random text messages, getting fun-friend mail, a good cup of piping hot coffee, aromatic peppermint tea, sending cards full of encouraging words, having a really good weep for no reason, “Indian Summer” bike rides, getting long hugs from my mom with a back scratch and all, listening to the nonchalant ramblings of my dad, walking my dog on crisp winter nights, tear filled weddings, gold nail polish, and marveling at how life continues to change. The small things.

I leave in two days for Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the western hemisphere. This trip could classify as a “big thing” in my book and will no doubt be a highlight of 2012 (when I look back next year) but I am reminded that this “big” trip is really a puzzle of little things that come together to form a complete picture, the “experience”.

As I pack my one small carry on piece of luggage, I realize I am only filling it with the essentials. A few small things (I can’t get over how cute travel size things are). The professor encouraged us prior to make the trip a “time-out” from our lives as we currently live them, that news thrilled me as I am always looking for momentary escapes but those are selfishly for “me” time. This trip is an outward bound participation trip focused on developing a detailed narrative about our experiences in Nicaragua. Experience and participation allude to interaction with others. I am not going on vacation but rather on a trip to actively engage with locals. Live in their homes, eat their food, try to communicate, listen actively, observe and offer my hands (and feet) to do hard work. I have fears of making mistakes and often that builds brick walls. Maybe this trip I can release my fear of failure and open my eyes to see the small things that I can be a part of, to be an observer of the little things that make up life's complete picture for my special Nicaraguan friends.

Goodbye my fluffy dancing snowflakes, hello…?

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Isaiah 1:18

Thoughtful Thanksgiving.

The snow is falling and that means winter is soon approaching. The smell of wood fires streaming from old houses, car exhaust from heat blasting, and spicy smells of baked goods and drinks are all permeating the air.

Thanksgiving is always the first holiday of the season for feasting (on real food and not candy) that jump starts the eating frenzy. When I think back to holiday meals when I was younger they were a mixture of real, from scratch homemade foods, and fake, from the box foods. The turkey, real mashed potatoes, boxed stuffing, cranberry Jell-O, green bean casserole, white buns from scratch, olives, raw carrots, and a salad layered with bacon, cheese, peas, onions, and miracle whip.

That was Thanksgiving past.

Thanksgiving present is non-traditional. As my family has been growing up and life brings has brought me to different countries, brings new people into the picture, the tradition has changed. A few years ago I spent Thanksgiving with my mom in Texas and we went to a buffet restaurant and had really fake Thanksgiving foods. Three years ago I was in England for the holiday and two years ago I spent Thanksgiving in New Zealand. In England and New Zealand the foods were an English version of our traditional Thanksgiving foods. The Yorkshire pudding, stuffing with apricots, pumpkin pie with a top crust, and fair trade chocolate were a very successful rendition of familiar foods. They were a comforting touch of home while traveling abroad.

This year I am not sure what Thanksgiving Day will look like. I will not be at home with my immediate family but that doesn’t mean it will go without celebration. I have invited international students from school over to celebrate the North American Holiday. There will be a potluck of some traditional food and some non-traditional. I pray I can extend the same hospitality to people without family in the U.S. as I experienced when I was in foreign places with no family.

What I am reminded of this time of year is that although the traditions of the day may change the purpose needs to remain the same. Thanksgiving celebrates harvest and the coming together of two worlds… the new and the native. In the past it was Europe and Native American. In the present it is people from all over the world and the United States. As a citizen of the United States and the Kingdom of God I am delighted to extend a hand to those who are from foreign lands.

I just hope they like the food…

John 13:34-36 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Glimpse from the Garden

Pictured Rocks National Park, MI

As the cool air is upon us and my mind is consumed with thoughts of pumpkins and hot apple cider I feel an ode to the summer is past due. I am back into school with new( used) books, new classes, and with classes in a new Gold Leed building named SAGE (wisdom of nature and the nature of wisdom) that opened this fall. I am also in a new house, like a real house, with a mom named Betty, a dog named Gracie, and I share a room with my friend Lacey. I had a very busy summer that involved spending a lot of time outdoors in the garden, hiking, and biking. I was able to see friends get married, purchase a home, move to new cities and follow the Lord leading them in new directions. It was great, and emotional at times. Vulnerability.

I am drowning up to my ears with heaps of fresh produce from my two garden plots, one at UW-Oshkosh community gardens and the other from Marvins Garden at the Gardens of the Fox Cities, not to mention the abundance my parents send me home with from their garden when I visit. I am busy cooking up lots of delicious meals, including my favorite Eggplant Parmesan!

Here is a reflection piece I wrote for the Gardens of the Fox Cities newsletter:

The Shasta Daisies are done blooming and the Monarchs are sparsely to be seen, a contrast to the middle of June when I first stepped foot in the Gardens of the Fox Cities. The gardens have changed a lot in two months and feel as though I have grown and changed with them.

Walking into Marvins Garden for the first time felt as though I was entering a magical little garden land. When children started arriving and the Gardeners and Explorers classes got rolling the magical Marvins land began to transform. The foot tall Sunflowers from June are now towering ‘ginormous’ giants that hang their heads to keep watch. The newly installed shed became a hideout from the rain. Gatherings took place at the blue table, and a feast of pickles, salsa and pizza we made one week was food fit for a king or queen. We took adventures and explored new territory on the 38 acres of the Gardens of the Fox Cities, catching butterflies, watching birds and looking at flowers through a kaleidoscope. The year ended with a friendly competition during Ecology Olympics and all the kids in Marvins went home as Olympian champions. New surprises are peaking through the leaves each week; right now there is a green pumpkin the size of a basketball, ripe and ready tomatoes and squashes of all variety waiting to be harvested. Being a leader and watching the interaction between children and the outdoors was fun and encouraging to see their excitement. Personally, I learned a lot from Hannah about organization, curriculum planning, allowing kids to be kids outside, and the generation of exploration of senses in the garden!

During my two months here at the gardens I have enjoyed watching the phenology of the flowers and trees. I got a front row seat every Thursday, as the dryness of late summer kicked in, my routine was watering the gardens around the Schieg building, Witzke Blvd. and Capitol Drive. The whimsical pink Queen of the Prairie bloomed and faded as the large dinner plate Hibiscus took center stage. I learned a lot about the flowers and trees from Vicki and other volunteers who had much knowledge to share. I practiced my newly learned plant identifications and facts as visitors to the gardens would stop and ask questions.

I would not have spent my summer any other way. The fun, beauty, friendships, knowledge, peacefulness and sense of civic engagement that I engaged in at the Gardens of the Fox Cities has been a job experience I will cherish forever.

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." - Psalm 119:105

Blessings come in disguise.

After resolving to take a summer class after no potential jobs or internships in sight a last minute application to AmeriCorps (a program sort of like the PeaceCorps except for in the United States and offers shorter term employments with local community organizations) proved to be fruitful. I was offered a position with the Gardens of the Fox Cities in Appleton, WI (similar to Botanical Gardens) through AmeriCorps. This gave me the chance to drop my dreaded statistics course and instead I will get my hands dirty and face sweaty out in the sun! It will be a great opportunity to grow in so many ways including teaching (little kids… go figure), growing better at the names of flora and fauna, and learning about prairie restoration. Continually I am amazed at how great my Father is and how He cares deeply for those whom are called sons and daughters. Trusting always He is good and in control will remain a lifelong lesson… as my 23^rd year has approached I am reminded that I shall not fear because ‘Perfect Love casts out Fear’…. 1 John 4:18 …. but, more on that later….

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” Psalm 18:2