By Kim Priddy
I applied for the Nicaragua trip because most of those who had been
wanted to go back. They shared of their great experiences and
highs and lows, but all were encouraging that it was a meaningful
experience. So after it was decided that I was going and I shared the
news with family and friends, they asked me if I spoke Spanish. My
Spanish vocabulary included at the best maybe two dozen words and ten
of those would be numbers. So off to Nicaragua I went trusting those
I was traveling with, the kindness of strangers and the universal
understanding of the some things to help me be able to communicate.
We arrived in the community of Las Macias and were immediately greeted
by children. Not long after we were writing words of English and
Spanish, drawing our names and pictures (of animals, flowers, trees,
stars, etc…) and playing tic tac toe on the school house chalkboard;
we had found away to communicate despite our language barrier. They
chuckled when I tried my Spanish/English on them, but we seem to get
one another and understand each other. Also my colleagues and friends
from AMOS were able to help when we got stuck. Our differences in
language never slowed us down from playing hop scotch, football
(soccer), and capture the flag. Our laughter and playfulness captured
our imagination and allowed us to play like long time friends.
I had the opportunity to teach them the importance of washing our
hands so that our bodies could be healthy. We also learned the need
to pick up trash and taking care of our environment. They were
captivated by my AMOS friend, Miguel reading the book the Lorax. Each
child got to hold a book in their hands to read along with him. I
noticed that the children held their books as if it was a prize. Then
together we picked up trash around their school yard, we made it into
a competition (it seems to be a universal language). So we had three
groups of children running around picking up trash as fast as they
could and laughing. It was educational for all of us.
One last event that stands out to me was on the afternoon before we
were to leave, I had a couple of teenage girls ask me to play football
with them. It made me excited because I realized it was an
opportunity to help them see their strength and athleticism,
especially playing alongside and against the boys. It will be one of
my favorite football games I will have ever played. And we did well,
the girls played fantastic- even in sandals! It was an opportunity to
encourage the teenage girls to play sports and be active.
I do wish I knew the Spanish language, but reflecting back on my time
with the children, I know we found a common language; laughter and
playing together.
Nicaragua Immersion 2013 