10 days in Central America (pt. II)

(Typically this blog will update once a week with a reflection about the Trinity. Recently, however, I spent 10 days in Central America, and was unable to update. As such, this is the second entry in a series of four reflections of the trip.)

Part II.

The Cultural Context:

As I went through the stages of vertigo, adapting, encouragement and investment I continually encountered the context. In many ways the context had many parallels to my context in the United States. There were, however many distinct differences.

For one thing, the political situations were much different. The political situations in Central America seemed much more volatile. There seemed to be this sense of democracy trying to be realized, and others trying to maintain a political/social status quo. Another distinct difference was the poverty.

In the United States poverty is protested against, and therefore hidden. In Nicaragua the poverty seemed to be accepted. I never got the sense that people from Nicaragua thought it was just that people lived in such poverty. It just seemed that poverty was such a reality that it had to be addressed and admitted.

I encountered this addressing and admitting in the fact that towns where everyone lived in houses with dirt floors was only miles from the city where people lived drastically different. This is to say nothing about the living conditions of many people living in poverty in the cities.

Another encounter was a woman asking Michael Cooper-White if there was poverty in the United States like there was in Nicaragua. This woman was one who lived in the country in a house with dirt floors. This question exposes that while this woman’s poverty is a daily reality, she knows it does not have to be the standard way of life.

Another difference was the language. In English there is a way to say ‘may I,” or “I would like to.” To me, Spanish feels like a language that is more direct. To ask someone if they would like to sit, you simply say “siéntate.” To my western ears that sounds much more like you’re telling someone to sit down, which is not necessarily the case.

It took me a while to become comfortable speaking in Spanish. I never got as proficient as I would like, but I was always able to build rapport. I would often do this by working with someone younger. I could easily show I was approachable by letting the youth teach me words, pretend I did not understand what numbers they were talking about, or by asking simple questions. Once we trusted one another, the youth and I would be able to help each other understand things, and then the youth would help me understand adults if I was having trouble. This was a fun way to integrate into the contexts and language.

Another difference is the fact that if I were to just switch to drinking water in Nicaragua my stomach would have had trouble with the change, and I might have gotten sick. This is a reality whenever you travel. In an environment where things seem much less sanitary, however, it was hard not to marginalize the facilities of the city.

I struggled with how to be polite, immerse myself, and take care of myself. I did not want to be hyper-cautious, but there were instances when I would become concerned and avoid a salad, or get anxious after drinking a coffee. Now that I am back, I see I did not need to be so anxious, but in the moment it was hard not to be so concerned.

On the trip I was the person who was in charge of making sure we had purified water. This was an interesting responsibility. It felt odd to carry along a huge container of water, and it was hard to judge exactly how far the water would go. I was often anxious and worried that we would run out of water.

This was never the case, and it was fun and interesting to see how water is purchased. The containers are recycled, so when you return one you get a discount from the next one you buy. This is really cool. It was also a good responsibility on the trip. It gave me something practical to think about, and integrated me into the group, the translator and driver.

(Follow RoboPreacher's link to his Picasa page to see more photos from the trip!)