Immersion

Hi!  Sorry its been a few days since the last update!  The internet the first few days was spotty and I just got a modem yesterday from the Tigo store (cell service down here) and now I can get on the internet!!!  Crazy how much the internet is a part of my day and my life and when I was without it for a few days it was tragic haha.  It's funny to me because when I was in Malawi I really didn't think to much of it but here it's like a normalcy thing for me I guess and having the internet allows me to connect with people who speak English when my head is so full from speaking, hearing, and trying to interpret Spanish all day.  I think another reason the next post has been a few days coming is because I needed to take time to process and reflect on all of the things I was seeing as well as how I was feeling about the whole experience.  It was an interesting adjustment and I'll do my best to explain haha.  When I first got here, I was so excited.  Those who know me know that I have a travelers heart and that my need to travel and explore is a huge part of who I am.  I love being in new places with new people and being around large groups of people.  I had a dear friend tell me a few weeks ago that I have a gift of coming into a group of people I don't know and feeling comfortable allowing me to easily make friends and make others feel comfortable.  Over the past two years of post graduation I have come to realize how much a part of me this is and how important it is for me to be around people.  All that to say, I was excited for the chance to meet a whole new group of people on this trip.  I am still amazed how much God has blessed me with some of these girls on the trip.  There are twenty or so people in the Social Work group and about twenty or so in the anthropology group as well.  I thank God every time I think about how He has allowed me to get close to a a handful of these girls.  God created for me a little family away from my family and although we have only know each other for less than a week, i feel like I have know them forever.  We have joked together, cried together, and shared how nervous we are about different parts of our experience.  We have explored parts of the city together and helped one another lower prices on items from the street vendors.  We've laughed together about how little Spanish some of us know and have traded stories about the experiences we have had so far with our host families.  These girls are in a way a center for me as I explore a culture, language, and lifestyle completely new to me.  We have had orientation the past few days in the morning and it has been so wonderful to be able to come from being with my host family and come together with these girls and feel truly like we have know each other for years.  In my mind I compare it to the relationships you form as a counselor at summer camp.  You can't explain why you become so close to people who you have never known but those experiences you have with those people could never be explained to people outside of that situation even though they are so willing to listen.  Adjusting to a new culture, living with a family for seven weeks I didn't know two days ago, and not being able to speak the language of the country well is something that is hard to understand unless you have experienced it.  My new amigas know what it feels like to go through all this and I feel so blessed that God has put me with such a wonderful group of girls.  

The past few days have been whirlwind and I feel like I have been here for longer than I have.  My friend Emily and I were joking yesterday that we just have to take it day by day because if you think seven weeks are still to come its too much lol.  Day by day is the way that I have been taking it and it is helpful not only for the anxiety but also it allows me to be more present in my experience here.  As I mentioned in my last post (I believe) the entire group stayed together on Friday in Guatemala City and on Saturday in Panajachel.  This really gave us all time to bond and get to know each other as well as slowly adjust to being in a different country.  On Sunday was the day the bird was forced to leave the nest....meeting the host family day.  Up until Sunday I hadn't really thought much about it but when we got on the launcha (Spanish for boat) to head to our host family it became very real and the nerves started to set in.  Slowly people got dropped off in different communities around the lake and met there host families.  I was the last one of the first group to get dropped off at my host families town and by that time I was freaking out a little.  Luckily I didn't have much to be nervous about because my host mom was and it still so wonderful and sweet, giving me a hug as soon as we met.  I am living with a family that has a mom, dad, and two kids.  The two kids are 9 and 11 and I couldn't have asked God for a better family set-up.  Alejandra is my 9 year old host sister and Jerico is my 11 year old host brother and I don't want to think about the homesickness that could have set in on Sunday if they hadn't been here.  Jerico took me around the town of San Antonio Palopo and showed me some of the things around town including one of the churches and different features of the town.  Thankfully he and his sister speak English so I was able to talk with Jerico as we walked around town.  When we got back I met Ale and for the rest of the day, the kids requested to play games which was so funny.  We played Bancopoly (like Monopoly lol), a small game of Ninja, some funny picture taking, and a game Ale made up where we hid stuff around the room and had to find it.  My room here is not that big so that game didn't last that long hahah.  Ale then came up with this game where we went out of the room and changed something about ourselves which pretty much consisted of switching a bracelet or tucking in my shirt but hey they found it funny so I went with it haha.  I am so thankful that I have kids at my home stay because up until drop off I wasn't sure if I did and I know that they have made the adjustment much easier and will continue to.  They are currently sitting on my bed with me doing there homework while I am blogging....its absolutely adorable.  For the past two nights I have gone back into my room after my language classes to relax and read something anything that is in English (haha) and the kids have knocked on my door and come in with their backpacks to do homework.  My host mom said that they said I'm like their big sister....I just love it.  

I know this post is getting quite lengthy but I would just like to ask for prayer for learning the language and continued adjustment into my family and the culture.  Things have gone really well tomorrow but tomorrow is the start of our service placements and my NCSU professor told me that she thinks not many of the people who work there speak English.  It's a humbling experience to be a 23 year old young adult who can't understand a word that is being said around her.  I ask for prayers for humbleness, flexibility, and the ability to laugh at myself when I use the wrong words or can't remember them.  I also ask for prayer that I won't be self-conscious or nervous about using the little Spanish that I know because my host mom/language teacher told me I am doing well but need to get over that fear.  I also pray for endurance as I continue 4 hours of language class per day for the next 2 weeks.  Julie you were so right when you said that at the end of the night my brain would hurt haha.  I come into my room after language class and listen to music in English haha.  As I was arriving in Panajachel today for more orientation I heard one of the group members call my name and ask me how I was in English and I felt like someone had just handed me gold.  I am praying for continued learning and understanding of Spanish so that I can enjoy the times I get to speak English with my friends but also realize how beneficial it is to be able to communicate with people of other languages.  

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Those little stars indicate a pause haha...I just got off of Skype with mamma and daddy....miss them lots and lots.  If you're thinking about it, send up a prayer that there is not much home sickness.  It can be hard in a place where legit everything from the language down to where you put the toilet paper (in the trash can!!!) is different. 

Here are a few pictures to enjoy until I can get the rest up on Facebook.  Thank you so much for reading :).  love you all.  Buenas noches!