I have learned so many lessons to take me onto the next part of my life... many "marketable skills" that are discussable on CVs mostly... but mostly, I have learned the importance of connections. Where are we without our relationships? Spending Christmas here, I saw orphans receive many gifts... but there was a huge void in the way of what Christmas really meant - family. The little things in life, the schedules, careers, the ladders we might climb, the meetings, the conflict... they seem to work themselves out. But the thing that matters most is the relationships through it all.
What will I miss most about Nicaragua? The people. I really enjoyed getting to know different producers, and the technical staff that brought me to each one of them. I will not miss the dusty rides on speeding motorcycles... but I will miss the people, the culture. People are incredibly open, incredibly honest... willing to talk about anything (politics is a favourite, by far).. and so curious to know everything about you! There is definitely a curiosity that comes from the foreign, but what is more, I truly believe they care. Yesterday, I had the same taxi driver as I had had previously... he remembered me, remembered that I was from Canada, and we continued on our conversation where we left off. I will innocently say that is due to his good nature. Maybe it came more naturally because he is faced with occasions like that often. A small world it is here, full of human interaction all day! Very different to our compartmentalized world we live in, in Canada.
Nonetheless, I go home with a new perspective on the world, and the interactions we have from day to day. How will this experience change how I interact with strangers? We are about to find out!
