Aus: Der Abiturient, Ausgabe 04/2010, Rubrik: Talking English

Everything felt, smelt and looked different: One year in Nicaragua

Text Sarah van Bentum

„I’ve finished school – what now?” That was the big question – and with all these possibilities nowadays I felt kind of overwhelmed. Didn’t know which direction to take at first. The only thing I had clear in my mind: I didn’t want to go to college right away!

So at the end I decided to apply to be a volunteer at an organization called Yap-cfd! Everything happened really quickly and, after only a few weeks, I knew I was going to be a volunteer in Nicaragua working in a social project. I was excited and happy, because they had accepted me in the program „weltwärts“ – „worldwards“ – which is something like a scholarship financed by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (the BMZ) and the German government.

 Time to say goodbye

The day of departure was approaching pretty quickly – finally, 11 February 2009 was the day of saying goodbye to everyone; even though I was looking forward to living in a third-world country like Nicaragua, I found it hard to leave everyone behind and still had tears in my eyes as I entered the plane.

After a short stop in the States in Atlanta, I arrived in the capital of Nicaragua Managua! My first impression of this country was the hot air that I felt on my skin when I left the airport, even though it was 9 o’clock at night – I started by taking off my jacket, that I was still wearing to cope with wintertime, which I had left just a few hours before. Everything felt, smelt and looked different – even though my senses noticed all these differences, it was kind of hard to realize that I was now in a whole different country on the other side of the world, in Latin America! Soon I became friends with the local people – this was important to me from the beginning. But it wasn’t really hard to get to know them. They are always friendly and have such an interest to get to know you and your culture! Usually, at the beginning, they appear to be a little bit shy, but after only a few minutes the ice is broken and they treat you if they have already known you for a long time! Most people of Nicaragua, a tropical country, are pretty poor: 50 percent of the inhabitants are unemployed, and for a lot of the Nicas (as they call themselves) it’s a daily fight for survival.

Thirteen people – one tiny hut

I also had the chance to be part of a Nica family, so I lived with a host family in a city called Tipitapa, close to the capital! Thirteen people living in a tiny hut – it was a little surprise for me because I didn’t know that when I came! Even though I’m at least a bit used to big families, with my three sisters in Germany, this was a whole different experience! But I enjoyed it and it was more or less guaranteed that „you’ll never be alone.“

Besides getting to know the people from this wonderful country, their culture and mentality, I got to know how children and youth grow up in a third-world country. I worked in the local library, called „La Casita del Árbol” (the little tree house), and we opened our doors for everyone in Tipitapa, but it was mostly the youngsters who visited and used the service of the library. We lent books to the children, helped them with their homework and assignments, taught them English, held painting and handicraft classes and read stories to them.

It was important work, because children in Nicaragua usually don’t have so many rights. They often have to work to earn some extra money for the family, they are often punished and adults usually don’t pay too much attention to them. What’s missing is often a shoulder to lean on, a hug, or a sympathetic ear to listen to them. During the year I was working there, I met so many amazing and friendly children that it was hard to leave them behind at the end. The only thing that is left to me now is the memory and the knowledge that other volunteers are continuing to do this work right now for the children.