Bucknell Brigade

We've made it to Nicaragua!! I am so excited to be back in this amazing country with the amazing people here! Our flight down went relatively smoothly minus a one-hour delay so that the starter on our plane could be fixed.

We arrived in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, and boarded the great yellow bus to drive to the compound where we stay with Jubilee House Community (JHC). Unlike last time I was in Nicaragua, the bus ride to JHC was during the day time and I was able to look around and see the bustle and hustle of the Nicaraguans. There was crazy traffic, just like last time, and the vendors were all over the streets selling food, water, and other items. It was a very exciting bus ride!

Today was our first day working in Nicaragua. I spent the morning helping the majority of the group prepare the new health clinic walls to be painted. We had to sweep them because there is so much dust and we had to tape the windows and doors. This took most of the morning and we headed home for lunch around noon.

Today was another work day and I worked with Dr. Don again in the clinic helping him to translate for the patients. It was a busier day than last time I helped in the clinic and we saw three or four times as many patients. There also were a lot more kids in the clinic. It's always more difficult for me to see the kids coming into the clinic with parasites or malnutrition because they aren't responsible for what's happening to them at this point in their lives. All that happened was that they were unfortunate enough to have been born here instead of where I was born.

Saturday was a very touristy day for our group. We left JHC at about eight in the morning and headed for the Masaya Volcano - an active volcano here in Nicaragua. Smoke constantly comes out of the top and we were told that from the side of the crater opening that we are not allowed to walk to you can see lava inside the crater. I had visited Masaya Volcano last time I was here, but I don't think I appreciated it then like I did yesterday. Sarah, a member of JHC, told us a story about how the volcano keeps her humble and focused when she is doing the kind of work that they do here at JHC. The last time the volcano erupted it spread out very, very far and we could see the line between where the lava ended (which was covered in big volcanic rocks) and where the lava did not reach (which is green and still has houses and buildings). The distance that the rock traveled, both being thrown out of the volcano and melted into lava that flowed out, is astonishing. Sarah told us that when she thinks about the kind of power and force it takes to make that happen she is reminded that she is not in control. This is important when you consider the kind of work she does where the end goal is enormous. She commented that the power of the volcano reminds her that it is not her job to fix everything but that she simply must continue to chip away at the problem and continue to fight. The whole analogy is perhaps too difficult for me to convey in my own words but the feeling behind her analogy makes me feel better about my own goals when I do work both with the Bucknell Brigade and other organizations.

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