One of many things that living in Nicaragua for the last two years has confirmed for me is that I love college students. I love to watch them learn, grow, be stretched in their thinking, in their emotions, in their understanding of the world. And these last few weeks I became a learner, a teacher, a translator and interpreter alongside them in their experiences...first, for two weeks, I was the full-time coordinator of the logistics of the visit of 5 Dordt students and their professor and his wife from Iowa. They were here to study missions, development, and culture, and this meant organizing a variety of meetings with everyone from the US Embassy to USAID to other NGOs working here, to farms, to historical sites, to natural wonders and cultural hotspots. It was a lot to take in for the students, I think, and for me too. But I was grateful to walk alongside them in their learning, participate in their reflections, and share my own experiences here with them.

Then, after about 48 hours rest, I headed up to Boaco on Monday where another team headed up by my roomie Andrea was working to help her with translation. While I was there, the team did a lot of activities with the kids, building relationships, and visiting people in their homes, as well as two small construction projects. Being with this other group of college students from Messiah in Pennsylvania was another great opportunity that I enjoyed immensely, although I am now officially exhausted. Visit below for a sampling of the photos from my last two weeks.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2034893&l=39b95&id=24902194

In other news, after 12 days, the transportation strike here is over (though perhaps not for long, because although an agreement was reached for a certain level of subsidiy for the taxi and bus drivers, the price of gas continues to climb and within 2 weeks may eliminate the effects of the subsidy altogether).

Also, Tropical Storm Alma appears likely to convert into a Hurricane overnight and is currenly dumping large quantities of rain on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua. Streets are flooding and home damage is already being reported in the region. Will keep you all posted on further developments.