Well, here I am again on a plane to Boston. This time it’s
only for seven weeks – I’ll be coming home for Spring Break for the first time
in my college career – but that isn’t going to make Boston any warmer. But I’m
not there yet; I’ll talk about that when I start my weekly blogs. This is
supposed to be about my break, and there’s a lot to tell; the holiday included
not only a great time with family, but also a quick trip to Nicaragua.
It’s been about a month since I left Harvard. December (and
Christmas) was wonderful; I saw my grandparents and aunts and cousins and ate a
great deal more than I should have and had long talks with my parents about practically
everything. It was warm in Boston and
cold in Texas when I headed home, but now things have returned to the order of
nature, so it’s going to be boots, coats, and gloves when I get back.
About two weeks ago I headed to Nicaragua with my dad on a
short trip to visit a lady from our church who runs a girl’s home there. I’d
never been further south than Mexico, so it was a very neat experience,
especially since I was doing the translating and had the opportunity to
practice my Spanish. We spent a very pleasant three days there; pictures are
below.
Nicaragua is about what you’d expect if you combined a
general idea of Central America with your idea of a third world country. You’ll
find crowded open markets, rows of brightly-colored cinder block houses, narrow
streets, stray dogs, and lots of Spanish. After dashing around Europe this
summer, where everyone immediately switches to English if your accent is a
little off, it was very refreshing to be in a country where you actually need
to know the language.
The first day was the most tiring. We arrived at the home at
about 2:30 am (same time zone as Texas) and got a little sleep before getting
up to look around the property and go shopping in town. I played with the girls
for a little while – not my forte – and translated the Bible study that night.
After everyone figured out that I actually did speak Spanish, things went more
smoothly, which was good, since the next night they had a party for us, which
involved a lot more Spanish but was quite enjoyable. The third day we did a
ridiculous amount of sightseeing, including an active volcano, and bought
souvenirs, and then it was time to head home.
And of course, now I’m off again. I’ve gotten quite a bit
done over the holiday – I’ve completed a semester’s worth of Classical Greek,
done a lot of creative writing, finished most of the Norse Eddas, and read a
book or three. I don’t feel particularly rested after the break, but I didn’t
feel particularly tired after last semester, so I guess it evens out.
My schedule is looking fairly regular this coming semester,
but I’ll write more about that on Tuesday, when I write my first official
semester post. I have two ROTC classes, so it’s going to be an
early-to-bed-early-to-rise sort of semester, but that isn’t a bad thing.
My first year-and-a-half of college were difficult; their
memory evokes an atmosphere of ‘always winter never Christmas.” The two
semesters after that, I learned how to relax, but now it’s time to start taking
charge of the free space in my schedule, not by scheduling more things, but by
delving deeper into the things I’m already doing.
Being me, I’ve developed and refined a three-page document
listing my overall life goals and how they play out specifically this semester.
(This has actually expanded to a file that includes several subsidiary
documents.) This sort of plan is nothing new for me, but this one in particular
is more thought-out than those of prior years. This time, I’m not just going
back to school. I’m making a concentrated, thoughtful effort to grow as a
person. We’ll see if it works – here’s to all our New Year’s resolutions!
Pictures (thank you to my dad for taking many of these):
Nicaragua:
Ready to start another semester. Here it goes!
Yay, pictures! :) I'm so glad you had fun in Nicaragua. That sounds like an AWESOME experience. I'd like to hear more about that girls house :) I miss that room. Hope I get to visit you at least one more time before you graduate! Have a fabulous semester; I'm looking forward to seeing how you grow and continue to do amazing things!
ReplyDelete