With one month left, the realization that I will have to leave this beautiful place has finally begun to hit me. My host family, my friends from Xuchialt, going to the beach, painting the mural, my blue-green casa next to "doble ele" (LL), evenings filled with the smell of fried food wafting from neighborhood fritangas, buying bolsitas of delicious frescos for less than a dollar, the potholed streets filled with horse carts, bikes, taxis and camionetas, the sudden thunderstorms, the constant presence of music and noise, hanging out in the central park, salsa dancing, greeting people with kisses on the cheek...
There are an infinite number of things I will miss about living in León, Nicaragua.
Most of all, though, it's the people I've grown to love that I will miss most dearly.
The little rascals at la casa de Doña Nancy
With my host sister Karelia
Sitting outside during mosquito fumigation
Restoración del mural con mis amigos de Xuchialt
With that being said, I have a lot of catching up to do! It has been quite a while since I've updated this blog...
For starters, I am now learning Nicaraguan sign language, or "señas". There's something about sign language that instantly captured my interest. I was first introduced to it by a friend at Xuchialt, who can sign fluently. I love the idea of creating images in open space using your hands, combining those images with facial gestures and body language to convey emotion, and ultimately stringing together a series of those movements/gestures to create sentences. Watching a sign language conversation feels like watching two people make images and ideas come alive and dance in the air! It struck me as so incredibly beautiful.
I loved it so much that after my friend lent me his red sign language book, I enjoyed spending hours upon hours studying and memorizing the signs until I learned nearly the entire book (I skipped some signs that I didn't understand the word in Spanish for). More or less, I have about 300 signs memorized so far. Using them in conversation, however, is a whole other challenge!
I also had my first sign language conversation with a friend of his, a really lovely girl who is "sorda-muda", or deaf-mute. The conversation was mostly them signing and me attempting to follow along (it's a completely different experience relying on your sight to communicate! My eyes got very tired at the end of it), but it was always exciting when I recognized a sign, or was able to use some of the signs that I learned to create simple sentences (like, "Yesterday was his birthday", "You are beautiful", "Thanks", and "How are you?")
At the end of our conversation, she told us that she was getting married in December and that we were both invited! What an amazing surprise, to be suddenly invited to someone's wedding after just having met them for the first time! So this Saturday, I'll be going to my first wedding in Nicaragua. I am also excited to see how the ceremony will be conducted in sign language.
I've also learned how to play "My Heart Will Go On" on the flute! Not sure what kind of flute it is...it is wooden and thicker than the metal types of flutes. (I apologize for my lack of flautal knowledge) (Yes, I am making that an adjective)
Finally, we finished the last part of my project yesterday! More on that in a separate blog post...
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