The Eclectic Adventures Continue...

Once again, it´s been a few months since my last update. with my master´s pre-residency studying that started in mid May, I have been quite busy with that and traveling for work. Here is a bit about what I have been up to the last few months.

I went to Montevideo, Uruguay to visit Fabio for Easter. We spent time walking around the city, going to museums and to old colonial cities. It was some much needed time for us.

The view from the top of the building where Fabio worked in Uruguay.
La vista del top del edificio donde trabajaba Fabio en Uruguay.

The market in Montevideo.
El mercado en Montevideo.

On the bus in the city.
En la ruta en el centro.

In Colonia, a Spanish colonial city.
En la Colonia, en a ciudad española.

At the top of the lighthouse in Colonia.
En el faro de luz en Colonia.

Two of my previous roomies got married. I was bridesmaid in Alicia and Maynor´s wedding. It was a great time. Although, the day of the wedding, the ceremony was delayed because my dress and the maid of honors dress would not zip up. :) No we didn´t gain weight in the two days between when we got the dresses and the day of the wedding. Apparently the zippers that were used to make them were not of good quality. But, some stategically placed safety pin and my long hair, helped hide the problem. The wedding only started 45 minutes late because of it. :)

Alicia and Maynor´s Wedding In Managua, Nicaragua.
La boda de Alicia y Maynor en Managua de Nicaragua.

Trying to fix the zipper that broke and delayed the wedding by 45 minutes.
Intentando arreglar el zipper, lo cual se fregó y demoró la boda 45 munitos.

Katie & Yeril´s wedding at Pueblo Viejo in Managua.
La boda de Kati y Yeril en Pueblo Viejo, Managua.

Alicia and I at Katie´s wedding.
Alicia y yo en la boda de Katie.

In Fabio´s absence, I spent lots of time with his family and the animals in his house.

Fabio´s niece, Camila.
La sobrinita de Fabio, Camilita.

It´s almost like a farm at Fabio´s Families house.
Es casí como una finca en la casa de la familia de Fabio.

Just a typical way to transport goods in Managua. hahaha
Una manera tipica transportar bienes en Managua. jajaja

A medical team came down and we took a trip to la RAAS (Souther Atlantic Autonomous Region) of Nicaragua. We went to a town called Aurora/San Francisco. This was actually the exact same trip that I did in March of 2007, my first trip to Nicaragua and where I fell in love with the country and the people. During the trip, a few different things happened that were both challenging and emotional for me. I would term the trip as all-in-all “desafiante” (challenging), which leads me to.....

.....Deep Thoughts by Beth Jerdon.....

Arrogance. A term that often is used to describe Americans from the perspective of many countries around the world. Have I ever thought of myself as arrogant? No, not really, maybe proud or boastful at times, but normally when is socially acceptable. It´s a weird topic to discuss, as even saying I never thought of myself as arrogant, in itself, sounds arrogant. Right? So, why do I bring this up?

Well, most teams that AMC receives have been very open to the advice that I give them about Nicaragua and how to be culturally sensitive or how to best respect or work with Nicaraguans and how to work in solidarity. Although I have been in Nicaragua for 2 and a half years, by no means do I consider myself a expert on Nicaragua nor the culture here in Nicaragua. But, what I do believe is that I openly accept the advice of the Nicaraguans and try to pass on those items to teams and individual volunteers that visit through AMC to help ensure a positive experience for all.

This last team was, well, I would call it more than a challenge. Although they came off as nice and verbally expressed that they were open to new things, I did not observe this. Often when I would give them advice, they would make comments about how they have traveled internationally and how they “know how things are”. I encouraged them that their international experience is important, but that every country is different and that it is important to seek first to understand before making judgements.

So throughout the week I consistently felt push-back from a few in particular. At one point, a team member even told me that the Nicaraguans working in a particular area “could not do the work correctly without a North American present”. I was so angry and offended that I had to walk away to avoid saying something that I would later regret. Where is the trust in the capacity of Nicaraguans. Just because they don´t speak English does not mean that they are not intelligent or have the capacity to do even great things that people from the North.

How do we as Americans get off by thinking that “our way” is the only correct way? How do we get off on thinking that because Nicaraguans are in a developing country that they do not have the capacity to do a quality job? Is it lack of education? Is it the way that we are brought up to achieve all that we can no matter what the cost? I was embarrassed for a moment to be known as an American and being identified in the community as part of this team. I wanted only to be known as an AMC employee and not part of that team. Why do we, as Americans, have this tendency?

At the end of the week I received the the evaluations back from the volunteer team members. All in all we had met the objectives of the team and most feedback was good. But, on one sheet there was a comment that the visiting team was treated as “culturally ignorant”. When I read that, my heart broke. That is not at all how I want volunteers to feel about the experience working with AMC... or in this case, it was directed right at me personally. This person also had the gall to say that this trip has will not change at all how they live when they return to the states. How can seeing the poverty in a developing nation not change them? Was it just getting another stamp in the passport? Was it “paying” there penance for being born into a white American privileged family, what we would call “white guilt"?

After processing what this person wrote in the evaluation, I wept. My heart hated to think that in my intention to bring cultural understanding, that the team members felt as though I treated them as culturally ignorant. I questioned if I myself had been arrogant or maybe my tone had come across as rude or subversive. So, that evening, I cried and I prayed and sought out how I should respond to this person.

So, the next morning I spoke to the individual who had put the comment on the evaluation. I asked why they had felt that way. I apologized that they had perceived my intentions as such. I expressed my perspective that they had come across as arrogant and not willing to accept the advice I had given then (which had been the advice of the Nicaraguans). They responded by saying, “well maybe I could have been a little arrogant”. Still not wanting to take any ownership. In the end, I suppose that everything panned out, but I am still left with a disappointment in my fellow US citizens.

Anyways, my intentions were good, but were perceived as rude. I cannot control how others perceive me, nor can I control how they respond. What I can control is how I respond and how I move forward. There are worse things that can happen than a misunderstanding like this, but it is one from which I greatly learned. I am now more aware than ever that I need to check and make sure that my intentions do not come across as arrogant and that I too need to seek first to understand. NEVER do I want to come across as an arrogant American.

Ok, there are my two cents... well, maybe 10 cents. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please post or send me an e-mail my dear friends.

Moving on... here are some fun pictures of the trip with the team. Not everything was a challenge. There were some beautiful photos, too. :)

We traveled on the Kukra River by panga (a 20 person small boat).
Viajamos por el rio Kukra en panga.

Some teenages that are curious about the "cheles" (white people).
Jovenes curiosos de los cheles (gringos).

The team saved a life of a 2 month old that weighed less than her birth weight.
La brigada salvó la vida de una niña de 2 meses que pesó menos de su peso de naciemiento.

Me hanging out with Solcita, one of the AMC staff´s children.
Pasando tiempo con Solcita, la niña de un trabajador de AMC.

On a sad, yet exciting note, my dear friend Laura, returned to the states after a year in Nicaragua. We had a going away party for her. She will be missed here in Nicaragua, but I know that she is following the Lord´s call on her life. Te extrañamos amiga. Bendiciones desde Nicaragua.

Going away from AMC.
Salida de AMC.

Going away party of MCC.
Fiesta de despedida de CCM.

Just this last weekend I returned to Nicaragua after being in the Dominican Republic (DR) for 3 weeks for 100 hours of course work for my masters. So, 100 hours and 70 pages of notes later, I am now in the my 10 months of my masters program. Praise God for his faithfulness in this part of my adventure. It is amazing, challenging and SO worth it!

The view that we enjoyed on breaks from class.
La vista que disfrutamos en las pausas entre clase.

I had to take advantage of the beach, right. :)
Tuve que aprovechar la playa, no. :)

Proof that I actually did attend classes.
Si, asistí clases. :)

On my way to the DR I was able to visit my dear god-sister, Kirsten in Miami. :)
En camino a la República Dominicana, visité una buena amiga, Kirsten, en Miami. :)

And she made me the most amazing dinner ever!
¡Y ella me concinó la mejor cena!

Now, I am preparing for a vacation to the States. Fabio is soliciting his visa to the US tomorrow, so we should know in less than 24 hours if he is able to go. We are scheduled to speak at the church in which I attended growing up. We are excited to share our experiences and to speak about social justice and what that means for our daily lives.

Also, the Jerdon family has gotten bigger. My older brother and his wife welcomed my niece Kysa into the world last month. I am REALLY looking forward to meeting her in person in a few weeks. :)

Kysa, mi sobrinita nueva. Que linda. :)

Well, soon I will be posting photos from our trip to the states. For updates on where we will be check out my facebook. Looking forward to seeing all my friends and family.

Prayer Requests and Praises:

• Praise God for his faithfulness in me receiving a scholarship from Eastern University for my second year in the masters.
• Praise God that I received a student loan to cover the costs that the scholarship didn´t cover.
• Praise God for the many opportunities that I have to travel and attain a greater understanding of the people that live in all these beautiful countries.
• Prayer: Fabio receives his visa
• Prayer: Guidance as Fabio and I design the presentation for my church
• Prayer for safe travels
• Prayer for my cousin who is getting married in July, which we will be attending the wedding while we are in the states
• Prayer for continued guidance as I seek the Lord´s will in where he is leading me next on the Amazingly Eclectic Adventure.
• Prayer: That Americans would humble themselves and seek first to understand.
• Praise God for his faithfulness even in our faults.
  

Blessings to you,
Beth