In-Country Orientation!

Saludos from Nicaragua! (Please excuse the typos, the keyboard here at the internet cafe in Ciudad Sandino hasn´t been especially user-friendly!)

I am thankfully here in Nicaragua safely and settling in more and more, in the country more generally as well as my new home here in Ciudad Sandino. Right now, I´m writing from an internet cafe or "cyber" where we pay for internet service on the hour. It´s looking like I might be able to post about every two weeks at this point in time, but we´ll see how it goes! 

I can´t believe it´s been nearly a week! I don´t yet have photos to post but will hopefully put some up soon, especially of where I´m leaving. For a brief recap on the last week:

Thursday, Dec. 11: Met fellow new JVs at the Atlanta airport and we flew into Managua together, where we were welcomed by all of the current and outgoing JVs in Nica, along with Fr. Joe, a Jesuit who is our in-country coordinator and who has been in Nica for many years. There was a red carpet laid out and the volunteers made a tunnel for us to run through. It was a very nice welcome after saying goodbyes at home and a long day of travel.Was hard to believe we were finally here. Then we settled into our respective JV homes, one in Managua and ours in Ciudad Sandino. We chose rooms and got some rest.

Friday: Jumped right into things and visited my soon to be worksite, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, a Fe y Alegria school affiliated with the Jesuits and aimed at popular education. Met Josh, the JV I´´m replacing as well as school members. It was also the Feast Day of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, so there was a Mass there and songs and other celebration. In the evening, all the Nica JVs had a welcome dinner for us. They have all been very kind.

Saturday: In the evening, went to a goodbye party for the outgogoing Managa JVs. Met many community members and danced!

Sunday-Wed: Went to the campo or countryside, for a homestay and also attended a community fair at a center out there centered around community organization, social justice, and solidarity. Got back from the homestay yesterday, the family was extrememly hospitable and had a lot of fun with the boys in the family. Played soccer and watched movies from the Anaconda series!

Today, settling in more and getting ready for a city scavenger hunt!Will most likely do my first cooking here tonight! Wish me luck!

Running out of internet time, but please continue to pray for us in this transition. Hope you are all well and happy happy holidays!!!!

Abrazos,

Alex

Update about Transition to Nicaragua, Keeping in Touch, & Final Fundraising Update

Friends and Family, I can't believe it, but on Dec. 11, I will be flying to Nicaragua to begin my two years of service abroad with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Thank you so much for the support you have given me since I announced I would be doing the program back in May. Your prayers, support, and encouragement have meant so much over the past months during this transition and I ask for your continued support in this move to Nica and while I am away. I invite you to keep in touch at my email (ainterianonic14@gmail.com) and here at my blog; you can receive regular blog updates by entering your email address at the right of this blog page. Please email me if you would like to stay in touch through snail-mail!

With much gratitude, I would also like to share that in closing my 'Send Me to Serve' fundraising campaign on Nov. 23, a grand total of $3,660.52 was raised to support me and my work with JVC, surpassing the minimum goal of $3,000 by much! I will carry the meaning of this support with me always. (To address some interest in donating even though I am closing the campaign, donations will continue to be accepted.)

Before departure, I will be logging out of Facebook, so if I don't respond to a message there, please email me. I have decided to check Facebook periodically over the coming days before logging out.

With well wishes for the holidays,
Alex

Fundraising Update: Malibu Half-Marathon Completed!

Thankfully completed the Malibu half marathon in 1:36:17 this past Sunday to raise funds for JVC and check my first half off my bucket list! So thankful for everyone's support during training (including coworkers at Run With Us!) and so far in my fundraising campaign. I am also thankful for the birthday love received and 22 years filled with love. Looking back on a wonderful year and ahead to the journey that awaits! I will be closing my fundraising campaign this upcoming Sunday, Nov. 23. It has been an awe-inspiring experience to have friends and family join me in JVC's vision for social justice. To learn more about why I'm doing JVC and to make a donation, please scroll down to my earlier blog posts. Thank you!

Fundraising Update: $3,000 mark reached!

With much gratitude, I would like to share that my JVC fundraising campaign recently reached the $3,000 mark. The generosity of donors has truly overwhelmed me since I kicked off my campaign back in May; the generosity has been at once so tangible and so hard to wrap my head around!

As I look ahead to the final month of my fundraising campaign (closing on Nov. 23), I will continue to invite donors to support me as their financial means will allow. Any donations above the $3,000 mark - including those raised in conjunction with my Nov. 16 Malibu half-marathon - will still support my service with JVC. Please message me with any questions regarding fundraising, including half-marathon training and race-day! 

Again, with much gratitude,
Alex

The Namesakes of our JV House in Ciudad Sandino - Casa Cardenal

"It has been a tradition that each JV community has a house/casa name. The houses are typically named after a person from each local community who has been influential in the local culture(s) and/or who has raised awareness around the social justice issues relevant to shaping that locale... The hope is that the JV community names will be one way to draw JVs into an exploration of the local cultural context where they will be living, to learn how the name is significant from the perspective of their hosts, and to carry that meaning as a fire burning for justice wherever they go beyond their 2-3 years of service in that locale.

NICARAGUA - Ciudad Sandino

Name: Casa Cardenal

Casa Cardenal is named in honor of two modern-day saints of Nicaragua and champions of liberation theology: brothers Ernesto and Fernando Cardenal. Ernesto Cardenal, a diocesan priest who studied under Thomas Merton, is known as one of the preeminent poets in Nicaraguan history. He founded an art community in the Solentiname Islands, where he worked for twelve years. Soon after leaving the islands, he was named Minister of Culture for the new Sandinista Regime in the wake of the Nicaraguan Revolution. Here he served for eight years, during which he was infamously scolded by Pope John Paul II for not obeying the request that he resign from his role in the government. Currently, Ernesto Cardenal still lives in Nicaragua where he stays busy writing poetry and promoting Nicaragua culture.

Fernando Cardenal, SJ, became a Jesuit priest in 1969 and moved to Medellin, Colombia for his first apostolate. It was there, living surrounded by people in abject poverty, that he says he found direction and he vowed to dedicate his life to "the liberation of the poor and to the struggle for justice." In 1979, Cardenal was named Minister of Education for Nicaragua and led the country in its famed literacy campaign, which ultimately earned UNESCO's 1980 Literacy Award for raising literacy from 49 percent to 87 percent. Like his brother, Ernesto, Fernando was scolded - though not as publicly as Ernesto, and by the Society of Jesus rather than the Vatican - for his role as an ordained clergy member serving in the government. He was expelled from the Jesuits for his lack of obedience, but eventually readmitted to the Society. Today, Fernando Cardenal works as a Jesuit priest and as the Director of Fe y Alegria in Nicaragua, a Catholic, popular-education network that has schools around the country, including three in Ciudad Sandino which host JVs."

At the link below, please find a recent, moving talk by Fernando Cardenal, SJ, the founder and current director of the Fe y Alegria network of schools in Nicaragua aimed at popular-education, in which I will be working with JVC. He shares stories about his life and work relating to the Nicaraguan Revolution. 

Although the lecture is lengthy, I would recommend watching even just 20 minutes of it. I was moved to tears, laughed, and encouraged to reflect on his and other Nicaraguans' dedication to "the liberation of the poor and to the struggle for justice." The name of our JV community house in Ciudad Sandino is Casa Cardenal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpynthaerTU

Plans Before Departure

This past week I was notified of my departure date to Nicaragua: December 11! It is bittersweet news as I process the reality of this transition more and more. In recent weeks, I have been trying to become more present to the realities of being at home, while making sure to remain future-oriented. We were once told this journey of an international experience is to be future-oriented. What does this mean? Aside from making logistical preparations (loan deferment, vaccinations, paperwork for a Nicaraguan visa, etc.), I believe it also means facing the reality of where I am now in the process, while looking forward, in hope, to the joys and challenges that await. The joys of being reunited with community-mates, being in Nicaragua, being with Nicaraguans, meeting 2nd year JVs, getting to know our "home" for the next two years. And the challenges: saying goodbye to the physical presence of family for a longer period than I ever have before, adjusting to this distance, leaving behind many luxuries and conveniences (which will most likely bring frustration - and a need to convert to new ways - in the initial months of being away), and planting my feet someplace new where I will be a guest.

What I am hoping to do is embrace the messiness, uncertainty, paradox, bittersweetness. As I attempt to prepare mentally, emotionally, spiritually, logistically for this journey, I hope to still remain present to where I am now. As I continue fundraising, getting paperwork together, learning more about Nicaragua and JVC's four values (simple living, social justice, spirituality, community), I hope to spend time with family and friends here in the States while also working part-time for day-to-day expenses as well as other anticipated pre- and post- JVC expenses.

For a fundraising update, I plan to close my fundraising campaign a week after my Nov. 16 half-marathon fundraiser, when I will also begin to wean myself off of parts of my lifestyle which I will be changing in Nicaragua, including Facebook and phone usage. JVC staff shared this article with volunteers as we discern how we might live simply in relation to technology: http://www.theminimalists.com/internet/ . I am still reflecting on how I might go about this. Thank you again to those who have partnered with me in this vision and mission. We have reached 96% of the $3,000 goal! As I continue to fundraise, I humbly ask if you might also invite those you know to partner with me, you, JVC, and those we try to be in solidarity with.

While this may be one of my last blog posts until December, I do hope we can stay in touch before then. Please comment here or email me (ainterianonic14@gmail.com). I would love to hear any recommendations you may have for me as to how I might better prepare for living out JVC's values (social justice, simple living, spirituality, community) particularly with regard to any readings, videos, websites, people, thoughts, or strategies to explore. I would also be open to (and enjoy!) conversations (virtual or in-person) about any aspect of this preparation and experience.

Thank you for your companionship :-)

Peace,
Alex

Photos from JVC Orientation!

I am excited to share more photos from Orientation, which can be found at the following link, courtesy of JVC staff: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jvcphotos/sets/72157645580084797/

I have finally completed my reflections on Orientation, which can be found in previous blog posts, but for a brief overview the photos include: various sessions, community nights, morning/evening prayers, a silent retreat, a talent show, and a commissioning Mass! Please let me know if you have any questions about the photos or blog reflections!

Below, I've included a photo of my fellow community-mates, Colleen in the middle and Katie to her right! See if you can spot more funny photos of us at the link!