The steps of a traveler creates a beat that matches one´s heart. The nomadic noises of a traveler´s footsteps amoung a whole new world outside of the original comfort zone brings a sense of belonging in a new place. a traveler is like music, and continually encounters the music and dance with each new city.
After spending the last 4 weeks in Nicaragua, the students and I have found a great love for Latin America. The rhythm of the corridos coming from the restaurants on the side of the street, to the sounds of howler monkies dancing on top of my tin roof in Playa Gigante.
As we spend our last week basking in the strong sun of Matagalpa Nicaraga- we reflect on the last month as a group and individually. We´ve learned so much about a whole new world that is completely different from the one we know in the United States.
Our trip to Matagalpa started with an early wake-up on Ometepe Island, then a two hour ferry ride. After that queasy ride, we rode in a van for 3 hours with the comfort of a DVD player. That was a great treat!
Once in Matagalpa, we were split up into seperate groups or individual homestays and dropped off immidiately. We had an amazing dinner with our new families, creating connections, even with language barriers (most the students have found hand motions to be very helpful).
After our first night, we were up by 8 am for a 3 mile trek on a beautiful mountainside. Where bugs used to creep all of us out, are now very interesting. Many students were amazed by the golden webbed spider that was mad colorful and spun a web stronger than silk. We all felt accomplished after an uphill battle.
The groups´ spanish has definitely improved within the last month. The homestay experience has been very beneficial to learning new languages and future travel in other Latin countries.
If a traveler stops and listens to the sound of the local cordabas rumbling through their pockets, one will realize there´s a symphony hidden behind the travels. Traveling means living in the moments and finding natural symphonies within the insects, locals, animals and many more unobvious pieces of music.
xoxo,
laughs, hugs & kisses
Natty