The Final Countdown

Friday 8/6/07
This week has been even busier than usual, and I am undergoing the most bittersweet feelings as it is evident my summer in Nicaragua is coming to an end. Both my third and final sessions with the Scholarship Students occurred this week, my last day in Nueva Vida was Wednesday, and today was my final conversation class (I will miss Marcos, Gladys, Erick, Belkys, Maria, Dolores, Alfred, Deyvi, and Albert so much it’s not even funny).

Conversation Class

As discussed earlier, Sunday was the third session with the Scholarship Students. The session was entitled Woven Narratives: From Individual to Community and it can be best described as a beautiful disaster. The goals for the students were to: finish the mural tour, publicly present their personal narratives using “Rivers of Life” as their guides, and make connections between their personal narratives and their collective/community narrative. Prior to the session I had been told two contrasting stances about having a session on Día de Santo Domingo. 1) It would be perfectly fine because all of the Scholarship Students would still be willing to come because not many Nicaraguans care too much about Día de Santo Domingo 2) It would be ill-informed and a cultural faux pas to hold a session on this day because it is such an important religious holiday to the majority of Catholic Nicaraguans. Upon asking the group of twelve, all but one student said they would be willing to attend. Therefore, despite the premonitory feeling I had deep down I decided to stick to the Sunday schedule and have the session on a holiday. Apparently, it serves me right because at 1:30 (we were starting early to finish the mural tour) there were 0 scholarship students. At 1:45 there were two, and by 2:00 there were five. The big 5, Melvin, and myself decided that at 2:00 it was time to get the show on the road. Unfortunately, the guard at the center put the brakes on when we were not allowed entrance because of a mishap with scheduling. At 2:10 we returned to the classroom, and at this point I was feeling a bit crestfallen because I had spent 2 days creating CCBN Mural Trivia but I decided to continue onward. I scrapped the agenda and split the group into two groups of 3 (yes there were 6 students in the end!). The students had 10 minutes to review their “Rivers of Life”- the visual guide of the moments in life that students think define their existence- and then I made the decision that each student would have to make a presentation that would last 5 minutes minimum and they would be videotaped. It was a tough task, but I thought they would be able to handle it. However, never in my wildest dreams would they have handled it so well. The first student to present, much to his horror, was Maycol. Maycol normally becomes shy, quiet, and speaks very rapidly when he is in front of groups. His presentation ended up being 10 minutes long! It was well thought out and started with his childhood and ended with his future goals, and it was deeply personal and moving. I’m not going to share his personal story now (or any of the other students because it’s not my place), but his struggles, how he is working through them, and the role of the center in helping him improve his life situation was truly inspirational. Then afterwards the personal narratives of José Ángel, Ariel, Ana, Sharon, and Emma were just as powerful and real. There were tears and hugs, and I was so proud and impressed by each one of them. The session ended with a presentation by Melvin about the mission and history of the center and the lives of the founders Fr. Ángel Torrellas O.P. and Sr. Margie Navarro, CSJ. I was also equally blown away by Melvin’s presentation. All in all, though half the class missed out I felt something very special occurred in that room on Sunday. I was talking about the session with José Angel afterwards, and he said he felt like a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders and now he is full of confidence and has a greater level of trust and understanding with the rest of the scholarship students that participated that had not existed previously. That was just what I needed to hear.

We decided collectively that since I was leaving in a week, that a final more formal presentation in front of certain members of the Administrative Team on Thursday at 2:00 that really emphasized the values of the students and the importance of the center in their lives would be fine. My next two days were devoted to planning the event: making certificates and friendship bracelets, sending out invitations to the Administrative Team and the instructors in the center (Special Thanks to Amanda), and holding a two-hour make up session with the students who did not attend on Sunday.

Wednesday was a nice day to take my mind off the presentations, as Gerardo and I finished the mural on the clinic in Nueva Vida. It was a great day full of painting, and pictures, and saying goodbye to new friends. Actually, making new friends too… We had lunch at Jubilee House (the compound for Bucknell Students and other volunteers) and Gerardo and I had the chance to play with a monkey named Bella! It was so much fun! The day ended with a celebratory dinner back at the house and chocolate bon bons! I was so grateful to have had the opportunity to experience Gerardo’s work every Wednesday, and to meet people in a different community while spreading the mission of the Center.

Final Day at the Mural

Bella

Then came Thursday. I still have mixed feelings about what happened on “the big day”. The morning was spent finalizing the certificates with stamps and signatures (they were legit). By the time 1:45 rolled around I did not know how to feel, but I knew that what happened during the final presentations was out of my hands. At 2:00 our list of attendees was two scholarship students, Amanda, Melvin, and no audience- and that’s when I became worried. At 2:30 we had an audience of fifteen including all members of the administrative team, and five scholarship students who were no longer comfortable presenting their personal narratives- and that’s when I became distressed. The students were upset because they were not aware in advance that some of the members of the audience were going to be there, and I take full responsibility for that. Thankfully, after some pep talk from Melvin and my introduction about what occurred during the past three weeks and the goals of the project, four of them got their game faces on and presented shortened and edited versions of their narratives. They were competing with the sounds of a ridiculously loud air conditioner and a torrential downpour outside, but what they shared was enough to initiate a fruitful question and answer session with the audience after the awards were presented. I was pleased, because what the students did was by no means easy and the audience was able to recognize the need for a program about sharing personal narratives and honing leadership skills within the community. I’m all about sustainability, and it turns out that even though I am no longer going to be physically present in the Batahola Community, Melvin has fallen in love with this project and he and Amanda have decided to take it on with a little more help from me and with the full support of Jennifer (the coordinator of the Center) behind them. They are hoping to work with different groups within the center such as the dancers and the chorus, and I can’t wait to see what happens. It’s just going to be ridiculously difficult to leave…

Jennifer and Melvin with His Award