#2

            Before I left for Nicaragua, Ava, someone who has been on all the CGA trips and a good friend of mine, gave me a piece of advice. It was, “don’t let fear hold you back,” and I told myself I’d keep her advice with me the whole trip. Yesterday I had the privilege of working in the Deaf classroom. At first I could feel the panic rising in my chest when I realized not only was Allan, the teacher deaf as well as the students; Juan Juis, Rosa, and Christhian, but none of them spoke any English. So, I would have to translate what I wanted to say from English, to Spanish, to sign language. But I remembered the advice Ava had given me and decided to sign, “Good morning, my name in Nikko” as soon as I walked into the room, Allan was trilled. I explained that I knew very little Spanish and sign language but I was eager to learn more.  After their English lesson Allan let me teach one of my lessons; negative numbers. Not being able to use words and only my limited amount of sign language made it extremely challenging but eventually I was able to explain it well enough using tallies that Juan Luis understood. He then explained to Christhian and Rosa. I was overjoyed that I was able to help them comprehend something new, even if they’d never use it after their schooling was over. After the lesson Christhian gave me a nickname in sign language then made the motion for amiga or friend.  By the end of the day Allan, Juan Luis, Christhian, and Rosa had taught be over 30 new words/phrases in sign language. I felt so honored to be able to communicate without words and still create a special bond with each of the students in the deaf classroom. Around 10 am, Darwin, a 22 year old with Cerebral Palsy came into our classroom, for those of you reading this who don’t know Cerebral Palsy makes it nearly impossible to move and control your limbs/muscles due to spasms and extreme tenseness in muscles. Throughout the day I drew random images so he could color inside the lines, I hoped that this would help him control his hand movements. Later in the afternoon we moved on to numbers; I would write three numbers at the top of the page and he would trace them until the end of the paper. I cannot put the emotions of pure joy I felt into words when by the end of the paper Darwin’s numbers were identical to mine. It was a huge amount of progress. If I had let fear consume me that morning, I would have never made five new friends and never felt so much joy.

            Today I was assigned to work in Rosa’s classroom, when I walked into the room each of the children were doing something different; some were laying on the floor, while some were running around the room, but I noticed one little boy who looked much younger than the rest. Rosa explained that his brain was under developed so he couldn’t talk or process what he wanted to say/feel. I picked him up and said, “Hola! Me llamo Nikko!” then his blank stare turned into a smile and he wrapped his tiny arms around my neck, and I was reminded as to why I value the selfless values and service on these trips. Love isn’t always expressed through words, and from what I experienced the unconditional love I have felt has been expressed through actions and emotions. In that small moment I felt, unconditionally loved. Throughout the rest of the day I helped Rosa with anything she needed, it consisted of homework, English lessons, and making sure each of the kids remained calm. Something I was taught personally was; never play cards (gamble) for money with a seven year old, because you will lose, every time. But a greater lesson was to have more patience because teaching in a hot classroom, with eight children, each with a disability, can be frustrating. But having that patience and taking a moment to breath when frustrated made me realize the potential in not only myself but in each of the kids in Rosa’s class. They all have the desire to be loved and learn as much as they can. I feel so unbelievably blessed to be a part of that. Even though this week has been flying by I will continue to; embrace every moment and give all that I can in moments of courage and fear throughout the rest of my stay in Nicaragua.