Spanish and Gardens: My Time in Nicaragua: January 2015

Well, I can now say I’ve been a tourist in my own hometown. Anyone who saw me during my 11 days home for Christmas and New Years can attest to the fact that I had my camera with me pretty much everywhere I went. I brought my camera to the zoo that I worked at and went to several times a month growing up. I brought it to downtown Chicago, and even took pictures of my elementary school and the parks near my house. While having these pictures and video will be nice in times of homesickness, I was actually working! Peace Corps Goal #2 is all about sharing American culture with host country nationals (aka my host communities). Soon after getting to Nicaragua I realized that I did not have many pictures of where I come from and the places that mean a lot to me. Why would I be a tourist in my own town? It was a bit problematic, however, when I wanted to share things about where I come from without pictures. From videos of me boarding a train (they don’t have trains here) to cracking ice on the Des Plaines river, I was hoping to capture just a little bit of what my life was like before coming here. So, while these pictures may be old news to you reading this, try and imagine seeing them through the eyes of someone in my host family, or friends here in Nicaragua.