It only took one day for them to smile and reach out with folded hands. Our little group from the Vineyard was in Nicaragua to teach English in a village school, leave some much-needed supplies, and, we hoped, make positive connections with the people. We did not know that the local expression of respect is to look another person in the eyes, fold hands together and reach out. The response is to place your hands over their hands in a similar gesture to show that the respect is returned. The schoolchildren of Pacaya, Nicaragua, were thrilled to have exotic visitors to their school, visitors from Los Estados Unidos.
Other children and teenagers hung around the classroom doorways and peered through the open windows at us as we told stories, talked in English, and sang songs. At first the students were quiet while they sized us up. As they decided we were trustworthy, they began to look directly into our eyes. When they reached out their folded hands, we knew we were in.
Months ago we heard about the voluntourism expedition to Nicaragua planned by ACE MV director Lynn Ditchfield and advisory council member Sandra Grymes. The opportunity to perform public service in a faraway tropical country in the company of other Islanders was irresistible. Toni Cohen and I, of West Tisbury, joined Nancy Whipple and Lynn and Michael Ditchfield, of Edgartown, and Meg and Jim Braley, of South Portland, Me., for a memorable journey among lovely people.
Vineyarders answered our pleas for contributions with almost more than we could carry down. Each of us packed our own things in carry-ons and dragged giant wheeled luggage stuffed with books, maps, school supplies, sports equipment, clothes and medical supplies. Cash for new textbooks and four laptop Macs were special gifts. Most Islanders know or have heard about Muriel Laverty, a former Vineyarder who moved down to Nicaragua over a decade ago to start the Siuna Medical Clinic in the mountains. Muriel and her husband, Omar Gonzalez Espinoza, a Nicaraguan, now work in the school under a 500-year-old ceibo tree in Pacaya, a poor but picturesque area on the rim of Laguna Apoya, the lake-filled crater of a long-spent volcano. Muriel and Omar set up our connection with the school and acted as hosts, driving us around local highlights and advising us on local customs. Their guidance was key to the success of our trip.
Although they struggle in one of the poorest countries in Latin America, Nicaraguans are friendly, generous, and openhearted. Each day children brought us little treats: a drawing, a freshly picked mango, and always the warmth in their eyes and their folded hands.
One morning, Toni and I were gathering a class of second graders into a circle to learn the Hokey Pokey. Toni, who is fluent in Spanish, was directing the children with actual language while I smiled and pointed. An older boy, about 15, hung about the doorway, keen with longing. Invited in, Jorge joined us for two hours that morning, encouraging the little ones, helping to translate my sloppy Spanish. Pretty soon he was writing English vocabulary on the board, eager for more.
At week’s end, parents were invited to the school for a presentation by all the students. Class by class, the children proudly went “onstage” behind the root of the ceibo tree to sing new songs, to perform in skits, and to show off their English skills for their families. They also recited by heart several popular Nicaraguan poems for us, in Spanish.
Before we left the Vineyard, Island school children made drawings and wrote letters to the Nicaraguan children. Eighth graders from the West Tisbury School translated many of them into Spanish. Edgartown third graders made a music video. These were amazing hits when we arrived. In turn, the children of Pacaya wrote about their families and drew pictures of local animals for us to carry home. We will share these and our many photos back home in Vineyard classrooms.
Already, plans are underway for the next ACE MV voluntourism project in another site in Latin America. ACE MV will offer history, culture and language learning courses next fall to help prepare participants for that particular experience. It is expected that more Islanders will take advantage of this unique opportunity to expand their insights in another culture.
In addition, now that we have taken a first step at the Pacaya school under the ceibo tree, Muriel hopes that a team of Vineyarders will return to Nicaragua as well. Next time, we’ll know to greet them with folded hands reaching out.
Julie Hitchings is a teacher at the West Tisbury School.
Comments
Comment policy »