The Moment That Stays

The trip to Nicaragua provided a lot of “firsts” for me: first trip to Central America, first time painting a mural, first time communicating in Spanish, first trip taken with strangers, first time I was forced to listen to Justin Bieber.... the list goes on. There was beauty, there was drama, epiphanies, dance parties, topless waterfall adventures.

And yet, one of my most fond memories occurs on a rather calm morning in Limay, the rural town where we were teaching art to local teens. It was only the second day of class. The muralism group was divided up amongst us teachers with the goal of going out and taking some reference photos for the murals we were designing. Sounds relatively simple, but in case you forgot, I don’t really speak Spanish that well. I’m not being modest, I had only started learning Spanish about two months before I left for Nicaragua. That’s all fine when you’re in a group-teaching setting, there’s always someone around to translate if necessary. Now I was going out alone with three kids and I was somehow supposed to maintain some kind of authority while being helpful and fun and they’re going to think I’m stupid ohmygodohmygodohmygod!

Alex, Gary, Gema and I walked outside in the late-morning heat. They understood the project – we were looking to capture everyday life in Limay: bicycles, chickens, horses. People working, cooking, living together. And that’s what we did. They would set the scene and I would take the picture. We worked together marvelously.

Alex and Gary demonstrate working together!

Alex was older than the other two, a little rebellious, the “cool” one. Gary was a sweetheart, a joker but calm, emanating an assuredness that seemed advanced for his age. Gema (pronounced Hay-ma) was shyer than the boys, but immensely kind and innovative. Like a lot of the Nicaraguans I met, they seemed to be smiling all the time. Their personalities combined with their genuine excitement to be working on this project produced a delightful hour of walking around Limay, wherein we ended up taking a lot of pictures that were later used for the mural.

Gary and Gema pose at a food stand in the park.

As we walked back to the youth center to meet up with everyone else, I remember feeling so relaxed, so at ease with these three people that I barely knew and could barely talk to. It was wonderful, it was success, it was bliss, if only for a little while. There would be more work to do, more sources of anxiety, but it’s this moment that holds on, this moment that stays with me.