Nicaragua: Another blink of an eye

Halftime. It's that short break you get to reflect on the first portion of the game, praise yourself for things gone well, point out other aspects that can be improved, change and/or enhance your strategies, as well as take a breather so as to re-energize for the second half.

This past week was "halftime" for our group of Small Business volunteers, and I think we accomplished all of the above.

During a reflection activity we were asked to describe our former selves from one year ago in three words. The room echoed with adjectives such as:

Naive,
Insecure,
Excited,
Hopeful,
Clueless.

We have grown since then. We have learned an infinitely ridiculous amount about ourselves, our host country, and the potential we have in working together. The range of quality projects which our group of twelve has implemented throughout the past year is nothing short of inspirational. I am impressed by how far we have come, and by our ability to pull off projects while feeling like we have no idea what we are doing. (Remind me when that "I suddenly have it all figured out" epiphany is supposed to occur again?)

Looking to the year ahead, we listed words which we hope will describe the remainder of our service:

Fulfilling,
Productive,
Evolving,
Good.  

Here's to cherishing the remaining 12 months we have with each other in Nicaragua.