Home Away From Home

There is one place, two thousand seven hundred eighty two miles away that never fails to take my breath away. My heart feels so full when I wake up in the morning in the place where I feel no stress or anxiety. It's like suddenly every fear escapes my body faster than the blink of an eye. The people that live here live in poverty, the second poorest spanish speaking country in the world; yet they are so welcoming and never let you go hungry. Traveling is a way to learn.

Every morning I’d wake up to their faces smiling brighter than the sun, ready to do our devotional. The language is beautiful; even though I may not understand every word that is said to me. I've never been to a more beautiful place on earth, the one night I was talking to a new friend and he told me that once Americans arrive, they never want to return home. And my response was “who would want to leave the place where they met the strongest people.”

I got the opportunity to go into a local family’s home where a family of four lived in one room. And what shocked me more is that there was only one bed. Let's be honest, if you made an American live like that, they wouldn't survive. I got to go to local restaurants and grocery stores and they weren’t much different than here in the states. Traveling to other countries is a great way to learn about new foods and cultures.

This place is home to many coffee and cotton fields, the main sources of agricultural income. The local people drink hot coffee anytime of day even when it is hot outside. If you like coffee this is definitely a place to go! Besides the coffee and cotton there is also a huge active volcano I got to visit with the locals.The Masaya volcano is one of three active volcanoes in the country. I was excited to see something like this in real life and feeling the heat was the most amazing thing. The best part about exploring the country was seeing the people I met excited to show off their beautiful country.

Everyone needs to travel to a third world country and experience the beauty in poverty. One of my favorite things about traveling here is seeing the kids playing on the streets without technology. Even though it is emotionally hard to see places like this,I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This is a place of hope, my new home where I get to use my talents to help others; my home away from home. I hope someday you can find a place far away to call your home away from home. Pochocuape, Nicaragua