Polvo

It is hard to see in the picture, but the sky is actually very brown and full of dirt

 Polvo is not a word I'd expect to learn in a Spanish class but we definitely have learned it this week.  We have been breathing in tiny particles of earth after farmers have deforested the area around Leon and we have no idea if any pesticides or chemicals were used.  They are planting peanuts and the wind created a terrible dust storm on Tuesday. I've never seen anything like it.

Yet,  those tiny little particles of earth have made a difference in the air we have been breathing, the farmers' income and the food that people will eventually eat.  I can't help but think we are also tiny little particles of change in this vast country of need.  There are evident improvements in Leon's economy since 2008 when I first came to Nicaragua and I am hopeful that things will continue to improve.  I'm also noticing areas of stagnation which is particularly frustrating to me because I am inpatient. Instead of the tiny, incremental "polvo" elements of change it is almost like I want change to be more of a volcanic eruption with a steady flow of lava. Much like the starfish story, I continually remind myself that I am/we are making a difference one relationship at a time.

-Julie Delkamiller