For Jordan Howell (IAFS ’18), starting the summer by intensively reading an assigned textbook on the history of Nicaragua was not her first choice. However, through her experiences in Nicaragua, she came to understand how the politics and history of the country informed her work there.
Howell participated in the International Affairs Nicaragua Service Learning summer program, completing eco-friendly and sustainable projects in different communities of Nicaragua. Class projects were centered around confirmed needs within each city. The program also provided students with an opportunity to connect on a personal level with local families through several homestays during the three-week program.
In Managua, IAFS students worked on upgrading the infrastructure of a community center building, which served as a church, daycare, school, and advocacy meeting space. They built latrines in three different homes in Totogalpa, learning how valuable adequate latrines were to the area. Without them, the local community would risk polluting their groundwater and their drinking water.
Following Totogalpa, the students traveled to Peñas Blancas and worked with locals to build a modern plumbing system. For Howell, Peñas Blancas was where she made the closest connection to the program, not only because of work accomplished on-site, but also because of the relationships created during her homestay.
Her host father was a man of few words. However, Howell’s Spanish studies allowed her to strike up conversations on issues she’d been reading about for class, including the current political climate. Eventually, they talked in-depth about the subject, and her host father appreciated her genuine interest and knowledge about the political and economic history of Nicaragua. “Our conversation happened because I recognized his viewpoints and the historical context behind them,” explained Howell. “My reading showed me how Nicaraguans are still affected by events in the past, and it allowed for me to have a meaningful conversation that otherwise may not have happened.” A few days later, the group left Peñas Blancas for Granada, and then back to the airport for home.
Howell sat on the plane with the group heading back to Boulder, considering everything they had experienced over the past three weeks. Their boots were still dirty from worksites and their phones were full of photos from site visits, excursions, and homestays. For Howell, this trip was memorable in more ways than one, and she would always remember not just the work she did, but the connections with people she created--especially with one person, her host father.