The web of community and support offered on Cortes has always been something quite astounding to me, an element lacking in my everyday city life. Recently however, I was reacquainted with the meaning of community through my incredibly awakening trip to Nicaragua this past spring.

On March 1st 2008, I along with 25 other students/teachers, boarded a plane to Nicaragua leaving behind closed doors and closed personalities. Our intention was simply to immerse ourselves in this foreign culture for three weeks, absorb as much as we could, and give back by assisting in the creation of a community centre. We were part of class offered at my high school called Global Education; a course designed to “empower young people with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required to bring about positive change” in our world.

We spent months in preparation; fundraising to reach a goal of $5000, raising awareness of our program, by selling fair-trade coffee and chocolate. From September to March our class busied ourselves asking for donations, fundraising, getting medical shots, and taking malaria pills. Suddenly the day came when we left our own country and traveled into an entirely different culture.

The greatest shock upon arrival was the heat – it was not just warm, it was hot and humid. The air was thicker than Vancouver, a combination of the moisture, and the pollution. We spent the first week of the trip adjusting ourselves to the climate, culture, food, and language in the capital Managua. A dirty and impoverished city full of propaganda glorifying the president Daniel Ortega.

After we had recovered from the culture shock and the jet leg, our class moved away from the urban, impoverished, garbage strewn streets of Managua, to the much more picturesque Laguna de Apoyo Spanish school. For two days we worked in small groups with teachers who spoke next to no English, in turn learning the art of communication without words. We began to notice how open the people of Nicaragua were, not at all impatient with our less than honourable Spanish abilities. After a few encounters with scorpions and tarantulas, and several well-deserved dips in the Lagoon, our group was packed back onto a bus and left for the Isla de Ometepe – the island on which we spent the majority of the trip.

On a boat of similar calibre to that of the Cortes ferry, we traveled eagerly awaiting our arrival. Imagine coming to Cortes on a beautiful summers day, glistening water and beautiful scenery – multiply the heat by 3, and you will have something similar to our journey to Ometepe. Made up of two spectacular volcanoes (one dormant, the other somewhat active) the island slowly grew before us as we approached. Once docked, we drove across the unpaved “streets” of Ometepe to a beautiful organic farming co-operative situated at the foot of the Volcano Maderas (the dormant one).

We spent the next ten days at the Finca Magdelena, experiencing first hand the going–ons of a working coffee farm. While some of us sorted coffee beans, others extracted honey, worked in gardens, or helped in the kitchens. All the time making new friends and attempting to improve our Spanish. We were not the only guests at the Finca as it is home to many backpacker travelers, most of which come to hike the volcano.

Hiking the volcano, now that was an experience I shall never forget! A grueling eight-hour trek up and down mountain terrain that I could never have been prepared for. It felt as though we were battling our way through a jungle forest – in retrospect, I suppose we were. Despite the pain it brought to our knees and feet, the hike was incredibly amusing. Our group bonded as we slid down the mountain, covered head to toe in mud, huge smiles on our faces.

It was during our stay at the Finca that we began to feel the immense sense of community, and the openness of the people. You could not walk by someone without receiving a smiling “hola” or “buenos dias”. We felt completely at home in those foreign surroundings, locals would continually walk up to us and start a conversation, kindly chuckling at our broken Spanish. Never during our stay did we feel like intruders, the people embraced us with open arms, genuinely enjoying our presence.

Before I wrap up this story I suppose I shall mention the Community Center that we contributed to (financially and physically). It will hopefully be a place for the women and children in the community of Balgue to meet and learn in a safe and supportive environment (as it is still a largely male-dominated society). We worked alongside members from the community, as well as members from a non-profit organization called the Finca Bona Fide (another organic farm working towards teaching sustainable agriculture methods). With the hands of everyone involved, we completely renovated the outside of the building.

It was a wonderful feeling having made a physical difference; even greater was the realization that through the integration and help of many different people we were able to leave something a little greater than we found it. Nicaragua is a country so full of colour and life, that since my return, I have greatly missed the spirit of its people. It rekindled my idea of community, and awakened my senses to an entirely new and inspiring culture.