“The Best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”

About two weeks ago, I remember sitting in a classroom at Montclair State University for our weekly Team Nicaragua meeting. The incredible Jhon Velasco looked at us and said “In two weeks, we are going to Nicaragua ad your lives will never be the same.” He couldn’t have been more right.
I now find myself sitting in the dining/recreation area of our hostel with the 19 people whom after 3 days, I would now consider family. If I had to use one term to describe the experience so far, it would be SENSORY OVERLOAD! The scents, sounds and sights especially are beyond overwhelming. Among the extreme amount of information we have learned and things we have seen in a few short days, I feel so balanced and at peace (I think most of us share those feelings). Also, I think it is crucial for me to mention that my fear of starving here was utterly absurd because quite honestly, the food is BANGIN’!!!! This may sound unreal, especially to those of you who know me, but I do not miss McDonalds. Not one bit.
Ok, so here’s the heavy stuff. If I attempted to record the events and my feelings of the past few days, this “blog” would transform into a short novel so I’ve chosen to share my most significant experience, which happened to occur today when we were graced with the presence of a woman named Yamileth Perez. After a couple “classroom” type sessions with our Witness for Peace leaders Patti and Rachel, we prepared ourselves (or so we thought) to visit la chureca, the local garbage dump. Covered in bug spray, cameras in had, we boarded the bus with Yami not knowing what she was about to share. It is safe to say that not one person got off that bus without tears streaming down their face. Aside from my mother, Yami is quite possibly the most influential woman I have ever met. La Chureca is not simply the city dump; it is a home for many families who await the arrival of thousands of tons of garbage on a daily basis in order to survive. Whoever said, “One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure” hit the nail on the head. Trash was not only treasure for Yami, it was means to survive. Now a community leader and activist, I see this woman as no less than a guardian angel for everyone around her. What a reality check it was to see a grown woman brought to tears by the fact that people are privileged enough to scrape food off of their plate into the trash because they were FULL. Just a few days ago, I emptied my apartments cabinets, throwing away perfectly good food. Now I’m sitting here thinking “SERIOUSLY, EM?!” Yami reflected on a moment in the dump as she saw tourists coming through and considered them to be larger, better human beings than she was simply because they were clean. “But at the end of the day, we are all the same size” says Yami.
What I have taken away so far from my stay here so far is how imperative to remember that we are all the same size. We are all human beings with good intentions. But somewhere along the way, a great number of us are dealt a bad hand or put under circumstances which may cause others to judge us too quickly. These people did not behave a certain way which resulted in their poverty, it simply happened and they remain to be the friendliest and most resilient people I have ever crossed paths with. What we consider the American Dream is considered the American Nightmare in Nicaragua. There are too many people who are convinced that a Louis Vitton bag will solve this week’s problems. We focus on what we do not have instead of embracing what we DO have. I would love to write more, but its time to go dance in the rain with 19 people that I thoroughly enjoy.
And remember….

“The Best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”
Emily Tully
Team Nicaragua 2009
“The Dream Team”