It’s ‘suitcase-time’ again. No, not for a holiday, but for another house move. The last time that I packed these suitcases was when I moved to Nicaragua with everything that I could fit into 4 suitcases of maximum 23 kilograms each. Everything else had to stay behind. That was a big job, but this time it is not. This is a matter of meters instead of thousands of kilometers, a tiny move from our yellow house to our orange one a couple of streets away.
I’ve rarely been so quick in getting ready for a move, although we are moving just a bit more than just four full suitcases. Two boxes with toys ought to go, and some kitchenware,besides some clothing, a bookshelf, and a special bed bought for a vulnerable back. Other household goods stay in the yellow house, which will continue to serve the project as office, a meeting place for e.g the activities club, and a place where, in due course, we can accommodate interns and visitors.
Tomorrow a friend will come to help us move by car, probably all in one trip. Tomorrow night my son Jonathan and I hope to spend the night in our new community home, just the two of us at first, so that Jonathan can get used to the new surroundings before, from Thursday onwards, new colleagues will start working in the home.
The superlative of ‘dreaming’ is ‘doing’
This transition is not only a new phase in the life of the project, but also in our private lives. We will meet new situations, and we get more and more submerged in Nicaraguan society. We have new questions to answer, such as : ‘Do we trade in our Dutch ‘bready’ breakfast (Jonathan adores bread!) for the Nicaraguan breakfast of rice and beans? Do we have three cooked meals per day? Of course Spanish will be the main language in the community home. What will this mean for Jonathan?
Our team will consist of Regina, a twenty year-old woman who will be resident in the home; Anielka, a bit older, who will run day or night shifts depending on the needs; and myself as the driving force. Doña Maria will support us part-time with domestic work
We, the housemates, will need to get to know each other and work towards living together in harmony, in spite of personal preferences, different backgrounds and experiences. We’ll have some challenges ahead of us, no doubt.
Short-term planning
Our priority in the period ahead is to train the new, enthusiastic, but inexperienced workers. I have developed a basic course program in which through practical work (carrying out assignments, working with Jonathan, assisting with the activities club), on the job training and personal assessments, we move from theory to good practice.
In the meantime the process of registration of Daniel and Loyda gradually progresses and we expect that they will join to live in the community in July. After that we will take time to give everyone an ample chance to get used to the new situation. That sounds relaxed, but the possibility of the opposite cannot be ruled out, I think. Time will tell. Most important is that our period of preparation has been good, and that we have not rushed anything. We feel ready for the period ahead!