Finding Lempira: conocer

There is a word in Spanish that I have really come to love and appreciate. The verb "conocer" is translated to mean "to know"...but there are 2 verbs for this word in Spanish. Saber is used for knowing information. Conocer is used when you meet a new person, in general reference to knowing someone, and also used for knowing places. You don't ask someone if they've been to the Pacific Ocean, you ask if they know the Pacific Ocean. I really like the way that sounds...as if each place on the earth has a personality, characteristics that you can't just go and visit and say "Yeah, I've been there..." but you can say instead you know it, like a new friend you just met; someone you'd like to get to know better.

A few weeks ago I went to check out the festival for the Virgin of Suyapa, the namesake of our neighborhood, and of the beautiful basilica that sits at the bottom of the hill. People come from all over Honduras for this week long festival to celebrate the Virgin Suyapa of Honduras. My host family was not really interested in going, as they are not catholic, and have little interest in anything related to catholicism (lots to explore here, but we'l leave it for now). When I came home and shared about my experience inside the Basicila, and then moved on to talk about my upcoming trip to La Campa, my host mom was laughing at me and said "Charissa, you really like to conocer new places, don't you? You are always going to new places and seeing new things." My first thought was, yes, that is the life of a foreigner in Honduras. Always traveling to see another new place.

But then I thought about it for awhile longer, and realized that really is what much of my life has been about. I love knowing new places and learning new things about those places. I love knowing new people, and it especially makes a new place more meaningful for me when I experience it with people, old friends and new. I don't know what that says about me, but I realize that so much of my life has been about seeking out things that are new to me, finding new experiences and using what I know to help process the next unknown.

And so I will segue into my latest adventure to conocer a new place and give you a brief update on my weekend trip to Nicaragua!

The purpose of my 4 days in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, were to attend a regional conference for small business owners. I was privileged to attend the conference with 2 coworkers from MCM, a bank client who runs his own car-wash business, and 2 great women who work with Diakonia, another lending organization from the Christian Reformed Church here in Honduras. It was fun to travel with them and share the experiences of the conference with them as well.

I did get some helpful information at the conference that I hope to be able to use in the business courses I am working on. Topics like 'how to start a business' and '8 ways to grow your business' (offered with outlines in Spanish :) should make some great course material for the business school. There were, however, some things I didn't enjoy about the conference...mostly the fact that the wealthy American business owners did not seem too concerned about adapting their lectures for the central american context. Especially the small-business context. Also, that the sponsoring organizations did not involve more women business leaders in the plenary sessions, nor was there much perspective from any successful central american business people. This was frustrating to see, but I think it helped me learn a lot about how I approach development and what kind of philosophy I subscribe to in economic development.

After the conference, I had the chance to stay a few extra days and get to know :) Nicaragua a little bit better, with the help of my fellow SALTer friend, Christa. We stayed at her house in the city and cooked meals together, hung out with her host sister, and also went to the lake-side, volcano-surrounded town of Granada. It was really beautiful there, and so I will give you some pics to enjoy.

I think this post has gotten a little lengthy, so I'll be brief. I am grateful for the opportunities I have to go and learn about other places and get to know even just a little bit of new countries like Nicaragua. I am also thankful for continual safety with all the travel I have done, and pray for continued safety where ever each day takes me. Thanks for your love and prayers and support...to the faithful blog readers and those who might have just stumbled upon it but are thinking of me anyway.