Last day in the USA

Friends and loved ones,

Tomorrow (tuesday) morning I will fly out to Managua, Nicaragua to begin two years of living and working through Jesuit Volunteers International (JVI). I'll be living in a house in the city with five other volunteers from the states, four of whom will be 2nd year volunteers when I arrive (the other will be a fellow first year volunteer). For the first month or so I will be in a training/orientation phase, which will consist of...well I have no idea. I think the purpose of this phase will be more or less to help me get used to living in Nicaragua and specifically Managua, work out the kinks and my Spanish speaking abilities, and prepare me for my job, which will begin in early January. My job ought to look something like this: I will be placed at a community center and will likely help run programs all day for at-risk youth. This will likely consist of a lot of tutoring and teaching. I'll have more info on the job in the coming weeks.
I was offered this position with JVI about 8 months ago, and frankely I never thought I'd see the day when I actually get up at 6am and hop on the plane. The idea of doing 2 years of volunteer work in Nicaragua has for a long time seemed like a very distant reality, something that I will do 'some day'. So it's a very weird sensation to finally have that day arrive. Yet for all the nervousness of life in a new country, a potentially difficult and stressful job, and the inevitable feelings of homesickness, I feel ready for this. I've known for years that after college I needed to spend some significant time in service/ accompaniment with marginalized or underprivileged people in order to better understand their plight, view my own life through a new lens, and develop within myself a lifelong ethic of service. A lot of you know that my heart is in Central America. You might also know that I love to work with youth and that through them I see a lot of hope for society. Furthermore, you may be aware that I tear it up at Spanish. So I really believe that this is the most natural step for me to take right now. I can't imagine a better fit than two years in Nicaragua, working with youth, and building community with locals and my housemates.
A quick word about Nicaragua, for those of you who are not too familiar with this place. Contrary to popular belief, Nicaragua is not in South America, nor is it part of Mexico. If you guessed either of those, however, you weren't too far off, because Nicaragua is in fact between Mexico and South America, in a little ithsmus called Central America. It is the second poorest country in the hemisphere (behind Haiti). Spanish is the spoken language. The western half of the country holds the main cities, while the eastern half is largely undeveloped and home to a variety of indigenous groups. The north is filled with beautiful mountains and a temperate climate, while Managua is basically at sea level and is probably the hottest place in the world. It is a very stable country considering its incredibly violent and turbulent recent history. For more info on Nicaragua, visit www.google.com. I hope to keep you all well updated when I arrive in Nicaragua!

With love,
Michael (Miguel) Marchesini