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Health & Fitness

Blog: I Left Catonsville to Live in a Volcanic Crater

So after spending my first 18 years of life in Catonsville, I went to a University less than an hour away and came back for weekends and school breaks. But last August I finally moved. Far.

So after spending my first 18 years of life in Catonsville, I went to a university less than an hour away and came back for weekends and school breaks. But last August I finally moved.

In my new place, I wake up around 7 a.m., already hot, to the sounds of roosters and children passing by on their way to school. I throw on tennis shoes and head up to the road for a morning run. As I run around the edge of the lake, I pass under trees full of howling monkeys pass my students riding sidesaddle on their father’s bicycles, late as usual for school. After I get back, take a cold shower, and put on my work clothes (capris, tank top, and flip flops), I have a good traditional breakfast of gallo pinto (beans and rice) and eggs with fresh pitaya juice. Then I start my commute to work, a five-minute walk to the primary school, to convince the kids that they really do want to abandon their street soccer game for English class!

My new home is Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua and my work is The Peace Project. After graduating from University of Maryland last Spring, I moved to Nicaragua with two classmates and began the community project to expand educational opportunities for the kids who live in this poor, rural town. I spend my days tutoring, teaching English, playing soccer, fundraising, and recruiting volunteers to come join us.

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While English classes and tutoring will help these students grow up and get jobs that pay them and treat them well in the growing tourist industry, The Peace Project has ulterior motives. Weaved throughout the English classes, math tutoring, and art projects, are lessons of peace. Karla, who was once bullied relentlessly and isolated by the other students, is now accepted by her classmates and even shows leadership helping younger students in class. Juan, who used to litter his empty soda bottles on the side of the road, now takes them home to throw away or donates them to us for recycling art projects.  And Ender, who used to say that the girls couldn’t play soccer, now picks Maria (a great sweeper) for his team and encourages Gloria when she makes a good save.

These kids have all the brains and passion to succeed, but perhaps not the resources. While we’re working hard at The Peace Project to teach them everything we can, they still attend school everyday and sit in broken desks in bare-walled classrooms and rip out notebook sheets (to use at toilet paper) when they go to the outhouse.

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If you would like to help The Peace Project get books to help teach the children how to read, or English workbooks to help them practice English at home, or water bottles so they don’t have to run to the water tank every time they get thirsty (5 times per class), then I’ll tell you how! Here’s a link to our website with all the donation information here.

You can also find out more about we’re doing and how to come help the kids in person as a volunteer! (Also, if you’re thinking, “well, I don’t really have very much money,” rest assured that a few dollars goes a LONG way here. Most people live on $2 per day!) And if you want to know more, get in touch with me! All the contact info is on the site.

Also, this video will give you a good sense of what we’re up to, and show you some of the adorable kids I get to work with every day here.

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