From Nica with love ♥

Who am I? Why am I here? You’re asking, I’m asking. The simple answer: journalist, Bikram yoga-lover, would-be cook and maybe-nurturer.

Have Triangle will pose ... Trikonasana, Casa La Libertad, Granada, Nicaragua, October 2011

I’ve always had a burning desire to improve my Spanish by being in a country where I had no option but to speak it. I thought about remote parts of Spain but couldn’t find any charities. I researched organisations in South America but I discovered my credentials as a journalist meant diddly-squat. I was valued at zero.

When I did find the odd charity willing to to take me on board they were demanding thousands of pounds for I-don’t-know what. In the interim came the Open University where I meant a friend who told me about how I could fulfill my wishes in Nicaragua. I found a charity that happily accepted that a) giving my time and b) paying my own way were payment enough.

I didn’t go straight way. The seed which I’ll call Nica was planted and lay germinating for five years until tired of all the moaning around me, tired of waiting for something to happen and seeing how others were making things happen for them, I decided it was my time.

I believe that if I can help a single person, that act could change the outcome of an entire community for the better.

Here I am. I want to matter. I want to make a difference. I’ve chosen Nicaragua.

Let’s see how it goes…