INSIDEOUT Project

While down here, I’ve participated in a fair amount of awesome projects and inspiring initiatives. But what I  participated in last week was by far the most creative (in the artistic sense of the word), and the most fun. But what I want to focus on is the creative side. I’ve consider myself a creative person when it comes to problem solving and perspective; seeing things differently and using them in a way their not intended to, to satisfy a different need. But artistically, I got nothing, which is why I was so pumped to be asked to help out with INSIDEOUT project.

INSIDEOUT (insideoutproject.net) is a photography project at a world-wide level, with the intention of exposing the issues, problems, and message of the common person using blown up (3 by 4 ½ ft) photos and posting them in public spaces, as well as trying to inspire creativity and street art at a world wide level. The project was started by a French graffiti artist who goes by JR, who after presenting at the innovation conference TED Talks (http://www.ted.com/, which you should all totally take a look at it), won their grand prize to make his dream a reality. After a few months, there are now literally hundreds of initiatives or actions as they’re referred to, all over the world. For those of you in the NYC area, you may have noticed the photos of over Time Square. That is an example of an INSIDEOUT action, and take a look at the website to find the action nearest you, as well as hear JR talk about his idea. And the best part is, anyone can apply for it. So when two of my volunteer friends heard about it in January, they wasted no time in reaching out to JR and the INSIDEOUT team.

Our Boss!

Each action has their own theme, rallying behind an idea of the organizers of the local action. Our idea was double pronged. First, we wanted to present to the Nicaraguan village who the real leaders of the community are: the women. Because it’s the woman who in most cases take care of the family, raise the kids, and manage the household money. Second, we wanted to pay tribute to the women who have positively affected our experience and lives while living in Nicaragua the past two years. So seven of us reached out to our host moms, friends, counterparts, and their kin to participate in the project. In the end 47 women participated in the project, including my host mother and sister from Niquinohomo and my host mother from Villa el Carmen.

Two worlds collide: My host mother from Niquinohomo on the left and Illa el Karmen on the Right

Helping to Paste her photo

Me and my ma!

 Now if you were going to pay tribute to the women and mothers of Nicaragua, what could be the best day to it? The Nicaraguan Mothers Day of course, which is exactly what we did. Now not to offend any mothers back at home, but Mothers Day here is huge…school is canceled and most business close. 40 of the 47 women attended the event, and we spent the entire morning posting prints on predetermined buildings in Granada (using wheat paste), and celebrated our beloved “mothers” with an all-expense paid for lunch and flowers. Ma, had I been home, you can bet I would’ve done the exact same thing for you! And those 7 that didn’t come lived too far away, or were way too old…like 92 or 93 years old. The youngest girls participating were only about 18 months old, and in some cases we had 4 generations of women from the same family participating! The Ambassador herself came to help out, as well as the Peace Corps country director!  To really see what the event like take a look at the photos on the book: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.665053855175.1073741827.59401052&type=3 And a shout out to Kacie Gartland for taking all the great photos!

The project got national press, as it was featured in the countries two main papers, as well as featured in an international travel blog: http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/globalsnapshots/2013/06/02/inspired-by-the-women-of-nicaragua-an-inside-out-project-by-peace-corps-volunteers/

For more info about JR and his work, follow the link here: https://www.artsy.net/artist/jr

Me and volunteers who put it all together

Some local supporters! I guess the guy on the left was none too impressed!

 Now as I mentioned, I hadn’t considered myself a creative person artistically, but this project opened my eyes. I now find myself pretty fascinated by street art, and the idea of experimenting with it. Graffiti doesn’t interest me as much as the medium we used, being paper prints, pasted using wheat paste (which is a combination of flour, sugar, and water). Seeing as I’m leaving Villa el Carmen in just about a month from now, I’m now considering leaving behind a couple of extra souvenirs around town, as well as markers on my travels home. The only thing I’m debating about is my design…I’ll let you all know when I come up with something. And as for a tag name, what do you all think about S’uel? Any other suggestions?

The Nature of Fear

I want to start this post out with a foreword. Mom, if you’re reading this isn’t meant to scare you, or anyone who cares about my well being. That being said, I feel like it’s important to share my reaction to what for me, was a particularly frightening experience.

Looking up, I knew I was in trouble. Lying on my stomach on my surfboard the wave was easily ten times bigger than I was, and I was stuck right in front of its path. There was no where to go, no where to flee, just a lot of water about to crash down on top of me. When I walked out into the shallows that day, board in arm, I knew what I was getting into. The surf report said the waves would be ten to twelve feet tall. Some of you may be asking what I was thinking, if I had known that. But the truth is, I have surfed and caught waves that big before. I figured I was fine, naively not taking into account that not all waves and conditions are created equally. There is a big difference between a clean-breaking wave and one that detonates all at once. While previously I had experienced the former, clean wave, I now found myself face-to-face with the latter.

Now cut back to me on the board, looking up at this big fellow. Fear didn’t creep slowly through my veins, all the sudden it was there. My heart was pumping hard and my body felt super alive and aware of the danger it could be in. My mind was racing, analyzing all the possible options and consequences for the present situation. For that moment, my life was simplified to three options: Do I ditch the board and try and swim under the wave? Do I turn around and try to ride it? Or do I face it head on?

After I had paddled in, shaken, but ok and safe, I sat down on the beach to go over what had just happened, and two things came to mind. The first was the nature of my fear and my reaction to it. It didn’t scare me to continuing surfing; it’s not like I got off the board and swore I would never surf again. Rather the opposite happened. It seemed to light a fire under me, to prepare myself better, so I’d never find myself in that situation again. The next time, I’ll be stronger and more capable, or better yet, I’ll be able to recognize the dangers of the situation. But I also realized that I would never be as scared again, as I was in that instant. From then on things wouldn’t be necessarily easier in those situations, but I would be more comfortable with that fear, and make more informed decisions. It reminded me of my first day standing in front of a Nicaraguan classroom, expected to say something yet not knowing really a word of Spanish. I froze and was almost hyper-ventilating. Since that fateful day, the classroom has unfazed me. Fear I think, is often associated too much in a negative light*. Fear of failure, fear of change, or fear of anything is a healthy part of life, and without it you can’t really grow as a person. If everything is always comfortable and easy, you’re not challenging yourself. You’re not living. To be clear, I’m not talking just about extreme-risk taking, such as bigger wave surfing or sky diving. I’m also referring to everyday things such as asking out a pretty girl on a date, trying a new pastime at the risk of embarrassing yourself in front of the masses, or moving to a new city. Static comfort, to steal a phrase from Mike Thomas, also means static growth. If you want to grow, you need to confront your fears head on, and hang out for the ensuing ride on.

The second realization was in the form of a quote I think is fitting in the situation: “Everyone has a plan, until they’re punched in the face.” Wise words from a not so wise man, Mike Tyson. You can tell yourself how you’ll react in a certain situations, but until they actually happen, you never know. Will it be fight or flight? There isn’t a universal answer for that question, as it depends on the situation. In my case, the correct answer was fight. Had I bailed to swim under the wave, it’s probable my leash may have snapped, as it was homemade from recycled plastic, and I would’ve been stuck in the impact zone, far from shore, without anything to keep me afloat. Had I tried to ride the wave, it would’ve crashed on top of me, ripping me from my board, and dragging me under for a long while. So I was left with paddling into, and attempting to duck dive the board under the wave, to avoid the bulk of the power of the wave. But like I said, it was a big fellow, and I still got pummeled and held under longer than was comfortable. But I walked away unscathed, now knowing how to better handle the situation.   

*Of course, in certain situations, especially when life threatening, fear most certainly is something negative.