Week One Completed

This week has been a truly fulfilling experience for all involved. We have spent 8 hours a day, for the past 5 days in a sacred space of learning and connection. The intimacy that arises out of such a training is one that transcends the cultural and linguistic boundaries that often keep us separate.
There are 5 Nicaraguan folks taking the two week training who are on a scholarship. Then there are 5 estranjeros (foreigners) that are taking the course, and either paying full or partial work trade. Paul and Gaia, whose creation is Inanitah, and this cross-cultural massage course, are also participating. Two of the volunteers here at Inanitah, Angela and Justin, did an extensive interview process with many local people who were interested in participating. They chose the 5 that they thought would be the best fit for the course, based on reason for participation, willingness to work with and on strangers, availability for the class, and general vibes. The students who have been chosen are: Neftali, a 34 y.o ex-military guard for the president who now teaches Taekwando and guides tourists up the volcano. He is our class clown. Yolanda, 32 y.o woman who works for a wealthy dutch family as a nanny and has a 2 y.o of her own. She has a strong sense for the work, as if she's been doing it for years already. Ceinida, 28 y.o woman who is a gem of a person with a bright spirit. Roberto, 25 y.o man who want to find something steady for work. He seems to have a knack for massage as well.
Analicia, 18 y.o woman who is looking for something to forward herself.

The people they chose are so excited to be here and they will be asked to do somewhere between 25 and 30 clinic hours before being placed at local hotels. We are working out details of what's needed to make this a good experience for everyone involved. I won't be able to monitor most of the clinic hours, but I will probably be able to come back in April and do some more work with them after they've been practicing for a few months, and maybe start a new training as well.

The estranjeros who are in the course are: Angela, 25 y.o mexcian-american woman who is translator and living at Inanitah with her partner, Justin as the outreach coordinator. Simonea, a Swiss woman who is the gardener here at Inanitah and has been traveling for a year and a half throughout south and central america. Erika, a 30 y.o american woman whose been living here at Inanitah for 7 months as a volunteer. Pete, an 28 y.0 Brittish guy from one of the Islands in the channel who is also traveling indefinately, and James, an australian traveler with shoulder issues. Oh, and Paul is German and Gaia is American, but they've been living here in Nicaragua for the past 2+ years!
It's a really fun merging of folks.

The days look something like this: 7:30 - 8: yoga and meditation
8-9:30: topic of the day
9:30-9:45: break
9:45-12: Anatomy and Demo of practical work
12-1: lunch
1-3: Practice

The agreements we've made to create a sacred space are as follows:
*Honor one another and our differences
*Manage personal energy and take responsibility for oneself
*Listen with your heart to each person speaking
*Communicate with integrity, give clear honest feedback
*Begin and end on time
*Stay interested and ask questions
*Stay open
*Enjoy our co-created journey together!

I am learning so much spanish, and this is the most challenging aspect of the course; not being able to directly speak with the students. I mostly need a translator. I think I speak spanish least of anyone else here.
Ok, time to get a massage from one of my students.
With love,
Valerie