March 23rd 2019

Well we finished our move up higher into the mountains, but then found out the situation was quite different than what we had been told. Without going into detail we had to move again in a hurry into an empty house and buy furniture so as not to be sleeping on the floor. Its been a bit of a chaotic few months but things are going well overall and we have had lots of fun. We're still in the same town we had planned on moving to, and serving in a newly formed Spanish language group.

Our three month tourist visa expired so we had to do a visa run, for Jean this was the first time. Because she is Nicaraguan while we were there only I had to leave the country to renew my visa, but in this country since both of us are foreigners we both had to leave the country together. I never appreciated before how easy we Canadians have it. For Nicaraguans everywhere we want to go, Jean needs to fill out forms and sometimes go for an interview in order to get a visa to enter another country. Some countries make it utterly impossible or very expensive so its not even viable for a visa run. We decided on Mexico as there was no fee for the visa, but it was still quite a bit of paperwork.

Thankfully, the visa was approved and we were able to travel together to Mexico. Some old friends of ours that had been serving in Bluefields Nicaragua who were forced to leave Nicaragua for very similar reasons to us are now in Chiapas and they offered us a place to stay and hospitality when we needed it the most. Jean and I got to explore another new country, city, food, and culture together which is an experience I'll never get tired of. We ate so many tacos, drank horchata and micheladas, and even went to a party.

I've come to a new philosophy on street food and being careful with sickness in other countries. When I first left Canada I was told by nearly everyone not to eat street food or drink the local water. I think this was bad advice for several reasons. One being that you miss out on some really amazing things, another is that you will offend the local people. Countless times I've found I was the only foreigner invited to some event because "well Matthew eats cabbage salad so we can invite him too".
No matter what country you go to, the people there are also human beings. If it doesn't kill them, it won't kill you either. It may have "different" bacteria to what your immune system is used to, but once you've been though a few belly aches you won't get sick anymore. I've been eating a lot of street food and I can't remember the last time I got ill from eating something.

The trip to Mexico was refreshing and felt like the vacation we needed. Just as we were leaving we got word back from the Canadian immigration. They are ready for Jean's medical and police certificates which means we won't be waiting much longer. Provided we can get all the documents. The Nicaraguan embassy is not being very helpful with the documents they are supposed to provide, but that isn't new. We ask them for a document that we need from them, and their go-to answer is "no that doesn't exist", when actually it does they just don't feel like doing it.

Just a few more steps though, after this is in all that's left is to wait.

December 31st, 2018

Its been a few weeks now since we sent our application for Canadian residency, now we just have to wait. Meanwhile we are moving again. This time a little higher up in the mountains. It is getting a bit tiring moving all the time but circumstances are just that way. The place were moving to will make things a bit easier for us while we wait for an answer from the government, as well be able to save a bit of money and also be able to avoid a bit of the problems in the place were currently living, nothing too big just minor inconveniences.

Were looking forward to getting out of the city. We will be helping to look after a place that belongs to some brothers as they will be out of the country for a bit. it is just on the outskirts of another city, and part way up a mountain. I'm not sure of the exact elevation but its somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 meters. We've definitely adapted to the altitude by now in these 3 months here so the change should be barely noticeable. It will be a bit colder but the house has a wood burning stove for heat. We're looking forward to enjoying the more natural environment as its surrounded by pine forests.

We really are hoping to become more permanent somewhere as soon as our circumstances allow for it. One thing we've found challenging is that each place we go we are forced to leave for one reason or another, and we leave before we ever start to feel at home. The last place we really felt at home (as a couple) was Corn Island, we had a lot of friends there and felt like we could be ourselves as we were in our own culture so to speak. I even had other foreigners around so I didn't feel isolated.

I never really thought that living outside of my culture would be such a challenge. I'm always surprised by how many things are different that I didn't expect to be different. Its really hard to explain what I mean by that exactly... But if you've spent a good amount of time in a foreign country, and more importantly among people that don't speak your language you may understand what I mean. Our mother tongue affects the way we think, the way we process information and how we react to situations and behavior on a very deep level. People do things here that to me are so incredibly rude, or completely wrong, and I'm more than certain they think the same thing about us. When I started traveling I thought "I won't let that bother me, I'll just adapt and try to be as much like them as possible". Well that doesn't work. It takes years to really become comfortable with things that deep inside you feel are wrong.

My family no longer lives in Alberta, they've all moved over to the maritimes and are in Nova Scotia now, so when we go to Canada thats where we will be going as well. It will be a completely new environment for both of us. I've never been to the maritime provinces and until recently I couldn't even name them all or place them on the map. We will have to learn a new culture again, but this time our hope will be to stay for a long time in the town where my parents live until we really feel home there. At least there no one can make us leave. We won't need any more visas or to ask permission to stay longer every three months, not knowing what we would do if they say no. I'll be able to look for a job that lets me work in the day so I can finally get a good night's sleep.