Friday after our economic crisis meeting with FSD adn all the new interns that just came, Jolie, Wade, Emily, Angie and I hopped into a cab adn went to the Roberto Mumbue bus stop in Managua from where we took a big old bus to Rivas. From Rivas we took a 45 minute cab to San Juan Del Sur. Finally after huge Managua rush hour traffic and a couple hour bus ride we arrived to this small little beach town in the very south of Nicaragua almost near the Costa Rican border.
We stayed at a hostel called Casa Feliz, a small house dorm style place with a kitchen and all the hang out essentials. This great Nicaraguan surfer named Codo runs the place and is the quintessential beach bum. After explaining our hunger to him he showed us apparently he best pizza place in town run by an Italian man and oh was it amazing. The after pizza we got tot know the travelers staying at the hostel and decided to go out to a popular bar and then that turned into going to a disco and dancing with some great Nicaraguan dancers and meeting some really fun people. So we were very tired the next day, Saturday, but still made the morning surfing trip to a beach called Madeiras. We left around 8 and came back around one and we so tired at that point, but swimming in the cool pacific ocean was awesome. It actually drizzled a little but it kept us cool. After our beach adventure with the people at the hostel (they all surfed and are beach bums) we ate on the water back in San Juan. The town here is very cute, the guys we went out with from the night before, our friends, see us probably five times a day just walking around...that is how small it is. Eating then resting, then a little card games and them more eating. We went again to the pizzeria with our German friend, Sandra, to show her how good the pizza was. There are a lot of other Americans and Europeans here.
Sunday (today) we went to a different beach called yankee with the same people from the hostel and while they surfed we swam and enjoyed the sun. Emily and Sandra took surfing lessons from Codo and it was quite entertaining! Luckily Emily and I both have Monday off since we both work at schools and there are no classes. So we will be here until Monday. After the beach we just made it back in time to watch the last half of the Europe cup. It is huge here, since everyone and their mother plays soccer. Spain played Germany and WON!!! I was very happy....
Anyways, it is nice to be in somewhat of a touristy town where everyone is used to white people, unlike Cuidad Sandino really. As well as, it is nice to meet new people and be by the beach with a cooler climate.
I will post pictures when I have more time...all my best for now!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
FSD Blog Entry
I was asked to write about my trip so far for the FSD website, the organization I am here with, so here is a little peice of formal pretty writing about my trip (since my blog is like a random stream of conciousness ):
How does one prepare to move to another country? To live with a new
family? To communicate in another language? Or to be seen as an
outsider? How do you prepare yourself for the unknown? You study the
language, you speak with those who carry experience and you bring your
unfailing passion and sustain your open mind, learning to expect the
unexpected.
This is what has given me such a positive experience in Nicaragua
thus far. Nothing really could have prepared me better than the
education I already had. I will be a senior next year at the
University of San Francisco, majoring in International Relations with
a focus on Global Politics and Societies in Latin America.
Moving to Nicaragua for my summer vacation and interning with the
Foundation for Sustainable Development, one of the most drastic
changes is being placed into another culture, and another already
established family. Being accepted with open arms and a traditional
kiss on the cheek is amazing. To know the reputation the United States
has had, especially in the last couple of years, and to be accepted
and unjudged by Doña Maura, the matriarch of my new home for the next
two months, and by Don Lorenzo is beyond anything I could have
imagined. They do what they can to get by, with a little wood selling
business and the income from my stay. One of the first sentences I
heard from Doña Maura, while receiving her brief tour of her humble
home was, "we have a poor home, very poor but clean." Cleaning and
caring for the kids is a full time job that often goes unnoted and
tends to be only half a days work for the women here.
My little host brother, Osmar who is 4 years old.
I find myself wanting to spend more and more time with my
Nicaraguan family, listening to their family stories (which are always
so interesting and dramatic) and all the biblical names the children
have, since it is typical in Nicaraguan culture to give your child two
biblical names. Here is Osmar again reading with Doña Maura, unfortunately it is not a common practice.
It is incredible how often, three or four generations
will typically live under one roof, and when one mother has seven
kids, you imagine how chaotic it is. Between all those mouths to
feed and all the noises the family makes it is quite a challenging
lifestyle. One of the first things I noticed upon moving to Ciudad
Sandino, is how noisy everything is, it is great. From the loud buses
and motos, to the roosters, music and voices of your neighbors, there
is always something or someone to keep you busy even when you are
doing nothing.
Going on my fifth week in Ciudad Sandino, I have learned the Dos
and Don'ts of daily life. While walking alone at night is not a good
idea, many of the same city norms apply even though Ciudad Sandino is
far from what we would consider a typical city in the United States or
other developed countries. The majority of the roads are dirt roads,
which turn into
rivers when it rains after the extreme heat and humidity. The
sanitation is definitely not what it should be either, but with
education and health as higher priorities, trash and recycling seems
to be a first world luxury.
I am working at an integral education organization that operates
a private school as well as a lot of kids programs for the local
community. Some of those programs include, dance, art, guitar, and
crafts classes in addition to vocational skills training. The
organization was founded by Sister Maura Clarke with the mission based
upon education including human rights and social justice bettering the
community. I am working to create a resource room with audio-visual
documentaries adn materials at the school called Maura Clarke, where
many of the students need scholarships to pay for their education. I
hope to create better and more diverse forms of teaching and learning
on campus through the new materials. Much of the teachign here
consists of copying what the teacher writes on the board into the
kids´notebooks. From Kindergarten early in the morning, and Primary
school in the morning and Secondary school in the afternoon, there is
so much energy, hope and joy in the kids faces. I am also working with
the English sections in the Primary and Secondary levels to increase
participation and
interest through sharing my experience and culture and by enriching
their classes with additional resources to promote further learning. I
love coming to class and having the kids be excited just to hear my
speak. They are so curious as to what my life is like, and I love the
exchange of culture that takes place.
When I tell the students in the English classes that I am only
twenty years old, they are in awe. I asked the English professor, Ana
Celia why they reacted that way, who I was pleased to know actually does speak
English (well with a hard accent), and she said they cannot believe you
are so young, educated and that you do not have any kids, in addition
to being in another country volunteering. It is very normal in
Nicaragua to see twenty year old with two young kids, who has dropped
out of school, is at home taking care of the kids and helping around the
house. Many still live with their parents as well, the family ties
here are extreme here, it is incredible.
Analyzing my situation as a twenty year old American and then that
of a twenty year old Nicaraguan, I am driven even further and that
much more passionate at working towards creating the same
opportunities as I had as a kid and continue to have. A very smart man I look up
to told me once, "luck is when you are smart enough to grab onto an
opportunity." I am very lucky to be a part of the Foundation for
Sustainable Development and be a student at USF and I believe the kids
I am working with feel the same.
How does one prepare to move to another country? To live with a new
family? To communicate in another language? Or to be seen as an
outsider? How do you prepare yourself for the unknown? You study the
language, you speak with those who carry experience and you bring your
unfailing passion and sustain your open mind, learning to expect the
unexpected.
This is what has given me such a positive experience in Nicaragua
thus far. Nothing really could have prepared me better than the
education I already had. I will be a senior next year at the
University of San Francisco, majoring in International Relations with
a focus on Global Politics and Societies in Latin America.
Moving to Nicaragua for my summer vacation and interning with the
Foundation for Sustainable Development, one of the most drastic
changes is being placed into another culture, and another already
established family. Being accepted with open arms and a traditional
kiss on the cheek is amazing. To know the reputation the United States
has had, especially in the last couple of years, and to be accepted
and unjudged by Doña Maura, the matriarch of my new home for the next
two months, and by Don Lorenzo is beyond anything I could have
imagined. They do what they can to get by, with a little wood selling
business and the income from my stay. One of the first sentences I
heard from Doña Maura, while receiving her brief tour of her humble
home was, "we have a poor home, very poor but clean." Cleaning and
caring for the kids is a full time job that often goes unnoted and
tends to be only half a days work for the women here.
My little host brother, Osmar who is 4 years old.
I find myself wanting to spend more and more time with my
Nicaraguan family, listening to their family stories (which are always
so interesting and dramatic) and all the biblical names the children
have, since it is typical in Nicaraguan culture to give your child two
biblical names. Here is Osmar again reading with Doña Maura, unfortunately it is not a common practice.
It is incredible how often, three or four generations
will typically live under one roof, and when one mother has seven
kids, you imagine how chaotic it is. Between all those mouths to
feed and all the noises the family makes it is quite a challenging
lifestyle. One of the first things I noticed upon moving to Ciudad
Sandino, is how noisy everything is, it is great. From the loud buses
and motos, to the roosters, music and voices of your neighbors, there
is always something or someone to keep you busy even when you are
doing nothing.
Going on my fifth week in Ciudad Sandino, I have learned the Dos
and Don'ts of daily life. While walking alone at night is not a good
idea, many of the same city norms apply even though Ciudad Sandino is
far from what we would consider a typical city in the United States or
other developed countries. The majority of the roads are dirt roads,
which turn into
rivers when it rains after the extreme heat and humidity. The
sanitation is definitely not what it should be either, but with
education and health as higher priorities, trash and recycling seems
to be a first world luxury.
I am working at an integral education organization that operates
a private school as well as a lot of kids programs for the local
community. Some of those programs include, dance, art, guitar, and
crafts classes in addition to vocational skills training. The
organization was founded by Sister Maura Clarke with the mission based
upon education including human rights and social justice bettering the
community. I am working to create a resource room with audio-visual
documentaries adn materials at the school called Maura Clarke, where
many of the students need scholarships to pay for their education. I
hope to create better and more diverse forms of teaching and learning
on campus through the new materials. Much of the teachign here
consists of copying what the teacher writes on the board into the
kids´notebooks. From Kindergarten early in the morning, and Primary
school in the morning and Secondary school in the afternoon, there is
so much energy, hope and joy in the kids faces. I am also working with
the English sections in the Primary and Secondary levels to increase
participation and
interest through sharing my experience and culture and by enriching
their classes with additional resources to promote further learning. I
love coming to class and having the kids be excited just to hear my
speak. They are so curious as to what my life is like, and I love the
exchange of culture that takes place.
When I tell the students in the English classes that I am only
twenty years old, they are in awe. I asked the English professor, Ana
Celia why they reacted that way, who I was pleased to know actually does speak
English (well with a hard accent), and she said they cannot believe you
are so young, educated and that you do not have any kids, in addition
to being in another country volunteering. It is very normal in
Nicaragua to see twenty year old with two young kids, who has dropped
out of school, is at home taking care of the kids and helping around the
house. Many still live with their parents as well, the family ties
here are extreme here, it is incredible.
Analyzing my situation as a twenty year old American and then that
of a twenty year old Nicaraguan, I am driven even further and that
much more passionate at working towards creating the same
opportunities as I had as a kid and continue to have. A very smart man I look up
to told me once, "luck is when you are smart enough to grab onto an
opportunity." I am very lucky to be a part of the Foundation for
Sustainable Development and be a student at USF and I believe the kids
I am working with feel the same.
Here is the Scoop
Hello there, thanks for staying with me and reading about my adventures!! Not many people have computers here in their houses and when they do they do not have internet, so my options are going to an internet cafe and paying for internet. While it is cheap here it is still not super convenient. But here is the update on my last week, which was very amazing. After I realized how great everything is here and how lucky I am to be here and meet such amazing people adn experience such a different lifestyle working in the area of international development, I just had a great week.
Last Friday, after working all day on my grant proposal at work, I got a ride home from Gabbie, my co-worker. Not only is it very rare to have your own car here because they are expensive but I got to ride in my favorite car (when it was rainning). Usually I would wait for the 115 bus to take me from Bello Amanecer, a poor neighborhood within Ciudad Sandino, and would walk to the bus stop, ten minutes and walk from the stop near by house to my house, another ten minutes...any it was rainning! Gabbies car was made probably 20 years ago, it is like a jeep but supper crappy. Her passenger side door has to be open and from the inside and closed from the outside, so I can never get in alone (I guess its a good safety measure though) adn the passenger window does not role down, so that sucks in the heat here. I also saved like an hour of travel evem though I just wanted to go across town. After a productive days work and my adventure in Chucky (what we call her car since it is almost as scary as that movie with the toy dolls) I took the bus into Managua to meet my friends Katie and Brian for a little Italian food in a mall. It is always a nice treat to go into managua and take a break from Ciudad Sandino. Managua is a nice city but still there is so much poverty and pollution and traffic. Actually it is not that nice at all but it is still a great break from where I live.
On Saturday, we decided to take it easy so in the afternoon Emily and I went to La Laguna de Xiloa. It is a little lake maybe 7 km away from where we live. We went swimming and just enjoyed the sun and surrounding mountains. It was very nice and slow paced. Then Katie and I decided to be fat kids to we went to the only super market in town called Pali and bought snickers and oreos and had a movie night at my place on her laptop since my family only have a tv without cable. But we watched surfs up in spanish it was great.
Sunday, I watched Spain play Italy in the Europe cup, which I think I have said before but it is huuuuugeee here! The guys in my family, Carlos, Oscar and Jonni (Carlos who is 45 or so and the boys who are my age) love Barcelona, Brazil and the general Spanish team. They are so enthusiatic during the games it is so much fun and they know all the players. And when they are not watchign soccer or working they are p'laying soccer. I have yet to play a game with them and their friends but I have definitely passed around a few times. Everyother week night or so it seems there is a soccer game infront of my house. Since Don Lorenzo and other family members often sit on our porch and and hang out it give sme a good excuse to always watch the games outside after dinner.
Monday I worked all day on my grant proposal (which was a solid eight pages and is in Spanish and English, I am proud!) and then went into managua to do a little shopping with Katie, to pick out outfits at Barrion, a Nica department store, for her going away party which was on that next wednesday. I also had a meeting with FSD, my program and some other interns talking about human rights and social justice as themes in our jobs. We always meet at a mall in Managua called Metrocentro at this cafe called Casa del Cafe. I had chocolate cake and it was great. Sometimes I just crave random food that the US always has. Here they don´t really have enough money for desserts and gallo pinto is the typical food for every meal. I like gallo pinto luckily and my host mom is a pretty good cook (not as good as my host mom in Spain but who is comparing) but the food here is a little bland.
Tuesday was just another work day on my project but Gabbie and I presented our project to the general Director, Isabelita, of CECIM (Centro Educative y Capacitacion Integral de La Hermana Maura Clarke which is the umbrella organization that operates the school I mostly work in), and she loved the idea. We already presented the idea of having an Environment day and actually setting up a recycling system at the school and she loved the idea too. It was really nice to hear we have her support on these projects. They are both very sustainable and realistic which are key elements I have learned in international development. After giving Isabel the copy of the project description and all the information, we had a great conversation about my work here and how things are going. She asked how I was feeling in general and I said, very much a part of the community here and a part of the organization. They really include in a lot and want to see what I am interested in as to where I would fit in. Everyone treats me as an equal or even a little special cuz I am white and a foreigner. I was pleasantly surprised how not one talked ot me extra loud or slow because they might have thought I don´t speak spanish well, but everyone really talks with me normally and are interested in my culture, where I come from and about my personal life. I couldn´t ask for more. It was really hard being thrown into a job where everything is foreign and new, but after the last month, I have a friends at work who I am comfortable with, I know the facilities and how everything runs more or less and I feel lucky to have had so much help on my project in the last few weeks. It is really hard to have to come up with a sustainable project within a month and try to implement it in two months. Getting to know the organization and come up with a realistic solution to a need is very challenging, especially when they need so much here and working with the skills I have is somewhat limited.
Here is a little about my project: What I described above is what I was pretty much sent here to do...create a sustainable project in two months with my skills meeting the needs of my organization and possibly having the chance to get money from FSD (the Foundation for Sustainable Development) if my project is good enough. So after talkign to people in the community a little bit and people I work with, we thought we would create a audio-visual resource room which would be attached to the library at the school. It would have interactive videos and educational documentaries about all different academic and social subjects. There is a solution and a problem clearly defined in my project. The problem, aside from social issues such as intrafamilial violence and low education levels, the learning system in schools here is very basic. It is characterized by teachers basically copying down their lesson plans onto the blackboard and then the 35 to 55 studetns in each classroom section copying down the notes on the blackboard into their notebooks. There are not many great text books for all subjects or interactive learning. My project addresses learning styles of audio, visual and physical learners as well as those with special needs. Giving the library a resource room with a DVD player and audio-visual internactive materials that they can use as a part of their curriculum will enhance the way kids learn all around as well as improving the teachign system of teachers at the school. The sustainable aspect is that the room where these materials will be stored and used already exixts they just need the resources adn trainning on how to use them which is what I can give, along with the two directors and Gabbie the psychologist who have given me their full support on this. So, I turned in my prject proposal to the main office of FSD in San Francisco and will hear if my project gets approved on this Monday the 30th! We will see, I have a lot of faith in this project because it deals with education which is completely sustainable in general, because once you give the kids the tools and knowledge to make good and informed decisions and educate them about the world, social patterns and behaviors begin tot change improving the society.
Okay, I am sorry I know this is like a huge essay and don´t feel bad it you can´t read it all....
A couple more details...
I turned my project in on Wednesday, the 25th, which was a big day! It felt like a Friday with all the work I had accomplished that week and since we went out to celebrate that night. Well, after turning in my project via email I went to the school with Gabbie in Chucky to then head to Las Comarcas again with my supervior, Nelly. Since she was still in a teachers meeting at the school. Lesbia, the librarian, Gabbie and I decided we didn´t want to work anymore (at this time it about 4pm) so we played the card game UNO. Let me tell you, it is sooo much more fun in Spanish! They have different rules and we bet on the games. We bet things like a capuccino for the winner. Gabbie said she was good, but I thought I would be better because I have years of experience playing with my grandma in Kansas. But Gabbie ended up winning twice and now we owe her 2 cappuccinos, they cost like 50 cents each which is good for me but still a little expensive I think for Lesbia, who is Nicaragua. I loved hearing her little spanish sayings and retorts while playing the game, it was great and we were all really into it!
After UNO, Nelly and I finally left for the poor rural region in Las comarcas, the area is actually split up into towns, and I learned that last week we went to Cuajachillo 2, and Wednesday we went to Cuajachillo 1. So we went on her moto, very exhilerating and met up with two other women Milena and Marta, and we all set out walking in the town around 5:30 to evaluate the classes given to kids who work full time during the week. These teachers usually have between 4-8 young adults, kids or adults in their classes, which consists of sitting outside where ever there is light with their notebooks. Because these people live far from a school amd have to work everyday to survive and support their families no matter what age they can only go to school at dark after work for a couple hours everyday. So Nelly, my supervisor and the school´s director where I work and for the education campaigns in the rural areas, evaluates how the classes are going about once a week. I really enjoy these trip because we get to see the coutryside more and crazy animals like ducks, birds, pigs and huge cows and oxes all on one family´s property. This is definitely a different lifestyle than where I live in Ciudad Sandino, but it is still close...living day to day.
On the way home, we made a couple of stops on her moto (motorcycle) at the school the pick something up, at a vela (like an outdoor memorial service where basically the whoel community goes to remember and listen to the family of someone who died). It is such a tight knit community that everyone knows where the service is an who will be there, it is really great. We also stopped by a clothing store, which is usually just cloths hanging up infront of someone´s home, so Nelly could buy a new outfit for a school event they are having today. It is teachers day. So while waiting and evaluating the cloths she was trying on, I found a bright yellow Brazil soccer jersey and I instantly thought of Carlos, the middle aged son who lives in the house with me and so I bought it thinking I would give it to him when I leave as a thanks but I couldn´t wait so I gave it to him yesterdasy and he loved it! He is a funny guy, very polite but just does not say much to me, like he has his own life, but now we have a closer relationsip...he made me coffee today I was very excited!
After las comarcas I changed quickly to try and catch the last bus out to Managua to go out with everyone. We were celebrating Mariana´s Birthday (the program coordinator), our turning in and finishing of our projects, and Katie´s leaving the country. But, in trying to catch the last bus, I was witing and waiting and finally these two creeping older men came up to me since they noticed I was waiting by myself, which is a little dangerous, and they offered me a seat near them and offered help. They ended up being super nice and wanted to help me since they knew I was a foreigner and had been waiting alone for like 20 minutes. We ended up chatting a little and they told me the best way to to get to Managua since buses already stopped, was via taxi and how much I should pay and stuff. Juan and Maria were so genuine and since it is pretty sketch to take taxis alone especially being female and at night, they got me a good taxi and made sure the driver understood they would come after them if anything happened. They said I should come by their house the next day to tell them I was alive and well. They were really sweet and the taxi driver ended up being nice, he actually used to go to the dance classes offered by my organization. So I felt safe and I made to my friends alright. We ended up having a blast at this club called Hipa Hipa. It was the clubs 10th anniversary and there were fireworks and champagne which were very appropriate since we were celebrating so much that night. The director of the program an this other really cute girl that works with FSD, named Anabelsy, came out too and we all danced together and had a great time! We ended up staying out until like 4 and it was awesome but I have had my dancing fill for a while.
A random side note, Emily and I were hanging out sitting in the shade at the plaza yesterday, Thursday, and she said that you really become and are part of a community when you can gossip or chat about people in the community...people in the streets amd people you knwo things about. That is exactly what we were doing, chatting about people we saw pass or friends who live here. And that´s when I realized I am really a part of this community and people know me and it made me feel great for being here. Anyways, Wednesday was my last productive day of work and was actually really like a Friday for me, since I am only writing on my blog today (Friday) and not dong anything!
After lunch today I am going to pack my backpack and go to a meeting in Managua with my group to tlak about the economic crisis in Nicaragua and then we are all off for a weekend adventure to San Juan Del Sur. It is on the beach a couple of hours south of Managua and I am super excited to relax. I also don´t have to work on Monday since there is no class, so it will be a nice long weekend there!
So I am done writing, but I just wanted to mention that there is a young mom behind me with her four year old son talking on scype to his Dad who is in the US working. That is such a reality here. I hear stories of people´s fmaily members who are working in the US for a better life and to better support their families in Central America. It is just amazing because they are away from their families for years at a time. It is interesting to have lived in the US and in Nicaragua where both families members are away from eachother...
Last Friday, after working all day on my grant proposal at work, I got a ride home from Gabbie, my co-worker. Not only is it very rare to have your own car here because they are expensive but I got to ride in my favorite car (when it was rainning). Usually I would wait for the 115 bus to take me from Bello Amanecer, a poor neighborhood within Ciudad Sandino, and would walk to the bus stop, ten minutes and walk from the stop near by house to my house, another ten minutes...any it was rainning! Gabbies car was made probably 20 years ago, it is like a jeep but supper crappy. Her passenger side door has to be open and from the inside and closed from the outside, so I can never get in alone (I guess its a good safety measure though) adn the passenger window does not role down, so that sucks in the heat here. I also saved like an hour of travel evem though I just wanted to go across town. After a productive days work and my adventure in Chucky (what we call her car since it is almost as scary as that movie with the toy dolls) I took the bus into Managua to meet my friends Katie and Brian for a little Italian food in a mall. It is always a nice treat to go into managua and take a break from Ciudad Sandino. Managua is a nice city but still there is so much poverty and pollution and traffic. Actually it is not that nice at all but it is still a great break from where I live.
On Saturday, we decided to take it easy so in the afternoon Emily and I went to La Laguna de Xiloa. It is a little lake maybe 7 km away from where we live. We went swimming and just enjoyed the sun and surrounding mountains. It was very nice and slow paced. Then Katie and I decided to be fat kids to we went to the only super market in town called Pali and bought snickers and oreos and had a movie night at my place on her laptop since my family only have a tv without cable. But we watched surfs up in spanish it was great.
Sunday, I watched Spain play Italy in the Europe cup, which I think I have said before but it is huuuuugeee here! The guys in my family, Carlos, Oscar and Jonni (Carlos who is 45 or so and the boys who are my age) love Barcelona, Brazil and the general Spanish team. They are so enthusiatic during the games it is so much fun and they know all the players. And when they are not watchign soccer or working they are p'laying soccer. I have yet to play a game with them and their friends but I have definitely passed around a few times. Everyother week night or so it seems there is a soccer game infront of my house. Since Don Lorenzo and other family members often sit on our porch and and hang out it give sme a good excuse to always watch the games outside after dinner.
Monday I worked all day on my grant proposal (which was a solid eight pages and is in Spanish and English, I am proud!) and then went into managua to do a little shopping with Katie, to pick out outfits at Barrion, a Nica department store, for her going away party which was on that next wednesday. I also had a meeting with FSD, my program and some other interns talking about human rights and social justice as themes in our jobs. We always meet at a mall in Managua called Metrocentro at this cafe called Casa del Cafe. I had chocolate cake and it was great. Sometimes I just crave random food that the US always has. Here they don´t really have enough money for desserts and gallo pinto is the typical food for every meal. I like gallo pinto luckily and my host mom is a pretty good cook (not as good as my host mom in Spain but who is comparing) but the food here is a little bland.
Tuesday was just another work day on my project but Gabbie and I presented our project to the general Director, Isabelita, of CECIM (Centro Educative y Capacitacion Integral de La Hermana Maura Clarke which is the umbrella organization that operates the school I mostly work in), and she loved the idea. We already presented the idea of having an Environment day and actually setting up a recycling system at the school and she loved the idea too. It was really nice to hear we have her support on these projects. They are both very sustainable and realistic which are key elements I have learned in international development. After giving Isabel the copy of the project description and all the information, we had a great conversation about my work here and how things are going. She asked how I was feeling in general and I said, very much a part of the community here and a part of the organization. They really include in a lot and want to see what I am interested in as to where I would fit in. Everyone treats me as an equal or even a little special cuz I am white and a foreigner. I was pleasantly surprised how not one talked ot me extra loud or slow because they might have thought I don´t speak spanish well, but everyone really talks with me normally and are interested in my culture, where I come from and about my personal life. I couldn´t ask for more. It was really hard being thrown into a job where everything is foreign and new, but after the last month, I have a friends at work who I am comfortable with, I know the facilities and how everything runs more or less and I feel lucky to have had so much help on my project in the last few weeks. It is really hard to have to come up with a sustainable project within a month and try to implement it in two months. Getting to know the organization and come up with a realistic solution to a need is very challenging, especially when they need so much here and working with the skills I have is somewhat limited.
Here is a little about my project: What I described above is what I was pretty much sent here to do...create a sustainable project in two months with my skills meeting the needs of my organization and possibly having the chance to get money from FSD (the Foundation for Sustainable Development) if my project is good enough. So after talkign to people in the community a little bit and people I work with, we thought we would create a audio-visual resource room which would be attached to the library at the school. It would have interactive videos and educational documentaries about all different academic and social subjects. There is a solution and a problem clearly defined in my project. The problem, aside from social issues such as intrafamilial violence and low education levels, the learning system in schools here is very basic. It is characterized by teachers basically copying down their lesson plans onto the blackboard and then the 35 to 55 studetns in each classroom section copying down the notes on the blackboard into their notebooks. There are not many great text books for all subjects or interactive learning. My project addresses learning styles of audio, visual and physical learners as well as those with special needs. Giving the library a resource room with a DVD player and audio-visual internactive materials that they can use as a part of their curriculum will enhance the way kids learn all around as well as improving the teachign system of teachers at the school. The sustainable aspect is that the room where these materials will be stored and used already exixts they just need the resources adn trainning on how to use them which is what I can give, along with the two directors and Gabbie the psychologist who have given me their full support on this. So, I turned in my prject proposal to the main office of FSD in San Francisco and will hear if my project gets approved on this Monday the 30th! We will see, I have a lot of faith in this project because it deals with education which is completely sustainable in general, because once you give the kids the tools and knowledge to make good and informed decisions and educate them about the world, social patterns and behaviors begin tot change improving the society.
Okay, I am sorry I know this is like a huge essay and don´t feel bad it you can´t read it all....
A couple more details...
I turned my project in on Wednesday, the 25th, which was a big day! It felt like a Friday with all the work I had accomplished that week and since we went out to celebrate that night. Well, after turning in my project via email I went to the school with Gabbie in Chucky to then head to Las Comarcas again with my supervior, Nelly. Since she was still in a teachers meeting at the school. Lesbia, the librarian, Gabbie and I decided we didn´t want to work anymore (at this time it about 4pm) so we played the card game UNO. Let me tell you, it is sooo much more fun in Spanish! They have different rules and we bet on the games. We bet things like a capuccino for the winner. Gabbie said she was good, but I thought I would be better because I have years of experience playing with my grandma in Kansas. But Gabbie ended up winning twice and now we owe her 2 cappuccinos, they cost like 50 cents each which is good for me but still a little expensive I think for Lesbia, who is Nicaragua. I loved hearing her little spanish sayings and retorts while playing the game, it was great and we were all really into it!
After UNO, Nelly and I finally left for the poor rural region in Las comarcas, the area is actually split up into towns, and I learned that last week we went to Cuajachillo 2, and Wednesday we went to Cuajachillo 1. So we went on her moto, very exhilerating and met up with two other women Milena and Marta, and we all set out walking in the town around 5:30 to evaluate the classes given to kids who work full time during the week. These teachers usually have between 4-8 young adults, kids or adults in their classes, which consists of sitting outside where ever there is light with their notebooks. Because these people live far from a school amd have to work everyday to survive and support their families no matter what age they can only go to school at dark after work for a couple hours everyday. So Nelly, my supervisor and the school´s director where I work and for the education campaigns in the rural areas, evaluates how the classes are going about once a week. I really enjoy these trip because we get to see the coutryside more and crazy animals like ducks, birds, pigs and huge cows and oxes all on one family´s property. This is definitely a different lifestyle than where I live in Ciudad Sandino, but it is still close...living day to day.
On the way home, we made a couple of stops on her moto (motorcycle) at the school the pick something up, at a vela (like an outdoor memorial service where basically the whoel community goes to remember and listen to the family of someone who died). It is such a tight knit community that everyone knows where the service is an who will be there, it is really great. We also stopped by a clothing store, which is usually just cloths hanging up infront of someone´s home, so Nelly could buy a new outfit for a school event they are having today. It is teachers day. So while waiting and evaluating the cloths she was trying on, I found a bright yellow Brazil soccer jersey and I instantly thought of Carlos, the middle aged son who lives in the house with me and so I bought it thinking I would give it to him when I leave as a thanks but I couldn´t wait so I gave it to him yesterdasy and he loved it! He is a funny guy, very polite but just does not say much to me, like he has his own life, but now we have a closer relationsip...he made me coffee today I was very excited!
After las comarcas I changed quickly to try and catch the last bus out to Managua to go out with everyone. We were celebrating Mariana´s Birthday (the program coordinator), our turning in and finishing of our projects, and Katie´s leaving the country. But, in trying to catch the last bus, I was witing and waiting and finally these two creeping older men came up to me since they noticed I was waiting by myself, which is a little dangerous, and they offered me a seat near them and offered help. They ended up being super nice and wanted to help me since they knew I was a foreigner and had been waiting alone for like 20 minutes. We ended up chatting a little and they told me the best way to to get to Managua since buses already stopped, was via taxi and how much I should pay and stuff. Juan and Maria were so genuine and since it is pretty sketch to take taxis alone especially being female and at night, they got me a good taxi and made sure the driver understood they would come after them if anything happened. They said I should come by their house the next day to tell them I was alive and well. They were really sweet and the taxi driver ended up being nice, he actually used to go to the dance classes offered by my organization. So I felt safe and I made to my friends alright. We ended up having a blast at this club called Hipa Hipa. It was the clubs 10th anniversary and there were fireworks and champagne which were very appropriate since we were celebrating so much that night. The director of the program an this other really cute girl that works with FSD, named Anabelsy, came out too and we all danced together and had a great time! We ended up staying out until like 4 and it was awesome but I have had my dancing fill for a while.
A random side note, Emily and I were hanging out sitting in the shade at the plaza yesterday, Thursday, and she said that you really become and are part of a community when you can gossip or chat about people in the community...people in the streets amd people you knwo things about. That is exactly what we were doing, chatting about people we saw pass or friends who live here. And that´s when I realized I am really a part of this community and people know me and it made me feel great for being here. Anyways, Wednesday was my last productive day of work and was actually really like a Friday for me, since I am only writing on my blog today (Friday) and not dong anything!
After lunch today I am going to pack my backpack and go to a meeting in Managua with my group to tlak about the economic crisis in Nicaragua and then we are all off for a weekend adventure to San Juan Del Sur. It is on the beach a couple of hours south of Managua and I am super excited to relax. I also don´t have to work on Monday since there is no class, so it will be a nice long weekend there!
So I am done writing, but I just wanted to mention that there is a young mom behind me with her four year old son talking on scype to his Dad who is in the US working. That is such a reality here. I hear stories of people´s fmaily members who are working in the US for a better life and to better support their families in Central America. It is just amazing because they are away from their families for years at a time. It is interesting to have lived in the US and in Nicaragua where both families members are away from eachother...
Francie Pants!
Okay so I know I have a lot to catch up on as far as everything that is going here in Nica, but everytime I write on my blog I look at Mary and Heff´s blog to get the latest update with Francie, their nine month old daughter. And before I write anything about my life here I just have to put up a million pictures of this adorable baby! Mare, I am so excited to come home and see you and Francie and spend time with you guys!
Here Francie is with her Aunt Baby Ann (Mary´s younger sister)
Here Francie is with her Aunt Baby Ann (Mary´s younger sister)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
I Love the Rain!!!
Last Thursday night I kinda had the realization of my situation in Nicaragua now. I am lucky to feel very comfortable with my family here, being a vegetarian is very easy since they do not have a lot of money for meat anyways, and the food is good. My job this last week has been really great and I don´t feel weighed down at all (as I did when I arrived knowing I had to create and implement my own sustainable project that meets a need in the community all in two months in another language)and I really like the people I am here with. They are great support to have. My parents, the few times I have talked with them, have supported me through everything. I am feeling pretty good about my spanish abilities and communication with strangers and friends here is always exciting, though there is a lot to improve on still. I love the little idiosyncracies Nicaraguans have here. Like the words they use for certain things that I have never heard before, like Chela or Chavala or Barron they use for girls adn guys. I love how there is some sort of music playing everywhere you go no matter what hour and I have even come to accept and become accostomed to the neighborhood dogs barking at all hours. At work, it is great to work closely with this Austrian woman, Gabriela, who is so smart and really understands me. She is dating the director at the school we work at and it is pretty cute to see them together. Then Gabbie´s best friend at the school is her boyfriend, the directors sister who is the librarian. Literally everyone seems to be connected somehow in this town! Everyone knows everyone! Then when I woke up on Friday morning it was rainning. There is nothing better than waking up to rain the morning! The sound sis so great on the zinc roofs here. I could definitely see myself living here for six months or a year working at my organization and mantaining the friendships I have made. But then again after traveling for a year I am still really excited to go home to San Francisco and see my friends.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Yesterday in Las Comarcas
I was abruptly asked by my supervisor, Nelly, whom I greatly admire and respect, if I wanted to go to Las Comarcas with her and her team. I had no clue what she was talking about but she said I though you may like to come with me this afternoon. I though sure, if she thinks it is something I should see, then I am there- I totally trust her.
Somewhat later, I found out it is one of the poorest and most rural regions in the country. So we went in the camioneta, the truck that my organization uses for transportation (the driver´s name is Arnoldo, who I drive with every morning from CECIM to the school which is ten minutes away on dirt roads). So the truck in the back is full and the from car is full with 5 people and we head up to Las Comarcas.
They go every eight days to check on the progress of the adult literacy campaigns that the organization I work for created. So thirty minutes later of bumpy dirt roads and slow driving over pot holes the size of my body, we arrive to the poor houses spread out across the lush green land. It was interesting on the way there, I saw fields of crops, it looked like, with black tarps folded over with people shading themselves under them. I am not sure if people lived there or what, but Nelly (my supervisor and the Director of the school I work at) asked me if we have things like that in my country. I did not know how to respond. But, most of the homes in Las Comarcas are farm style. So we dropped off pairs of men and women to evaluate the progress made in the makshift classrooms and Nelly and I waited with some other people at a nearby family farm until their evaluations were done and we had to pick them back up in the truck in all the different places.
At the farm estate or finca, we stayed at, I saw so many animals. I saw the biggest pig I have ever seen in my life and its little piglet that were six days old. There were chickens, all sorts of dogs, maybe a dozen huge ugly cows and other animals. It was amazing to be at this farm aurrounded by the beautiful green mountains. While we were there waiting and talking, (though even when Nicaraguans are relaxing and not doing anything, it is never waiting, they have all the patience in the world because like I havce said before, their pace of life is just slower and everyone accepts that) Nelly joked that I coould ride a horse, since the man who just brought two cows home just came back adn the horse saddle was empty. I said I would love to ride the horse and the look on her face was great! I contantly surprise Nicaraguans, there are many things the think I don´t know how to do, maybe because I am American or because I dress fancy or something, but I love surprising them (for example everyone is always a little shocked when I tell them I know how to swim adn play soccer and play pool- which i guess people don´t alwaya know how to do or think only men can do those things). So point being I went for a horse ride and it was so amazing! It was a skinny horse, like all the horses in Nicaragua, which are all underfed, but nonetheless it was very exciting and I came back in my nice work cloths (because remember Nelly only asked me the day of if I wanted to go with her to Las Comarcas) adn it felt so good.
I met the Doña of the estate, Doña Eva who was kind enough to tell me a little bit of her interesting life story. She has lived there on that spot for 48 years...amazing. But she was also showing around two other Americans who were in the region working at an NGO called Canterra doing art therapy, however I noticed that they were using a Nicaraguan translator which surprised me. They are here for a week and neither of them speak spanish. Since I am surrounded by only spanish speakers everyday at work abd at home, I forgot how much I value my ability to understand and communicate somewhat in Spanish. It made me really sad for them that they don´t have the priveledge of communicating and learning about a whole nother amazing culture and country. Having learned spanish is definitly one of the best abilities I have and every year (out of maybe seven) that I have studied spanish has been completely worth it.
I am so lucky to be here in Nicaragua and to share my culture and learn about another so young in life. I feel like I have so much time ahead of me to learn!
Somewhat later, I found out it is one of the poorest and most rural regions in the country. So we went in the camioneta, the truck that my organization uses for transportation (the driver´s name is Arnoldo, who I drive with every morning from CECIM to the school which is ten minutes away on dirt roads). So the truck in the back is full and the from car is full with 5 people and we head up to Las Comarcas.
They go every eight days to check on the progress of the adult literacy campaigns that the organization I work for created. So thirty minutes later of bumpy dirt roads and slow driving over pot holes the size of my body, we arrive to the poor houses spread out across the lush green land. It was interesting on the way there, I saw fields of crops, it looked like, with black tarps folded over with people shading themselves under them. I am not sure if people lived there or what, but Nelly (my supervisor and the Director of the school I work at) asked me if we have things like that in my country. I did not know how to respond. But, most of the homes in Las Comarcas are farm style. So we dropped off pairs of men and women to evaluate the progress made in the makshift classrooms and Nelly and I waited with some other people at a nearby family farm until their evaluations were done and we had to pick them back up in the truck in all the different places.
At the farm estate or finca, we stayed at, I saw so many animals. I saw the biggest pig I have ever seen in my life and its little piglet that were six days old. There were chickens, all sorts of dogs, maybe a dozen huge ugly cows and other animals. It was amazing to be at this farm aurrounded by the beautiful green mountains. While we were there waiting and talking, (though even when Nicaraguans are relaxing and not doing anything, it is never waiting, they have all the patience in the world because like I havce said before, their pace of life is just slower and everyone accepts that) Nelly joked that I coould ride a horse, since the man who just brought two cows home just came back adn the horse saddle was empty. I said I would love to ride the horse and the look on her face was great! I contantly surprise Nicaraguans, there are many things the think I don´t know how to do, maybe because I am American or because I dress fancy or something, but I love surprising them (for example everyone is always a little shocked when I tell them I know how to swim adn play soccer and play pool- which i guess people don´t alwaya know how to do or think only men can do those things). So point being I went for a horse ride and it was so amazing! It was a skinny horse, like all the horses in Nicaragua, which are all underfed, but nonetheless it was very exciting and I came back in my nice work cloths (because remember Nelly only asked me the day of if I wanted to go with her to Las Comarcas) adn it felt so good.
I met the Doña of the estate, Doña Eva who was kind enough to tell me a little bit of her interesting life story. She has lived there on that spot for 48 years...amazing. But she was also showing around two other Americans who were in the region working at an NGO called Canterra doing art therapy, however I noticed that they were using a Nicaraguan translator which surprised me. They are here for a week and neither of them speak spanish. Since I am surrounded by only spanish speakers everyday at work abd at home, I forgot how much I value my ability to understand and communicate somewhat in Spanish. It made me really sad for them that they don´t have the priveledge of communicating and learning about a whole nother amazing culture and country. Having learned spanish is definitly one of the best abilities I have and every year (out of maybe seven) that I have studied spanish has been completely worth it.
I am so lucky to be here in Nicaragua and to share my culture and learn about another so young in life. I feel like I have so much time ahead of me to learn!
NO Time for the Internet
It is so nice not having access to a computer in my home or super close to where I live or work. There are computers here, but they are usually being used or they do not have internet. I was thinking about how much I spent on my computer in Spain, and in DC and it was at least a couple hours a day and if not much more when I would watcha movie on my laptop. Not being on the computer here has let me communicate with so many people in different ways...personally and effectively. My lifestyle, our lifestyles in general in the US revolve around technology so I won´t mind coming back to my laptop when I get home, but I will have in mind how important personal communication is. The way of life here, the pace also encourages personal communication as well which is something I will take back with me for sure.
A little something to Honor Hermana Maura Clarke
Hermana Maura Clarke was the founder of the organization I work for here in Nicaragua called Centro Educativo y Capaitacion Integral de La Hermana Maura Clarke.
Here is an except from Wikipedia.org
"Maura Clarke (January 13, 1931 – December 2, 1980) was an American Roman Catholic Maryknoll nun and missionary to Nicaragua and El Salvador. She worked with the poor and the refugees in Central America from 1959 until her death in 1980. She was beaten, raped, and murdered, along with fellow missionaries Ita Ford, Jean Donovan and Dorothy Kazel in El Salvador, by members of a military death squad.
Maura Clarke was born in Queens, New York on January 13, 1931. She graduated from Stella Maris High School in Rockaway Park, New York in 1949. She joined the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic in 1950 at the age of nineteen. Soon thereafter, she became a teacher and taught first grade at St. Anthony of Padua school in Bronx, New York. In 1959, she relocated to Siuna, Nicaragua, a gold mining town. Here, Clarke worked to help the poverty-stricken mining families. She then worked with the poor elsewhere in Nicaragua, and aided those who were devastated by the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake. She stayed in Nicaragua for seventeen years.[1]
In 1980, Clarke responded to the request made by Archbishop Oscar Romero for help in El Salvador. She worked in Chalatenango, El Salvador with fellow Maryknoll sister Ita Ford, at the parish of the Church of San Juan Bautista, providing food, transportation and other assistance to war refugees of the Salvadoran Civil War.
Currently, there is a junior high school in the Rockaway peninsula name Maura Clarke Junior High School, in her honor. Also, Maura Clarke High School and its founding organisation CECIM (Centro Educative Hermana Maura Clarke) in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua are named in her commemoration."
She was apparently an remarkable woman who served the poor. My host mother took my to work my first day at CECIM and when we approached the statue of Hermana Maura she began to cry. My host mom, Doña Maura Otero worked with the late sister here in Ciudad Sandino building upa dn restoring the community after the earthquake in 1972 thta destroyed so much. It was touching, and to know my host mom is a part of Nicaragua´s history is amazing.
Here is an except from Wikipedia.org
"Maura Clarke (January 13, 1931 – December 2, 1980) was an American Roman Catholic Maryknoll nun and missionary to Nicaragua and El Salvador. She worked with the poor and the refugees in Central America from 1959 until her death in 1980. She was beaten, raped, and murdered, along with fellow missionaries Ita Ford, Jean Donovan and Dorothy Kazel in El Salvador, by members of a military death squad.
Maura Clarke was born in Queens, New York on January 13, 1931. She graduated from Stella Maris High School in Rockaway Park, New York in 1949. She joined the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic in 1950 at the age of nineteen. Soon thereafter, she became a teacher and taught first grade at St. Anthony of Padua school in Bronx, New York. In 1959, she relocated to Siuna, Nicaragua, a gold mining town. Here, Clarke worked to help the poverty-stricken mining families. She then worked with the poor elsewhere in Nicaragua, and aided those who were devastated by the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake. She stayed in Nicaragua for seventeen years.[1]
In 1980, Clarke responded to the request made by Archbishop Oscar Romero for help in El Salvador. She worked in Chalatenango, El Salvador with fellow Maryknoll sister Ita Ford, at the parish of the Church of San Juan Bautista, providing food, transportation and other assistance to war refugees of the Salvadoran Civil War.
Currently, there is a junior high school in the Rockaway peninsula name Maura Clarke Junior High School, in her honor. Also, Maura Clarke High School and its founding organisation CECIM (Centro Educative Hermana Maura Clarke) in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua are named in her commemoration."
She was apparently an remarkable woman who served the poor. My host mother took my to work my first day at CECIM and when we approached the statue of Hermana Maura she began to cry. My host mom, Doña Maura Otero worked with the late sister here in Ciudad Sandino building upa dn restoring the community after the earthquake in 1972 thta destroyed so much. It was touching, and to know my host mom is a part of Nicaragua´s history is amazing.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
My Weekend in Granada
So I know I still need to write about the last two weeks of my job and life in Nicaragua but I am in Granada right now and wanted to share my experience here with you first. So my friends from the program, Katie (who has been here for about six months working as an intern( and Jolie, Wade and Emily and I made a weekend trip to Granada which is just about an hour south of Managua.
It is known for beign a cute little colonial town by the Lago Nicaragua. We arrived yesterday, Saturday, for lunch. We stayed at this hotel for international travels called Libertad. There are hammocks everywhere and it is a nice open place. Anyways, we went to an international restaurant called Tercer Ojo and had yummy pasta with spinache and mushrooms. Eating out is so nice because the waiters are on nicaraguan time, so it is always a couple hour adventure. Getting the check will take from between ten to thirty minutes...the pace is nice and slow here, it is great. Then we visited a cathedral de San Francisco with a little outdoor museum.
The buildings here are beautiful colors, bright blues and light hues. Then we walked around the parque central and looked at all the stands of jewlery handmade and had ice cream we bought from the little carts men push with bells on them. There is a huge beautiful yellow cathedral on the parque central or sometimes called parque colon that is enourmous and ominous. I will have to put up pictures later, it is just I don't have anyway of downloading them onto computers here. Then we walked around and sat at a few outdoor cafes and had Tona and Victoria they local beers. After a light dinner of quesadillas we ended up doing dancing to an interesting Nicaraguan club. That is the sum of Saturday. Then today, Sunday, we woke up around ten and went to Kathy's Waffle House. After having Gallo Pinto for everymeal since I have gotten to Nicaragua, which is beans and rice mixed together, I craved pancakes and frenchtoast. There were definitely a lot of gringos there. Then we walked past the parque central to La iglesia de la Mercaed, another beautiful church adn walked to the top of the bell tower and say such an amazing view of Granada with a great breeze.
It is pretty hot here. Then we wanted to see the lake so we walked along the water for a little bit and decided to take a boat ride in a private ten passenger boat aroudn the islands in the area. There are 365, we only saw maybe a dozen but they were very pretty and some populated with monkeys. Prices are great here, I maybe spent 40 dollars this weekend. It was definitely a great break from Ciudad Sandino. Hasta luego...Saludos
It is known for beign a cute little colonial town by the Lago Nicaragua. We arrived yesterday, Saturday, for lunch. We stayed at this hotel for international travels called Libertad. There are hammocks everywhere and it is a nice open place. Anyways, we went to an international restaurant called Tercer Ojo and had yummy pasta with spinache and mushrooms. Eating out is so nice because the waiters are on nicaraguan time, so it is always a couple hour adventure. Getting the check will take from between ten to thirty minutes...the pace is nice and slow here, it is great. Then we visited a cathedral de San Francisco with a little outdoor museum.
The buildings here are beautiful colors, bright blues and light hues. Then we walked around the parque central and looked at all the stands of jewlery handmade and had ice cream we bought from the little carts men push with bells on them. There is a huge beautiful yellow cathedral on the parque central or sometimes called parque colon that is enourmous and ominous. I will have to put up pictures later, it is just I don't have anyway of downloading them onto computers here. Then we walked around and sat at a few outdoor cafes and had Tona and Victoria they local beers. After a light dinner of quesadillas we ended up doing dancing to an interesting Nicaraguan club. That is the sum of Saturday. Then today, Sunday, we woke up around ten and went to Kathy's Waffle House. After having Gallo Pinto for everymeal since I have gotten to Nicaragua, which is beans and rice mixed together, I craved pancakes and frenchtoast. There were definitely a lot of gringos there. Then we walked past the parque central to La iglesia de la Mercaed, another beautiful church adn walked to the top of the bell tower and say such an amazing view of Granada with a great breeze.
It is pretty hot here. Then we wanted to see the lake so we walked along the water for a little bit and decided to take a boat ride in a private ten passenger boat aroudn the islands in the area. There are 365, we only saw maybe a dozen but they were very pretty and some populated with monkeys. Prices are great here, I maybe spent 40 dollars this weekend. It was definitely a great break from Ciudad Sandino. Hasta luego...Saludos
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
On To The Good Stuff...
So...my Nicaragua Family.
May 29th, we all arrived at our families´ houses. I was the last one to be dropped off, which was nice because I got to see everyone else´s houses and families waiting their arrival. I was greeted by Don Lorenzo sitting in his old iron rocker, who is 80 years old and now know that he permanently lives on the patio so that greeting wasn´t anything special. He is so funny, I barely understand half of what he says, but the other half I actually hear is about my boyfriend. Don´t worry, no new news, I don´t have one but he contantly teases me about it...very funny. Actually one of the first things he said to me what ¨when you came to Nicaragua how many men cred for you?¨ He stays on his toes for an 80 year old.
Then there is Doña Maura who greeted me next and pretty much interrogated me about everything I like right off the bat. First thing I thought, she is another Conchi (my host mom from Spain). And that she is. She asked me what foods I like, since I am still a vegetarian and about my family and myself. Then she gives me a tour of the house. She says ¨we have a poor house, a very poor house, but it is clean.¨ This is very true. So there is the patio that is enclosed with iron rods that I guess are for decoration, then there´s a tv room where four or five abuelitos (wooden ricking chairs) sit at any given time around the tv. The floors are tiled and are pretty nice. Then that front room leads to a very small hallway where the dinner table is, set up against the wall. On the other side of the wall from the table is Maura, Lorenzo and Osmar´s room. The that leads to a very small kitchen with a low ceiling, even I have to duck a little when I pass through. Then just outside the kitchen is the back yard which is dirt and a fire pit. Though one of the sons lives in the house with us, Carlos, and his room is small with a swinging wooden door and then there is the bathroom. It is open but in a stall pretty much with the toilet there and then a half wall and a curtain for the shower. The toilet is just a bowl that flushes pretty much so I have definitely strengthened my legs squatting. My room is not attached to the house. It is in the back and is actually pretty big considering. Luckily I have an armoir, a bed stand and a double bed and some funny religious decorations along with a nice big fan, which is much needed.
So Carlos, he is maybe forty and lives with his mom, although he has a girlfriend and a daughter in teh same town. I try not to pry or ask questions when things seem a litte off, but I asked Doña Maura when he doesn´t live with them and she said, well duh, he just is used to living with his mama. She does take car of him, and all families no matter how large live in the same house it seems. He is very helpful aroudn the house though and since Doña Maura or Don Lorenzo never leave the house really, he is the errand boy. It´s funny, they have a cat named Minino who loves Carlos and is like a dog. It comes running when he calls adn sits on his lap and purrs. Carlos does not really talk to me, but I think I am growing on him. We watch soccer together a lot, since the Europe cup is happening now. And I made him laugh the other day, when I came back from the docter´s and said ¨Well, I am going to live.¨ That was progress.
Then there is Osmar. The four year old. We have a great relationship. Like, last night we played soccer together on the enclosed porch for like an hour and he is so cute. He does things to make me laugh over and over and thinks he impresses me all the time. He wants to be just like the men in his life, Carlos, Oscar and Jonni (who I will talk about later). He helps out as much as he can, but he is also annoying a lot og the time. He always wants to be in my room touching things and punching numbers on my phone. On sleep mode, my Nicaraguan cell has fish floating around and he always wants to see them. Maura tries to keep him away to give me my space
It is amazing how much respect there is within the house. The men and boys are so polite, at least around me. Saying, con permiso, with permission, when they leave the table and picking up things the women drop. They always do things for Doña Maura, eithe rout of respect, fear, or debt for something she did for them in the past. She is definitely the driving force behind the whole family, close and extended.
May 29th, we all arrived at our families´ houses. I was the last one to be dropped off, which was nice because I got to see everyone else´s houses and families waiting their arrival. I was greeted by Don Lorenzo sitting in his old iron rocker, who is 80 years old and now know that he permanently lives on the patio so that greeting wasn´t anything special. He is so funny, I barely understand half of what he says, but the other half I actually hear is about my boyfriend. Don´t worry, no new news, I don´t have one but he contantly teases me about it...very funny. Actually one of the first things he said to me what ¨when you came to Nicaragua how many men cred for you?¨ He stays on his toes for an 80 year old.
Then there is Doña Maura who greeted me next and pretty much interrogated me about everything I like right off the bat. First thing I thought, she is another Conchi (my host mom from Spain). And that she is. She asked me what foods I like, since I am still a vegetarian and about my family and myself. Then she gives me a tour of the house. She says ¨we have a poor house, a very poor house, but it is clean.¨ This is very true. So there is the patio that is enclosed with iron rods that I guess are for decoration, then there´s a tv room where four or five abuelitos (wooden ricking chairs) sit at any given time around the tv. The floors are tiled and are pretty nice. Then that front room leads to a very small hallway where the dinner table is, set up against the wall. On the other side of the wall from the table is Maura, Lorenzo and Osmar´s room. The that leads to a very small kitchen with a low ceiling, even I have to duck a little when I pass through. Then just outside the kitchen is the back yard which is dirt and a fire pit. Though one of the sons lives in the house with us, Carlos, and his room is small with a swinging wooden door and then there is the bathroom. It is open but in a stall pretty much with the toilet there and then a half wall and a curtain for the shower. The toilet is just a bowl that flushes pretty much so I have definitely strengthened my legs squatting. My room is not attached to the house. It is in the back and is actually pretty big considering. Luckily I have an armoir, a bed stand and a double bed and some funny religious decorations along with a nice big fan, which is much needed.
So Carlos, he is maybe forty and lives with his mom, although he has a girlfriend and a daughter in teh same town. I try not to pry or ask questions when things seem a litte off, but I asked Doña Maura when he doesn´t live with them and she said, well duh, he just is used to living with his mama. She does take car of him, and all families no matter how large live in the same house it seems. He is very helpful aroudn the house though and since Doña Maura or Don Lorenzo never leave the house really, he is the errand boy. It´s funny, they have a cat named Minino who loves Carlos and is like a dog. It comes running when he calls adn sits on his lap and purrs. Carlos does not really talk to me, but I think I am growing on him. We watch soccer together a lot, since the Europe cup is happening now. And I made him laugh the other day, when I came back from the docter´s and said ¨Well, I am going to live.¨ That was progress.
Then there is Osmar. The four year old. We have a great relationship. Like, last night we played soccer together on the enclosed porch for like an hour and he is so cute. He does things to make me laugh over and over and thinks he impresses me all the time. He wants to be just like the men in his life, Carlos, Oscar and Jonni (who I will talk about later). He helps out as much as he can, but he is also annoying a lot og the time. He always wants to be in my room touching things and punching numbers on my phone. On sleep mode, my Nicaraguan cell has fish floating around and he always wants to see them. Maura tries to keep him away to give me my space
It is amazing how much respect there is within the house. The men and boys are so polite, at least around me. Saying, con permiso, with permission, when they leave the table and picking up things the women drop. They always do things for Doña Maura, eithe rout of respect, fear, or debt for something she did for them in the past. She is definitely the driving force behind the whole family, close and extended.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
On to the Second Week
After our stay in Managua for two days of our orientation we went to tour Ciudad Sandino, where I currently am with Emily and Jolie, and Masaya. We walked around ciudad sandino in the extremem heat and I was like ahhh. There are no pretty buildings, everything is someone run down but here I feel like you get to really experience the heart and culture of Nicaragua. Huge families of seven or so live in little three room houses. The power comes and goes here too. During storms and when when people don´t pay for the electricity they cut it.
But this really nice woman named Katie, from the midwest, who works at the hospital here and is part of the FSD program but arrived here like six months ago, gave us a tour of the city and told us how much she liked it. It is a little dangerous though, like I would not go walking about at night here.
Then we drove in our rented micro for the week, a little van, to Masaya about 30 minutes away, where Wade lives, to go the market there. In pairs we did an activity where we all had two dollars a day adn we had to spend that for our family´s given the situation we had. I was with one of the workers from FSD who is Nicaraguan adn lives in Ciudad Sandino named Anabelsy, so we had a family of five kids and they all went to school. So one was in the University of needed money for the bus, which is about 50 cents here and the other four ended up sharing two notebook and two pencils between all of them. Then for food for the day we bought a pound and a half of rice adn half a pound of beans for everyone. That was all two dollars a day could buy us at the market in masaya. Thank gosh none of our kids had medical problems because we would not have been able to afford that. If they did though it would have come down to food or medical treatments. Amazingly enough about 46 of the population in Nicaragua lives on the poverty line which is two dollars a day. Incredible. I definitely feel guilty for buy a pair of 50 dollar shoes back at home when people only have one pair of shoes here and don´t make that much money in three months. Life is hard here.
After touring we went to a place near Masaya called La Laguna de Apoyo. We stayed for three nights at this outdoorsy cabin place near the lake. It was so beautiful. We were surrounded by green mountains and were pretty much in tropical forests, meaning lots of bugs and rain. It is a nice place though. They cooked pretty Western meals there, which put us at ease since our foreign stomaches cannot handle the food here too well. We are not supposed to drink the water here, so anything that is washed by water too, like fruits or veggies is no good, basically our stomaches are sensitive to everything and it is not fun when you have to go the bathroom when your stomache is upset, on top of having your period and haveing to remember to put the gross toilet paper in the smelly trash instead of down the toilet (cus the pipes cant´s take it). But I am not speaking from personal experience, so don´t worry (wink wink). During the three days we were at the lake in the boones, by the way you have to drive down a windy road for like ten minutes to get to the dirt road that will then eventually take you to the main wooden building. It was a nice escape. Its actually a biological research place. They research plants and rare fish in the lake, I don´t know what else they do. But they pay for th research by hosting foreigners and giving them spanish lessons. Its a nice little community there and everyone is super nice. They have a domestic boar on their land, I was very surprised to see him roaming around the first day and then opening his mouth and grabbing Simba, the boxer dog, by the neck and playing, he probably thinks he is a dog. We also saw owls and beautiful birds in the trees.
The first day we were told we were going on a hike. Cool, I thought, maybe around the lake or something. But, no...we hiked up the tallest mountain near us basically in the rainforest. It was amazing, but i was exhausted after it. I was thinking oh this is easy...when were were on the semi paved road that led to the path, i didn´t know about. Then we get to this steep path where we kinda have to climb up rocks and I was like man. So about half way up we started to see beautiful views of the mountains and lakes. Our guide, Pedro, was an expert in plants and birds and shows us a lot of both on the way up. He could do bird whistles which were cool. I heard some screetching and mentioned to him that that was an awefully wird noise for a dog and he says, no, those are monkeys. Haha, yup there were monkeys climbing the trees. The higher up we got the more stops we took. Two thirds the way up, a dog that was coming down with some other tourists starting following up. He was a great guide until we got to the top. The top was amazing, and there was a little town called Catarina with great plants and artisans in the stores there. Walkign through the town the dog was with us and was barked and growled at constantly by dog after dog. There were really defending their territory. It was scary to have these dogs come up to us an bark repeatedly, since the dog took refuge between our legs the vivious dogs were very close. I was thinking about how you can die from rabies the whole time. Anyways, after sitting for a while at the top admiring the view and drying ourselves we got into a micro, the little van, to head back since we had been gone for about three hours and it was time for lunch back at the lake. Because the dog would be attacked and an outcast if we left him, we had to take him with us in the car. Dogs are not worthy to go in cars here. Everyone sees them as dirty, ugly, stupid and another mouth to feed, though they are good protectors from intruders. So he came home with us in the car and since he liveed near by we dropped him off at home, though he loved emily and had a hard time saying goodbye. It was cute.
Then, the last day we were there, it wouldn´t stop pouring. That us when Hurricane Alma hit. We got out okay but were defnitely drenched with all out suitcases. That´s when we made out way to our host families.
But this really nice woman named Katie, from the midwest, who works at the hospital here and is part of the FSD program but arrived here like six months ago, gave us a tour of the city and told us how much she liked it. It is a little dangerous though, like I would not go walking about at night here.
Then we drove in our rented micro for the week, a little van, to Masaya about 30 minutes away, where Wade lives, to go the market there. In pairs we did an activity where we all had two dollars a day adn we had to spend that for our family´s given the situation we had. I was with one of the workers from FSD who is Nicaraguan adn lives in Ciudad Sandino named Anabelsy, so we had a family of five kids and they all went to school. So one was in the University of needed money for the bus, which is about 50 cents here and the other four ended up sharing two notebook and two pencils between all of them. Then for food for the day we bought a pound and a half of rice adn half a pound of beans for everyone. That was all two dollars a day could buy us at the market in masaya. Thank gosh none of our kids had medical problems because we would not have been able to afford that. If they did though it would have come down to food or medical treatments. Amazingly enough about 46 of the population in Nicaragua lives on the poverty line which is two dollars a day. Incredible. I definitely feel guilty for buy a pair of 50 dollar shoes back at home when people only have one pair of shoes here and don´t make that much money in three months. Life is hard here.
After touring we went to a place near Masaya called La Laguna de Apoyo. We stayed for three nights at this outdoorsy cabin place near the lake. It was so beautiful. We were surrounded by green mountains and were pretty much in tropical forests, meaning lots of bugs and rain. It is a nice place though. They cooked pretty Western meals there, which put us at ease since our foreign stomaches cannot handle the food here too well. We are not supposed to drink the water here, so anything that is washed by water too, like fruits or veggies is no good, basically our stomaches are sensitive to everything and it is not fun when you have to go the bathroom when your stomache is upset, on top of having your period and haveing to remember to put the gross toilet paper in the smelly trash instead of down the toilet (cus the pipes cant´s take it). But I am not speaking from personal experience, so don´t worry (wink wink). During the three days we were at the lake in the boones, by the way you have to drive down a windy road for like ten minutes to get to the dirt road that will then eventually take you to the main wooden building. It was a nice escape. Its actually a biological research place. They research plants and rare fish in the lake, I don´t know what else they do. But they pay for th research by hosting foreigners and giving them spanish lessons. Its a nice little community there and everyone is super nice. They have a domestic boar on their land, I was very surprised to see him roaming around the first day and then opening his mouth and grabbing Simba, the boxer dog, by the neck and playing, he probably thinks he is a dog. We also saw owls and beautiful birds in the trees.
The first day we were told we were going on a hike. Cool, I thought, maybe around the lake or something. But, no...we hiked up the tallest mountain near us basically in the rainforest. It was amazing, but i was exhausted after it. I was thinking oh this is easy...when were were on the semi paved road that led to the path, i didn´t know about. Then we get to this steep path where we kinda have to climb up rocks and I was like man. So about half way up we started to see beautiful views of the mountains and lakes. Our guide, Pedro, was an expert in plants and birds and shows us a lot of both on the way up. He could do bird whistles which were cool. I heard some screetching and mentioned to him that that was an awefully wird noise for a dog and he says, no, those are monkeys. Haha, yup there were monkeys climbing the trees. The higher up we got the more stops we took. Two thirds the way up, a dog that was coming down with some other tourists starting following up. He was a great guide until we got to the top. The top was amazing, and there was a little town called Catarina with great plants and artisans in the stores there. Walkign through the town the dog was with us and was barked and growled at constantly by dog after dog. There were really defending their territory. It was scary to have these dogs come up to us an bark repeatedly, since the dog took refuge between our legs the vivious dogs were very close. I was thinking about how you can die from rabies the whole time. Anyways, after sitting for a while at the top admiring the view and drying ourselves we got into a micro, the little van, to head back since we had been gone for about three hours and it was time for lunch back at the lake. Because the dog would be attacked and an outcast if we left him, we had to take him with us in the car. Dogs are not worthy to go in cars here. Everyone sees them as dirty, ugly, stupid and another mouth to feed, though they are good protectors from intruders. So he came home with us in the car and since he liveed near by we dropped him off at home, though he loved emily and had a hard time saying goodbye. It was cute.
Then, the last day we were there, it wouldn´t stop pouring. That us when Hurricane Alma hit. We got out okay but were defnitely drenched with all out suitcases. That´s when we made out way to our host families.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
My First Week in Nica
Well, right now I have been here for about a week and a half but I am going to recount all that has happened, which will take a few posts...
So we were in Managua for two nights and went out our first night to this ridiculous club called Hipa Hipa which is pretty ritzy with a dance floor and airconditioning. They have rum here called flor de cana that is very famous and sweet. So it was my whole group, Wade, Angie, Emily, Jolie, our program direction and myself. It was not a wild night by any means but the next day my legs were hurting. We had a history lecture that took longer than we thought it would, like three hours. It was outside on the patio at our hotel and poor Fancisco, our teacher who is a local and brilliant, had to put up with some sleepy eyes and jerking heads during the lecture. Nicaragua history is so interesting though and the huge movement in the 70´s lead by Sandinista made a huge impact on the country and today a Sandinista supporter names Daniel Ortega is the president. He has created a lot of controversy.
So here is a little bio on the people I am here with.
Wade: is from Boston and is studing biology (molecular, crazyness) and is a Junior at USF. He is funny and nice...
Jolie: is a horrible story teller and is from New Orleans, we tease here about that all the time because she tells a lot of stories about her home town. She is Cajun Creole or something and has explained it to me a couple times but i still dont really understand what it is. She is a junior too adn is 19, the baby of us all.
Emily: is from DC, we have shared great DC stories, and is awesome, she studies international relations, like me, but with a focus in ecology and the environment with a regional focus in Latin America.
Angie: is from San Diego and is so unintentionally funny. She is a latin american studies major and has had a lot of experience in Mexico.
Emily and ANgie and I are the only ones with family experience so this transition was a little easier for us i think.
That said i live close to Emily and Jolie in Ciudad Sandino. The city was created after the the earthquake in 72 and was a makeshift town. It kept growing and eventually got electricity and some infrastructure and is what it is today...poor in resources and money. The majority of the people who live here work in Managua which is a 40 minute commute.
Back to our first couple days in Managua. After the history lesson we took a tour of the city and saw one of the lakes that is on one side of the city. We went to El Palacio Nacional and saw where the President has his meetings, and we saw a lookoutpoint where you could see the top of the city and there was a museum of Sandino, the famous politician, who still has many many supporters today. We also saw a famous grave yard, with a lot of German graves, they had a big presence in Nicaragua in the last century. Nicaragua survives off of foreign aid, it is incredible, mostly from Europe and the US.
Will write more another day...
So we were in Managua for two nights and went out our first night to this ridiculous club called Hipa Hipa which is pretty ritzy with a dance floor and airconditioning. They have rum here called flor de cana that is very famous and sweet. So it was my whole group, Wade, Angie, Emily, Jolie, our program direction and myself. It was not a wild night by any means but the next day my legs were hurting. We had a history lecture that took longer than we thought it would, like three hours. It was outside on the patio at our hotel and poor Fancisco, our teacher who is a local and brilliant, had to put up with some sleepy eyes and jerking heads during the lecture. Nicaragua history is so interesting though and the huge movement in the 70´s lead by Sandinista made a huge impact on the country and today a Sandinista supporter names Daniel Ortega is the president. He has created a lot of controversy.
So here is a little bio on the people I am here with.
Wade: is from Boston and is studing biology (molecular, crazyness) and is a Junior at USF. He is funny and nice...
Jolie: is a horrible story teller and is from New Orleans, we tease here about that all the time because she tells a lot of stories about her home town. She is Cajun Creole or something and has explained it to me a couple times but i still dont really understand what it is. She is a junior too adn is 19, the baby of us all.
Emily: is from DC, we have shared great DC stories, and is awesome, she studies international relations, like me, but with a focus in ecology and the environment with a regional focus in Latin America.
Angie: is from San Diego and is so unintentionally funny. She is a latin american studies major and has had a lot of experience in Mexico.
Emily and ANgie and I are the only ones with family experience so this transition was a little easier for us i think.
That said i live close to Emily and Jolie in Ciudad Sandino. The city was created after the the earthquake in 72 and was a makeshift town. It kept growing and eventually got electricity and some infrastructure and is what it is today...poor in resources and money. The majority of the people who live here work in Managua which is a 40 minute commute.
Back to our first couple days in Managua. After the history lesson we took a tour of the city and saw one of the lakes that is on one side of the city. We went to El Palacio Nacional and saw where the President has his meetings, and we saw a lookoutpoint where you could see the top of the city and there was a museum of Sandino, the famous politician, who still has many many supporters today. We also saw a famous grave yard, with a lot of German graves, they had a big presence in Nicaragua in the last century. Nicaragua survives off of foreign aid, it is incredible, mostly from Europe and the US.
Will write more another day...
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