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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