This blog is an attempt to right the wrongs of past blogs. I have thought of a few things that need either correction or clarification.
Number one
The water and electrical outages in this country.
At first I thought, because I heard, that it was all Daniel Ortega´s fault. Not so. Apparently the problem is one of privitazation. Nicaragua´s former president, Bolanos, sold the country´s power to a Spanish company which, in order to cut losses, cuts the lights periodically instead. Different parts of the country have outages at different times, which explains the no water phenomenoa.
If there is electricity but no water it is because the elecricity has been cut off in another part of the country and the water can´t be pumped to Granada.
Number Two
The uncovered manholes in the streets.
Desperate people do desperate things. In other words, people steal the metal covers and sell them to smelteries to make a little extra cash.
Which reminds me of when we were painting the mural on the side of the school. We had an old plastic tarp to catch paint that dropped on the ground, and a man from the community was begging me to give it to him when he was done so he could use it as a wall or roof for his house. Every material is of value here; both plastic and glass bottles are picked up by beverage companies and reused (not recycled), most soft drinks come in plastic bags (perhaps to cut down on waste) and food waste is unheard of. Needless to say, Nicaraguans are very resourceful.
So, forget recycling....start reusing!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
join the parade
Today was great. I slept through the night, I woke up to the daily fireworks at 6:30 am and felt hungry for the first time in days. While all the things I had complied into a list of grievances and annoyances in Nicaragua still did not charm me in my healthy state of mind, they didn´t phase me much, either. I walked down the street avoiding the horse manure, stepping around open ten foot deep manholes, ignoring cat calls and breathing in the not-so-fresh Granada air. Later in the day, I even joined one of the marching processions that I usually try to avoid.
About the processions...
Biweekly, if not more often, there are extremely loud marching band processions to honor the Saint of the Day. Last week there were two processions, one of which was for el divino nino, aka Baby Jesus Day. The marching band goes around the city, playing at the doorsteps of paid patrons. I came out of my room one evening to find a 20 piece band seranding the little girl at my house while she held up a statue of Jesus as a child. Today the city is honoring Santiago. Each saint day begins with fireworks at 6:30 am that are lit at the church, conveniently located right down the street. It´s great. I don´t even need my alarm clock.
About the manholes...
If ever there were confusion about the origin of this word, it has all been clarified. Notice, the next time you are strolling down main street, all those sewer covers. They are there for a reason, a good one. Then, imagine walking down that same street without any of those metal sewer covers. This is what Granada looks like, although I haven´t seen any men or women in the holes....yet.
About the horse manure....
Horses don´t use gas. I´m betting this will gain popularity in the US, what with gas prices and all.
Oh, and finally, about joining the procession...
No...I didn´t join a marching band procession for a saint. I joined the first ever march against sexual violence in Granada. To my surprise, there were more men than women (at least at the start of the march). I will post photos on my flickr site.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65074565@N00/
About the processions...
Biweekly, if not more often, there are extremely loud marching band processions to honor the Saint of the Day. Last week there were two processions, one of which was for el divino nino, aka Baby Jesus Day. The marching band goes around the city, playing at the doorsteps of paid patrons. I came out of my room one evening to find a 20 piece band seranding the little girl at my house while she held up a statue of Jesus as a child. Today the city is honoring Santiago. Each saint day begins with fireworks at 6:30 am that are lit at the church, conveniently located right down the street. It´s great. I don´t even need my alarm clock.
About the manholes...
If ever there were confusion about the origin of this word, it has all been clarified. Notice, the next time you are strolling down main street, all those sewer covers. They are there for a reason, a good one. Then, imagine walking down that same street without any of those metal sewer covers. This is what Granada looks like, although I haven´t seen any men or women in the holes....yet.
About the horse manure....
Horses don´t use gas. I´m betting this will gain popularity in the US, what with gas prices and all.
Oh, and finally, about joining the procession...
No...I didn´t join a marching band procession for a saint. I joined the first ever march against sexual violence in Granada. To my surprise, there were more men than women (at least at the start of the march). I will post photos on my flickr site.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65074565@N00/
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
sick of it all
Culture shock and food poisoning have finally hit. I was starting to wonder when the time would come and now I can definitively say that the time came at 8 am Monday morning as I broke into a cold sweat, vomitting. It wasn´t very pleasant. Every hour for the next 8 hours, I continued to throw up until there was nothing left to expel. I couldn´t keep a drop of water or food down and felt incredibly weak. At 5:30 I finally wobbled over the school and went to a doctor with the director. So weak and dehydrated, the doctor had to hook me up to an IV solution and inject shots of antibiotics. I lay for 2 hours as the drip solution rehydrated me and then was sent out the door with medication. I hardly made it out the door before I had to race back inside to the bathroom, where I fainted en route. I fell forward and broke my fall with my hands and remember waking up to another IV being inserted, this time with sugar water. I have a parasite in my stomach and will continue taking antibiotic shots for the rest of the week. Sounds pretty nasty, some other organism eating my half digested food. I feel violated.
Understandably, my host family is very sensitive about their food. I never said, nor inferred that their food made me sick. But they were quick to let me know that it was my fault, not theirs. In fact, I think I got so sick from a salad that I ate in a restaurant. So, although I haven´t written in awhile, my imaginary post from last week would have talked about how much I wanted a salad instead of the same old same old rice and beans. I learned my lesson the hard way...stick with cooked foods and bottled water.
Understandably, my host family is very sensitive about their food. I never said, nor inferred that their food made me sick. But they were quick to let me know that it was my fault, not theirs. In fact, I think I got so sick from a salad that I ate in a restaurant. So, although I haven´t written in awhile, my imaginary post from last week would have talked about how much I wanted a salad instead of the same old same old rice and beans. I learned my lesson the hard way...stick with cooked foods and bottled water.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
When the government doesn't do its job, the citizens will
Ok, I'll publicly admit that I had a developed world relapse this weekend and went to the beach. The streets were clean, the food was familiar and the language was English. There were lots of police officers, too.... something I realized I hadn't seen since I left the U.S.
Surprisingly, for such a lack of law enforcement officers, there is very little petty crime in Granada. Perhaps that is a bit of a generalization, but my travel books seem to agree. Sure, there is a lot more chaos in the streets... jay walkers and litterers (is that a word?), but not too much else in the misdemeanor department. Most Granadians go to bed before 10 and there are even hired neighboorhood watchmen. They are paid by the residents of the neighborhood, and their job is to go around at all hours of the night, blowing a whistle to inform the residents that they are watching out for trouble. The first night I was here I awoke in the middle of the night to the whistle blowing and my first thought was that a woman was being attacked and was blowing a whistle for help. I wasn't sure what to do, but then the whistle blowing persisted and I decided it was probably just some sort of tomfoolery.
Friday night I went to a Rotary event at the Granada Jockey Club (it looked like a country club stuck in the year 1958). The event was the inaugaration of the first female president of the Rotary Club of Granada... Karla Saenz, daughter of this year's President, Evenor. It was quite a festive and informative event. The speeches were all different, but had to do with the significance of women in society. One speech was very eloquent, focusing on the struggle and importance for the equality of women. Another speech was very, ummm, off the mark. Carlos, a big burly member of the Rotary Club and owner of the local aguardiente (a hard alcohol like moonshine) distillery, gave a speech about women as beautiful creatures. I think he had had a little too much to drink.
A Nicaraguan band played some covers of popular songs like "Imagine", but without the real words. I'll give them credit though, it sounded like it could have been English. I guess we were supposed to imagine what the song would sound like in English.
All in all, the inaugaration of Karla as president was a landmark event for Rotary, although it seems that the rest of the country has a long way to go with egalitarian matters.
Which brings me to my next topic, Machisimo culture.
So, back at the beach I ran into some Peace Corps volunteers from northern Nicaragua. They are working on a sex education public health project. I learned quite a bit from them about rural Nicaragua and cultural attitudes. According to one volunteer, machismo is the biggest problem with the spread of disease and unplanned pregnancies. Obstinately, men make most of the decisions in relationships, including the use of contraceptives. More often than not, they don't stick around after their partner becomes pregnant.
I have noticed and heard that there are many single mothers in Granada. All three of the Nicaraguan women my age or older that I have met have young children with no apparent father figure. Unfortunately, this puts these women in economically compromised positions. School is not mandatory for children here, so many children work in the streets selling things instead of attending school. There are so many children here. On any given day, at any given time, there are children of all ages (from 2 years on up) playing on the sidewalks or wandering in the streets.
Last week, I biked to a public school in Panatil, the poorest neighborhoood in the outskirts of Granada. I was astounded by how impoverished this neighboored is. I guess it would be considered a shanty town, with tiny houses made of scrap metal and wood and dirt floors. Their school is in a state of disrepair. Right now there is no running water because the municpal water pipe is broken. There are latrines with only three walls slapped together. Many schoolchildren lacked shoes.
I went with some other students from my language school to discuss working on painting a mural with the kids on the side of the school. It also developed into another project...fixing the water pipe. All in all, the repair would cost $100. Not expecting the government to fix it anytime soon, I told the Rotary Club here about the situation and they already knew and have plans to fund the repair. I noticed their sign painted on the side of the school, and found out that they have been working on supplying pencils, notebooks and uniforms to the students there.
I volunteered as an assistant art teacher at Carita Feliz and enjoyed it, but found that that community center is fairly well organized and well staffed. After visiting the school in Panatil, I decided my help would be of more help elsewhere.
The schools are closed for vacation this week, so I am going to volunteer at an orphanage in the afternoons to take care of the kids on vacation. I'm going to look into volunteering at a public school for the rest of my stay, once school resumes.
Well, that's enought for this entry. I could write a novel, but it will have to come in chapters. More on everything later...
Surprisingly, for such a lack of law enforcement officers, there is very little petty crime in Granada. Perhaps that is a bit of a generalization, but my travel books seem to agree. Sure, there is a lot more chaos in the streets... jay walkers and litterers (is that a word?), but not too much else in the misdemeanor department. Most Granadians go to bed before 10 and there are even hired neighboorhood watchmen. They are paid by the residents of the neighborhood, and their job is to go around at all hours of the night, blowing a whistle to inform the residents that they are watching out for trouble. The first night I was here I awoke in the middle of the night to the whistle blowing and my first thought was that a woman was being attacked and was blowing a whistle for help. I wasn't sure what to do, but then the whistle blowing persisted and I decided it was probably just some sort of tomfoolery.
Friday night I went to a Rotary event at the Granada Jockey Club (it looked like a country club stuck in the year 1958). The event was the inaugaration of the first female president of the Rotary Club of Granada... Karla Saenz, daughter of this year's President, Evenor. It was quite a festive and informative event. The speeches were all different, but had to do with the significance of women in society. One speech was very eloquent, focusing on the struggle and importance for the equality of women. Another speech was very, ummm, off the mark. Carlos, a big burly member of the Rotary Club and owner of the local aguardiente (a hard alcohol like moonshine) distillery, gave a speech about women as beautiful creatures. I think he had had a little too much to drink.
A Nicaraguan band played some covers of popular songs like "Imagine", but without the real words. I'll give them credit though, it sounded like it could have been English. I guess we were supposed to imagine what the song would sound like in English.
All in all, the inaugaration of Karla as president was a landmark event for Rotary, although it seems that the rest of the country has a long way to go with egalitarian matters.
Which brings me to my next topic, Machisimo culture.
So, back at the beach I ran into some Peace Corps volunteers from northern Nicaragua. They are working on a sex education public health project. I learned quite a bit from them about rural Nicaragua and cultural attitudes. According to one volunteer, machismo is the biggest problem with the spread of disease and unplanned pregnancies. Obstinately, men make most of the decisions in relationships, including the use of contraceptives. More often than not, they don't stick around after their partner becomes pregnant.
I have noticed and heard that there are many single mothers in Granada. All three of the Nicaraguan women my age or older that I have met have young children with no apparent father figure. Unfortunately, this puts these women in economically compromised positions. School is not mandatory for children here, so many children work in the streets selling things instead of attending school. There are so many children here. On any given day, at any given time, there are children of all ages (from 2 years on up) playing on the sidewalks or wandering in the streets.
Last week, I biked to a public school in Panatil, the poorest neighborhoood in the outskirts of Granada. I was astounded by how impoverished this neighboored is. I guess it would be considered a shanty town, with tiny houses made of scrap metal and wood and dirt floors. Their school is in a state of disrepair. Right now there is no running water because the municpal water pipe is broken. There are latrines with only three walls slapped together. Many schoolchildren lacked shoes.
I went with some other students from my language school to discuss working on painting a mural with the kids on the side of the school. It also developed into another project...fixing the water pipe. All in all, the repair would cost $100. Not expecting the government to fix it anytime soon, I told the Rotary Club here about the situation and they already knew and have plans to fund the repair. I noticed their sign painted on the side of the school, and found out that they have been working on supplying pencils, notebooks and uniforms to the students there.
I volunteered as an assistant art teacher at Carita Feliz and enjoyed it, but found that that community center is fairly well organized and well staffed. After visiting the school in Panatil, I decided my help would be of more help elsewhere.
The schools are closed for vacation this week, so I am going to volunteer at an orphanage in the afternoons to take care of the kids on vacation. I'm going to look into volunteering at a public school for the rest of my stay, once school resumes.
Well, that's enought for this entry. I could write a novel, but it will have to come in chapters. More on everything later...
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Granada, round two
Here I am in middle america....except this time not the Midwest U.S. I arrived in Nicaragua after a flight that was shorter and simpler than most intra-national flights I have taken. As the flight landed in Managua, I could see Sherwin-Williams and Blockbuster signs lit up below and thought to myself, perhaps Nicarauga is not so different from its northern neighbor after all. That impression was quickly corrected.
Lugging some 50 pounds of luggage out of the airport, I found my host family awaiting me. The President of the Granada Rotary Club and his family picked me up at the airport in Managua and drove me back to their quinta, a tropical lakeside estate.
Sunday morning I awoke to the sound of chopping and Spanish chatter. I looked out of my wrought iron window and saw Evenor, the President of Rotary Club, directing his hired help, Carlos, to take down a coconut tree. My first view of Nicaragua in daylight confirmed my suspicion that I would be traveling to a foriegn land covered with tropical fruit trees. I went to the bathroom to try brushing my teeth, but found that there was no water nor electricity.
In little time, I was reassured that this was a common occurence, courtesy of Daniel Ortega and friends.
In various regions and at various times, water and electricity disappear. Usually several hours later they will reappear just as magically and surreptitiously as they left. Regardless of the electrical or water current, Nicaraguans keep going with the flow. Some people just wait it out, other people run to get their gas-powered generator and rig their own electricity. When it happens at night, everyone sighs in unison and then carries on.
Let's talk about the food....
My first meal started out with a coconut fetched from a tree on Evenor's property. Carlos, the hired help, chopped it off the tree and then cut it open with a machete. Karla, Evenor's daughter, brought me a straw and we all drank coconut water. It was quite delicious.
For lunch I ate the hotly debated "gallo pinto". My travel guide book had prepared me for this moment. Gallo pinto is simply red beans and rice. It is delicious and, did I mention, Nicaraguan? Do not believe the Costa Ricans, gallo pinto is one hundred por ciento nicaraguense. As sure as the Lonely Planet described, Nicaraugans take pride in this so much that they created the world's largest pot of gallo pinto to prove that the dish is Nicaraguan, not Costa Rican. Evita, the wife of Evenor, explained the long history of the dish to me. Apparently, when Nicaraugans fled to Costa Rica during the Civil War, they brought with them their customs and recipes. The Costa Ricans somehow forgot the origin of this cuisine along the way and claimed it as their national dish. This started a fight between the two countries, and Nicaragua reclaimed its unofficial national dish by cooking the largest pot of gallo pinto ever. Go check the Guiness book of World Records.
Other comida tipica nicaraguense (typical Nicaraguan food) include exotic tropical fruits, fried plantains and bananas, tasty fish with their eyes, tails, scales and all and some not so pescatarian delights I haven't and don't plan to try. Speaking of fruit, there is a whole world out their of exotic delights including pera de agua (water pear), fruta de pan (breadfruit), and some other long-winded names I can't remember. Very delectable and colorful creations. By the way, Granada means pomegranate in Spanish and those grow here as well.
Lugging some 50 pounds of luggage out of the airport, I found my host family awaiting me. The President of the Granada Rotary Club and his family picked me up at the airport in Managua and drove me back to their quinta, a tropical lakeside estate.
Sunday morning I awoke to the sound of chopping and Spanish chatter. I looked out of my wrought iron window and saw Evenor, the President of Rotary Club, directing his hired help, Carlos, to take down a coconut tree. My first view of Nicaragua in daylight confirmed my suspicion that I would be traveling to a foriegn land covered with tropical fruit trees. I went to the bathroom to try brushing my teeth, but found that there was no water nor electricity.
In little time, I was reassured that this was a common occurence, courtesy of Daniel Ortega and friends.
In various regions and at various times, water and electricity disappear. Usually several hours later they will reappear just as magically and surreptitiously as they left. Regardless of the electrical or water current, Nicaraguans keep going with the flow. Some people just wait it out, other people run to get their gas-powered generator and rig their own electricity. When it happens at night, everyone sighs in unison and then carries on.
Let's talk about the food....
My first meal started out with a coconut fetched from a tree on Evenor's property. Carlos, the hired help, chopped it off the tree and then cut it open with a machete. Karla, Evenor's daughter, brought me a straw and we all drank coconut water. It was quite delicious.
For lunch I ate the hotly debated "gallo pinto". My travel guide book had prepared me for this moment. Gallo pinto is simply red beans and rice. It is delicious and, did I mention, Nicaraguan? Do not believe the Costa Ricans, gallo pinto is one hundred por ciento nicaraguense. As sure as the Lonely Planet described, Nicaraugans take pride in this so much that they created the world's largest pot of gallo pinto to prove that the dish is Nicaraguan, not Costa Rican. Evita, the wife of Evenor, explained the long history of the dish to me. Apparently, when Nicaraugans fled to Costa Rica during the Civil War, they brought with them their customs and recipes. The Costa Ricans somehow forgot the origin of this cuisine along the way and claimed it as their national dish. This started a fight between the two countries, and Nicaragua reclaimed its unofficial national dish by cooking the largest pot of gallo pinto ever. Go check the Guiness book of World Records.
Other comida tipica nicaraguense (typical Nicaraguan food) include exotic tropical fruits, fried plantains and bananas, tasty fish with their eyes, tails, scales and all and some not so pescatarian delights I haven't and don't plan to try. Speaking of fruit, there is a whole world out their of exotic delights including pera de agua (water pear), fruta de pan (breadfruit), and some other long-winded names I can't remember. Very delectable and colorful creations. By the way, Granada means pomegranate in Spanish and those grow here as well.
About Granada...
Granada is oldest city in the New World. It is full of Spanish colonial architecture, colorful buildings and cathedrals. The city was sacked and raided by pirates in its heyday, and it appears as though that damage was never cleaned up. In other words, the city is very run down and could use a good powerwash or two. Fortunately, the Rotary Club of Granada started a trash collection project in collaboration with small businesses throughout the city. I'll post a photo of the trash cans on the streets with Rotary Club emblem and name on them.
As this is my first time traveling to a developing country, I still have my mouth agape at times by what is deemed normal. For instance, when Evenor was driving me into Granada on a very bumpy dirt road, a wandering goat ran and smacked itself into his truck. It was quite a violent blow, yet the goat and Evenor kept going as if nothing had happened.
Or today, when I watched small herd of cattle tied up with ropes attached to a taxi behind it, pulling it along in a main street downtown. I thought that was strange and strangely innovative at the same time.
Yet some things that are the norm make perfect sense and should be shared with our too much driving culture. For example, lots of people ride bicycles or buses here. There are many festively decorated old American school buses that go everywhere, all the time.
Onwards...
I have had 3 days of classes so far at Casa Xalteva http://www.casaxalteva.com/ and I am loving it. In class we are practicing the subjuntive tense and discussing politics. It is very interesting to have such candid conversations. The staff is very charitable and active in the community. The school is an educational cooperative and the proceeds go towards an at risk children's day care program and orphanage. The kids receive free meals and daycare.
Tomorrow I will start my first day of service work at a community center called Carita Feliz (Little Happy Face). http://www.finditgranada.com/business.php?business=caritafeliz I will help with their afternoon classes that include drawing, English and math. More on that later.
I was happy to find that the Rotary Club is very active here. As I mentioned earlier, they have a trash collection project as the city does not provide a trash collection service for public spaces. They are currently working on getting more computers in the libraries and public schools. While I am here, I will teach the teachers how to the use the computers so that the teachers can then teach the students to use them, too.
Finally, students are on vacation until the end of next week, but I might volunteer in a public school as well. If I did this, I would be helping with reading and math.
Signing out for the night,
Kristin
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