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.

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