Riding Buses in the Campo

At first, you may think it is kind of fun, just part of the experience. Then, you realize that this experience is part of people's daily lives. After your third bus trip or so, the novelty begins to wear off.

30-45 minutes before departure time the bus arrives in its slot at the terminal. During most times of the day, especially the last two buses on Saturdays and Sundays, people are clamouring over each other with pushes and shoves in order to get a seat and a space on the overhead racks for their stuff. People are taking dozens of eggs, huge bags of sugar, bottles of oil, and boxes of hair gel to sell at their rural pulperia. People are piling sacks and buckets of goods on top of the bus as well. I have heard that mattresses are carried this way but have not seen this yet.

It is literally a fight for seats which are saved with boxes and bags, as well as saved by friends. Often, I have not been lucky enough to have a seat. In this case, you must carefully plan your strategy of leaning on the edges of seats with your hip and/or grabbing onto overhead bars in various configurations. Also, it must be stated that courtesy rules that are often unspoken in the US regarding the eldery and mothers are rarely followed. I have seen some cases where the eldery have been offered seats but this gesture is an offer from people who know them and not from strangers generally. Finally, I have seen babies passed forward while the mother squeezes through the crammed aisle.

spider webs

This morning I was reading about spider web's in Lederach's Moral Imagination. Nature can be such a powerful metaphor for conflict resolution. However, I think we fail to realize or rather, REMEMBER, that we are part of nature too. Living in La Grecia on Finca San Martin has gotten me thinking more than ever about the environment. Today, there is a bubbling water source, which had only been a hint of humidity when Vicente and his family arrived there. They cultivated the land and continue to protect the water source with a reforestation project. There are so many examples in the surrounding area of farms that are exploiting and stripping the land of her goodness. However, you cannot make a living by saving the earth. The earth does not pay you for this service because our relationship with the earth is not based on money. We cannot be owners of the earth. Money is not the language of nature. Money is inconsequential.

Enough of that morning musing...

I spent last night in Matagalpa with Rose and Molly. It was nice to get out of the campo for the night. I had not realized how much my body was being effected by the diet of rice, beans, tortillas, and pasta. We went to the lovely Italian restaurant that we had been to in October. La Vita y Bella. I ate a SALAD, pizza, and bruschetta. My stomach was very very confused. Although it is nice hanging out with my compañeras and taking a warm shower, I really miss La Grecia and Vicente, Carmen, Wilmer, Levi, Bismark, and Erika. I cannot describe how much I love this family. In such a short amount of time, I have formed relationships with them as well as the place itself.

One morning I sat for a little over an hour waiting to see a guardabarranco (the national bird). I did not see one until I returned to my house, but I saw other birds and enjoyed the breeze beneath the bamboo trees. Finca San Martin is IDYLLIC. This place could easily be my favorite part of Nicaragua. Before coming here and starting ISP, I felt like I would easily be happy never coming back to Nicaragua (except maybe to teach English on the Caribbean Coast and hang out with the Garifunas). However, now I have come to love this little part of Nicaragua and the work that is being done there. People are actively trying to address violence and give alternatives for people to resolve their conflicts...

But conflict resolution is not sustainable...we need CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION, which is where human rights promotion comes in and projects that address injustice. Social injustices and family life are the roots of conflict (or so I am starting to conclude and reconfirm in my heart and soul).

Spider webs connect themselves to a place with humility and a profound understanding of a soul of a place (Lederach, The Moral Imagination).

ISP Independent Study Project

Nov 10th-Dec 10th is the period of ISP. I am currently living in rural Nicaragua outside of Matagalpa in Yasica Sur and in the community of La Grecia. I am living with a man called Vicente Padilla and his family.

Link to article about Vicente and his past nonviolent struggle for his land rights:
http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/3355

My project is focusing on conflict resolution and the culture of peace in the context of rural coffee growing Nicaragua. It is also the coffee picking season right now in Nicaragua which means everyone is focused on this task.

Yesterday, I observed a mediation that his son, Wilmer, facilitated. It was interestin and different from my experience at home.

The place where I am living is pretty incredible. Vicente does organic farming and has several animals. I also have an actual bed/mattress even though I was expecting a wooden bed. We also have electricity, running water set up, and a tv. Vicente and his wife have 5 children. One is studying medicine in Venezuela. The youngest is an 11 year old girl who gave me a drawing my first day. She also likes to dance and I have been trying to teach her some African dance steps.
I have a feeling that I will be very sad to leave this place. But...One month left! And I am back in the States.

The ISP period has already been frustrating...after only 3 days! Research is difficult but we are finally putting into practice everything we have learned. Vamos a ver.

El Salvador

What we did in El Salvador in summary
Site visits:

• Equipo Maiz (a popular education organization) for a history of El Salvador

• la Divina Providencia a hospital for the terminally ill where Monseñor Oscar Romero lived his last days and was killed giving mass
• the Centro de Encuentro Juvenil that works with providing an alternative to at risk youth
• Centro Pastoral Oscar Romero
• Jabali Coffee Cooperative
• Radio Victoria!! a community radio station in northern El Salvador
  
• the National Assembly and met with represenatives from the FMLN and ARENA parties
  

Lectures:

• juvenile justice and gangs
• Migration, immigration, and deportation
  
• liberation theology (and what we do when we return to the US)
• promoting peace and art in Suchitoto (plus some great life advice)
  
• historical walk in Santa Marta
• the current context and political sitution in El Salvador
  
• Testimonals about life before, during, and after the war (the atrocities and struggle)

I really cannot begin to describe all the daily emotions and transformations that I experienced in El Salvador.

You cannot talk about El Salvador and the past atrocities or civilk war without talking about Oscar Romero. He was an archbishop who stood up against the human rights abuses that the government was committing. We visited la Divina Providencia, a hospital for the terminally ill where Oscar Romero lived and was assasinated giving mass on the 24th of March, 1980. Everywhere we walked there were t shirts and other paraphenelia being sold with his image. There is also an effort to canonize him. It was odd but I really felt a connection to him while I was in El Salvador. At the same time, I was also reading The Search for a Nonviolent Future by Michael Nagler. The book also includes stories about volunteers working for peace in El Salvador during the 1980s. Somehow all of these ideas were coming together for a greater understanding of El Salvador and my hopes and dreams. I believe that violence will just produce more violence and there is another way. Oscar Romero stood up to the violence around him because he loved his people and believed they were the most important and deserved to be respected.

A lot of our time in El Salvador was spent talking or thinking about violence and gangs. Sister Peggy at Centro Arte para la Paz said that violence is like oxygen in Nicaragua. Yet, I am able to see hope. Projects are working on improving the lives of at risk youth and giving them other opportunities than going to gangs. Simply cracking down on gangs is not enough because it does not address the root causes. Restorative Justice was mentioned a couple of times as an option or new approach. However, I am concerned about how restorative justic is thrown around as an idea when sometimes people do not fully understand the concept. Restorative justice can be communities working together and can exist outside of the context of the justice system. I am definitely interested in how this approach could develop in El Salvador and would love to come back and be involved in some way.

RADIO VICTORIA
http://www.radiovictoria.org/
For a couple of days, we went to the northern town of Santa Marta and lived with members of the community radio station called Radio Victoria. Today, there is a mining company, Pacific Rim, that wants to excavate gold in the area. The company offered to pay Radio Victoria $8000/month for advertising etc. The Radio refused because they do not support the mining and know it would be bad for the community. There is already a water shortage and the mining would use incredible amounts of water as well as contaminating whatever water would be left for the people. Over a year ago, a social and environmental activist was killed. The police did not really investigate his death and attributed it to every day or gang activity. His body was found tortured at the bottom of a well. Since then, the Radio station was receiving death threats and the equipment was being damaged. The community came together to protect the station and watch in 24 hours a day for a period of 4 months. During this trying time, only one person left the radio station. There are many more details to this story. Overall, Radio Victoria is truly serving the community and standing up for rights and against corruption. We were able to work at Radio Victoria one morning. Molly, Nicole and I worked on a sociograma or skit with a social message. We decided to promote the idea of environmental conservation and that you shouldn't litter. I was la Madre Tierra or Mother Earth. As we were driving away from the town of Victoria, you could hear our skit being played several times.

There were so many things I enjoyed about El Salvador although it was extremely emotionally draining. I loved eating pupusas and learned how to make them. The Spanish accent was a lot easier for me to understand. I enjoyed interacting with El Salvadorian youth (on the University of El Salvador campus and at La Luna- bar/music venue). The people were open to sharing their stories. Hotel El Oasis where we stayed in San Salvador had amazing food and staff. The owners were such caring individuals.

a long awaited update

Hi all,
Sorry that I have not written in awhile. I promise I will add more details soon. Since I last wrote we have studied Culture of Peace and received from great lectures in Managua. Then, we went to El Salvador for a 9 day educational excursion. We stayed in San Salvador, visited Suchitoto, and lived in Santa Marta near the Honduran border. This experience was intense, inspiring, heart breaking, and spiritual all at the same time. El Salvador is a place with a violent history and a violent present. Yet, there is so much hope and potential for practices of RESTORATIVE JUSTICE. Perhaps, I will return one day to work in this area in El Salvador.

After we returned from El Salvador, Molly, Amber and I went to San Juan del Sur with Molly's parents. It was a much needed vacation (or fall break even). We stayed in a gorgeous house on the hill of San Juan del Sur that overlooked the beach as we sat in the infinity pool. It was hard returning to Managua but I felt rested and ready for the final days before ISP starts Novemeber 10th! For those of you who do not know, ISP stands for independent study project which is part of the SIT program format. Students complete project during the final month of the semester. (More on my project later...stay tuned!)

Finally, in one hour, I leave for Ometepe for an island adventure this weekend. I love exploring Nicaragua and it sure keeps me busy!

finding your place and your own pace

I have been in Nicaragua for well over a month now. The vacation feeling has worn off and I am starting to feel homesick. Sometimes I just want a good confidant. Now, I am becoming closer to two of the students in the program and am getting more confident with my Spanish. It really is amazing how much my Spanish has improved over the last 6 weeks or so.

I cannot decide if I like Managua or not. I have realized that I just do not enjoy big cities. Denver is not a big city, especially in comparison with the cities of the East Coast of the US. I remember when I lived in Dolores, CO this time last year. Dolores only has 800 people and many of this 800 do not live in the town itself. My time in Nicaragua is part understanding the culture of another country and gaining a better understanding of urban culture as well. I have studied migration to cities in class but am seeing it in a different way in Nicaragua.

I am trying to find a routine and time to do things to relax and destress. It is hard sometimes to balance life when we have a lot of work to do (essays, presenations, readings, and preparing to lead class discussions). This week I plan on cooking and doing more yoga. I also just got a hair wrap done today--it is brown with a mix of blue, green, and yellow. Sometimes you have to do little things for yourself to find...INTERNAL PEACE. (Today, in class we talked about a culture of peace and the necessity of internal peace in the field of conflict resolution.)

Coconut Bread, Crabs, and dancing with the Garifunas!

The trip to the coast is something that many Nicaraguans are not able to do. We were in bus for 6 hours or so and then 2 more hours in panga (motor boat). We spent the first night in Bluefields and ate rondon (a stew of fish, cassava, other vegetables, and coconut sauce). The next morning we took another panga to Pearl Lagoon. Here we stayed at Green Lodge and had Mr. Wesley as our on site director. In addition to being the owner of Green Lodge, he works with mediation and conflict resolution. I wish that I would have had more time to talk to him about this subject. (As we begin our module on the culture of peace, I am starting to become sure that I want to work in conflict resolution after college. I already do some work with conflict resolution, but I believe I could truly be happy devoting my time to this field. My friends for the SIT program, Amber and Molly, think that I have the skills or personality for this field as well).

Back to the Coast...We learned a lot about the situation of Autonomy. The Coast was originally a British Protectorate and was never formally colonized. Now, the Atlantic Coast has been incorporated/conquered by the Pacific Coast and the central government of Nicaragua. I used both verbs because this unification is controversials. Costeños feel like they have been conquered and feel like second class citizens. The Autonomy Law aims to give more rights to the Costeños but at times, these rights only exist on paper and not in reality.

One right is to learn in their mother tongue. There are bilingual schools that teach English and Spanish. However, many children have other languages for their mother tongue. A common language is Creole. One guest lecturer, Angela Brown, told us that Creole should not be called a badly spoken English. When a child hears that their language is inferior, this opinion translates to an opinion that the child is inferior as well. Children need to be empowered and language is part of their identity. Also, Angela Brown argued that if a child learns to read and write first in their mother tongue, then it will be easier to learn other languages like English and Spanish.

We visited a school called PLACE (Pearl Lagoon Academic Center for Excellence). This school is very progressive and is trying to get parents and the community involved in their children's school. The school also offers classes in music, art, and computers. They understand that not everyone will be gifted in the traditional curriculum of school and need other areas to excel and perhaps make a living. Music and art can be great options for these children. The school also works with teacher capacitation and has a system for placing substitutes when teachers are sick. When we were in el campo and visited the comunity of La Ceiba near Maltagalpa, teachers canceling class seemed to be a huge issue.

On Thursday afternoon, we went to the Keyes of Pearl Lagoon. We were very lucky because during other past fall semesters, the weather has not permitted this kind of activity. We collected sea shells, snorkeled and swam in the beautiful water. The Keyes are interesting because they are mostly (or all) private islands. Currently, Pearl Lagoon is going through a process of land demarcation and titling. Most land will become communal property. I am curious to see what will happen with these islands.

On Friday, we spent most of the day with families. Rose and I spent the day with Sony McCoy and his family. (We caught crabs for 3 hours or so. I can tell you more details if you want about the process.) It was a great experienced but I burned my back pretty badly. Afterwards, his wife cooked the crabs in a delicious coconut broth and we ate them with plantains and rice.

On Saturday, we returned to Bluefields and visited the BICU (Bluefields Indian and Creole University). Later that night we had a performance with a Garifuna dance group. The Garifunas are an ethnic group of African and indigenous decent. Some of the rhythms and dances reminded me of West African dance in Boulder. When I danced with this Garifuna dance group, I felt like I was back in Boulder. It was one of the happiest/care free moments of my time in Nicaragua thus far.

Food: fish, shrimp, cassava, pasta, and coconut bread (made with coconut milk)
And of course, crabs that I caught myself.

Finally, I was able to do yoga two mornings on the balconey while the sun was rising = one of the peaceful experiences of my life.

let's go to Granada tonight!

We do not have many free weekends, so we want to make the most of them. Granada is known as a more touristy city that has a colonial feel. Originally, I was not going to go with 4 other students. However, in usual Mindy-style, I decided last minute to join them. It is harder to live my life in this manner in Nicaragua (and I am trying to not live 'by the seat of my pants.') We left on Friday afternoon and I returned on Saturday in order to go to a birthday party of one of my Nicaraguan friends. (However, the rain was too strong Saturday and I ended up staying home.) The other girls returned on Sunday.

In Granada, Amber and I stayed at a hostel called the Bearded Monkey. I love hostels. There seems to always be a fun bartender and travelers with stories. We had a drink at the hostel and then met the other 3 students for dinner. They stayed in a hotel. Granada was refreshing because we could walk around comfortably. There is a street of bars and restaurants called Calle la Calzada. It is touristy with smoothie bars, art galleries, and gift shops. You can eat in the street and be constantly asked to buy cigarettes, chocolate, etc. There were also street performers with La Gigontona and break dancers.

Later, we ran into several Dutch travelers from our hostel. For a night, I felt like more of a tourist. It was also one of the few times that I have 'gone out' in Nicaragua. At home in Colorado, I do not go out that much and here it feels very different. There are not the same casual bars like we have in Boulder (ie Connor O'Neill's, the Boulder Drafthouse, etc.) Instead, Nicaraguans dress up in sparkly shirts and dresses, tight dark jeans, and high heels or gladiator sandals. I do not feel like I have appropriate clothes for 'going out.' Also, I just heard stories about El Chaman, a popular club, that turns away people because of what they are wearing. They will also turn about 'older' people and have been known to turn away people with darker skin (from the Atlantic Coast). In Boulder, I have never run into this type of club before. I know they exist in the US and may even exist in Denver, but they are something very new to me.

But I digress...

In Granada, there are touristy streets and cafes but you just need to go 5 blocks over and you are back in the 'real' Nicaragua. The hustling and bustling Nicaragua with crazy traffic and street vendors. It was nice to get away from Managua for a night and see the beauty of Granada. However, I prefer the experience in Managua (living with a homestay, eating typical Nicaraguan food, and not being constantly surrounded by a world manicured for a tourist). Will Managua change to be developed for the needs of tourism? I doubt that it will happen in the near future...but who knows?

the one month mark

We have just finished our first month in Nicaragua. I am getting more comfortable with navigating the city and understanding directions. When U2 sang about the place "where the streets have no name," they were singing about Managua. Nicaraguans orient themselves al lago (to the lake) or al sur (to the south) and then use arriba and abajo and numbers of blocks. You have to remember (and be able to say in Spanish) a serious of these directions.

I am feeling more comfortable with transportation as well. I have taken public buses around Managua. This weekend, some of the students and I went to Granada but I needed to return a day early. I found the bus stop and took the bus back to Managua by myself. I have also walked by myself from the grocery store. These seemingly little actions are tremendously liberating. For me, it can be difficult and frustrating to constantly walking in a group of 6 or so. I understand at times this is necessary and often is more fun. But, little bursts of freedom to walk by myself are great. It is still hard to sometimes know when it is 'okay' to walk by myself. For example, today my homestay mother said that I shouldn't walk to the study center at 1pm in the afternoon because it is a Sunday.

On another note, I am generally enjoying the food. Beans and rice have not gotten old yet. I eat a lot of chicken and sometimes plantains. I will try and post about typical Nicaraguan food soon. I also am enjoying Nicaraguan music. The fashion here is something I think about a lot as well. There are lots of bright blues, yellows, pinks, and purples with tight jeans. Gladiator sandals are also very popular. Women take a lot of pride in painting their toe nails and fixing their hair and makeup. At times, I have felt very ugly in this city. I wish I would have brought some different clothes.

I go through waves of liking Nicaragua. In general, I do. The people have been very nice. I love some of the music. And, the streets are lively. At times, the piropos (cat calls) really bother me. The trash also bothers me. There is a bench in the park next to my house where people are supposed to dump their trash. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday it is collected. However, the collectors never pick up all the trash and people dump their trash on other days too. This past Wednesday no one even collected the trash. Almost every time Brenda and I walk by this trash pile, she comments about the trash or the people that dump it on the wrong day.

The showers are generally cold water. I keep waiting in the shower like I do at home for the hot water to come on even though it never does.

Finally, I am loving the SIT program and staff. I am learning a lot although the Spanish is often frustrating. My Spanish is improving each day and I feel that my understanding of Nicaraguan life is deepening each day as well. We have had some wonderful guest lecturers (Dora María Téllez, Luis Fley, Antonio Lacayo, Phillipe Montalbán). I enjoyed my 5 days in La Ceiba (rural homestay). We leave for the Atlantic Coast this Tuesday, which was part of the program that I was looking the most forward to before arriving in country.

How I would describe Nicaragua in a few adjectives: friendly, difficult, crazy, passionate, dirty, political

And don't forget it is the land of SOLDIERS and POETS and the land of LAKES and VOLCANOES.

Homestay

I realized that I have not written about my homestay yet. All six students are living with families in el Barrio Máximo Jérez. This neighborhood has hosted people such as Salman Rushdie and Richard Gere. It was chosen as a typical working class neighborhood. However, there is a range of economic wealth within the community.

Before arriving in our homestays, we were told that we may not have walls that go to the ceiling, hot water and sometimes no water during parts of the day, or washing machines. Thus, when I first arrived at my homestay, I felt so lucky. I have a room with pretty blue lace curtains, freshly painted green walls, a door that locks, and walls that go to the ceiling. There is also a comfortable living room. Our first night we were "paraded" through the neighborhood with our moms and I was able to see some of the other homestays. There are some truly beautiful houses. One houses seems even nicer than my house back in Colorado (although smaller).

My homestay family consists of Doña Brenda and her daughter Carla. Carla has one 5 year old daughter called Valentina, whose father has left. (Nicaragua seems to have a problem of single mothers). Last week, Carla was married to Jairo via a lawyer and will have a wedding in a church in December or Janurary. However, they must be confirmed first.

The family dynamic is interesting. There seems to be two houses and one roof. I feel a lot of empathy for Brenda as I learn more about her situation. She is so full of love for her daughters but now lives alone more or less. Jairo and Carla do not typically invite Brenda to accompany them. And, Brenda's other daughter lives in Texas and she talks to her frequently. In a sense, she has also lost Carla now too.

I mainly talk with Brenda and sometimes with Valentina. We often dance in the kitchen. One night, there was a fight across the street. The woman across the street is remarried to a man who is younger than her son. The husband and son were fighting. Brenda snooped quite a bit but later we blasted the music in the kitchen and danced. She likes music similar to what you would hear in a club. Valentina lately has been practicing her folkloric dance. It is adorable.

Since Jairo just moved in, the family is still in transition. It will be interesting to see how things may change during this semester.

4 days/ 5 nights in El Campo

Part of the program was living in a rural homestay about an hour outside of Maltagalpa in coffee growing country in Nicaragua. I cannot even begin to describe this experience in the form of a blog. I have several photos that I will try to upload later but they do not capture the kindness of the people, the beauty of landscape, and the hardship and heartbreak that I experienced and witnessed.

I lived with Don Juan, Doña Lorenza, and their daughter Estella. The daughter was the coordinator for the experience in the community of La Ceiba. However, she does not work with SIT and this community had never hosted SIT students in the past. Lorenza had given birth to 13 children but only 6 of them survived. Most of her children live in the community of La Ceiba. There was no children living in my house but the grandchildren and nieces/nephews were constantly visiting.

We learned about the coffee process: picking from the plant, removing the shells, drying in the sun, and removing a second shell. Then these coffee 'beans' are sold in near by San Ramon before they are roasted and processed to become the form that we see today. Some farmers own their own land, but other farmers work on fincas that are owned by patrones. They are paid 60 cordobas or about $3 for a day's work.

The community is called La Ceiba and has 300 people. There is no running water or electricty. Fortunately, CARE International is involved with the community and the latrines and outdoor showers were only 7 months old. However, it seems that most of the community do not use these facilities built by CARE. This experience has made me think a lot about the implications and manners of 'development.'

At this moment, I am thinking a lot about Paolo Friere´s ideas of 'consciousness raising.' Education does not have to just teach people the names of continents and capitals. However, education can transform lives and the world by teaching people to think critically. Estella and Don Juan feel that my presence and the presence of other foreigners and organizations in their community was the result of Daniel Ortega. In the coming election, the majority, if not all of La Ceiba, will vote for Daniel Ortega. And, who am I to say that they shouldn´t or that they are making an uninformed vote? However, I do believe that education would only help in a more informed vote.

We have learned about the Literacy Crusade of 1980 in class and a museum exhibit. I spoke with Estella about her experience with the 'brigade from Managua.' Before the Crusade, the teachers in Maltagalpa (a four hour walk away) told her she was essentially to dumb to learn. But the young volunteers in 1980 taught her to read. It took 2 days to learn to write her name. They stayed for a year and now she can read and write. She is a coordinator for the community (also, because she is unmarried and without children). This is the power of education and social programs.

Finally, I was sick for my first time during this semester. I was throwing up at 3:30 in the morning. Doña Lorenza was worried on the porch and saddened by my condition. I truly felt a strong connection with my family in La Ceiba. I learned to make tortillas, play a card game, and experienced a part of the world rarely seen. It will take awhile if not the rest of my life to fully process all that I have learned in La Ceiba.

Un Techo para Mi País

Friday Sept 10th - Tuesday Sept 14th

http://www.untechoparamipais.org/

Un Techo para Mi País is an organization that first started in Chile. Now it is in several countries across Latin America. The son of our program director volunteers with Techo. Also, we met another student, Cynthia, who helps organizes Techo. Cynthia went to school in the US last year through a program called UGrad, which is a program connected to SIT under the umbrella of World Learning.

On Friday the 10th, we left for Maltagalpa. We met in a park and like we had been warned, it was fairly disorganized. Our group of volunteers had 20 people too many. No one wanted to switch, and we wanted to stay in Cynthia´s group. I met 2 Nicaraguans, Georgina and Oliver, who spoke very good English. They were helpful. Some of the other SIT students wanted to go home at the point. But, I was excited and wanted to stay. All 6 of us SIT students ended up going.

The bus was crowded so I hitched a ride with Georgina and Oliver. Oliver called someone to drop off the car for him. I asked if his brother dropped it off. Oliver responded that it was just a worker. The car was a fairly new Honda CRV. Georgina and Oliver also attended the expensive American School in Managua, which explains their good English.

In general, I feel that the students that volunteer with Techo are from wealthier families because they do not have to be working or staying at home to help their families. It is difficult now to transition between hanging out with my homestay family in Barrio Maximo Jerez and hanging out with my Techo friends.

Back to Techo...
We arrived at 10pm on Friday, ate, and did an ice breaker activity. I loved the energy of the group. We slept on hard floors of the school classrooms. Many students brought air mattresses, cots, etc. I only had my sleeping bag, but after a long day of work, it didn´t really matter. We worked from 8 am - 6pm. The work was hard because we had to break through rock to dig holes to put the pillars to support the floor. We had 15 pillars.

Sunday: The next day we worked from 6am -7pm. 4 of the SIT students went home because they were not feeling well, but Molly and I stayed. We had to carry the pre-made floors up the hill to our work sites. It was heavy and difficult. I also got sunburnt on my chest pretty bad. Finally, the buses stopped running at 7pm and we missed the last bus. So, the supply truck came and picked us up. It was actually rather fun being crammed into a bus with a lot of students, being driven down bumpy roads in the middle of the night and periodically yelling 'Viva Techo!!!'

Monday: Molly had to go to the hospital and had a stomach infection. (So, I was the only SIT student to work every day). We had to carry up more floor boards and walls. It was another long day. 6am - 9pm

Each night we showered at the school in our swimsuits using hoses. We ate rice, beans, and pasta for lunch that Techo gave the families to cook for us. The family that received the house that I built was a single mom with 5 children ages 14 and younger.

Tuesday: It was supposed to be our last day but the rest of the materials did not arrive because of rain flooding the highways. Most of the afternoon, I hung out with my work group and the kids of the family. We took a lot of pictures too. About 15 students left and everyone kept asking me if I was going to stay the extra day. Claro! Voy a quedar!

Wednesday: We finished the house. I was sitting on the edges of the walls hammering the frame for the roof in the rain. I almost started to cry when we did a little closing ceremony in the house. The mother and her neighbor also blessed the house. The oldest daughter gave me a ring and Laura, our group leader, her earrings as a token of her gratitude. It was incredibly sweet.

What an experience! Maltagalpa is green and lush. At times, I would just sit and rest looking at the wonderous landscape around me. Finally, I loved my work group and only one student spoke English. At times, I didn´t understand the jokes, but it didn´t matter. We laughed a lot.

Dora María Téllez

We are so fortunate to be taking the history portion of the thematic seminar with Dora María Téllez. She was a Revolutionary and had a high command post. She also founded the MRS party, which broke off from the FSLN (The Sandinista Party).



Look at this for more info...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Maria_Tellez

Today, she spoke about the social projects after the Revolution and the economic, social, and political rights that the new government promoted. She also read from the Constitution. The passion that she had well she read sent shivers up my spine. You can tell that she loves her country. She spoke about the Constitution as a contract between the State and the citzens. However, the Constitution does not guarentee rights like the US Constituion. Instead, there needs to be laws enacted to guarentee these rights.

Dora María Téllez also spoke about generational changes. She founded the MRS party and she talked about how each election the numbers of votes for the MRS is increasing. She has hope for the new generation and the future of her political party. Finally, she spoke about how this generation can access the world with the internet and phones. They can talk to other people and Nicaraguans that live in other countries. It was a hopeful and poignant talk.

Los Ruidos de Mi Casa

Los Ruidos de Mi Casa or The Sounds of My House

Most houses in Nicaragua have metal roofs. When it rains, it is very noisy. My homestay mother, Doña Brenda, keeps reminding me of the sounds that I will hear. There are limes that fall with a plunk! There is also a cat that walks across the roof and disturbs the dog. My first night in my homestay I heard noises in the park. I later found out that it was fireworks because it was the anniversary of the police.

Orientation

I decided to just have a Nicaragua blog instead of a general adventure blog to use in the future...

During Orientation, we are based in a hotel in Managua. We have air conditioning and wireless. It feels like SIT is slowly letting us adjust to culture shock. We have been talking about health, safety, and the academics. On Sunday, we go to our homestays. I am getting used to cold showers and lots of rain. Even though I am not using the awesome rain jacket that I bought at REI, you dry off very quickly. People seem to use umbrellas more than jackets here. Also, these umbrellas are LOVELY with butterflies and flowers.

I should probably stop trying to fit in with dress and such because I will always look like a gringa. Nicaraguans or Nicas are shorter and a lot of them have curly hair. Aynn was telling us that 'planchar el pello' or to iron the hair is becoming popular. Her young daughter (11?) is already becoming obsessed with ironing her hair.

Eating: There is a lot of RICE AND BEANS! We also are having a delicious chile/salsa/onion topping that is heavy in vinegar and spice. You can put it on chicken or something else. For breakfast, it is more rice and beans as well as eggs and coffee. Nicaraguans also like to fry food. Personally, I love fried food, but I may not tell my homestay this because then they may fix it for me all the time :)

The politics: Already, I can tell what a political country it is. Aynn (our program director) told us that you can tell someone's political views by what radio station you listen to. For example, taxi drivers may be playing their favorite station. However, sometimes they may play another station to see if you like it and thus, assess their passengers' political views. Graffiti is common with 'viva FSLN' (FSLN = the Sandinista political party) and 'viva Daniel' (Daniel Ortega is the current Sandinista president) as popular sights. Of course, you will also see 'viva la revolucion.'

You can also see the politics in the statues or public monuments...I may tell these stories in another blog.

The drop off: Evey SIT program seems to do a drop off where students are given questions to find out the answers to as we begin to use field research methods. We went to Leon on Friday to do this. Amber and I had to find out about the UNAN and la Gigantona. Leon is a great colonial city that is centered on the UNAN or Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua. Thus, the university is autonomous or separated from the church and the government in its decisions. It does receive almost all of its funding from the government.

Now, we are back in Managua for 2 more days of Spanish language testing and matching us with our homestays.