I'm back home. It's time to head to jury duty and back to work. But, I'm so glad I took time off to travel and learn. It is one of the smartest things I've ever done. I know how fortunate I am to have been able to take this time off.
I also know how fortunate I am to have met such amazing people in my travles. Each country was very different from the others, but I feel confident making the generalization that the people of Central America who I had the fortune of living, working, and learning with are some of the most compassionate, proud, and resilient people I have met. I am truly humbled by the generosity and strength I had the pleasure of experiencing.
And here's the link to the pics (the Nicaragua and Costa Rica sets are on the right hand side):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13525016@N03/
Monday, February 25, 2008
Assorted stuff
- In Granada the most popular form of transport is the bicycle, and they make it work for as many people as they need. More often than not there are at least two people sharing one bike, but I now also know that a family of four can, in fact, ride together on one bike. The same goes for three teenage boys or two old women. Whoever needs a ride hops on.
- As hard as I tried, I could not make myself like papaya. Even skipping dinner so I would be really hungry for the papaya breakfast didn't work. I just don't like the icky fruit.
- Chickens sleep in trees. If you are in the country waiting for an early bus, don't sit under the tree. The chickens will poop on you.
- When you get hit in the nose with a surf board, it's really hard to pronounce a name like Brenda. For several days I had to introduce myself as Bretha.
- Hummingbirds take breaks. In Costa Rica waiting for another bus, about twenty of them landed on the ground and waddled around for about five minutes. Of course, the noise I made getting out my camera was enough to scare them away.
- Staying in hostels is a great way to meet people from all over the world. It's also a great way to get your ear talked off about way better places and trips than the one you're currently on. A few of my favorite quotes (supposedly heard by the staff) posted on a sign in a hostel:
You think that's cold? I was in Antarctica once...
Oh yeah, that's not a bad chicken bus ride. One time in Laos my bus flipped over eight times...
Grasshoppers? That's nothing. I ate baby chinchillas in Brazil...
Despite that sign, I had the misfortune of having the bunk next to a guy from Vancouver who claimed to be fluent in Spanish after reading a phrase book on the bus for five hours. He also claimed to have been in Nicaragua during the civil war helping the Sandanistas for three weeks. He is now only 19 years old. I bet he had the best second grade "what I did over my summer break" essay ever!
- If you leave smelly old sandals and ugly shorts unattended on the beach, they will get stolen. The same goes for broken sunglasses.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Posing as a chica surfista
I came to Playa Tamarindo to learn to surf. So, I woke up Sunday morning and headed to my first class. Fortunately, there were only two of us in the class. Unfortunately, the other guy was pretty much a natural. Even though it was his first time, he got up on his first try and started surfing. Then, there was me. Lets just say I drank about six gallons of sea water and received tons of nice encouraging words from the teacher (the same words I use when a student is so far off base I don`t know where to go next). That was the first hour of class. Miraculoulsy, the second hour went much better and I started to surf. I knew I`d finally made it when the teacher left me alone to go check on the other guy.
Having limited time and probably too much pride, I signed up for another lesson that afternoon. This went much better and I had a really good teacher who changed my stance to something that works much better for me. After two classes in one day, I pretty much had rubbed all the skin off my thighs, stomache, and hands and was so sore I could barely move. But, I was having so much fun!
I took only one class each of the next two days (the teacher said I would probably end up killing myself in the ocean if I got too carried away like the first day), and I`m now in a place where I can catch my own waves and I get up about as often as I fall down which is good enough for me!
Oh yeah, on my second day there was a baby sea turtle stuck in the surf. He was exhausted and couldn`t get out past the waves to get out to sea. I could totally identify. At the end of a session I can barely paddle the board back twenty feet. So, a real surfer took the baby turtle out past the big breaking waves to set him free!
Having limited time and probably too much pride, I signed up for another lesson that afternoon. This went much better and I had a really good teacher who changed my stance to something that works much better for me. After two classes in one day, I pretty much had rubbed all the skin off my thighs, stomache, and hands and was so sore I could barely move. But, I was having so much fun!
I took only one class each of the next two days (the teacher said I would probably end up killing myself in the ocean if I got too carried away like the first day), and I`m now in a place where I can catch my own waves and I get up about as often as I fall down which is good enough for me!
Oh yeah, on my second day there was a baby sea turtle stuck in the surf. He was exhausted and couldn`t get out past the waves to get out to sea. I could totally identify. At the end of a session I can barely paddle the board back twenty feet. So, a real surfer took the baby turtle out past the big breaking waves to set him free!
The Immigration Blues
Many people I have met from outside the U.S. talk about how horrible it is even to stop in the U.S. and to have to go through immigration - apparently even if you´re just changing planes to head to another country. After making the land crossing to Costa Rica, I have just a little taste of the tediousness, but at least I didn´t have to do the retinal scan that foreigners have to in the U.S.
I left Granada at 7 in the morning to make the 5 hour trip to Liberia, Costa Rica. At 9:30 we got off the bus at the border. We had to wait for thirty minutes to leave through Nicaraguan immigration. When we got back on the bus I was actually naive enough to think that we were all done. We had given our passports to the bus driver after all. But, actually, the process was just beginning.
We got our passports back, got back on the bus and waited in a long line of cars to go through a car wash type thing to rid the bus of contaminants. We then got back off the bus and were told to get in a long line. There were actually two lines that merged into one, so I got in the back of the shorter. I should have known better.
I didn´t realize until I got to the merging point that this line was the cutting line and people in the other line held on the each other and pushed ahead to make sure my line didn´t get in. When I saw the people in my line shoving their way in I realized what was going on. I didn´t want to push anybody, but also didn´t want to go all the way to the back after waiting 40 minutes already. So, I found a nice looking old lady in the official line and told her I hadn´t known that I was in the bad line. She was very nice and let me in front of her saying that we were on the same bus anyways and if I started all over they´d have to wait for me.
After another two and half hours we finally reached the immagration desk to get our passports stamped. I was relieved and walked out to the bus ready to get on our way. But, everyone was just sitting next to the bus waiting. When I asked, I was informed that we had to get our luggage off the bus to have it inspected. So after another 40 minutes of waiting around for the official person to open the baggage storage on the bus, we took our luggage over to a long table and waited while a woman looked through it. That took a good 40 minutes (must be the magic number there), then we were off. At least I thought. We still had to stop two more times while police got on the bus to check everyone´s passports. At least we could stay in our seats for that. There is a definite concern in Costa Rica about large numbers of Nica immigrants, so I´m hoping the trip back into Nicaragua won´t be as slow. Knock on wood.
Anyways, I finally made it to Liberia at 4 p.m. (having missed my 2:30 bus to the beach) and took a taxi to Playa Tamarindo. I checked into the hostel and went straight to the ocean for a fantastic swim! Defintely vale la pena (worth the trouble) :-)
I left Granada at 7 in the morning to make the 5 hour trip to Liberia, Costa Rica. At 9:30 we got off the bus at the border. We had to wait for thirty minutes to leave through Nicaraguan immigration. When we got back on the bus I was actually naive enough to think that we were all done. We had given our passports to the bus driver after all. But, actually, the process was just beginning.
We got our passports back, got back on the bus and waited in a long line of cars to go through a car wash type thing to rid the bus of contaminants. We then got back off the bus and were told to get in a long line. There were actually two lines that merged into one, so I got in the back of the shorter. I should have known better.
I didn´t realize until I got to the merging point that this line was the cutting line and people in the other line held on the each other and pushed ahead to make sure my line didn´t get in. When I saw the people in my line shoving their way in I realized what was going on. I didn´t want to push anybody, but also didn´t want to go all the way to the back after waiting 40 minutes already. So, I found a nice looking old lady in the official line and told her I hadn´t known that I was in the bad line. She was very nice and let me in front of her saying that we were on the same bus anyways and if I started all over they´d have to wait for me.
After another two and half hours we finally reached the immagration desk to get our passports stamped. I was relieved and walked out to the bus ready to get on our way. But, everyone was just sitting next to the bus waiting. When I asked, I was informed that we had to get our luggage off the bus to have it inspected. So after another 40 minutes of waiting around for the official person to open the baggage storage on the bus, we took our luggage over to a long table and waited while a woman looked through it. That took a good 40 minutes (must be the magic number there), then we were off. At least I thought. We still had to stop two more times while police got on the bus to check everyone´s passports. At least we could stay in our seats for that. There is a definite concern in Costa Rica about large numbers of Nica immigrants, so I´m hoping the trip back into Nicaragua won´t be as slow. Knock on wood.
Anyways, I finally made it to Liberia at 4 p.m. (having missed my 2:30 bus to the beach) and took a taxi to Playa Tamarindo. I checked into the hostel and went straight to the ocean for a fantastic swim! Defintely vale la pena (worth the trouble) :-)
Friday, February 15, 2008
A Very Nice Day
Yesterday: Class in the morning, then I went straight from school to visit a new special education center that has been set up in Granada by a retired couple from Seattle. A really nice woman at my language school set up a visit so I could see what´s happening. I´m so glad she did!
Just walking around the city I have seen several apparently homeless adults with developmental disabilites and one home where a child is secured to a rocking chair with belts every time I walk by. I have been asking about special education services in Nicaragua and from what I´ve been told they are virtually nonexistent in Granada especially for economically struggling families - which unfortunately means most familes.
The new center is serving around thirty adults with developmental disabilities who come from struggling families or even from living on the street. They are currently working on creating handicrafts that will be sold with the profits going directly to the individual. The opportunity to become a valued wage earner is a huge change of perspective for these adults, and they are rightfully very proud of their work. One student, Octavio, gave me a very detailed tour of the center and of the candle making process and also talked about the plans to add kitchen facilities to the school. A retired special ed teacher from Alaska was there volunteering and we had a great talk about developing a sustainable life skills curriculum. The director of the center was really excited about the prospect. I wish I´d have known earlier about the center, but I´m still pretty excited to go home and have a project to work on! Heads up sped teacher friends - I´ll be bugging you to borrow materials!
After the tour, I went straight to Carita Feliz to help with the art class and as usual had a great time with the awesome kiddos. I´m pretty sure my Spanish is getting better because even the five year olds can understand me now - well at least half the time :-)
From Carita Feliz I headed home via a quick walk through the central park to check out the goings on at the poetry fesitval. Then home for a very late lunch. Homework, then off to the language school director´s house for dinner. He and his wife are two of the most fantastic people I´ve ever met. They have been working with the boys´ program for eleven years and even have two of the boys living with them and their two kids. Not to mention the whole family is absolutely hilarious! They are also really patient with my slow Spanish which makes me much less self-concious about speaking. I think that was my first night where I hung out speaking just Spanish and felt like I could express myself similar to how I would in English. It was a really nice night, and I even got more dancing lessons from the seven year old daughter and her neighbor friend.
Just walking around the city I have seen several apparently homeless adults with developmental disabilites and one home where a child is secured to a rocking chair with belts every time I walk by. I have been asking about special education services in Nicaragua and from what I´ve been told they are virtually nonexistent in Granada especially for economically struggling families - which unfortunately means most familes.
The new center is serving around thirty adults with developmental disabilities who come from struggling families or even from living on the street. They are currently working on creating handicrafts that will be sold with the profits going directly to the individual. The opportunity to become a valued wage earner is a huge change of perspective for these adults, and they are rightfully very proud of their work. One student, Octavio, gave me a very detailed tour of the center and of the candle making process and also talked about the plans to add kitchen facilities to the school. A retired special ed teacher from Alaska was there volunteering and we had a great talk about developing a sustainable life skills curriculum. The director of the center was really excited about the prospect. I wish I´d have known earlier about the center, but I´m still pretty excited to go home and have a project to work on! Heads up sped teacher friends - I´ll be bugging you to borrow materials!
After the tour, I went straight to Carita Feliz to help with the art class and as usual had a great time with the awesome kiddos. I´m pretty sure my Spanish is getting better because even the five year olds can understand me now - well at least half the time :-)
From Carita Feliz I headed home via a quick walk through the central park to check out the goings on at the poetry fesitval. Then home for a very late lunch. Homework, then off to the language school director´s house for dinner. He and his wife are two of the most fantastic people I´ve ever met. They have been working with the boys´ program for eleven years and even have two of the boys living with them and their two kids. Not to mention the whole family is absolutely hilarious! They are also really patient with my slow Spanish which makes me much less self-concious about speaking. I think that was my first night where I hung out speaking just Spanish and felt like I could express myself similar to how I would in English. It was a really nice night, and I even got more dancing lessons from the seven year old daughter and her neighbor friend.
I don´t want to leave
Somehow the last two entries got switched, but no worries. I´m sure you can figure it out.
Well, tomorrow I take an early bus to Costa Rica where I´m going to take a week to learn to surf before heading back to Colorado. That´s the plan anyways. I may just end up going for a swim with a surf board attached to my ankle. But, I´m excited to give it a go.
Anyways, as usual it´s a bit sad to be saying goodbye. My host family here in Granada was very nice, but I didn´t have the opportunity to get to know them very well which in a way is disappointing, but also makes goodbye easier. I have to admit I will miss the two year old, Julio Cesar, and our daily game where he has the green action figure without feet and I have the gold one without an arm and we look all over the living room for our missing parts.
Saying goodbye to the teachers and the kids at Casa Xalteva was tougher. I learned so much there. Definitely my Spanish is better, but more importantly it was really inspiring being surrounded by the great people that work at the school and the kids that benefit from their programs. Casa Xalteva is by far one of the best social programs I´ve encountered in my travels and is run by absolutely fantastic people.
The truly hard part was saying goodbye to the kids I was working with at Carita Feliz. They are so freaking great! I had purchased a painting from my favorite kiddo, and today she surprised me with a gift of another painting she had been saving that wasn´t on display to be sold. She told me it was her insurance policy that I would return. She´s good, huh? So, yeah, I´ll definitely be returning to Granada!
Well, tomorrow I take an early bus to Costa Rica where I´m going to take a week to learn to surf before heading back to Colorado. That´s the plan anyways. I may just end up going for a swim with a surf board attached to my ankle. But, I´m excited to give it a go.
Anyways, as usual it´s a bit sad to be saying goodbye. My host family here in Granada was very nice, but I didn´t have the opportunity to get to know them very well which in a way is disappointing, but also makes goodbye easier. I have to admit I will miss the two year old, Julio Cesar, and our daily game where he has the green action figure without feet and I have the gold one without an arm and we look all over the living room for our missing parts.
Saying goodbye to the teachers and the kids at Casa Xalteva was tougher. I learned so much there. Definitely my Spanish is better, but more importantly it was really inspiring being surrounded by the great people that work at the school and the kids that benefit from their programs. Casa Xalteva is by far one of the best social programs I´ve encountered in my travels and is run by absolutely fantastic people.
The truly hard part was saying goodbye to the kids I was working with at Carita Feliz. They are so freaking great! I had purchased a painting from my favorite kiddo, and today she surprised me with a gift of another painting she had been saving that wasn´t on display to be sold. She told me it was her insurance policy that I would return. She´s good, huh? So, yeah, I´ll definitely be returning to Granada!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Cosiguina
This past weekend I had the pleasure err... opportunity to go on a three day backpacking trip to the far northwest corner of the country. My friend from Holland, Cecile, and I left Granada Thursday after class and headed to Leon. We checked into a great hostel and used her guide book to take a walking tour of the city´s churches and murals. Leon is a very politically minded city, so it was really fascinating to check out the murals and their strong statements. I also met a group of three siblings who where guarding their mom´s bike cart while she was selling fruit on the street. They asked for money, so I said I´d give them ten cordobas if they´d let me give them a ride on the bike. Their mom was totally cool with it, but as soon as they climbed on and we started out for a spin around the park about ten other kids appeared out of nowhere and jumped on. It was kind of like riding the bus here - when I think it´s a bit crowded I get a quick reminder that I have no concept of crowded. It was a lot of fun and quite a workout with kids hanging on everywhere, but most definitely worth the fifty cents I spent.
The next morning we got up way too early and packed up and headed out towards Cosiguina. The six hour bus ride was a pretty typical chicken bus ride until we stopped for a break with about 40 minutes left to go and our guide suggested that we could ride on the top of the bus if we liked. I was super excited and climbed on up. Not only was it cooler and quieter up there but the view of the villages and the ocean was fantastic and constantly ducking to dodge tree branches was a fun game. I also got to help a little bit with lowering things down from the roof when passengers got off at the stops.
When we finally arrived at our stop, we grabbed our bags and hiked to a deserted beach. It was absolutely gorgeous with black sand and views across the bay of both Honduras and El Salvador. The village nearby is truly isolated, so many people came down to the beach to see what we were up to. One young kid even let me take his horse for a ride on the beach. The water was wavy, but not too strong and perfect for swimming. The local kids showed us how they search in the surf for what they call chiquitin. They are some sort of shell fish-beetle type thing they use to make soup. We collected fire wood, watched the sun set, and ate dinner around the fire. One of the locals who helped teach our guide the trail to the nearby volcano told us jokes and stories in Spanish, but also had this amazing ability to look at the Orion constellation in order to tell what time it was. No matter how many times we asked over the two nights we were there, he was never more than five minutes off with the time.
The next day we headed off to hike the remnants of what used to be the tallest Volcano in Nicaragua, Volcan Coisguina. Fortunately, because I had to climb up this thing, after a huge eruption it's no longer as tall and there's beautiful crater lake where the top used to be. Most of the hike was in the scorching sun walking through sand. It was much better when we finally reached the forest section which provided a bit of shade. The view at the top was stunning. The crater lake was about five hundred feet below the summit with cliffs going straight down to it. I've never wanted to swim so badly, but it just wasn't possible. However, four hours later when we finally returned to camp it felt so great to jump in the ocean!
That night we had dinner in the home of a local family. This was one of the richest families in the community, but that is definitely a relative term. They lived in a tiny shack without electricity or plumbing. They had one bed and the kitchen was outdoors. The animals roamed freely including a rooster perched on the footboard of the bed. They also had two pet parrots that had babies that they spoon fed milk. There were also three dead iguanas in the sink that the grandpa was cleaning. I'll spare you all the details but the noise it made when he pulled off the skin will haunt me forever. Fortunately, we had fish for dinner!
We camped on the beach again that night and got up early to head back to the city. The long bus ride was really crowded and especially interesting because lots of people got on the bus carrying their game cocks for the big fight that day.
But the most exciting part of the ride came when the guide said it was time to get off, so I activated my chicken bus departure skills and grabbed my pack and jumped off. Unfortunately, I was a bit too efficient because when I got off I was standing alone in a cloud of dust with nobody else from my group around. I was kind of pissed and confused, so I decided I'd better just start figuring out how to get back to Granada from this middle of nowhere town. I asked somebody where the bus terminal was and he said it was three blocks ahead. So, I started walking. After about ten minutes and no bus stop, I asked again. This time the guy said the terminal was about four miles up the road, so I tried to hail a taxi that passed but it didn't stop. I kept walking along this deserted road cursing the guide. After about a mile, a bus came along so I hopped on and headed to the terminal. At the terminal I actually caught up with the group again, and the guide felt so bad. He said he had made a mistake and by the time he told everybody to stay on the bus I'd already hopped off. He said he was totally impressed with my speed, but apparently it didn't serve me well. He did buy me a banana pineapple smoothie to make up for my troubles, though!
The next morning we got up way too early and packed up and headed out towards Cosiguina. The six hour bus ride was a pretty typical chicken bus ride until we stopped for a break with about 40 minutes left to go and our guide suggested that we could ride on the top of the bus if we liked. I was super excited and climbed on up. Not only was it cooler and quieter up there but the view of the villages and the ocean was fantastic and constantly ducking to dodge tree branches was a fun game. I also got to help a little bit with lowering things down from the roof when passengers got off at the stops.
When we finally arrived at our stop, we grabbed our bags and hiked to a deserted beach. It was absolutely gorgeous with black sand and views across the bay of both Honduras and El Salvador. The village nearby is truly isolated, so many people came down to the beach to see what we were up to. One young kid even let me take his horse for a ride on the beach. The water was wavy, but not too strong and perfect for swimming. The local kids showed us how they search in the surf for what they call chiquitin. They are some sort of shell fish-beetle type thing they use to make soup. We collected fire wood, watched the sun set, and ate dinner around the fire. One of the locals who helped teach our guide the trail to the nearby volcano told us jokes and stories in Spanish, but also had this amazing ability to look at the Orion constellation in order to tell what time it was. No matter how many times we asked over the two nights we were there, he was never more than five minutes off with the time.
The next day we headed off to hike the remnants of what used to be the tallest Volcano in Nicaragua, Volcan Coisguina. Fortunately, because I had to climb up this thing, after a huge eruption it's no longer as tall and there's beautiful crater lake where the top used to be. Most of the hike was in the scorching sun walking through sand. It was much better when we finally reached the forest section which provided a bit of shade. The view at the top was stunning. The crater lake was about five hundred feet below the summit with cliffs going straight down to it. I've never wanted to swim so badly, but it just wasn't possible. However, four hours later when we finally returned to camp it felt so great to jump in the ocean!
That night we had dinner in the home of a local family. This was one of the richest families in the community, but that is definitely a relative term. They lived in a tiny shack without electricity or plumbing. They had one bed and the kitchen was outdoors. The animals roamed freely including a rooster perched on the footboard of the bed. They also had two pet parrots that had babies that they spoon fed milk. There were also three dead iguanas in the sink that the grandpa was cleaning. I'll spare you all the details but the noise it made when he pulled off the skin will haunt me forever. Fortunately, we had fish for dinner!
We camped on the beach again that night and got up early to head back to the city. The long bus ride was really crowded and especially interesting because lots of people got on the bus carrying their game cocks for the big fight that day.
But the most exciting part of the ride came when the guide said it was time to get off, so I activated my chicken bus departure skills and grabbed my pack and jumped off. Unfortunately, I was a bit too efficient because when I got off I was standing alone in a cloud of dust with nobody else from my group around. I was kind of pissed and confused, so I decided I'd better just start figuring out how to get back to Granada from this middle of nowhere town. I asked somebody where the bus terminal was and he said it was three blocks ahead. So, I started walking. After about ten minutes and no bus stop, I asked again. This time the guy said the terminal was about four miles up the road, so I tried to hail a taxi that passed but it didn't stop. I kept walking along this deserted road cursing the guide. After about a mile, a bus came along so I hopped on and headed to the terminal. At the terminal I actually caught up with the group again, and the guide felt so bad. He said he had made a mistake and by the time he told everybody to stay on the bus I'd already hopped off. He said he was totally impressed with my speed, but apparently it didn't serve me well. He did buy me a banana pineapple smoothie to make up for my troubles, though!
For all the times I thought my job sucked...
Last week my school had a bike riding excursion to the neighborhood where Andres, the guide from my school and a graduate of the boys program it sponsors, grew up. El Pantanal is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Granada. The families make a living collecting scrap metal from the city dump. You can see the dump outside of the neighborhood by following the cloud of smoke from all the rotting going on. The parents and children search through the garbage in the blazing sun in order to get five cents for every pound of metal they collect. I asked Andres if he preferred the metal collecting or leading us around in the afternoons. He´s still thinking it over.
We rode through the neighborhood on bikes that the school has fixed up. I had one that very well could have been the same bike I had in third grade. It was kind of notstalgic until I got tired and forgot about pedalling backwards to stop. I had to do a panic stop by dragging my feet, but at least it woke me up. In the neighborhood, we left our bikes in the house of Andres´ family and hiked up to a nice lookout over the city. On the hike, we stopped to look at a yard where they had a pet pisote on a leash. Since pisotes are one of my favorites (the raccon monkey pig animals I fell in love with in Guatemala), I asked if I could pet it and the woman at home was nice enough to pick him up and bring him over to me. His name is Sylvester and when he was picked up and cradled he stuck out his little tounge. Pretty much the cutest thing ever!
Visiting El Pantanal was another great reminder of how incredibly lucky we are to have all that we do living in the developed world. It´s also humbling to remember that these are the conditions in which the majority of the world lives. Makes me feel really wimpy for having whined about all the times the water goes out in my homestay, not too mention all the times I take for granted the incredible luxuries I have back home.
We rode through the neighborhood on bikes that the school has fixed up. I had one that very well could have been the same bike I had in third grade. It was kind of notstalgic until I got tired and forgot about pedalling backwards to stop. I had to do a panic stop by dragging my feet, but at least it woke me up. In the neighborhood, we left our bikes in the house of Andres´ family and hiked up to a nice lookout over the city. On the hike, we stopped to look at a yard where they had a pet pisote on a leash. Since pisotes are one of my favorites (the raccon monkey pig animals I fell in love with in Guatemala), I asked if I could pet it and the woman at home was nice enough to pick him up and bring him over to me. His name is Sylvester and when he was picked up and cradled he stuck out his little tounge. Pretty much the cutest thing ever!
Visiting El Pantanal was another great reminder of how incredibly lucky we are to have all that we do living in the developed world. It´s also humbling to remember that these are the conditions in which the majority of the world lives. Makes me feel really wimpy for having whined about all the times the water goes out in my homestay, not too mention all the times I take for granted the incredible luxuries I have back home.
Gringa Smurf
Last week one of my friends commented that I had something blue on my arm. I wiped it off and didn´t think much of it until I went to take a shower that night and realized both of my elbows and my feet and ankles also had a bluish hue. I couldn´t figure out what I´d gotten into and decided it must just be a strange combo of dirt, sunblock, and bug spray. But, when I woke up the next morning I was even bluer. Since the water was out again, I had to go to school and my volunteer job with my new skin tone. Pretty embarrassing, but all the questions helped me to figure out it was from the dark blue sheets on my bed. Mystery solved.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Ometepe
I'd like to start off by apologizing to anyone who had the misfortune of witnessing my salsa dance/walk home yesterday afternoon! Actually, I chickened out before I left the cafe, but I did sing a few versus of Nothing at All by Air Supply along with the t.v. when I got home. It's so normal here that nobody even batted an eye. Clearly, very tolerant people.
This past weekend I visited Ometepe, a beautiful volcanic island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. I would like to write about the beautiful view of the volcanoes as we approached the island by boat, but unfortunately the waves were a bit too large for my liking and I spent the trip paniking over where I was going to find more plastic bags to accomodate my sea sickness. However, my travel buddy assured me that it was in fact a spectacular view!
Once arriving on solid land, my Austrian friend from school, Claudia, and I took a pickup truck from the port city to a village on the north side of the island. Sitting in the back we got a great view of both volcanic peaks on the island and of the local villages and banana fields. We checked into a hotel and as we were putting our bags down a young boy came to the door to say hi. At first we just said hola and kept unpaking, but when I looked up I realized it was one of the kids from the language school's boys program. It turns out five of the kids and the two directors of the school were on a weekend bike trip around the island. We said hi to everybody and chatted for a while, but didn't expect to really see the group much.
The next morning we got up early to meet our pick up driver for a tour around the island. As we rode in the back of the truck I hung my small towel in the wind in hopes it would dry and couldn´t help but feel like a Sandanista with a flag. The driver said I was only missing a gun and I would have passed for Ortega. We visited three gorgeous beaches, did a canopy zip line tour through a jungle surrounded by two different types of monkies, swam in a natural spring, hiked, and enjoyed some local beer while watching the sun set. This Spanish studying stuff is pretty hard work!
When we got back to the hotel, Alex one of the kids from our school´s group was yelling our names and riding his bike towards us. He said he saw us drive by while the group was eating dinner and wanted us to join him. He said they were right around the corner which turned out to mean about ten blocks away, but we ran along side his bike and pulled up a chair to join the group for a super yummy typical Nica dinner. Unfortunately, one of the kiddos had crashed his bike that morning on a steep downhill section and got stitches in two different parts of his head, chipped a tooth, and was covered in road rash. So, the next day we took him and his sick with the flu little brother (ages 10 and 12) back to Granada with us while the rest of the group continued on their journey. It was a bit tedious hauling the bike with us on the ferry, in the taxis, and on the buses but both kids were real troopers. I can´t imagine how miserable it must have been for those kiddos to travel sick and injured with two gringos with lousy Spanish that they barely knew. But they didn´t complain at all and were really patient with us, so it all turned out well!
This past weekend I visited Ometepe, a beautiful volcanic island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. I would like to write about the beautiful view of the volcanoes as we approached the island by boat, but unfortunately the waves were a bit too large for my liking and I spent the trip paniking over where I was going to find more plastic bags to accomodate my sea sickness. However, my travel buddy assured me that it was in fact a spectacular view!
Once arriving on solid land, my Austrian friend from school, Claudia, and I took a pickup truck from the port city to a village on the north side of the island. Sitting in the back we got a great view of both volcanic peaks on the island and of the local villages and banana fields. We checked into a hotel and as we were putting our bags down a young boy came to the door to say hi. At first we just said hola and kept unpaking, but when I looked up I realized it was one of the kids from the language school's boys program. It turns out five of the kids and the two directors of the school were on a weekend bike trip around the island. We said hi to everybody and chatted for a while, but didn't expect to really see the group much.
The next morning we got up early to meet our pick up driver for a tour around the island. As we rode in the back of the truck I hung my small towel in the wind in hopes it would dry and couldn´t help but feel like a Sandanista with a flag. The driver said I was only missing a gun and I would have passed for Ortega. We visited three gorgeous beaches, did a canopy zip line tour through a jungle surrounded by two different types of monkies, swam in a natural spring, hiked, and enjoyed some local beer while watching the sun set. This Spanish studying stuff is pretty hard work!
When we got back to the hotel, Alex one of the kids from our school´s group was yelling our names and riding his bike towards us. He said he saw us drive by while the group was eating dinner and wanted us to join him. He said they were right around the corner which turned out to mean about ten blocks away, but we ran along side his bike and pulled up a chair to join the group for a super yummy typical Nica dinner. Unfortunately, one of the kiddos had crashed his bike that morning on a steep downhill section and got stitches in two different parts of his head, chipped a tooth, and was covered in road rash. So, the next day we took him and his sick with the flu little brother (ages 10 and 12) back to Granada with us while the rest of the group continued on their journey. It was a bit tedious hauling the bike with us on the ferry, in the taxis, and on the buses but both kids were real troopers. I can´t imagine how miserable it must have been for those kiddos to travel sick and injured with two gringos with lousy Spanish that they barely knew. But they didn´t complain at all and were really patient with us, so it all turned out well!
Singing and Dancing
Last night I went to a going away party for a friend from my school. When I got to the house, the entire family was in the middle of the living room dancing. Even the auntie who had on a polyester suit and orthopedic shoes that any nun would be proud of was shaking her ass off. We danced to all types of music (traditional Nica marimba music to rap and everything in between) and everybody was singing dancing and having so much fun. Even the teens in the street out front playing soccer would break into some moves while waiting for cars to pass. In my house the dad is always singing and dancing while he sweeps the floors in the morning and the 20 something year old son loves to sit in front of his DVD of air supply videos and sing his heart out. And, just before I walked into this internet cafe, a teenage kid was walking home from school this afternoon practicing his recorder (like the one we all got in fourth grade) while his friends were singing along. It doesn´t matter if the music or dance is good or bad. It´s just a natural expression of joy - like laughing or smiling. I think I´m going to walk home now and practice my salsa moves on the way!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Carita Feliz and I Love My Gecko Friends
I just finished my second day of volunteer work at El Centro Carita Feliz. I am helping an art teacher with a class of about fifteen kids. It has been really fun so far, and it feels really good to be teaching again. It´s funny how a break from something can help you find the joy in it again. Trying to teach in a foreign lanaguage has been a great reminder of what little influence talk has on instruction. Examples and simply stated instructions really does work wonders. It´s especially cool that there´s a student in the class who is deaf and mute and I have the easiest time instructing him because I don´t have to worry about recalling specific vocabulary and using the correct verb tenses. The center sells the students´ canvas paintings for $30 per piece and the student gets half and the center the other half. It's definitely student art - nothing mind blowing, but I plan to buy one. If anybody is interested, I could take some photos of the work and email them to you.
I also wanted to write a quick note about the awesome geckos that are all over my bedroom. They´re a really pretty off-white almost clear color and every day I get to see at least one chase down a mosquito on the wall and eat it. I caught an ant the other night and tried to feed it to one of the geckos, but the gecko was too skittish to notice I had food for it. I even found a rather large gecko in my purse when I was leaving the house after lunch today. I´ll have to check my bags before I leave so I don´t subject any to a probably deadly trip to Colorado. Oh yeah, they also make this cute chirping noise all night that helps to distract from screaming children, loud tv shows, and family debates.
I also wanted to write a quick note about the awesome geckos that are all over my bedroom. They´re a really pretty off-white almost clear color and every day I get to see at least one chase down a mosquito on the wall and eat it. I caught an ant the other night and tried to feed it to one of the geckos, but the gecko was too skittish to notice I had food for it. I even found a rather large gecko in my purse when I was leaving the house after lunch today. I´ll have to check my bags before I leave so I don´t subject any to a probably deadly trip to Colorado. Oh yeah, they also make this cute chirping noise all night that helps to distract from screaming children, loud tv shows, and family debates.
Super Tuesday
I had a really nice Tuesday. After class and running home for lunch, I went back to the school for my second trip to Laguna Apoyo. I didn´t think it was possible, but it was even more perfect swimming there the second time. I totally had one of those happy place moments. I stopped for a second after jumping in the water to look around me and remember everything. I was floating in the middle of a crater lake filled with clear cool water under a bright sun with views of lush green volcanoes all around me. Ahhh.
After we returned from the lagoon, I went home to change and headed out to a local hostel to meet some other students for a free screening of The Road to Guantanamo. It was a fantastic film, but even better was the discussion afterwards. It´s quite a treat to discuss a meaty topic over some beers with an Austrian, a Dutch, and a Nicaraguan friend. I´m pretty sure we solved all of the world´s problems after the second round!
After we returned from the lagoon, I went home to change and headed out to a local hostel to meet some other students for a free screening of The Road to Guantanamo. It was a fantastic film, but even better was the discussion afterwards. It´s quite a treat to discuss a meaty topic over some beers with an Austrian, a Dutch, and a Nicaraguan friend. I´m pretty sure we solved all of the world´s problems after the second round!
Monday, January 28, 2008
My homestay is quite interesting. The two year old continues to be cute for the hour a day he's in a good mood, but the other 23 when he's screaming his head off is getting a bit old. So are the mosquitoes that swarm me at night through the large hole in the roof above my bed. But the bright side is that the ice cold shower feels quite good on sweaty itchy mosquito bites.
Okay, enough spoiled westerner whining. I feel like I'm getting a much more real homestay experience than I had in Guatemala. There I was in an impeccable and quiet house with a retired couple, but here I'm really a renter in a busy household going about their daily life. And, my situation actually got better today because I got to switch to a different room because the other student moved out. This room has a mosquito net, a complete roof, and a place to put away my clothes which is nice. Although I will miss the stray cat that sometimes was looking at me from the roof in the mornings as I woke up.
The student that moved out was this hilarious hyper young kid from Chicago. He didn't speak Spanish, but always gave it a go with really entertaining Spanglish. I called him my little brother and told him how I proud I was when he made the decision to move into a youth hostel to get away from all his bad influence friends in the neighborhood. The family had asked me several times to translate for him that the guys he was hanging out with were bad news, but he kept saying they just had bad reputations but were good guys. It never occurred to him that people who were deported from the U.S. for gang involvement and drugs might not be hanging out with him just to keep their English sharp. Well, he finally wised up and I get the good room out of it!!!!
Okay, enough spoiled westerner whining. I feel like I'm getting a much more real homestay experience than I had in Guatemala. There I was in an impeccable and quiet house with a retired couple, but here I'm really a renter in a busy household going about their daily life. And, my situation actually got better today because I got to switch to a different room because the other student moved out. This room has a mosquito net, a complete roof, and a place to put away my clothes which is nice. Although I will miss the stray cat that sometimes was looking at me from the roof in the mornings as I woke up.
The student that moved out was this hilarious hyper young kid from Chicago. He didn't speak Spanish, but always gave it a go with really entertaining Spanglish. I called him my little brother and told him how I proud I was when he made the decision to move into a youth hostel to get away from all his bad influence friends in the neighborhood. The family had asked me several times to translate for him that the guys he was hanging out with were bad news, but he kept saying they just had bad reputations but were good guys. It never occurred to him that people who were deported from the U.S. for gang involvement and drugs might not be hanging out with him just to keep their English sharp. Well, he finally wised up and I get the good room out of it!!!!
Free Time in Granada
I had a fun first weekend.
I went to a large market about a half an hour from Granada. It was definitely similar to other Latin American markets I've been to, but there were a couple of noteworthy distinctions. The first was the large selection of taxidermied reptiles including an assortment of frog couples in compromising positions. It was a bit disconcerting, but in order to assist the local economy I did my Christmas shopping early. So, let me know if you prefer frogs or lizards. The second new encounter for me was the giant cheese section of the market. Cheese is so delicious that I didn't think twice about cruising through. But, I was very wrong and I may never eat my former favorite food again. The smell was horrific. It was far worse than even the meat section and most definitely the worst smell ever. I need to stop writing about it to keep from gagging. Oh well. At least this new repulsion will be a healthy diet change.
I also went on a kayak tour of the small islands in Lake Nicaragua. It was really fun and a bit scary when we got into the wavy open water. The lake is the only place that has a special type of shark that migrates from ocean salt water up the fresh water rivers to the lake. There numbers are quite small, so we didn't really have much of a chance to see one but it was still exciting to think that they're out there somewhere. We did see a ton of really cool looking birds and some interesting plants though. We also saw caiman skeleton with its head and part of its tail still attached.
I went to a large market about a half an hour from Granada. It was definitely similar to other Latin American markets I've been to, but there were a couple of noteworthy distinctions. The first was the large selection of taxidermied reptiles including an assortment of frog couples in compromising positions. It was a bit disconcerting, but in order to assist the local economy I did my Christmas shopping early. So, let me know if you prefer frogs or lizards. The second new encounter for me was the giant cheese section of the market. Cheese is so delicious that I didn't think twice about cruising through. But, I was very wrong and I may never eat my former favorite food again. The smell was horrific. It was far worse than even the meat section and most definitely the worst smell ever. I need to stop writing about it to keep from gagging. Oh well. At least this new repulsion will be a healthy diet change.
I also went on a kayak tour of the small islands in Lake Nicaragua. It was really fun and a bit scary when we got into the wavy open water. The lake is the only place that has a special type of shark that migrates from ocean salt water up the fresh water rivers to the lake. There numbers are quite small, so we didn't really have much of a chance to see one but it was still exciting to think that they're out there somewhere. We did see a ton of really cool looking birds and some interesting plants though. We also saw caiman skeleton with its head and part of its tail still attached.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Settling In
My first two days of classes and living with a family are going well. I have class with another girl from the states. She is a bit farther along with Spanish than I am which is great because it pushes me. The school has a really down to earth feel and funds a program helping street kids by providing meals, clothing, and tutoring. Several of the teachers and the school tour guide are graduates of the program.
The school activity yesterday afternoon was a trip to a crater lake about 15 miles from Granada. The water was really nice and it felt so good to cool off. Have I mentioned that it is really hot here? In the evening after dinner, I went to a free salsa class at the school. I think I might have finally exorcised my salsa demons. I wouldn´t exactly call what I´m doing salsa dancing, but at least now I´m moving in the same direction as everyone else :-)
My family lives about ten yards from the school which is really nice in the morning. The house centers around a courtyard kitchen and besides the kitchen table all the furniture is rocking chairs (about 10) around a coffee table. I love it - in fact it totally rocks. Sorry. There is a grandmother, husband and wife, their two kids, and their daughter´s two kids in the house. The two year old and nine month old are hilarious and really fun. The two year old has been trying to explain something to me about dogs for two days now, but I´m just not getting it. Hopefully, we´ll cover his vocabulary in class tomorrow. The whole family is good natured, and they think it´s hilarious that every time I go to use the bathroom or the sink, the water goes out for several hours. Oh well. At least I´m not wasting water.
The school activity yesterday afternoon was a trip to a crater lake about 15 miles from Granada. The water was really nice and it felt so good to cool off. Have I mentioned that it is really hot here? In the evening after dinner, I went to a free salsa class at the school. I think I might have finally exorcised my salsa demons. I wouldn´t exactly call what I´m doing salsa dancing, but at least now I´m moving in the same direction as everyone else :-)
My family lives about ten yards from the school which is really nice in the morning. The house centers around a courtyard kitchen and besides the kitchen table all the furniture is rocking chairs (about 10) around a coffee table. I love it - in fact it totally rocks. Sorry. There is a grandmother, husband and wife, their two kids, and their daughter´s two kids in the house. The two year old and nine month old are hilarious and really fun. The two year old has been trying to explain something to me about dogs for two days now, but I´m just not getting it. Hopefully, we´ll cover his vocabulary in class tomorrow. The whole family is good natured, and they think it´s hilarious that every time I go to use the bathroom or the sink, the water goes out for several hours. Oh well. At least I´m not wasting water.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
It´s really hot here
I am in Nicaragua! I arrived this morning and had no trouble changing money and finding the bus stop to get out of Managua and head to Granada. It was a little tricky when I was getting out of the cab at the bus stop and two bus conductors grabbed my backpack and started arguing about which bus I should take. Fortunately, my panic Spanish kicked right in and I was able to yell at them that I didn´t care which bus I took I just wanted my bag back. One of the guys hurled it onto his bus, so I followed my bag in and took that one. I´m pretty sure they were intimidated by me so that´s why they didn´t give the back directly to me :-)
Once we got into Granada, I decided to get off at a stop that lots of passengers stood up for. I didn´t know where to head, so I put on my packs and started walking like I knew where I was going. For the first time ever this worked out really well because after a block I saw a sign for a hostel that was recommended on wikitravel. I checked into a tiny but mostly clean dorm that I´m sharing with two girls from Germany.
After claiming my bunk, I consulted my Lonely Planet bible er book and set out to find a school to enroll in. However, I totally managed to misread the map and went in the complete wrong direction. After walking in the sun and humidity through blocks and blocks of shanty homes, I decided I´d better head back the way I came. I was pretty embarrassed when I realized I was only a block away from where I wanted to go when I turned right instead of left. Oh well, at least I got to see a less touristy side of the city.
I stopped to get some lunch at little homefront restaurant, and the owner was so nice and chatty. She told me of a school nearby that has a good reputation, and she even told me I could come back and pay later when she couldn´t make change for my large cordoba bills. The school turned out to be great and I start classes tomorrow morning and move into my homestay after class. The director even made phone calls to two possible volunteer places and set up appointments for me to visit. And the best part: after I found a bank to make change and went back to the restuarant, I got a free piece of yummy cornbread.
After all that work I needed a nap and managed to snag one of the hammocks in front of the hostel. Now I´m at the internet cafe after dinner and two beers. A pretty good first day!
Once we got into Granada, I decided to get off at a stop that lots of passengers stood up for. I didn´t know where to head, so I put on my packs and started walking like I knew where I was going. For the first time ever this worked out really well because after a block I saw a sign for a hostel that was recommended on wikitravel. I checked into a tiny but mostly clean dorm that I´m sharing with two girls from Germany.
After claiming my bunk, I consulted my Lonely Planet bible er book and set out to find a school to enroll in. However, I totally managed to misread the map and went in the complete wrong direction. After walking in the sun and humidity through blocks and blocks of shanty homes, I decided I´d better head back the way I came. I was pretty embarrassed when I realized I was only a block away from where I wanted to go when I turned right instead of left. Oh well, at least I got to see a less touristy side of the city.
I stopped to get some lunch at little homefront restaurant, and the owner was so nice and chatty. She told me of a school nearby that has a good reputation, and she even told me I could come back and pay later when she couldn´t make change for my large cordoba bills. The school turned out to be great and I start classes tomorrow morning and move into my homestay after class. The director even made phone calls to two possible volunteer places and set up appointments for me to visit. And the best part: after I found a bank to make change and went back to the restuarant, I got a free piece of yummy cornbread.
After all that work I needed a nap and managed to snag one of the hammocks in front of the hostel. Now I´m at the internet cafe after dinner and two beers. A pretty good first day!
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