Sunday, March 20, 2011
I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated you all on what I’ve been up to! We went to Nicaragua last week, and it was such an incredible experience! Definitely the best part of my time abroad by far. Before I tell you about what we did in Nicaragua, I need to give a little bit of background information about Nicaraguan government.
Here’s what you need to know:
-Sandino: A Nicaraguan revolutionary who led a successful peasant uprising against US occupation in Nicaragua.
-The Somozas: A series of dictators, father, son, and brother, who were in power in Nicaragua from 1936-1979.
-The Contras: Supporters of the Somoza regime, supported by Regan, who fled to Honduras and Costa Rica after the Sandinistas took power.
-Daniel Ortega: President of Nicaragua from 1985-1990, 2006-present, and is currently running for a consecutive re-election.
-Aleman: President of Nicaragua from 1996-2001, running for re-election
Here’s what went down:
Sandino successfully led a revolution that led to US military withdrawn in Nicaragua in 1933. Somoza I wasn’t happy with this revolution because he had a pact with the US and the military, so he assassinated Sandino. A series of Somoza dictators were in power from 1936-1979. The devastating effects of an earthquake in 1972 left 90% of Managua destroyed. The foreign relief money sent to Nicaragua was pocketed by Somoza which caused further anger and discontent among the Nicaraguan people. During that time, a group of students founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) to carry on the legacy of Sandino and overthrow the Somoza regime. They succeeded in 1979, and led a literacy crusade in 1980 which lowered the illiteracy rate in Nicaragua from 80% down to 12%. Daniel Ortega was elected president in 1984 on the platform of the FSLN which supported the beliefs of Sandino, and served from 1985-1990. In 1986 Regan assisted the Contras, who were Somoza followers, because he did not like the FSLN because he associated them with communism. Even though he was told not to support the Contras by the government, Regan went behind the backs of America and sent weapons to Iran, who in turn sold them to the Contras in Honduras. This was a huge scandal known as the Iran-Gate.
Ortega ran for president again in 1997 and lost to a man named Aleman. After he served as Presdient, Aleman was accused of concealing corruption and was put in jail for 20 years. While in jail, Aleman made an alliance with Ortega to lower the percentage necessary to win a presidential election in the first round from 45% to 35%, a change in electoral law that would become decisive in Ortega's favor in the 2006 elections. Ortega ran again for President in 2006 and won with a 37% majority. Ortega then released Aleman from prison. Ortega went to Nicaragua’s highest court and was able to change the Constitution in Nicaragua to allow him to run for a third term as President. Ortega is currently running for President against Aleman. Any people are unhappy with Ortega because he has become power hungry.
Daniel Ortega's campaign posters. Personally, I think they look more like Valentine cards.
Everywhere we went in Nicaragua, there was graffiti that said things like, “Viva la FSLN!”(long live the FLN) or Viva Sandino! or red and black stripes, the colors of the FSLN. Sandino was a Nicaraguan hero because of his efforts to cause a revolution to help Nicaragua, and people still celebrate him today.
A red and black pole signifies FSLN pride
Now that you know a little bit of background info on Nicaragua, my trip will hopefully make more sense. I know that I would not have appreciated Nicaragua nearly as much without having all of the background information on the government. I’ve broken down this blog into day by day entries. Enjoy!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Our group planned to meet in the central park of San Rafa at 4:15. Yes. 4:15 AM. I planned on waking up at 3:30 to make sure that all of my things were packed and to eat some cereal before we started our adventure. Imagine my surprise when I heard my host mom knocking on my bedroom door to make sure I was awake.. at 4:10. Oops.. so it was a rushed morning to say the least. Fortunately I was not the last one to arrive at the park, and by 4:30 we were on our way to the TicaBus station in San Jose. We arrived at the bus station a little before 5:00, and waited for our departure at 6:00. The bus ride from San Jose to the border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua was about 6 hours long. I spent all 6 hours looking out the window. We drove by Lake Managua, and I saw several volcanoes along the way. The scenery was so beautiful!
Once we reached the boarder, we all got off of the bus and handed our passports to the bus driver. As we walked off of the bus, we had to push through a group of men waving wads of cash in our faces trying to get us to exchange our Costa Rican Colones for Nicaraguan Cordoba. I was surprised at how well Ravi and Justin did with the bus ride. They were both very excited because they got to ride on “the bathroom bus” as they called it.
Kata and me at the border
We got back on the bus and got our passports back, then took all of our bags and went through customs. The ride to Managua from the border took a little less than three hours. We arrived at the bus station and were greeted by Freddy and Raquel, our hosts for the week. Our bus drivers name is Salvador. He drove us everywhere we needed to go. Nicaragua is so different than Costa Rica, it’s crazy. I immediately noticed the poverty in Nicaragua. All of the houses we drove by were made of scraps of metal.
We stayed at a place called Villa Esperanza, or Hope Village. Part of the campus there houses around 20 girls ages 8-18. These girls are from a village called La Chureca, which is literally located in the middle of the Managua garbage dump. Several of these girls who live at the Villa have been abused, and are living at the Villa to give them a better future. Villa Esperanza was the dream of a man named Wilbur, and he made his dream into a reality. The girls are going to school, and wake up every morning at 5:00 to do chores that help them earn money that they put into savings, and send some to their families.
Our home for the week, Villa Esperanza
Jeremiah 29:11 on the side of one of the buildings.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
We all woke up around 6:00 this morning to get ready for the day. I’m staying in a room with Hollie, Amy, Brea and Heather. We attended two mass services at Base Churches in Managua. These churches were started in protest against the traditional church. Until the 1980’s mass in Latin America was in Latin, and the Bible was in Latin as well. Only the rich could understand Latin, so only the rich could get a deep understanding of mass and the Bible. The Liberation movement translated the Bible into Spanish, therefore allowing people to have a more personal connection with the Word. These base community churches were started during the Liberation movement and are still meeting today.
The first mass we went to was in a small building and had less than 20 people in the congregation. The priest had just gotten back from a trip to Chile where he worked with youth. He was a veeerrryyy old man, but had a lot of life in his eyes. He was so excited to have all of us college students there that he completely went off on a tangent in his message about the power of youth. In part of his message, he said, “Rise up! You can do anything you set your minds to! In the 19, youth spent time learning to read and write, and then went to the streets of Nicaragua and taught the people how to read. The efforts of the youth brought the illiteracy rate in Nicaragua down from 80% to 18%.” His message was inspiring to all of us.
The next base church we went to was completely different than the first one. Instead of having a priest, this church had a group of two women and a young man sitting at a table in front of all the seats. This church had around 20 people there as well. The worship music was different than the first church as well. There were people playing drums, guitars and tambourines, while the first church only had a guitar. Instead of listening to someone speak, we were all asked to break up into small groups and talk with one another about whether we were building our lives on the rocks or on the sand. I was in a group with my friend Amy and two other women in the church. It was really neat to hear what the women had to say about their culture and relationships with God. After we were all done talking in our small groups, one representative from each group shared what they had talked about. I was very surprised to hear some of the men talk so openly about machismo and how it is a problem in Latin America. I wasn’t expecting them to be so open about it.
After church we all went to Freddy’s brother’s soda for lunch. We had chicken and salad. Then Freddy told us about an organization that he is starting with a friend called the Operacion Timoteo, or the Timothy Project. This is an organization that was started in honor of Freddy’s friend who passed away from Lukemia when he was 22. The Timothy Project will sell products like coffee and all the proceeds will go towards cancer research.
After lunch, we all loaded onto our bus and headed to a church where we were told we were going to play with kids for a few hours. As the bus neared the church, I couldn’t help but notice that all of the houses were made out of scrap metal and dirt. All of the homes had dirt floors, and were all very close together if not touching. We arrived at the church, and filed inside. The screams and excitement of the nearly 200 children waiting for us inside was deafening. They were so excited for us to play with them! We all grouped up in the front of the church and all of the guys in our group were asked to step forward. A large group of kids ran towards all of the boys and handed them key chains in the shape of guitars, sandals, and drums. Next they asked all of the girls in our group to come forward, and we were given key chains as well. It was so sweet, and the kids were so excited to give us something.
Next the teachers at the church hung a piñata from the ceiling and some children took turns hitting it with a stick. Don’t get me wrong, piñatas are fun, but not in a tiny church crowded with over 200 people. I was just waiting for one of the onlookers to get smacked in the face with the stick. Luckily that didn’t happen. As soon as it broke open, the kids hit the floor and grabbed as much candy as they could.
We all decided to go outside to a park and play with the kids after the piñata. When you think of a park, what comes to mind? For me, I picture a park as a lush, green space with trees and grass. In Nicaragua, a park is any open area. This particular park that we went to was a large empty and dusty field that had a very thin horse grazing on some dried weeds in the corner. But we took over that field and filled it with 200 giggling children and 20 college students. We had a game of futbol (soccer), baseball, volleyball, and jump rope going on, and the kids absolutely loved it. Lara and I taught the kids how to play red light green light, mother may I, duck duck goose and Simon Says. Here’s the thing.. sitting in a big dusty field and playing duck duck goose is not a good idea.. you know what kind of insect lives in big, dusty fields? That’s right. Ants. At one point I kept feeling sharp pinches on my.. backside, only to realize that I had sat down on an ant hill. Yes, I literally had ants in my pants.
One of the girls who really stands out in my mind was a little five year old named Landa. She was wearing a lime green shirt and pants, and had lime green pony tail holders in her hair. She had the most adorable little smile and the brightest brown eyes I have ever seen. After awhile she and I went over to some rusty play toys surrounded by garbage and played for awhile. I met her cousin and aunt, and then it was time for us to get back on the bus and head back to Villa Esperanza. When I told Landa it was time for me to go, she got really pouty and grossed her arms and wouldn’t talk to me, it was so cute. She finally agreed to give me a hug goodbye, and we were on our way back to Villa Esperanza.
After dinner, our group had a debrief session with Jenni, Lara and Emily. We talked about how it was hard to see the houses that the children lived in, but how wonderful it was to forget about their sad situations and just play with them. Ziah made an interesting observation that I missed. He said that at one point, one of the little boys started throwing rocks at the horse in the corner of the field. This horse was just skin and bones. Ziah expected the horse to at least kick at the boy or something, but it just stood there and didn’t put up a fight. Ziah asked the question, “Do people ever get to such a low point that they stop fighting back, like the horse in the field?” His question kind of took me back a little bit, but it really made me think.
Monday, March 7, 2011
This morning our group took a trip that I will never forget. We visited the village, La Chureca, where the girls who live in the Villa come from. This village is literally located in the city dump in Managua, Nicaragua. As our bus neared La Chureca, I noticed more and more garbage collecting in the streets. We turned one final corner, and in front of us was a valley of garbage. The bus inched into the dump, and all I could see were people walking around in the piles of the garbage collecting items. Some people were along the side of the “road” sorting recyclable items in order to earn some money. After a short drive, the bus pulled in front of a building that turned out to be a school. We learned that over 300 students attend this school, and are all served two meals a day. We were given a tour of the facility, and then met up with Ramon, a pastor who works with some of the families in La Chureca. We began walking away from the school and into one of the neighborhoods. More than 1,000 families live in La Chureca. While we were walking, a small boy came up to my friend Danica and motioned like he wanted her to pick him up. In his hand was a chicken leg, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the food he was eating was fresh, or if he had found it somewhere in the mountains of garbage. He ran off soon after, but the image of him is still clear in my mind to this day.
The houses in La Chureca were constructed of scraps of literally everything. Wood, metal, posters, garbage, you name it, it was used to build a house. It really made me think about how much we consume and how it affects other people in places we never would have thought about, like a dump in Nicaragua.
Some houses. Out of respect for the people who lived there, we only brought one camera with us. All of the pictures from La Chureca were taken by Britta.
Ramon stopped by a friend’s house, who invited us inside. The house was one room with a dirt floor. We walked through the house and into the “back yard.” The back of the house overlooked a lake, which was really just a valley in the dump that was filled with rain water. There was a green slime on the surface of half of the water, and garbage floating everywhere. We learned that the people who live in La Chureca use this water to bathe and wash their clothes.
The "lake" of collected rain water
We stopped at a concrete slab that was covered by a tin roof, and learned that this was the meeting place for a church. We spoke with Ramon and his wife about how a church in the states is funding a micro loans program for La Chureca. Families can receive a loan for $100, and then pay it back over time with interest. The money is usually put towards something like a stove for the house, or something to get a business started. The interest that is acquired from the loan is being saved up in a fund so that in time, a full time pastor can be hired to work in La Chureca. It’s a really great system in my opinion. The people get a loan from the church, and they get something to help them in everyday life, and their interest goes into a fund that will eventually pay for a pastor to be in the community.
While we were talking about micro loans, a woman and her children who attend Ramon’s church were outside with us. Her boys were probably around the ages of 2 and 3. They each had one small toy and were running around chasing each other with the biggest grins on their faces. Both boys were absolutely filthy, but the smiles on their faces shined through the dirt. They were so filled with life and joy, it was so much fun to watch them play and ignore their surroundings.
Walking through La Chureca
We continued walking through La Chureca until we came up to a house that had several farm animals running around. Ramon explained that these people hold a small group in their house every week. The husband of the family works in the dump collecting garbage that can be recycled. A few weeks ago while he was collecting garbage, he got something in his eye. He ignored the pain, and a few days later he had to have a serious eye surgery. Zian and Kaitlyn prayed over the man and his family, which was really powerful. After talking with the family, we continued walking, and were able to see some of the animals that had been purchased with micro loans to help a woman with her pig business. Ramon introduced us to another woman whose son was denied treatment from a doctor because he lives in La Chureca. Apparently this is a common problem. We were told that her son was sick, so Josh and Amy prayed over him as well.
On our way out of La Chureca, we walked past a mom and her two young teenage boys who were playing soccer. Her daughter is living at the Villa. Ramon talked with them for a few moments before we continued on our way back to the bus.
Salvador then took us to Centro Nehemías where he works. Centro Nehemías is an organization that gives business advice to people who run small businesses in Nicaragua. They also teach women how to make items they can sell in order to make money for their family, and help them sell their products at the center.
That night, we all had a debrief session with Jenni, Emily and Lara. Several people said things like how they felt horrible because they couldn’t wait to get out of the hot sun and return to the air conditioned bus. Then we commented about how we all have the option to get back on our bus and go home, but the people in La Chureca are still there, even right this moment.
One thing I forgot to mention. Spain is currently working to clean up La Chureca. They are laying down a tarp like material over the garbage, and then covering the tarp with sand. The garbage will produce methane gas, which Spain will sell. This project requires the families in La Chureca to relocate their homes. The Spanish government conducted a very poorly done census of La Chureca, and determined that they would build 250 houses for the families of La Chureca in another part of the dump. There are several problems with this. 1. There are over 1,000 families in La Chureca. Where will the others go? 2. Spain is covering up all of the garbage that the families use as their main food and income source. How will the families make a living?
In my opinion, Spain should take this opportunity to get the families out of La Chureca and build the houses somewhere besides in the closed dump. But that’s a whole different journal entry.
We talked about all of the families that we met in La Chureca. Lara told us that the man who was denied medical care at the hospital had just been diagnosed with AIDS. I can’t even begin to imagine what that man is going through right now, both mentally and physically. Lara also told us that we met a family today who all are HIV positive. My mind immediately flashed to the mother and her two sons. It broke my heart to find out that that woman and her two boys are battling such a horrible disease.
We continued our discussion, and were each asked to summarize our thoughts on what we had seen that day. Heather's response was, "When did the city dump become dump city? It seems like the people who live in La Chureca are just as forgotten as the trash they live on." These statements Heather made have been stuck in my mind ever since that night. Why aren't people more aware of the situation in the Managua city dump?
We continued our discussion, and were each asked to summarize our thoughts on what we had seen that day. Heather's response was, "When did the city dump become dump city? It seems like the people who live in La Chureca are just as forgotten as the trash they live on." These statements Heather made have been stuck in my mind ever since that night. Why aren't people more aware of the situation in the Managua city dump?
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
This morning we woke up at 5:00 and went outside to rake mangoes and leaves with the girls who live in the Villa. I met a girl named Scarleth who is 16 years old. She is the sweetest girl, I absolutely adore her. She and I talked about school and how she likes living at the Villa. She really appreciates everything that Wilbur and his wife are doing for the girls at the Villa. I also met a girl named Perla, and we talked about school too. She has dreams of growing up and going to college. Perla’s friend Maria was surprised to find out that we spoke Spanish, and made some comment under her breath about how she needed to be careful about what she said because we could understand her. It was really funny.
After raking, we dressed up in our nice Embassy clothes, and went to.. a volcano? Yes. We went to the Volcan Masaya, located about an hour away from the Villa.
Hollie and me overlooking the volcano
Lara and me with an incredible view behind us
Danica enjoying the scenery
It wasn’t at all what I was expecting it to be. We arrived at a large parking lot. On the other side of the lot was the volcano, which was really just a huge hole in the ground. I made the mistake of looking over the railing into the volcano, and got a nice deep breath of pure sulfur in my mouth and lungs. Just an FYI, don’t breathe in sulfur, it doesn’t feel good. We walked to the top of a hill right next to the volcano so we could get a better view of the inside. Emily and Lara told us that during the revolution, the Somozas used to fly helicopters over the volcano and drop live prisoners into it. How terrifying would that be?
Volcan Masaya
All of the girls at the volcano
We're going to start a band, and this will be our album cover.
After cleaning the sulfur out of my lungs, we took a short bus ride to the town of Masaya and went to the market to do a little shopping. I have mastered the art of bartering. I bought a blanket, shoulder bag, headband, and scarf for about $30. Score.
From the volcano we took a bus ride back into Managua to go to the US embassy. We had to go through two security check points, and then walked into a large conference room where we spoke with representatives from the US government. They talked a lot about what the Foreign Service does in other countries such as Nicaragua. The jobs of a foreign service officer can range anywhere from facilitating adoptions, working with other governmental officials on trade agreements, to suggesting crops to local farmers so they get the most product for their work. It was really interesting to learn about an area of the government that I was previously so unfamiliar with. Going into the Foreign Service after I graduate is definitely something I’m thinking about doing.
When we arrived back at the Villa, we had time to relax and reflect on our trip so far.
Alexandria and me writing in our journals and sitting on our new blankets.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
We loaded the bus to Matagalpa at 6:00 in the morning. The ride took about 2 ½ hours. Along the way, we had to make a bathroom stop in the middle of a small town. We parked at an abandoned gas station that had a working bathroom inside. Within 5 minutes of being there, some armed guards appeared and stood in front of the gas station. Lara said that she thought they were there to try to impress us with how secure their town is. It was still odd to see someone walking around with such a huge gun. We arrived in Matagalpa around 9:00 in the morning, and parked in front of a beautiful church. We were given a little over an hour to explore the city in small groups. Hollie, Ann and I decided to walk around and find as many old churches as we could.
The first church we came to was called San Felipe Apostól. The inside of the church was beautifully decorated, and there were two women sitting near the entrance. We spoke to the women briefly and asked them about the church. They told us that it took 102 years to build the church, and gave us a pamphlet about how the church was started.
La Iglesia San Felipe Apostol
The next church we came upon was called La Iglesia de San Joses. Again, the inside was beautiful.
La Iglesia San Joses
The entry way to the church
Looking through one of the cut outs
I love exploring different churches here, each one is so unique! We were there on Ash Wednesday, so there were a lot of people going in and out of each church we went to. Outside of the church we asked a guy around our age what the name of the church was, and he told us and we chatted for awhile. Then, of course, he asked us all for our names and numbers. Don’t worry, we gave false names and told him we don’t have phones. It always surprises me when people ask me for my name and number and think I’m dumb enough to actually give it to them.
Me, Anne and Hollie at the central park of Matagalpa
We all met up again in the center of Matagalpa and went to see a coffee plantation in the Nicaraguan campo. The drive to the campo was absolutely stunning. We were surrounded by lush, green mountains and valleys. I had my forehead plastered against the bus window the entire time. We reached a stopping point, and our bus driver told us that the bus couldn’t go any further because the road was too bumpy. We had been following some farmers in their pick up truck, so a few of us volunteered to pile into the back of the truck and continue up the mountain while the bus followed slower behind. In the back of the truck was me, Emily, Aaron, Amy, Danica, Britta and Alexandria.
Me and Emily in the back of the truck
That truck ride was one of the most exhilarating rides of my life! We were still surrounded by the amazing scenery, and the wind was blowing in our hair as we held on for dear life while the farmers sped up the mountain. We got a lot of really weird looks whenever we passed people on the road. I can only imagine how strange our group of giggling gringos must have looked riding in the truck bed.
Some of the scenery
We made it safe and sound to the top of the mountain where the coffee plantation was. The coffee field wasn’t at all what I imagined it would be. The coffee plants are literally in the jungle. The coffee “beans” are actually red berries. The berries are picked by hand, and the outer layer of the berry is removed. The inside of the initial shell has another shell inside of it. Inside of that shell is the coffee bean. It’s really an incredible process that the coffee goes through in order to get the final coffee product that we all know and love.
The different stages of coffee
Some of the coffee farmers
We also went to a taro processing plant. For those of you who don’t know what taro is, it’s a big white root that grows underground. We met the son of one of the taro farmers, and learned that he can make around $4 a day for harvesting 200 kilos of taro. Once it is processed, that taro is sold in a market somewhere, maybe even in the US, for around $11 per kilo. That blew my mind. One kilo of taro is sold for almost 3 times the price that a teenage boy gets paid per day for harvesting around 200 kilos. We stopped by the boy’s house, and his mother had prepared some taro for us to sample. It has a texture similar to potatoes when it is boiled. It was actually really good!
Jenni trying some of the taro
To get back down the mountain, we decided to see if the truck could hold our entire group, meaning all 23 of us. Somehow, it did!
21 of us in the truck bed and 2 in the cab! This truck was a champ!
We went back into Matagalpa after the coffee and taro plantations and checked in to our hostels. I was a little nervous about staying in a hostel since I never had before. They were so beautiful! The one I stayed in had several large rooms with bunk beds, a restroom, a porch and locked closets. The main entrance to the hostel had hammocks, rocking chairs, a garden, and several couches. And get this. It only cost $7 a night per person to stay there! AND they served us breakfast. Incredible.
Inside our hostel
After we checked into our hostels, we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant. On the way to the restaurant, I close lined myself in front of the entire group on an unfortunately placed wire along the sidewalk. How embarrassing.. but on the plus side, dinner was wonderful! I sat at a table with Amy, Bree and Danica. We were given two menus, and Amy and I had THE hardest time reading them. We kept saying to each other, “Wow, we’ve taken Spanish for so long, why can’t we read a simple menu??” We kept asking each other what certain words meant, and Danica and Bree couldn’t find them on their menu, so finally we compared menus and realized our issue. Amy and I had a menu that was written in Italian. We were a little more than embarrassed that we didn’t realize that our menu was in a different language.
Danica, Bree, Amy and me at the Italian restaurant
Something that’s interesting about all local places in Costa Rica is that anyone is allowed to enter at any time. While we were sitting at our table, two little boys came up to us selling post cards. Later on during our meal, a group of three older men came up to us. Two had guitars and the third had an accordion, and they began to serenade us while we ate. One of the men commented on Bree’s hair, and asked her if he could cut off a lock of it. She thought he said that curly hair is beautiful, so she said, “Si si!” Which means, “yes, yes.” Of course she freaked out as soon as I said, “Bree, you know he just asked to cut off a piece of your hair, right?” The guys stuck around and played for us for awhile, but left when they realized we weren’t going to pay them. After dinner we returned to our hostel and went to bed.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
We ate breakfast at 6:30 in our hostel, and I was surprised at how good it was. I had gallo pinto (rice and beans) and eggs.
Such a good breakfast!
Our hostel had a really neat book exchange system in place where people who stayed there could bring a book to trade out with one in the library. I wish I had a book with me to trade with one at the hostel, so I’ll have to remember that for next time.
I loved this sign
We headed back to Managua later in the day, and had some time to relax before dinner. Later that night after dinner, we all got dressed up and went out to Managua to go to a concert. We went to a restaurant called Casa de los Mejia Godoy.
Me and Danica at the concert
Carlos Mejia Godoy and members of his family are a musical group who became associated with the Sandinista movement because they wrote and performed songs about the revolution. He even wrote songs for mass for the working class that are still popular today. The concert was really enjoyable. I had heard a few of their songs in my Spanish 419 class when Fernando played and sang them with our class, so it was neat to hear them from the man who wrote them. Everyone in the audience was singing along with the lyrics, it was quite an experience.
We had been there for a little while when I glanced a few tables over and saw two people I recognized. My boss from my internship at Habitat for Humanity and another lady from the office were at the same concert. In Nicaragua. What are the chances of that? Ziah and I went over and said hello, and as it turns out they were having a Habitat for Humanity convention in Managua that week and a lot of the representatives from different countries were at the concert as well. What a small world. After the concert we all piled back into the bus and went back to the Villa and went to bed.
Friday, March 11, 2011
I woke up this morning around 5:00 to go rake mangoes with the girls who live at the Villa one last time. I talked with Scarleth some more. She told me that she was excited because she was going to visit her family this weekend. I asked her who all was in her family, and she told me that she lived with her mom and two younger brothers in La Chureca. My mind immediately flashed back to the mother and her two sons who we met on our visit to La Chureca. Scarleth’s family was the family who was HIV positive. My heart went out to this girl who always had a smile on her face, but had been through so much in her 16 years of life. What an incredible person.
Raking at 5:00 with Scarleth
We went to a center in down town Managua that works with people who have HIV and AIDS. We listened to a woman speak, and then had time to ask questions. Someone in our group asked her how she became involced in the organization, and she told us that she had been diagnosed with HIV when she was 18 years old, and wants to help others who are in her same situation.
After visiting with the woman, we went to the cultural center in down town historic Managua. We went on a tour of the Palacio Nacional, which is a museum, and had a tour guide who spoke in future tense the entire time and sounded like a tape on fast forward. She spoke SO fast!! Bless her heart.. but it was still a great tour. Who knew you could tour an entire museum in 20 minutes?? Then we had a few sessions with some men who worked at the museum. We talked about the culture of Nicaragua, the music, and went more in depth about the museum in general. It was all very interesting, but it was hard to concentrate after being out so late last night at the concert.
The Palacio Nacional
The Courtyard of the Palacio
Me and Rachel in the courtyard
After the museum we stood in the square down town and looked at the old church that was severely damaged after an earthquake in 1972 that destroyed 90% of Managua. The clock on the church stopped at the time of the earthquake, and is still set at that time.
This church in historic Managua is too dangerous to enter, but the outside was beautiful!
The clock on the church tower
Then we took a short bus ride to Parque de la Paz, which means park of peace. After the revolution, the Nicaraguan government took all of the weapons and leftover ammo and buried them in concrete at this park, essentially saying that they were leaving the fighting there so the country could move on and begin to heal. As time has passed, the concrete has started to wear away, revealing the guns. Raquel told us that a group of American tourists went to Parque de la Paz a week or so before us and they had been mugged, so she was a little wary about us going. All of us students were really interested in the park though, so we decided to stick together in a tight group and go. We all were told to leave our cameras, backpacks and water bottles on the bus. The first thing that I noticed was a tall light house in the center of the park. The light house is lit every night to signify hope for Nicaragua. To the left of the light house was a concrete wall. As we walked closer to the wall, we could see guns buried in the concrete. I looked at the guns and wondered how many lives each one had taken.
The lighthouse. Derek was the only one who brought his iPod to take pictures with, so all of the pictures at the park were taken by him
Guns in the concrete
We hadn’t been in the park for more than 5 minutes when Emily suddenly told us it was time to go. I didn’t really understand why she was so insistent about us leaving, but as we were getting on the bus I looked over at Hollie and her eyes were really wide. After we were all on the bus, I looked outside and saw two police men with large guns and one guard standing by the bus. I looked around a little more and saw a large group of young men with bandanas over their faces. One of them had a sharpened broken tennis racquet in his hand. It was then that I understood the danger we were in. Those boys literally came out of nowhere. We were all a bit shaken up as the bus was pulling away. Thank goodness the police showed up when they did, or that situation could have escalated into something very ugly. I don’t want to know what they would have done to us had we been carrying valuable items with us.
After our near-mugging experience, we took our bus to the top of a mountain that overlooked Managua. This was also the place where Sandino hid during the revolution. There was a small museum dedicated to Sandino, and we were able to look around for awhile. The bus ride back to the Villa was so. Hot. The air conditioning wasn’t working, so we had the windows open in order to cool off. I was able to get 3 Cordoba coins to stick to my forehead, and people around me began making bets on which one would fall off first. They stayed on for a good 5 minutes, which is pretty gross when you think about it.
Professor Jenni, Anne, me and Hollie
Overlooking historic Managua. You can see the lighthouse at Parque de la Paz in this photo.
We returned to the Villa to shower and rest for awhile. The girls at the Villa were eating dinner in the comedor when we arrived, so I went in and talked to them for awhile. Scarleth waved me over and gave me a folded piece of paper. Inside she had written me a letter thanking me for getting up early to rake with her in the mornings, and, “tea mo como una hermana en cristo” which means “I love you like a sister in Chruist.” I knew this would be the last time I saw her, so I gave her a big hug goodbye.
We went to a restaurant in Managua for dinner. The restaurant was known for their pupusas, which are a very popular food in El Salvador. A pupusa is a tortilla stuffed with cheese, beans, and chicharones. Chicharones are fried pig skins.. so I just had mine with beans and cheese. After dinner we were all exhausted, so we went back to the Villa and went to bed.
Alexandria and me with our CocaCola from a bottle
The bottles are sent back to the Coca Cola factory, are disinfected, and reused.
Pupusas!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
We left Villa Esperanza early the next morning. The bus ride back to Costa Rica was very uneventful, and I slept most of the way. I'm sorry it took me so long to write about my Nicaragua trip, but I hope you all enjoyed reading about my adventures! Also, Freddy's organization, the Timothy Project, sells Free Trade coffee, and all of the proceeds to go his organization which helps patients suffering from Leukemia. If you are interested in purchasing coffee from his organization, please let me know! One more thing: The girls who live at Villa Esperanza are looking for sponsors. If you have been thinking about sponsoring a child through an organization, please consider Villa Esperanza! I have the information if anyone is interested :)
