Friday, February 27, 2009

Paseo en Esteli

Once again, apologies for not writing much this week. Things have been really busy with work and traveling, but it's keeping things interesting.

Yesterday morning I took a bus to a city 2 hours north of Managua called Esteli. We have a school here, and we are attempting to do a pilot of our menu in this school next. I had meetings with the cooks and administrators here, and they were pretty receptive. I also met up with one of the other volunteers who I have been working with on this project, and it was good to be able to work in person for once rather than over Skype.

The second half of our day was a bit of an adventure because we are in the process of trying to find some new suppliers for all of our schools for things like chicken, eggs, vegetables, etc. It's not an easy process when you have to base the search on word of mouth and guesswork at the market, but I think we did have some success. The big chicken supplier here in Nicaragua, Pollo Estrella, has chicken and eggs at lower prices than we are getting now, and they will deliver to all our northern schools. So hopefully that was a win.

We also stopped at a cigar factory here in Esteli because the cigars here are some of the most famous in Nicaragua. It was a strange little place - they had lots of pet monkeys and birds, and you could see people rolling the cigars through one of the open doors. There was a picture of Arnold and Stalone smoking with the owner, so I figure they must be pretty good - I bought a few to sample.

Next we went to dinner at a Cuban restaurant in town that is very famous. Apparently there are a lot of Cubans in Esteli who fled here during the revolution there, so the place was very authentic. We met up with one of the English teachers who used to work for Fabretto there, and she was really cool. Then we all went to the movie "He's just not that into you" (Simplemente no te quiere) at a theater here. The theater was pretty much like one at home, but it was fun.

Unfortunately, the trip ended with me getting sick (really sick) from something I ate. I can no longer boast about my perfect track record! It's been an interesting day since I'm trying to get back to Managua but don't want to get on a 2 hour bus back until I'm sure it will be uneventful. That's enough details on that topic, though.

Have a good weekend, and I'll try to be back in full force next week!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Logistical update

Apologies for the string of short blogs. It's been a bit of a busy, and partially frustrating week. In fact, I almost entitled this entry 'One Step Forward, Three Steps Back' because today was one of those days when I felt like I lost instead of gained ground. It's a long story (and that 'Three Steps Back' post might still be coming later this week!), but basically I visited some of the other Managua schools today, and they are going to be tricky. Compared to the schools I had been visiting near my house, these schools are huge - 2 to 3 times the size (one with 750 kids), but with little storage capacity to match it. There are also problems with water availability, kitchen help, infestations...etc, etc. I'm going to need to give all of this some thought tonight...and then crochet some more coasters to blow off steam.

Anyway, rather than dwelling on all those issues for now (since I'd like to try to keep the tone of this blog largely positive!), I thought I would give a quick update on logistics.

As many of you know, I officially extended my stay here in Nicaragua for an extra month. I think it will be really important for me to stay here since this roll-out will definitely still be in progress at the end of March, and I'd like to see it to semi-completion. So, my official return date will be April 30th. You can mark your calendars for the homecoming party that first weekend in May (I think).

I am also planning on keeping my original plane ticket (more or less), and coming home for Easter since we have holy week off here. I'll be around Milwaukee/Cedarburg/Port/Saukville most of the time between April 9 and April 13, and may try to make a Chicago appearance too. Hope to see many of you then - and, of course, I'll see all of you in May.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Monday, February 23, 2009

My two big accomplishments this weekend!

It was a pretty quiet, low key weekend in general, which was nice. We finished our Arrested Development marathon, I hung out by a hotel pool one day (you can pay to use them for the day here), we had some Fritanga (street food) and played Scrabble.

However, there were also two noteworthy accomplishments to report! Let's just say, I'm becoming pretty domestic during my time here (thanks Kelly!)

1) I made banana pancakes. Yes, you read that right, I actually [attempted to] cook. The pancakes didn’t turn out quite perfect at first. I had a hard time with the flipping, and I don’t think the original proportions were quite right. I did manage to keep 3 of the 5 in tact, though – one for each of us, so that worked out. Also, they tasted delicious, whole or not...and fully cooked or not!

2) I learned to crochet. Kelly taught me how, and I made my first project – a 3 inch by 3 inch, uneven square…just what I’ve always wanted! Put your orders in now - they would make great coasters, and at this rate, you could have a set of 6 by the fall. I can tell it’s going to take some practice, but I am starting to get the hang of it and I enjoy doing it.

If this keeps up, I might be the next Martha Stewart by the time I come home! Or, at the very least, I'll be able to make more for myself than just Lean Cuisine.

Friday, February 20, 2009

A typical day in the field...

Since I have been slacking a bit on the blogs this week – mostly because I’ve been busy with ‘field trips’ to the schools here in Managua – I thought I would write a quick post before I leave for the weekend about what, exactly, I do when I visit the classes.

So, I started the morning walking to the school nearest to our house. I like going to this school, because it’s only 10 minutes away, on the paved road, and the cook there is fantastic. Today, I was going there because I needed, rather urgently, to talk to this cook to create some recipes for the pilot program next week. I arrived and, in typical Nica fashion, she wasn’t there because she had a doctor’s appointment. It wasn’t really her fault because she didn’t know I was coming – but she didn’t know I was coming because so few people here have good phone reception, access to the internet, etc. so communication is always a challenge.

Since Kathia wasn’t at the first school, I decided to leave for the second school. Normally, I would either walk (though it’s a grueling mile plus walk, up hill, on a dirt road in 90 degree heat) or take one of the moto taxis (which I love!). However, today, it just so happened that the Fabretto bus was passing and, since I know the driver, I decided to hop a ride. What a nightmare! The bus was completely full – two to a seat, people standing in the aisles, and people standing on the stairs. I made my way as far as the spot next to the driver and then hung on for my life. I was basically holding on to the device that is used to open the door, so every time we stopped to pick up more people (yes, there were still MORE kids to pick up), I had to find something else to hold on to besides this moving target. It was a free ride, but I think it cost me a few years off my life.

Once I got to the next school, I talked to one of the mothers to try to get some recipes. Again in typical Nica fashion, the ‘details’ she gave me for this recipe were pretty vague. I was rushing to try to write down everything she was saying in Spanish, and most of the instructions were things like “add enough water”, “salt to taste”, “make a sauce”, etc. I’ll have some work to do to turn that into a working recipe.

After this school, I walked up to the farm. On my way, I almost fell down the hill about three times since I was, stupidly, wearing flip flops, and by the end I was completely dirty. Another shower wasted.

At the farm, I tried to get information about the agricultural calendar in Nicaragua because we want to try to be somewhat strategic about when we buy various fruits and veggies. The price of tomatoes, for example, can change almost 3x over the course of the year depending on the rain, cultivation, etc. Unfortunately, this was another case of me struggling with my Spanish and trying to get more details than “It costs more in the dry season than the wet season.” I was largely unsuccessful, so I moved on.

The next stop was a third school where I was going to drop off the updated menu. Since there was no moto taxi in sight, I walked about half of the way and got yet another sunburn.

After a successful drop-off, I decided to stop for a snack – a frozen banana with chocolate, or chocobanano. The kids love these, and I know why, because it was delicious and only cost $0.05. I also got chocolate milk, which I spilled all over myself just to make sure I REALLY looked like a disaster by the time I got back to the office.

After all this back and forth, I finally met up with a co-worker who was going to give me a ride back. However, what was supposed to be a ride getting me back around 2 instead, AGAIN in typical Nica fashion, got me back here by 4. So, I’ve been rushing around all afternoon to finish work before the truck leaves and I lose my internet connection till Monday. Sigh. As you can tell, it was another crazy day!

Gracias a dios – hoy es viernes! (or TGIF, more or less) Have a great weekend!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Halfway point...ish

As hard as it is to believe, today marks my six week ‘anniversary’ here in Nicaragua. It’s the halfway point of my 3 month commitment, and it’s a point that I had a hard time imagining 6 weeks ago. Back then, after emerging bleary eyed from a 9 hour day of traveling, I was whisked off to a house in the middle of nowhere with no TV, a toilet that flushed with a bucket, stiff mattresses, and lots of strange dogs. I counted every minute that ticked by on my watch and went to bed at 8 pm feeling exhausted, bored, and overwhelmed. How would I live here for 3 months? Why didn’t I come down to see this place before committing to spending a quarter of a year here?

A lot has happened in 6 weeks though. At home (which is what I now call that house in San Isidro), I have adjusted to Nicaraguan life. I no longer wake up before my alarm to strange noises. I no longer count the minutes before bed because I am usually busy with other things –cooking, dishes, watching a movie on the computer, reading or talking with the roommates and neighbors. I look forward to my cold, low water pressure or bucket showers, probably because I need them so desperately! Most importantly, the simplicity of life that originally bored me is now one of my favorite parts about living here.

I think I’ve also come a long way with my Spanish, especially in the last week. I’ve started thinking and dreaming in Spanish. I move between English and Spanish in conversations, emails, and even on Skype without thinking twice any more. I’ve held meetings for work in Spanish, and I no longer struggle to understand the majority of the Nicaraguans with whom I communicate. I think I realized just how far I’ve come yesterday when I was on a trip with one of my co-workers, someone who has been my friend since the very beginning. I remember when Tania and I went to lunch on my first day. We decided to eat at the restaurant rather than bringing the food back, so for an hour, I struggled awkwardly to make conversation with her. I was having a hard time even communicating the basics and finding the words I wanted in Spanish. Compare that to yesterday, when she and I talked for almost an hour and a half about everything from when I split my pants in Cusmapa to whether or not she wants to have more children. It was a definite sign of progress.

Finally, I feel like I have learned and contributed a lot at Fabretto since I started, and things are getting even more exciting now. I have finally completed my standardized menu, which covers 40-50% of all nutritional requirements for only $0.35 per child. I have visited almost all of our schools and talked to cooks and administrators to understand the current state of the program – what works, and what doesn’t. I’ve also helped lay the groundwork for centralized purchasing. Now comes the exciting part – actually implementing all of these new programs. We are rolling out pilots next week in two of the schools, and we hope to have the new menu in all the schools – about 25 total – by mid- to late March. Then we will start our centralized buying for the second quarter.

So where does that leave me? After 6 weeks here in Nicaragua, I’m ready for 6 more, and then some. I am hoping to extend my leave of absence from work for one more month and stay here until the beginning of May. That way, I can see these projects I’ve started closer to their end, finish all the traveling I want to do, and truly avoid any chance of seeing snow again this winter. I’ll keep you all posted on if and when that gets finalized. As always, I’ll also keep writing as I continue my Nica adventure.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

My Fantastic Granada/Laguna Weekend...Part 2

Sunday was another busy day in Granada. In the morning, I did my own walking tour of the city with Valeria and Octavio, two of Enrique’s kids. It was a good chance to take lots of pictures – especially when we went up in the bell tower of one of the old churches. This also proved to be an interesting experience with the kids. I was nervous enough about climbing the tiny winding staircase myself, never mind the fact that I was also responsible for two high energy children. It all went pretty well though, minus, perhaps, the part when they started shrieking when they rang the bells in the tower. It was loud though, I’ll admit it.

After the bell tower, we walked through the central square and down to the house of the children’s grandfather where I got to see his chickens. Then it was time to leave Granada.

From Granada, Enrique drove me to a place called the Monkey Hut at the Laguna de Apoyo. There, I met my roommates for an extremely relaxing day by the lake.

The Monkey Hut is a hostel that also sells day passes to hang out by the Laguna. They have snacks, a kitchen you can use, hammocks, tables, a pier, inner tubes and a raft – basically everything you could want to enjoy a day at the lake. In fact, it reminded me a bit of camp or of trips up to the Northern part of Wisconsin though, as my mom and I discussed, it is a little different because Laguna de Apoyo is a volcanic lake with thermal vents that is surrounded by mountains and palm trees. So, not quite like Wisconsin after all, but incredibly scenic and beautiful in its own respect. The pictures don’t really do it justice, but they do give you some appreciation of the accommodations. In all, I think I spent almost 4 hours swimming in the water or floating on a tube and I loved every minute of it, even if I did get a bit more sunburned.

Rounding out a weekend of yummy food, we had some awesome Hummus that Kelly made for lunch while we were at the hut. Then, on our way home, we stopped for pizza at a local chain called Valenti’s. According to the locals, this chain isn’t that good – they prefer Pizza Hut and Domino’s (so, not sure I really trust that advice) – but the pizza really hit the spot. Plus, I got to have cold pizza for lunch yesterday!

All in all, it was a great weekend, and the best part is that both Granada and the Laguna are less than 1.5 hours from Managua via microbus. I definitely have plans to return to both places before I leave.

More pictures!

Monday, February 16, 2009

My fantastic Granada/Laguna weekend...Part 1

So as the subject line suggests, I had a pretty busy but awesome weekend here in Nicaragua. Since I know some of you (Kurth) don’t like long posts, I’ll break this one into two parts.

On Friday night, my roommates, another volunteer and I went to the house of the Director of Fabretto (who is also Joe’s cousin) for a dinner with a group of the organization’s major donors who were visiting from the States. The house was in a part of Managua where I had never been, and it was beautiful. The dinner itself was a little bit of a culture shock after being in San Isidro for so long – and I was also out of practice as far as networking goes. Still, the food was really delicious, the other volunteers were good company, and they had an open bar (with Diet Coke!), so I was a pretty happy camper.

On Saturday, my manager Enrique generously offered to take me to Granada, the colonial city where he lives, to take a tour and stay at the house. It was a really nice visit, and as you’ll see from the pictures that I will post, Granada was beautiful.

First, in the late afternoon, Enrique took me, his wife, his three kids and his cousin to Lake Nicaragua to take a boat tour of the tiny volcanic islands, or isletas. This was a real treat because it was so relaxing and beautiful as the sun went down over the Mombacho volcano.

One of the major highlights was that we got to stop on one of the islands and walk around. It turns out that our boat driver, who was a friend of Enrique’s, is in charge of watching many of the islands because their owners rarely use them. In the cases where he has an especially good relationship with them, they also allow him to use the islands whenever he wants. As you’ll see in the pictures, this is a very generous offer, since the scenery is unbelievable. On this particular island, there was a picnic area and there were also two natural pools. Enrique’s kids, who apparently love to swim, were especially excited about the latter, and they stripped down and jumped right in! They couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to join them, and I told them that I was too old to swim in my underwear with strangers and/or co-workers. One other side note – when I asked how much it cost to own an isleta, I was told they were ‘very expensive’ – $80,000 for the most expensive of all. While that is a lot of money, especially by Nicaraguan standards, I’d say it’s not a bad price for a little piece of heaven.

After the boat tour, we took a walk downtown Granada and got some Fritanga (grilled food) at a hostel that was owned by another of Enrique’s friends. The city was bustling because there was a big international poetry festival coming to town, and we saw many foreigners on the streets. I enjoyed people watching in general, and found the city to be reminiscent of Europe, which makes sense since it originated as a colony of Spain. I would like to make a return trip on my own some time when the city is a little less busy to do some more exploring (and get some gelato!)

Pictures of day one are here...enjoy!

Stay tuned for the second half of the weekend tomorrow…

Friday, February 13, 2009

Field trip...and why I hate the horse next door

Yesterday I spent the day at the Fabretto schools in San Isidro with my roommate Kelly. While I had visited the schools on a few other occasions, this marked the first time when there were actually students in attendance…lots of students.

The day started bright and early with my 5:30 alarm. We left the house a little after 6 to make the one hour walk to the school. It was a good work out, but a little sticky with the heat that has now set in here in Managua.

When we got to school, I went with Kelly to her first English class with the 4th graders. The kids learned how to say “What is your name?”, “My name is _____”, “Where are you from?” “I’m from Nicaragua.” It was fun to be a fly on the wall in the class, and I even got to participate in one of the activities. All of the kids wrote their names on a name card using the new phrases they learned, and then Kelly took their pictures to help learn their names. It looked like this…



…and this.



(Since you can’t read it, it says “My name is Nicky. I’m from the Chicago barrio”)

After seeing the classes, I spent most of my day thinking about lunch. I spend most of all my days thinking about food, but in this case, I’m referring to it in a more formal sense. I was asking questions and observing cooks to get a full understanding of the lunch program that I’ve been working on for the last month or so. It was really good to get a better handle on the quantities of foods they serve – things like 30 pounds of rice for 250 kids or, to make a fresco (fruit drink), 70 oranges and 10-17 pounds of sugar. As I had already suspected, I learned that they use a lot of oil in the cooking – too much, really, from both a cost and health standpoint, so that will be one challenge to overcome with the new menu.

In addition to observing, I also got to help serve the kids. They were really cute (preschool through 6th grade) and also really entertaining. I saw one kid drinking her chocolate drink out of her half-eaten hard-boiled egg, and another eating off of her plate while it sat on her lap, about a foot from her mouth and under the table. Kids do the darndest things.



After a good day at the school and an early return home, Kelly and I went to the PalĂ­ – quite literally, the Nicaraguan version of Sam’s Club, owned by WalMart – to stock up on ingredients for one amazing quesadilla dinner. I think it may have been my favorite yet, which is saying a lot since Kelly is a really good cook!

In all, it was almost the perfect day. Almost. However, one incident at the house last night did put a damper on things. It seems that my horse-neighbor is annoying in more ways than just having a human cough and living 2 feet from my bed. Our neighbors informed us this weekend that horses also attract…tarantulas. Apparently they’d found nearly a dozen in their house (gross!). It freaked Kelly and me out then, but since we hadn’t seen any, we didn’t worry too much. That changed last night when a big tarantula came out from the desk at the house. I will now be checking my sheets and shoes even more carefully, and let’s just say that if I find one of those spiders in my bed, you won’t have to read about it here because I will be on the next flight home! Sorry if that grossed anyone out but hey, it grossed me out too and I'm living it.

On that note, Happy Valentine's Day!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

A Few Observations...

It's been a little bit of a slow week. After all of the birthday parties we had the last month, we're in a dry spell. The excitement of the grill has also worn off, and I've already consumed most of the contents of the care packages from yesterday in the last 24 hours (I miss processed food!). Finally, everyone in the house seems to be sick with something (I think I have a cold), so we haven't been too exciting lately. However, there were a few random observations today that I thought were worth sharing, so I figured I'd do a quick post.

Observation 1: Exceeding Vehicular Capacity

I've noticed for some time now that Nicaraguans have a tendency to cram a lot more people into/onto typical modes of transportation that seems like a good idea. If you recall, way back during my first week here, we fit 7 people into some sort of Geo Metro-esque cab and could barely make it over speed bumps. I have since seen many other similarly packed cabs, so apparently that's the norm here.

I've also done my fair share of riding in the middle 'seat' in the front of trucks, which really isn't a seat at all. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that everything is stick shift here, so you have to awkwardly keep your legs out of the way of the drivers so they can shift gears.

However, the example that gets me every time is the number of people they will cram onto bikes and motorcycles here. I'll give you a hint, it's more than one. I've definitely seen my fair share of triple riders, but today I saw something unbelievable. An entire family that lives on my street rode on the motorcycle to school. One kid in the front, then the Dad, then two more kids, and then the Mom. They were completely squished, and I couldn't believe my eyes.

Observation 2: Depressing News

In the States, a lot of people (including myself) complain that the news is either too fluffy, too depressing, too slanted, or some combination of the three. While I don't have a great read on the Nicaraguan news media yet, I did realize, while watching a few stories at lunch today, that it seems to be a lot more depressing/graphic than ours. They had a couple different reports of people being hit by buses (eek!) or getting in car accidents, and the shots that they used to cover them were of the bodies. I was shocked! The people were, thankfully, covered with some cloth or tarp, but they spent several minutes at a time filming them, and you could even see their feet hanging out and blood on the pavement. I'm glad they do a better job respecting victims' privacy back home...and probably will face away from the TV at lunch from now on!

Sorry to end on a bit of a downer there. More fun posts to come though - tomorrow I am spending another day at the school near my house. I will even get to eat lunch there, which seems fitting since I've been working on the meal program for so long. I also have some travel plans for the weekend which I'm excited about...so stay tuned.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Mail!

It turns out that, in spite of all my whining about the address system here (or lack thereof), I have actually been able to receive mail using the office address. And it's AWESOME!

First, about two weeks ago I received a postcard from my good friend Aaron...from Thailand! That was a total surprise, and I had to show it to everyone in the office.

I also got Valentine's cards from my parents and my Grandma (thank you!) and a package from my mom with some MU trading cards and a flag (go Marquette!). I'll be supporting the team from all the way down here in Nicaragua.

Then today, I got a note that said I had to go to the post office to pick up a package because, apparently, it was too big to bring here. There, I found some yummy snacks from the States (including chewy chocolate chip cookies!) from my sweet friend Karen. It made my day! Even though I ended up sharing most of the cookies with all the people that were involved in me actually getting the package, the few that I had were delicious!

So in conclusion, thank you to everyone who has been so thoughtful as to send me mail during my first month here. For those who have not, there's still time! My address is below :)

Nicole Roden
c/o Asociacion Familia Padre Fabretto
de la ESSO Mitrab
500 metros abajo
Managua, Nicaragua

(Yes, that's right, my official office address is based on how many meters 'below' the gas station we are located)

Monday, February 9, 2009

Mercado Madness

It was another good weekend here in Nicaragua, with not one but two trips to the market! On Saturday, Joe and I did a short day trip to Masaya, which is a pretty little town about 30-45 minutes from Managua. We caught a microbus at the major private university in Managua – the UCA – which was cool to see. The area around it definitely had a ‘collegey’ feel, with lots of activity, vendors, posters, students, etc.

In Masaya, Joe took his Ucayali to a guitar shop to be fixed. It definitely was not your typical guitar shop though – it was tucked back in between some houses, and was basically just a barn with a dirt floor where the owner made these beautiful custom guitars for about $100 dollars.

From there we went to the market and got the usual supply of fruits and veggies. We also scored a bunch of movies – Benjamin Button, Burn after Reading, the Changeling (note the Brangelina theme), Harvey Milk and Charlie Brown. That should keep us busy for a week or two!

I also picked up my first sunburn of the trip at the market. After whining Saturday morning about not getting enough color here, I got my wish…though red was not the color I had in mind. All the kids have been teasing me about it too – maybe because people here don’t usually burn like us gringos.

Sunday we started the day off with an impromptu parade, if you can call it that. At 8:30 am, we suddenly heard drums and a siren. Everyone ran out to the street from our neighborhood, and shortly thereafter a band walked by playing all sorts of instruments. They were followed by members of the local soccer teams – it turns out this little show was all to kick off a new season of soccer. All in all, it lasted about 5 minutes – just your typical Nicaraguan randomness in the street.

The second trip to the market was also on Sunday, and there was one big ticket item we were looking to buy. I told Kelly and Joe I would get them a grill to mix up the dinner options. Logistically, I wasn’t really sure how we were going to get a grill from the market to our house – at least the kind of grill I was imagining. However, I soon realized that the giant Weber grill I had in my head was not the kind of grill typically used in Nicaragua. Instead, the grill we ended up with looked like this, and cost about $4.50:





It might not look like much, but we couldn’t be more excited. It’s certainly an upgrade over using the neighbors’ grill which, by the way, is made of a hub cap and the front part of a fan. And to break it in, the inaugural meal was cheeseburgers, onion rings and a cucumber salad which I made all by myself. It was delicious!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

The Nicaragua-Wisconsin Connection

As many of you know, I love Wisconsin. As many of you also know, I am currently in Nicaragua. What some of you may not know, though, is that these two places are connected more formally than just by me liking them both a lot, or by the fact that there are red Green Bay Packer hats all over the mountains here.

During the Kennedy administration, in parallel with the economic Alliance for Progress in the Western hemisphere, a people-to-people partnership was created between the United States and countries/cities in Central and South America. As I was surprised and pleased to learn early in my research of Nicaragua and Fabretto, Wisconsin and Nicaragua were paired as part of this alliance. I’ve joked several times since that it’s a fitting match based on my experiences in both places. In particular, people in both Wisco and Nica are very friendly, many of them farm, and all of them try to deep fry just about anything they can get their hands on.

The partnership between Nicaragua and Wisconsin is manifested in several ways, and I got to witness some of it in action earlier this week. A group of about 30 Wisconsinites from around the state ranging in age from high school to 80+ came to visit a school here in Nicaragua that is aptly named ‘The Wisconsin School.’ They brought books to start a library at this school, and then were continuing their tour around a handful of ‘Learning Centers’ scattered throughout Nicaragua where, every year, a group like this one would teach different skills (sewing, electric work, etc.) to the locals. I was invited to meet up with them at the Wisconsin school because the meal program at this school is supported by Fabretto (and Nica Hope), and because I am the token Wisconsinite volunteer.

It was a bit of an overwhelming experience for everyone involved because the group came in a huge van with big windows that made it look a bit like a fishbowl. Also, the Wisconsin School supports a community in Managua that lives in the dump, so the poverty in this area is very extreme. Combine that with a big bus of ‘gringos’ (white people), and I think there was quite a bit of dual culture shock as we made our rounds.

Still, I was happy to see so many people from my home state taking an interest in helping Nicaragua. Apparently the Wisconsin Chapter of the Partners of the Americas is the most active in the country, and they certainly seemed anxious to help out on this trip as well.

If all of this has inspired any of you back home in Wisconsin (or anywhere!) to get involved too, I do have one final bit of information to share from my time at the Wisconsin School. Like many other projects of Fabretto, the Wisconsin school is seeking sponsors for students that attend. Sponsorship costs $30 a month and provides one child with a uniform, school supplies, lunch, etc. There is more information here at this link, and I’m happy to also answer any questions if you are interested in donating. http://www.nicahope.org/main/?cat=3&p=9

Thanks in advance!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Sewing Kit Needed

Since it turns out I do have some internet access up here in Somoto, at least while I’m at the school, I thought I would jump on and do a post because, to be honest, it was sort of an interesting day.

The plan, initially, was that I was going to get a ride up north in one of the Fabretto vehicles because there was a visitor coming from Spain this week. The schedule for his visit, up until yesterday, was to leave from Managua today – Tuesday – and pass through Somoto around lunch. Based on this information, I specifically planned a meeting here with a Peace Corps nutritionist in the afternoon.

In typical Nicaraguan fashion, I found out yesterday, about 20 hours before the meeting, that the Spaniard’s flight has been changed and the car wouldn’t be leaving until Wednesday. Since both my manager and I had meetings scheduled for today, we decided we were going to take the 10:30 am bus up here instead.

Then this morning, AGAIN in typical Nicaraguan fashion, I come to find out that the 10:30 am bus to Somoto that I was planning on taking with my manager did not actually exist. First someone tells us that the only bus to Somoto left at 7:30 am (we are finding this out at 8:45). Then we find out that there is in fact a 9:15 bus (it is now 8:50), so we decide to take that one. We finally get organized to leave around 9:00, and I am still in the car at 9:30, sure that I am going to miss the bus.

When we finally make it to the bus station, it turns out that there is a 9:45 bus to Somoto, so we make it just in time.

Then I split my pants…twice.

In a funny/sad turn of events, I first ripped my jean capris when I was getting out of the car to board the bus. They got caught on something and ripped up the seam from the ankle a few inches. Not a huge deal, but not a very professional look for my meeting.

I get to school and change into black capris instead. Bear in mind, this is now pair 2 of 4 pants I have along for the week.

We then loaded into the pick up truck to pick up the nutritionist. Once we got to Yalaguina where she lived, I moved from the front to the back (because I now love riding in the back of pick up trucks), and as I stepped in, I heard the second rip. This time, it was in a much more embarrassing location than the first, so when we got back, I had to walk awkwardly past about 20 students to change into my third outfit for the day. Thankfully, it is difficult to rip a jean skirt, and also very unlikely that I will destroy all of my pants in one day, so I think I’m safe for now. Still, what a day!

Thankfully the meeting with the nutritionist was a good one. She had some interesting tips on how to add Calcium to the diet (the most interesting of which was sardines – yuck!), and it was good to get her blessing on the work I’ve done so far.

Here’s hoping that tomorrow things go a little more smoothly and my pants remain in tact.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Another Managua Weekend

We had another relatively chill weekend here in Managua. Friday night I came home from work to find the neighbors drawing with chalk on our patio. It was an impromptu birthday celebration for Julissa, one of the neighbor girls. Within 5 minutes of me walking in the door, Julissa came running up to me to give me a birthday treat. She kept calling it a ‘pollito’ which I didn’t understand until I finally unwrapped the cupcake. On top of the cake part sat a frosting chick (pollito) that was probably 3 inches tall. As I think I’ve mentioned before, the frosting here is very dulce (sweet), so as I bit into the cupcake, hoping it would be funfetti and Betty Crocker frosting like at home, I quickly realized I wouldn’t be able to eat much of my birthday treat without wincing. However, we did have fun taking pictures of the cupcake and the kids. Once I let one use my camera, Pandora’s box was open and we had a full-on photo shoot. Here are the pictures – I’m sure you can guess which ones were taken by munchkins based on the height of the camera.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=nicole.roden&target=ALBUM&id=5298284814803618513&authkey=9ZI0bgsH4i4&feat=email

After the kids left, we just hung out and watched some Arrested Development and ate popcorn, both of which made my day.

Saturday Kelly and I went to the market with one of the neighbors, Alegda. Mercado Oriental was a different market than I’d been to my first week, and it was a very cool but intense experience. It turns out that Oriental is the largest market in Central America, and it’s a bustling place on a Saturday morning. Several times, as I struggled to keep an eye on the other girls while fighting my way through rivers of people, carts, and vehicles, I thought to myself, ‘this place is just like Times Square…minus everything else about Times Square except the crowds.’ We loaded up on tons of fresh produce – enough to feed the three of us for a whole week for about $15. At the market, I also had my first chance to drink like the Nicas do – out of a plastic bag. I got one of the small bags of water that they sell everywhere around here. I also got a little chocolate milk that was delicious (and may start a new addiction for me).

The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful – I read book number 5 for the trip, helped with cooking and dishes, and did some work. I also packed because this week I’m going back up north from Tuesday through Friday. I’m excited for another trip up there – school will be in session now, so I’m going to try to observe some of the cooks as they prepare lunch for the kids. I’m also meeting with a Peace Corps volunteer who has nutrition background to see if our menu looks good to her. Finally, we’ll be visiting the commercial Fabretto farm in the area as well as some other large farming operations. We’re starting to think about our food purchasing strategy so we want to begin talking to suppliers and evaluating prices and options. Should be cool! I'm not sure when I’ll have internet access or how much I’ll be blogging, so this could be it until Friday. Have a good week!
 

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