The final post, as written on my flight back home...
As I write this last post, I have already left Nicaragua. In fact, I am currently on the plane, probably somewhere over Mexico en route to Houston. And that means that after a week of progressively more difficult goodbyes, yet another good thing has, in fact, come to an end.
After telling myself all week that I was ready to go home, it was much harder than I expected to finally leave our house in San Isidro once and for all. I think it finally hit me as I locked the door and waved goodbye to one last neighbor kid while saying ‘Adios, Mundo.’ I said that because the boy’s name is Mundo (short for Edmundo), but as I said it I realized the greater implications of that final goodbye. After all, in Spanish, ‘Adios Mundo’ means ‘Goodbye, World’, and I really was saying farewell to the little world that I’d been a part of over the last four months, a place I hadn’t realized existed half a year ago but will now miss so much.
For anyone who has studied or volunteered abroad, gone to college, moved to a new city, or just plain grown up, it’s a familiar story. Places once considered foreign and new – where you cried because you didn’t know anyone and you missed your old life – can, in even a very short time, turn into places that later make you cry when you have to leave them. In other words, they can turn into ‘home.’ At age 23, I have already experienced this phenomenon many times over, with ‘homes’ in Cedarburg, Milwaukee, New York, Chicago and now Nicaragua. And it is because of these other experiences of the changing definition of home that I leave Nicaragua momentarily sad but also confident that I will stay connected to this place well into the future. Already, my Skype buddy list has doubled in the last week as I’ve promised to ‘estar en contacto’ with all my friends from work. My suitcase is currently filled with jewelry made by the children of the NicaHope project which I plan to sell back in the States (prepare to be asked!) I have already begun discussions with Fabretto about ways to stay involved, such as through the Wisconsin-Nicaragua partnership I wrote about awhile back. Finally, every goodbye I said over the last week ended with me saying ‘I’ll be back in November’- and not just because it’s easier to say that than to say goodbye for good. I really do look forward to spending a week back here next fall/winter, as well as future trips for years to come.
In closing, thanks to all for reading this blog and sharing this amazing experience with me. While it does feel a bit sad to say goodbye to ‘Nica Nicky,’ 'Chi Nicky' is excited to be back with all of you very soon.
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Last pictures here and here
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A few thoughts from the last day...
Today was my last full day here in Nicaragua, and it's been a really good if bittersweet end to the 4 months here. Just thought I'd jot down a few thoughts from the day. Don't worry, blog readers...this will not be my last entry. I'm planning on posting one more from the airport tomorrow to close things out.
I started out the day going up to one of the San Isidro schools one last time. I had actually brought one of the cooks up there a camera from home, and I wanted to teach her how to use it. I was worried because she told me it 'didn't work' and that she'd need to buy a battery recharger to use it, which made me feel bad. However, I figured I'd give it a look and see if I could fix it. It was another one of those moments of realizing what we take for granted in the States. It turned out that she thought the camera was broken because she just has never used a camera and didn't know how to load the batteries, take pictures or access the photos to view them. Within 5 minutes of me looking at it, we were already using it. I think she was excited about it, and it was cute because she asked to take a picture of us together so that she'd have it as a memory.
I then rode back to the office with Roger, one of the Fabretto drivers who has taken really good care of me over the last four months. He was asking me about what I will do when I get back to the States and we were talking about where he lives and where I live. He told me he wanted to show me pictures of his family before I left, and then he said that he wanted to ask for one small gift from the States if/when I come back. I said sure, thinking he might ask about more 'dog food' (since I had shared puppy chow with him in the past). Instead, he said he'd like to see a picture of me and my home. I thought that was pretty cute...and since I actually have a lot of pictures on my computer, he and I did a little show and tell this afternoon (he showed me pictures of his family, and I shared pics of Chicago and my family).
This afternoon the receptionist here at the office, Dona Lucia (another person who has been a tremendous help to me) came by to give me a going away gift. They were two hand-embroidered pillow cases that say 'remember Nicaragua' that she had made for me by a relative. It was really sweet.
Other than that, there have just been a lot of goodbyes spread throughout the day. The big last hurrah will be tonight because we are having a little despedida happy hour with the office. After that, I'll probably say goodbye to the neighbors, do one last big ice cream run with the roommates, and hit the hay before my day of traveling tomorrow.
While it is really sad to say goodbye to everyone here, I am getting excited about heading home too (minus, perhaps, the part about flying to Houston amidst this crazy flu pandemic). There are a lot of fun things coming up this summer and I'm ready to get back to Chicago to see family and friends.
Off to happy hour I go...I'll be back tomorrow for the final entry, and then I'll see you all soon back in the States!
I started out the day going up to one of the San Isidro schools one last time. I had actually brought one of the cooks up there a camera from home, and I wanted to teach her how to use it. I was worried because she told me it 'didn't work' and that she'd need to buy a battery recharger to use it, which made me feel bad. However, I figured I'd give it a look and see if I could fix it. It was another one of those moments of realizing what we take for granted in the States. It turned out that she thought the camera was broken because she just has never used a camera and didn't know how to load the batteries, take pictures or access the photos to view them. Within 5 minutes of me looking at it, we were already using it. I think she was excited about it, and it was cute because she asked to take a picture of us together so that she'd have it as a memory.
I then rode back to the office with Roger, one of the Fabretto drivers who has taken really good care of me over the last four months. He was asking me about what I will do when I get back to the States and we were talking about where he lives and where I live. He told me he wanted to show me pictures of his family before I left, and then he said that he wanted to ask for one small gift from the States if/when I come back. I said sure, thinking he might ask about more 'dog food' (since I had shared puppy chow with him in the past). Instead, he said he'd like to see a picture of me and my home. I thought that was pretty cute...and since I actually have a lot of pictures on my computer, he and I did a little show and tell this afternoon (he showed me pictures of his family, and I shared pics of Chicago and my family).
This afternoon the receptionist here at the office, Dona Lucia (another person who has been a tremendous help to me) came by to give me a going away gift. They were two hand-embroidered pillow cases that say 'remember Nicaragua' that she had made for me by a relative. It was really sweet.
Other than that, there have just been a lot of goodbyes spread throughout the day. The big last hurrah will be tonight because we are having a little despedida happy hour with the office. After that, I'll probably say goodbye to the neighbors, do one last big ice cream run with the roommates, and hit the hay before my day of traveling tomorrow.
While it is really sad to say goodbye to everyone here, I am getting excited about heading home too (minus, perhaps, the part about flying to Houston amidst this crazy flu pandemic). There are a lot of fun things coming up this summer and I'm ready to get back to Chicago to see family and friends.
Off to happy hour I go...I'll be back tomorrow for the final entry, and then I'll see you all soon back in the States!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
So what did I accomplish?
Yesterday I had my final meeting at work to hand over my last output and plan for the future. It was a good time to reflect on what, exactly, I accomplished in four months volunteering for Fabretto.
As a first priority, I created an Excel workbook that compiled the nutritional content of various typical Nicaraguan foods. By entering the quantity, in grams, of each one of these ingredients, you could see what percent of daily nutritional requirements were covered in total, as well as how much it cost.
From this tool, I made a list of raw ingredients that would best provide 40-50% of all required calories, vitamins and minerals while keeping to our budget of $0.30 per kid per day. I used this list to then build a 2 week menu of 10 nutritious, typical Nicaraguan plates, including vegetable and chicken soup, scrambled eggs, burritos, Indio Viejo (a stew), and Arroz a la Valenciana (a rice dish with chicken and tomato).
Once we had our final menu, it was time to implement it. I created several files to support this process, including a recipe book, an Excel workbook with the quantities of ingredients needed based on the number of kids eating, and a sheet that pulled together all of these ingredients into a consolidated order.
More importantly, we held a series of orientations and training sessions with cooks, administrators, warehouse managers and other key nutrition program contributors to explain our goals, introduce them to the new menu and teach them how to prepare the meals.
In addition to ensuring a healthy daily meal, the standard menu is also a key first step to centralizing purchasing within the organization. Knowing what each school is serving each week and what ingredients go into those meals allows Fabretto to know, at a macro level, the total amount of each ingredient it uses weekly by region. This information will be critical as negotiations with suppliers continue, because Fabretto should use its high volume as a bargaining chip.
Finally, beyond the menu, I also helped put together some data to give Fabretto a comprehensive view of just how much its nutrition program costs annually. Beyond the $0.30 per child they spend to buy food weekly, there are also costs associated with warehousing and transporting donated food, running the kitchens and administrating the program. This information is important for two reasons. First, Fabretto has recently begun moving toward a school sponsorship model of fundraising where possible. This means that Fabretto looks for donors to sponsor all the costs associated with a whole school, including supplies, salaries, and the lunch program. To know how much it costs to run the nutrition portion of a school, then, Fabretto needs numbers like these. The second use of the cost data is for allocating restricted funding received. If Fabretto gets a donation to cover the nutrition program, it should be able to use those funds to cover the various aspects of the program – not just food but also transportation, labor, etc. Without a clear picture and explanation of those non-food costs, though, this kind of allocation is difficult.
Some people have asked me if I’ve accomplished all I had wanted to at Fabretto, and that’s a hard question to answer. I would say that the projects described above represent about 2/3 of what I set out to do on day one, and that was back when I was only supposed to be here 3 months. However, that was also back when I didn’t quite realize the extent of the task at hand or the [slow] pace at which it would move. Once I readjusted my expectations in light of certain hurdles here in Nicaragua (sometime around February), I would say that my goals were close to that which I actually accomplished. The one project that I would have liked to see further along, however, was that of centralized purchasing. The menu that we’ve created is solid and at a price per child that is close to the budget. However, it does not save Fabretto much if any money over the level they were spending before. The real cost saving opportunities lie in taking the next step and negotiating with a handful of large suppliers for better prices and volume discounts. I would have loved to push those negotiations further than I did, but it became apparent to me early on that composing a list of potential suppliers was no easy task. Without many connections here in Nicaragua, and with few suppliers online, it was hard for me or the other volunteer that I worked with to really make much progress on this front.
The good news on the purchasing, though, is that the new volunteer that is coming in May to work on nutrition will be able to focus on that more than I ever was. With another person pushing along the progress already made, I’m fairly confident that Fabretto will be buying at reduced prices from centralized providers sometime this year.
As a first priority, I created an Excel workbook that compiled the nutritional content of various typical Nicaraguan foods. By entering the quantity, in grams, of each one of these ingredients, you could see what percent of daily nutritional requirements were covered in total, as well as how much it cost.
From this tool, I made a list of raw ingredients that would best provide 40-50% of all required calories, vitamins and minerals while keeping to our budget of $0.30 per kid per day. I used this list to then build a 2 week menu of 10 nutritious, typical Nicaraguan plates, including vegetable and chicken soup, scrambled eggs, burritos, Indio Viejo (a stew), and Arroz a la Valenciana (a rice dish with chicken and tomato).
Once we had our final menu, it was time to implement it. I created several files to support this process, including a recipe book, an Excel workbook with the quantities of ingredients needed based on the number of kids eating, and a sheet that pulled together all of these ingredients into a consolidated order.
More importantly, we held a series of orientations and training sessions with cooks, administrators, warehouse managers and other key nutrition program contributors to explain our goals, introduce them to the new menu and teach them how to prepare the meals.
In addition to ensuring a healthy daily meal, the standard menu is also a key first step to centralizing purchasing within the organization. Knowing what each school is serving each week and what ingredients go into those meals allows Fabretto to know, at a macro level, the total amount of each ingredient it uses weekly by region. This information will be critical as negotiations with suppliers continue, because Fabretto should use its high volume as a bargaining chip.
Finally, beyond the menu, I also helped put together some data to give Fabretto a comprehensive view of just how much its nutrition program costs annually. Beyond the $0.30 per child they spend to buy food weekly, there are also costs associated with warehousing and transporting donated food, running the kitchens and administrating the program. This information is important for two reasons. First, Fabretto has recently begun moving toward a school sponsorship model of fundraising where possible. This means that Fabretto looks for donors to sponsor all the costs associated with a whole school, including supplies, salaries, and the lunch program. To know how much it costs to run the nutrition portion of a school, then, Fabretto needs numbers like these. The second use of the cost data is for allocating restricted funding received. If Fabretto gets a donation to cover the nutrition program, it should be able to use those funds to cover the various aspects of the program – not just food but also transportation, labor, etc. Without a clear picture and explanation of those non-food costs, though, this kind of allocation is difficult.
Some people have asked me if I’ve accomplished all I had wanted to at Fabretto, and that’s a hard question to answer. I would say that the projects described above represent about 2/3 of what I set out to do on day one, and that was back when I was only supposed to be here 3 months. However, that was also back when I didn’t quite realize the extent of the task at hand or the [slow] pace at which it would move. Once I readjusted my expectations in light of certain hurdles here in Nicaragua (sometime around February), I would say that my goals were close to that which I actually accomplished. The one project that I would have liked to see further along, however, was that of centralized purchasing. The menu that we’ve created is solid and at a price per child that is close to the budget. However, it does not save Fabretto much if any money over the level they were spending before. The real cost saving opportunities lie in taking the next step and negotiating with a handful of large suppliers for better prices and volume discounts. I would have loved to push those negotiations further than I did, but it became apparent to me early on that composing a list of potential suppliers was no easy task. Without many connections here in Nicaragua, and with few suppliers online, it was hard for me or the other volunteer that I worked with to really make much progress on this front.
The good news on the purchasing, though, is that the new volunteer that is coming in May to work on nutrition will be able to focus on that more than I ever was. With another person pushing along the progress already made, I’m fairly confident that Fabretto will be buying at reduced prices from centralized providers sometime this year.
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Last Weekend
After some 15 blog posts on my various weekends here in Nicaragua, I have finally come upon the last. It goes without saying that the time has gone unbelievably quickly. However, I also find that, thinking back on weekends past, I’ve really done a lot. I’ve traveled to Granada, Leon, Laguna de Apoyo, Ometepe, Masaya and the beach. I’ve visited four of the five markets here in Managua, including the biggest in Central America. I’ve washed my clothes by hand on a washboard. I’ve had nights of going out and nights staying in and playing scrabble, crocheting, making dinner and eating Eskimo. In short, I’ve had a lot of fun weekends, and my last weekend no doubt continued this trend.
Friday night after making dinner at home, Kelly and I went to Caramanchel, the bar with the hammocks and wine, to see a concert with our friend Rosario and some of her other friends. We got there relatively early (since, to be honest, we had no idea when the show started) which was good since we got a table and got to see both of the opening acts. The main group finally came on around midnight, and it was a relatively young/new rock group that has become one of the most popular here in Nicaragua. They definitely put on a good, high energy show and we had fun dancing until pretty late.
Saturday was a big day for errands and cleaning in preparation for my despedida party that night. It actually worked out pretty well because our neighbor, who has a car and a PriceSmart card, helped us out with a bunch of it. Having direct transportation like that versus taking buses and hailing cabs probably cut a few hours off of our day and was well worth the $5 I paid him to do it.
First we went to PriceSmart on a hunt for, among other things, an ice cream cake. PriceSmart is a wholesaler much like Sam’s Club, and I have to admit that going there was like stepping back into the States momentarily. The set-up was exactly like a Sam’s Club at home, right down to the people with their sample tables in the aisles and the restaurant with greasy food and soft-serve beyond the check-out.
PriceSmart itself was kind of a disaster of a trip. We did score a huge 1.75L bottle of rum for a pretty good price, as well as 6 pounds of candy for the piñata, but beyond that it was all trouble. First, I couldn’t bring my bag into the store so our neighbor had to run it outside to some bag checking station. Then we realized they didn’t actually have ice cream cakes, just ‘cold cakes,’ which are easily confused with ice cream cakes because the words are the same in Spanish (queque helado). It was a bit of a maddening process to come to this realization too because I must have asked two or three people if they had ‘queques helados’ only to be led to the same place over and over where there were cakes kept in a fridge (not freezer) that were clearly not made of ice cream.
After we ruled out the cake, we went to the check out where I found out I couldn’t pay with my credit card, only cash, and also threw away the receipt that I would later realize was necessary for us to show at the door when we left. Then we got soft-serve (obviously) which gave me a brain freeze and made Kelly want to throw up. I also took out money at the ATM which, much to my dismay, came out in dollars instead of cordobas. In all my frustration over the mix up, I walked away from the ATM without taking my card back, which I only realized when our neighbor brought it to me after he took out cash. THAT would have been trouble if I’d left my only bank card/source of money sitting in the ATM. Then, just to really put the icing on the cold cake, we almost pulled away before realizing that my bag was still at the bag check. What a trip!
From PriceSmart things went a lot more smoothly – we got my piñata at the market and found a cake at the bakery chain in town. This cake, too, was a cold cake rather than an ice cream cake, but it ended up being the best cake I’ve had here in Nicaragua so that was okay.
When we got home, we finished getting ready for the party. By six we had about 15 of the neighborhood kids over anxiously awaiting the piñata. While we got it set up, they played with all the new games, which they LOVE, and which made me realize that Don’t Break the Ice, while a crowd favorite, is the most obnoxiously loud game ever created.
Soon enough it was piñata time, and the kids went CRAZY for it! I was literally beside myself watching the whole spectacle – from the kids begging for a turn to take a swing at it to the kids literally hurling themselves on the ground to scoop up the candy. It may have been one of the ten most dangerous things I’ve seen here in Nicaragua…and I’ve seen families of five riding on motorcycles. But, I guess that piñatas are dangerous by design, given that you have one kid swinging a stick near 15 others who are all gunning to get the candy out of the very target of the beating.
After an hour of the kids’ party, we were ready to clear them out and get ready for the adult party. My friend Rosario brought the pizza, Joe and I picked up the case of beer we bought for the occasion, and the people started coming pretty close to the 7:00 start time. There was a mix of neighbors, co-workers, and other volunteer friends, and it probably amounted to almost 20 people in all. We had a really good time hanging out and dancing…it was all I could have asked for in a despedida, and a great semi-last hurrah.
Sunday was basically spent doing work and packing around the house, though there was a glimmer of excitement when Kelly and I did Zumba (or rather, Kelly did Zumba and I showcased my inability to do any form of organized dance/work out). I also had my last Sunday night fritanga, which was good but made me nervous at the time since we had to go to a different place than usual. Joe described the experience as 'rolling the dice' because apparently they'd gotten parasites at this fritanga place before which, of course, made the food really appetizing. It's been 12 hours though and I feel fine so I think the dice landed in our favor.
Friday night after making dinner at home, Kelly and I went to Caramanchel, the bar with the hammocks and wine, to see a concert with our friend Rosario and some of her other friends. We got there relatively early (since, to be honest, we had no idea when the show started) which was good since we got a table and got to see both of the opening acts. The main group finally came on around midnight, and it was a relatively young/new rock group that has become one of the most popular here in Nicaragua. They definitely put on a good, high energy show and we had fun dancing until pretty late.
Saturday was a big day for errands and cleaning in preparation for my despedida party that night. It actually worked out pretty well because our neighbor, who has a car and a PriceSmart card, helped us out with a bunch of it. Having direct transportation like that versus taking buses and hailing cabs probably cut a few hours off of our day and was well worth the $5 I paid him to do it.
First we went to PriceSmart on a hunt for, among other things, an ice cream cake. PriceSmart is a wholesaler much like Sam’s Club, and I have to admit that going there was like stepping back into the States momentarily. The set-up was exactly like a Sam’s Club at home, right down to the people with their sample tables in the aisles and the restaurant with greasy food and soft-serve beyond the check-out.
PriceSmart itself was kind of a disaster of a trip. We did score a huge 1.75L bottle of rum for a pretty good price, as well as 6 pounds of candy for the piñata, but beyond that it was all trouble. First, I couldn’t bring my bag into the store so our neighbor had to run it outside to some bag checking station. Then we realized they didn’t actually have ice cream cakes, just ‘cold cakes,’ which are easily confused with ice cream cakes because the words are the same in Spanish (queque helado). It was a bit of a maddening process to come to this realization too because I must have asked two or three people if they had ‘queques helados’ only to be led to the same place over and over where there were cakes kept in a fridge (not freezer) that were clearly not made of ice cream.
After we ruled out the cake, we went to the check out where I found out I couldn’t pay with my credit card, only cash, and also threw away the receipt that I would later realize was necessary for us to show at the door when we left. Then we got soft-serve (obviously) which gave me a brain freeze and made Kelly want to throw up. I also took out money at the ATM which, much to my dismay, came out in dollars instead of cordobas. In all my frustration over the mix up, I walked away from the ATM without taking my card back, which I only realized when our neighbor brought it to me after he took out cash. THAT would have been trouble if I’d left my only bank card/source of money sitting in the ATM. Then, just to really put the icing on the cold cake, we almost pulled away before realizing that my bag was still at the bag check. What a trip!
From PriceSmart things went a lot more smoothly – we got my piñata at the market and found a cake at the bakery chain in town. This cake, too, was a cold cake rather than an ice cream cake, but it ended up being the best cake I’ve had here in Nicaragua so that was okay.
When we got home, we finished getting ready for the party. By six we had about 15 of the neighborhood kids over anxiously awaiting the piñata. While we got it set up, they played with all the new games, which they LOVE, and which made me realize that Don’t Break the Ice, while a crowd favorite, is the most obnoxiously loud game ever created.
Soon enough it was piñata time, and the kids went CRAZY for it! I was literally beside myself watching the whole spectacle – from the kids begging for a turn to take a swing at it to the kids literally hurling themselves on the ground to scoop up the candy. It may have been one of the ten most dangerous things I’ve seen here in Nicaragua…and I’ve seen families of five riding on motorcycles. But, I guess that piñatas are dangerous by design, given that you have one kid swinging a stick near 15 others who are all gunning to get the candy out of the very target of the beating.
After an hour of the kids’ party, we were ready to clear them out and get ready for the adult party. My friend Rosario brought the pizza, Joe and I picked up the case of beer we bought for the occasion, and the people started coming pretty close to the 7:00 start time. There was a mix of neighbors, co-workers, and other volunteer friends, and it probably amounted to almost 20 people in all. We had a really good time hanging out and dancing…it was all I could have asked for in a despedida, and a great semi-last hurrah.
Sunday was basically spent doing work and packing around the house, though there was a glimmer of excitement when Kelly and I did Zumba (or rather, Kelly did Zumba and I showcased my inability to do any form of organized dance/work out). I also had my last Sunday night fritanga, which was good but made me nervous at the time since we had to go to a different place than usual. Joe described the experience as 'rolling the dice' because apparently they'd gotten parasites at this fritanga place before which, of course, made the food really appetizing. It's been 12 hours though and I feel fine so I think the dice landed in our favor.
Friday, April 24, 2009
The Kids are Back!
After two weeks of basically gathering dust (except for the one night when Kelly, Joe and I played), the new games at the house finally got some use last night when three of the neighbor boys came over. The kids were sitting outside on the porch, and I told them that we had some new games. They immediately jumped up and ran to the game shelf (below) to check out the new toys.
Not surprisingly, the first game they pulled out was Don’t Break the Ice, and they really got into that one since a) they are young boys and b) the game involves pounding/breaking things.
Next we played Chutes and Ladders, my personal favorite. We had some problems with this one though, which I blame partly on my inability to explain the game without knowing the word for chute/slide in Spanish. It took a long time for the kids to figure out that you can’t climb slides or slide down ladders. They eventually got the hang of it.
Kelly taught them the third game, which was the always classic Candy Land. I hadn’t opened the Candy Land box prior, so it really brought back some memories to see old friends like Lord Licorice and Grandma Nut.
While I'm on a picture kick, here are some random shots from Ometepe that I never posted.
Not surprisingly, the first game they pulled out was Don’t Break the Ice, and they really got into that one since a) they are young boys and b) the game involves pounding/breaking things.
Next we played Chutes and Ladders, my personal favorite. We had some problems with this one though, which I blame partly on my inability to explain the game without knowing the word for chute/slide in Spanish. It took a long time for the kids to figure out that you can’t climb slides or slide down ladders. They eventually got the hang of it.
Kelly taught them the third game, which was the always classic Candy Land. I hadn’t opened the Candy Land box prior, so it really brought back some memories to see old friends like Lord Licorice and Grandma Nut.
While I'm on a picture kick, here are some random shots from Ometepe that I never posted.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Goodbyes Begin...
Here in Nicaragua, goodbye parties are called despedidas, and they are muy popular. I’ve been planning one such party for this weekend with my friends in Managua, but I got a little surprise in Cusmapa yesterday because the administrator and a few others had an impromptu goodbye party for me as well.
On Tuesday, when I was talking to her (Sabrina) on Skype about the meeting in Cusmapa yesterday, I mentioned that I was sad because it would be my last visit. She said “Oh no, we have to throw you a going away party.” I told her that wouldn’t be necessary, but then we kept teasing about it yesterday.
At one point yesterday afternoon, I had been working in a different part of the office and walked back into administration unexpectedly. When I did, a girl was carrying a vase with some fake flowers in it, and when I looked at it, everyone in the room made a face at me like I wasn’t supposed to see. I covered my eyes, laughed, and then promptly turned bright red. Over the course of the rest of the afternoon, I saw people occasionally bringing in treats and sodas, so it was pretty apparent some sort of party was going down.
At the end of the day a huge herd of people (about 50% of whom I’d never met, humorously enough) came into the office for a ‘meeting’ and, of course, when I went in I found, instead, a going away party for me.
The director gave a little speech, everyone sang me a Spanish goodbye song, I gave a little speech (which was a little hard on the fly and in Spanish!), they passed out the sweet bread and sugarlicious soda, and a good time was had by all. It was definitely a thoughtful send-off, and it made me excited for round two on Saturday!
On Tuesday, when I was talking to her (Sabrina) on Skype about the meeting in Cusmapa yesterday, I mentioned that I was sad because it would be my last visit. She said “Oh no, we have to throw you a going away party.” I told her that wouldn’t be necessary, but then we kept teasing about it yesterday.
At one point yesterday afternoon, I had been working in a different part of the office and walked back into administration unexpectedly. When I did, a girl was carrying a vase with some fake flowers in it, and when I looked at it, everyone in the room made a face at me like I wasn’t supposed to see. I covered my eyes, laughed, and then promptly turned bright red. Over the course of the rest of the afternoon, I saw people occasionally bringing in treats and sodas, so it was pretty apparent some sort of party was going down.
At the end of the day a huge herd of people (about 50% of whom I’d never met, humorously enough) came into the office for a ‘meeting’ and, of course, when I went in I found, instead, a going away party for me.
The director gave a little speech, everyone sang me a Spanish goodbye song, I gave a little speech (which was a little hard on the fly and in Spanish!), they passed out the sweet bread and sugarlicious soda, and a good time was had by all. It was definitely a thoughtful send-off, and it made me excited for round two on Saturday!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Top 20 Things I'll Miss about Nicaragua
As I head into my last week here in Nicaragua, I thought it would be fitting to mirror the entry from one of my first weeks here about what I missed about the States and instead list off what I will miss about Nicaragua. I have to admit that some of the things on this list were not some of my favorite parts when I first got here.
20. Doing dishes? – There are some definite benefits of a dishwasher (not the least of which is sanitation), and this past Monday when I looked at the huge pile of dishes that hadn’t been washed because we ran out of water, it did make me sort of angry. Still, I have to say that in general, washing dishes with a little Simon and Garfunkel playing in the background at the end of the day has become pretty therapeutic for me.
19. Low prices – This one is pretty self explanatory…all my groceries for a week cost $10-15 dollars, and rum and diets are $1.50 at the bars every night of the week.
18. Pirated movies – Paying a dollar for all the latest releases from the States is awesome…even if you stumble across a dud now and then (like my copy of Confessions of a Shopaholic which is, inexplicably, dubbed in French) or have to watch on a laptop.
17. Endless summer – This is a mixed one for me – part of me will really miss having it be beach weather all the time…especially when it’s winter back at home. I still like the seasons though, and since I have the good fortune of coming back for summer and then fall (my two favorites), I don’t have to give this one up just yet.
16. Taxis without meters – Since you set the price of the cab ride at the beginning, it doesn’t matter how much traffic you sit in or how far you really end up going. I don’t look forward to watching the meter tick away back in Chicago…especially since the base fare is more than my average total fare here in Nica.
15. Cross country bus travel – I have to say that comparing work travel between home and here, I actually might prefer busing it in one of the Greyhound-style express buses over air travel. No security, no hassle, no early morning taxi rides. Only downside: no reimbursable $10 airport breakfasts and $5 airplane snacks.
14. People selling stuff everywhere – I still laugh every time someone passes selling fish, fruit, or rocks out of the back of their truck. It’s an essential part of my Saturday morning.
13. Kids/neighbors stopping in at random – As my roommates said the first few days I was in Nicaragua, it’s kind of like college the way the neighbors just float in and out of our open door. I’m sad to admit that I don’t even know most of my neighbors in Chicago, and I bet few of them would play ‘Don’t Break the Ice’ with me.
12. Cooking – I am going to try to do a lot more cooking once I get home, but the reality of my life as a traveling consultant still doesn’t permit much Monday through Thursday.
11. Market shopping – Even though the crowds, heat, and fly-attracting hanging meat can be a bit annoying at times, it’s still generally more fun to shop this way than at the Jewel.
10. Pulperias – Having about 8 tiny convenience stores within a block of our house comes in handy big time when you need eggs…or ice cream. That brings me to number 9…
9. Eskimo & Flor de Cana – There is both ice cream and rum in Chicago, but it is not as cheap or, dare I say, as good, as the Nicaraguan counterpart.
8. Speaking Spanish – I still continue to struggle with my Spanish in some contexts, finding it frustrating to communicate in the same way I can in English. Still, I am proud of how far I’ve come with my Spanish and will miss daily opportunities for practice and use.
7. Our porch – There’s nothing like waking up in the morning before it gets hot and sitting on our porch reading or watching the world go by.
6. Accessibility of the beach – It’s probably not surprising that the ability to hop a bus and be at the beach in 45 minutes makes my top ten.
5. Hobbies – At the risk of my Chicago life sounding quite boring, I have to say that before coming to Nicaragua, I did not read, draw, write or crochet nearly as much as I do now. Like cooking, I hope to keep these hobbies up, but realism tells me that when my free time begins to disappear, so will at least some of these hobbies (I am, however, hoping to be that consultant who crochets on the plane).
4. Having roommates – As someone who has always preferred to live alone in the States, this one even surprises me a little. I have remembered how fun it is to have someone to come home to and vent about your day, watch a movie with, eat dinner with, and so on.
3. Blackberry-free living – I have mentioned to a few people that recently, I have been hearing ghost blackberry vibrations as my mind turns to going back to work. I’ll think I can hear the vibrating sound (the one that tells me that I have an email from work), and then realize, to my relief, that my Blackberry is thousands of miles away. Not for much longer…
2. Sleep – Nine hours of sleep a day minimum is a luxury I haven’t had for years. I will miss this dearly.
1. The people – Not surprisingly, I have met some really fantastic people here – from neighbors to co-workers to other volunteers. And of course, as always seems to be the case with short experiences like this one, I feel like I am finally starting to get really close with people just as it is time to leave. Thank goodness for Skype to keep in touch in the interim and, with any luck, a trip back to visit later this year.
20. Doing dishes? – There are some definite benefits of a dishwasher (not the least of which is sanitation), and this past Monday when I looked at the huge pile of dishes that hadn’t been washed because we ran out of water, it did make me sort of angry. Still, I have to say that in general, washing dishes with a little Simon and Garfunkel playing in the background at the end of the day has become pretty therapeutic for me.
19. Low prices – This one is pretty self explanatory…all my groceries for a week cost $10-15 dollars, and rum and diets are $1.50 at the bars every night of the week.
18. Pirated movies – Paying a dollar for all the latest releases from the States is awesome…even if you stumble across a dud now and then (like my copy of Confessions of a Shopaholic which is, inexplicably, dubbed in French) or have to watch on a laptop.
17. Endless summer – This is a mixed one for me – part of me will really miss having it be beach weather all the time…especially when it’s winter back at home. I still like the seasons though, and since I have the good fortune of coming back for summer and then fall (my two favorites), I don’t have to give this one up just yet.
16. Taxis without meters – Since you set the price of the cab ride at the beginning, it doesn’t matter how much traffic you sit in or how far you really end up going. I don’t look forward to watching the meter tick away back in Chicago…especially since the base fare is more than my average total fare here in Nica.
15. Cross country bus travel – I have to say that comparing work travel between home and here, I actually might prefer busing it in one of the Greyhound-style express buses over air travel. No security, no hassle, no early morning taxi rides. Only downside: no reimbursable $10 airport breakfasts and $5 airplane snacks.
14. People selling stuff everywhere – I still laugh every time someone passes selling fish, fruit, or rocks out of the back of their truck. It’s an essential part of my Saturday morning.
13. Kids/neighbors stopping in at random – As my roommates said the first few days I was in Nicaragua, it’s kind of like college the way the neighbors just float in and out of our open door. I’m sad to admit that I don’t even know most of my neighbors in Chicago, and I bet few of them would play ‘Don’t Break the Ice’ with me.
12. Cooking – I am going to try to do a lot more cooking once I get home, but the reality of my life as a traveling consultant still doesn’t permit much Monday through Thursday.
11. Market shopping – Even though the crowds, heat, and fly-attracting hanging meat can be a bit annoying at times, it’s still generally more fun to shop this way than at the Jewel.
10. Pulperias – Having about 8 tiny convenience stores within a block of our house comes in handy big time when you need eggs…or ice cream. That brings me to number 9…
9. Eskimo & Flor de Cana – There is both ice cream and rum in Chicago, but it is not as cheap or, dare I say, as good, as the Nicaraguan counterpart.
8. Speaking Spanish – I still continue to struggle with my Spanish in some contexts, finding it frustrating to communicate in the same way I can in English. Still, I am proud of how far I’ve come with my Spanish and will miss daily opportunities for practice and use.
7. Our porch – There’s nothing like waking up in the morning before it gets hot and sitting on our porch reading or watching the world go by.
6. Accessibility of the beach – It’s probably not surprising that the ability to hop a bus and be at the beach in 45 minutes makes my top ten.
5. Hobbies – At the risk of my Chicago life sounding quite boring, I have to say that before coming to Nicaragua, I did not read, draw, write or crochet nearly as much as I do now. Like cooking, I hope to keep these hobbies up, but realism tells me that when my free time begins to disappear, so will at least some of these hobbies (I am, however, hoping to be that consultant who crochets on the plane).
4. Having roommates – As someone who has always preferred to live alone in the States, this one even surprises me a little. I have remembered how fun it is to have someone to come home to and vent about your day, watch a movie with, eat dinner with, and so on.
3. Blackberry-free living – I have mentioned to a few people that recently, I have been hearing ghost blackberry vibrations as my mind turns to going back to work. I’ll think I can hear the vibrating sound (the one that tells me that I have an email from work), and then realize, to my relief, that my Blackberry is thousands of miles away. Not for much longer…
2. Sleep – Nine hours of sleep a day minimum is a luxury I haven’t had for years. I will miss this dearly.
1. The people – Not surprisingly, I have met some really fantastic people here – from neighbors to co-workers to other volunteers. And of course, as always seems to be the case with short experiences like this one, I feel like I am finally starting to get really close with people just as it is time to leave. Thank goodness for Skype to keep in touch in the interim and, with any luck, a trip back to visit later this year.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
My second-last weekend
It was a nice quiet weekend in Managua, which was a good change from all the traveling I've been doing as of late, but also bittersweet as I realize it is my second to last one here in Nicaragua. While I'm ready to go home in a lot of respects, it will still be hard to leave this place. I'm already thinking about when I'll be able to get back here for a week.
Friday I had my last meeting with the cooks and administrator in San Isidro. I'm going to miss that group since I've spent a lot of time working with them, my nearest neighbors. It was a good meeting too, so I feel pretty good about where things will be left when I'm gone.
Since I was up in San Isidro, I got to head home a little earlier than normal, and was also able to stop by Kelly's knitting class for a visit. They were dividing up the mounds of yarn that I brought back from the States, and they seemed excited to use it to start their new projects - booties, purses, flowers, and other crafts Kelly has taught them.
Friday night we went to an El Salvadorian restaurant for pupusas, which are tortillas stuffed with cheese, chicken, beans, and other goodies. We met our friend Jason there and had a good time hanging out until they just about kicked us out.
Saturday I made some french toast for us for breakfast (I think I have finally mastered most of our breakfast meals - pancakes, banana pancakes, french toast and gallo pinto). Then we went to an organic market just outside of town to get our groceries. They didn't have as much as we were expecting, but what we did buy there looks really good and fresh. Combining that with some other ingredients we'd purchased throughout the week - including a bottle of wine - we also had a killer dinner of BBQ chicken quesadillas with guacamole.
From there, Kelly and I had an impromptu girl's night (even though Joe was around too). First we attempted to make some premixed cookie mix I brought from the States without an oven. We pan fried some and made others in the crock pot. Neither really turned out like cookies, but it was processed goodness nonetheless. Then we made foot baths and did pedicures while sitting in our rocking chairs crocheting. It was quite the picture (we took a picture too, but I don't have it yet). I'm happy to report I learned a few new things about crocheting too. First, I found out that the knot I've been doing all along - which I thought was correct - was, in fact, my own misinterpretation/invention. I still like how it looks, so I'll call it the Knicky Knot (cheesy, I know) and keep going with it. I also learned how to crochet in circles, and I made a (sort of) hat. I'm hoping to learn how to make flowers before I go too...we shall see.
After girls night, we played some of the new games I brough from home, including Don't Break the Ice and Chutes and Ladders. We had some good laughs playing games made for ages 3 and up.
Today (Sunday) we were supposed to go on a trip to the beach with our neighborhood but it never ended up happening. Instead, Kelly and I came to a hotel where you can use the pool (and wireless internet!) for the day for a small fee. It's been a nice relaxing day of reading, emailing, swimming and tanning. I am definitely going to miss having a little piece of paradise like this within a few minutes of my house. Lake Michigan will have to work!
Since I'm doing my grand final tour of the north this week, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to write before Friday. I'll be back with a few more entries before the end, though, no worries.
Friday I had my last meeting with the cooks and administrator in San Isidro. I'm going to miss that group since I've spent a lot of time working with them, my nearest neighbors. It was a good meeting too, so I feel pretty good about where things will be left when I'm gone.
Since I was up in San Isidro, I got to head home a little earlier than normal, and was also able to stop by Kelly's knitting class for a visit. They were dividing up the mounds of yarn that I brought back from the States, and they seemed excited to use it to start their new projects - booties, purses, flowers, and other crafts Kelly has taught them.
Friday night we went to an El Salvadorian restaurant for pupusas, which are tortillas stuffed with cheese, chicken, beans, and other goodies. We met our friend Jason there and had a good time hanging out until they just about kicked us out.
Saturday I made some french toast for us for breakfast (I think I have finally mastered most of our breakfast meals - pancakes, banana pancakes, french toast and gallo pinto). Then we went to an organic market just outside of town to get our groceries. They didn't have as much as we were expecting, but what we did buy there looks really good and fresh. Combining that with some other ingredients we'd purchased throughout the week - including a bottle of wine - we also had a killer dinner of BBQ chicken quesadillas with guacamole.
From there, Kelly and I had an impromptu girl's night (even though Joe was around too). First we attempted to make some premixed cookie mix I brought from the States without an oven. We pan fried some and made others in the crock pot. Neither really turned out like cookies, but it was processed goodness nonetheless. Then we made foot baths and did pedicures while sitting in our rocking chairs crocheting. It was quite the picture (we took a picture too, but I don't have it yet). I'm happy to report I learned a few new things about crocheting too. First, I found out that the knot I've been doing all along - which I thought was correct - was, in fact, my own misinterpretation/invention. I still like how it looks, so I'll call it the Knicky Knot (cheesy, I know) and keep going with it. I also learned how to crochet in circles, and I made a (sort of) hat. I'm hoping to learn how to make flowers before I go too...we shall see.
After girls night, we played some of the new games I brough from home, including Don't Break the Ice and Chutes and Ladders. We had some good laughs playing games made for ages 3 and up.
Today (Sunday) we were supposed to go on a trip to the beach with our neighborhood but it never ended up happening. Instead, Kelly and I came to a hotel where you can use the pool (and wireless internet!) for the day for a small fee. It's been a nice relaxing day of reading, emailing, swimming and tanning. I am definitely going to miss having a little piece of paradise like this within a few minutes of my house. Lake Michigan will have to work!
Since I'm doing my grand final tour of the north this week, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to write before Friday. I'll be back with a few more entries before the end, though, no worries.
Friday, April 17, 2009
I think I'm ready to go back to the El
As you know, my morning commute here in Nicaragua is pretty different from what it was in Chicago. There's no El, no taxi, and no airplane...just me and 8 of my closest friends in the back of a pick-up truck.
There's always a little more adventure associated with my Nica commute than my Chicago commute, but today was really quite exceptional. Shortly after we got on the main highway heading for the office, we stopped at a stoplight. As we were waiting, a couple young kids came up and started begging for money. One of the boys, who was no more than 10 years old, had a plastic pistol, which I found a little disturbing. One of the guys in the truck was asking him something about the pistol and sort of teasing him. The boy's reaction was to pick up a rock the size of a baseball and hold it above his head, threatening to throw it at us in the truck. Great.
The man who originally taunted the boy was trying to talk him out of it and distract him while we waited for the light to change. He was fairly successful until the very end when the boy, seeing that we were moving, chucked the rock at the guy's back. Fortunately he couldn't throw very hard, and we were already on our way. Or so we thought.
Unfortunately, the light changed again before we could get out of the intersection. We turned around to see that the boy had recovered the big rock he'd thrown before, and was once again marching toward us with it held over his head. Fortunately, as he got close to us, one of the other guys in the truck grabbed it out of his hand. Unfortunately, that just prompted the kid to find other rocks, this time smaller, which he began firing at us in rapid succession. Again, thankfully, the other Nicas in the truck were able to catch or block them, so no one got hit and people even got a laugh out of the whole thing. Still, as we were pulling away, I thought "Only in Nicaragua would this happen and people find it funny. You can't make this stuff up."
There's always a little more adventure associated with my Nica commute than my Chicago commute, but today was really quite exceptional. Shortly after we got on the main highway heading for the office, we stopped at a stoplight. As we were waiting, a couple young kids came up and started begging for money. One of the boys, who was no more than 10 years old, had a plastic pistol, which I found a little disturbing. One of the guys in the truck was asking him something about the pistol and sort of teasing him. The boy's reaction was to pick up a rock the size of a baseball and hold it above his head, threatening to throw it at us in the truck. Great.
The man who originally taunted the boy was trying to talk him out of it and distract him while we waited for the light to change. He was fairly successful until the very end when the boy, seeing that we were moving, chucked the rock at the guy's back. Fortunately he couldn't throw very hard, and we were already on our way. Or so we thought.
Unfortunately, the light changed again before we could get out of the intersection. We turned around to see that the boy had recovered the big rock he'd thrown before, and was once again marching toward us with it held over his head. Fortunately, as he got close to us, one of the other guys in the truck grabbed it out of his hand. Unfortunately, that just prompted the kid to find other rocks, this time smaller, which he began firing at us in rapid succession. Again, thankfully, the other Nicas in the truck were able to catch or block them, so no one got hit and people even got a laugh out of the whole thing. Still, as we were pulling away, I thought "Only in Nicaragua would this happen and people find it funny. You can't make this stuff up."
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Into the Home Stretch
After another long day of traveling, I made it back to Managua late Monday ready to embark on the ‘home stretch’ of my Nicaragua experience. I came back bearing many gifts, almost all thanks to the generosity of family and friends back home. My suitcase was full of yarn for Kelly’s knitting group, spices for our kitchen, games and art supplies for the neighborhood kids, and a little bit of Easter candy…for me.
The roommates came to the airport to pick me up which was really nice because they helped me with my luggage and caught me up on the happenings from the week prior.
The biggest news story out of San Isidro was a bit of a disappointing one. Last week small amounts of money began disappearing on days when some of the neighborhood kids were over. Joe and Kelly finally isolated the culprits down to three, and it took until last night for them to find the guilty party, but the case has now been closed. Unfortunately the kids who were the troublemakers will have to earn their way back into the house and earn the ability to play all those fun new games.
The other big news was that Joe and Kelly broke down and bought a blender so that we no longer have to borrow the neighbor’s all the time. It’s been spaghetti sauce and milkshakes galore ever since. I think the blender usage has actually already surpassed the grill though, to be fair, one is a lot easier to use than the other!
Other than those two developments, though, I’ve basically just fallen back into the same routine as before I left. I was back at work yesterday and had a meeting with the Director and COO to discuss use of my last few weeks and plans for next steps. It sounds like there may be a ‘new Nicky’ coming down the pipeline too – but this woman has a nutrition degree from undergrad and an MBA from Kellogg, so she’ll probably put me to shame.
Last night I returned to bucket showers after a week of being spoiled with water pressure. The one point of good news, though, is that it’s gotten so hot here during the day that the water we save in buckets from the night before actually is still quite warm by the time I use it to bathe at night. How convenient!
At any rate, I know how quickly my last few weeks here will go, and, while part of me was ready to stay Stateside after my nice trip home, I know that I need to soak up all that Nicaragua has to offer – the good and the not-so-good – because I won’t have the opportunity for much longer.
P.S. Not to overkill on soliciting donations since I sent out an email to many of you already, but I just wanted to put out a reminder that I am trying to raise money for health and nutrition programs at Fabretto through Razoo pages that a co-worker and I created. Links are below - donate if you can. Thanks!
Nutrition:
http://www.razoo.com/widgets/1f516f7d-1724-479c-9f09-bcb42dd62613
Health:
http://www.razoo.com/widgets/39e7b7f1-9886-4303-91d1-3a35af327c5f
The roommates came to the airport to pick me up which was really nice because they helped me with my luggage and caught me up on the happenings from the week prior.
The biggest news story out of San Isidro was a bit of a disappointing one. Last week small amounts of money began disappearing on days when some of the neighborhood kids were over. Joe and Kelly finally isolated the culprits down to three, and it took until last night for them to find the guilty party, but the case has now been closed. Unfortunately the kids who were the troublemakers will have to earn their way back into the house and earn the ability to play all those fun new games.
The other big news was that Joe and Kelly broke down and bought a blender so that we no longer have to borrow the neighbor’s all the time. It’s been spaghetti sauce and milkshakes galore ever since. I think the blender usage has actually already surpassed the grill though, to be fair, one is a lot easier to use than the other!
Other than those two developments, though, I’ve basically just fallen back into the same routine as before I left. I was back at work yesterday and had a meeting with the Director and COO to discuss use of my last few weeks and plans for next steps. It sounds like there may be a ‘new Nicky’ coming down the pipeline too – but this woman has a nutrition degree from undergrad and an MBA from Kellogg, so she’ll probably put me to shame.
Last night I returned to bucket showers after a week of being spoiled with water pressure. The one point of good news, though, is that it’s gotten so hot here during the day that the water we save in buckets from the night before actually is still quite warm by the time I use it to bathe at night. How convenient!
At any rate, I know how quickly my last few weeks here will go, and, while part of me was ready to stay Stateside after my nice trip home, I know that I need to soak up all that Nicaragua has to offer – the good and the not-so-good – because I won’t have the opportunity for much longer.
P.S. Not to overkill on soliciting donations since I sent out an email to many of you already, but I just wanted to put out a reminder that I am trying to raise money for health and nutrition programs at Fabretto through Razoo pages that a co-worker and I created. Links are below - donate if you can. Thanks!
Nutrition:
http://www.razoo.com/widgets/1f516f7d-1724-479c-9f09-bcb42dd62613
Health:
http://www.razoo.com/widgets/39e7b7f1-9886-4303-91d1-3a35af327c5f
Friday, April 10, 2009
Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Managua to Cedarburg
It's been awhile since my last post, so I figured I should check in with an update. There is a fair bit to share, too, since it's been a whirlwind week. I started out last weekend in Managua, then traveled from Managua to the island of Ometepe via truck + ferry for a three day vacation, then flew from Managua to Chicago, spent a night in the city, then took a train to Milwaukee, and got a ride home to Cedarburg. Therefore, this post is technically coming from my parents' kitchen, and not Nicaragua, but I think that's okay just this one time.
The trip to Ometepe was really nice and relaxing. I went with my roommates and another one of our friends, and it was a good, laid back group to travel with. Our friend Jason had another volunteer's truck for the week, so we were able to drive from Managua to San Jorge, the port where you leave to go to Ometepe. We then brough the truck on the ferry and crossed Lake Nicaragua to the island.
Ometepe is a pretty interesting place. The lake that surrounds it is the largest freshwater lake in Central America - if I recall, it's the same size as Puerto Rico - and it's also the only freshwater lake with sharks. The island has two volcanos on it, one inactive called Maderas and one active one called Concepcion. The place where we were staying was closer to Maderas, and to get there we had to drive a good hour by dirt road. Suffice to say it was pretty remote, which ended up being a good thing since it was a peaceful trip in spite of the usual chaos associated with traveling during Semana Santa.
We did lots of relaxing on the trip - reading in the hammock at our cabana, swimming at the tiny beach down the road, eating and drinking at the hotel restaurant, and sleeping. However, on the last day there (Tuesday), I decided to be adventurous, so Kelly and I signed up for the horseback riding tour to see monkeys. It was about as wild as you'd expect for a morning riding horses in a place where helmets, safety waivers, etc. are not widely used. In fact, the lesson that they gave us at the beginning of the trek was "here's how you go left...here's how you go right...kick them to go...GO!" It turns out that the critical 4th component of that lesson - Stop! - would have come in handy because within seconds of getting down to the end of the hotel driveway, my horse decided to start galloping full-out for about 5 minutes. It was a little frightening, but eventually I got Ballo under control and it was actually a nice ride. Seeing the howler monkeys was especially cool - I think we spotted about 10 in all.
After Ometepe it was a quick turn around to get ready for the trip home. I had an early flight out the morning after we got back, so I finished the last of my packing, arranged for my neighbor who has a cab to pick me up early in the morning, and then tried desperately to sleep in spite of the heat that now stays around all night in Managua.
The trip home itself was pretty uneventful, with the one minor bummer of one of my bottles of rum breaking in my bag on its way to Miami and soaking all of my clothes in booze. Fortunately nothing was damaged though. Getting back was also a lot less shocking than I had expected. I think I'll be really glad I came home for a bit, because it's a good warm-up for the final return, plus I got to bring back all kinds of souvenirs now and can take some things from the States back to Nica too.
So far my mini vacation here in the States has been really nice and made me excited to come back to friends and family more permanently in May. I've also been doing quite the tour of my favorite foods that I've missed, including Ian's pizza in Chicago (in case you're not familiar, they make things like Mac N Cheese pizza, and it's amazing), Kopp's for a burger and Custard, all you can eat crab legs, and so much more!
Since the blog is not called Wisco Nicky, I suppose that's enough of my adventures at home. I'll be here until Monday, and I'm sure my return to Nicaragua early next week will be busy, but I'll be back with more stories (and pictures from Ometepe) soon!
The trip to Ometepe was really nice and relaxing. I went with my roommates and another one of our friends, and it was a good, laid back group to travel with. Our friend Jason had another volunteer's truck for the week, so we were able to drive from Managua to San Jorge, the port where you leave to go to Ometepe. We then brough the truck on the ferry and crossed Lake Nicaragua to the island.
Ometepe is a pretty interesting place. The lake that surrounds it is the largest freshwater lake in Central America - if I recall, it's the same size as Puerto Rico - and it's also the only freshwater lake with sharks. The island has two volcanos on it, one inactive called Maderas and one active one called Concepcion. The place where we were staying was closer to Maderas, and to get there we had to drive a good hour by dirt road. Suffice to say it was pretty remote, which ended up being a good thing since it was a peaceful trip in spite of the usual chaos associated with traveling during Semana Santa.
We did lots of relaxing on the trip - reading in the hammock at our cabana, swimming at the tiny beach down the road, eating and drinking at the hotel restaurant, and sleeping. However, on the last day there (Tuesday), I decided to be adventurous, so Kelly and I signed up for the horseback riding tour to see monkeys. It was about as wild as you'd expect for a morning riding horses in a place where helmets, safety waivers, etc. are not widely used. In fact, the lesson that they gave us at the beginning of the trek was "here's how you go left...here's how you go right...kick them to go...GO!" It turns out that the critical 4th component of that lesson - Stop! - would have come in handy because within seconds of getting down to the end of the hotel driveway, my horse decided to start galloping full-out for about 5 minutes. It was a little frightening, but eventually I got Ballo under control and it was actually a nice ride. Seeing the howler monkeys was especially cool - I think we spotted about 10 in all.
After Ometepe it was a quick turn around to get ready for the trip home. I had an early flight out the morning after we got back, so I finished the last of my packing, arranged for my neighbor who has a cab to pick me up early in the morning, and then tried desperately to sleep in spite of the heat that now stays around all night in Managua.
The trip home itself was pretty uneventful, with the one minor bummer of one of my bottles of rum breaking in my bag on its way to Miami and soaking all of my clothes in booze. Fortunately nothing was damaged though. Getting back was also a lot less shocking than I had expected. I think I'll be really glad I came home for a bit, because it's a good warm-up for the final return, plus I got to bring back all kinds of souvenirs now and can take some things from the States back to Nica too.
So far my mini vacation here in the States has been really nice and made me excited to come back to friends and family more permanently in May. I've also been doing quite the tour of my favorite foods that I've missed, including Ian's pizza in Chicago (in case you're not familiar, they make things like Mac N Cheese pizza, and it's amazing), Kopp's for a burger and Custard, all you can eat crab legs, and so much more!
Since the blog is not called Wisco Nicky, I suppose that's enough of my adventures at home. I'll be here until Monday, and I'm sure my return to Nicaragua early next week will be busy, but I'll be back with more stories (and pictures from Ometepe) soon!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Checking in...
For all the loyal blog checkers out there, I wanted to just quickly say that I'm alive. It's been another really busy week, so apologies for not writing more frequently. I think it's finally setting in for everyone that I only have a few weeks left (myself included), so the work is just getting piled on. Add that to the extreme heat here - probably well over 100 degrees daily - and I haven't been an extremely happy camper this week.
However, I do have LOTS to look forward to in the next week and a half. On Friday, we are supposed to have a party with some of the other volunteers and neighbors at our house. We've been talking about doing something like this for awhile, but it looks like we'll finally get it together this week. It should be good practice for my goodbye party, which is coming up soon as well!
This weekend is technically the start of the week of vacation for Semana Santa here, so I am heading off to Ometepe, which is an island in the Lake of Nicaragua with two volcanos on it. It's supposed to be really beautiful, and I'm staying in a place that is fairly remote, so I'm excited for some swimming, horseback riding, volcano climbing (maybe) and just relaxing in general. Still to be determined if a few friends from Managua will be joining or not - but hopefully that will work out for at least part of the visit.
I plan on getting back from Ometepe Tuesday evening. Wednesday morning (bright and extremely early), I will be heading to the airport and then back to the States for Easter. I'll be stopping through Chicago Wednesday night (if you're around and want to grab a drink, let me know!). Then I'll be back home in the 'burg Thursday through early Monday. I'm really looking forward to being home for a bit, catching up with everyone, unloading one round of souvenirs to make room for more, and stocking up on some things to bring back to Nicaragua for the home stretch.
Because of all this excitement, I probably won't be posting much over the next week. Once I get home, I can put some pics from Ometepe up or, better yet, I can see many of you in person and share the stories!
Thanks, as always, for reading - looking forward to being back Stateside very soon.
However, I do have LOTS to look forward to in the next week and a half. On Friday, we are supposed to have a party with some of the other volunteers and neighbors at our house. We've been talking about doing something like this for awhile, but it looks like we'll finally get it together this week. It should be good practice for my goodbye party, which is coming up soon as well!
This weekend is technically the start of the week of vacation for Semana Santa here, so I am heading off to Ometepe, which is an island in the Lake of Nicaragua with two volcanos on it. It's supposed to be really beautiful, and I'm staying in a place that is fairly remote, so I'm excited for some swimming, horseback riding, volcano climbing (maybe) and just relaxing in general. Still to be determined if a few friends from Managua will be joining or not - but hopefully that will work out for at least part of the visit.
I plan on getting back from Ometepe Tuesday evening. Wednesday morning (bright and extremely early), I will be heading to the airport and then back to the States for Easter. I'll be stopping through Chicago Wednesday night (if you're around and want to grab a drink, let me know!). Then I'll be back home in the 'burg Thursday through early Monday. I'm really looking forward to being home for a bit, catching up with everyone, unloading one round of souvenirs to make room for more, and stocking up on some things to bring back to Nicaragua for the home stretch.
Because of all this excitement, I probably won't be posting much over the next week. Once I get home, I can put some pics from Ometepe up or, better yet, I can see many of you in person and share the stories!
Thanks, as always, for reading - looking forward to being back Stateside very soon.
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