After a week and a half of lounging and getting somewhat acclimated to Port, we started work at the schools this week. I spent Monday and Tuesday at Colegio Niño Jesús and Wednesday and today at Escuela Maureen Courtney. Since we got here toward the end of their school years (which run from mid-February through November), it has been a bit of a challenge to find our niche within the school schedule, and it has caused to feel a little out of place, out of "the zone."
Colegio Niño Jesús is a Primary and Secondary school (age of Primary schools kids range from about 6-12, while Secondary school is usually between ages 10 and 16. I know there's some overlap there, but that's how it is!), and there seems to be less of a need for us at this school for the time-being. The kids in primary school have class from 7:30am until 11:45am. The secondary schools kids are in class from 12:20 to 5:20 (there's no lunch program for the schools, and I think that contributes to the schedule. That and the fact that there are a limited number of classrooms and having all the kids there at the same time wouldn't work.) I'll probably mainly end up teaching English there once or twice a day for the last couple months of the school year, and then I'm hoping to find a greater calling once we start planning the school schedule in January.
Escuela Maureen Courtney is a Primary school that also serves kids with special needs. The age range of the kids here is much greater, from between 6 years to "kids" in their 20s. The younger grades (1st through 3rd) come to school in the morning, and the older grades (4th through 6th) come to school in the afternoon. In both the morning and afternoon sessions, there are special needs classrooms and a "nivelación" classroom, specifically designed for getting certain kids up to speed, or "nivelado." As there are many kids with delays, cognitive challenges, diagnosed "handicaps", or any other challenge, there is a significant need for individual attention. It seems I'll be offering a couple of English classes, starting to work with the music teacher so I can give guitar lessons down the line (if you think that sounds crazy, that makes two of us) and then spending a large chunk of my time working one-on-one with kids who are struggling with handwriting, language skills (yes, a gringo teaching Spanish), math, reading, etc. At some point, I believe I'll be taking on a "caseload" of kids to whom I will be offering counseling.
All of this is significantly different than what I had been anticipating prior to arriving. After-school/recreational activity planning was where I was headed, but the need is greater in other areas. It has been challenging to find my place within the structure of classes, and it wasn't until we met with all the teachers (ten in the morning and a half dozen in the afternoon) at Maureen Courtney that we all got a sense of where we were needed and how we could fit in to the daily routine. I can only pray that a similar sort of schedule can be sorted out next Monday at Niño Jesús.
Additionally challenging has been the use of Miskito by a large percentage of the population. It has been difficult to deal with the language barrier. So many of the professors and kids speak Miskito on a regular basis that there are many times that we are left out of the conversation by default or on purpose. Thankfully, the staff is all bi-lingual, and a great majority of the students are as well, as all the classes are taught in Spanish (although some of the students speak Spanish as a second language and need an explanation in Miskito to fully grasp the concept). A couple people have offered to teach Miskito in exchange for English lessons, a situation I will definitely be taking advantage of. In fact, the teachers are planning to let the kids out of school early on Friday mornings for the rest of the year to give us Miskito lessons for half an hour and have us give them English lessons for half an hour. Of course, with how things operate down here, there's no way we'll actually have an hour AND have time to eat lunch before afternoon classes, so maybe 20 minutes of lessons each.
On a lighter note, how many of us hear the phrase, "And for those of you that can bring your machete to school tomorrow, please have those, as we will be doing clean-up"? As financial resources are limited at Maureen Courtney (and I'm assuming at many schools throughout the country), there is not an official maintenance person, so the kids are in charge of keeping the classrooms and common green spaces clean. Of course, if you think there are lawn mowers, you are soooorely mistaken. I know that neither my wrist nor my back would have put up with the machete chopping that the kids did today! It's just not everyday that you see a BYOM (Bring Your Own Machete, as Kathryn so aptly named it) Party, and especially not at a school.
My lifestyle is already beginning to change in simple ways like going to bed around 9:30pm in order to wake up between 5:00 and 5:30am, eating a lot of vegetables since they are the most readily available food option, and taking time to learn more Spanish instead of watching SportsCenter. I have been fortunate to have not suffered any major setbacks, and I hope I can continue adjusting to life down here and start to feel more "in the zone."
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Home Sweet Home
So we've been in Port for a week. It's been a pretty tranquila week. We've been lounging around a lot, trying to avoid the afternoon sun. September is supposedly the hottest month in Nicaragua. Arrived just in time for the heat wave, I guess. It's encouraging to know that the temperature will decrease, though I'm still not sure what the difference will be. I do know that sitting is my favorite new exercise. The output of sweat is similar to that of actually doing exercise.
So the setup right now is not definite. We got set up in what I consider to be a very luxurious house. We're actually living with the landlord's son; and the son's friend used to live here, is now sleeping in a little place next door and basically lives here just the same (he's here to shower and eat). The guys are cool, and it's been to our advantage to have a couple of locals around during our transition time. Still, we are anticipating a move at the end of the month when the rent is up or a few months down the line, so we can get closer to the convent (we're being supported by the Agnesian Sisters) and get set up with a space for the three of us, so it's more conducive to the community living that Cap Corps so fervently seeks.
Things are starting to fall into place a little bit more with the work we'll be doing. It's actually a little amalgam of tasks. For the first couple of months, things will likely be very informal, with the goal in mind of being able to transition to a sort of counselor relationship with the students. The school year runs from mid-February to the end of November, so we're getting here more toward the end of the year. For a couple of months we'll probably be observing classes, assisting some professors and maybe giving some English classes, with the possibility of other classes as well. Once January rolls around, we'll be into more of a set schedule. There's also talk of guitar lessons (surprise!), since the school has like 20 guitars that have been sitting around for years. I've got a lot of practicing to do to get ready to teach kids how to play!
Beyond the work, there's a lot more to get to know. I'm hoping to make some good friends in the market and try to get a deal on some food sometimes. There are supposedly some cool barrios nearby that we've yet to visit. If the opportunity presents itself, it would be great to hop on a bus and see places that are within a couple hours, but I don't know what the funding will allow. We'll see how the first couple months go.
So far, Bilwi is pretty much what I expected it to be. Maybe a little bit more :). Languages abound. Between Spanish, Creole, Miskito and some broken English, it takes a few seconds to distinguish the language and then begin deciphering what is actually being said. I think there's actually another language in there that I'm forgetting about. I know I'm hoping to get hooked up with some Miskito language classes to get some idea of what people are saying and to be able to go to Sunday mass at 10am and not be totally perplexed.
I'm glad to have a little time to relax right now. With Nicaragua celebrating Central America's Independence, there hasn't been much going on since we got here. Next week we'll start getting into the work routine and get an idea of how things will actually go. Until then, just more tranquilo living.
The transition has been more difficult than I had expected it to be. Having gone through the living abroad thing when I studied abroad in Quito, I figured it would be easy to adjust to living in a different country. But the fact that the living setup is different and the fact that I'm going to be here twice as long as when I studied abroad makes this time a bit heavier. It's hard to be away from the family and friends I've always been around. It's also difficult to be away from the activities I'm used to doing. It's definitely a bigger adjustment than I had anticipated, but so far I haven't had anymore breakdowns. I think having less to do gives me more time to think and long for things I'm used to, so once we start working, my mind will hopefully be more distracted.
In any case, this is my home until the calendar turns to 2011. It's crazy to think about all the changes I'll undergo, my family will undergo, my friends will undergo, my country will undergo in the time I'm here in Nicaragua. With any luck, the changes will be for the better :).
So the setup right now is not definite. We got set up in what I consider to be a very luxurious house. We're actually living with the landlord's son; and the son's friend used to live here, is now sleeping in a little place next door and basically lives here just the same (he's here to shower and eat). The guys are cool, and it's been to our advantage to have a couple of locals around during our transition time. Still, we are anticipating a move at the end of the month when the rent is up or a few months down the line, so we can get closer to the convent (we're being supported by the Agnesian Sisters) and get set up with a space for the three of us, so it's more conducive to the community living that Cap Corps so fervently seeks.
Things are starting to fall into place a little bit more with the work we'll be doing. It's actually a little amalgam of tasks. For the first couple of months, things will likely be very informal, with the goal in mind of being able to transition to a sort of counselor relationship with the students. The school year runs from mid-February to the end of November, so we're getting here more toward the end of the year. For a couple of months we'll probably be observing classes, assisting some professors and maybe giving some English classes, with the possibility of other classes as well. Once January rolls around, we'll be into more of a set schedule. There's also talk of guitar lessons (surprise!), since the school has like 20 guitars that have been sitting around for years. I've got a lot of practicing to do to get ready to teach kids how to play!
Beyond the work, there's a lot more to get to know. I'm hoping to make some good friends in the market and try to get a deal on some food sometimes. There are supposedly some cool barrios nearby that we've yet to visit. If the opportunity presents itself, it would be great to hop on a bus and see places that are within a couple hours, but I don't know what the funding will allow. We'll see how the first couple months go.
So far, Bilwi is pretty much what I expected it to be. Maybe a little bit more :). Languages abound. Between Spanish, Creole, Miskito and some broken English, it takes a few seconds to distinguish the language and then begin deciphering what is actually being said. I think there's actually another language in there that I'm forgetting about. I know I'm hoping to get hooked up with some Miskito language classes to get some idea of what people are saying and to be able to go to Sunday mass at 10am and not be totally perplexed.
I'm glad to have a little time to relax right now. With Nicaragua celebrating Central America's Independence, there hasn't been much going on since we got here. Next week we'll start getting into the work routine and get an idea of how things will actually go. Until then, just more tranquilo living.
The transition has been more difficult than I had expected it to be. Having gone through the living abroad thing when I studied abroad in Quito, I figured it would be easy to adjust to living in a different country. But the fact that the living setup is different and the fact that I'm going to be here twice as long as when I studied abroad makes this time a bit heavier. It's hard to be away from the family and friends I've always been around. It's also difficult to be away from the activities I'm used to doing. It's definitely a bigger adjustment than I had anticipated, but so far I haven't had anymore breakdowns. I think having less to do gives me more time to think and long for things I'm used to, so once we start working, my mind will hopefully be more distracted.
In any case, this is my home until the calendar turns to 2011. It's crazy to think about all the changes I'll undergo, my family will undergo, my friends will undergo, my country will undergo in the time I'm here in Nicaragua. With any luck, the changes will be for the better :).
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Into the Unknown
Yesterday and today we said goodbye to the kids and staff at Casa Xalteva. I'm not very good at goodbyes, so the language barrier makes it even worse. The fact that they have a computer with internet makes it easier, because we can still communicate by email or on Facebook. I'm hoping we can come back and visit them sometime down the line. It was a really fun place to be around. Even after just three weeks it's hard to have to say goodbye. I can only imagine what it'll be like to leave Puerto Cabezas after 16 months.
So that's where we're headed next. Puerto Cabezas. Port. Bilwi. Whichever name you want to use, I'm still not totally convinced it exists. Before coming to Nicaragua, we had limited information on it since it's not a tourist destination and because it's so separated from the departamentos on the west side of the country. If information was limited before coming here, it's not much better now. In fact, Port has become even more mysterious as we've gotten closer geographically to the place itself.
Once again, because it's not a tourist destination and because it's so separated from the rest of the popular cities of Nicaragua, not many locals make the trip out there, and few people from out there make the trip to the west side of the country. Let me tell you what I've learned about Bilwi so far.
- Lots of drugs pass through Bilwi. It's close to the Honduran border, and it's kind of a hub for drug trafficking. Even better, when drug boats are caught, the drugs get tossed off the boat, and if the boat happens to be off the shore of Bilwi, the drugs wash up on shore. People collect the drugs, dry them out and then sell them anyways. Sounds like a great way to make some extra cash for the Port community! Yeah!
- It's very dangerous in Puerto Cabezas. I actually shouldn't go there because I'll probably get stabbed. Apparently this is a hobby people have in Port. They'll definitely mug me, and if they feel like it, they'll stab me.
- The people of Bilwi speak Spanish, Miskito and Creole English. In fact, they speak mainly Creole, so my Spanish won't be of any use there.
Sounds like quite the destination, I know. When people first started making these comments about Puerto Cabezas, I admit I was a little concerned. By the time my neighbor here told me I would get stabbed (he actually put his hand into a fist and mimicked stabbing himself in the stomach while telling me this), I just let people say whatever they felt was most appropriate and then dislodged it from my brain. See, what all these people had in common is that, while telling their story, they at some point uttered the same sentence - "No lo conozco, pero...", which means, "I've never been there, but..." And I've learned that those people really have no idea what they're talking about. Not to be arrogant, but they really don't. There seems to be a recurring theme among some people that they like to bash cities that aren't there own. So it's not just Puerto Cabezas that's bad. Managua is bad, San Juan del Sur is bad, Leon is bad.
The good news is that I have run into two people that have been to Puerto Cabezas. One was there briefly for a military assignment a number of years ago. Another had been there just travelling a while ago. Both were Nicaraguans and both of them said that Puerto Cabezas is a beautiful place, and that I'll enjoy being there. That's the kind of information I can give validity to. If someone had gone there and gotten stabbed or knew someone that had gone there and gotten stabbed, I might be able to give more credence to their story.
I feel good knowing that the people have been there feel like it's a nice place. It's still a little bit of an unknown. I'm really not sure what language is going to be spoken there. Puerto Cabezas does seem to operate under it's own government in a way (they are part of the Region Autonoma Atlantic Norte - The North Atlantic Autonomous Region), so it will be interesting to see what kinds of news reaches the east coast. I also know that geographically it is very separate from the rest of the country, so being isolated that way might be interesting as well. I'm excited to finally get there. We'll have a couple days in Managua to get to know the city a little bit, and then we're off to Port on Wednesday. Sounds like we might be flying there. We had been expecting to be on a 15 hour bus ride, but we might be white-knuckling on an hour and a half flight instead. I don't really know which one I prefer. I'm just ready to get settled into our new community.
So that's where we're headed next. Puerto Cabezas. Port. Bilwi. Whichever name you want to use, I'm still not totally convinced it exists. Before coming to Nicaragua, we had limited information on it since it's not a tourist destination and because it's so separated from the departamentos on the west side of the country. If information was limited before coming here, it's not much better now. In fact, Port has become even more mysterious as we've gotten closer geographically to the place itself.
Once again, because it's not a tourist destination and because it's so separated from the rest of the popular cities of Nicaragua, not many locals make the trip out there, and few people from out there make the trip to the west side of the country. Let me tell you what I've learned about Bilwi so far.
- Lots of drugs pass through Bilwi. It's close to the Honduran border, and it's kind of a hub for drug trafficking. Even better, when drug boats are caught, the drugs get tossed off the boat, and if the boat happens to be off the shore of Bilwi, the drugs wash up on shore. People collect the drugs, dry them out and then sell them anyways. Sounds like a great way to make some extra cash for the Port community! Yeah!
- It's very dangerous in Puerto Cabezas. I actually shouldn't go there because I'll probably get stabbed. Apparently this is a hobby people have in Port. They'll definitely mug me, and if they feel like it, they'll stab me.
- The people of Bilwi speak Spanish, Miskito and Creole English. In fact, they speak mainly Creole, so my Spanish won't be of any use there.
Sounds like quite the destination, I know. When people first started making these comments about Puerto Cabezas, I admit I was a little concerned. By the time my neighbor here told me I would get stabbed (he actually put his hand into a fist and mimicked stabbing himself in the stomach while telling me this), I just let people say whatever they felt was most appropriate and then dislodged it from my brain. See, what all these people had in common is that, while telling their story, they at some point uttered the same sentence - "No lo conozco, pero...", which means, "I've never been there, but..." And I've learned that those people really have no idea what they're talking about. Not to be arrogant, but they really don't. There seems to be a recurring theme among some people that they like to bash cities that aren't there own. So it's not just Puerto Cabezas that's bad. Managua is bad, San Juan del Sur is bad, Leon is bad.
The good news is that I have run into two people that have been to Puerto Cabezas. One was there briefly for a military assignment a number of years ago. Another had been there just travelling a while ago. Both were Nicaraguans and both of them said that Puerto Cabezas is a beautiful place, and that I'll enjoy being there. That's the kind of information I can give validity to. If someone had gone there and gotten stabbed or knew someone that had gone there and gotten stabbed, I might be able to give more credence to their story.
I feel good knowing that the people have been there feel like it's a nice place. It's still a little bit of an unknown. I'm really not sure what language is going to be spoken there. Puerto Cabezas does seem to operate under it's own government in a way (they are part of the Region Autonoma Atlantic Norte - The North Atlantic Autonomous Region), so it will be interesting to see what kinds of news reaches the east coast. I also know that geographically it is very separate from the rest of the country, so being isolated that way might be interesting as well. I'm excited to finally get there. We'll have a couple days in Managua to get to know the city a little bit, and then we're off to Port on Wednesday. Sounds like we might be flying there. We had been expecting to be on a 15 hour bus ride, but we might be white-knuckling on an hour and a half flight instead. I don't really know which one I prefer. I'm just ready to get settled into our new community.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Casa Xalteva
It's been almost two weeks since I last wrote, and the time has gone by very quickly. We've had the opportunity to visit Managua to see where the Managua crew would be living and working; we've visited Volcan Masaya, one of two or three active volcanoes in the area; and we've gone swimming at the laguna de Apoyo, about an hour and a half trip outside of Granada.
Where I've been spending most of my time, though, is at Casa Xalteva. In my last entry, I inappropriately referred to it as a school. It's more like a Boys and Girls Club in the States. The kids come here in the morning or afternoon (the kids in primary school have classes in the afternoon, so they come to Casa Xalteva in the morning; the kids in secondary school have classes in the morning, so they come to Casa Xalteva in the afternoon) for help with homework and to have a safe environment in which to hang out into the evening. Casa Xalteva also offers language classes, which is part of the reason we came here. We take English classes in the afternoon for about four hours, and then most of us offer an English class at night for an hour.
The house itself has been around for about 14 years. One of its administrators, Juan Carlos, has been around since its inception. I was able to sit down and talk with him a little bit about the history of Casa Xalteva. He said that now, the environment is much more healthy. When Casa Xalteva first started in 1995, the kids were much more challenging, often coming from families that used drugs, or sometimes the kids themselves had drug problems.
From 1995 to 1999, Juan Carlos worked for the founders and owners of Casa Xalteva, who are from the United States. Juan Carlos said this sometimes made things difficult because they weren't around to see the everyday operations and couldn't always take as much time to get to know the staff and children of Casa Xalteva. Their visits to Granada were often more based on the business aspect.
For a few years thereafter, Juan Carlos was basically operating the house on his own; that is, there weren't other professors or staff members at Casa Xalteva. Of course he was still communicating with and receiving support for the owners in the States. All along in the process, though, he was the one that "found" kids to be in the program. He would talk with them if they were just hanging out in the street or if someone would recommend that he talk to a family about Casa Xalteva, he would do that.
The program started to grow again around 2003. Oscar was one of the first kids that is still here that joined around that time. He was living with his grandmother of about 85 years of age and was hanging out a lot in the street. Juan Carlos talked with his grandma about the program and she thought it would be a good idea for him. Oscar now lives with Juan Carlos, since Oscar's grandma is now in her 90's and isn't able to take care of him on her own.
Francisco is another one of the kids that has been around here the longest. Juan Carlos met him and found out that he was living with his uncles since his mom had left to live in another part of Nicaragua. His uncles were pretty heavy into alcohol, and Juan Carlos felt like it was harder to convince them to let Francisco spend time at Casa Xalteva. Francisco still spends nights and weekends at the house, but he has a much more positive environment for the rest of the day at Casa Xalteva.
There is a group of four kids that comes from a family of sixteen children that range in age from 10 to 28. Obviously it is difficult for a family to take care of that many kids, so the ones that were able to enter into Casa Xalteva benefit from some one-on-one attention and the basic food that the school provides for them.
Around 2006, there were enough kids here that Juan Carlos needed more people to work in administration. He found someone in Jorge Luis. Rather than continue as director, Juan Carlos allowed Jorge Luis to occupy that position. Juan Carlos continues to work in administration, and he works daily with the professors and other staff at Casa Xalteva to make sure things run smoothly. Jorge Luis works more with the "outside world," maintaining contact with people who are interested in coming to the school for Spanish classes and/or volunteer.
Juan Carlos said that the environment right now at the school is very good. He is very conscious of how one child's presence can impact the rest of the kids and exercises great care in discerning whether or not a child should be "accepted" into Casa Xalteva. He wants to make sure that kids have the opportunity to get help, but he does not want to jeopardize the development or safety of the other kids in Casa Xalteva.
The kids all treat each other very well, and it's almost like a big family. Most of the professors are younger, in their mid- to late-twenties, and they're really great role models for the kids. Overall, there is a positive vibe about the place, and you can see the positive impact it has on the kids. It's one of those places that you wish all the kids in Nicaragua could come to, so they would have an opportunity to be in a safe environment with other kids and with someone positive to look up to. As much as I'm looking forward to getting to Puerto Cabezas and getting set up with our house and work, it'll be hard to leave the kids after three weeks here.
If you want to see more about Casa Xalteva, they have a website (hasn't been updated in about a year, but it's a good source of info): www.casaxalteva.org
Where I've been spending most of my time, though, is at Casa Xalteva. In my last entry, I inappropriately referred to it as a school. It's more like a Boys and Girls Club in the States. The kids come here in the morning or afternoon (the kids in primary school have classes in the afternoon, so they come to Casa Xalteva in the morning; the kids in secondary school have classes in the morning, so they come to Casa Xalteva in the afternoon) for help with homework and to have a safe environment in which to hang out into the evening. Casa Xalteva also offers language classes, which is part of the reason we came here. We take English classes in the afternoon for about four hours, and then most of us offer an English class at night for an hour.
The house itself has been around for about 14 years. One of its administrators, Juan Carlos, has been around since its inception. I was able to sit down and talk with him a little bit about the history of Casa Xalteva. He said that now, the environment is much more healthy. When Casa Xalteva first started in 1995, the kids were much more challenging, often coming from families that used drugs, or sometimes the kids themselves had drug problems.
From 1995 to 1999, Juan Carlos worked for the founders and owners of Casa Xalteva, who are from the United States. Juan Carlos said this sometimes made things difficult because they weren't around to see the everyday operations and couldn't always take as much time to get to know the staff and children of Casa Xalteva. Their visits to Granada were often more based on the business aspect.
For a few years thereafter, Juan Carlos was basically operating the house on his own; that is, there weren't other professors or staff members at Casa Xalteva. Of course he was still communicating with and receiving support for the owners in the States. All along in the process, though, he was the one that "found" kids to be in the program. He would talk with them if they were just hanging out in the street or if someone would recommend that he talk to a family about Casa Xalteva, he would do that.
The program started to grow again around 2003. Oscar was one of the first kids that is still here that joined around that time. He was living with his grandmother of about 85 years of age and was hanging out a lot in the street. Juan Carlos talked with his grandma about the program and she thought it would be a good idea for him. Oscar now lives with Juan Carlos, since Oscar's grandma is now in her 90's and isn't able to take care of him on her own.
Francisco is another one of the kids that has been around here the longest. Juan Carlos met him and found out that he was living with his uncles since his mom had left to live in another part of Nicaragua. His uncles were pretty heavy into alcohol, and Juan Carlos felt like it was harder to convince them to let Francisco spend time at Casa Xalteva. Francisco still spends nights and weekends at the house, but he has a much more positive environment for the rest of the day at Casa Xalteva.
There is a group of four kids that comes from a family of sixteen children that range in age from 10 to 28. Obviously it is difficult for a family to take care of that many kids, so the ones that were able to enter into Casa Xalteva benefit from some one-on-one attention and the basic food that the school provides for them.
Around 2006, there were enough kids here that Juan Carlos needed more people to work in administration. He found someone in Jorge Luis. Rather than continue as director, Juan Carlos allowed Jorge Luis to occupy that position. Juan Carlos continues to work in administration, and he works daily with the professors and other staff at Casa Xalteva to make sure things run smoothly. Jorge Luis works more with the "outside world," maintaining contact with people who are interested in coming to the school for Spanish classes and/or volunteer.
Juan Carlos said that the environment right now at the school is very good. He is very conscious of how one child's presence can impact the rest of the kids and exercises great care in discerning whether or not a child should be "accepted" into Casa Xalteva. He wants to make sure that kids have the opportunity to get help, but he does not want to jeopardize the development or safety of the other kids in Casa Xalteva.
The kids all treat each other very well, and it's almost like a big family. Most of the professors are younger, in their mid- to late-twenties, and they're really great role models for the kids. Overall, there is a positive vibe about the place, and you can see the positive impact it has on the kids. It's one of those places that you wish all the kids in Nicaragua could come to, so they would have an opportunity to be in a safe environment with other kids and with someone positive to look up to. As much as I'm looking forward to getting to Puerto Cabezas and getting set up with our house and work, it'll be hard to leave the kids after three weeks here.
If you want to see more about Casa Xalteva, they have a website (hasn't been updated in about a year, but it's a good source of info): www.casaxalteva.org
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
This is it...
The adventure started early on Saturday morning at 6:58am BACT (Bedside Alarm Clock Time). I didn't know it at the time, but 6:57am would be my last minute of sleep in the States for quite some time. Saturday/Sunday was a long day of preparation - Preparing to distance myself (more physically than emotionally) from relationships at home, preparing to enter into new relationships abroad and, of course, last minute preparation that involved getting my suitcase down from 57lbs to 49.5lbs.
I was almost numb saying goodbye to my fellow volunteers headed to Peru, my sister Katherine and my parents at the airport on Sunday morning. Saturday's goodbyes left me almost without more tears to cry. On Saturday, I had to say goodbye to my sister Sara, bro-in-law Brian, Nick, Makayla, Cat, Todd and Julia and anyone else that I managed to get in touch with that day.
Even then, it didn't really hit me until I was laying on my bed in my host family's house here in Granada just how long 18 months is. There's a lot to be afraid of, a lot to look forward to and a lot to learn.
The first couple of days have been a whirlwind. On Sunday, the city was closing out a weeklong fiesta with a "hípico", or parade of horses. They parade about 3,000 horses from all over down the main drag in Granada, La Calle Xalteva. I got tired around 4:30, when it occurred to me that I had been standing in the sol for a solid hour of the two hours we were there, and I didn't have sunscreen on. My host-dad took me back to the house, and, after about an hour of re-arranging my suitcases so I knew where things were and writing a few things in my journal, I crashed. I slept about 11 and a half hours.
At the school, we are doing volunteer work in the morning and then having language class all afternoon. In the morning, we will probably be helping kids with homework, but since they didn't have much from the last week (when the fiesta was going on), we basically just hung out with them, playing soccer, cards (Uno!) and Sherrades (hmmm...bad spelling). Today, we went about 10 minutes outside the town to these islands that were formed by the volcano erupting some time ago. It ended up forming about 300 little islands (isletas) that people have turned into vacation housing or a business place/housing. We hung out there with the about a dozen of the kids and a few instructors from the school for a few hours, swimming and hanging out. One of the nearby islands is the isleta de los monos, aptly named for its primary inhabitants. I think the monkeys had one too many foreign visitors, because when we swam up, I think they were waiting for food.
Then in the afternoon, instead of classes, they decided it would be good to take us to San Juan del Oriente (at least I think that's where we were) to get a look at how the people there make their ceramics. We got to take a shot at forming some sort of bowl or vase or anything resembling useful ceramics. I failed miserably, and I think most people in the group struggled as well. It was entertaining. I hope we stay in class tomorrow. I think I'd like to keep on with the Spanish classes instead of the all-day excursions. I think that was just a one-day thing anyway.
It's crazy to be somewhere where everyone speaks Spanish again. We've all been pretty good about speaking in Spanish amongst our gringo selves, so hopefully that will continue. I'm enjoying the time here as something different. My clock gets unplugged in the morning to save electricity, so I set the time every night before I go to bed. Just something foreign to me I guess. Got me to thinking that if everyone did that in the States with many appliances, it might save a lot of energy. But that's the idealist in me talking.
I was almost numb saying goodbye to my fellow volunteers headed to Peru, my sister Katherine and my parents at the airport on Sunday morning. Saturday's goodbyes left me almost without more tears to cry. On Saturday, I had to say goodbye to my sister Sara, bro-in-law Brian, Nick, Makayla, Cat, Todd and Julia and anyone else that I managed to get in touch with that day.
Even then, it didn't really hit me until I was laying on my bed in my host family's house here in Granada just how long 18 months is. There's a lot to be afraid of, a lot to look forward to and a lot to learn.
The first couple of days have been a whirlwind. On Sunday, the city was closing out a weeklong fiesta with a "hípico", or parade of horses. They parade about 3,000 horses from all over down the main drag in Granada, La Calle Xalteva. I got tired around 4:30, when it occurred to me that I had been standing in the sol for a solid hour of the two hours we were there, and I didn't have sunscreen on. My host-dad took me back to the house, and, after about an hour of re-arranging my suitcases so I knew where things were and writing a few things in my journal, I crashed. I slept about 11 and a half hours.
At the school, we are doing volunteer work in the morning and then having language class all afternoon. In the morning, we will probably be helping kids with homework, but since they didn't have much from the last week (when the fiesta was going on), we basically just hung out with them, playing soccer, cards (Uno!) and Sherrades (hmmm...bad spelling). Today, we went about 10 minutes outside the town to these islands that were formed by the volcano erupting some time ago. It ended up forming about 300 little islands (isletas) that people have turned into vacation housing or a business place/housing. We hung out there with the about a dozen of the kids and a few instructors from the school for a few hours, swimming and hanging out. One of the nearby islands is the isleta de los monos, aptly named for its primary inhabitants. I think the monkeys had one too many foreign visitors, because when we swam up, I think they were waiting for food.
Then in the afternoon, instead of classes, they decided it would be good to take us to San Juan del Oriente (at least I think that's where we were) to get a look at how the people there make their ceramics. We got to take a shot at forming some sort of bowl or vase or anything resembling useful ceramics. I failed miserably, and I think most people in the group struggled as well. It was entertaining. I hope we stay in class tomorrow. I think I'd like to keep on with the Spanish classes instead of the all-day excursions. I think that was just a one-day thing anyway.
It's crazy to be somewhere where everyone speaks Spanish again. We've all been pretty good about speaking in Spanish amongst our gringo selves, so hopefully that will continue. I'm enjoying the time here as something different. My clock gets unplugged in the morning to save electricity, so I set the time every night before I go to bed. Just something foreign to me I guess. Got me to thinking that if everyone did that in the States with many appliances, it might save a lot of energy. But that's the idealist in me talking.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Capitalism
I was going to be in bed by 11:30 tonight. However, I needed also to get some things done after volleyball. So two emails, three Craigslist postings, one enneagram test and about 40 photos (still uploading) later, here I sit. I realized today that I didn't really have any pictures to take along with me, so I figured it would be a good idea to get some printed.
Anyway. We had a really loaded session today at training. I honestly had a rough time following everything this morning because it seemed based around economic theory and some comparisons to physics and biology that I couldn't wrap my head around. Plus, I was having a hard time following along because I couldn't see the powerpoint.
But in the afternoon, I think I got the gist of what was going on. Basically, the point that was trying to be made was that Capitalism makes people into marketshares or things that can or cannot produce/spend/transfer money, which devalues the person and strips the person's job of its dignity. Another economic model, Catholic Social Teaching, puts more emphasis on distribution of wealth and valuing the worker, the person.
If you know me, you might have at some point heard me complain about how America is losing the middle class, and the disparity between the rich and the poor is growing too much for a "successful" economy to be sustained. (By the way, if this doesn't make sense...it's midnight, so you'll just have to work with me.) So I think this Catholic Social Teaching kind of puts legitimate economic thought to my random critiques of United States capitalism. However, I found myself in the session thinking about how impossible it is to change "Americans" point of view.
The idea is that there is an opportunity--given the economic state of the country--to change peoples' way of thinking and get them to buy into the idea of equality and wealth sharing and legitimate opportunity for everyone. Problem is, how do you change the beliefs of a people four plus centuries in the making. You can go back and look at the history of how badly the "others" of this country were treated. Native Americans, women, blacks, homosexuals. Those are the ones the pop into my head most readily. Supposedly, these "others" (I use the term to describe how they were seen at the point of their greatest struggles) have been given more opportunity than they ever have, but are they really equal? Native Americans were given little plots of land in a country that was stolen from them. Women make, what, 80 cents to the dollar of what a man makes in the same job. It's great that we have a black president (one-drop theory comes to mind here, though), but look at the rest of the federal government. And the gay community is still struggling for many rights denied of them.
Point is, I'm not sure the people in the US can truly adopt a new economy. I think people can kind of see how Capitalism failed them, but if the economy bounces back within a year or two, it's going to be hard to convince people to make serious changes in their way of life. I would love for the "person" to be valued and not simply seen as a worker that produces goods or buys goods or whatever. It would be great to see a better distribution of wealth so everyone can have what they need instead of one person owning a huge flat-panel TV and another struggling to get enough food to eat each month. How do you do that with HUMANS though? There's always this sense of entitlement (this was also brought up this morning, but briefly). How are you going to get people to become doctors if they get the same pay, or near same pay, as someone who does some mindless, low-stress job?
Anyway, my apologies for the negative thoughts. My pictures are done printing and I should probably get to a bed. Maybe I'll learn more about this in the future and be able to talk about it with more reason than my own intuition.
Anyway. We had a really loaded session today at training. I honestly had a rough time following everything this morning because it seemed based around economic theory and some comparisons to physics and biology that I couldn't wrap my head around. Plus, I was having a hard time following along because I couldn't see the powerpoint.
But in the afternoon, I think I got the gist of what was going on. Basically, the point that was trying to be made was that Capitalism makes people into marketshares or things that can or cannot produce/spend/transfer money, which devalues the person and strips the person's job of its dignity. Another economic model, Catholic Social Teaching, puts more emphasis on distribution of wealth and valuing the worker, the person.
If you know me, you might have at some point heard me complain about how America is losing the middle class, and the disparity between the rich and the poor is growing too much for a "successful" economy to be sustained. (By the way, if this doesn't make sense...it's midnight, so you'll just have to work with me.) So I think this Catholic Social Teaching kind of puts legitimate economic thought to my random critiques of United States capitalism. However, I found myself in the session thinking about how impossible it is to change "Americans" point of view.
The idea is that there is an opportunity--given the economic state of the country--to change peoples' way of thinking and get them to buy into the idea of equality and wealth sharing and legitimate opportunity for everyone. Problem is, how do you change the beliefs of a people four plus centuries in the making. You can go back and look at the history of how badly the "others" of this country were treated. Native Americans, women, blacks, homosexuals. Those are the ones the pop into my head most readily. Supposedly, these "others" (I use the term to describe how they were seen at the point of their greatest struggles) have been given more opportunity than they ever have, but are they really equal? Native Americans were given little plots of land in a country that was stolen from them. Women make, what, 80 cents to the dollar of what a man makes in the same job. It's great that we have a black president (one-drop theory comes to mind here, though), but look at the rest of the federal government. And the gay community is still struggling for many rights denied of them.
Point is, I'm not sure the people in the US can truly adopt a new economy. I think people can kind of see how Capitalism failed them, but if the economy bounces back within a year or two, it's going to be hard to convince people to make serious changes in their way of life. I would love for the "person" to be valued and not simply seen as a worker that produces goods or buys goods or whatever. It would be great to see a better distribution of wealth so everyone can have what they need instead of one person owning a huge flat-panel TV and another struggling to get enough food to eat each month. How do you do that with HUMANS though? There's always this sense of entitlement (this was also brought up this morning, but briefly). How are you going to get people to become doctors if they get the same pay, or near same pay, as someone who does some mindless, low-stress job?
Anyway, my apologies for the negative thoughts. My pictures are done printing and I should probably get to a bed. Maybe I'll learn more about this in the future and be able to talk about it with more reason than my own intuition.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Last night in the valley
I'm taking a break from packing. I made the mistake of not starting until today, so hopefully everything fits. I've suddenly become paranoid about my luggage. Too many people looking through my belongings.
Speaking of which, I think I have too many belongings. I don't really intend to bring much money, so having all the necessities is important. Still feels like there's too much stuff.
I've been spending a lot of time with my niece and nephew while I've been around my parents' house (my sister and brother-in-law and the kids live across the street). That's pretty commonplace when I'm in Kaukauna. I think a lot about the process of growing up and get way ahead of myself thinking about my own kids and how hard it will be to see them leave the house. Yeah, I know, REALLY ahead of myself on that one.
My parents say it's helpful for them to have someone to entertain the kids when my sister and bro-in-law have other things to do. I wish I could pretend to be so generous, but I have too much fun for it to be altruistic. That's not what I'm trying to get at though. Point is, they're the ones that will probably go through the most dramatic changes while I'm gone. Nick's heading to middle school for 5th grade and Makayla's getting into 1st grade. They'll each by half-way through the next grade level by the time I come back. They're such good kids. I hope they know they're good and try to stay that way. Their parents are certainly doing everything they can to raise them the right way.
But that's just two of the people it will be difficult for me to leave. I think family in general is the most challenging to say goodbye to. My other sister is probably the most excited for me, since she has volunteered abroad and knows what kind of impact it can have. Thankfully I have the support (however hesitant) of my parents, who probably didn't anticipate that two of their children would leave them for another country. No worries, mom and dad - I've made it this far, right?
My friends...I'm not even sure how many of you all know I'm leaving. Some of you might be reading this post a few months into my time in Nicaragua. Doesn't mean I don't like you. Just means I'm kind of a slacker and don't do well with goodbyes and the like. The people who've seen me, I keep telling them I'll see them again before I leave, but I have no idea if that'll actually happen. Hopefully it does, but who knows...
It's probably a good idea to return to packing. We start our Cap Corps orientation tomorrow in Milwaukee. Nine jam-packed days of learning fun! Yeah!
Speaking of which, I think I have too many belongings. I don't really intend to bring much money, so having all the necessities is important. Still feels like there's too much stuff.
I've been spending a lot of time with my niece and nephew while I've been around my parents' house (my sister and brother-in-law and the kids live across the street). That's pretty commonplace when I'm in Kaukauna. I think a lot about the process of growing up and get way ahead of myself thinking about my own kids and how hard it will be to see them leave the house. Yeah, I know, REALLY ahead of myself on that one.
My parents say it's helpful for them to have someone to entertain the kids when my sister and bro-in-law have other things to do. I wish I could pretend to be so generous, but I have too much fun for it to be altruistic. That's not what I'm trying to get at though. Point is, they're the ones that will probably go through the most dramatic changes while I'm gone. Nick's heading to middle school for 5th grade and Makayla's getting into 1st grade. They'll each by half-way through the next grade level by the time I come back. They're such good kids. I hope they know they're good and try to stay that way. Their parents are certainly doing everything they can to raise them the right way.
But that's just two of the people it will be difficult for me to leave. I think family in general is the most challenging to say goodbye to. My other sister is probably the most excited for me, since she has volunteered abroad and knows what kind of impact it can have. Thankfully I have the support (however hesitant) of my parents, who probably didn't anticipate that two of their children would leave them for another country. No worries, mom and dad - I've made it this far, right?
My friends...I'm not even sure how many of you all know I'm leaving. Some of you might be reading this post a few months into my time in Nicaragua. Doesn't mean I don't like you. Just means I'm kind of a slacker and don't do well with goodbyes and the like. The people who've seen me, I keep telling them I'll see them again before I leave, but I have no idea if that'll actually happen. Hopefully it does, but who knows...
It's probably a good idea to return to packing. We start our Cap Corps orientation tomorrow in Milwaukee. Nine jam-packed days of learning fun! Yeah!
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