December is a month of celebrations in Nicaragua, the Purísima (see my Dec 08 post too) is to celebrate the conception of the Virgin Mary and the miracles she has performed. My good friend and Nicaragua expert, Miguel, was telling me, on a recent visit to Leon, that the Purísima is to give thanks to Mary for stopping a volcanic eruption that was threatening a Nicaraguan city. I have not found this explanation anywhere else, but I will keep asking around about it. La Gritería (The Shouting) happens on the Purísima's Eve. People go around to houses with alters made to Mary and sing to her and the people in the house then hand out treats such as sour lemons, chicha drink, sugar cane, molasses based candies and noise makers. Its almost like trick or treating and Christmas caroling put together. I wanted to go to Leon to see the celebration (because like most things, Leon does it better than anyone). But Ivan and I ended up being busy with work that weekend, so we didnt go :(
Ivan and I did go out during La Gritería to see what we could see.
I enjoyed hearing stories about when Ivan was young and he used to partake in the festivities and get all the sugar cane that he could! Ivan is also quite the traditionalist and hates to see how commercial the holiday has become with households now giving out candy bars and such. Most of the people participating are very poor and carry around large sacks to collect all they can. Others however are devout Catholics and of course lots of kids. The government also sets up alters downtown and hands out beans, rice and oil to the poor. Ivan and I drove through downtown after it had ended and it was horribly amazing to see how much trash was littered all over the streets. It was jaw dropping.
One of the best parts is the firecrackers everyone sets off at noon, 6 pm and midnight. It is really fun to hear hundreds going off at once and it last for 10 minutes or so too!
Christmas in Nicaragua is celebrated on Christmas Eve. Families get together and have a late dinner (around midnight)open presents and set off fire crackers. I will see this tradition first hand tomorrow night!
In the meantime, here are a couple good articles from Times magazine about Nicaragua and Christmas:
Nicaragua: Where Everyday is Christmas
Have Yourself a Sandinista Christmas
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Democracia Si, Dictadura No!
Last night I woke up around 4:30 and I thought it was strangely quiet. The parrots and other tropical birds started chirping around 6 and Ivan's friend arrived at the apt around 8:30. We watched some news coverage and all seemed peaceful. They left here around 9:30, dressed in white shirts, and planning on meeting up with colleagues from work. They arrived back here around 12:30, they were excited but exhausted. Ivan said it was an amazing feeling to reach Carretera Masaya and see a river of white.
Now, we are being forced to watch the Sandinistas "celebrating" one year since the victories of the municipal elections, which they just so happened to schedule for the same day. At first none of the channels were covering the "celebration", just channel 4 (the one owned by the sandinistas). But now all channels must be mandated to show it, because they are all showing the same feed and without commentary or anything.
Here are some videos I took of news coverage:
"
Here is a video of what I could hear from the apt:
Now, we are being forced to watch the Sandinistas "celebrating" one year since the victories of the municipal elections, which they just so happened to schedule for the same day. At first none of the channels were covering the "celebration", just channel 4 (the one owned by the sandinistas). But now all channels must be mandated to show it, because they are all showing the same feed and without commentary or anything.
Here are some videos I took of news coverage:
"
Here is a video of what I could hear from the apt:
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sandanistas Back to their Old Tricks
Last month Nicaragua's constitution was violated, changing the law that will now allow Ortega to run for re-election. Since that time there has been some political turmoil, but not as much as I would have imagined. It actually seemed to happen without people blinking an eye. It certainly was expected, but doesn't make it any more acceptable.
The biggest outrage was seen when Robert Callahan (US Embassador to Nic) made a statement, making it clear that the US State Dept was concerned about the recent changes to the constitution and more so how it was changed. Sandinista turbas (basically street bums paid by the Sandinista's to cause trouble) were outside the fortress that is the American Embassy destroying signs, light fixtures, and trying to throw things over the wall. Police did little to nothing. I think it is sad how these people openly destroyed property and were never arrested or detained. There seems to be absolutely no justice-no one has to take responsibility for their actions. And I see this every day in school as well. It is amazing to me how such behavior, mainly unaccountability, committed by those that are seemingly social deviants, is the same type of behavior that I see some of my students display at school and sadly sometimes behavior I see administrators display as well. The school is a microcosm of the society. And I am sorry to say that from my point of view, displays of such behavior are not only made by deviants, but normal members of society as well.
Anyway, there has been a protest, a march in the works for several weeks now and it has turned into a three ring circus, as most things in Nicaragua do. It started off as a march against the change in the constitution, and then people said they wanted to march against the fraudulent elections that happened last year, and then the liberals said they were marching and different unions are marching and of course, the Sandinistas are marching against the march! What was supposed to be a peaceful protest now is billed as being the 2nd Revolution!
The opposition march planned their route and gathering places in advance and cleared it with the police and such. Now the Sandinistas are saying they are marching the same route in the opposite direction. The police, at first, told the Sandinistas that they needed to change their route, but now, since they are in the government’s pocket, the opposition in now being told they need to change their route.
This is all supposed to take place on Carretera Masaya, which is about 3 blocks from my apartment, and the starting point will be at the Mall, less than a 5 minute drive from my house. There is no worry for me though, because our road is not a main road and only traveled by those who live here. There should be no rabble rousers on our street.
There has been a document released, and the validity of it has been questioned, but it is supposed to be the Sandinista plan to impede the Opposition March. They are trying to use fear tactics, as always, to keep people from marching, saying that they are going to take over all main traffic routes of the city, fire off mortars, burn tires, throw rocks, generally terrorize, to keep people from coming out. Ivan has decided not to march, which of course I am happy for, because I would not want him out in that madness, but I am also a little upset as well. He should be able to go out and protest this travesty done to his country and speak his mind. It is all very sickening.
Here is a great article from the New York Times that explains things much more eloquently than I. There is something about this situation that leaves me at a loss for words at how wrong it is.
I will most likely be posting information here on Saturday, as it happens. Ivan teases me that I think I am a breaking news source or something.
The biggest outrage was seen when Robert Callahan (US Embassador to Nic) made a statement, making it clear that the US State Dept was concerned about the recent changes to the constitution and more so how it was changed. Sandinista turbas (basically street bums paid by the Sandinista's to cause trouble) were outside the fortress that is the American Embassy destroying signs, light fixtures, and trying to throw things over the wall. Police did little to nothing. I think it is sad how these people openly destroyed property and were never arrested or detained. There seems to be absolutely no justice-no one has to take responsibility for their actions. And I see this every day in school as well. It is amazing to me how such behavior, mainly unaccountability, committed by those that are seemingly social deviants, is the same type of behavior that I see some of my students display at school and sadly sometimes behavior I see administrators display as well. The school is a microcosm of the society. And I am sorry to say that from my point of view, displays of such behavior are not only made by deviants, but normal members of society as well.
Anyway, there has been a protest, a march in the works for several weeks now and it has turned into a three ring circus, as most things in Nicaragua do. It started off as a march against the change in the constitution, and then people said they wanted to march against the fraudulent elections that happened last year, and then the liberals said they were marching and different unions are marching and of course, the Sandinistas are marching against the march! What was supposed to be a peaceful protest now is billed as being the 2nd Revolution!
The opposition march planned their route and gathering places in advance and cleared it with the police and such. Now the Sandinistas are saying they are marching the same route in the opposite direction. The police, at first, told the Sandinistas that they needed to change their route, but now, since they are in the government’s pocket, the opposition in now being told they need to change their route.
This is all supposed to take place on Carretera Masaya, which is about 3 blocks from my apartment, and the starting point will be at the Mall, less than a 5 minute drive from my house. There is no worry for me though, because our road is not a main road and only traveled by those who live here. There should be no rabble rousers on our street.
There has been a document released, and the validity of it has been questioned, but it is supposed to be the Sandinista plan to impede the Opposition March. They are trying to use fear tactics, as always, to keep people from marching, saying that they are going to take over all main traffic routes of the city, fire off mortars, burn tires, throw rocks, generally terrorize, to keep people from coming out. Ivan has decided not to march, which of course I am happy for, because I would not want him out in that madness, but I am also a little upset as well. He should be able to go out and protest this travesty done to his country and speak his mind. It is all very sickening.
Here is a great article from the New York Times that explains things much more eloquently than I. There is something about this situation that leaves me at a loss for words at how wrong it is.
I will most likely be posting information here on Saturday, as it happens. Ivan teases me that I think I am a breaking news source or something.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Recent Seismic Activity
This week there has been lots of moving and shaking in Nicaragua! I am sure it is all connected to the earthquakes in the South Pacific, we are all part of that "burning ring of fire".
Monday I came home from work and took a shower, a thunderstorm had started and I thought, I should get dressed right away instead of lounging around in my towel for awhile, just in case there is an earthquake. A few minutes later there was a 4.4 Richter scale tremor. It felt stronger than the first one I had felt here and seemed to last longer, only a couple of seconds. I think I had the little premonition because the first time I felt a quake here was in the afternoon, around the same time during a thunderstorm too.
Adrienn, friend and 6th grade science teacher, commented today during a rain storm, that earthquakes often happen at that time, when a drastic change in temperature happens. And it was really hot today! I don't know what temperature has to do with plate tectonics, but people have often said here that earthquakes happen when it is really hot, which to me it always seems really hot. Maybe it is an old wives tale, or maybe I know nothing about earthquakes, being a New England girl and all!
Tuesday night there were two small tremors, I didn't feel them, but Ivan felt one and my students were talking about it in class. Last night there was a noticeable one as well. I am told that lots of small tremors are good! Small releases of pressure instead of pressuring building up and resulting in a large earthquake. They say when there hasn't been tremors in awhile, they start getting nervous. This makes sense to me, but I also feel like small tremors are warnings to something more to come, like signs before a volcanic eruption.
Anyway, I have been checking up on the Nicaraguan Seismic Monitoring website and there have been quite a few tremors each day (25 yesterday!), many too small to feel. Most are originating from near Volcan Apoyeque, which is on Lake Managua, not far from the city. But the stronger ones we have felt, have been from near Puerto Sandino, which is closer to Leon on the coast.
I am wondering if there are similar movements happening further up the ring in San Francisco and Seattle...Ceilidh, Mom, Dad?
Monday I came home from work and took a shower, a thunderstorm had started and I thought, I should get dressed right away instead of lounging around in my towel for awhile, just in case there is an earthquake. A few minutes later there was a 4.4 Richter scale tremor. It felt stronger than the first one I had felt here and seemed to last longer, only a couple of seconds. I think I had the little premonition because the first time I felt a quake here was in the afternoon, around the same time during a thunderstorm too.
Adrienn, friend and 6th grade science teacher, commented today during a rain storm, that earthquakes often happen at that time, when a drastic change in temperature happens. And it was really hot today! I don't know what temperature has to do with plate tectonics, but people have often said here that earthquakes happen when it is really hot, which to me it always seems really hot. Maybe it is an old wives tale, or maybe I know nothing about earthquakes, being a New England girl and all!
Tuesday night there were two small tremors, I didn't feel them, but Ivan felt one and my students were talking about it in class. Last night there was a noticeable one as well. I am told that lots of small tremors are good! Small releases of pressure instead of pressuring building up and resulting in a large earthquake. They say when there hasn't been tremors in awhile, they start getting nervous. This makes sense to me, but I also feel like small tremors are warnings to something more to come, like signs before a volcanic eruption.
Anyway, I have been checking up on the Nicaraguan Seismic Monitoring website and there have been quite a few tremors each day (25 yesterday!), many too small to feel. Most are originating from near Volcan Apoyeque, which is on Lake Managua, not far from the city. But the stronger ones we have felt, have been from near Puerto Sandino, which is closer to Leon on the coast.
I am wondering if there are similar movements happening further up the ring in San Francisco and Seattle...Ceilidh, Mom, Dad?
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Mariposa Means Butterfly
There have been so many mariposas around lately, and it has been such a welcomed sight. After a tough class I start walking to the teacher's lounge all hot, sweaty, and frustrated and then a little (or big) butterfly crosses my path and makes everything all better. Sometimes they fly into my classroom or hover around the many flowers on campus. They come in all colors and sizes. I like the black and blue ones the best. I wish I could carry around a little camera to capture their beauty, unfortunately I always seem to see them at school and therefore don't get pictures.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Dragon Fruit Fun and Other Fruit Smoothies!
Its dragon fruit season (or pitahaya season as its known as here)and I am enjoying experimenting with its deliciousness! Dragon fruit either has a white flesh or red flesh (red is the type we have here) and is the fruit of a cactus. Its flower is lovely and of the midnight blooming variety, I wish I would see one here. It has a mild and delicate flavor, and is often compared to a kiwi although I dont think it is as strong or sour.
As you can imagine by its color, it is loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C and lots of other good stuff. Here in Nicaragua it is commonly enjoyed as a refresco (or fresh juice) like everything else! Although I thoroughly enjoy all the delicious "frescos" I can get here, sometimes I wonder if that is the only thing people know what to do with fruit here! I use Sabine as my inspiration, when faced with too many mangoes to eat, dropping each day in her back yard, she made mango pie, mango salsa, mango sorbet, mango smoothies.
First I made the pitahaya refresco, which was delicious. The seeds kinda get ground up in the juice and gives it a flavor like oily but not bad, kinda like omega-3, avocado type taste. When I was in Leon this past weekend, I had pitahaya juice, but the seeds were still in tact and had a little bit of the gelatinous fruit still around it. It was like the best bubble tea ever! And it didnt have the oily-ness that some people don't like. Ivan's mom said in order to make it like that you have to mash the fruit and then mix it with water instead of blending it. I will have to try it next time.
After making juice, I wanted to see what else I could do with it. I found lots of good recipes online that I am excited to try, one of which is a pitahaya jelly, which I think is more like a jello, I need to see if I can find gelatin here. The sorbet recipe seemed doable, so I tried it today, since I have a long weekend! The ingredients were simple, water, sugar, lime and the fruit from 2 pitahayas. I also added a couple of drops of tequila and triple sec. The hardest part was waiting for it to freeze and I am not sure if it will ever freeze completely with our crappy freezer. But it did get frozen enough to have as dessert and it received good reviews!
Ivan has also been up to new things in the kitchen. He is on a smoothie making kick after watching one being made on a cooking show. I have been really enjoying it. Each smoothie has had the base of papaya, which I am starting to like, if it is not too ripe. Also papaya tica (from Costa Rica) is much better than any others I have had. Added to the papaya is fresh dragon fruit juice, fresh granadilla juice (part of the passion fruit family), fresh passion fruit juice, mango, strawberries, kiwi, and lime, Yum! Today he made papaya, cantaloupe and grapefruit (which we thought was an orange until we opened it. It was also delicious!
As you can imagine by its color, it is loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C and lots of other good stuff. Here in Nicaragua it is commonly enjoyed as a refresco (or fresh juice) like everything else! Although I thoroughly enjoy all the delicious "frescos" I can get here, sometimes I wonder if that is the only thing people know what to do with fruit here! I use Sabine as my inspiration, when faced with too many mangoes to eat, dropping each day in her back yard, she made mango pie, mango salsa, mango sorbet, mango smoothies.
First I made the pitahaya refresco, which was delicious. The seeds kinda get ground up in the juice and gives it a flavor like oily but not bad, kinda like omega-3, avocado type taste. When I was in Leon this past weekend, I had pitahaya juice, but the seeds were still in tact and had a little bit of the gelatinous fruit still around it. It was like the best bubble tea ever! And it didnt have the oily-ness that some people don't like. Ivan's mom said in order to make it like that you have to mash the fruit and then mix it with water instead of blending it. I will have to try it next time.
After making juice, I wanted to see what else I could do with it. I found lots of good recipes online that I am excited to try, one of which is a pitahaya jelly, which I think is more like a jello, I need to see if I can find gelatin here. The sorbet recipe seemed doable, so I tried it today, since I have a long weekend! The ingredients were simple, water, sugar, lime and the fruit from 2 pitahayas. I also added a couple of drops of tequila and triple sec. The hardest part was waiting for it to freeze and I am not sure if it will ever freeze completely with our crappy freezer. But it did get frozen enough to have as dessert and it received good reviews!
Ivan has also been up to new things in the kitchen. He is on a smoothie making kick after watching one being made on a cooking show. I have been really enjoying it. Each smoothie has had the base of papaya, which I am starting to like, if it is not too ripe. Also papaya tica (from Costa Rica) is much better than any others I have had. Added to the papaya is fresh dragon fruit juice, fresh granadilla juice (part of the passion fruit family), fresh passion fruit juice, mango, strawberries, kiwi, and lime, Yum! Today he made papaya, cantaloupe and grapefruit (which we thought was an orange until we opened it. It was also delicious!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Managua's Mayor Commits Suicide
Managua's newly "elected" mayor, Alexis Argüello committed suicide with a shot to the chest around 1:30 this morning.
He was a three-time champion boxer, only to have all his riches stolen from him in the 80s by the Sandinistas, as they did to many of the wealthy in Nicaragua at that time. He more recently joined the Sandinista Party and "won" the office of mayor in an election that most believe to have been highly fraudulent.
He is known to have a history with drug and alcohol addiction, which may be an indicator of underlying depression that could have led to his suicide. This is merely my speculation, no news has come out as to why he might have done this yet.
This is of course very sad news. Although I was not happy about his election, I saw him mostly as someone the Sandinistas could easily manipulate and felt sorry he was so easily taken advantage of. He appeared to be a soft-spoken and kind-hearted man. My thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones.
Alexis Argüello 1952-2009
He was a three-time champion boxer, only to have all his riches stolen from him in the 80s by the Sandinistas, as they did to many of the wealthy in Nicaragua at that time. He more recently joined the Sandinista Party and "won" the office of mayor in an election that most believe to have been highly fraudulent.
He is known to have a history with drug and alcohol addiction, which may be an indicator of underlying depression that could have led to his suicide. This is merely my speculation, no news has come out as to why he might have done this yet.
This is of course very sad news. Although I was not happy about his election, I saw him mostly as someone the Sandinistas could easily manipulate and felt sorry he was so easily taken advantage of. He appeared to be a soft-spoken and kind-hearted man. My thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones.
Alexis Argüello 1952-2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Coup in Honduras
I bet you didn't know there was a coup d'etat (golpe de estado) in Honduras today! That's because the US media is barely covering it. Here is the New York Times coverage, and the coverage was much better on CNN.com, but you really had to look for it and finally it was a headline on Fox News
So basically this is what is going on, from my understanding: The President of Honduras, Mr. Zelaya, wants to be able to be elected for another term, but the constitutional law in Honduras only allows for one 4 year term. There was supposed referendum held today in Honduras to measure the popular support for this change. The Supreme Court of Honduras ruled that the referendum was illegal. Last week President Zelaya fired the head of the military because he refused to aid in conducting the vote. There was some unrest and the airport was shut down for a day.
This morning the military kidnapped the Zelaya and sent him to Costa Rica. Supposedly the ambassadors of Nicaragua and Venezuela were also kidnapped, but that is unconfirmed at this moment. The coup was a drastic way for the judiciary branch to enforce their ruling that the vote was illegal and Zelaya was breaking the law by going forward with the vote. From what I can understand from the press conference that is on right now, Zelaya will be coming to Managua tomorrow with President Arias to meet, GREAT!
The Congress in Honduras just read a bogus letter of resignation from Zelaya and it seemed that the majority of the Congress voted to accept it. This is yet to be confirmed.
I have been meaning to write about the political situation in Central America for a couple days now and share my thoughts and then this happens! I will write more soon about the dangerous bedfellows here in CA and how it connects with Iran.
I just found a video on CNN, it looks like they are finally picking up the story! (We will forgive the former ambassador for mispronouncing coup)
So basically this is what is going on, from my understanding: The President of Honduras, Mr. Zelaya, wants to be able to be elected for another term, but the constitutional law in Honduras only allows for one 4 year term. There was supposed referendum held today in Honduras to measure the popular support for this change. The Supreme Court of Honduras ruled that the referendum was illegal. Last week President Zelaya fired the head of the military because he refused to aid in conducting the vote. There was some unrest and the airport was shut down for a day.
This morning the military kidnapped the Zelaya and sent him to Costa Rica. Supposedly the ambassadors of Nicaragua and Venezuela were also kidnapped, but that is unconfirmed at this moment. The coup was a drastic way for the judiciary branch to enforce their ruling that the vote was illegal and Zelaya was breaking the law by going forward with the vote. From what I can understand from the press conference that is on right now, Zelaya will be coming to Managua tomorrow with President Arias to meet, GREAT!
The Congress in Honduras just read a bogus letter of resignation from Zelaya and it seemed that the majority of the Congress voted to accept it. This is yet to be confirmed.
I have been meaning to write about the political situation in Central America for a couple days now and share my thoughts and then this happens! I will write more soon about the dangerous bedfellows here in CA and how it connects with Iran.
I just found a video on CNN, it looks like they are finally picking up the story! (We will forgive the former ambassador for mispronouncing coup)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Avocado Update
So I mentioned in a previous post that I was so excited to have spotted an avocado tree in a neighbor's yard. Now imagine my reaction when the landlord pointed out that their was an avocado tree in our front yard! I cant believe we never noticed it, it is directly to the left as you walk out the gate, but up on a higher piece of land. There was even a huge, huge avocado hanging low.
Ivan and I kept our eyes on it, and no one seemed to be picking any off the tree. So one lazy sunday Ivan and I went out to harvest some avocados. Ivan was armed with a very long piece of lumber with a bent nail at the end (to pull the avocados down) and I, with a basket with a pillow inside covered by a towel (to pad the landing of the sweet, sweet avocados).
Well, things did not go very well at the beginning, as it turns out I am only a natural-born avocado eater, and not a NB avocado picker! The avocados are huge, hard and fast falling and I was afraid they were going to break my glasses :( I mean it is a very vulnerable position to be in, looking up, trying to catch a big, heavy object falling through leafy branches and you have about .002 seconds to make sure it will land in the basket that is only inches from your face! So anyway, I missed many falling avocados, I think I caught only one! We took video of the event, unfortunately I missed capturing my big "catch", but I did however capture something much more entertaining! Please be advised that Ivan takes the sport of avocado catching very seriously and he was not very happy with my performance, however, I have not yet been traded for a more talented avocado catcher (which he could probably grab any guy off the street).
Despite the slow start, we ended up with many of the creamy, mild and delicious fruit we call avocados and enjoyed sharing them with friends and family. I hope avocado season never ends, as I could easily get used to having one with every meal!
It has been close to a year since I moved here, so I have experienced almost all the fruit seasons. Here is a list of the ones I have in my yard:
1) limes (always seem to be ready to pick)
2) nancite (not one of my favorites, smells like old cheese)
3) marañon (which is the fruit of cashews and the nut actually grows on the outside)
4) mangoes
5) avocados
Life is pretty good as far as fresh fruit goes. Speaking of which, I had a dream the other night about picking strawberries. My subconscious knows it is almost time, too bad I will be visiting home just a little too late for it.
Ivan and I kept our eyes on it, and no one seemed to be picking any off the tree. So one lazy sunday Ivan and I went out to harvest some avocados. Ivan was armed with a very long piece of lumber with a bent nail at the end (to pull the avocados down) and I, with a basket with a pillow inside covered by a towel (to pad the landing of the sweet, sweet avocados).
Well, things did not go very well at the beginning, as it turns out I am only a natural-born avocado eater, and not a NB avocado picker! The avocados are huge, hard and fast falling and I was afraid they were going to break my glasses :( I mean it is a very vulnerable position to be in, looking up, trying to catch a big, heavy object falling through leafy branches and you have about .002 seconds to make sure it will land in the basket that is only inches from your face! So anyway, I missed many falling avocados, I think I caught only one! We took video of the event, unfortunately I missed capturing my big "catch", but I did however capture something much more entertaining! Please be advised that Ivan takes the sport of avocado catching very seriously and he was not very happy with my performance, however, I have not yet been traded for a more talented avocado catcher (which he could probably grab any guy off the street).
Despite the slow start, we ended up with many of the creamy, mild and delicious fruit we call avocados and enjoyed sharing them with friends and family. I hope avocado season never ends, as I could easily get used to having one with every meal!
It has been close to a year since I moved here, so I have experienced almost all the fruit seasons. Here is a list of the ones I have in my yard:
1) limes (always seem to be ready to pick)
2) nancite (not one of my favorites, smells like old cheese)
3) marañon (which is the fruit of cashews and the nut actually grows on the outside)
4) mangoes
5) avocados
Life is pretty good as far as fresh fruit goes. Speaking of which, I had a dream the other night about picking strawberries. My subconscious knows it is almost time, too bad I will be visiting home just a little too late for it.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Fixing the Problems that Need Fixing -or- Money, in Every Color of the Rainbow (you pick the title)
As we all know there are many sad problems here in Nicaragua: extreme poverty, high unemployment, hunger, clean water, pollution, education, basic plumbing and electricity, poor infrastructure, flooding issues, tropical diseases, corrupt police force, I could go on and on. With so many problems, choosing one to begin with is like trying to find out what came first, the chicken or the egg? How can you have clean water without first stopping pollution? How can you stop pollution without educating the people? How can you educate people when they are starving? How can you feed people without clean water? It is a vicious cycle. Families can't afford to sent their children to school, instead they are put to work selling gum in the street and therefore they will not get an education and the same thing will happen in the next generation.
Aww, but the Sandinista's, they know where to start...MONEY! I would say with them its all about the GREEN, but here we have what I like to call monopoly money...it comes in shades of red (500 cord bills), blue (100 cord bills), lavender(50 cord bills), orange (20 cord bills) and the ever popular green (10 cord bills)and of course good ol' American greenbacks are always welcome! So money...no Mr. Ortega didn't just pass a bill investing more money in education, or poverty relief programs, instead he thought he would spend a bunch of money to print some new money! What do you do when you don't have money? Just print more!
So there are some new bills on the money exchange scene...don't worry, they are still the same color, but waterproof, made out of some sort of plastic-y material. The coolest feature is the circular translucent spot, seemingly made so you can see what is underneath your bill (Is that the floor or my foot? Now you can know for sure!) They also have new illustrations, no longer is Jose Santos Zelaya honored on the widely used 20 cordoba bill (who was that dude anyway?). Now the 20 honors the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, because we all know how much the Nicaragua government loves and appreciates the Caribbean Coast, a people that are often discriminated against and an area of the country that is virtually forgotten and barely represented in the government.
Last night on the news (after they showed the bloody dead people in the street), they said there are more new bills to come!!! Not only will they start printing the fancy, new, plastic-y bills for the 100s and 500s as well, but they are also making a much needed 200 cord bill! Thank goodness! EVERY, SINGLE, DAY, I think about how handy it would be to have a 200 cord bill, and now my dream is coming true!!!
It is already very difficult to get change for a 100 cord bill (equiv. to $5), don't even think about getting into a taxi without asking if they can make change for it! Poor Cezanne, finally making it home after a long afternoon of errands, found the driver coundn't make change. After a short argument she had to get back into the cab and go to the closest gas station so she could get smaller bills. Oh yeah, and then the cabbie called her a bitch because she was upset that he didn't have change! The good news is she didn't get mugged, which you should fall on your knees and thank God for every time you get out of a cab safely.
And 500 cord bills (the red ones) don't even think about paying for anything with one of those! Most people in Nicaragua are lucky to make 500 cords a day, no a week, rather a month, so trying to pay for something with one is nearly impossible. The minute you get one in your hand, start worrying about where you can break it down into 100s. And then do the same thing once you have the 100s....but that will all change now with the 200 cord bill right???
It is clearly tax money well spent by the Sandinistas!
I wonder what color it will be? I guess, the only color left in the rainbow, YELLOW!
Aww, but the Sandinista's, they know where to start...MONEY! I would say with them its all about the GREEN, but here we have what I like to call monopoly money...it comes in shades of red (500 cord bills), blue (100 cord bills), lavender(50 cord bills), orange (20 cord bills) and the ever popular green (10 cord bills)and of course good ol' American greenbacks are always welcome! So money...no Mr. Ortega didn't just pass a bill investing more money in education, or poverty relief programs, instead he thought he would spend a bunch of money to print some new money! What do you do when you don't have money? Just print more!
So there are some new bills on the money exchange scene...don't worry, they are still the same color, but waterproof, made out of some sort of plastic-y material. The coolest feature is the circular translucent spot, seemingly made so you can see what is underneath your bill (Is that the floor or my foot? Now you can know for sure!) They also have new illustrations, no longer is Jose Santos Zelaya honored on the widely used 20 cordoba bill (who was that dude anyway?). Now the 20 honors the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, because we all know how much the Nicaragua government loves and appreciates the Caribbean Coast, a people that are often discriminated against and an area of the country that is virtually forgotten and barely represented in the government.
Last night on the news (after they showed the bloody dead people in the street), they said there are more new bills to come!!! Not only will they start printing the fancy, new, plastic-y bills for the 100s and 500s as well, but they are also making a much needed 200 cord bill! Thank goodness! EVERY, SINGLE, DAY, I think about how handy it would be to have a 200 cord bill, and now my dream is coming true!!!
It is already very difficult to get change for a 100 cord bill (equiv. to $5), don't even think about getting into a taxi without asking if they can make change for it! Poor Cezanne, finally making it home after a long afternoon of errands, found the driver coundn't make change. After a short argument she had to get back into the cab and go to the closest gas station so she could get smaller bills. Oh yeah, and then the cabbie called her a bitch because she was upset that he didn't have change! The good news is she didn't get mugged, which you should fall on your knees and thank God for every time you get out of a cab safely.
And 500 cord bills (the red ones) don't even think about paying for anything with one of those! Most people in Nicaragua are lucky to make 500 cords a day, no a week, rather a month, so trying to pay for something with one is nearly impossible. The minute you get one in your hand, start worrying about where you can break it down into 100s. And then do the same thing once you have the 100s....but that will all change now with the 200 cord bill right???
It is clearly tax money well spent by the Sandinistas!
I wonder what color it will be? I guess, the only color left in the rainbow, YELLOW!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
I felt the earth move under my feet
I have many firsts in Nicaragua and today was my first earthquake, little earthquake. I got home from work just before a thunderstorm and torrential downpour began. I was enjoying the loud booms of thunder and downloading some pics onto my computer when an especially loud boom of thunder seemed to shake the apartment and even the couch I was sitting on. At first I thought that the building had been hit by lightening, but then I realized it must be an earthquake! And I realized the loud boom of thunder must have actually been the sound of the earthquake.
I spoke to Ivan soon afterward and he confirmed it was a little quake, registering 2.5 on the Richter scale, a surface quake, that's epicenter was 4 K outside of the city. There was a pretty big quake in Honduras today and since I have been here we have often seen and heard of large earthquakes in Costa Rica and Guatemala, it is only a matter of time before a large earthquake hits here.
One of the contributing factors of Nicaragua's downfall to one of the poorest nations in the hemisphere, besides the Sandinista Revolution, was the Earthquake of '72, which hit Managua very hard and much of the "old city" was never rebuilt due to mismanagement of funds by the government. In fact, many directions here are given by prominent landmarks that were there before the earthquake, "go down to the corner where the BAC building used to be, and then go two blocks toward the lake".
Anyway, Managua is long overdue for a big earthquake. So Ivan and I have an emergency evacuation plan, "get out!" And like my dad always says, "I'll be in Idaho that weekend" referring to my worry of Mount Rainier destroying Seattle...I guess I will have to say "I'll be in the States that weekend".
I spoke to Ivan soon afterward and he confirmed it was a little quake, registering 2.5 on the Richter scale, a surface quake, that's epicenter was 4 K outside of the city. There was a pretty big quake in Honduras today and since I have been here we have often seen and heard of large earthquakes in Costa Rica and Guatemala, it is only a matter of time before a large earthquake hits here.
One of the contributing factors of Nicaragua's downfall to one of the poorest nations in the hemisphere, besides the Sandinista Revolution, was the Earthquake of '72, which hit Managua very hard and much of the "old city" was never rebuilt due to mismanagement of funds by the government. In fact, many directions here are given by prominent landmarks that were there before the earthquake, "go down to the corner where the BAC building used to be, and then go two blocks toward the lake".
Anyway, Managua is long overdue for a big earthquake. So Ivan and I have an emergency evacuation plan, "get out!" And like my dad always says, "I'll be in Idaho that weekend" referring to my worry of Mount Rainier destroying Seattle...I guess I will have to say "I'll be in the States that weekend".
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Help I can't get out of Nicaragua! Awww yeeeah, I got myself an Exit Visa!
So now that I am a legal resident of Nicaragua (I have my very own cedula (Nic ID card), as of March) apparently I have to get an exit visa to go back to the States! So Ivan and I went the Foreign Migration office this weekend to get it sorted out.
We waited in line for about 15 minutes(which is not that bad compared to other stories I have heard), and the woman at the counter told us that we had to get copies made of several pages in my passport and my cedula. I also had to fill out this form, which I had to pay a few cords for as well! So we went to a copy place and got the photocopies taken care of, filled out the form and waited in line for a bit again.
Not liking the thought of having to do this all over again for my visit home this summer I asked about multi-exit visa. I could pay a few dollars more ($10 total) for a 3 month exit visa. So I did that :) I was excited at the thought that I wouldn't have to pay $5 to get back into the country, as they say the $5 is for your 3 month "tourist visa" but the woman told me I still have to pay that too, apparently my cedula is only good for allowing me to stay in the country for longer than 3 months without being fined and I am able to legally work here. So I guess I will still get my passport stamped with a tourist visa, which confuses me a bit, but I guess it just doesn't matter.
All and all, although I feel like it is a little strange that I need a visa to leave the country, because I am a resident, but still have to pay for a tourist visa to come back even though I am not a tourist and just giving my money away to the Nica gov't...it would be MUCH more difficult for me to live and work in the USA if I was a foreigner, not to mention WAY more expensive! I think it cost a Nicaraguan $100 just to apply for a US tourist visa and most applications are denied!
I am glad the US will always take me back for free...I just will have to pay a little money to get out of Nica :)
Now I am off to Danielley's College Graduation!
We waited in line for about 15 minutes(which is not that bad compared to other stories I have heard), and the woman at the counter told us that we had to get copies made of several pages in my passport and my cedula. I also had to fill out this form, which I had to pay a few cords for as well! So we went to a copy place and got the photocopies taken care of, filled out the form and waited in line for a bit again.
Not liking the thought of having to do this all over again for my visit home this summer I asked about multi-exit visa. I could pay a few dollars more ($10 total) for a 3 month exit visa. So I did that :) I was excited at the thought that I wouldn't have to pay $5 to get back into the country, as they say the $5 is for your 3 month "tourist visa" but the woman told me I still have to pay that too, apparently my cedula is only good for allowing me to stay in the country for longer than 3 months without being fined and I am able to legally work here. So I guess I will still get my passport stamped with a tourist visa, which confuses me a bit, but I guess it just doesn't matter.
All and all, although I feel like it is a little strange that I need a visa to leave the country, because I am a resident, but still have to pay for a tourist visa to come back even though I am not a tourist and just giving my money away to the Nica gov't...it would be MUCH more difficult for me to live and work in the USA if I was a foreigner, not to mention WAY more expensive! I think it cost a Nicaraguan $100 just to apply for a US tourist visa and most applications are denied!
I am glad the US will always take me back for free...I just will have to pay a little money to get out of Nica :)
Now I am off to Danielley's College Graduation!
Friday, May 8, 2009
The rain is back, Yay! or not.
So the last couple of weeks it has been really humid and when I say humid, I mean I dont think anyone has ever felt this kind of humidity before, EVER! Its humid when you wake up, all day long and still when you go to bed. Finally, a few days ago it rained, no, it poured! And with that rainy season is back. It was a welcomed homecoming for the rain, after six months of dust everywhere, seeing people watering the dirt to keep the dust down, burning fields, brown foliage and hot humid days. But after just a few days of it, I think I am good with the rain for awhile.
First thing I hate about rainy season is that our landlord shuts off the internet router at the first drop of rain cloud or distant boom of thunder and then never turns it back on. I feel so disabled when I dont have internet. Plus twice this week our power has gone out which makes it impossible to get any work done and you cant even sleep because it is so hot without the fan. You would think the rain would cool things off and sometimes it does, but other times it makes it feel more humid because the sun starts to burn off the rain that has just fallen.
Things have already begun to smelly musty again and I am really not looking forward to the mold that will be growing on the clothes in my closet and having it take 3 days to dry the laundry, just to have it feel wet again from all the humidity.
OH! Dont let me forget the flying ants that have invaded the house. It is like a horror movie, they are literally coming out from behind the electric outlets and falling from light fixtures! Ivan says they always come with the rain. Sabine predicts that since we are seeing the egg-laying ants that soon there will be larvae and then millions of ants everywhere! I, no-joke, killed 79 ants (with or without wings) when I was on skype with my parents on Sunday. They were crawling up my legs, on the table, falling onto the computer, awwww!
With all those negative things, I will never complain about the sound of rain hitting the palm trees at night, big big thunderstorms and the orchids that seemed to bloom overnight outside my apartment!
First thing I hate about rainy season is that our landlord shuts off the internet router at the first drop of rain cloud or distant boom of thunder and then never turns it back on. I feel so disabled when I dont have internet. Plus twice this week our power has gone out which makes it impossible to get any work done and you cant even sleep because it is so hot without the fan. You would think the rain would cool things off and sometimes it does, but other times it makes it feel more humid because the sun starts to burn off the rain that has just fallen.
Things have already begun to smelly musty again and I am really not looking forward to the mold that will be growing on the clothes in my closet and having it take 3 days to dry the laundry, just to have it feel wet again from all the humidity.
OH! Dont let me forget the flying ants that have invaded the house. It is like a horror movie, they are literally coming out from behind the electric outlets and falling from light fixtures! Ivan says they always come with the rain. Sabine predicts that since we are seeing the egg-laying ants that soon there will be larvae and then millions of ants everywhere! I, no-joke, killed 79 ants (with or without wings) when I was on skype with my parents on Sunday. They were crawling up my legs, on the table, falling onto the computer, awwww!
With all those negative things, I will never complain about the sound of rain hitting the palm trees at night, big big thunderstorms and the orchids that seemed to bloom overnight outside my apartment!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Semana Santa...Holy Week...Easter
I was quite the lucky girl this Semana Santa! The World Traveler, Ms Jennifer Healy made her first and long awaited trip to Nicaragua.
After a half day of school on Friday, Jen and I joined Cezanne and her mom and aunt on a day trip to Mirador Catarina, zip lining at Volcan Mombacho and the city of Granada. The next morning we left early for Corn Island. It was a girls only trip, again with Cezanne's mom and aunt. After a long check-in at the airport we hopped into a little plane and we were off on a hour and 20 minute flight to Corn Island, an island off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. By 8:30am we were eating breakfast in front of the crystal clear turquoise waters of Corn Island. Although I put on sunscreen, I got a super bad burn while walking the beach with Jen on the first day. We dined each night on fresh seafood and had fruit and coconut bread for breakfast in the morning. Jen and I went to a baseball game with our cab driver, that we used the entire time we were there. The game was Managua vs the Atlantic Coast. It was an exciting game with lots of interesting plays and the Atlantic Coast came back to win the game in 6 innings (not sure why that many). The tickets cost $1.50, I bought a ticket for the taxi driver as well! There were tons of families there, babies, little kids, everyone enjoying popcorn and ice cream.
The next day we took a small boat over to Little Corn Island. We had hoped to go snorkeling there, but they were all booked. Instead we met up with some people we had met on the plane, Carmen and Theo. They were from Corn Island and owned a large piece of property on Little Corn Island. we hiked their property and ate fresh sugar mango and drank coconut juice. It was interesting to learn a little bit of the history, culture and politics of the Islands and the Atlantic Coast, which is far different than the rest of Nicaragua. The population is mainly black and the official language is English. The population is small, giving them little political representation, but the land area is huge and the natural resources rich.
The ride back to Big Corn Island was really rough, the waves we big and we were sitting in the front on the boat. Jen got some bruises :( We enjoyed our last morning in Corn Island and caught the afternoon flight back to Managua.
The next day we went on the night tour of Volcan Masaya, were we were able to climb the crater and have a great view of the surrounding cities by moonlight. We also went into a bat cave and saw lots of bats leaving for the night and the little babies they left behind. We were supposed to be able to see some lava too, but conditions werent right for it.
The next day Jen headed back to the States and Ivan and I prepared for another couple of days at the beach. We went back to Playa Hermosa, where we spent last Semana Santa. We arrived late Friday morning and the friends of Ivan's family who own the house (along with their kids who go to Lincoln) left on Saturday morning, so we had the place to ourselves for the rest of the weekend. The water was a little rough, but we were able to find some calm times each day to take a swim. We also spent hours exploring some really cool tide pools full of colorful ocean wonders.
Overall it was a relaxing week off, watching 9 beautiful sunsets over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Check out my album to the right ----->
After a half day of school on Friday, Jen and I joined Cezanne and her mom and aunt on a day trip to Mirador Catarina, zip lining at Volcan Mombacho and the city of Granada. The next morning we left early for Corn Island. It was a girls only trip, again with Cezanne's mom and aunt. After a long check-in at the airport we hopped into a little plane and we were off on a hour and 20 minute flight to Corn Island, an island off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. By 8:30am we were eating breakfast in front of the crystal clear turquoise waters of Corn Island. Although I put on sunscreen, I got a super bad burn while walking the beach with Jen on the first day. We dined each night on fresh seafood and had fruit and coconut bread for breakfast in the morning. Jen and I went to a baseball game with our cab driver, that we used the entire time we were there. The game was Managua vs the Atlantic Coast. It was an exciting game with lots of interesting plays and the Atlantic Coast came back to win the game in 6 innings (not sure why that many). The tickets cost $1.50, I bought a ticket for the taxi driver as well! There were tons of families there, babies, little kids, everyone enjoying popcorn and ice cream.
The next day we took a small boat over to Little Corn Island. We had hoped to go snorkeling there, but they were all booked. Instead we met up with some people we had met on the plane, Carmen and Theo. They were from Corn Island and owned a large piece of property on Little Corn Island. we hiked their property and ate fresh sugar mango and drank coconut juice. It was interesting to learn a little bit of the history, culture and politics of the Islands and the Atlantic Coast, which is far different than the rest of Nicaragua. The population is mainly black and the official language is English. The population is small, giving them little political representation, but the land area is huge and the natural resources rich.
The ride back to Big Corn Island was really rough, the waves we big and we were sitting in the front on the boat. Jen got some bruises :( We enjoyed our last morning in Corn Island and caught the afternoon flight back to Managua.
The next day we went on the night tour of Volcan Masaya, were we were able to climb the crater and have a great view of the surrounding cities by moonlight. We also went into a bat cave and saw lots of bats leaving for the night and the little babies they left behind. We were supposed to be able to see some lava too, but conditions werent right for it.
The next day Jen headed back to the States and Ivan and I prepared for another couple of days at the beach. We went back to Playa Hermosa, where we spent last Semana Santa. We arrived late Friday morning and the friends of Ivan's family who own the house (along with their kids who go to Lincoln) left on Saturday morning, so we had the place to ourselves for the rest of the weekend. The water was a little rough, but we were able to find some calm times each day to take a swim. We also spent hours exploring some really cool tide pools full of colorful ocean wonders.
Overall it was a relaxing week off, watching 9 beautiful sunsets over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Check out my album to the right ----->
Friday, March 6, 2009
Avocados and a Humming Bird
So I have these experiences here and I am always thinking how I can write about in my blog and I write all these great blogs in my head and never get around to doing it.
So one lovely Monday morning, about a month ago, I was sitting in my classroom during Virtue class. You would think having a once a week class on good virtues, these kids would behave better, but that's besides the point. This class I teach with a co-teacher and we switch off weeks because she doesn't speak english and I dont feel comfortable teaching in Spanish, so it would just be a mess to teach together.
So my co-teacher was teaching class, when a little, precious humming bird flew in. It was so cool to see it flying around and get a good look at it, since usually they come and go so quickly. But after awhile it couldnt seem to find its way back outside. It kept flying into the lights and every once in awhile would get get its long beak stuck in the medal borders of the ceiling tile, it would then stop flapping his wings and just be hanging by his beak until he would wiggle himself free and start flying again. I turned off the lights, hoping maybe he would try to fly toward the light outside, but it didnt seem to help. The co-teacher was upset by the children no longer paying attention, but didn't seem to want to do anything about it. So I went out and got one of the gardeners at the school and he came in and tried to catch it. For awhile the humming birds was perched on the crucifix (that are in each classroom) which would have been a great picture, but then it was finally caught and released by the gardener. In LA class I had the kids write a story about the whole thing and I got some really great and funny stories. I wish I still had some of them to share with you. Anyway, I felt it was one of life's small blessings to have that little humming bird fly into my classroom.
And avocados! Yesterday I was hanging clothes out on the line and I looked over toward the neighbor's yard and saw one tree, taller than the others and hanging off the top were, you guesses it, AVOCADOS! There is no one living in the house next door. There are mangos all over the backyard. So now I have to find a way to get those avocados....I will keep you updated.
So one lovely Monday morning, about a month ago, I was sitting in my classroom during Virtue class. You would think having a once a week class on good virtues, these kids would behave better, but that's besides the point. This class I teach with a co-teacher and we switch off weeks because she doesn't speak english and I dont feel comfortable teaching in Spanish, so it would just be a mess to teach together.
So my co-teacher was teaching class, when a little, precious humming bird flew in. It was so cool to see it flying around and get a good look at it, since usually they come and go so quickly. But after awhile it couldnt seem to find its way back outside. It kept flying into the lights and every once in awhile would get get its long beak stuck in the medal borders of the ceiling tile, it would then stop flapping his wings and just be hanging by his beak until he would wiggle himself free and start flying again. I turned off the lights, hoping maybe he would try to fly toward the light outside, but it didnt seem to help. The co-teacher was upset by the children no longer paying attention, but didn't seem to want to do anything about it. So I went out and got one of the gardeners at the school and he came in and tried to catch it. For awhile the humming birds was perched on the crucifix (that are in each classroom) which would have been a great picture, but then it was finally caught and released by the gardener. In LA class I had the kids write a story about the whole thing and I got some really great and funny stories. I wish I still had some of them to share with you. Anyway, I felt it was one of life's small blessings to have that little humming bird fly into my classroom.
And avocados! Yesterday I was hanging clothes out on the line and I looked over toward the neighbor's yard and saw one tree, taller than the others and hanging off the top were, you guesses it, AVOCADOS! There is no one living in the house next door. There are mangos all over the backyard. So now I have to find a way to get those avocados....I will keep you updated.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Hipicas de Diriamba
A few weekends ago Ivan, Ali (Ivan's friend), Augusto (our neighbor) and I went to Diriamba for the Hipics. The town is famous for this festival which takes place in Managua in August. Ivan and I did not go to the one in Managua because it was just too crowded.
The Hipics is basically a big horse parade and a bunch of people that have pretty horses come and march them down the street. The horses look like they are dancing to the loud music that is playing on every corner, it is amusing and nice to see big, healthy horses here! i have gotten used to seeing the small, sad skinny ones that don't have a healthy, shiny coat.
I had never been to Diriamba before and I really liked it. It looks like a small Leon, only cooler temperature wise. There are lots of houses painted in bright colors and I found myself obsessed with taking photos of the houses with cars or people wearing the same color in front of them. I played around with lots of different functions of my camera, but none seemed to capture the colors as vividly as they really were.
We had a front row spot to view the parade, but it was a little scary at times. Some of the horses march to the side and seem to be out of control, while other horses march straight. Ali said it depends on their breed. There were a few times when we had to get out of the way very quickly. Ivan could not believe that I had never seen horses march. I said, I don't think they do that in the States...but I could be wrong. I never considered myself a big horse person, but I grew up in the country and have been around a lot of horses. So check out the pictures and videos below and horse people, let me know if this is strange to you or not.
The Hipics is basically a big horse parade and a bunch of people that have pretty horses come and march them down the street. The horses look like they are dancing to the loud music that is playing on every corner, it is amusing and nice to see big, healthy horses here! i have gotten used to seeing the small, sad skinny ones that don't have a healthy, shiny coat.
I had never been to Diriamba before and I really liked it. It looks like a small Leon, only cooler temperature wise. There are lots of houses painted in bright colors and I found myself obsessed with taking photos of the houses with cars or people wearing the same color in front of them. I played around with lots of different functions of my camera, but none seemed to capture the colors as vividly as they really were.
We had a front row spot to view the parade, but it was a little scary at times. Some of the horses march to the side and seem to be out of control, while other horses march straight. Ali said it depends on their breed. There were a few times when we had to get out of the way very quickly. Ivan could not believe that I had never seen horses march. I said, I don't think they do that in the States...but I could be wrong. I never considered myself a big horse person, but I grew up in the country and have been around a lot of horses. So check out the pictures and videos below and horse people, let me know if this is strange to you or not.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Not So Super Market
So Ivan and I decided to spend our Friday night doing something super cool, grocery shopping! We were 2 of about 7 total people there including a couple and their young son, and two old men, because here in Managua, no matter how old you are, you go out dancing and drinking on the weekends. It is one of the nice things about here, going out to a club and seeing older couples dancing salsa among the younger crowd. There doesn't seem to be that generational dislike of each others music either. Salsa and merengue will never go out of style and the older folks don't even seem to cringe at the bass busting and sometimes indecent reggaeton.
Anyway, I am off topic, so we were at our local supermarket (again at 8 pm on Friday) and we needed a few basics: milk, bread, chicken, cheese, baking soda, brown sugar, etc. Well we were able to find most things, except for baking soda and brown sugar! Now brown sugar has been something I have been on the hunt for since Christmas, when we were unable to find it to make the beloved sticky buns for Christmas brunch. They had said they were out, but I haven't been unable to find it at any super market in Managua since that time! I mean, this is a super market in a capital city people! Brown sugar is a staple, something that should be found at any market, but certainly a SUPER one! Even dear, old Matthew in Anne of Green Gables was able to buy 20 lbs of brown sugar (and a puffed-sleeved dress to boot) at the local market in Avonlea at the turn of the 20th century!
"Twenty pounds of brown sugar!"
And baking soda...do I even have to explain how basic and necessary baking soda is? And not just that but the magnitude of its multi-purposefulness: its a baking ingredient, a cleaning agent, an odor absorber (which is what we needed it for in the fridge), its what you brush your teeth with if you run out of tooth paste, its what you put on a bee sting! If they don't have baking soda then they might as well not have tooth paste, or cleaning supplies or air fresheners! If interested click here for a link to 75 extraordinary uses for baking soda.
Although, two things they do have, which are quite delightful, are plain yogurt and mango nectar. Mix those together in your new Cuisinart™ blender, and you get a killer smoothie, which I am enjoying at this very moment :)
Anyway, I am off topic, so we were at our local supermarket (again at 8 pm on Friday) and we needed a few basics: milk, bread, chicken, cheese, baking soda, brown sugar, etc. Well we were able to find most things, except for baking soda and brown sugar! Now brown sugar has been something I have been on the hunt for since Christmas, when we were unable to find it to make the beloved sticky buns for Christmas brunch. They had said they were out, but I haven't been unable to find it at any super market in Managua since that time! I mean, this is a super market in a capital city people! Brown sugar is a staple, something that should be found at any market, but certainly a SUPER one! Even dear, old Matthew in Anne of Green Gables was able to buy 20 lbs of brown sugar (and a puffed-sleeved dress to boot) at the local market in Avonlea at the turn of the 20th century!
"Twenty pounds of brown sugar!"
And baking soda...do I even have to explain how basic and necessary baking soda is? And not just that but the magnitude of its multi-purposefulness: its a baking ingredient, a cleaning agent, an odor absorber (which is what we needed it for in the fridge), its what you brush your teeth with if you run out of tooth paste, its what you put on a bee sting! If they don't have baking soda then they might as well not have tooth paste, or cleaning supplies or air fresheners! If interested click here for a link to 75 extraordinary uses for baking soda.
Although, two things they do have, which are quite delightful, are plain yogurt and mango nectar. Mix those together in your new Cuisinart™ blender, and you get a killer smoothie, which I am enjoying at this very moment :)
Friday, January 2, 2009
Creepy Critters
Since one of my fears is creepy critters and I seem to write a lot about them, I thought I would share some photos of those I have encountered here. They include: geckos (which I am not afraid of, but as my sister found out they can be startling at times)the geckos here come in all sizes, including very, very small, which is my favorite and there is even one that lives on Matt and Sabine's car and we seem to see it every time we are getting in or out. I named this particular gecko (in the photo) Fred; locust which I included a video of and luckily this locust came alone and not in a huge black cloud of other locusts; unknown weird flat bug which I saw crawling across the floor one night and Iva swiftly ended his life. We are not sure how it got into the house, as all of the windows have screens, but I guess as we learned with the tarantula, an open door will let just about anything in. The weird thing with this flat bug was that when it was killed a lot of goo came out, I am not sure from where; and lastly the tarantula, this was not the one we saw in our house, but I guess it could be, it was about the same size and color and Ivan spotted this one across the street as we were parking the car one night.
Thankfully there has not been any cockroaches or scorpions in the house (knock on wood), but in addition the big, scary and strange ones, the red ants are everywhere and super annoying, crawling into glasses you are drinking out of or left overs you are about to heat up. And there are also these gross little grey cocoon like things all over the house, which I have seen a little worm or larva in it once, but they seem impossible to get rid of.
Thankfully there has not been any cockroaches or scorpions in the house (knock on wood), but in addition the big, scary and strange ones, the red ants are everywhere and super annoying, crawling into glasses you are drinking out of or left overs you are about to heat up. And there are also these gross little grey cocoon like things all over the house, which I have seen a little worm or larva in it once, but they seem impossible to get rid of.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Holidays
Oh! Where to start!? Well Danielle arrived a day after I started my vacation and was greeted with a surprise! After we arrived home we were enjoying some fruit in the kitchen. We left the door open to let some of the cool night air in, when we returned to the living room I noticed a tiny little bug that I had never seen before and was pointing it out to Ivan when Danielle said something to the effect, "thats nothing compared to that huge spider" We looked up and saw a huge tarantula, just a few feet away from us standing in the doorway. Now just to be fair, maybe it wasnt HUGE as far as tarantulas are concerned, but it was a huge, black, hairy spider nonetheless!
So I ran into the kitchen (and stood on a chair, of course) while Ivan killed it with a broom (but not before he made a run for it around the living room). Needless to say it was difficult to fall asleep that night picturing that spider in the apt.
Danielle and I took it easy for a couple of days, she got to meet Sabine and Matt before they left on their honeymoon and we went to a concert at a famous live music venue here in Managua. Then we hung out at Laguana de Apoyo, a beautiful lake in a volcano crater.
A week after we picked up Danielle, we were back at the airport to pick up Mom and Dad! We saw Maura (a teacher at Lincoln) and her husband there again (we had seen them when picking up Danielle as well). Maura was busy going back and forth to the airport because she was having her wedding ceremony over the holiday break and all her friends and family were flying in!
Christmas Eve was the next day and Dad and Ivan went to find a rental car while Mom, Danielle and I went grocery shopping for our Christmas meal. We could find all the ingredients to make all of our favorites, but we were able to get almost everything. We had a great Christmas Eve dinner at Matt and Sabine's house (where my parents were staying while they were away) Ivan went to his mom's house to have dinner with his family. We watched Its a Wonderful Life, opened presents and listened to the firecrackers everyone set off around midnight. Ivan came back around 1 am. In Nicaragua Christmas Eve is the big day of celebration. Families go to church and then eat dinner close to midnight and then open presents after that.
On Christmas day we went to the Mirador Catarina overlooking Laguna de Apoyo and then drove a very, very steep decent down to a nice place on the lake and spent the day swimming, relaxing and eating. The next day we went to Leon and had lunch with Oscar and Eira and then headed to the beach. The road to the beach was under construction, so the driving again for Ivan was very treacherous. The waves at the beach were strong and fun to frolick in. After a lovely sunset we headed back toward Leon and then on to Chinandega where my Dad's friend is living. It was nice to see even a little bit of Chinandega, as I had never been there before. We had a nice dinner and a great time visiting with Mike, who reminded me and Ivan of our dear friend Corey :) The ride home was long and we stopped part way to look at the bright stars.
On Saturday we got up late and then headed to Volcan Mombacho to go zip lining. Their credit card machine was down so Ivan negotiated a discounted cash price and we headed up the volcano. We had a ton of fun and got some great pictures and videos! We then went into Granada, walked around the park for awhile and had some vigoron (a delicious dish that Granada is famous for that has yucca, pork rinds and a vinegar-y, spicy cabbage and carrot salad on top. Then we headed down to the pier for dinner with a lovely view of the lake (yes another lake, Nicaragua is the land of Lakes and Volcanos).
After dinner, as we were heading out to the car, Mom was holding a doggy bag with my left overs in it when a street kid came up and ask her to give it to him. When she said no, he grabbed it from her hands and ran away and started eating it. We were all pretty upset and Ivan went over to yell at them. They told him that she gave it to them and Ivan told them that they stole it and asked them how would they like it if someone had stole from them and then he took their basket full of gum and cookies that they sell and started to run away with it. The kids got very upset and he again tried to tell them that stealing was wrong. These children were very brazen and seemed to have no fear of authority, nor care about the fact that they did something wrong. The waiters then came out and began to scold the boys as well. I felt bad about the whole thing, they are poor and hungry and dont get the love and affection they deserve at home (I imagine), but my Mom and Ivan were right, they need to learn their lesson, because if they think nothing of stealing food now (and if people pardon their behavior because of their situation) then they wont think anything of mugging someone when they get older, or worse!
The next day we brought the parents to the airport super early and rested the rest of the day. We went to Volcan Masaya on Danielle's last day and enjoyed a short hike to the top and some lovely views. Then we went to a nearby restaurant that has a lovely view of another lake and got to watch the sunset behind Volcan Masaya while we had beer and ceviche.
Then sadly, it was time to say goodbye to Daniellie. So that in a nutshell, was the wonderful vacation I had with my family! I am of course enjoying the rest of my free time before school starts again next week. But I cant help but feel a little dread as each day brings my vacation closer to an end and the long 3rd quarter begins, with no long weekend holidays insight until Easter :( Oh my!
So I ran into the kitchen (and stood on a chair, of course) while Ivan killed it with a broom (but not before he made a run for it around the living room). Needless to say it was difficult to fall asleep that night picturing that spider in the apt.
Danielle and I took it easy for a couple of days, she got to meet Sabine and Matt before they left on their honeymoon and we went to a concert at a famous live music venue here in Managua. Then we hung out at Laguana de Apoyo, a beautiful lake in a volcano crater.
A week after we picked up Danielle, we were back at the airport to pick up Mom and Dad! We saw Maura (a teacher at Lincoln) and her husband there again (we had seen them when picking up Danielle as well). Maura was busy going back and forth to the airport because she was having her wedding ceremony over the holiday break and all her friends and family were flying in!
Christmas Eve was the next day and Dad and Ivan went to find a rental car while Mom, Danielle and I went grocery shopping for our Christmas meal. We could find all the ingredients to make all of our favorites, but we were able to get almost everything. We had a great Christmas Eve dinner at Matt and Sabine's house (where my parents were staying while they were away) Ivan went to his mom's house to have dinner with his family. We watched Its a Wonderful Life, opened presents and listened to the firecrackers everyone set off around midnight. Ivan came back around 1 am. In Nicaragua Christmas Eve is the big day of celebration. Families go to church and then eat dinner close to midnight and then open presents after that.
On Christmas day we went to the Mirador Catarina overlooking Laguna de Apoyo and then drove a very, very steep decent down to a nice place on the lake and spent the day swimming, relaxing and eating. The next day we went to Leon and had lunch with Oscar and Eira and then headed to the beach. The road to the beach was under construction, so the driving again for Ivan was very treacherous. The waves at the beach were strong and fun to frolick in. After a lovely sunset we headed back toward Leon and then on to Chinandega where my Dad's friend is living. It was nice to see even a little bit of Chinandega, as I had never been there before. We had a nice dinner and a great time visiting with Mike, who reminded me and Ivan of our dear friend Corey :) The ride home was long and we stopped part way to look at the bright stars.
On Saturday we got up late and then headed to Volcan Mombacho to go zip lining. Their credit card machine was down so Ivan negotiated a discounted cash price and we headed up the volcano. We had a ton of fun and got some great pictures and videos! We then went into Granada, walked around the park for awhile and had some vigoron (a delicious dish that Granada is famous for that has yucca, pork rinds and a vinegar-y, spicy cabbage and carrot salad on top. Then we headed down to the pier for dinner with a lovely view of the lake (yes another lake, Nicaragua is the land of Lakes and Volcanos).
After dinner, as we were heading out to the car, Mom was holding a doggy bag with my left overs in it when a street kid came up and ask her to give it to him. When she said no, he grabbed it from her hands and ran away and started eating it. We were all pretty upset and Ivan went over to yell at them. They told him that she gave it to them and Ivan told them that they stole it and asked them how would they like it if someone had stole from them and then he took their basket full of gum and cookies that they sell and started to run away with it. The kids got very upset and he again tried to tell them that stealing was wrong. These children were very brazen and seemed to have no fear of authority, nor care about the fact that they did something wrong. The waiters then came out and began to scold the boys as well. I felt bad about the whole thing, they are poor and hungry and dont get the love and affection they deserve at home (I imagine), but my Mom and Ivan were right, they need to learn their lesson, because if they think nothing of stealing food now (and if people pardon their behavior because of their situation) then they wont think anything of mugging someone when they get older, or worse!
The next day we brought the parents to the airport super early and rested the rest of the day. We went to Volcan Masaya on Danielle's last day and enjoyed a short hike to the top and some lovely views. Then we went to a nearby restaurant that has a lovely view of another lake and got to watch the sunset behind Volcan Masaya while we had beer and ceviche.
Then sadly, it was time to say goodbye to Daniellie. So that in a nutshell, was the wonderful vacation I had with my family! I am of course enjoying the rest of my free time before school starts again next week. But I cant help but feel a little dread as each day brings my vacation closer to an end and the long 3rd quarter begins, with no long weekend holidays insight until Easter :( Oh my!
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