Week 1

I'm finally here in Nicaragua! I arrived in Tola Sunday afternoon after a long bus ride from Managua.  Luckily, the cramped school bus that we made the trip in turned out to be much more pleasant than I thought it would be.  I was seated next to a woman who looked about 50 years old.  She had a colorfully wrapped gift in her purse and wore a lot of silver jewelery.  She asked me what I was doing in Managua and where I was going.  I told her about the Foundation for Sustainable Development and that I was going to work at an elementary school in Tola.  She was really excited about the project and told me about some different university volunteer groups that had come in the past.  Our conversation went on and we ended up talking about the upcoming elections in Nicaragua in November.  She must have been very anti-Sandinista because she compared Daniel Ortega (current president of Nicaragua) to Hugo Chavez and other "socialistas."  Gladis said that even though Ortega isn't a dictator, he holds all of the power--he even changed the constitution so that he could run in this next election.  She also explained his "zero hunger" initiative.  Under the Cero Hambre program, Ortega gave gifts of livestock and money to many of the country's poor people.  According to Gladis, this program was Ortega's way to gain more votes.  She said that even though the people received cows, chickens, and pigs, they were not granted any rights.  I still haven't decided how I feel about Ortega and his policies.
Before Gladis got off the bus, she took down my phone number and promised to call me the next day to make sure I arrived to Tola in one piece.  What a lady!