Family

Today is Mothers’ Day in Tola.  This is an especially big deal in my house because there are so many mothers!  In my house alone, there are three different families with three different mothers. 

The concept of “family” is very different here in Nicaragua.  I’m used to using the word ‘family’ to describe only my Mom, Dad, and brothers.  Here, the word ‘family’ includes the entire extended family, as well.  My family here is spread over three neighboring houses.  In my house, there are three mothers, three fathers, and five children.  Other family members live on both sides of us.

Mama Yolanda, my host mother, is a wise woman of 60.  She wears her glasses half-way down her nose and always speaks with purpose.  She is always easy to understand because she speaks really clearly and directly.  She is always put together and is very respected by the entire community.  I was walking with her down the street and everyone greets her as Mama Yolanda.

My host father, on the other hand, walks around everywhere shirt-less, showing off his enormous beer belly.  He always shortens words and usually doesn’t pause in between sentences.  I never really know what he is talking about because I can’t figure out what he is saying.

 Two of Yolanda’s sons and one of her daughters live with us in the house.  Rodolfo is 20, but spends most of his time out of the house working or spending time with his girlfriend, Gretel.  Lorenzo is married to Sandra and have two kids, Ingrid and Luis Carlos.  All four of them sleep in one room all together.  Maria Jose, Yolanda’s daughter, has a new born baby, Maria Alexandra, who is only 3 weeks old.  She is so adorable and her crib is set up just outside my bedroom door.  Maria Jose’s husband works all week in Managua and is only home during the weekends.

In the neighboring houses, there are three different families—one family in the house on the left and two families in the house on the right.  This means three more couples and seven more kids!

The kids are so cute.  They only go to school for four hours and spend the rest of the day playing.  They don’t have too many toys, but they always have a lot of fun playing with bugs and just running around.  They always find something to do and are amused by the simplest things.  I brought a case of bubbles and Diego, 4, and Ingrid, 6, were so excited about them.  It was the center of their focus for two days.

A few nights ago we were all sitting on the porch chatting and the kids found a huge beetle.  They attached a string to it and called it their new pet.  A little while later they found a huge toad and attached the other end of the string to it.  They went wild watching the toad hop around dragging the beetle behind it.

I taught Diego and Ingrid how to play thumb wars and now they are obsessed.

First Day at Centro Escolar Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

I have always considered myself an optimist, I guess that’s part of the reason I’m here.  It’s not that I’m out to move mountains; I just think that everyone is responsible for doing their part—whatever that may be. 

Am I naïve for thinking that these 9 weeks here in Nicaragua will really make a difference?  There are times when I catch myself thinking about the “big picture.”  What difference will a small project in a tiny school in Tola have on the rest of the word, anyway?  Realistically…not much.  But, as I said before, I am not out to change the world.

At times this critical view makes me cringe.  Other times, especially when I’m frustrated or overwhelmed, this “more realistic” approach makes the most sense.  Here is the reality:

There are over 500 children that attend the Centro Escolar Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe elementary school each year.  If I am able to design a project in these two months, I will have had a positive impact on the majority of these students.  If I can design a sustainable project that can be duplicated each new school year, the scope of the project will dramatically increase—reaching thousands.  

That is my goal this summer.

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!

I have a Blog!

I leave for Nicaragua in just two days and I finally have everything ready for the trip.  I picked up my anti-malaria medication from Wegmans this morning and a supply of contacts as well.  I'm a little sad that I won't get to see all of my friends before I leave, but three months will fly by.  My flight takes off at 6:40AM on Saturday and I should arrive in Managua by noon.  Whitney and Ramiro (Foundation for Sustainable Development Coordinators) are picking me up at the airport, along with the three other FSD volunteers.  We are spending the night in Managua at a hostel and will continue on to Tola Sunday morning.  It is monsoon season in Nicaragua--Whitney just sent all of the volunteers an email reminding us to bring rain gear.  She said that the rain was just starting up and that it usually only lasted about two hours during the afternoons.  I'm not sure how often I will have access to internet, but I'll post as often as I can.

Wish me luck!