Happy Thanksgiving

Hola, Hope everyone is doing great. Time is flying, I can't believe that it's almost the end of November already..

Last weekend I had a great time up north in Matagalpa visitng Jeff Kositsky and his wife Aileen and their charming daughters Emma and Hannah who are living in Nicaragua for a year. They showed me around the city, and we went on a great hike at Selva Negra, a lush forest and coffee farm owned settled by Germans. The trees were huge and the whole area is covered in peaceful, rolling green hills. Jeff used to be the ED of the Community Housing Partnership in San Francisco, so we talked a bit about the field as well.

The interview I had scheduled got cancelled, it turned out that they weren't doing phone interviews. I did try advocating for myself and I felt disappointed, but I'm just going to take it as a good sign that they wanted to interview me and keep applying for jobs.

I went to the library 3 times this week, and took some photographs to go with interviews that I am doing. I also interviewed a teacher at the nearest high school and used my new recorder. I realize that I haven't written much about what the library is actually like, so I will do that soon.

My uncle Allan was in town for a meeting of his organization, the UN's Food and Agriculture Office. The whole office was in Managua to learn about small businesses that produce high quality seeds, which can really increase the productivity of small farmers. We had dinner at a local restaurant on Wednesday, and on Thursday Blanca and I met him at the hotel where the meeting was being held. We heard the last presentation of the day, and then we went out to dinner at a lovely restaurant called Ola Verde, owned by a friend of my aunt Sally's. Allan's colleagues were very nice, from Bolivia, Honduras, and Uruguay. We got to hear some of Allan's stories about Nicaragua in the 1980's.

I had been avoiding it, but Blanca and I saw "Eat, Pray, Love" on Friday night. I've read the book, and obviously I'm defensive about romanticizing travel as a way to find yourself, especially when the woman in the movie/book had a book advance before she set off on her trip (not to mention any feminist critique of how she ends up with a man, but that's another story..) Anyhow, I do think it's good to be open, get out of your comfort zone, and see people you meet as your teachers, but it's also important to be aware that what she did (and what I'm doing) is a luxury and a privilege.

Yesterday I went to a feminist meeting with Blanca and got to see where she works, which was interesting and good practice listening and understanding Spanish. Today is the first big outing from the Spanish school to the farm! There should be about 15 people in total riding horses and walking up to the library, hiking, and eating a lunch prepared by the caretaker's family. I hope that it's a success and that the collaboration continues.

I don't think I've ever been away from my family on Thanksgiving, but I'll be thinking of them and excited to see them soon (I'll be in the Bay Dec 25th-Jan 8th.) They will be having a vegetarian meal, as they are trying out being vegetarians after my mom read Jonathan Safron Foer's book "Eating Animals." I think it's cool! I am thankful to be alive,for all the people in my life, and for the opportunities that I have been given.

And finally, Billy is coming tomorrow night!! He'll be here for 11 days, and I'm so excited to see him, show him around, and go on an adventure (probably to the Caribbean coast.) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Nicaragua, Nicaraguita!

Happy Friday everyone! This week I saw a Fellini film at the Alianza Francesca and ate some great carne asada, got my butt kicked at capoera again, worked through some serious mental block but finally squeezed out a draft of the grant proposal, got a phone job interview for next week (!) and saw some amazing music at La Casa de Los Mejia Godoy in Managua.

The two brothers Carlos and Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy performed, as did the younger band made up of relatives of the brothers called La Cuneta Son Machin. The brothers play classic Nicaraguan music, popular at the time of the revolution, and are so full of life and fun. Carlos wrote a Mass for the working class, and many of his songs in the 70s gave instructions on how to assemble and use rifles taken from Samoza. Everyone in crowd knew all of their songs and sang along. The younger band's music is a cool mix of the traditional with rock and sometimes even punk. I never thought I would rock out to marimba! It's neat that they are continuing the tradition, and it was great to see both generations at once.

Tomorrow I'm heading North to Matagalpa for the weekend, to visit a family from San Francisco who is living in Nicaragua for a year. The father, Jeff, was the Executive Director of the Community Housing Partnership. I'm excited to meet them and see a new part of the country!

Things I have learned recently:

1.) Many immigrants coming from Central America to the U.S. loose limbs when trying to get onto trains, including young kids. (On Friday I saw a film called “La Frontera Infinita” on the opening night of the Icaro Central American Film Festival.) It’s incredibly sad.
2.) Nicaraguan food is great, but even better mini! The after party for the film festival had mini quesillos (kind of like quesadillas with onions) and mini nacatamales (awesome savory tamales.) I'm also in love with platanos maduros fritos. yum…
3.) Riding on the back of a jet ski on the Guanacaste Bay in Costa Rica is amazing. We even passed Michael Jordan’s house, and saw a sea turtle.
4.) Micheladas (beer, lime juice, and salt) are the solution to a bottom shelf liquor selection at an all inclusive hotel.
5.) How to dry cacao seeds (but probably not make chocolate because I missed the fermentation step..) The cacao fruit grew on my aunt and uncle’s tree in the backyard.
6.) Tolerance to the constant sound of the dogs (Jenny and Buddy Boy) barking and biting/scratching at themselves.
7.) How to take cold showers (I try to do yoga first to warm up.)
8.) What to do if a bird gets into the house (open all the doors, but wait until the bird is not sleeping. Also next time wear bug spray during this process)
9.) If I give the guy collecting money on the bus exact change, he won't over charge me.
10.) And from Obama: keep trying! “On this journey, you’re going to experience setbacks and you have to be persistent and stubborn, and you just have to keep on going at it. And you’ll never roll the boulder all the way up the hill, but you may get it part of the way up.” -Obama to Indian students in NYTimes

sunset from the balcony in Costa Rica

Photos from Leon

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23110575@N05/5148812266/in/set-72157624964798165

I'm really sorry that I can't make this into a link. I've tried all the obvious things...

Work, Play, Speak Spanish

I had a great weekend in Leòn with Blanca. The main cathedral is simply beautiful (see pictures from my last post,) huge, crumbling, with amazing paintings and sculptures inside. There were at least 8 gorgeous churches, with unique exteriors and interiors. Apparently they used to be linked by underground tunnels, until one brilliant mayor thought to turn them into sewers… One of my favorite things about churches here is that people put little charms or models next to statues of saints to represent miracles that have been asked for and fulfilled. You’ll see tiny houses, hands, eyes, children, all representing answered prayers. The art museum Fundacion Ortiz Guardian was excellent, especially the modern pieces from all over Latin America. To get an idea check out http://www.fundacionortizgurdian.org/eventos.en/ni/bienal1
We also went to an indigenous neighborhood called Subtiava and met a woman who runs an indigenous women’s group and a great painter. On the second day we didn’t get to go to the volcano, but we did go to a strange museum with life sized figures of local myths and legends housed in a former jail and torture chamber. I’ll upload more photos from the weekend to flickr soon.

This week so far I’ve done some interviews, visited the homes of 2 library users, and worked on the grant proposal. I just bought a recorder which should help with the interviews, and I’m still waiting to get data from one of the teachers in the school. I’ve also had some good conversations with Karla, the library coordinator, about her challenges and some tools we can develop to help.

I just went to see a French movie (with Spanish subtitles!) at a mall in Managua with Blanca. It’s kind of a mini culture shock to go from the one room houses in Palo Solo to a mall with Colors of Benneton and Burger King. This weekend I’m meeting up with Liz in Costa Rica, so I’d better work hard to deserve hanging out on the beach! I was sorry to hear about the midterm elections, happy to hear about the Giants… Hope everyone’s week is going well. Shout out to Rebecca who’s visiting in December!