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!