I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point in the past 10 months Nicaraguans in general stopped being The Other. In the beginning, it was me, my American friends, and my close Nicaraguan friends. My Nica friends were special because, in my opinion, we had formed a special bond despite intimidating language, cultural and socioeconomic barriers. All other Nicaraguans carried this Otherness about them, an unbreakable shell of the aforementioned barriers, that made it impossible to really know them.
But at some point, that shell simply fizzled away and all of us became just..... people. There is still misunderstanding and fumbling around as we try to tear down the last of those preconceptions about each other (because the shell was built on both sides) but my Nicaraguan friends are aimply my friends. My Nicaraguan boyfriend is simply my boyfriend. Having the session one volunteers in the house has been exhilarating and fun, and it's opened my eyes to how much I've stopped differentiating between my friends in the States and my friends here. They have to occasionally ask for clarification as to where my stories take place and whether the person I'm talking about is a gringo or a nica. ¡Como si fuera importante para mí!
How refreshing it is to be able to lay aside everything and just be.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Intermediate English
Hey again everyone! Thanks to some prodding by Angela J. I´m back with another blog entry. I would like to dedicate this post to my Intermediate English students that were in my class from October to April. I imagine that the dynamic between my class and myself is similar to the dynamic my classmates and I had with our younger high school teachers. They tend to view me more as their friend leading the class (which is kind of true- all of them are my personal friends outside of class) and thus they tend to falter on the, er, behavior front. However, they never cease to amaze me with their dedication, intelligence and creativity in class. Every time I challenge them to write a story, create a dialogue, whatever, they always go above and beyond what I expect of them. Their speaking and writing abilities have improved so much from when I first met them! In October they came to me only knowing the past and present tense, but now can carry on conversations in a past, present, future, conditional and perfect tenses. Their ability to remember vocabulary words is also impressive, as well as their ability to disseminate the information in the readings we review in class.
To end our six or so months together (about half of them were moved up to Advanced English and the rest have slowly stopped coming to class) they threw me a surprise birthday party on my birthday! This consisted of: letting me start class, leading me outside after the first 5 minutes of class, blindfolding me, making me walk mindlessly around the community center, suddenly putting me in the microbus, picking up the other people who were invited to my party, getting some soda, and driving me back home. When the blindfold was finally removed, I was face to face with our poolhouse beautifully decorated with streamers and balloons (courtesy of Emily, I later found out). They had brought cake, napkins, soda, and had sweet talked Kyle and Emily into providing everything else. I was moved to tears and didn´t mind at all that the new students wouldn´t be taking their assessment test that day.
It made me realize that when you give of yourself selflessly, the rewards are better than you could ever expect. That sounds cheesy but it´s true! Overall it was the best birthday present I´ve ever received.
To end our six or so months together (about half of them were moved up to Advanced English and the rest have slowly stopped coming to class) they threw me a surprise birthday party on my birthday! This consisted of: letting me start class, leading me outside after the first 5 minutes of class, blindfolding me, making me walk mindlessly around the community center, suddenly putting me in the microbus, picking up the other people who were invited to my party, getting some soda, and driving me back home. When the blindfold was finally removed, I was face to face with our poolhouse beautifully decorated with streamers and balloons (courtesy of Emily, I later found out). They had brought cake, napkins, soda, and had sweet talked Kyle and Emily into providing everything else. I was moved to tears and didn´t mind at all that the new students wouldn´t be taking their assessment test that day.
It made me realize that when you give of yourself selflessly, the rewards are better than you could ever expect. That sounds cheesy but it´s true! Overall it was the best birthday present I´ve ever received.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Life is good
Last week was INSANE. My housemate Josh and I led a group all last week and it opened my eyes to the logistics of hosting short-term international service learning trips. And by opened my eyes I mean I'm scratching that off my list of possible career paths. The group was amazing - friendly, easy-going, well-educated in Nicaraguan history, eager to participate and learn - but the planning, chaperoning, financing, cooking, etc took such a toll that every night I just dropped into bed. Still, my housemates were great about supporting us and overall the week was a great success. Short term groups are especially important to Manna because: a) they become future Program Directors, b) they're great fundraising resources, c) they bring fresh perspectives to the organization, and d) it makes us, the PDs, appreciate each other more.
On the way home from Intermediate English today, I turned to Tressa in the car and whined, "Life is going to be so boring next year." And not that I won't like being back in DC and Maryland, but going from the Metro to a cubicle in an office seems mind-numbingly boring compared to driving our 4-wheel drive Nissan patrol - full of teenage Nicaraguans - to an open air ranchon for English class. Or walking around the community with little 5-yr old Jolis by my side on my way to get my custom-made pants ($6 to buy the fabric at the market, $5 to get them made by Don Mario in Cedro Galan). Or guitar seranades on the rooftop under the stars. Or co-managing a 6-woman microfinance program. Or dance the night away at our favorite club, then have Eliott surprise me with a rose at the end of the night.
But that's why I have to go back, so that later down the road I can come back here and hopefully realize all the dreams I will have left unfulfilled. The only disadvantage of Manna's holistic approach, the ability to experiment with whatever kinds of programs that you feel passionate about, is that sometimes you end up feeling passionate about everything and still don't know which option to pursue :)
I'm sleepy. I guess the only big program update is that we'll be taking a few more people from Beginner's English into our Intermediate class the 3rd week of April. Also, Creative Arts will be starting its "Costa Rica" unit so we'll see how the kids view their southern neighbors - note the long term rivalry between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It should be fun!
On the way home from Intermediate English today, I turned to Tressa in the car and whined, "Life is going to be so boring next year." And not that I won't like being back in DC and Maryland, but going from the Metro to a cubicle in an office seems mind-numbingly boring compared to driving our 4-wheel drive Nissan patrol - full of teenage Nicaraguans - to an open air ranchon for English class. Or walking around the community with little 5-yr old Jolis by my side on my way to get my custom-made pants ($6 to buy the fabric at the market, $5 to get them made by Don Mario in Cedro Galan). Or guitar seranades on the rooftop under the stars. Or co-managing a 6-woman microfinance program. Or dance the night away at our favorite club, then have Eliott surprise me with a rose at the end of the night.
But that's why I have to go back, so that later down the road I can come back here and hopefully realize all the dreams I will have left unfulfilled. The only disadvantage of Manna's holistic approach, the ability to experiment with whatever kinds of programs that you feel passionate about, is that sometimes you end up feeling passionate about everything and still don't know which option to pursue :)
I'm sleepy. I guess the only big program update is that we'll be taking a few more people from Beginner's English into our Intermediate class the 3rd week of April. Also, Creative Arts will be starting its "Costa Rica" unit so we'll see how the kids view their southern neighbors - note the long term rivalry between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It should be fun!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Cultural differences?
One of the interesting issues with identifying "cultural" differences between the Americans and Nicaraguans that I know is that many of the times, what I think at first glance is a "cultural" difference is really just a difference in socio-economic status or urban vs. rural locations. It's made me realize how sheltered my life has really been, despite my insistence that I've lead a very worldly existence. Also it's made me wish that I had spent more time volunteering in the States, because much of the need that I see here is just as prevalent in many places close to where I lived (inner-city DC and Atlanta). It's funny how we end up understanding things sometimes. Thinking about places like that in the States gives me even more reason to break down stereotypes here that all Americans come from an upper-middle class suburb like most of the volunteers/students that come down here.
On the other hand, it's endlessly entertaining (and slightly worrisome from a linguistic-preservation point of view) how Espanglish-fied Nicaragua has become. Today Eliott and I were at a department store and I decided to see how much their duvets/comforters cost, since I never brought one down from the States. After I asked the store employee how to say "twin size" in my circumlocuted Spanish, she smiled and replied, "Ah! Twin." I burst out laughing and couldn't control myself...very rude, I know. She was mystified at the gringo chinita laughing at her, but just calmly showed me to where the twin comforters were. I'm still giggling about the incident as I think about it. And no, I didn't buy one...the cheapest one was $40! I could buy the material and have a mother in Cedro Galan make me one for a fraction of the cost!
Other words in Nica-spanish that are surprisingly English-sounding: tape (tape), kleenex (tissue in general), folder (yep, folder. not carpeta, folder), toner (toner like for your printer), On the Run- pronounced On da Roon (it's HUGE here for an inexplicable reason), give me five - dame un five, bye (instead of adíos)...there's probably more; if you have Nica experience let me know if you think of any.
Suppose I should head to bed now. And belated Happy Birthday Mrs. Plummer!
On the other hand, it's endlessly entertaining (and slightly worrisome from a linguistic-preservation point of view) how Espanglish-fied Nicaragua has become. Today Eliott and I were at a department store and I decided to see how much their duvets/comforters cost, since I never brought one down from the States. After I asked the store employee how to say "twin size" in my circumlocuted Spanish, she smiled and replied, "Ah! Twin." I burst out laughing and couldn't control myself...very rude, I know. She was mystified at the gringo chinita laughing at her, but just calmly showed me to where the twin comforters were. I'm still giggling about the incident as I think about it. And no, I didn't buy one...the cheapest one was $40! I could buy the material and have a mother in Cedro Galan make me one for a fraction of the cost!
Other words in Nica-spanish that are surprisingly English-sounding: tape (tape), kleenex (tissue in general), folder (yep, folder. not carpeta, folder), toner (toner like for your printer), On the Run- pronounced On da Roon (it's HUGE here for an inexplicable reason), give me five - dame un five, bye (instead of adíos)...there's probably more; if you have Nica experience let me know if you think of any.
Suppose I should head to bed now. And belated Happy Birthday Mrs. Plummer!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Update: January and February
Hello hello! Welcome to my new blog about life in Nicaragua with Manna Project. I've finally decided to blog instead of sending out the periodic emails, mostly because I lost a bunch of your email address when Learnlink realized I wasn't a student anymore. Hehehe. Anyway, have fun reading! Missing you all!
In The Manna House
- two new Program Directors arrived: Kyle and Josh (another Josh! Who would have thought). They’re absolutely splendid and have fit into our Manna family perfectly. Both are intelligent, enthusiastic, patient, kind, and most of all…they’re boys! Let me tell you, evening out the gender ratio in this house has definitely made everyone happier. Too many girls can get a little catty sometimes.
- I kid you not, MILLIONS of fire ants attacked our house twice about a week and a half ago. We think the boys might have disturbed a colony while creating their “man cave” in our unused garage (don’t ask, I have no idea), and as a result the ant army retaliated. If anyone is interested, you can kill them with the following: boiling water, water + bleach, or fire. I don’t recommend the last option.
- As I’ve mentioned, we have two rottweilers, mother and son. The son may or may not have gotten mumsy pregnant when she last went into heat. Another word of advice: it is pointless to try to keep rottweilers in heat apart, because they will inevitably find a way to be together. We’re still waiting to find out if she’s pregnant…it not, we’re getting her spayed asap.
- Our yellow motorcycle (more like a vespa) is up and running again! Only two people know how to ride it, but it’s still alleviated some of our transportation problems.
In Programs
- Microfinance: after reviewing our applications and conducting interviews, Mary Rose and I have decided to hand out five $150 loans and one $100 loan. They’ll be making payments twice a month, and each date that a payment is due we will have a meeting with all the participants to discuss how their businesses are doing, offer encouragement, strengthen relationships and friendships, etc. I’m very excited about this program and hope everything will go well!
- Creative Arts: Emily and I have decided to make the next 3-4 months “country” themed, and this time are sticking to our themes! February is Nicaragua month, March is Costa Rica, and April is Ecuador (the location of our sister MPI site). Ecuador might leak into early May, but our summer volunteers are arriving May 12 and will be entrusted with planning from then on out. We’re pretty excited about this date. Also, we’ve realized that the children behave better when doing arts and crafts as opposed to “rehearsing” skits.
- Intermediate English: Kyle has come on board with me, which has been a great help. We now tend to divide the class into two groups and thus get more work done/offer more individual attention. My students are getting a little rowdy, and I might have to soon give them the “I do all this for you please respect me or don’t come to class” speech…though I’ll probably use nicer words. In any case, they’re progressing well and have already learned 3 new vocabulary lists.
- Child Sponsorship: I’ve decided to step down from this position, as I wasn’t contributing much to the program and wanted more time to plan my other classes/catch up on other work. However, I still manage to make it to La Chureca once a week/every two weeks and maintain my relationships there. We also went to a presentation at Casa Ben Linder today, wherein several churecan children talked about their new organization (they do radio bites) and passed around photos of their barrio. Needless to say, we MPI people new at least 70% of the people that appeared in the photos. Guess we’re doing our job pretty well!
- Math: as most of you know, I’m not math’s biggest fan. Josh Eddings (new Josh) has since taken my place and I am ever grateful for it.
- Community survey: Mary Rose and I are about to conduct a community survey on Manna and how community members view us as an organization. This is the first time that Manna has internally conducted a survey like this and we’re very excited about conducting the survey and compiling the results.
Other Miscellaneous:
- My friend Wendy’s baby passed away suddenly last Friday night. Please keep her, her son Marfel, and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Marfel was only nine months old and his passing has been very hard on all of us.
- Took a weekend trip to Granada with Eliott and his family and had an amazing time. Although Granada is a little to “gringo” for me, it’s still a beautiful city. Eliott and I rented bikes for only $1/hour and took a little tour of the Granada waterfront and Calle Calzada. Definitely worth the money and my legs got a good workout, too!
- It’s the windy and dusty season right now….who thought that one up? Needless to say, my plans to have stylish hair every day have gone down the drain. I also dread putting my clothes up to dry on the line thinking they’ll be covered in dust. However, despite all that and my current raging allergies, I will say that I prefer now to the rainy season. At least we don’t have to cancel class because the road has become a rushing river!
That's all for now. Feel free to email/comment with any questions.
In The Manna House
- two new Program Directors arrived: Kyle and Josh (another Josh! Who would have thought). They’re absolutely splendid and have fit into our Manna family perfectly. Both are intelligent, enthusiastic, patient, kind, and most of all…they’re boys! Let me tell you, evening out the gender ratio in this house has definitely made everyone happier. Too many girls can get a little catty sometimes.
- I kid you not, MILLIONS of fire ants attacked our house twice about a week and a half ago. We think the boys might have disturbed a colony while creating their “man cave” in our unused garage (don’t ask, I have no idea), and as a result the ant army retaliated. If anyone is interested, you can kill them with the following: boiling water, water + bleach, or fire. I don’t recommend the last option.
- As I’ve mentioned, we have two rottweilers, mother and son. The son may or may not have gotten mumsy pregnant when she last went into heat. Another word of advice: it is pointless to try to keep rottweilers in heat apart, because they will inevitably find a way to be together. We’re still waiting to find out if she’s pregnant…it not, we’re getting her spayed asap.
- Our yellow motorcycle (more like a vespa) is up and running again! Only two people know how to ride it, but it’s still alleviated some of our transportation problems.
In Programs
- Microfinance: after reviewing our applications and conducting interviews, Mary Rose and I have decided to hand out five $150 loans and one $100 loan. They’ll be making payments twice a month, and each date that a payment is due we will have a meeting with all the participants to discuss how their businesses are doing, offer encouragement, strengthen relationships and friendships, etc. I’m very excited about this program and hope everything will go well!
- Creative Arts: Emily and I have decided to make the next 3-4 months “country” themed, and this time are sticking to our themes! February is Nicaragua month, March is Costa Rica, and April is Ecuador (the location of our sister MPI site). Ecuador might leak into early May, but our summer volunteers are arriving May 12 and will be entrusted with planning from then on out. We’re pretty excited about this date. Also, we’ve realized that the children behave better when doing arts and crafts as opposed to “rehearsing” skits.
- Intermediate English: Kyle has come on board with me, which has been a great help. We now tend to divide the class into two groups and thus get more work done/offer more individual attention. My students are getting a little rowdy, and I might have to soon give them the “I do all this for you please respect me or don’t come to class” speech…though I’ll probably use nicer words. In any case, they’re progressing well and have already learned 3 new vocabulary lists.
- Child Sponsorship: I’ve decided to step down from this position, as I wasn’t contributing much to the program and wanted more time to plan my other classes/catch up on other work. However, I still manage to make it to La Chureca once a week/every two weeks and maintain my relationships there. We also went to a presentation at Casa Ben Linder today, wherein several churecan children talked about their new organization (they do radio bites) and passed around photos of their barrio. Needless to say, we MPI people new at least 70% of the people that appeared in the photos. Guess we’re doing our job pretty well!
- Math: as most of you know, I’m not math’s biggest fan. Josh Eddings (new Josh) has since taken my place and I am ever grateful for it.
- Community survey: Mary Rose and I are about to conduct a community survey on Manna and how community members view us as an organization. This is the first time that Manna has internally conducted a survey like this and we’re very excited about conducting the survey and compiling the results.
Other Miscellaneous:
- My friend Wendy’s baby passed away suddenly last Friday night. Please keep her, her son Marfel, and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Marfel was only nine months old and his passing has been very hard on all of us.
- Took a weekend trip to Granada with Eliott and his family and had an amazing time. Although Granada is a little to “gringo” for me, it’s still a beautiful city. Eliott and I rented bikes for only $1/hour and took a little tour of the Granada waterfront and Calle Calzada. Definitely worth the money and my legs got a good workout, too!
- It’s the windy and dusty season right now….who thought that one up? Needless to say, my plans to have stylish hair every day have gone down the drain. I also dread putting my clothes up to dry on the line thinking they’ll be covered in dust. However, despite all that and my current raging allergies, I will say that I prefer now to the rainy season. At least we don’t have to cancel class because the road has become a rushing river!
That's all for now. Feel free to email/comment with any questions.
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