Archive for the ‘Nica2009’ Category
July 6, 2009
Hey All!
As planned, Maria, TimandJim, Dan, Darell, David, David, Cody and I spent last Saturday and Sunday in Leon, which is a colonial city near the Pacific Coast. The five hour bus ride from Sabana Grande was actually one of my favorite parts of our trip, because the route took us through the hills north of Esteli, the mountains surrounding Esteli, the plains near the coast and the volcanoes encircling Leon. Leon’s bus station was massive and overwhelming compared to our clean, neatly-organized bus station/municipal market in Ocotal. There were about fifty stalls packed into a very small sheltered market, with the vendors shouting and josteling us. It was one of those environments that I’m sure would be exciting for a certain type of adventurous personality, but just made me feel frantic. It was an adventure just navigating the parking lot that was full of minibuses, taxis and busses all trying to attract passengers or extricate themselves from the mess. It was quite a shock! Clearly, I have become accustomed to the slow, polite, quiet interactions of life in Sabana Grande. It must have been especially confusing for the two new volunteers, David and Darell, since they just arrived on Wednesday from the US, and we were already taking them on our crazy, spontaneous trip across the country.
On Saturday, we went to the beach. It was a crazy 1 hour bus ride on a dirt road. Since it´s technically the winter season, all of the summer homes were closed, but there were 5 or 6 really cool beachfront hostels open, full of Peace Corps volunteers. We swam in the ocean, but it was pretty dangerous since the rip current is really strong all along the coast, so we stayed close. Maria, TimandJim and I also walked along the beach, picking up seashells. And the Playa Roca bar sold cheeseburgers! Yummmm. After the beach, we went to dinner at a cool hostel across the street from where we stayed. Dinner was amazing, but I had a huge headache from the crazy day and the 17 liters of water that still remains behind my eardrum. I went back to our comfy hostel and slept really really well.
As I mentioned before, I found it exhausting to navigate the city itself, but since it is a touristy city, there are great hostels. We stayed at BigFoot Hostel, which had a café attached. From there, we bought omlettes, bagels and pancakes! They also had fresh wheat bread, which was amazing since I literally dreamed about MelODee bread the night before. Sunday morning, we walked around the central park and peeked into two absolutely breathtaking cathedrals built in the 1700s. I’ll be sure to upload pictures as soon as I can. This trip, I also learned that there is no reason to haul a computer, hiking shoes and enough clothing for a week when I’m just going away for 24 hours. Anyway, we made it back to Sabana Grande around 6, and we met Anna and Lauren, who are in town for the week.
This week, I’ll be finishing up the Franken-Cooker, which I hope will heat up faster than a typical solar cooker so it can be used for the autoclave. Also, on Thursday Maria and I will be going into Managua with Lauren and Anna for a meeting about a possible place to pilot test our design. So this week is going to be very exciting for the project, and I’ll make sure to update again this weekend when we return.
Take Care,
Erin
July 6, 2009
The last two weekends have been really exciting. Two weekends ago I went to Granada, the Nicaraguan city with the most tourism. And last weekend I headed out to Leon, a city known for its magnificent volcanoes.
We stayed in Granada for 4 days (the original plan was only 3 but some last minute complications extended our trip). Saturday the 27th of June, we arrived in the colonial city of Granada. We spend our first day exploring the city. Granada like almost every city in Nicaragua is built around a central park and Cathedral. We spent time shopping in the green central park and I found some good gifts (but I’m not going dispose specifics because it will to ruin the surprise). Later we had dinner at a restaurant where we ate outside at a table along the street. Although Granada is a very touristic city, it also has an abundance of visible poverty. While eating dinner no less than 10 children approached use and asked for money Just wondering the streets of Granada caused constant pulling on my heart strings In this place that generates an immense amount of money, the struggles of the less fortunate were magnified. Granada is a place where on the steps of a five star hotel you will find a wide eyed child begging for food and money. Witnessing poverty there and similar to this throughout Nicaragua has ignited within me the questions “How can these people be helped?” and “What can I do I hope that as I grow and experience more I will come closer to answering these questions and to finding my role Before leaving Granada we went to a nearby city Masaya to check out some local markets and later headed to the Laguna del Apoyo to swim and kayak The rest of our time in the city was spent sightseeing and chilling in our hostel’s pool.
Last weekend, on July 4th, we went to Leon for a day and a half. It was a quick trip but it was tons of fun. We traveled there with 10 volunteers!! Let me tell you when you walk around in a group of 10 foreigners you get some funny looks. We went to the beach in Leon and had a blast (the city is right by the Pacific Ocean There were huge waves at the beach, ones that literally knocked you over (I still have water in my ear from my vicious battle with them). We ate lunch there and I had a huge cheese burger and fries. After all the rice and beans, I think that was the best burger of my life! Later that night we all went out to celebrate the 4th of July (as you can imagine we were the only ones doing so
Now, I am back at in Sabana Grande, and I only have 6 days left in Nicaragua I am dreading saying goodbye to my Nicaraguan family and friends. I have learned so much from them all. It’s funny, at first I wanted time to speed up and now I am wishing for the opposite.
More to come,
Nat-tan
July 4, 2009
Happy 4th of July!
I am so excited to be enroute to Nicaragua on this Saturday aftenoon. I had a wave of nostalgia while packing all of my rain gear, keens, bringing the travel backpack out. Reading the blogs of the UD students who are currently in Nicaragua has been inspiring and motivating, I’m excited to head back!
I keep thinking about that quote “You never step in the same river twice”—I think it might actually be from Pocahontas—I’m willing to admit my attachment to Disney films 
I know that I am returning to the same community and will be greeted by many familiar faces, which is so comforting. However, as much as I am looking forward to seeing the familiar faces and be back in the community, I am equally as excited to experience many of the changes that are taking place! The final allocation of the SEED Award is being used to establish Las Mujeres Solares as a cooperative—which is an incredible step towards the business development! Not to mention, I can’t even imagine how much Cherling, the darling grandaughter of Maria Antonia who I lived with last summer, must have grown in one year!
Another exciting development for this trip is Lauren Dokes, Salud del Sol, Inc. Director of Finance, will be traveling with me to Nicaragua! This will be Lauren’s first trip to Nicaragua and I think it will be an incredible experience for her and the rest of our team.
It will be a packed week, full of catching up with the women of Las Mujeres Solares, the field team of Salud del Sol, Inc., and the leadership team of Grupo Fenix. We have also been able to set up meetings with people and organizations that we met last summer, such as the energetic Rotary Club of Ocotal, the Jubilee House Community of Ciudad Sandino, and hopefully we will have the chance to meet with the students from the UNI that are researching a model of the solar autoclave in Managua.
In addition to work with Salud del Sol, Inc., I also will be working with a project through the Innovations in International Health Program of MIT. The Inter American Development Bank is funding a project to teach innovative biomedical training kits to doctors within the CIES School of Public Health in Managua. For the past few weeks, Jose Gomez and Lisa Schlecht have been developing training kits including a variety of technologies to bring to Nicaragua. The goal of the kits is to demystify various medical technologies such as microfluidics, diagnotistics testing and nebulizers to encourage doctors to adapt their equipment to their own needs or to repair equipment on their own. It’s quite an exciting project and I’m excited to be a part of it!
Thanks for reading, and check back often for updates and thoughts from Nicaragua!
-Anna
July 4, 2009
Hola y Bienvenido a mi Blog!
After a year of being strongly encouraged by my business partners- Anna, Dan, & Lori, I have finally agreed to blog about my experiences with Salud del Sol,Inc. For those of you who do not know a lot about me, I am the Director of Finance for Salud del Sol, Inc. Last summer while everyone had the opportunity to spend time in Nicaragua, I was working on the forms for us to be established as a non-profit organization- a very time-consuming process that will hopefully be recognized within the next few months.
Currently, I am at the airport enroute to Nicaragua with Anna. I am looking forward to our trip and to the many opportunities we will have to network, to share our passion for Salud del Sol, Inc. with others, and to be immersed in a new culture.
Thanks for visiting, and please stay tuned for upcoming posts and pictures about my experiences in Nicaragua and with Salud del Sol, Inc.
July 1, 2009
This weekend I went to church with my host family. Last weekend it was an hour long, but this weekend it was 2 hours long. Apparently the last Sunday of the month they have an hour preaching session and then an hour of mass, I didn´t realize I signed up for 2 hours of church going in so I was a little confused. Last weekend they sang the song that goes ¨Everything I had I left by the sand there…close to you…I will find other seas¨…It was in Spanish, but at least I recognized the tune, it made me smile. There are a lot of women that go to church and everyone sings out really loud. It is really neat that there are not as many people as church at home, but the singing is so much louder. There is this little old lady at church too that doesn´t have any shoes and can barely see, but she always is really sweet, it makes me smile because she doesn´t have a lot and can barely see but she still is sweet and smiles. This weekend there was a dog running lose in the church too. It really makes me have an appreciation for church at home that I can actually understand what the priest is talking about and I am looking forward to being able to sing along with songs again at home.
This week we are supposed to be getting 2 more volunteers at the Solar Center, so I am kind of excited for more people to come.
Have a good week and a happy 4th of July…enjoy the fireworks for me!
June 29, 2009
Hello All,
Ugh. Maria and I almost got to go to Granada. Then I ate a moldy tortilla and got stuck with an intestinal infection. Ugh. On the upside, I´m feeling completely better now, and having been a guest of the hospital in Ocotal for 2 days and 2 nights, I also feel really safe here. The nurses were really efficient, the same doctor came around every 5 hours, and everything was wrapped in reassuringly sterile packaging. Although, it was a little disconcerting that the first question they asked was, ¨If we have to operate, would you like the surgery done here?¨ That didn´t go too far toward making me comfortable! But, Adelina and David stayed with me for both days, which I couldn´t have ever expected. They made me feel so much better. And poor Maria stayed back to hang out with me all weekend, which makes me feel like the wet blanket, but I really appreciated her company too.
That´s all for today, since I obviously haven´t done anything too exciting the last few days… I´ll be busy working at the Center on my frankenstein solar cooker for the autoclave, but I´ll make sure to update after this weekend. We might go somewhere fun, and might have a good time at a volcano, but I don´t want to jinx anything again! Talk to you all later
June 28, 2009
Today, June 25, I scared a small child. I was visiting my Nicaraguan Grandma with my two sisters. As I walked onto the porch a small girl looked up and strained to see my face in the dark. Quickly she developed a horrified expression. She turned and ran screaming “GRINGO, GRINGO, GRINGO” (side note: gringo is a white person from the US). She ran into the kitchen and slammed the door behind her. My sisters asked to her to come out and say hi. Her response was a strong “NO”. The whole situation was rather hilarious. I guess I can understand how it can be scary seeing a white person for the first time. Or maybe I just am extra terrifying.
Monday this week I made nacatamales with my Nicaraguan mom! A nacatamale is the most famous traditional cuisine of Nicaragua. Here nacatamales are given as gifts for any special occasion. So Tuesday was Father’s Day and we made nacatamales for that occasion. Monday I took the afternoon off from work and my mom and I got to work in the kitchen. The first step is making the dough which I would call the foundation of the nacatamale. The dough is made with corn, water, flour, onions and peppers. We placed the dough in a huge pot and let is cook on the fire for about an hour (stirring it with a large stick periodically). At the same time we made a huge pot of rice. After the dough had become thick we moved it off the fire (here comes the fun part). When our rice and dough were ready it was time to start putting together the nacatamales. We laid ojas (banana leaves) on the preparation table. Then we put a large handful of dough in the center of the leaf. In the center of the dough we placed a piece of chicken. On top of all this we put rice, tomatoes, two slices of a potato, and some diced up pepper. Now here’s the hard part. We took the banana leaves and folded the nacatamale shut. If nothing ripped we would tie them shut with a string (long plant leaf). Finally, we threw the wrapped nacatamales into a large pot of water and let them cook for awhile. And after that they were ready to be eaten. So before this all when my mom told me that we were going to nacatamales, I thought for the family. It turned out we made 35 nacatamales because some were to sell!! We started making them at 1pm and didn’t finish till 6:30pm. To say the least, I am an expert nacatamale maker now. My mom is giving me the recipe and I plan on making some back in the states. Anyone want to try one?
Last night I had a pleasant, relaxing time talking with my Nicaraguan family. We got onto the topic of me leaving (in only 2 weeks, sad). It was nice to reflect with them about how much my Spanish has improved and about all the experiences we have shared. My mom asked me if I would remember them when I was back in the US. I responded “Como no (how could I not)!” The conversation with them made me think if I would ever return to Nicaragua. I really want to. I have learned so much here.
More to come,
Nat-tan
June 24, 2009
Hello Friends and Family!
Just a quick update this time…
At the Center, the newly-minted cooperative (yay!) Las Mujeres Solares are getting ready for a big visit from a UN Development Program representative tomorrow morning. Because of this, the Solar Center is much better landscaped now than in the picture, but at least you can have a general idea of where we are working. It´s a really beautiful building, and I´ve been having a lot of fun talking to the women about their families and what its like to be in Las Mujeres Solares. They are all very sweet and don´t mind my pretty grotesque US accent. Also, the autoclave testing is going better, as there has been much more sun lately. However, we are looking into ways to make it more efficient, so it can be used when there is less sustained sunlight.
Also, last Sunday I attended Mass in the local Church in Sabana Grande. I wore my Easter skirt and a clean shirt (clean=fancy when I do my own laundry). The Church was pretty big, actually about the same size as the main Solar Center building, with about 15 rows of wooden benches flanking a wide center aisle. The walls are made of plaster-covered adobe and the roof is a mix of fiberglass and tin. When we arrived, a woman was in front reciting the rosary, with the congregation repeating after her. For next week, I´ve copied down the Our Father and Hail Mary in Spanish so I don´t feel so strange speaking English. Also, before Mass began, the same woman read from a prayer that I have never heard in which she says a phrase that describes Mary, like ¨Reina de los angeles¨and the congregation says ¨Ëscuchanos¨¨. It was really beautiful, because she used the most beautiful words. The Mass itself had the same format as I´m used to, but again the language was a lot more colorful and intense. Oh, and there were lectors for the first two readings, then a man who´s title translates to ¨Word-Giver¨read the Gospel and gave a really nice homily. Later I asked Mayra if he was a priest, but she said that he was training at a seminary to become one. Since there aren´t enough priests to come out to small rural community churches, he is in charge of reading and speaking within a region. Really, that was the only difference. And I knew the words to Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, so I could sing! It was a great experience for me to have something that I knew would be familiar, even in the midst of a completely foreign environment.
Ok, quick story time. There´s this chicken. More specifically, there´s this rooster. It is enormous, loud, black and gray, has mean little eyes, and I´m pretty sure it sharpens it´s beak in preparation to eat me. It also pecks at the other chickens and likes to chase after me when I go to the latrine, so that I have to run and shut the door really quickly, much to the family´s amusment. Anyways, so just after dawn I wake up to chicken squawking and feather ruffling, so I think it´s just the big evil one being mean to the others. Later at breakfast, I ask Adelina, ¨What was going on with the chickens this morning?¨ She says, ”I killed one of them for us to eat for dinner.¨ At first, I was kind of horrified because I just kept picturing one of the nice chickens with only a stump above its body, but then she said, ”Don´t worry, it was the mean one that scared you¨ and hugged me. She thought Í’d be really distraught about the chicken, so she just laughed when I smiled really big and said ¨Öh good, thank you! I´m so glad!¨
Also, a quick slightly inappropriate story: Last time I was in Ocotal, I had forgotten to wear sunscreen on my chest and arms. When I got home, Lupe (the 89-year-old) says to me, ¨Erin, you have burned your tetas.¨
On that note, we´re all heading to Granada for the weekend, so I´ll write about those adventures on Monday or Tuesday. Thank you all for the comments! I save them and load them on my computer so I can read them again in Sabana Grande when I´m missing all of you.
Besos y Abrazos,
Erin
June 24, 2009
So a new season started this week. Nicaraguans call this season winter or the rainy season. When they say rainy they’re not joking around. It has rained everyday but not all day thank god. It rains heavily for about an hour each day. The rain has brought a couple new and exciting experiences. The first is the fact that the path that I walk to get home becomes a river in the rain. Therefore, walking home now is a lot more thrilling and wet. The other new, exciting experience is showing in the rain. That’s right, I shower in the rain. Honestly, it is one of the most relaxing experiences ever. Also, the rain makes rinsing much easier (it’s kind of hard when taking a bucket shower). When I get back to the US, I am strongly considering building a shower outside (if you showered in the rain once, you would want one too).
The weekend starting on June 19th was really enjoyable. Two volunteers from Dayton who are working in Managua came to Sabana Grande to visit for the weekend (their names are Tim and Jim, fun right). On Friday, we just hung around Sabana Grande. We spent the night speaking English, drinking Pepsi, and playing some UNO!! Saturday was an adventurous day. The six volunteers from Dayton and one volunteer from Greece all went to Somoto Canyon. Somoto Canyon is a natural tourist attraction only 20 minutes out of or village. The adventure started as we left the bus station and head out to the canyon in a “taxi”. So, our taxi was actually a pickup truck and we all stood in the back bed of the truck! Once we arrive at Somoto Canyon (all in one piece), we hiked down the path towards the heart of the canyon. I mentioned that it is the rainy season right, yeah, so there was a lot of water in the canyon. Our first obstacle was crossing a river (nearing the intensity of a mild rapid). We all successfully waded the river without incident. After walking about two miles we made it to the mouth of the canyon. There we took a row boat, paddled by our guide Joel, into the canyon. The canyon was where the real fun began. After getting off the boat we scaled the side of the canyon and made our way down to where we could swim. As we approached the place where we were going to enter the water I knew we were in for a thrill. The water was rushing through the bottom of the canyon and the canyon walls towered 200 meters over us. At a spot where the flow of the water was slightly slower we enter the water. We methodically worked our way up the canyon. Sometimes we climbed at other times we swam. The combination of the challenges and various dangers made the journey up the canyon extremely fun. All I know is there is no way you would be able to do this in the US. After exploring the canyon for about an hour we all were exhausted (swimming against a current is difficult exercise). Luckily the trip back was much easier. They had rafts waiting for us and we floated all the way back to the beginning of the trail. As you can imagine, Sunday was spent sleeping and relaxing…recovering!!
More to come,
Nat-tan
June 24, 2009
I am starting to get use to everything in ways but am still confused and get my bearings mixed up when I go into the city because there are no street signs. I am not sure if I will ever get use to the outhouse or shower though!
I machetted grass for a little bit yesterday to help out the solar women and I now have a water blister on my thumb and a new appreciation for lawnmowers.
This weekend we are planning on going to Granda, which is supposed to be really touristy so that will be fun. We are stoping in Managua to meet up with other Dayton students and then we are going to go out to eat at Papa John´s. I am really excited for it because most meals here contain rice, beans, or tortillas, and this will be a nice change of pace. Then we will go to Granda and it sounds like it is a really neat place.
This week I have been working on plaques for the Solar Center. The center has many visitors and many renewable energy sources, but there are no plaques to inform visitors on what things are. We are writing these in Spanish and in English to hopefully excite and encourage locals to learn about and use these different technologies and to be more inviting to travelers. We are also continuing to test the autoclave, but are not reaching the temperatures we need.