Things Move a Little Slower Here...

Hi Everyone,
I know it´s been a while since my last blog post, but hey, I´m on the hora Latina or Nica Time, as they call it here. So far, that has been the hardest thing for me to get used to in Nicaragua. People say that a meeting will start at 8 and instead it starts at 10. Or you plan to go somewhere and someone jsut doesn´t show up, so you can´t go. There is also a lot of time to sit around and chit-chat, which is great in terms of practicing Spanish, but can feel a little unproductive. I have definitely realized how busy I always was in San Francisco, so I think this has been a good exercise in balancing my pace of life and prioritizing things that are actually important.

So far at work, I've been working on creating a resource guide that has all of the resources for women and their families in the community. It was really interesting to walk around to different organizations and government offices and talk to various people about the services that they offer - especially since in the United States you would probably just send an email or leave someone a message. Hopefully, I will be able to print the guides this week so that we can start distributing them to our clients, to other organizations in the city, and to participants at the community talks that we are planning. It was also a fantastic opportunity to improve the way that my organization works with the other organizations here in Ciudad Sandino. Intrafamiliar violence is a bog problem here, but there are a lot of people and organizations working towards solutions. There are trainings about various topics, like self esteem, domestic violence, and the legal system almost every week and I hope that I was able to improve the way that the organizations communicate with one another so that as many women and families as possible are
able to access the services.

But enough about work...
We have also been enjoying a lot of traveling on the weekends! Nicaragua is a pretty small country so you can get a lot of places on the bus, (for not much money.)
One weekend we went to San Juan del Sur, which is sort of a surfer town in the South-West part of the country, near the Costa Rican border. When we first arrived, we shoed up at an older hostel, but as soon as Danielle got bit by a bat, we knew we had to leave. After a stop at the Centro de Salud to check out the bite, we headed to Hostel Esperanza, which was very cool, and right on the beach. It was great to go out dancing, meet other interesting travelers and relax with friends. Here are some of the amazing views of the sunset in SJDS:







Last weekend, we ventured to el Norte, to visit Ivana where she lives in Estelí. We got there pretty late on Friday night, although still managed to fit in several hours of dancing. The next morning, we ventured out of the city to a waterfall called Estansuela and a nature reserve, El Tisey. The waterfall was incredible, we went swimming, hiked around it and took lots of pictures.

Here are Daniela and Richard underneath it:


We then headed for the nature reserve, which ended up being farther away than we expected. It was nice and cold at the top of the mountains, which was a welcome change from the heat of Ciudad Sandino. The next morning, we hiked to the top for views of Estelí and all of the surrounding areas. It was increible!


It seems incredible to me that I´ve already been here for 5 weeks and that my program is half way over. I've seen and learned so much and made amazing new friends. I am excited to see what the next 5 weeks have in store and always grateful for this experience!

From the Nicaraguan Perspective

Hola Tod@s!
It has been great to become more accostomed to Nicaraguan life and learn more and more about the country and the people who live here.
Last weekend, our group went to Granada, (where I had visited in December with mi familia,) to relax and explore. It was a great weekend to be there since it was the hipico - a huge festival where people ride their horses through the town to show them off and everyone else is either watching, drinking, dancing or partaking in all 3!
It was also great to meet some other international travelers in Granada and even though the previous week I had been struck by the lack of resources here, I felt totally rejuvenated seeing all of the people who were following their passionsand learning more about other languages and cultures.

Here are some of the horses getting ready in the main square:


Here we are in front of one of the many beautiful cathedrals in Granada:

This week I also had the opportunity to spend more time learning about Ciudad Sandino and the surrounding areas and got to see first hand some of the poverty. However, at first I was not so taken aback by it. Instead - I was struck by how happy and proud the people are for what they have. Everyone works hard and they take pride in their houses, whether they are made with bricks or only zinc paneling. And they are always extremely welcoming - they speak Spanish slowly so that I can understand, always offer you a soda or a snack and are eager to hear about life in the United States. And like I said, always so happy, with huge grins and loud laughs.

Here are some of my friends in Ciudad Sandino who we walk around the territorio with, they are all so funny and sweet!


Sadly though, smiles don´t fix all of the development problems and it´s clear that in some areas, trash is causing health and sanitation issues and poverty is oppresive in the sense that many people can´t fulfill their potential and attend school or they are unable to get a job that would pay them enough to improve their living situation.

Here is the side of one house that is made with zinc paneling, and all of the trash that just gets thrown on the side of the road:



I hope you are all doing well! I miss everyone a lot so keep in touch!

Nica Life

After a couple weeks here in Nicaragua, I am finally getting used to everything.
I am here with a group of 11 - 5 students from USF, 5 from Gettysburg College in PA and one from Emory U in Atlanta. We all spent a great first week together doing orientation activities in Managua and Masaya, and it was a great way to learn more about Nicaraguan culture, history, Spanish and to eat tons of awesome greasy food.

Here is the malecon overlooking Lake Managua:

Last Thursday, we split up to move in with our families. I live in Ciudad Sandino, which is about 30 minutes from Managua by bus, and is one of the poorest urban areas in Nicaagua. It was mostly built after the earthquake in 1972 but many more people moved here after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Although there is a lot of poverty and challenges, the people here are very nice. It´s cool to see people just hanging out outside their houses chatting with neighbors our watching kids play.
My family is awesome - I live with a grandma, her daughter and son-in-law and their 3 year old daughter ( who is super cute) and another grandson who is 17. They have been so helpful with everything from learning new vocab in Spanish to figuring out what buses to take to Managua.
These are some of the neighborhood kids on Dia de los Niños, which basically celebrates all the kids. We had a little party with piñatas and lots of candy!


I also started working this week at AMIFANIC, which works to prevent domestic violence and provides essential services to victims and survivors. This type of violence is a huge problem here and is related to a lot of other issues - poverty, a cultural sense of Machismo, and a series of political mixed messages, (with few resources,) from the government. The tangible services that AMIFANIC provides - a lawyer and psychologist free of charge as well as a support network - are essential, but they are faced with a lack of incoming resources and growing challenges. I hope that this summer, I can help build AMIFANIC´s capacity to provide these services because it is clear that there is a need for them.
Here is the AMIFANIC office in Ciudad Sandino:



It has definitely been a challenge speaking Spanish all the time, getting used to the laid back time schedule, and missing people from SF and Denver, but I already feel so grateful for this experience and all that I´m going to learn and hopefully contribute.