Yesterday was like a time warp back to the days of the revolution in the seventies and eighties. I was able to attend a talk by Fr. Fernando Cardenal yesterday hosted by the Xavier University study abroad program which is located right in the barrio with us. They had Fernando over for a talk about his recently published memoirs about his time in the revolution. It was amazing to finally meet this man who is literally a walking history book about Nicaragua. His role in revolution was hugely important. During the Somoza years, pre-revolution when the US still like Nicaragua, Fernando went to the US congress to give testimony to the human rights abuses being done by the Nicaraguan government. He petitioned the US to stop selling arms to the Somoza government and in turn to stop being complicit in injustice, murder, and torture. He returned to Nicaragua and after the revolution was won he took a central role in the new government of the Sandinistas by helping combat illiteracy in the country. In just 4 months Nicaragua's illiteracy rate drop from over 50% to just 12%. That is the fastest and largest drop in illiteracy ever recorded by UNESCO at the United Nations. Wow, this guy is amazing. Now, at the age of 75, he is national director of Fe y Alegria. I actually first met him last week when he dropped into my school to visit some classes, including mine! What an honor!
The revolution day continued when we went to a concert featuring Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy. He is a famous Nicaraguan folk artist who has written many songs about the revolution and life in Nicaragua. He actually gave Fernando a shout out in the middle of concert for being such a great national hero and son of the revolution. I´m attaching a clip from youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUxggbBq-VM
¡Viva la Revolución!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
On the Job Training
It’s funny how things come full circle. I remember hearing my mom tell me I used to hate playing soccer. I played for one season before I can really even remember. I can only imagine it like a scene of small children running haphazardly any which way the ball goes. Well, that’s sort of the way I felt last Sunday when I joined a men’s soccer league. I was invited to join a coworker and his team out in Ciudad Sandino where I work. He even helped me find some inexpensive cleats, socks, and shin guards. Although I dug deeply into my monthly stipend, I thought it would be worth it. I’m still discerning whether or not it was. Unlike when I was a child I enjoy soccer much more, but I have to admit I can’t be much better than I was when I was seven. Ok, that’s not giving me quite enough credit, but it’s been a rough learning curve. The guys I played with were weaned on soccer and played before they could even walk. I on the other hand had my athletic awakening not until high school when I started playing rugby. Nicaraguans don’t play rugby. I don’t think a guy on the other team appreciated it when my rugby instincts came out and I laid him out on the ground. God knows why I wasn’t yellow carded. Perhaps it was because I was the token white guy. All I heard during the game was “Corra chele!” which basically just means: “Run whitey!” That’s fine advice, to run, but it would have helped to know where I was needed to run. I couldn’t even tell who was on my team because no one could afford jerseys. They all knew each other but I was lost in a sea of intimidating 20-something young men.
We had another game this Sunday. I didn’t go. I have a cold. It’s true! And I really didn’t want to play, ha. I really don’t know if I’ll go back. I honestly think they wanted me to be on the team because they thought I could help them buy jerseys for the team. When I told them about my monthly pittance I think their glowing interest in me began to diminish drastically. If I’m not bringing money to the team it isn’t like I bring much more.
The cleats will not go to waste because somehow I’ve been wrangled into coaching soccer at my school. Hmmm. This is going to be interesting. I’ve already been consulting friends on how to do this. On top of this I’ll be coaching baseball too. And, if you didn’t know, I played t-ball, and that’s about the extent of my experience. Oh, I’ve also been to a few Reds games. As Steve Poat taught me this past fall, ministry is all about on the job training. So it goes. I’m just going into it with an open mind and with the intent of having fun. I can hope for nothing more than to have a good time and give kids an athletic outlet after school. Today I was hanging out at school in the afternoon and ran into a group of older high school students loitering near the basketball court. I joined them for a pickup game of fútbol sala or indoor soccer which is basically just 5-on-5 soccer on a basketball court. We played barefoot in our work and school clothes. They wore me out but I held my own and even scored twice.
We begin practice next week. Wish me luck. If anyone has good resources for coaching soccer or baseball please pass them along. I need all the help I can get. Cheers!
We had another game this Sunday. I didn’t go. I have a cold. It’s true! And I really didn’t want to play, ha. I really don’t know if I’ll go back. I honestly think they wanted me to be on the team because they thought I could help them buy jerseys for the team. When I told them about my monthly pittance I think their glowing interest in me began to diminish drastically. If I’m not bringing money to the team it isn’t like I bring much more.
The cleats will not go to waste because somehow I’ve been wrangled into coaching soccer at my school. Hmmm. This is going to be interesting. I’ve already been consulting friends on how to do this. On top of this I’ll be coaching baseball too. And, if you didn’t know, I played t-ball, and that’s about the extent of my experience. Oh, I’ve also been to a few Reds games. As Steve Poat taught me this past fall, ministry is all about on the job training. So it goes. I’m just going into it with an open mind and with the intent of having fun. I can hope for nothing more than to have a good time and give kids an athletic outlet after school. Today I was hanging out at school in the afternoon and ran into a group of older high school students loitering near the basketball court. I joined them for a pickup game of fútbol sala or indoor soccer which is basically just 5-on-5 soccer on a basketball court. We played barefoot in our work and school clothes. They wore me out but I held my own and even scored twice.
We begin practice next week. Wish me luck. If anyone has good resources for coaching soccer or baseball please pass them along. I need all the help I can get. Cheers!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Day of Friendship and Love
Happy Valentine´s Day!
Here in Nicaragua we say Feliz Día de amistad y amor. Anyway, It´s been a crazy few weeks here in the JVI homestead. We are all into work full swing. I had my first week will classes. They are much different than I expected. It sort of look like this. I show up Monday morning after an hour bus ride on an old American school bus from the seventies. I roll into work around 7am. Oh yeah I woke up at 4:50am. I´m already feeling hungry. Anyway, 7:15, time for my first class. Preschool. While half the class goes to the computer lab I stay with the other 15 four year-olds. Whoa. By noon I was about to cry or just fall asleep where I stood. As the week went on it got better. I´m only in class Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Starting next week I´ll have soccer and baseball practice twice a week each, and chorus practice on Friday. It´s all keeping me thoroughly busy and joyfully exhausted. Well, that´s all for now. It´s Saturday night and my turn to cook. I´m thinking a good ol home-cooked breakfast, pancakes and all. Peace, love, and friendship to all you friends and loved ones out there. And for those of you like us JVs ¨Happy Singles Awareness Day¨. Cheers.
Here in Nicaragua we say Feliz Día de amistad y amor. Anyway, It´s been a crazy few weeks here in the JVI homestead. We are all into work full swing. I had my first week will classes. They are much different than I expected. It sort of look like this. I show up Monday morning after an hour bus ride on an old American school bus from the seventies. I roll into work around 7am. Oh yeah I woke up at 4:50am. I´m already feeling hungry. Anyway, 7:15, time for my first class. Preschool. While half the class goes to the computer lab I stay with the other 15 four year-olds. Whoa. By noon I was about to cry or just fall asleep where I stood. As the week went on it got better. I´m only in class Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Starting next week I´ll have soccer and baseball practice twice a week each, and chorus practice on Friday. It´s all keeping me thoroughly busy and joyfully exhausted. Well, that´s all for now. It´s Saturday night and my turn to cook. I´m thinking a good ol home-cooked breakfast, pancakes and all. Peace, love, and friendship to all you friends and loved ones out there. And for those of you like us JVs ¨Happy Singles Awareness Day¨. Cheers.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Adventure
Oxford Dictionary describes adventure as
1. An unusual and exciting experience
2. A daring enterprise
Life is an adventure. I don’t know who originally said it, but for me, it is true. Whether I seek it out or is just finds me, adventure is ubiquitous here. Everyday I find something new, unusual, and exciting. Most recently I started work at Colegio Roberto Clemente. Sure it is my work, my volunteer service, the reason I am here far from my family and friends, but it is also a great adventure. The school is very impressive. Compared to many, it has great trees and gardens that create a cool and welcoming environment. The school is really big too with almost 1500 students in both the primary and secondary programs, comparable to pre-K thru 12th grade in the states. My first week was incredibly chill. I went half days and mostly hung out with my coworker Yamil who teaches religion class for basically every student at the school. He has only been at the school for about one year and so is also still getting accustomed to the school. His hospitality and friendship have me really pumped to get going with my work. The first day of class I was introduced to the entire student body and many of their parents. It was overwhelming. They applauded louder than anyone else. I was humbled and embarrassed.
You may ask, “well, what is your work?” Let me tell you. More or less I am the campus minister. They have never had anyone to fill this position so I have a ton of freedom to observe, learn, and then create activities, programs, or clubs. Some ideas we already have for the year include: a movie/documentary club, retreats, music ministry, and maybe some outdoor outings. On top of that I will be tutoring classes of little munchkins three mornings a week. Also, I will likely be helping out with the soccer and baseball teams. (The school doesn’t have rugby…yet. Haha) That’s pretty much all I know. For all I know when I arrive tomorrow they’ll have changed their plans. I’m flexible. That’s the name of the game. It’s an adventure.
Sunday I went on a more traditional adventure. Michael and I set off with our friends Joe and Sean for Volcán Telica. We left the house at 6am toward Leon and caught another bus out into the countryside. We got off the bus at a bridge and struck out toward a huge and intimidating volcano, miles away. It took us about 3.5-4 hours to hike up to the crater. It was so hot and dusty. The crater was out of this world. We couldn’t really see across the crater because of billowing steam coming out from about 200 feet down in the crater. The view from the top was beautiful and the cool wind was a welcome relief from the heat of the forest below. By the time we reached the bottom around 4pm we were ready for a victory beer and a bus to get us home. We were literally caked in dirt and sweat and smelled like it too. We rolled into the house approximately 13 hours after we had left, exhausted, dirty, and so happy. When I was sitting on the top of the volcano I remembered the story of Elijah on Mt. Sinai (1 Kings 19: 11-14). At the summit all I could hear was the quiet whisper of the wind. It was such a dramatic shift from the loud bustling life of Managua. In that wind I felt peace.
It might seem that I only write about the big adventures and life changing experiences but the truth is that the longer I am here the more I can begin sitting and listening to the small whispers that are all around me all the time. The come more and more frequently past the bustling noises of life.
What I´m listening to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62i9Sodwp5o&feature=related
What I´m reading: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1. An unusual and exciting experience
2. A daring enterprise
Life is an adventure. I don’t know who originally said it, but for me, it is true. Whether I seek it out or is just finds me, adventure is ubiquitous here. Everyday I find something new, unusual, and exciting. Most recently I started work at Colegio Roberto Clemente. Sure it is my work, my volunteer service, the reason I am here far from my family and friends, but it is also a great adventure. The school is very impressive. Compared to many, it has great trees and gardens that create a cool and welcoming environment. The school is really big too with almost 1500 students in both the primary and secondary programs, comparable to pre-K thru 12th grade in the states. My first week was incredibly chill. I went half days and mostly hung out with my coworker Yamil who teaches religion class for basically every student at the school. He has only been at the school for about one year and so is also still getting accustomed to the school. His hospitality and friendship have me really pumped to get going with my work. The first day of class I was introduced to the entire student body and many of their parents. It was overwhelming. They applauded louder than anyone else. I was humbled and embarrassed.
You may ask, “well, what is your work?” Let me tell you. More or less I am the campus minister. They have never had anyone to fill this position so I have a ton of freedom to observe, learn, and then create activities, programs, or clubs. Some ideas we already have for the year include: a movie/documentary club, retreats, music ministry, and maybe some outdoor outings. On top of that I will be tutoring classes of little munchkins three mornings a week. Also, I will likely be helping out with the soccer and baseball teams. (The school doesn’t have rugby…yet. Haha) That’s pretty much all I know. For all I know when I arrive tomorrow they’ll have changed their plans. I’m flexible. That’s the name of the game. It’s an adventure.
Sunday I went on a more traditional adventure. Michael and I set off with our friends Joe and Sean for Volcán Telica. We left the house at 6am toward Leon and caught another bus out into the countryside. We got off the bus at a bridge and struck out toward a huge and intimidating volcano, miles away. It took us about 3.5-4 hours to hike up to the crater. It was so hot and dusty. The crater was out of this world. We couldn’t really see across the crater because of billowing steam coming out from about 200 feet down in the crater. The view from the top was beautiful and the cool wind was a welcome relief from the heat of the forest below. By the time we reached the bottom around 4pm we were ready for a victory beer and a bus to get us home. We were literally caked in dirt and sweat and smelled like it too. We rolled into the house approximately 13 hours after we had left, exhausted, dirty, and so happy. When I was sitting on the top of the volcano I remembered the story of Elijah on Mt. Sinai (1 Kings 19: 11-14). At the summit all I could hear was the quiet whisper of the wind. It was such a dramatic shift from the loud bustling life of Managua. In that wind I felt peace.
It might seem that I only write about the big adventures and life changing experiences but the truth is that the longer I am here the more I can begin sitting and listening to the small whispers that are all around me all the time. The come more and more frequently past the bustling noises of life.
What I´m listening to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62i9Sodwp5o&feature=related
What I´m reading: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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