Vista del Camino

Coming Home

2011-02-19T21:27:00.002-06:00

I've been holding off writing this blog for months now. Even now I don't know what to say. I want to say something but I don't know yet if I can or if when I do it will be enough.

For now I want to share this poem by Wendell Berry:

We travelers, walking to the sun, can't see
Ahead, but looking back the very light
That blinded us shows us the way we came,
Along which blessings now appear, risen
As if from sightlessness to sight, and we,
By blessing brightly lit, keep going toward
That blessed light that yet to us is dark.

November Reflections

2010-11-16T15:48:00.002-06:00

This update is long over due. As my months left in Nicaragua have turned into weeks left, it is hard to find time to stop and update my blog. As you might expect the time we are entering as a community is very busy. We are currently in our second week of a visit from the International Programs Office of JVC (formally known as JVI). Last week both the Managua and Ciudad Sandino communities went to La Garnacha for Re-Orientation/Dis-Orientation. This year me tocó the disorienting side of the retreat experience. We spent time reflecting on the past year's challenges and successes. We did some social analysis and reflection on some of the injustices we come in contact with on a daily basis, migration, the education system, machismo, etc. The last day of the retreat focused mostly on the upcoming disorienting experience of returning to the United States and the likely reverse culture shock we are bound to experience. I can only imagine returning in the blustery cold of December amidst the loco Christmas consumer frenzy will be, well, disorienting. I am looking forward to catching up with old friends and slowly unpacking the last two years as I move back home to Cincinnati, at least for a time.

I also wanted to mention and honor today the 21st anniversary of the UCA martyrs of El Salvador. Their witness to justice and peace continues to inspire me and I want to hold them close on this very special day. I also want to thank all those who continue to work for justice and peace so that atrocities like their assasination never happen again. I send blessings to all those make the pilgrimage to Washington D.C. and Ft. Benning to stand for peace and justice. ¡Presente!

Oh, September!

2010-10-05T13:36:00.006-06:00

Oh sweet September, where did you go? The days keep slipping through my fingers. I'm sorry it has taken awhile to get this updated. I have to admit that with my waning days in Nicaragua this blog has taken a backseat. It's certainly not for a lack of eventful days, visitors, and great stories. It is harder though to sit still long enough to reflect on my days and put down something on a word processor. Oh, that's the other factor, my laptop has finally succombed to the brutal Nica JV lifestyle. Adios amigo.

So, here's where I'll start...

At the beginning of September a long anticipated visitor arrived, Allison! Her visit was everything I had hoped for and so much more! We spent the first couple days around Manangua, Ciudad Sandino, and even went to Granada for an afternoon. She accompanied me in class and my students took to her right away. A group of second graders especially fell in love with her and just today, a month later, asked me when she was coming back. (Sorry, Chavalos, she's not coming back anytime soon.) After a few days of teaching and meeting coworkers we went on a double date with Yamil and his girlfriend. We ate and drank our fair share of Salvadoran pupusas and Victoria. On Wednesday we headed north to Matagalpa for one night and then over to Estelí. I just had to show her one of my favorite places in the whole wide world: La Garnacha. But, what's travelling in Central America without a couple unexpected turns. When we arrived to La Garnacha we realized there were no rooms at the inn! We ended up staying in the very humble home of the Italian parish priest who wasn't in. Despite the noctural guests that scurried over the rafters we enjoyed ourselves and enjoyed our cabin the following day much more! Here are some photos from our time together:

Allison with her new second grade friends

Me and Yubelkis

Just one example of Nicaragua's Beauty and Allison's photo skills

Don Humberto, a resident Nicaraguan scultor showed us around his property full of rock scultures and inspired us with his words, "Lo Soñé y tenia que hacerlo," or I dreamed it so I had to do it. Right on.

In other news we have all been doing pretty well. We celebrated national holidays on the 14th and 15th of September. Those were som much appreciated days off work. On the 14th we had a big fundraiser at school that involved making a ton of food. The day before I went with some coworkers to Mercado Oriental, the biggest outdoor market in Central America. It was a crazy experience. I have only been there a couple of times and quite honestly it is always an overwhelming experience. It is just so big. At one point I was carrying close to 100 pounds of yucca on my back. I almost got lost because I couldn't see where I was going. Luckily I was able to put it down to get my bearings. Unfortunately I couldn't get it back up on my shoulder. I must have looked pretty desperate because some guy came over and heaved onto my back. I thought I was a gonner.

As my days continue to countdown I hope to have some more reflections coming your way. I also imagine that in the months following my return I will be able to have some space to sit, reflect, and write about my experience.

Also, if you haven't seen this yet, it is pretty disturbing to say the least. http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/10/01/us.guatemala.apology/index.html?hpt=T2

Guides, We Don't Need No Stinkin' Guides!

2010-08-17T14:33:00.003-06:00

So, if you are a long time reader of this blog you may remember back last year when Michael, Sean, Joe, and I scaled the volcano Telica. It was a long hike, but pretty straight forward-about four hours up, and two back down again. The trick to the hike is knowing the trail. The last time we went, Michael told me about the numerous failed attempts former JVs had made, including himself. That said, we made it up without a glitch. We just had to make it to the mango tree in a big field and turn right there.

Well, a couple weeks ago Sean, Thomas, Yamil, and I got the great idea to go back and do it again. We knew the trail would be much different now that it was rainy season. We thought we would remember the trail when we came to it. Oh were we wrong. In all honesty there is no real "trail" like we know in the states. There are no white blazes as seen on the Appalachian Trail. You basically have to get off the bus toward the town of Malpaisillo, at the Quimera stop, walk down under a bridge into a riverbed and follow that until you reach an unmarked campesino trail. One farmer riding bareback on a little horse told us we were going the wrong way, that we should go down to the end of the trail, turn left at the corn, walk straight to the "L" then at the stone wall turn right and just keep walking to the top. It sounded easy enough. But we walked all day and never once saw that godforsaken mango tree.
We got lost, turned around, and upside down. We were never in danger because I had a GPS and we knew where to find the highway. The trick was negotiating miles of barb wired farmland that lay between the road and the volcano. According to the GPS, at the end of the day, we had walked about 13 miles and gained a mere 500ft. in elevation. That's nothing. When we finally stopped to turn back to the bus the summit was miles away and shrouded in a low lying rain cloud. It was disappointing, but we still had a great time singing rugby songs translated into Spanish, telling stories about past hiking trips, and chatting it up with local farmers along the way. The farmers were all very sympathetic, admitting to us that it was a hard trail to get up and easy to get lost. They offered to guide us if we wanted to go again sometime. Hopefully there will be a next time! Only four months left until my journey north!

Yamil shaking his head at how damn lost we got.

Thomas and Sean looking tired after deciding to turn back around three o'clock.

Thomas freaked out when he saw this snake on the trail. Luckily it was busy devouring a brightly colored lizard.

We followed these cattle most of the way back to the highway.

Signs, But You Don't Believe in Signs

2010-08-05T16:25:00.000-06:00

Wednesday morning was one of those Wednesday mornings I wish I had stayed in bed for. Sometimes they are nice relaxing mornings for reading, talking with students, planning classes, etc. This morning was different. I was asked by my boss to substitute in a second grade class until their teacher returned from a medical appointment. I took a deep breathe and accepted the challenge. For the past year and a half this group has notoriously given me the most trouble, the biggest headaches, and the highest blood pressure. Needless to say, I was not excited about what was to come.
I was given no plans for class so I went to the other second grade teacher to ask her the what to do. She said, "llévelos a educacion física." Great, I thought, take them outside, wear 'em down, and then put them to sleep until their teacher gets back. Well, after an hour of litterally running around chasing a dirty flat soccer ball the kids came back into the classroom covered in sweat and dirt. They actually sat and worked on some Spanish work for about fifteen minutes until a wave of dissent slowly swept over the group of 40 seven-year-olds. I could feel my stress levels slowly rising as I witnessed the ungluing of order in the little classroom. One student, Gary Sheffield (Yes, the same name as the MLB ball player. Yes, I had to look that up.), went Ringo Starr in the corner of the room on a couple of buckets with whiteboard markers. Then one boy roundhoused another in the head and they started to punch each other in the face. I about lost it. Aftering telling Gary to sit down so many times I almost went hoarse, I changed tactics. I said, "Gary, come here, I want to talk with you." We had the following chat (in Spanish originally):

Me: Gary, how are you?
Gary Sheffield: Well.
Me: Did you eat breakfast?
GS: No.
Me: Nothing?
GS: Nothing.
Me: Where do you live?
GS: Over there.
Me: Do you live with your mom?
GS: No, she lives in Costa Rica.
Me: With your dad?
GS: No, he lives in Costa Rica.
Me: Who do you live with?
GS: With my grandma and aunt.
Me: Do you get to play much at home?
GS: No, they don't let me play in the street.
Me: Do you want to bring your desk over so you can work with me?
GS: Yes.

That's where the conversation ended. I thought I had him. I thought I had used my training in popular education to win some trust, to get into his shoes a little bit, to treat him like an adult instead of yelling at him. That's what we preach at Fe y Alegría. But, I lost him. He went back to his corner to kick out some more jams on his makeshift drumset. Damn.
Their teacher finally arrived around 9am. I had only spent 2 hours with them, but I was spent.
I walked to the snack bar to treat myself to a much deserved liquid refreshment. As I turned from the bar, with my cold 7up in hand, I heard the song Another Day in Paradise by Phil Collins playing from the boombox behind the bar. I laughed outloud--paradise. If that's not enough, later that same day, I had what some would call an existential coincidence (as seen in the movie I ♥ Huckabees). A senior approached me with her English homework. In surprisingly good English she asked me, "Can you proofread this song for me?" She handed me her notebook where the lyrics to Another Day in Paradise were perfectly written. With wide eyes I proofread the song and walked away shaking my head. I could hear my mom's words in my head, quoting one of her favorite movies, "signs, but you don't believe in signs." Call it a sign or an existential coincidence; it was strange. It got me thinking about Gary and my other students. They deal with stuff I can't even imagine: malnourishment, broken families from abuse, divorce, and migration, lack of infrastructure and resources. In sociology and political science classes we talked and debated about things like malnourishment and infrastructure. It was all too abstract. Here those topics become all too real. Too real to even see on a daily basis. On Wednesday morning all I needed was a sign, a moment of grace, to reveal the poverty and stuggle that is always hidden in plain sight. Sometimes all it takes is a little Phil Collins to put things in perspective.

And now for your viewing and listening pleasure, I present to you, Phil Collins.

Mi Prima en Nica

2010-07-16T08:35:00.003-06:00

Last week I had the great pleasure of welcoming my cousin to Nicaragua. We were able to travel for a couple days up in northern Nicaragua, near the Honduran border. We went to the Cañon de Somoto and to the city of Esteli. It was a quick trip but such a blast. I loved the canyon. The guide we were with kept saying the water was too high to really get into it, but I just kept thinking to myself, "this water is nothing compared to the New or Gauley." If only I had my kayak, then I could really get in there. Apparently the water goes right up to the slick canyon walls and when the water is up, like it was, there are some gnarly waves. Even in the little bit we floated down there were some strong eddy lines and strange currents that pushed us all around. I loved it.

A view of the countryside

Geting the boat ready

Tori and I getting paddled up river

A view from inside the canyon

The Beginning of the End?

2010-07-14T15:31:00.004-06:00

Well, I remember this time last year and how fast the year flew from this point on. Everything seems to accelerate after July vacations. The second semester just began on Monday and I'm already estactic to hear that we have next Monday and Tuesday off because of a national holiday.
My relationship with work is hard. (This might be the story of my life) It is tiring and sometimes really frustrating. However, there are some days when I absolutely love being at school. I love the kids, the smiles, the hugs, even the silly and ridiculous ancedotes they tell me throughout the day. One first grader, Yubelkis, always bursts into a heart crushing smile whenever we make eye contact. Little kids are always stopping me in the halls or at recess to tell me all sorts of interesting things: "My aunt lives in Miami, do you know her?" "my papá has a motorcyle!" or "Look at the ten córdobas (50 cents) I have!" It doesn't matter how mundane the story appears; I feel honored they've shared it with me. On the surface these stories seem simple or sweet but under the surface they are much more. They tell the story of a child who misses her aunt, of a boy proud of his father who drives him to school every morning on his way to work at a maquila, or a girl who is excited to buy a snack at recess because she only ate a tortilla for breakfast. Children's stories are often filled with much more depth, wisdom, and vulnerability than I realize.
I will miss these kids.
When I think about leaving right now that's what I think about most. Sure, there are the superficial things I dream about: what will be the first microbrew I'll drink? or how soon can I get my kayak in the water? or Really how cold is December in Cincinnati? At the end of the day I know I will miss my students. Notice I say students, not the work. You can take the work and shove it, but the kids they stay.

On a different note I hope you like the changes to the blog. I thought it could use a little freshening up.

Check out this photos from out latest retreat at Poneloya beach

This is the photo we sent to the new volunteers. It's tradition that they don't see our faces before arriving at the airport in early December. So, if you're a new volunteer look no further!

We buried Andrea up to her neck and asked some fishermen to take our picture

Transformation in Community

2010-05-30T11:11:00.001-06:00

The following was written on Wednesday May 27^th 2010.

I was sitting in the teacher’s lounge this afternoon planning for my Technical English class which was a mere ten minutes away. My boss, Mario, came into the room and told me I would not be giving class today. Instead, I would be accompanying a group of fifty 10^th graders to the house of their teacher and my coworker, Elizabeth, whose brother tragically died this week in a car accident. Mario also told me that instead of moving my missed class to next week I would have both of my classes on Friday morning, my free day. Great, I thought, not only am I responsible for fifty 16 year olds on an impromptu field trip through the streets of Ciudad Sandino but I also just wasted an hour planning for a class that I won’t have to give. The following hour put my minor inconveniences and complaints in perspective.

For three days it has been raining off and on. All day it has been drizzling and the dirt streets of Ciudad Sandino are like a swamp. It reminded me of stream-walking with my dad and brother as a child. As we walked through the misty streets it was hard not to feel the ominous presence of death at the end of the road. When we arrived at Elizabeth’s house the door was closed. Someone knocked and the door opened slowly. The kids stood around the door in utter silence and respect for their profe. The rain continued to fall as we listened to her story. I stood in the back of the group. I couldn’t make out much of what she was saying. I started to look around, taking in the surroundings of this typical Ciudad Sandino street. Across the street an old grey haired man sat on the ground in soiled clothes talking drunken nonsense to himself. Another man walked down our side of the street and yelled to the old drunk man, ¿Dónde venden guaro? (Where do they sell booze?) The old man just pointed a gnarled finger down the street. The man nodded and zealously walked toward his next fix. Just then two rough looking guys in their mid-twenties came riding by on an old bicycle. One was wielding a machete and kept making comments about the students and their gringo teacher. I looked away and realized how uncomfortable I felt. The drizzle turned to a steady rain. Elizabeth invited everyone into her small and humble living room. There wasn’t enough room for everyone so I stood in the doorway, one foot in one foot out. All I could hear was the rain on the tin roof mixed with the sound of sniffles and kids praying for Elizabeth and her family.

I never know what to say in situations like this. All I managed to squeeze out was, “Realmente lo siento.” (I’m really sorry) It was such a sad and sobering experience. I cannot imagine losing my little brother. As I stood at Elizabeth’s house I started thinking about how sad it would be to lose someone not only to an accident, but to something like alcoholism or gang violence. They seem like much slower but perhaps more painful forms of death. Amidst the moribund imagines that surrounded us this afternoon I was encouraged and empowered by the spirit of community brought by my students. In my experience as a North American, death is a personal experience to be felt and dealt with in privacy. I truly believe that death, in any form, should be confronted by community. Whether it is like my students coming to visit, pray with, and hug their teacher, or like the many community initiatives I see working all over Ciudad Sandino to confront domestic abuse, substance abuse, and gang violence. Community is so powerful because it can provide the support to grieve and mourn, which ultimately can lead to transformation. This reminds me of the apostles gathered together after the death of Jesus. They gathered to mourn the death of their great friend. In the end they were filled with the Spirit and emboldened to go forth, live the gospel, and denounce the injustice of what had happened to their friend Jesus of Nazareth. In community they were filled with the hope of the resurrection and were transformed. In my experience, personal and communal transformation unfolds when suffering is met with prayer and intentional accompaniment of those who suffer.

Although I initially wasn’t thrilled to accompany my students today I have come again to realize it is they who continually teach me.

Un Poco de Todo, an update

2010-05-26T07:55:00.003-06:00

So, the winter has started here in Nicaragua. There is no snow nor warm apple cider...just rain - a lot of it. Almost every night this week it has rained profusely. It started pouring last and did not stop until this morning. The air and earth are saturated with moisture.

May is the month of Mothers. So, Happy Mother's Month. Monther's Day is actually celebrated this coming Sunday here in Nica. A little known fact about Mother's Day here is that is was started by the dictator Somoza in honor of his mother. Oddly enough it has struck throughout the years, even
the revolutionary 80s.

A new responsability I have taken on at school is co-facilitating the student newspaper. In reality I do very little. The students really do the work and are really animated to get it done. They have also started a blog. I have to warn you that it is really new. I hope there are more updates soon. The title of the paper is Voz Estudiantil (Student's Voice).

Last friday we celebrated Pentecostés with a mini-vigil on Friday night. We had three break-out sessions for kids, teens, and adults and then came back together for mass and a bonfire.

After the vigil Dora, Yamil, Christine, and I met Lauren and our friends from Cantera at El Club for a couple brewskies, live music, and pool.
We were celebrating Dora's 30th birthday! ¡Feliz Cumpleaños Dorita!

Yamil, Dora, and me

Playing Billares

Cincinnati Video Pals

2010-05-11T12:03:00.002-06:00

So, my friend Megan teaches Spanish at a school back in Cincinnati. She recently sent Thomas, another JV, and me a video from her class asking questions about life here in Nicaragua. Here is the original video full of great questions.

After we saw this awesome video we were struck by some of the very intriguing questions. We sat down right away to construct our response. We had such a great time making the video! Here is our response.

Thanks to Megan and her class for the great assignment!

¡Visita del Padre General Adolfo Nicolás, SJ!

2010-04-26T14:21:00.004-06:00

It was such an honor today to have Father General Adolfo Nicolás SJ visit Colegio Roberto Clemente. It is not everyday that the Father General comes to Nicaragua. It may be the only time he passes by this way. He spent about an hour and a half here at school where he took a short tour and met with student and faculty representatives from the four Fe y Alegría schools in the area. There were a number of short speeches and cultural acts, including an amazing violin and guitar acompaniment by one of my students and her father. For me the highlight of the morning was hearing the Father General's short talk. Instead of preaching to the students he walked in front of the podium and began to ask them questions. In his few, but impactful, words he emphasized the role of education as a means to joy, faith, tolerance toward non-christian religions(!) and service to others, en todo amar y servir (In everything love and serve). Fe y Alegría as a project of the Jesuits serves over one million students worldwide. Colegio Roberto Clemente was chosen to receive the Father General because it was the first Fe y Alegría school in Nicaragua, founded in 1974. After spending the past ten years studying or working in Jesuits insitutions it was such an honor for me to meet the man in charge. As he was leaving my friend Yamil and I ran to get a photo with him. For being such a powerful and influential man in the Church he seemed, above all, like a genuine and humble man.

Here are some highlights from the morning:

Students waiting to welcome Adolfo Nicolás with flowers

Adolfo Nicolás SJ sitting with students from Colegio Roberto Clemente

Nicolás walking around campus with Roberto Clemente student, Fernando Cardenal SJ, national director of Fe y Alegría is seen in the background.

Yamil in front of the newly painted front wall in honor of the Father General's visit

Andrés a Swiss volunteer with Fe y Alegría, Adolfo Nicolás SJ, and me

Prof. Ena, me, Prof. Bertha, and Prof. Magaly from Col. Roberto Clemente

The Catch Up

2010-04-13T16:20:00.002-06:00

I know it's getting bad in the blog department when my mom starts comparing my blog to that of Christine's. I know it's been sparse. The past month or so has been incredibly busy. We've had tons of guests, a week off for Holy Week, community retreat, and things at work keep me busy. Over Holy Week or Semana Santa we had three volunteers from Belize come down to visit. After about 6 buses, a boat, and a couple taxis they arrived at our house. It was great having other JVs in the house. I have to say, they were the easiest guests we´ve had. They knew just how to pitch in and how to sit idly in front of the fan with no need for entertainment. But in all seriousness, they are great girls and it was really special to share experiences of being a JV in two very distinct places. While the Belize JVs were here we took advantage of the Jesuit community's house at the Laguna de Apoyo. During Holy Week the beaches and lakes of Nicaragua are FULL of people. Sadly, many people die of drunken swimming and riptides. The lake where we went was happily chill with almost no one in sight, and gracias a Dios no one drowned.

Yesterday we returned from our first retreat of the year. Although it came a little late for us, the retreat was much needed. We were all feeling a little stretched thin. The first years are starting to get over the honeymoon period of being in love with Nicaragua, and I know at least I have been feeling tired and stretched thin. The second year experience while easier in many respects has many challenges. One of those challenges is staying present. For me it has been challenging to continually renew myself and continue to fall in love with my life here. Luckily, the theme of our retreat was Falling in Love. The theme comes from a saying of Pedro Arrupe, SJ.

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

I really needed this retreat. It helped me get some perspective, cool down, and in a small way re-fall in love with Nicaragua.
Work lately has been up and down. I don't know what happens but sometimes my students are amazing, wonderful, brights little people, and sometimes they are horrible and devilish beasts. I can't explain what happens. I'm sure it's a combination of my own energy levels and presense in class and how much sugar they ate at recess, among other factors. Today was one of those days when, in the middle of class, I thought to myself: What would happen if I crossed the street, packed one bag, and took off? Those feelings always pass. I know that I freely choose to be here everyday. There is something liberating in that. I do love my students, but man some days it is hard to love them.

Well, that's what I have for now. I am currently reading The Brother's K by David James Duncan. It's really good so far. There's a lot in it about this thing called Baseball. It's apparently some kind of sport. They say people like it... (Yes, that's for you Joe.) It's a modern redering of the Brother's Karamozov and most importantly by the author of The River Why.

Oscar Romero Disappeared by the Right...Again

2010-03-23T12:03:00.002-06:00

I know I have not posted anything for such a long time, but I wanted to share this video. My community recently returned from El Salvador for the 30th anniversary of Oscar Romero's martyrdom. For the first time in 30 years the anniversary will be recognized by the Salvadoran government, however the Texas Board of Education thinks Romero is't worth remembering. This is a sad and comical.
In other news, things here are going well. Another, more updated, entry will be filed soon. Thanks for your patience.

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First Days of Class

2010-02-12T10:00:00.002-06:00

This past week I started giving Enlgish classes at school. My first class of Technical English went really. The kids are older, in tenth grade. I spoke almost entirely in English, and believe it or not they pretty much unterstood everything I said, with a little help from other students. I felt like the first day of class with them went so well. That is until day two. Only four out of thirty-five students did their homework and two of them copied off each other. It was really dissapointing. I let them know how dissappointed I was too. Hopefully the next class they will step up. Other than that things are going well. The little kids are loving the songs and children´s stories I´ve been reading to them. My mom brought down a Dora the Explorer book in English and Spanish. The kids love that and they are already picking up on the English parts.

The Change They Needed?

2010-02-04T15:01:00.004-06:00

This may be a big surprise to most readers in the United States, but the situation in Honduras has not been resolved like the media has been reporting. In fact, it is quite the contrary.
Today I had the honor and priviledge of hearing from a Honduran journalist who has been exiled in Nicaragua. He was escorted out of Honduras, by human rights groups protecting his life, after four of his coworkers were assasinated and he was detained and tortured by military personel for 36 hours straight. They beat him on the bottom of his feet, his stomach, and his testicles. They essetionally waterboarded him by putting him under a chair and pouring water down his nose and mouth until near drowning. The strangled him with a wire. The stories he told were horifying and moved many to tears.
The military tortured him because they believed he was part of an armed resistance movement. This was not true. He has been one of the few journalist who has been able to get information out about what is really happening.
Honduras, for the past 7 months has been a militarized police state with little to no constitutional rights. The military took over any media outlet speaking out against the repression and even took over the autonomous national universities. Many people think that with the recent elections and with a new president in power things will change. This journalist does not believe so. He cannot go home.
This is any interesting fact: when the Managua mayorial elections were deemed fradulent in Fall of 2008 the US cut funds for the Millenium Challenge Goals in Nicaragua. There were no deaths, repression, or human rights abuses, but an already poor country was cut of much needed funds. In contrast, in the wake of an illegal coup accompanied by nationwide curfews, military repression, and more than 130 deaths at the hands of police and military, the United States never took a strong stance against what has happened and what continues to happen. The new president is but a figurehead for the powers that control Honduras. Sadly that includes the local church and nearly all economic and political interests. I recently have reflected that Americans are often lulled into a stuper with the election of a new president. I believed Obama would change US foreign policy and bring in a new reign of change and maybe even some "justice for all," not just US. Does a new president change anything? What has happened in Honduras is frighteningly similar to what happened all over Latin American during the Cold War, when Military Dictorships were more prevalent than democracies in the hemisphere. They were not only supported by the US but often created by the US. Why are these things still happening in Latin America? Thirty years from now will someone write another Bitter Fruit about what has happened in Honduras and will we realize that the intellectual authors were not the Honduran people but rather our own government officials and that is was financed by our very own tax dollars? I hope not, but we are responsible for what our government does abroad. We must stay informed and speak out.
I invite you to watch this video. I saw it earlier today. It is all real and a testimony to the horror felt by so many Hondurans, including the journalist who realized the project before being exiled to Nicaragua. It is found on the Quixote Center website. Check out this organization. They are doing some really good work.

Repression in Honduras / Honduras Reprimido from Quixote Center on Vimeo.

If the video does not work you can find hit here.

Back to School, Oh Back to School

2010-02-03T13:50:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was the start of Año Escolar 2010. I cannot believe it is here already. The past two months of vacation and family visits seem like an ancient dream as I get back into work-life. I´ve recently been reflecting on last year at this time. I was overwhelmed and nervous to be around so many kids and teachers and I had no idea what I was doing. Today, on the second day of class I was called to sub for a sixth grade teacher who was coming in late. From 7 until 10:30 I subbed and basically taught a Spanish and Math class. I would´ve never dreamed last year that I could do that. I even maintained relative discipline.
I have some exciting news from school. I will be teaching English to all preschoolers through fourth graders, as well as teaching a technical English class to the kids working in the auto workshop. Many technical documents and instructions are in English, so I will be teaching them how to recognize, read, and speak this technical side of English. Now, I know how to change the oil on a car. I can change a flat. But, I don´t know much about crankshafts and piston rings. I´m reminded of the joke, I think my dad tells, about the Jesuit who asks another Jesuit, "Do you have a degree in astrophysics?" The other responds, "No, I haven´t taught that yet." That´s how I feel as I take on this new task of technical English. I think it will be really fun. I already am getting closer to the staff at the workshops. They have a great teachers lounge with internet and Mexican ranchera music playing all the time. I am very happy that I have been given more responsiblity at work and I feel likeI will be able to contribute more. If anyone has advice or experience teaching this kind of English please let me know. I´d love to bounce some ideas off you.
In other news the new volunteers are settling in quite well. Community life is off and rolling. We have been having some really great conversations about our intentionality and how we can more deepen our committments to simplicity and justice. One thing we are going to do is stop shopping at the Pali right by our house. We didn´t have one last year and it´s been really tempting to shop there because it´s cheap and convenient. However, it´s owned by Wal-Mart. Two of the three supermarkets in Nicaragua are owned by Wal-Mart. We have chosen instead to support the local outdoor market and our neighbers running ventas and pulperias out of their homes. (So, not to worry generous donors, your contributions are going to support the local economy, not line the pockets of the Wal family.)
Something I´ve been thinking about recently is going home. I don´t think it´ll be as easy to live in solidarity in the US. I know solidarity certainly looked different in college and will certainly look different when I get home. What does solidarity look like for you? Also, I´ll be home in December, 10 months and pico from now. Anyone got a good job for me? Let me know.

Looking Ahead

2010-01-16T15:48:00.002-06:00

Now that vacation and visits are winding down I have been able to step back, take a breath, and look at the coming year. Work will not be changing too much for me. However, instead of giving classes planned by other teachers, I will be giving English classes to preschool through fourth grade. Also, my friend Yamil and I are planing on starting a movie club. We hope to show a movie a week and have some kind of discussion around them. We are thinking to have a theme for every month, for example: classic movies, Latino movies, justice, race, etc. Once Yamil and I put our heads together there's no stopping the ideas. I was also just gifted a basketball, soccer ball, and even a good ol rugby ball which could open up some opportunities for playing with my students. Last year I played a lot of basketball with some of the high school students. I don't know if it will turn into a coaching position but it should be a lot of fun shootin some b-ball outside of school.
One challenge so far has been reaching out to our community in Ciudad Sandino. Our house, although beautiful and spacious, is closed off and walled in. I get the feeling that our neighbors look poorly on us or at least write us off a bit as the rich white folks who live in the house where the nuns used to live. It will be interesting to see if we can form good relationships with the people in our neighborhood. It's slow going so far. I will need to be really proactive about getting out into the community because our house is literally right across the street from school. It will be really easy to just go back and forth with minimal connection with the larger community.
So there you have it, some reflections because the work really starts and my nose is back to the grindstone. More to come sooon. Salud.

The Fam Has Arrived

2010-01-04T07:19:00.002-06:00

It's family time here in Nicaragua. Among the four second years who are now allowed to have visitors, three of us have our families visiting at practically the same time. My parents and brother arrived last Tuesday afternoon. We spent a few days in Ciudad Sandino and Managua, taking in the sites and meeting people. We spent New Year's eve in the Ciudad Sandino house with our friends Joe and Kelly and their friend Nicki. I was really looking forward to seeing what the Ciudad had to offer on this infamous night of polvoras and bombas (fireworks and bombs). You may remember that last New Year's I posted a video of our neighbors "Burning El Viejo," well they do it in the Ciudad too. At midnight we all went out to the street to watch fireworks and a bunch of our new neighbors came up to hug and greet us with New Year's blessings. In the morning, as is a Reynolds family tradition we had a ton of friends and coworkers over for a lunch grill out. As always we threw a great party and everyone had their fill of hamburgers, hotdogs, and even brats brought directly from the brat capital of the world: Cincinnati.
The fam and I are now on the road. We have never had a vacation like this before. My parents have never been to Latin America and we've never traveled internationally together. That said, things are going very well. We went to Volcán Masaya, the Laguna de Apoyo, and are currently in the colonial city of Granada.
It's been really cool to share both the everyday side of Nicaraguan life that is my community, friends, and school and also the natural beauty of the countryside, the Nicaragua that is "the land of lakes and volcanoes." Nicaragua is such a breathtakingly beautiful country.

New Contact Info!

2009-12-18T12:12:00.001-06:00

My new mailing address is:

Patrick Reynolds
Jesuit Volunteer Corp
APDO CS 9
Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua
C.A.

Year Dos

2009-12-18T11:33:00.003-06:00

It's been over a year now. It's hard to believe it, but I've been living in Nicaragua for over a year. This past month has been full of changes and goodbyes. This week Michael and Jenna left for the States after two years of service. It's sounds like they are already enjoying the little things of home like bagels, sliced deli ham, and holding new nephews. The new volunteers arrived about two weeks ago and have been busy with orientation. While they have been away I've spent most of my time trying to fix up the new house. The house is huge and has required daily mopping because of the clouds of dust that come with the dry season. Also, there is a lot to be done because it was left vacant for over half a year. Toilets needed fixing. The yard needs planting and watering. Clothes need washing and food needs cooking. Our ratty dog needs scraps of food. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I've become a stay at home dad. Not my idea of a vocation, but important nonetheless.
It's strange to be here for another Christmas. Last year I came with the Christmas spirit following me from the states. Now it's different because the weather hasn't really changed. There are no snow flakes or brisk air to remind me of the season, and it all just feels kind of stange and out of place. Maybe this is how people living in Florida feel. I just want to bundle up and drink some eggnog. Next year I'll probably step out of the airport and want to just jumped right back on the plane to Nica.
Here in Nicaragua we recently celebrated La Purisima, which is a celebration of the Virgin Mary. The following pictures are from the celebrations we had at school. Every classroom sets up an altar like the one seen below and the kids sing songs praising la virgin. It was a really great day.

El Salvador

2009-11-17T08:11:00.011-06:00

The past two weeks have been a total whirlwind. I want to tell you first about our year end retreat and then about my week in

El Salvador

. At the end of every year we have a retreat called reorientation—disorientation. The idea is to reorient first years as we become second years and to prepare the second years for the disorientation of returning to the

after two years abroad. We again went to La Garnacha up in the mountains of Estelí. The beauty of this place has never gotten old, even after three trips this past year. The retreat was a great time to reflect on the past year looking back on all that we’ve been through and at all the ways in which we have grown. I think more importantly it helped us look ahead to the coming year. There are lots of changes coming with our move to Ciudad Sandino and I needed a chance to regroup and prepare myself, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I am really excited for the changes coming ahead. Our new volunteers are coming already on December 2^nd!

About a week ago I caught a bus to El Salvador. I went for the 10^th anniversary Casa de la Solidaridad reunion and also for the 20^th anniversary of the UCA martyrs. I got in a couple days early so I stayed with my friend Chris is working on a Fullbright in El Salvador. It was really great to see him and hear about the great work he is doing. I am so lucky to be surrounded by friends who are doing awesome and inspiring things. I am consistently amazed to hear about the things my friends are doing: living and working abroad, living in intentional communities, getting advanced degrees, medical school, teaching, government work, lobbying, volunteering, community organizing, and pretty much changing the world all over the place. Seeing so many old friends (and new ones) at the reunion was so great and much needed after almost a year without seeing so many of the people I know and love. It was almost like a dream having so many of them so close to me. When I left early yesterday morning I felt empty and so sad to leave them again.

A highlight of the week in El Salvador was returning to Tepecoyo where I spent a lot of time as a student, getting to know the community and also teaching English. After two and a half years without visiting I figured people would’ve forgotten me, but I was pleasantly surprised when kids not only remember me but my name as well. It floored me. I felt so grateful all day for everyone at my praxis site. If it hadn’t been for them I probably would never have done JVI and if it wasn’t for my year in Nicaragua I couldn’t have spoken Spanish with them as well as I did. Throughout the day with friends in Tepecoyo I realized I was able to share more and understand better anything I did my semester in El Salvador. Learning Spanish has continually opened my world to people, to better understand and really begin to know them.

Yesterday I arrived back in Managua, exhausted after 11 hours on a bus and about thirty minutes of sleep the night before. When I woke up at 5am this morning to go to work I thought I would go through the day just missing my friends who had also just left Salvador headed all over the world. However, on the bus I ran into my friend Yamil and we got to catch up and debrief a lot from the last week. Once at school I was attacked with hugs from kids wondering where I had been and they all told me they had missed me. Once again I was just filled with a sense of gratitude for all the people that love me and keep me going here: friends in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and the US. That’s an amazing support network. Les agradezco a todos y todas.

Finally I am left with something Trena, co-director of the Casa, told us at the reunion, “You only pass by this place once.” It’s something that she found important as a JV in Belize years ago and I think it’s true for everyone and especially for me right now. Now matter where you are in life it is unique and will never happen again in the exact same way. Over the past two weeks I had a chance to take stock of how far I’ve come over the past couple years and I am just so grateful. I hope over the next year I can really aprovechar like I have this past one.

Photos from the week:

Amilcar, Jose Luis, and I rocked out to some Salvadoran folk tunes in Tepecoyo.

Rodrigo and some other former students in Tepecoyo

Casa and Romero Program students creating an alfombra or "rug" at the UCA. These "rugs" are made out of dyed salt and are washed away at night by people walking through them during the vigil.

The finished alfombra

Belize and Nica JVs together at the UCA martyrs Vigil! Emily and Matt from PG, Belize, and Megan, Jenna, and me from Mangua.

Me, Allison, and Colin. Amig@s por siempre, pues sí.

Flooding in El Salvador

2009-11-13T07:32:00.003-06:00

Dear Friends,

As many of you know there has recently been horrendous and deadly flooding in El Salvador. I am currently visiting San Salvador for the vigil of the UCA martyrs and reports of the devestation are coming in from all over the country. Casa alums have set up this website to facilitate collaboration from North America with the relief effort. NGOs and relief agencies have been slow to respond. If you can, please help.

http://friendsofsantamaria.blogspot.com/

Continuing Updates from Honduras

2009-10-25T10:58:00.003-06:00

I recently went to a talk by two young American women who have been going back and forth between Nicaragua and Honduras as a solidarity presence to the people struggling after the overthrow of Manuel Zelaya. I really feel the call to share some of the information they shared with us about their firsthand experience, on the ground in Tegucigalpa. The media is doing a poor job at best on reporting from Honduras. At worse, there is deliberate media silence when it has come to many military and police abuses since the coup in June.

I will start where they started their story. They were present in Tegucigalpa when Zelaya returned on September 21st, taking refuge in the Brazilian embassy. That Monday at 4pm nationwide curfew was called and was not lifted until 10am on Wednesday. Many Hondurans live day to day on food bought in their neighborhoods and from markets. Because of the curfew people were calling in to radio stations reporting that for fear of arrest they could not leave their homes for food and their kids were going hungry. Also, as of Sept.21, Micheletti suspended all constitutional rights for 45 days as part of a national state of emergency plan. How can free and fair elections be held when months leading up to the election constitutional rights are being withheld by a questionably legal government?
Police and military repression has grown increasingly violent over the past months. The Brazilian embassy has been surrounded by the military. Psychological tactics have been used to coerce Zelaya out including, blaring loud music over the embassy walls, and setting up scaffolding over the walls to constantly observe. Snipers have been sighted keeping watch on the embassy. It has been assaulted with toxic tear gas. An eight year old girl in the surrounding neighborhood died in her home of asphyxiation from the gas used at the embassy by the police and military. Police have reportedly been using iron batons and wooden batons with nails in them. Both are illegal. Disappearances have become more common as resistance leaders have been identified by police and military. Prisoners have been beaten, tortured, and moved around the country thus making it difficult for family members and lawyers to find prisoners. Police are not only breaking up demonstrations but are pursuing protesters into neighborhoods and brutally beating them even after they've dispersed. One man was beaten as he carried his young daughter in his arms leaving a demonstration.

Who is protesting?
Most people I have talked to in the states think it is Zelaya supporters and leftists in the same camp as Chavez. Yes, there are some. However, as I've been informed the majority of protesters are women, indigenous, teachers, students, and lawyers groups. They are calling for a general overhaul of the constitution. Constitutionality is the priority, not Zelaya, not an international Leftist front. The resistance movement has been overwhelmingly peaceful. To date there has been no call to arms. This nonviolence resistance has made the brutal repression by police and military even more extreme and unjust.

Media Coverage
Micheletti has closed numerous radio and television stations who reported what was happening in the streets. Some have recently been reopened. However, these antidemocratic moves are very troubling especially if they plan on going through with elections in November.
Also, US coverage has been abysmal. For example, on Sept. 21st, while Zelaya was returning and military crackdown was underway, The Washington Post published an op-ed by Micheletti sighting the great progress and the strength of democracy in Honduras. The American public is not seeing truth. Not even in Nicaragua are we seeing what is really going on. I recommend this website for more information from the ground: http://www.narconews.com/

A Quintessential Couple O Weeks

2009-10-12T17:50:00.006-06:00

So, the past few weeks have been good and busy. It was a quintessential couple weeks: surfing, the beach, work, buses, moto taxis, retreat, slacklining, and good ol JV community time. I think I'll start by just talking about the following pictures.
But first I have to mention something that I have no pictures of....which is a shame. Last week I was a judge in an English competition between a few schools near where I work, including Roberto Clemente. There were 25 groups and individuals singing songs in English. I was enlisted to judge pronuciation, intonation, security, and domain. Highlights included Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and Crank That by Solja Boy. The kid who sang Crank That actually did an amazing job and unanimously won between me and the two other judges. The actual event lasted over four hours and by the end I was exhausted. It was a really interesting cultural experience. The songs kids chose, and English songs that tend to be popular in Nicaragua, were from the 70s and 80s. Michael Jackson songs were definately a hit. (Not surprising to those close to me, they were not high scorers from the American judge. I tried to be unbiased but I can only listen to Thriller so many times.) At the end of the event, when I and the two other Nicaraguan judges tallied the scores I noticed our scores were sooo different. They scored the cheesy 70s songs really high and I scored the newer pop-ier songs higher. Since I speak English, they tended to just accept my scores and forget their own. This made me feel really uncomfortable because the kids were not being judged fair. I told them we should just tally the points and not guestimate like they were doing. I was saved by the bell because my ride home showed up and I had to leave. I gave them my scores and walked away hoping they would do what's right but also realizing it was out of my hands. It was so uncomfortable and a good example of unintended gringo priveledge.

This photo was taken from our patio after a rain storm. The view of the sky through our little window of razor wire is often the only natural beauty we get in the house and around Managua.

I went SURFING. Well, kind of, I tried. I went with friends Kelly and Joe (above). It was so great to get out of the house and head to the beach. It was even better because we drove in the pickup of a friend of theirs and I got to use the unofficial JV surfboard, which was left here by some backpackers a couple years ago.

This shot is of the community overlooking Lake Masaya. We took an overnight retreat at Flor de Pochote. It was really good to get out of the heat of Managua and relax a bit.

I love me some slackline.

Chritine and I washing our feet in the pila at Flor de Pochote after some intense barefooted slacklining adventures.

Loosen My Grip

2009-09-28T10:37:00.001-06:00

Loosen My Grip
by Ted Loder

O God, it is hard for me to let go,
most times,
and the squeeze I exert
garbles me and gnarls others.
So, loosen my grip a bit
on the good times,
on the moments of sunlight and star shine and joy,
that the thousand graces they scatter as they pass
may nurture growth in me
rather than turn to brittle memories.

Loosen my grip
on those grudges and grievances
I hold so closely,
that I may risk exposing myself
to the spirit of forgiving and forgiveness
that changes things and resurrects dreams and courage.

Loosen my grip
on my fears
that I may be released a little into humility
and into an acceptance of my humanity.

Loosen my grip
on myself
that I may experience the freedom of a fool
who knows that to believe
is to see kingdoms, find power, sense glory;
to reach out
is to know myself held;
to laugh at myself
is to be in on the joke of your grace;
to attend to each moment
is to hear the faint melody of eternity;
to dare love
is to hear the wild flowers of heaven.

Loosen my grip
On my ways and words,
On my fears and fretfulness
that letting go
into the depths of silence
and my own uncharted longings,
I may find myself held by you
and linked anew to all life
in this wild and wondrous world
you love so much,
so I may take to heart
that you have taken me to heart.

Loder, Ted. Guerrilas of Grace. Innisfree Press, Inc: 1984, 48-49.

Loosening my grip has been harder than I ever imagined. A couple weeks ago I was held up in our sweltering house for a week with a fever, headache, and cough. Let’s say it was an unconfirmed case of the flu, H1N1, who knows? Regardless what we name it, it was awfully unpleasant. At the beginning of the week, sleeping all day and drinking copious amounts of water was no big deal. I had no other desires. Toward the third and fourth days I was starting to feel a little trapped, which is easy to do in our house where is reaches 100 degrees during the day and is enclosed with concrete and razor wire. Books saved me: Guerrillas of Grace, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and most importantly The River Why. The prayer/poem Loosen My Grip really struck me when I was sick because I was so unable to let go, relax, and just let myself get better. I wanted to be better immediately. Why wait? I’m young, strong, intelligent, and couldn’t move more than to get to the bathroom and back. That was a hard realization. Reading The River Why was an incredible experience. I devoured the book, reading it in just two days. It brought out in me three things that I find key in my life: relationships, spirituality, and nature. It was an amazing and, for me, a life changing book.

It just started to rain. It hasn’t rained much this month. They say it’s El Niño that’s been causing the dry spell. In the words of Chris Farley, “El Niño is Spanish for, The Niño.” It sure is pouring right now. The temperature dropped about 15 degrees and the house is filled with the sound of the rain beating down on our tin roof. It is glorious. I need this cooling off before heading back to another week of work. I feel refreshed. (By the way, is there a hurricane coming through Central America because it is really raining!)

When Windshields Explode

2009-09-13T17:02:00.003-06:00

Who knew that windshields could just spontaneously explode? I sure didn't. This weekend is a holiday weekend here in Nica. The 14th and 15th are yearly celebrations of Central American and Nicaraguan independence respectively. Yesterday, Megan and I were hitching a ride with friends up to Esteli with plans of continuing up to Somoto to do some hiking and more than anything retreat from the grind of Managuan life. Not half an hour outside of Managua the entire windshield exploded with a loud pop. We couldn't see anything through the spiderweb of splintered glass. After pulling over, Megan entertained the 2 and 5 year old kids in the car while Andrew, Fabien, and I picked glass from the front seats and the hole left by the glass. After waiting for about two hours in the midday sun a friend of theirs picked up Fabien, the kids, and Megan. Andrew and I drove the car back to their house in Managua, never getting over 25 mph. I was worried about inhaling glass dust and particles so I wore sunglasses and a bandit-style red bandanna over my mouth. We looked ridiculous driving through Managua with the front windshield completely gone. Once I finally got home I was exhausted and my slight cough that I woke up with had moved down into my chest. I had a fever of 100 and chills all evening. What a great way to spend vacation! Not. So much for mountains. Luckily they aren't going anywhere; nor am I.

Here is one of my new favorite bands, The Avett Brothers. I hope you enjoy em.

Take care and if anyone can explain to me how and why a windshield would spontaneously explode please let me know.
Also, any good music? Pass it my way! Thanks!

Being Different

2009-08-23T12:21:00.003-06:00

This post is primarily in response to Monica's question posted in July about being a minority in Nicaragua.
It's an interesting question because I experience different things because of my white skin. Most people seeing me for the first time assume I am a tourist or working for an NGO. I am often called "Gringo" or "Chele" in the street. The term Gringo only refers to people from the US and it's funny because there are many white people here who are not from the US but are called Gringos regardless. Also, there are many lightskinned Nicaraguans who are called Chele as well. It just means white. It's very common here to refer to a stranger by their skin tone: negro (dark or black), moreno (tan or mestizo), and chele (white). There is a common perception, and not unfounded, that white people have money. This creates certain security concerns. I personally have not had any problems. Sometimes I completely forget that I stand out so much. I take the same bus everyday so I see many of the same people along the way. I don't stand out so much. I carry a very common bootleg Jansport backpack that is ripping and dirty and mind my own business. A couple times cobradores (fair collectors) have tried to rip me off on the bus. They try to take advantage by assuming I don't know the bus fare, thus overcharging me. I always check the price beforehand and know better than to be taken advantage of.
More than discrimination I experience white privilege. At work I'm not a normal teacher. I can take off when I need to. I live simply on my $40 per month stipend, but I also have a bank account and a family in the United States. I don't think I actively exercise my privilege, but it's a reality of life here. People just assume I have tons of money, regardless whether they want to steal it or sell me something. The level of discrimination I experience here is absolutely nothing in comparison to that experienced by minorities in the US. I even hesitate calling what I experience here discrimination. But I certainly am different.

Un Dia en la Vida

2009-08-14T08:15:00.003-06:00

Last night for Spirituality Night we spent some time writing our stories from the day. I thought I´d take the time to share it with you--un dia en la vida.

I woke up this morning at 6:40am. I layed in bed for four minutes thinking about how I really did not want to get up. I finally got up and went to the bathroom. Breakfast was disappointing--oatmeal again. I miss eggs. We ran out on Monday and we haven´t had peanut butter in months. I took the 120 ruta to Casa Ben Lindner. I got the first bus that pulled up. Usually I end up waiting because they are too full and sometimes do not even stop. I arrived early so I pulled out Heart of Darkness and read for awhile. Two cooperatives came to share what they do. Some cultivate land while others run a sewing shop. No one I knew well was at Ben Lindner so I bounced out of there as soon as it was finished. I went straight to work via the 110 and then the 210. I got to work around 11am and was immediately sent to sub for a sixth grade class. I went in with lots of energy and a cool activity in mind. They were not having it. The teacher left no work for them so they were running around and thowing balls of paper everywhere. I then laid down the law, took a couple kids outside to chat, and put things back in order--momentarlily at least. I do not like being a hardass but sometimes it is necessary.

After class I was standing around chatting with some older high school students when I saw a hoard of kids rushing away and circling two kids fighting and rolling around on the ground. I rushed over pushing kids out of the way and grabbed one of the boys under his arms and lifted him clear off the other. He was kicking and screaming, calling the other boy a piece of mierda. I told him to calm down and take a deep breathe. My heart was racing with exhilaration. It felt like a scene from Dangerous Minds.

After I took a minute to calm down I practiced guitar with Fabiola, a senior, and a great student. I am teaching her the song I´m Yours by Jason Mraz and she in return is teaching me some Nicaraguan folk music. I ate rice, beans, and a little speghetti for lunch. I drank some Big Roja pop. Only one kid showed up for English tutoring. He wanted to practice reading English and the only book I had on me was Heart of Darkness. So, he slowly read through a couple paragraphs and we called it quits. I give him credit; it´s not the easiest read.

I came home an hour early. I stared out the window the entire way home. I was bored. When I got home Megan and I went to Papy´s for beer and converastion. I took a cold shower. I layed in the hammock with Jenna. We ate dinner--rice, beans, beets, and bread. I dried the dishes. We had spirituality night and then I went to bed at 9pm. That´s pretty much it. A day in the life.

Turning 24

2009-08-04T11:52:00.002-06:00

Not that this was my first birthday away from home, but I was expecting it to be strange or an emotionally nostalgic time. In fact, it was one the best birthdays on the books. My community woke me up to singing Las Mañanitas and Michael made me breakfast. School was so much fun. Kids sang to me and wished me felicidades. In the afternoon I went to the movies with some coworkers. They bought me fried chicken and we saw The Hunting Party. In the evening we sat on our patio eating pizza from the neighborhood, sipped some cold beer, and got to talk to folks back home. Perfect. On Friday we had a bunch of friends over from work and other places. This happened to correspond to a great annual festival that is held just a block from our house. The festival is called Santo Domingo, and Friday night was the Palo Lucio. Imagine a huge telephone pole lubed up with pig fat and young men standing on each other trying to reach the top. We only saw them get about three people high, but even that was impressive considering how much guaro they had likely drunk, not to mention the tweeked out glue sniffing kids who were not helping the endevour. Apparently there is a great prize for however reaches the top. Buena suerte... It was an exciting and fun way to continue celebrating my birthday. For the record, despite insistent baggering, Michael nor I climbed the pole. Maybe next year.

The Ordinary

2009-07-26T11:24:00.003-06:00

After a recent blog entry a good friend from college, Lisa, asked me something like, “What about the normal stuff?” Good question. I often write about the extraordinary goings on in my life, leaving out the smaller details or the day-to-day consolations and desolations. I appreciated Lisa’s comment, not only because she’s one of the best young writers I know, but also because it’s given me reason to reflect on the everyday things of life as a volunteer in Nicaragua.

Before I get into some of the heavy things I’d like to talk about some everyday consolations. Almost every morning I have an hour commute from Managua to Ciudad Sandino. The bus leaves Managua and heads out into the countryside. The air on leaving the city is cool and I always find the ride a peaceful and quiet time to wake up or even catch a few more seconds of sleep while bouncing down the road. I also have grown fond of my work, especially the small moments with my students outside of class. I love the times we have to sit and chat or play a game of basketball after class. In the afternoons I have been tutoring high school kids in English. I have small classes of about five to ten students. I keep the class well occupied and busy with fun games and activities. A favorite was last week when I brought in a bunch of old magazines and the students cut out pictures of clothes and then taped them on the board with their English names. They loved just looking at and reading American magazines. I also have to note the culinary joys of life in Nica. For example, helados, known to many as ice cream are much different here. They are small fruit juice ices, much like popsicles, that are frozen in little bags and sold for one Cordoba a piece, or five cents. Also, I have found a true appreciation for fritanga which is mostly fried food, enchiladas, tacos, cheese, gallo pinto, or any number of grilled meats. All this is sold from a house in our neighborhood and I can get more than enough to eat for less than two dollars. We eat there every Friday night as a community. I also really appreciate the beauty of Nicaragua that has bloomed with the coming of the rainy season. New flowers are blooming that I’ve seen and everything is green and bright.

On a heavier note things here can get sad, lonely, and depressing. Some days poverty here is overwhelming. When my kids come to school every morning they are well dressed in their pressed uniforms. They may look cute and happy but I know many of them come to school hungry or come from homes where parents are fighting, fathers are worthless drunks, parents are living in the US or Costa Rica, or any number of other things that keep my students from being as happy and fulfilled as they actually look. There are also any number of things that just wear me down day-to-day. Buses are fine, but not to be romanticized. They are hot, crowded, and prime spots for pickpockets. Gracias a Dios I haven't been pick pocketed (knock on wood). Another thing that gets me down is that we always have mice in our house.They get into everything. Also occassional rat shows it's dirty rotten face in my bedroom--nothing out of the ordinary. Life in community is great but it has been challenging getting out of the house, meeting other people, and doing stuff on my own. My lack of independence can take it's toll leaving me grumpy and forelorn.

I've had a few moments over the past few months, reality checks if you will, when I stop and think back at my pre-JVC self. I think about my thoughts and dreams about being a JV and what it might be like. Life as a foreign volunteer is often very romanticized. It's not all about saving the world and changing social inequalities. It's hot, tiring, fulfilling, exciting and boring...there are ups and downs, and ultimately it is just about living life. This is my life: the extraordinary and the very ordinary.

If you have questions or good blog topics I'd love to hear them. Sometimes I struggle with what to write and so would love some feedback!

19 de Julio

2009-07-20T14:56:00.001-06:00

¡Viva la Revolución!

30 years ago the Somoza dictatorship was overthrown by a popular uprising led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). Yesterday in the plaza a crowd of thousands gathered to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the revolution. It was an amazing turnout. Yesterday morning we boarded a Sandinista bus in our neighborhood headed to the plaza. As we stepped on board we were given red and black flags and took our seats. We didn’t know whether to give our flags away or fly them out the window like everyone else on the bus. It’s a fine line between observing a cultural and political manifestation and participating in it. We wanted to observe and be with our friends while keeping a healthy distance from aligning ourselves with either the Sandinistas or any opposition group. Back to the bus ride—our bus joined an enormous caravan of buses headed down to the plaza. The bus in front of us was laden with people hanging out windows and about twenty people were sitting on top waving the red and black flags. As it was rounding a bend a young man fell off the roof and violently hit the ground. The police were on the scene in mere minutes and then the caravan kept moving toward the plaza. Just a little background about Nicaraguan politics, Daniel Ortega was president during the revolutionary years of the eighties and is the current president. Sandinistas make up about 35% of the electorate with other minor parties filling in the other 65%. On July 19^th it seemed like everyone was a Sandinista. Daniel Ortega spoke along with other speakers including Rigoberta Menchú, and states people from Honduras and Venezuela. We were a little disappointed that neither Mel Zelaya nor Hugo Chavez showed up. There were many political songs played, some made us feel a little uncomfortable. A good example was the song: “El Yanqui se va joder” or “The Yankee’s gonna get screwed.” There was a lot of anti-American sentiment in the speeches, especially from the Venezuelan representative. At one point a drunken guy leaned over to us and asked if we were Canadian. Michael immediately said, “YES!” We were definitely all Canadians yesterday. I never felt particularly unsafe but there were certainly moments when I felt uncomfortable.

Check out some of these great of the day from the BBC. We were smack dab in the middle of all those people! If you can find us you get a prize! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8158477.stm

Scorpions, Tarantulas, and Monkeys, Oh My!

2009-07-11T15:20:00.002-06:00

This morning we returned from retreat at Laguna de Apoyo. The Jesuit community lent us their beautiful retreat house mere feet from a pristine volcanic lake. The retreat was much needed by all. Our theme was the life and mission of Jesus—past and present. It was a great opportunity to reflect on our lives here and juxtapose them a bit with the life of Jesus. Michael’s session focused on revolutionary figures and the revolutionary Christ. I really appreciated the session because it reminded me of the revolutionary teachings of Christ and the need to step out of my own status quo, especially a call to live with radical love. So often here I get stuck in a rut: work, eat, sleep, work, wash clothes, work, etc. This quickly becomes mundane. This retreat was a good reminder to live the life I have chosen as a Jesuit Volunteer—to live in community, to live simply, to live spiritually, and to live out social justice. This last pillar of our community can often be the trickiest to define, but it is really at the heart of Jesus’ mission. Jesus was a radical dude and no matter if I’m living in the States or here I often need an occasional reminder to jar me out of my daily routine, to remind me of who I want to be and how I want to live.

Oh and I almost forgot, where we were staying was pura selva salvaje or an entirely wild jungle. We fell asleep to howler monkeys bellowing and woke every morning to parrots chattering. On the freakier side we found a hairy tarantula and Christine found a nasty scorpion in her jeans (unfortunately only after putting them on! Ouch!). Despite the incessant mosquitoes and the occasional creepy crawly, the house and lake were so beautiful. I sound like a broken record, but any and every occasion to get out of Managua is such a blessing. The heat and treeless urban setting can become oppressive. Nicaragua is such a mind-blowingly beautiful country, especially now that the rains have swept in making everything so bright, green, and alive.

Solidarity with the people of Honduras

2009-07-05T18:11:00.003-06:00

I don't know what kind of news coverage the situation in Honduras is receiving in the states, but here it is big news. It's like the eighties all over again. I thought Central America was past military coups. Honduras, our northern neighbor is closer than you can imagine and the thought of the region becoming militarized again is frightening. According to CNN, the military-backed government claims that Nicaragua is sending troops to the border. The Nicaraguan government is denying such claims. Many of you who know me well, or even those who don't, may know about my almost yearly pilgrimage to the gates of Ft. Benning, Georgia to protest the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC, formally known as the School of the Americas). The coup in Honduras was led by graduates of the school. Click here for more information from the SOA Watch movement. They have good up to date information about the goings on in Honduras. Our good friend Fr. Joe Mulligan S.J. is headed to Honduras to represent the SOA Watch movement and to stand in solidarity with the people of Honduras. Please keep him and nuestros hermanos y hermanas hondureños in your thoughts and prayers.

On a lighter and more personal note...
We just celebrated Christine's 23rd birthday at the beach! ¡Feliz cumpleaños!

Día del Maestro Nicaragüense.

2009-06-27T13:28:00.005-06:00

With much mystery and anticipation I have arrived at the celebrations of the “Day of the Nicaraguan Teacher.” The last two days have been so much fun. Thursday of this week we had a school-wide celebration to celebrate all the teachers at school. It was put on by the administrators and student council. On arriving to school all the teachers met at the technical workshops across the street from the main school buildings. We were then personally escorted over to the main school by sharply dressed students. As we walked in we were met with a standing ovation of over 1400 students and parents. It was slightly overwhelming. But, I must say, much less so than when I first got here. There were cultural acts including: dances, poems, rapping, and singing. There were also games for the teachers to win prizes. I won an obnoxiously bright bag with sea creatures all over it. After the assembly the students dispersed to their classrooms where they had prepared parties for their teachers. Since a handful of us teachers don’t have our own classes we walked around, danced to bumping music, drank pop, and ate tons of food. Nicaraguans love to dance. Many of the classrooms had huge stereo systems set up with speakers loud enough to fill a gymnasium. Everyone danced till they were made to leave. It was so hot. Everyone was sweating. And no one cared.

Jamil, Dora, and me

Traditional dances and Palo de Mayo

On Friday all the teachers, administrators, and grounds grew (60+ staff) piled into a school bus and headed to the beach at Masachapa a little over an hour away. Fe y Alegría hosted all the teachers from their 20 plus schools from all over the country at a beautiful beach resort for a day of fun and recreation. We were each given fruit and pop and we ate huge fried fish for lunch. The ocean water was really warm and the crystal clear pool was refreshing and bright. It was really good to get out of Managua and to share something fun with my coworkers. I had a slow start getting to know them and making connections. However, yesterday was a really good indicator of how far I’ve come in settling in and making friends. I was able to chat with some, share a drink with others, and just splash and dance with others in the pool. At the peak of low tide my friend Jamil and I walked out on some rocks to where some local boys were fishing off a rock shelf. I saw one boy pull up an eight inch unidentifiable fish using only a small spool of line running through his calloused hands. It was pretty impressive.

Fish!

Jamil under water

A local kids fishs

Bus Ride!

Fiesta bajo el agua

It’s strange to think about July 4^th being next weekend. Changing seasons don’t connect with me here. I forget what people are doing back home. It’s strange to think that many of my friends just graduated from college last month and that a year ago at this time I was making my way across the country on an epic West Coast road trip. This blog is officially over a year old now. I’ve come a long way in just one year. Here’s to the next one! Cheers!

Short update

2009-06-09T18:07:00.002-06:00

So, I haven´t prepared an extensive update although it is long overdue. However, I wanted to say that things at work are looking up. Today I started tutoring kids in English in the afternoon. They are mostly in their first year of English so it is slow going. I like being able to have my own class with no more than 10 or 12 kids at a time. A couple of kids started to get out of line and start a ruckus, but I layed down the law. I told a kid to leave and from then on they were angels. This whole teaching thing is feeling better and better, especially when they aren´t five years old.
In other news we just said good-bye to an ex-volunteer, Josh. He came to visit us for an extended weekend here in Managua. Let me just say that he is ALWAYS welcome back. It was nice to have another guy in the house. We shared great stories and luxuriated in delicious food provided by our guest. It was great. Thanks Josh!
Coming up this week: We will be meeting with a delegation from Cincinnati this Thursday night and translating for them on Saturday over an organized dinner party. I will write more about developments at school as well as a new book I´m reading. Ciao

Thoughts on a Wednesday

2009-05-27T14:26:00.003-06:00

Mid-week update from Managua.

The rainy season is shaping up to be wet, humid, and yes, still hot.
Big news from Ciudad Sandino: the government is paving the road down toward my school. It will be nice to walk on but currently looks like a war zone.
Buzzed hair is a gift from Dios.
I have been downloading podcasts from All Songs Considered. They are great and eclectic morsels of music that I miss so much.
Will beans for every meal of the day get old? You would think so. But, no, they don't.
Getting hugs and greetings from kids all the time at school is still not old. I love it, especially when I don't have to be dictator of the class room.

The Flood

2009-05-25T15:55:00.002-06:00

A coworker of Michael and Amber swears the rainy season always begins officially on May 22^nd. That is the day that every year the rain begins. This year was no different. Friday night we were inundated with lightning, thunder, and more rain than a Midwesterner could imagine. I’ve seen rain, lots of it. I’ve slept in it, sung in it, danced in it, and I’d never seen rain this. We were visiting friends, Joe and Kelly, when the rain started and lasted a few hours. The road flooded and Joe set out about 6 buckets under leaks in the roof to catch the dripping sometimes streaming water. When we got home around 11pm we found our whole street dark and wet. The power was out everywhere. I stepped through the doorway into a huge puddle of water. Apparently the patio in the back had flooded. Most of the house had been filled with two to four inches of water. Amber was the only one home that evening. She did what she could to save stuff on the floor: laptops, guitars, books, etc. Not everything could be saved and everything was hot and damp. The power didn’t come on until midday on Saturday. That night was one of the muggiest, stickiest, grossest nights of sleep...ever. My bed was wet from water dripping from the roof. The temperature all night never dropped below the upper 70s or lower 80s. It was so humid that my sweat saturated everything and glistened in the middle of night. I devoted most of Saturday to cleaning and drying. Oh, and I almost forgot, the rain must have agitated the creepy crawly inhabitants in the house. In the middle of the night I woke to Michael yelling because a mouse fell on him from the rafter above his head. Gross. It was the night from hell. Luckily, everything is basically back to normal, still hot and humid, but under control. We also unclogged the blockage in the drain. No more floods—I hope.

In other news, things at work last week were really good. I started taking the first graders to the computer lab instead of staying with them in the class room. This is way easier for me because the lab teacher is in charge and all I have to do is help and watch the kids. Also, I started helping the phys ed. teacher coach volleyball. As you’ve probably realized from previous posts, I don’t feel particularly qualified for this position. However, it’s been really good to work side by side with my Nicaraguan coworker instead of coaching alone. The kids I’m meeting too are really great. I have had really good conversations with them and am building confianza with them. (Confianza means trust but also a sense of comfort, closeness, and mutual respect.)

This weekend is shaping out to be pretty low key. My stipend was exhausted early this month so I’ve been laying low and relaxing at home. This morning I watched one of my favorite movies, A River Runs Through It. I recently read an article about a new movie coming out that reminds me on of A River Runs Through It, called The River Way. I’m interested in reading the book. Have any of you read it? I recently read Angela’s Ashes and ‘Tis both by Frank McCourt. Currently I am reading Middlesex. I’m about 100 pages in and find the descriptive prose to be poetic and very imaginative.

Happy Mother´s Day!

2009-05-16T14:40:00.000-06:00

This post is dedicated to my mom on the occasion of Mother’s Day. Here in Nicaragua Mother’s Day is celebrated later in the month, the 30^th I believe. But in actuality the whole month of May should be for mothers because they are so damn great. The other day I was talking to mom and she asked me to blog about directions in Nicaragua. Let me explain. So I’ve been told, after The Earthquake in the 70s or 80s (I don’t remember) Managua was almost completely destroyed. The city was built back up but no one bothered renaming the streets. Some say the U2 song, Where the Streets Have No Name, refers to Managua. So, having no street names makes giving directions a little more complicated. Good luck using Google maps here. For example, my address is from the Cristo Rey rotunda, two blocks south, and half a block down. Then when you get half a block down you look for the second green house on the right or just go house to house asking where the gringos live. The cardinal directions here in Managua are a little different too. North, south, east, and west are known as al lago, al sur, arriba, and abajo (to the lake, to the south, up, and down). Lake Managua is north of the city, south is still south, and up and down refer to the sun going up and down, east to west. It took a little getting used to and I have to constantly reorient myself wherever I go in the city. Sometimes directions are incredibly long or are given from a landmark that doesn’t even exist. For example, some directions are like three blocks toward the lake from where this restaurant used to be then two blocks up.

In other news…Work has been up and down. I suppose that’s not really news but has come to be common knowledge. It’s really tough working with the little kids. The first and second graders are wild and nunca no me hacen caso. My soccer and baseball afternoons have petered out. No one really comes anymore. One little fourth grade kid still comes almost everyday. He lives around the corner from school and I think he’s just really bored and looking for something to do. He follows me around and sits near me while I read my book at lunch. Sometimes it’s really endearing and other times it’s just annoying. I have started helping out the phys ed. teacher who is coaching volleyball in the afternoons. It has been good to actually accompany someone in their work, to learn from them, and be able to ask questions. So often at work I’m put into a situation empty handed and unsupported and expected to make things work. I usually do alright but I don’t think the students nor I particularly thrive in these situations. One surprising thing is that the kids, when I’m not in class with them, love me. They attack me with hugs and salutations. I am often self-conscious because I’ll be walking by a class and kids will yell out the window to me. Sometimes I feel more like a distraction than a help.

The Day the Music Died

2009-05-04T10:22:00.001-06:00

Last night I had a test of detachment. I was fiddling around with my ipod and out of ignorance I accidentally synced my ipod with my computer and erased almost all of my music. I couldn’t believe it. I had spent years collecting this music. I had over 7,000 songs from friends all over the world—all gone. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

In light of this I have invited myself to take a step back and take the long view. This is not the end of the world and it gives me good reason to look at my life a little bit. I live here in Nicaragua and am confronted with realities of poverty everyday. That doesn’t mean I actually see it. For sure it’s always there but I don’t always choose to keep my eyes, ears, and heart open to it. I am reminded of a short story I read in college by Flannery O’Conner: A Good Man is Hard to Find. In the story, as in many of her stories, she uses violence as a catalyst for her character’s dynamic growth, and more importantly for grace to enter their lives—to experience metanoia, personal change, realization, or enlightenment.

Poverty is violence, and so if my life were like an O’Conner short story I would be changing and growing daily. But truthfully, I feel like I can get stuck or numbed by the day to day violence of poverty.

There are some days when it hits me hard. I can’t ignore nor forget certain imagines burned into my memory. Last week I was walking from my house to Metro Centro to catch my bus to Ciudad Sandino. It was 6:05AM. I went to cross the street and saw out of the corner of my eye a homeless man. Actually, all I could see was his bare ass and him wiping himself. It shocked me. What brings a man to defecate like that out in the open? That same day, on arriving to Ciudad Sandino, I was walking from the bus to school and saw two more things that shocked me. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the Save the Children ads on TV showing images of dirty naked children looking for your daily donation of 60 cents. I think one of those kids lives near my school. He stood by the road wearing nothing but a dirty cloth diaper, and his little hands clutching barbed wire. He looked up at me with red expressionless eyes. On the next block a group of four or five shirtless and raggedy men were sitting around on the ground passing a bottle of Guaro or cheap dirty liquor. A bottle of this stuff goes for about 2 dollars a pop and even the cheapest and most desperate college freshmen would turn their noses up at the stuff. These men were getting drunk at 7AM as their kids were heading to school and their wives and girlfriends to work. When I left school at 4PM they were still where I left them.

These experiences are not unique to this one day. There was something about the concentration of the events, all happening within an hour, that shocked me out of my stasis. It’s not easy to see suffering like this on a daily basis but it certainly puts my ipod woes into perspective. I hope I never become too accustomed or dulled to the realities around me, but perhaps I can use these experiences as catalysts for personal growth, enlightenment, and metanoia.

Swine Flu

2009-05-03T15:58:00.002-06:00

Everybody's talking about it. Thought I'd let you all know. We're going to be OK here in the JVI Nica house. We have masks.

I think the rains are coming soon. It hasn't rained a drop since December. The rainy season starts this month. We heard thunder today which is a good sign. I'm not sure it will be better in the rainy season. It will certainly be less dusty but also much more humid. We shall see. In other news we had a three day weekend this weekend because of the May 1st celebration of workers. We had a good time seeing some friends and relaxing. I have a meeting this coming week with the teachers and parents of the first grade. The topic is discipline, which these kids have none of. Oh, and by the way today is my 5 month anniversary of being in Nicaragua. I am adjusting well and getting pretty used to life here. El español está mejorando día por día.

Weekend with the Boys and Mailing Address

2009-04-20T15:24:00.006-06:00

I had the great privelige to travel with an old friend and some new ones this past weekend. My buddy Colin, the one I road tripped with this past summer and studied with in El Salvador, and two other guys living in El Salvador right now came to visit Nicaragua. I swear, it felt more like they were hosting me in Granada. We went out to eat, drank mojitos, took a small boat tour and went to Laguna de Apoyo to swim. It was luxurious. On Sunday morning we came back to to Managua early, before their bus back to El Salvador, to have breakfast with the community. It was really great to have so many good people in one place.

From left to right, sporting JVI colors unknowingly: Sam, Jeff, me, and Colin

From left to right: Megan, Michael, Sam, Colin, Jeff, Me, Jenna, Amber

My Address (By request):

Patrick Reynolds
C/O JVI
Apdo LM 161
Managua, Nicaragua

P.S. I LOVE getting mail!!!

Semana Santa - Holy Week

2009-04-15T17:57:00.002-06:00

Happy Easter, Felices Pascuas, and happy spring to all those who have the pleasure of experiencing it this year. It seems to get hotter here. They say holy week is the hottest week of the year. That’s not true…perhaps this week is though. For Holy Week I went on “mission” for one day with other teachers and some students. We went to the homes of about fifteen students, visiting, and wishing happy and blessed Holy Weeks. Honestly, it was kind of awkward. It was much more evangelizing and guilt tripping than I was comfortable with. My boss was asking what the family had planned for holy week. As is custom the country over, many had planned trips to the beach or other places throughout the country. When my boss heard this she proceeded to remind people why it is holy week, because “we are celebrating the passion, death, and resurrection of the lord.” She would then remind everyone to go to services Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I sat in silence for the most part, smiling occasionally. On Tuesday of Holy Week I did the Nicaraguan thing and went swimming at a lake with some coworkers. We grilled meat, drank rum, and swam. It was great. Wednesday Michael and I headed back to the mountains of Estelí, to La Granacha. It was good to get out of the Managua’s heat; I relaxed. I finished reading Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, played my guitar, and went hiking with Michael. We ran into a snag on Friday when we were planning to head back to Managua. We found the bus to Estelí wasn’t running and that we had to stay another day. It was a mixed blessing. It was great to spend another day in paradise, but we were unable to notify our compañeras at home. When we finally got home on Saturday they were quite worried about us. So it goes.

Work started up again yesterday, Easter Monday, and it was a shock to the system. Luckily for me only about half the kids came because they didn’t realize there was class. Apparently all the public schools didn’t have school. Some people missed the memo. Anyway, I didn’t have to cover any classes because there were so few students. I finally took some photos at school. You can see some of the kids that I spend time with in the afternoons. These are not the kids I have in class, so I pretty much like them all. Good kids.

¡La Música Mai!

2009-04-05T07:56:00.003-06:00

So, since being in Nicaragua I´ve felt disconnected from American culture a bit. That is to say, the American culture I receive here is different. It´s everywhere: American brands, Wal-Mart-owner-supermarkets, Coca-Cola, eighties music on the radio, etc. One thing I have missed is music. Perhaps it is being away from my friends who constantly kept me updated and interested in new tunes, but I feel like I don´t know what´s out there, and music is one way I have started to feel disconnected. However, that said, I have picked up some new music since being here. It´s funny, some of the most popular music here is in fact American, well, Puerto Rican actually. Here are a couple links to popular songs:

The newest by Daddy Yankee
And Calle 13

Soy Resident

2009-04-02T18:25:00.002-06:00

Well, it is official. I am now an official Nicaraguan resident. I am a card carrying expatriate. It feels good. Considering how much beaucratic red tape we had to go through to get it realized, it was realitively easy compared to the immigration process of the United States. There are hundreds of thousands of Central Americans who would love to get the same kind of residency in the US. I feel humbled by my privledge to be an official resident.

Learning Math All Over Again

2009-04-01T12:56:00.002-06:00

2+3=5, duh.

You would think teaching simple math would be easy. Well, apparently not. Yesterday we had an all morning workshop about math. It was principally for the primary teaches, myself included. The workshop was given by a Swiss national who is living with his family here in Managua. His role is to support and develop math in all of Fe y Alegría´s schools in Nicaragua. That´s quite a task. Anyway, the workshop was great. I had forgotten math can be fun. I think he really turned many of our notions about math unside down, especially for my coworkers. It is typical for a teacher to put a bunch of problems on the board and for students to copy and do the problems. This is not a good way to learn but it is how just about every class, in every subject, is taught to Nicaraguans the whole country over. I personally have not had a real intensive math class since St. X High in Cincy. Even with my math skills well on the backburner I remembered not only how to multiply fractions but was able to teach my coworker who is a 6th grade teacher. I don´t know how kids learn here. Michael´s coworker, a Nicaraguan, said that for a kid to learn in the Nicaraguan school system they have to be an outright genius. I´m starting to believe him. Anyway, the workshop was energizing and gave me some ideas to spice up my lesson plans that teachers leave me. Even if they leave me with simple copying plans I feel like I could spice them up a little bit. Vamos a ver.

Heating Up

2009-03-28T15:09:00.004-06:00

So Semana Santa is right around the corner. That means mangos are ripening and the temperature is rising and rising. In the next two months, prior to the start of the rainy season, the temp in Managua will often rise about 100ºF. I can already start to feel it. I know on my blog today it said something like 90º and that has to be wrong. It feels much hotter.
Everything here is just coasting along. I´m into a rhythm at school. I cherish my weekends which are used for chores, cold beer, catching up on email, and sitting around relaxing. One place I´ve found really relaxing is sitting on the stoop of our house. Jenna caught a picture of me without me realizing. I like how it caught some of our local artwork on the wall across the street.

Well, that´s about all I´ve got for now. La Paz.

Solidarity...wow

2009-03-20T17:35:00.003-06:00

Well, it sure has been longer than I had planned between blog entries. So it goes.
This is going to be something of a shotgun blog entry. I have so much on my mind. So much has happened in the past couple weeks that I feel completely discombobulated and also the need to write.
Work has its ups and downs. Mondays and Tuesdays are still incredibly difficult for me. Sometimes in the midst of my days I am reminded of Winston Churchill’s quote: “If you find yourself walking through hell, keep walking.” That’s how I feel when I’m in class with some of my first graders. Wow, they are crazy. Last week a kid was dancing on a table. After telling him numerous times to get down, he finally did, face first. I was not intending for him to face plant right in front of me. He got up crying and came to me for help. All I could do was shake my head and sigh. Despite the struggles of little nesio children, there are so many redeeming moments in my days at work. I get so many hugs and cute little kids yelling, “adios profesor Patrix!” (That’s about how it’s pronounced here)
Yesterday I had a real experience, call it a test, of solidarity. A coworker invited me to her house for lunch. On the way to her house she confessed to me that her sister just had a baby only 15 days ago. She went on to tell me that the child was born with a serious birth defect. She was born with two vaginas and two anuses. I nodded and said, “hmm.” At the time I had no idea why she was telling me about this. She brought me to her sister’s home for lunch. I met the child’s family, who are all incredibly sweet, especially the three year old sun who incessantly showed me his baseball bat and ran around in his own fantasy world. They wanted me to help them in any way I could. I fell speechless. This wasn’t in my JVI contract. She thought that I’m a gringo from the States and therefore I have money and connections that could fix this. This is partially true I suppose, but not really what I am here to do. I talked with some doctor friends of mine who suggested the family stay connected with the local children’s hospital and that the local doctors would have the best care for the child available. This situation is an interesting opportunity for discernment for me. What is my role here in Nicaragua? This is truly an experience of accompaniment. I sat and talked with the family for a couple hours, and I’m sure I’ll be back to visit. I can’t fix the problem, but I can be there when I can.
On a lighter note, our community went on our first retreat. We went to a place called La Granacha. It is in the north, in Esteli, up in the mountains. The bus ride there was like traveling through a portal to another world. The landscape turned from dry hot grasslands to cool pinewood mountains. At night we were actually COLD! I couldn’t believe that I was wearing fleece pants, a wool undershirt, fleece, and a wool beanie and it was still a bit nippy. I loved it. What and enchanting place. We dined on beans and local Swiss and goat cheese and caught a breathtaking sunset every night. It was a really good time for our community to get out of the bustling hot city and kick it in a peaceful and bucolic mountain town. I wish our JV house was there. The 4-6 hour commute probably wouldn’t work too well though. Over the next two years I can see this area being very special for me, a place of solitude and rejuvenation.

Sunset with the community, on retreat, at La Granacha.

Sick days

2009-03-03T16:31:00.002-06:00

My alarm went off this morning at 4:50AM. I jolted into a semi-state of consciousness as I groggily stumbled around looking for my watch. I turned off the alarm only to realize how incredibly terrible I felt. Now, honestly, waking up at this time typically makes me feel this way, but today was different. I felt sick. A sore throat, headache, and thorough exhaustion were enough to put me right back to sleep. Long story short I called in sick to work and have taken the the day to recoup and rest. I haven’t slept this much in quite awhile. It’s really a miracle teachers all over aren’t dropping like flies. Just yesterday I was sneezed on by countless preschoolers and first graders. At about this time all you mothers out there should be chiming in, saying, “Do you take your vitamins…are you sleeping enough…are you drinking enough water?” Yes. I’m doing the best I can. And for the record, my health is comparatively excellent.
What else can I tell you about my life here in Nicaragua? Ohh! Today marks three months since arriving. Part of me can’t believe it has flown by so quickly and part of me feels like it really has been three months. I was just thinking about how at this time last year I still didn’t know what I was doing to do and JVI was still a dream. It’s weird how life has changed so much in such a small amount of time. It’s amazing how much has changed in my life in the past three months and I can only imagine much has changed in the lives of those in the States and elsewhere.
Work update: Baseball is fun. There are around 10-20 young guys that come out to play. Soccer is intimidating and mildly overwhelming. There were about 60 boys and girls who showed up to play soccer. I have two balls. TWO. We had a couple games but mostly I walked around and got hassled because this group or that group wanted to play. I am now coordinating with one of the English teachers to make an intramural league at the school. Apparently they’ve done that before. I had no idea. I have no intentions of reinventing the wheel. Sometimes I feel like it’s the blind leading the not-blind but the not-blind don’t want to bring up the blindness for risk of hurting my feelings. Ha. Did that make sense? Anyway, I want to say that playing shortstop on a tee-ball team and playing rugby are not the best prerequisites for coaching neither baseball nor soccer. That said, I´m having a ball.
Lately I’ve been reading A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I like it although at times it can be rather arduous and long. I think it will be worth it. I get most of my reading time on the bus to and from work. That’s all for now. Hasta Luego.

Check out our hanging garden of herbs, mostly basil.

Views of the Revolution

2009-02-21T13:37:00.003-06:00

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!

On the Job Training

2009-02-17T17:48:00.001-06:00

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!

Happy Day of Friendship and Love

2009-02-14T16:54:00.002-06:00

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.

Adventure

2009-02-03T17:42:00.002-06:00

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

The Things They Carried

2009-01-20T12:36:00.002-06:00

I thought it would be appropriate to explain and illustrate to you the process by which our fridge and bellies are filled every week. Every week two JVs head to El Mercado Huembes to buy food for the week. I just got back from the market. The sights, smells, sounds, and tastes are fresh and they linger on my palate. Michael is my market partner. We grabbed two large market bags woven with a multi-colored plastic material. We first set out for dry goods. We bought four pounds of red beans, one pound of sugar, one half-pound of salt, one pound of peanuts, one pound of raisins, three packages of spaghetti, tomato paste, crackers, cookies, garbage bags, and toilet paper. After we collected most of these things from a small stand in the market called, Sonia y Sonia, we moved through the densely packed market toward the fruit and vegetable stands. Walking through the market is like maneuvering in a crowned labyrinth. Children run around barefoot. It’s hot. Music is blaring from two or three directions simultaneously, and vendors are constantly asking ¿Qué busca? (What are you looking for?). The floor of the market is coated in trash, dirt, and sometimes a liquid mixture of cleaning fluid and water. The smells range from the putrid scents of fish and poultry to the tantalizing smells of freshly baked bread, soups, tortillas, and tamales. Everything tastes better at the market too because we’re hot, sweaty, and hungry. A woman let us test a mandarin which exploded with citrus sweetness in my mouth. We bought one and a half dozen. Along with that we bought three pounds of onions, three cloves of garlic, three large carrots, two pounds of potatoes, one ayote (a delicious squash), three cucumbers, six limes, four packages of green beans, three sticks of celery, and one enormous watermelon. After that we only needed eighteen eggs, and a half gallon of milk. We were on our way. Oh, and I forgot to mention that earlier today Michael bought one and a half dozen bananas, a couple pounds of tomatoes, green peppers, and a pineapple. We bought all that food, enough for six people for one week for around forty US dollars. There are certain things we don’t need to buy every week of course, but that tends to be the necessary budget week to week, with small purchases at local ventas (small businesses run out of peoples homes in the neighborhood) as needed. By the time we got home we were each carrying around 20+ pounds per person. But it felt so glorious to have fresh fruit, vegetables, and eggs in the house. I just whipped up some scrambled eggs with garlic, onions, and green peppers and fresh tomato on top. I have really found it a joy to cook here. So far I have cooked a rica BBQ chicken pizza with a biscuit crust and a Pakistani dish with potatoes and soy meat. I forgot to mention that we eat very little meat products but have found carne de soya or soy meat to be a great substitute. If anyone has good and simple recipes please feel free to pass them on. I’m always looking for new recipes. I have found the cookbook More with Less to be a great resource. I highly recommend it. I should also mention that not every Nicaraguan shops at the market like we do. There are also a couple supermarkets that would rival any Kroger or Safeway of the US. Actually, one of them is owned by Wal-Mart (Ironically it is called La Union). We tend to buy very few things from La Colonia, the nearest supermarket to our house, but usually only butter, margarine, or meat, because it is less likely to carry any nasty bacteria or parasites. So, no worries, we eat well, actually better than at home, and we stay as healthy as one could expect. Ha. ¡Buen Provecho!

Sport and Hitchhiking

2009-01-15T20:01:00.001-06:00

I want to describe two things that I’ve experienced in the past couple days.

Yesterday I was sitting around the house most of the day relaxing and reading John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charlie in Search of America. It is an engaging story of Steinbeck’s travels across the US with his dog. It made me reminiscent of my travels from summers past. Perhaps it made me a little restless too. I went for a run around the neighborhood. It felt so good to stretch my legs. I cut the run short because of the intense heat and a case of insidious laziness. Instead of packing it in and taking a shower, only to be followed by more sweating, I decided to grab a ball from the house and head to the basketball court down the street. I shot hoops with a couple guys that if I were in the US would have made me nervous. They sported tattoos and one guy even smoked a cigarette mid lay-up. While we were playing a local game of Stick, which involves free-throw shots and tipping the ball, a game of baseball started in the dirt soccer field adjacent to the basketball court. My family has a running joke with our friends the Metz’ because we (namely my dad) don’t think baseball is a real sport, played by real athletes. He thinks that basketball is the height of athletic sporting games. After watching guys run around in bare feet over dirt, rocks, trash, and even some glass to play an intense game of baseball, I have to side with the Metz family. That is sport. The tattooed dudes weren’t athletes. And for myself, I shoot hoops like a marksman missing the broadside of a barn.

The second story just happened today. Everyone but Jenna, who had to work, went to Laguna de Apoyo near Granada. It was about an hour bus ride and a ten minute taxi ride down to an exceedingly beautiful volcanic lake. The breeze blew cool and the sun was warm. We spent the day relaxing, swimming, and reading. When we left the lake we started walking up toward the main road to catch a bus. A pickup truck rolled up behind us, Michael stuck out his thumb, and before I knew it I was nestled in the back of a pickup with Christine, two Nicaraguan men, a bunch of firewood, and two ratty old chairs. We breezed through the country on our way to the highway. The air was sweet and fresh as we drove through the forest, up out of the volcanic crater where the lake shimmered below us. The Nicaraguans in back along with the wood were dropped off, and the driver offered to drive us all the way to Managua. Christine and I hopped down thinking that’d we’d get into the cab with the rest of the crew for the highway stretch of the trip. I opened the front door to hop in and the driver said, “No, let the muchacha sit there. Get in the back and sit down low.” So I hopped back in the bed of the truck and settled in for a beautiful and windy trip down the highway to Managua. He drove fast. As we drove back to the city, smells of the countryside faded back to smells of the city—diesel exhaust and pollution. He dropped us off and we were left with a twenty minute walk back to our house. It was a great day, topped off with a donut from Doña Donut, a local woman who walks around selling homemade donuts, and an exquisite dinner of soy meat, beans, and rice prepared by Michael.

Church

2009-01-13T11:56:00.002-06:00

This Saturday we went to mass in a community called René Cisneros. The church community is small, welcoming, and rooted in the spirit of the Christian Base Community movement. Christian Base Communities grew with the impetus of the Second Vatican Council and the Bishop’s Conference of Medallín, Colombia. Our Jesuit Volunteer community tries to alternate between this parish and the local barrio parish down the street. I have found the experience at René Cisneros much more conducive to prayer and reflection. The parish reminds me growing up in the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati, Ohio. The music is lively and upbeat. People are relaxed and present to the community around them. Formalities and orthodoxies take a backseat to the activity and participation of the congregation.

I would like to share three short insights I had at Mass on Saturday. First, in the middle of the opening prayer a young woman, no more than 20 years old, approached the altar where the priest stood. She held a very small baby wrapped tightly in cloth and nestled close to her chest. She went right up to the priest, whispered a few words, and then returned to her seat with a number of other young women. The priest stopped right in the middle of the prayer and announced joyfully that the small child had just been born and he invited us to welcome her into the community. After applause he continued with the service. The seeming distraction and interruption in the order of things was nothing more than the joyful welcome of a child. I could only think that I had never seen anything like that at mass before and how often apparent inconveniences can be moments of grace in disguise.

Second, the homily, given by a Jesuit priest was nothing like I had experienced before. After reading the gospel he did not start by explaining what he, or the Church, or what anyone else should get out of the Gospel, but rather asked a question to the congregation. He asked, “What is the message of this Gospel reading?” It was not a loaded question or a rhetorical one, but an invitation for the community to participate in the Good News. What did the Gospel mean to the people sitting in this small church, in this poor neighborhood, in Nicaragua? Much in the spirit of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, the priest was using the words and experiences of the people to shape and mold the direction of the homily. It was not only biblically and theologically based, but also rooted in the lived experiences of the people. It was liberation theology in action. It wasn’t socialistic or antithetical to the Catholic faith, but, in opinion, just really good Church.

Third, on my way down the middle aisle, toward the Eucharist, I noticed a small, hunched, old woman walking back down the aisle in my direction. She was simple but elegant and wise looking. As she turned into her pew she reached out to a small boy sitting next to her with a small piece of host saved from communion. The boy obediently opened his mouth and ate the bit of host. I laughed. That small act of rebellion or thoughtfulness or whatever it was tickled me. This innocent old lady was “breaking the rules” but only in gifting the boy what she saw to be something holy, meaningful, and necessary. Perhaps, not. That is of course my interpretation of the situation. However, it was such an interesting observation that I felt I must share it. It reminded me of my childhood when my mom baked communion bread for mass. She would let me eat a piece before it was taken to church for consecration. I thought it was exciting, mischievous, and also delicious (it was not the host of the dry wafer variety).

In my recent news I just got off the phone with my boss at Colegio Roberto Clemente. She told me I could come in on Janurary 26th to start getting acquainted with the school. The kids start on Feb. 3rd. I´ve never been so excited to start this work. My boss is extremely nice and really excited to have me. I´m pumped!

Happy New Year

2009-01-05T16:56:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year y Feliz Año Nuevo

Today marks one month of being in Nicaragua. Part of me feels like we’ve been here for much longer, but then again I constantly feel like I just got here. We’ve been asked to speak to a group from John Carroll University. My first reaction was, “well, sure, a free lunch sounds great, but I don’t think I can tell you anything you don’t already know.” Then again, now that I’m thinking about it I’ve learned a few things in the past month…

Gallo Pinto is delicious at any time of the day, hot or cold. Sour cream on top is always a little better (when we can afford it, ha)

When hailing a cab always check for the red stripes on the license plate to make sure it’s really a cab and not some crazy ladrones

Roosters do NOT crow at dawn, but rather all night, starting around 2am

What’s reported by the US media about Nicaragua is not entirely true, and what’s reported by the Nicaraguan media about the US is either not entirely true, or is in fact US media in disguise.

I can eat the Fritanga, or street food, and not get sick. Awesome.

This morning I saw our neighbor across the street raking leaves off his roof, and then burned them in the street. Our house is now filled with smoke. Thanks neighbor.

I now realize how much I have underappreciated both chocolate and peanut butter before coming here.

On New Year’s Eve, at midnight, some Nicaraguans burn El Viejo or the old. This consists of burning an effigy of a person in the street. They stuff what looks like a scarecrow with firecrackers, douse it in alcohol, and light the dude on fire, right in the gutter.

People in wheelchairs can be pulled up the street via motorcycle. Saw it.

One hour in the sun with sunscreen left my pasty white skin scorched. Thanks ancestors.

Well, I’m sure I’ve learned more than that, but that’s what I’ve got right now. Oh, I’ve also learned how GREAT it is to get phone calls and mail from friends and family back home ;) Yesterday we went to Pochomil, a beautiful beach on the Pacific Ocean. Things here are a little out of the ordinary because Jenna and Michael’s families are visiting and none of us have started work yet. It’s probably the longest vacation I’ve ever had. I’m ok with that. I know how to relax, don’t worry. I’m currently reading 1984. I highly recommend it.

Three Plates of Gallo Pinto

2008-12-22T14:58:00.002-06:00

Well, it’s been awhile since my last update. All last week I stayed in the home of a local woman, Doña Nieves, who is a really active in the local community. She actually has been hosting students from Xavier University and St. Louis University for many years. So when I got sick for the first time here in Nica, she knew just what to do. She has become my mamá Nicaragüense. I recently finished reading Greg Mortensen’s Three Cups of Tea. I highly recommend the book. The title comes from Haji Ali, village chief of Korphe in The Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan. The saying goes, “Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything—even die.” This past week at Doña Nieves’ I was thinking I could right the same about Nicaraguan friendships and a plate of Gallo Pinto, Nicaragua’s traditional dish of rice and beans. After being at her home all week, after sharing meals of rice, beans, tortillas, handmade juices and other Nicaraguan foods, I felt I had really become part of her family.

This past weekend was the first time since arriving that the six of us, this year’s community, were finally all together. It’s a great feeling to be moved in and settled in our home. This week we have been listening to lots of Christmas music, trying to get over the fact that instead of a white Christmas we’re having a hot and sunny one, and instead of eggnog we’re drinking Flor de Caña (It could be worse ;). I am feeling excited about spending this first Christmas with my new JV community. Although, I can’t stop thinking about home, and the many traditions and people I’m missing. I think it’s natural at this time to be missing home. I am also thinking about the many people who cannot be with the ones they love and miss this Christmas. This Christmas my prayer is for the many that do not feel at home because of war, homelessness, poverty, illness, death, or for whatever reason.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to my broseph who just turned 19 yesterday. Happy Birthday Nick!

I hope you all enjoy this video of our house here in Managua!

To the Campo we Go

2008-12-12T15:32:00.003-06:00

On Wednesday we headed to the campo for our first home stay experience in Nicaragua. Campo for lack of a better word means the countryside. We took what some refer to as chicken bus about 1.5 hours outside the city. Along the way it started to rain which all the Nicaraguans told us was very strange for this time of year. Once we arrived in the town of Masatepe we hired a small mototaxi to take us to Arenal where we met our hosts. The four new volunteers were split up between different towns in the area. We took a twenty minute pickup ride down a bumpy country road littered with trash and volcanic stones from the nearby Volcán Masaya. When I arrived at the house my hosts treated me to a great meal of beans, rice, fried cheese, and Coca-Cola. Even in the campo cold Coca-Cola is readily accessible. I recently learned that one of the second-years, about to leave, had 7 cavities filled recently, thanks to a heavily sugared Nicaraguan diet no doubt. Life in the campo is very laid back, or tranquilo. We spend most of our time hanging out, chatting, exchanging words in English and Spanish. On Thursday we went to visit my host father at his work. He works on a small plantation or farm owned by a local woman. We were graciously brought into her home and given lunch right there on the spot. She didn’t even know we were coming. It was yet another example of incredible Nicaraguan hospitality.

My host father showed me all around the farm which spanned an area that felt like miles of hillside covered with bananas, coconut, pineapple, coffee, beans, ayote, plantains, and many more things which I can’t remember the names of now. My relationship with my host father was very interesting because I couldn’t tell if he really liked me. We had a couple conversations while I was at his house and they all seemed to involve him being angry about something. I say seam because I never could understand everything he said. When I couldn’t understand something he simply repeated the same thing only much louder as if yelling would increase my comprehension. In fact, it just made me nervous. The most memorable conversation consisted of him telling me about how hard he worked just to put food on the table. Then he went on to ask if my parents worked, and if I was appreciative of what they have given me (Mom, Dad, I am.). He talked about how the rich didn’t have to work hard, but that he worked hard for the very little he had. I figured out eventually that he wasn’t talking about me, but was simply sharing a piece of his story and what he has struggled with. Although the conversations were painfully awkward I am very appreciative for the time I spent with my host family. It turned out that he actually likes me a lot. He told me I could come back whenever I wished and even offered me some money to get a drink for the ride home. I cordially declined him hard earned money, but his generosity was jarring. My time in the campo was a great respite from the grind and heat of the city, and I learned a lot about Nicaraguan culture and life outside the city.

Please enjoy some pictures and video from the past few days!

A real experience of culture shock was riding in this mototaxi listening to Apple Bottom Jeans. haha

Me and the owner of the plantation. No one hear seams to ever smile in photos. awkward...

Picking coffee! This one goes out to yall at the Main Cup in Milford Ohio.

The Second Years leave their mark on the wall of fame in our front room. Your spirits will live on in the house forever!

La Purísima

2008-12-09T11:08:00.003-06:00

As I sit here, on Sunday, I’m thinking back on the past couple days. I feel like I’ve been here at least a week if not longer already. Yesterday was a hectic day. I’ve been on more public buses the past few days than I was on during my four months in El Salvador. We had a health talk about the do’s and don’ts. Mom, don’t freak out but we drink water out of the tap. It’s heavily chlorinated in the city and actually tastes pretty good. I had my first market experience yesterday as well. We had so much to by because we have ten people in the house right now. The current second years aren’t leaving until the 19^th, entonces it is pretty crowded. The market was wild. You can get anything you want there. It’s kind of like Wal-Mart minus the huge-international-corporate-exploitation thing. And believe me you can still get that in Nica. One of the two “western” supermarkets is owned by Wal-Mart. You can’t escape it even here. So far the food has been good. We had enchiladas, rice and beans, eggs, and chi cha. This chi cha is much different than the chi cha of Peru. It is bright pink and very grainy. It is made of corn and is naturally sweet because of the corn syrup. We still don’t know where the bright pinkness of the drink comes from….

The church community we visited last night, Rene Cisneros, is awesome. It felt just like what I have imagined in a Christian Base Community. The priest, an exceedingly humble and kind Jesuit, helped create a great atmosphere for community and prayer. The church itself is simple and very welcoming.

I can’t write about my first days and not talk about the Purisima. This is the celebration of the Novena, and a celebration all over Nicaragua of the Virgin Mary. It is marked by constant firework explosions all week, and lots of singing. We attended a Purisima celebration yesterday at El Recreo. After singing everyone in attendance gets a small gift. We got a cup, candy, a sweet lemon, sugar cane, and chi cha. Tonight is the Gritaría.

We are planning to walk around the neighborhood, singing Purisima songs about Mary. It is kind of like Halloween because we get treats for singing. At midnight tonight, the night before the feast of the Immaculate Conception, there will be a finale of firework explosions all over the city. It is sure to be exciting. To be honest all the fire works and hullabaloo have been mildly overwhelming having just arrived.

Well, that’s all for now. Peace and happy Purísima!

An Image of Sandino from atop of Managua.
View of the city and Lake Managua.

Yo, I made it.

2008-12-04T15:15:00.002-06:00

Ok, so here I am only a day later sitting in a cyber cafe, down the street from my new house. I´m already moved to my new room. It´s quaint, but already starting to look like my own. I was stirred awake this morning by the sounds of dogs, roosters, and traffic. This all started around 5:30. Regardless of the commotion I got a good bit of rest. Today Joe drove around the city, telling stories, and we saw some of the sites. It´s all been pretty good. It´s as hot or hotter than I had expected. That´s all for now. Peace.

And I'm gone

2008-12-03T08:11:00.002-06:00

Such is the way of the world
You can never know
Just where to put all your faith
And how will it grow

Gonna rise up
Burning black holes in dark memories
Gonna rise up
Turning mistakes into gold

Such is the passage of time
Too fast to fold
Suddenly swallowed by signs
Low and behold

Gonna rise up
Find my direction magnetically
Gonna rise up
Throw down my ace in the hole

-Eddie Vedder, Rise, from Into the Wild

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T09:43:00.005-06:00

Thanksgiving 2008 was a strange day. I started the morning with friends from the store. We took a kayaking trip down the Little Miami river. It was the same ol stretch of river we always paddle except this time it was different. Not only was it the last time paddling for a long time but it was also cold and all the leaves had fallen. It was a totally new river.

Frost and ice lined the banks and the water bit at my cheeks as it splashed up into my face. My favorite part of plowing my little whitewater boat over the ice, breaking it apart, and watching the pieces float down the river. It was a great way to spend the morning. I felt so thankful for the beautiful river, the wildlife that inhabits it, and also for my longtime paddling companion, Kara.

We spent Thanksgiving evening with my grandparents. My grandma had been bedridden for months, not being able to even leave her bed. The past couple weeks we've all been waiting as she slowly passed. Early Friday morning, on the anniversary of her brothers death, my grandmother passed away. She went peacefully and I know she is at peace now. I unfortunately won't be able to make it to her funeral, but I will certainly be there in spirit. I would like to ask for prayers for my mom, grandpa, and the rest of our family as we mourn grandma's passing.

Nicaragua is not in South America, and yes Spanish is spoken there

2008-11-25T10:57:00.003-06:00

So a lot of people have asked me, "so where is Nicaragua again?" There are a lot of misunderstandings about even what continent the country is on. So I thought I'd provide some resources for people to check out.

The CIA world fact book is a good initial overview resource for any country. Here is the link to Nicaragua's page: CIA Nicaragua
Wikipedia also offers a good overview of the country: More Nica info

Also I'd like to say thank you to my good friends Eddie and Chris for their shout out. They have a great blog and I'm going to love reading it in Nica. It will be a good way to stay connected while abroad. Check them out: Chris and Eddie

Looking ahead

2008-11-24T10:36:00.003-06:00

Well, the countdown is in it's last days. In a little over a week I'll be making my way to Nicaragua. This fall has been a roller coaster of emotions. Coming back from Chicago, from my life at College, was a tough transition. I feel like only now am I getting accustomed to living at home in Cincinnati. I've established myself, made new friends, been working two great jobs, and have become quite comfortable. But now it's time to be flipped upside down again. I guess that is the way I can expect the next two years to be. To be honest, that's what I've come to expect from life. It is a constant cycle of building up and tearing down.

This past weekend I attended the annual protest and vigil at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, GA. It was a wonderful time to reconnect with old friends from all over the country to also to prepare myself mentally and spiritually from my journey ahead. For those who are unfamiliar with the school it was started during the Cold War to train soldiers from Latin America and the Western Hemisphere to combat the spread of Communism. During the eighties and nineties especially there were reports coming out of the atrocities and human rights violations performed by graduates of this school, a school that is run, administered, and payed for by the US government. Graduates of the school were responsible for the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, six Jesuit priests and their two community friends, 800 innocent men, women, and children of El Mozote, El Salvador, and countless others. Currently, many of the graduates are coming from Colombia and have been linked to brutal campaigns in the countries civil war between the government, guerrillas, death squads, and drug traffickers. Anyway, every year people meet outside the gates of Ft. Benning to call for the closing of the school. I believe with a new administration and congress the school with finally be closed. This is an incomplete analysis of the school. I encourage everyone to check it out for themselves. http://www.soaw.org/. There are people that disagree with me and others, who think the school is a crucial tool of national security. I welcome dialogue on the issue.
For me, more than anything, the weekend at the SOA is a time to commemorate the thousands of people who have died. It is a solemn time of remembrance. It is also a time for people from all over the country and the world to unite and share what they are doing to work for justice and peace.

Home for awhile

2008-08-24T12:33:00.004-06:00

Well, much has passed since my last update.
I finished my road trip in Omaha. I flew to Cleveland for JVI orientation. And now I'm back in the Nati.
The last part of the road trip was great. Well, except for Las Vegas, which we found overwhelming and gratuitous. Zion and Bryce were stunningly beautiful, although rather crowded I was able to feel back to nature after spending time in San Francisco and LA. We took a long hike down to the Virgin River. The trail leads directly to the water and we continued right up into the canyon, wading and trudging along the riverbed.
JVI orientation was two weeks of intense training. We spent nearly everyday from morning till night in workshops, team building activities, and presentations on everything from spirituality to safety and security. Although it was occasionally overwhelming I am deeply appreciative of the work that went into the "Big-O" as it is called. I made some great friends in just two weeks and then I had to turn around and say good-bye as they flew off all over the world, or, like me, returned home to wait out the next couple months until departure.
This waiting phase has been strange. Harder than I imagined, but also refreshing. My schedule is loose, and the work I am doing is fun. I'm working at an outfitter, selling kayaks, canoes, backpacks, boots, and everything else in between. It's kind of like a really small, locally owned REI. With my new roof-rack I am able to take my little whitewater kayak to work with me. After work a coworker and I have been hitting the river and trying to perfect our Eskimo rolls. Other than that I've been running and biking a lot. The more active I stay the happier I am here. This past week I moved my brother into his freshman dorm at school. It was great to be back in Chi-town, and to see many of my friends and mentors. I'm hoping to make it back as many times as possible between now and leaving. We'll see. Thanks for reading and God bless.

Me in the Virgin River at Zion National Park

Bryce Canyon

More from Zion
Kickin it on the river after work. I love my job.

Kickin it in Nor Cal

2008-07-09T17:44:00.002-06:00

So the past few days have gone by so quickly. After Portland we headed down to Crater Lake. The lake was crystal clear and beautiful. There was still much snow around the top of the mountain and there were mosquitoes everywhere. As soon as we stepped out of the car they enveloped us and tried to bite through our shirts. We hiked down to the water, and camped at Diamond Lake about 30 minutes away from Crater Lake. From there we headed south in California to the Redwoods. We ended up staying in Humboldt State Park which is where Ave. of the Giants is. We went hiking there and then headed down Hwy 1. We made it as far as Bodega Bay Dunes where we camped. We thought from the desciption in Lonely Planet that we'd be close to the ocean. We were disappointed to find out it was a grueling 40 minute walk over tedious sand dunes to get us to the water. We didn't go. That night was also terrible because our camp was infiltrated by countless skunks that scared the crap out of us all night. The last thing we wanted was to be sprayed and smell terrible for the next few weeks. After a sleepless night at Bodega Bay we escaped unscathed and headed in to Sonoma county for some wine tasting. Finally we headed from there down into San Francisco. San Fran is amazing. The weather is splendid and the town is really cool. We caught up with some Casa friends last night. And today I walked all over exploring the city.

Portland...land of eccentrity and brewpubs

2008-07-04T19:05:00.003-06:00

Happy 4th! The past couple days have been spent here in Portland, OR. We camped for a night in Olympic National Park which was amazing. We got a backcountry permit and hiked in to camp on a beautiful sandbar right next to a rushing river. We saw no bears but did see a couple deer and bear tracks. Anyway, Portland is a weird place. We are staying in a cool hotel with a bar below us that has live music everynight. Since being here yesterday we've: seen breakdancers, crossdressers, driven through a parade route with loads of onlookers, hiked to waterfalls, visited Hood River, seen kite boarders doing some sick tricks, and we're soon headed off to the Blues Festival and a fireworks display after hitting up the Amnesia brewery. Things are going really well. We haven't heard too much about the fires in Cali, so if you have any suggestions on where to avoid, please let us know.

And now for some photos!

This photo is of our campsite in Olympic National Park. 5ft. to the right you'd find some nice whitewhater.Enormous Snail by the Columbia Rv.Me and Colin by in the Columbia River GorgeSunset at Deception Pass State Park, Puget Sound, Washington

Greetings from Seattle

2008-06-30T13:08:00.002-06:00

Well, my travels have begun. I am writing from Seattle, Washington. It's been surprisingly beautiful, sunny, and warm. I started my trip with a little camping excursion on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. The camping was splendid, and the vistas were breathtaking. I hope to add pictures soon. Since Saturday we have been staying at the Staples' home. They have been so welcoming--Pacific Northwest hospitality at its best. Yesterday we spent a good chunk of the day on Lake Washington boating around, taking in the sun. We have also been enjoying the local brews and nightlife here. There are many microbreweries and different beers unavailable in the Midwest. Things are going great. No complaints. Life on the road is pretty fantastic.

On the Road

2008-06-23T19:56:00.002-06:00

So tomorrow I embark on my summer journey. I will be heading to Chi-city to visit the old stomping grounds and then off to Washington. I hope to keep everyone updated with my exciting travels. This past month has been a great time reconnecting with friends and family in Cincinnati. Thanks to everyone who helped throw an awesome graduation party. There are upwards of 100 people at our house.

From Where I Am

2008-05-28T08:57:00.003-06:00

Dear Friends and Family,

In this first post I would like to just give a short update about where I am currently, and what I have been up to the past month. Firstly, earlier this month I graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a dual-degree in International Studies and Political Science, with minors in Latin American Studies, Spanish, and Pastoral Leadership. It sounds like quite the haul, but it was surprisingly easy to do, and flowed naturally with classes that interested me and more than anything energized me. Two days after graduated I hopped on a plane for Guatemala, where I spent 10 days with other Loyolans in San Lucas Toliman, Antigua, and Guatemala City. I learned so much about Guatemalan indigenous culture and had some great insights about international development. I spoke with Fr. Greg, a native Minnesotan who has been pastoring a parish in San Lucas for over 40 years! We spoke about the efficacy of microfinance and whether he thought it would work. To my surprise he was very much against the notion, especially where he was. He has found that typical indigenous economic transactions are barter based and that most people have no notions of loans or even the value of currency, which makes financing small loans difficult. However, we also met with Catholic Relief Services in Guatemala City and they have had a 90% return on their microfinancing program. The jury is still out, but from what I can gather I think it really depends and the population. If the group has been significantly Westernized, perhaps they will utilize the loans in the way they are intended. And if not, perhaps, other development models will be necessary.
Right now I am trying to enjoy the summertime Chi while I have it. The cold of spring is still grasping tightly, refusing to acquiesce to the warmth of summer. I will soon be heading back to Cincinnati.