On the Road Again

After a fabulous month-long trip home, we are back on the road. Thanks to everyone who took time to see, house, and feed us while we were back. It was really nice to spend time with everyone, and we already miss you all. Our only regret so far is that we did not spend more time at home; it went by too fast. We are so lucky to have such great friends and family, and the hot water, soft beds, and great food didn’t leave much to complain about other. ;o)

Anyhow, we left home again early Tuesday morning after a night without sleep - no we still haven’t conquered that tendency to procrastinate things. Tuesday was a long day of traveling. We got into Lima a little before midnight. Our drive to the hostel made us think we had made the right decision about not spending much time in Lima. But, the next day, we changed our minds. Lima looks a lot better by daylight. The city really comes alive. We spent most of our day walking around trying to get some things organized and planned for the next several days and enjoying some of the architecture and design. Then, we spent some time at an outdoor mall that is built right into a cliff overlooking the ocean. Pretty cool atmosphere, but the mall was a lot like any mall you would see in the states (of course with the exception of the open-air cliff-side thing). But, there was even a Hooter’s and a Starbuck’s. We stayed there for the sunset and then headed back to the hostel for a round of foosball before turning it in for 3 hours. Our flight left for Cuzco the next morning. The pictures of the catherdral tower, fountain, and sunset are all from Lima.

Cuzco turns out to be everything we hoped it would be a more. It is a truly beautiful city--a wonderful mix of the old and the new. Everywhere you look, there is a picture to be taken. The city center consists of old cathedrals, Incan walls, and other architectural wonders and is basically surrounded by mountains and rolling hills, the later of which are highly speckled with scattered red-tile-roofed
houses. Many times, we find ourselves climbing steep hills or steps to get around the city. Most of the buildings are brown or gray, but many of them have brightly painted window panes, doors, or covered balconies. The people are a mix of Quechua and Peruvian. The Peruvian’s dress in modern attire, very reminiscent of other Latin American countries like Nicaragua. But, the Quechua people dress is amazingly bright colors. Many times, you will see them carrying rainbow-colored satchels containing heavy materials or hand-made goods to be sold at the markets or in many cases, babies. And, they wear perfectly round, high-topped hats. Even when there dress does not give them away, the Quechua people are easily distinguished from other Peruvians. They are generally shorter and years of hard work have had there wear on them. Many of them are hunched over and have deep lines on their faces. But, they are truly beautiful people. I am only saddened that tourism has had such an impact on them. Many of them will gather with alpacas, llamas, or baby sheep and ask for money in exchange for allowing a passing tourist to take their photo. Others beg on the streets or try to sell whatever they have to offer. It is a sad sight.

My favorite experiences to date have been our interactions with the people of Cuzco
as well as the wonderful food we have eaten. We have spoken with several kids who were selling things on the streets. The difference between these kids and many of those in Nicaragua is that these kids go to school, and they can usually answer the
math and reading questions I throw at them. They are a happy bunch. We also met a guy who runs his own restaurant with his two brothers, and we plan to stay with a friend of a friends (thanks, Ryan!) for the next several days. She has lived here her whole life, with the exception of a few years spent at college in Bolivia. We met her and her son today. Good people.

As for the food, everywhere we look it seems like there is a piece of magic waiting to be found. This is bittersweet for foodies like us. We can’t ever seem to decide
where to eat. But, we haven’t made a bad decision yet. Our favorite spot was a place called Jack’s (thanks Mr. Darcy!). Also, being that we are in Peru, and guinea pig is the local delicacy, we had to try that last night. It tasted more or less like chicken - just a bit chewier. Another local specialty is Inka Kola, which tastes strangely similar to a soda I used to drink as a kid--I know all you 80s kids will remember it - Big Red, you know that pink soda that tasted like bubble gum. Well, never fear, it hasn’t vanished forever. It was just transported to Peru, given a new color and a new name, but it still has that same great taste!

Alright, I am off to sleep in our dungeon of a hostel. We will write again soon.

Political Unrest in Nicaragua

Given our success in the recent presidential election (yes, for those of you who don't know my political affiliation, I voted for Obama), I thought this an appropriate time to comment on the political situation in Nicaragua. First, let me say how excited we were to see Obama win. Despite being so far away, we followed the election very closely - watching all of the debates and the majority of speeches and media banter. It was quite the experience being in another country. We so wanted to be a part of all of the excitement and the campaigning that we actually considered coming home early to help for just a week. Honestly, I have never been so excited about a presidential candidate in my life. This really was quite possibly the most important election we will ever participate in, for my generation at least. Despite the excitement, we decided our time would be better spent finalizing and passing on the programs we have started with the kids of Nicaragua and Empowerment International (for more on this organization, see the link to the left).

However, we were just as excited as I am sure everyone in the States was the night of the election. We left work a bit early and headed to a local hotel to watch the election coverage with all the other extranjero Obama supporters. There were about 30-40 people there, and it was a great night with many tears and cheers. It is something we won't ever forget. The best part was that it seemed like the whole world was cheering with us. The Nicaraguans shared in our joy. In the days leading up to the election, I spoke with many locals about their thoughts on the election, and they all said they hoped Obama would win. They believe that he is not only good for the U.S., but that his policies will help the situation in Nicaragua as well. The morning after the election, Obama's face was plastered across the front page of every newspaper in Nicaragua, and the locals were walking around selling the newspaper and yelling out that Obama had won! This was an election celebrated across the world.

In stark contrast to this, just five days after a truly historic election, showing how far we have come as a country and a world, Nicaragua held its mayoral elections. Currently, their are two major political parties in Nicaragua - FSLN (the Sandinista Party) and PLC (The Liberal Constitutional Party). The current president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, is a member of the Sandinista party.

To truly understand Nicaragua's current political situation, you must know a little about Ortega's history. Ortega's story starts in 1967, just four years after he graduated from college. That year, he was imprisoned for taking part in robbing a branch of the Bank of America with a machine gun. But, about seven years later, he was released, along with other Sandinista prisoners, in exchange for Somocista hostages (The Somoza family was a political dynasty, which held the presidency in Nicaragua for 43 years). After Ortega's release from jail, he was exiled to Cuba, where he received several months of guerrilla training. He later returned to Nicaragua, secretly.

Then, in 1979, he and the other leaders of the Sandinista movement overthrew the corrupt Somoza dictatorship. At that time, many of the leaders of the party resigned, leaving Ortega the ruler of the country. Ortega continued his rule for four years before calling for a formal election in 1984, which he won. During his rule, through a series of legislative acts known as "The Piñata", estates that had been seized by the Sandinista government (some valued at millions and even billions of dollars) became the private property of various FSLN officials, including Ortega. Needless to say, the country lost their faith in Ortega, and so when in 1990 the Sandinistas agreed to hold free elections, Ortega lost, but that was not the end of him.

He continued to serve in the parliament, awaiting his opportunity to run for the presidency again. But before he had the chance to run for office again, in 1998, his stepdaughter released a 48-page report describing her allegations that Ortega had systematically sexually abused her for 9 years beginning when she was 11. The case could not proceed in Nicaraguan courts because Ortega had immunity from prosecution as a member of parliament, and the five-year statute of limitations for sexual abuse and rape charges was judged to have been exceeded.

Then, in the early 2000s, Ortega was instrumental in creating the controversial strategic pact between the FSLN and the PLC. The pact was an alliance of Nicaragua's two major parties, aimed at distributing the powers between the PLC and FSLN and preventing other parties from rising. One of the key accords of the pact was to lower the percentage of votes necessary to win a presidential election from 45% to 35%, which turned out to be in Ortega's favor when he won the presidential election in 2006 with 37.99% of the votes cast.

Today, Ortega's approval rating is down to 20%. Much of the public feels he has failed at fulfilling his campaign promise to help the poor. Food prices and gas prices have skyrocketed under him, which led to major strikes when we first arrived in Nicaragua in May.

Now we flash forward to the election on November 9. For the first time since 1990, independent observers, foreign and local, were refused accreditation to monitor the election, making some question whether or not the election would be fair. The results of the election came out a few days after the election and showed that the Sandinistas had won 94 of the 146 mayorships at stake. By far the most important of these elections was Managua's mayoral election. Managua is the capital of Nicaragua and is home to a third of the population (about 6 million people). It has been governed by the Sandinistas for the past eight years. But in the days leading up to the vote, Eduardo Montealegre, a member of the PLC party, who contested Ortega for the presidency in 2006, was ahead of the Sandinista candidate, Alexis Argüello, a former world-champion boxer. The official count in Managua was suspiciously slow, but with 70% of the votes tallied, the electoral council claimed that Argüello had won 51.3% of the votes and Montealegre 46.5%.

Montealegre says that he won the election, and that the PLC is being robbed of victory by fraud, both in Managua and in León, the second-largest city. The PLC party claims that the electoral council handed out voter identity cards to those likely to support the Sandinistas while withholding them from opposition supporters. They also say that the council witheld credentials from opposition representatives to try to stop them witnessing the count. On election day, many of them were barred from polling stations, some of which closed early. Nevertheless the PLC party managed to get hold of copies of the official tally at many polling stations, and after summing up the votes, the PLC party contested the decision, saying that the votes showed that Montealegre had won the election.

This lead to rioting. U.S. citizens and other foreigners were given the recommendation to stay out of Managua and to avoid rallies. At least four people are confirmed dead from the fighting that ensued between the political parties in the week following the election. It was looking like this all might stop shortly before we left Nicaragua (Saturday morning), as Montealegre had called for a recount, supervised by international observers. And, it seemed that he would get his wish. But, shortly thereafter, we learned that many of the ballots cast by PLC supporters in both Managua and Leon were found in the local dumps. Additionally, a non-partisan ethics committee reported that unethical practices could be confirmed at at least 1/3 of voting locations. So, the rioting continues. All this in a country where the people have never had the pleasure of a decent and non-corrupt government, yet they continue to have hope. It was difficult to find a local who did not have a black thumb the day after the election, proof that he/she had cast her vote the day before.

I write this to give some perspective to our elections. I hope that even those of you who supported McCain can appreciate what so many of us tend to take for granted, that we are a part of a country where at least we know that, other than the occasional technical malfunction, our election results will be based on the vote of the people. Also, no matter what candidate wins, it is pretty much guarenteed that he/she will not be a former armed-robber and sex offender.

It is the small things really . . .

Melissa

El Hipico y La Carnaval

August is a big holiday month in Granada. There are a lot of festivities. So, around the 5th or 6th of the month, the town begins to flood with people, who don’t leave until around the 18th. This extreme influx of people combined with some of the most intense heat we have had since we’ve been down here and massive amounts of alcohol results in some pretty crazy partying, all of which begins with the Tope de Toros or Running of the Bulls.

Having been to the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, I had some idea of what to expect from this event. However, only two of my expectations were in line with reality—that is, there were bulls and A LOT of drinking. Other than that, the two events have very little in common. In Spain, the streets are lined with guard rails and police hours before the event begins. Those who wish to run with the bulls in Spain have to enter the race area from a specific point and must be inside the rails at least an hour or so in advance. They also have to show proof of their age (kids and babies are not allowed), and cars a blocked from driving anywhere near the event. The police ensure the strict enforcement of these rules. The bulls are let loose right on time, and the only people who get hurt are those who are drunk enough to convince themselves that it is a good idea to back the bulls into corners and then provoke the massive, horned-beasts with sticks.

This is not the case in Granada. Here, anything goes. In place of guard rails, for every bull, we get two guys (generally with a combined total weight of $2.50) with ropes tied to the horns of the beasts (as if this will somehow control the bulls rather than just piss them off). Also, the police presence is about ¼ of that in Spain, and the police who are there come more to enjoy the festivities than to break up fights or enforce safety measures. Cars are free to drive whenever and wherever they want. Also, (in true Nica style) even though everyone asked will gladly announce the event start time with confidence, nobody really knows when the festivities will begin, and inevitably it is well after the time everyone expected. Thus, people literally fill the streets and wait. They bring their kids and babies and begin drinking in the scorching heat at midday and continue drinking until the bulls finally begin running around 4 p.m.—just when the people have finally let down their guard. While this all probably sounds rather dangerous and reckless, it actually makes for some rather good watching. People end up literally running everywhere; climbing trees, windows, and doors; and ducking into the doors of businesses whenever they get the chance. Meanwhile, the two yahoos with the ropes try with all their might to control the bull. Adding to the chaos are the men and children who are riding horses in the streets – horses that didn’t exactly sign up to run with the bulls.

It was within this atmosphere that we found ourselves mid-afternoon on August 10 at a friend’s Internet café right near where the running started. Without even realizing it, we two were “running from the bulls”. It was quite the experience.

The very next weekend, Granada celebrated La Carnaval and El Hipico. La Carnaval took place Saturday the 16th and was perhaps my favorite of all three holidays. The main attraction of the celebration was a very lengthy and extravagant parade. The march consisted of probably about 100 high school drum lines, which were truly the highlight of the parade. All of the bands had been practicing for months in preparation for the event, and their sweat and tears were very evident in the precision of their movements. Every drumline had about 30-50 teenagers, half of whom were boys and the other half of whom were girls. The boys were dressed in matching garb and were banging their drums with deafening force, all the while performing some amazing acrobatics with the drum sticks. And, in front of them, the girls danced a well-choreographed and precise routine in their matching high-heeled boots, short skirts, and midriff shirts. This is all topped off with massive amounts of sequence and glitter (yes, the guys wear glitter). While I don’t like the obvious gender segregation and over-sexualization of the girls, the bands are quite the sight. There were also several beer floats from the only two types of beer available here in Nicaragua—Tona and Victoria as well as a Tona Queen and a Miss Carnaval Queen. My favorite float, though, was the one that consisted of an elaborate show of angels and fire-breathing demons. The whole event was all very beautiful and elaborate, though a bit disorganized. In true Nica style, sometimes 20-30 minutes would pass between floats. Also, we were told the parade would start at 2 p.m., and in matching with the Tope de Toros, it didn’t start until about 7 or 8 p.m. Being that we had learned a little from the previous weekend, we didn’t leave the house until about 4:30, but we were still left with little to do but drink for hours.

Needless to say, we were pretty wiped out the next day for El Hipico (the horse celebration), and since we had already seen an Hipico in another city (I have posted a picture from the Hipico we attended in Nandaime with our friend Fred from San Juan del Sur and an older women that we made friends with)(every city in Nicaragua has a Hipico on a different Sunday and all are pretty much the same – people come from around the country to show off their best horses, which often dance or prance about while their owners simply sit in the saddle drinking a beer or smoking a cigar), we weren’t that excited to pass the day in the scorching heat surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people and horses. But, my friend Nolvalina was going to be dancing on a float with some other friends of ours, who own a hair salon, and I wanted to see it. So, we went to watch the show at about 4 or 5 and commenced the long wait in about 100 degree heat with 100 percent humidity. Hours passed, and people began to get drunk. We witnessed several fights – some with chairs. And, two guys attempted to rob Patrick. But, he had his guard on, as one of our friend’s had been robbed while we were at the first Hipico we attended several weeks earlier. So, when a guy came up to distract him by starting a conversation and another one edged in close and started to unzip Patrick’s pocket, he immediately knew what was happening. He blocked the second guy and through a hard elbow at the man who was trying to distract him. The guy through himself on the ground rather dramatically and created quite the scene, but everyone knew what had happened. So, everyone went back to their business. And, then we waited some more; now with even more caution. After a while, most of our friends turned in for the night, but I was determined to see Nolvalina; so, we stayed. And, just when I thought the parade was over, as nobody had come by for about 30 minutes, two final floats started down the street where we were sitting – and the last of them was Nolvalina’s float. She had been dancing on her float for about 4 hours in the scorching heat but still looked happy and beautiful. I was very impressed. And, thus, we ended our weekend of drunken celebration. We went home and went to bed at 8 p.m. It had been a long week!

I will try to write more again soon. As you can see, I started this story back in August and am now just finishing it up in October. Yeah, yeah, I know that we really are not good at this blogging thing. But, we will try to get better. We are looking forward to seeing many of you when we come home in a month!

Melissa

Four Years and Good Friends

About three weeks ago, we found out we were getting kicked out of our beautiful house - see pic here (not working right now, sorry; I will try to upload it later). It is a long story, but basically the rental company is doing bad business. They got an offer for more money and took it, giving us only 10 days notice to find a new place in one of the busiest seasons in Granada. If anyone ever comes to Nicaragua, do not work with GPS rentals.

We were at our friends' house (Michael and Tina and their toddler, Ida) a day or two after learning the news and were complaining about GPS when Michael and Tina offered to let us stay with them if we couldn't find a place to live. We had been planning to spend our entire weekend house hunting; thus, we were both relieved to know that if we couldn't find anything, we would not be left on the street. So, when Tina and Michael invited us to go to the beach instead of searching for place to live, we accepted.

We woke up on the morning of Saturday, August 2nd and jumped into Michael and Tina's car and headed to the beach. About an hour into the drive, my mom called. Patrick immediately started laughing after answering the phone, and then he said “thank you”. When I asked him why, he said, "It is our anniversary." We had both (good thing it was both of us) forgotten our fourth wedding anniversary. Luckily, we had decided to go do something fun rather than spend our entire weekend searching for places to live. It ended up being a great weekend.

The first beach we went to left a bit to be desired. None of us had been there before; so, we didn't know what to expect. When we arrived, we found what looked like a ghost town. The only hotel in town was closed, yet we found a guy on the street who said he had a place for us to stay. We all went to check it out and found what was definitely one of the dirtiest places we had ever seen, with a shared urinal outside for the men and a hole in the ground for the women, all for the extremely reasonable price of $30. Ha! While we realize we will probably be staying in many places like this during the second part of our trip, we hadn't really prepared for such an experience that weekend. Also, we had just learned it was our anniversary, and neither one of us wanted to spend it wondering if we would wake up to a spider on our face or a mouse running around in the bed. Needless to say, we decided to move on.

So, we drove out of town and began the trip to another beach Michael and Tina had already visited. The drive was absolutely beautiful. Michael and Tina likened the rolling, lush, green hills to those found in the highlands in Ireland.

Unfortunately, shortly after arriving at the hotel, the sky opened up as it so often does here, and it didn't stop raining until almost sundown. Not the best beach weather . . . but we made the best of it and took advantage of the all-inclusiveness of the resort by drinking our way through the rest of the day and night and eating a big salt-cod dinner on the patio off of Michael and Tina's room.

It was a good anniversary with good friends and lots of laughs. The next day, after a little time on the beach, we made the drive back to Granada.

To top off a good experience, we debated about stopping off for a nice, healthy lunch at a restaurant overlooking a lake or heading back to Granada by way of Managua (the capitol city of Nicaragua). Each of us had been secretly craving McDonald's since Tina brought it up the day before; so, we all agreed that we needed to shop at PriceSmart (the big economy-size grocery store here) in Managua in hopes that we may end up at Micky D's (which is also in Managua) afterwards. I know, I know, you have all probably heard me talk trash about McDonald's many a times, but sometimes the things that taste most like home are things that we never really eat at home. It is difficult to explain. But, we all enjoyed our greasy meal.

About a week or so after this trip, we ended up moving in with Michael and Tina, as there really were no places to rent in the city in our price range. We had a great time staying there for 12 days before Tina's parents came to visit and we moved. It was probably a good thing her parents did come, because had they not, we would have stayed, and Patrick and Michael may have had to look into whether Granada has an AA chapter. In all seriousness, the past few weeks have reminded us how important great friends are. We miss you all very much and hope you have space for us on your couch when we return from our travels broke and jobless. :o)

Melissa

Photography Classes

In mid-July, all of the children in Nicaragua get a week off school for vacation, similar to spring break in the states. During this time, Kathy Adams, the Executive Director of Empowerment International, put on a photography class for 15 of the children from the Villa de Esperanza Barrio. The kids’ ages ranged from eight to fifteen. Patrick and I helped with the class all week, and we had a blast.

While five of the older students had taken the photography class the previous year and were already really familiar and comfortable with the cameras, most of the children in the class had never picked up a camera before. So, we started by teaching them how to hold the cameras, turn them on, focus them, etc. After going over the basics, we let the kids start taking photos. It was really interesting watching them. Some of the students were immediate naturals, while others had a really difficult time figuring out how to hold the camera level, take a clear photo, and not cut off part of what they were trying to capture in the picture (like someone's head). Yet, by the end of the day, the children were feeling pretty comfortable with the cameras.

The second day, after discussing photo angles and composition, we took the students to a museum here in town. This was great. The students were so excited. Despite living here their whole lives, most of the kids have never visited some of the major sights in the city. This is partly due to money but also because the children must focus all their time on working, studying, and doing chores around the house. They had a great time carefully examining all of the exhibits and taking creative shots of the various things they saw. They especially enjoyed trying to pick out the barrio on a miniature replica of the city of Granada (Sadly, the barrio didn't make the map, but don't tell them that. They are sure they found it).

The rest of the week, we continued to discuss photography and computer editing. We took a trip to the barrio, a park here in town, and to the islands on Lake Nicaragua to take pictures. The former was the most exciting trip for all of them. Many of the children had never been on a boat before, and none of them had visited the islands on the lake here in Granada. It is so amazing to be a part of someone experiencing something for the first time. We were so entertained just watching the looks on their faces.

Also, it was great to see the children taking an interest in an extra-curricular activity. There are no sports in school here or art. There are few activities available for children to develop their creative and physical characteristics. Although I don't think photography is something they have all grown to love, I think they learned a little bit more about tapping into other sides of their personality during the class. And for some of them, they found a true love and talent. What is so amazing is that none of the children have seen phenomenal photography before. They don’t have access to National Geographic; they have never visited art museums, they aren’t surrounded with images like we are in the states. Yet, by the end of the class, many of the children were taking phenomenal pictures. They are becoming little photographers.

But, the best part of the class for us was the relationships we built. I was so excited to see Nancy, the girl we blogged about earlier who almost dropped out of the program. Her and I talked and walked together a lot during the photography class. She has gained a new-found appreciation for education and being a part of EI. She seems to have finally realized what a great opportunity she has to change her plight in life.

I also had the opportunity to talk with Yancy, a 15-year-old girl who wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Yancy works hard in school but struggles a bit with math. Yet, despite the immense amount of struggle and studying she knows lies in her future, she is committed to her goal. And, seeing the strength in her eyes and her quiet conviction really made me believe she can achieve whatever she wants. Many people have tried to shoot down Yancy’s dream, but she continues to hold strong despite the lack of role models and motivation she receives.


Carlos, the youngest and smallest boy in the class stole everyone's hearts. He was
constantly coming up to us and asking to walk with us and hold our hands. He sought attention and appreciation constantly and was very eager to please. Carlos is in 4th grade at only eight years old. He is tremendously smart and has so much potential. Patrick and I talked about packing little Carlos in our suitcases (I think he would fit), but he has great parents here that I am sure would miss him greatly. So, we decided that was probably not a good idea.

I could go on and on about each of the kids in the class, but for now, I will just mention one more - Alexander. Patrick and I have kind of adopted Alexander as our own. Actually, I think Alexander adopted us. Somehow, he always finds us when we are in the barrio. Alex is 12 years old, and if he were in the states, he would have been diagnosed with A.D.D. a long time ago. Despite his near-constant eating, he is a very skinny kid. I think it is because he is always moving, talking, running, playing, or working. I haven't seen him sit still for more than about 10 minutes at a time. Yet, despite his somewhat precocious nature, Alexander has the biggest heart. He has to work selling things on the streets every hour that he is not in school, yet he is so willing to share whatever he has. The first day of class, he brought chicklets for every person in the class as well as all the helpers. The second day of class, he showed up two hours early to help us get the cameras ready, clean the office, and walk the dog (all of which he continued to do for the rest of the week). The third day of class, he bought a bunch of mamones (a really interesting fruit that I have come to love - they are kind of like grapes for Nicaraguans. They are small bite-sized fruits with a peel. You take off the skin and then put the entire fruit in your mouth so that you can scrape the fruit off the giant seed. They are very sweet, though a little slimy) to share with everyone. Whatever we needed, Alexander was always there and eager to help with a smile. He is a bit of a trouble maker, but it is difficult to see past his amazing heart. I am going to be very sad to say goodbye to him but suspect that we will continue to keep in touch through letters in the future.

(Photo of Carlos and I courtesy of Elvis, one of the advanced photography students. He goes by Colochon on Flickr)
Throughout the week of photography classes, I was struck by two realizations. First, it is amazing how close many of the people are here. The affection most Nicaraguans show one another is much greater than I am used to seeing or experiencing. The children we work with are so eager to love. When walking, they always reach for each others' hands or our hands - even the older students. Relationships seem much more personal and warm in much less time. There are no walls or boundaries. Nothing is too personal or too invasive to discuss. It has made me realize how many walls I think some of us put up. The kids have taught me so much about letting people in.

Second, I was struck again by the difference in opportunity each of us receives in life. For myself, and I think a lot of people who grow up in more developed countries, holding a camera and taking pictures is something we have grown used to, something we perhaps take for granted. We know the basic way to hold a camera because we have seen people around us holding them all our lives. This carries into so many other areas of life. My parents read to me when I was a child, and that made it that much easier for me to learn how to read. But, I realize now that I was lucky to have parents who knew how to read and had the time to read with me. I can hardly imagine what it would be like to try to learn how to read without having ever seen someone else do it before. I have heard so many people argue that every child has the opportunity to do whatever he or she wants with his or her life. While I want so badly to believe that and have been so amazed by the achievements of so many children, I have seen that there are so many more obstacles for some children than there are for others. Things that seem so simple are not always that simple. Learning is so much more difficult when you haven't been taught or shown what learning looks like. Still though, I remain the eternal optimist. I believe so much in these children. They have already accomplished the seemingly impossible in life, who is to say they can't continue to do so. Not me.

Alright, that is it for now. Oh, on another note, we want to mention that we have added links to some other great blogs from our friends and families. The links are at the top left on this page. And, we wanted to say goodbye to our friends Adam, Emilie, Maia, and Naomi who had to return home to Canada a few weeks ago. We had a great time hanging out with them while they were here. Hope you are all adjusting to the cold weather okay. :o)

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and receiving your feedback via the comments section.

Melissa

Devon's Visit

Patrick's sister, Devon, came to visit us for the last 10 days of June. We had a great time while she was here, and it was really nice to share our new world with someone else for awhile.

We didn't let Devon rest much before initiating her to the Nicaraguan experience. She flew in at midnight on a Saturday, and we got up the next morning and had a "quick" breakfast (And by quick, I mean it took about 2.5 hours - we are on Nica time down here. And, for those of you who like to talk about "Melissa time", Nica time blows that out of the water. The two aren't even on the same playing field). Shortly after breakfast and a quick museum trip, a bus picked us up for a zipline tour. The Mombotour Canopy Tour is apparently the "original canopy tour". It is where the whole sport started, and they even have copyrights to prove it. The tour is located 9 miles south of Granada, on the Cutirre Coffee Plantation and the eastern foothills of Mombacho (the volcano that you can see from our house). What Mombotour doesn't tell you about the zipline is that the adventure isn't so much the canopy tour, but the ride up there. I can say without hesitation that the nine miles from our house to the tour site were the longest 9 miles of my life. We rode with four other tourists to the top of this foothill in the back of a Land Rover that had been completely gutted and only contained two bench-like metal seats running perpendicular to the front seat. The road up the mountain was probably the roughest 4-wheel drive road I have ever been on (yes, Josh, you would have been having a blast with your Jeep on this road). The difference here was that our driver considered it just another regular Nica highway, and drove up at about 15 - 25 miles per hour (or so Patrick tells me. I would have guessed at least 40). We were all holding on with both hands so as not to fly out of the vehicle or hit our heads against the windows. Ugh! An adventure to say the least. I laughed most of the way but didn't feel too well at the end.

It was all worth it, though, as the Canopy Tour was beautiful. The forest was lush with coffee plants and the biggest trees and ants I have ever seen in my life. And, at the end of the tour, we got to repel down a tree from 18 meters up. We all had a great time.

Devon worked with us the rest of the week in the office. She was a huge help, being completely fluent in Spanish. She did a lot of translating. Our favorite part of her trip, though, was probably the trip we took to the barrio with her. Volunteers all have the opportunity to visit the barrio and read stories to the younger children if they would like. Devon was very excited about the opportunity. So, we gathered about 25 or so little kids from the program in one of the courtyards of one of the houses in the barrio, and Devon read 4-5 stories to them. The kids loved it! They all paid great attention, and when I asked them what the stories were about in the end, they repeated the information back to me.

After reading the stories, we decided to play some "baseball" in an open field with the kids. The only equipment that we had was a tennis ball - no bases, bats, gloves, or helmets. Given the lack of equipment, we have actually learned the game's rightful name is "handball", though the kids will swear it is baseball. Basically, the way it works is that there are three bases - first, second, and home - and these are marked by some fallen leaves and branches. You divide up into teams of 5 and take the field. There is a first baseman, second baseman, a short-stop of sorts who plays between them, and two fielders. The person batting steps up to the plate, throws the ball in the air with one hand and uses his or her other hand like a bat to hit the ball. Despite the lack of equipment, I have never had so much fun playing "baseball". The kids were so excited. We played boys against girls, with 2-3 teams of each. And overall, the boys, with Patrick coaching, won. But, I do have to say that my team, the Chicas Superas (Super Girls), beat Patrick's personal team. Take that, boys!

What really made that day for all of us, is that we really got to bond with the kids. We all made a lot of friends. I singled out a few girls who kept stealing glances at me and really got to know them. And, of course, we bonded with our teams. Now, whenever we visit the barrio or meet the kids somewhere, we get lots of hugs, and the kids are always eager to hold hands and walk with us. It is nice for us to have the opportunity to become close with these kids, but it is a little sad too. Part of reason they are so eager to be our friends is because we give them attention, which is something they don't get much of at home. But, the relationship is mutually rewarding. We get so much from these kids. They are so generous and loving despite the hand they have been dealt in life. They might have been working from the time they turned eight, only to make a mere $1 - $3 per day. Yet, they always offer to share whatever it is they have - fruit, homemade candy, gum, or even just a chair, as sometimes that is all they have to offer. But, they want you to have it. When we were playing handball, Patrick and I had to be on the field at the same time one game, and we needed one of the kids to hold our backpack. Four or five of the little girls were literally fighting over who was going to get to hold this backpack that probably weighed more than they did. The girl who won held it so proudly, with a smile the whole time. These kids are truly amazing, and they have already burned a spot into our hearts.

The rest of Devon's trip was equally as fun. The Saturday that she was here was distribution day as the kids were just finishing the first semester of school, and we needed to get them supplies for the second semester. All of the kids and parents from the Villa de Esperanza Barrio gathered at a local school to pick up their supplies and write letters and draw pictures for their sponsors back in the states (shameless plug, but if you are interested in sponsoring a child, there is going to be a fundraiser at the Butterfly Pavilions on Sept. 6 - my bday - where you can learn more about the program and sponsor a child for only a little more than $100). It was a lot of fun. The kids were all so excited to see us again and get their supplies. We also got to take a lot of pictures, which they just love! Cameras are the coolest thing for them. After distributing the supplies there, we got to take another trip to the Santa Ana Barrio, which was another rewarding experience. Since Patrick's mom and her company have donated the money to buy the children there boots, we got to get their shoe sizes (most of which they didn't know) and tell them about the boots. The kids and parents were so excited. And, at the end of the day, one of the mother's came up to each of the 10 or so volunteers there that day to thank us all for our work. It was so heartwarming.

For the last couple days of Devon's trip, we took a trip to San Juan Del Sur (a well-known beach town on the Pacific Coast). It was fun to relax a little, and the Maderas beach just north of San Juan Del Sur was beautiful. Given that it is known for its great surf, Patrick rented a surf board and gave the sport a whirl. He got up on his second try! Devon, another volunteer from the program who was visited for two weeks (Kristi), and I stuck with boogie boarding, but we all had a blast! We also saw some howler monkeys, these crazy crabs with fluorescent-orange-colored legs and purple bodies, and a Spanish-speaking parrot!

Alright, that's all for now. We will try to let you know what we have been up to these last couple of weeks soon. In the meantime, thanks for following our adventures and for the wonderful comments. It is so nice to hear back from all of you and to know that somebody is actually reading these things. We miss you all!

Melissa

Let me first apologize for the tardiness of this post. We have much to write about and will try to send several updates in the next week.

After visiting the barrio next to Granada, Anielka, the program director, asked us if we would like to visit the other barrio – the one outside of the city that we just started working with. The barrio is about 10 miles outside of town. So, Anielka arranged for a driver to take us in her father’s truck. In typical Nica fashion, all seven of us piled into the back of the truck and away we went.

The country side on the way to the barrio was simply amazing. Most of the land on the way out to the small rural community is cultivated. They grow anything from corn to nuts there, and the fields are extremely green. Even on the large fields, most of the harvesting is done with ox or horse. With the lack of development and the sight of an older man wearing coveralls guiding his ox down the rows you almost think you are looking back in time only to be pulled back by his brand new “New Era” Yankees baseball cap, which he wears slightly to the side. After the 45 min. ride we find ourselves standing in front of a beautiful two-room school. Anielka told us the Nicaraguan Government had built the new school for the community last year. We waited outside, as the two teachers finished class. The main teaching style is to have the students go to the chalk board and solve problems. After the students finished, we gathered all the kids to take a group photo, as the teacher has always wanted a group photo, but he never had a camera to take it. So, Anielka gathered all the students, and Melissa started snapping away.

After the photo shoot, Anielka instructed all the students to go home. She told them, we would be by shortly to visit them in their houses. Our first stop of the day was a 20 min walk through back yards and fields. This household had two children. The girl is in 4^th grade and the boy is in 5^th. They both greeted us with huge smiles and immediately ran to the house to get their notebooks and bags for review. Their mother joined us right after she put the horse back in the pin with her two cows. The mother is a truly remarkable lady. She works full time around the neighborhood building fence and plowing land with her ox. It is not how she envisioned her life, but with two kids and a father who could barely make enough to feed the kids, she went to work. Before Empowerment International came to this barrio the kids would work with her to help support the family. She wanted to send them to school but could not make enough money to feed the kids and send them to school. So, when Empowerment came she was very excited to have her kids attend school. She told us that she wanted her children to grow up and have a chance to become professionals, so that they did not have to work the way she does now. Eight months ago the youngest could not read, but now Anielka says she is one of the better students. It was truly inspirational to spend some time with that family, and we look forward to visiting them again.

When we left their house, the little girl wearing no shoes was our guild to the next house. Many of the children in this barrio only have one pair of shoes and they are usually the shoes EI provides them for school. Because of the rainy season the ground is usually covered in rain and mud; so, the kids put their shoes for school in plastic bags in their backpacks and walk barefoot to and from class, wadding through mud, so that they can have clean shoes for class (as is required). Thankfully, this is a problem that will soon be resolved due to the generosity and networking of my mother and her coworkers. They have donated enough money to buy all the kids in the Santa Ana Barrio rain boots. We are going to Managua next week to buy them.

The rest of our trip to the barrio we experienced much the same that we experienced upon our first visit there. The children were all eager to show us their work, and their families were more than welcoming -always providing us chairs to sit on and glasses of water if we need them. Usually, as is true in the other barrio, they will stand so that we can sit.

Leaving the barrio, Melissa and I both had the same feeling that the kids and people of this barrio were very special. It is an area that seems to be untouched by TV and video games - a place where the kids all play together in the streets and fields and the parents almost work together to raise their families. It is not difficult to feel the true sense of community that exists there. Needless to say, it was a great experience, and we are eager to return to the barrio as soon as we can.

Patrick