Some of the students here have had the opportunity to have an hour long discussion with Dr. Skar during the afternoon. We are asked to read the local newspapers and choose articles that are of interest to us. Several students chose articles that are related to the education system and lack of resources in the schools.
One article cited a statistic that said that 60% of the schools lack sanitary bathrooms and drinkable water. Coming from the U.S., that statistic is astounding. We take it for granted that when we go to school, we will be able to use the toilets and have a drink of water. At the school I am working at, there are two faucets of running water outside of the classrooms, which I understand that 60% of the schools must not have. However, the bathrooms are simply latrines, four stalls with toilets that give way to nothing but holes in the ground. That is certainly not sanitary and on top of that there is no soap for the children to wash their hands with when they are done. Then they go and have snack time, for which they must bring their own bowl and fork from home. I have seen children that forget forks eat their rice and beans with their bare hands. Something that has surprised me and seems very positive is that the children are gauranteed to have a meal during school. The teacher or school (I haven´t had a chance to ask which one it is) provides uncooked rice and beans, and the children take turns bringing it home for their parents to cook it. They then return with the cooked meal to share with the class the following day.
Another article I read said that 235,000 children in Nicaragua are working selling food on the side of the streets, working in mines or coffee plantations. The kids may possibly go to school in the morning and then work in the afternoon. However, these kids are too exhausted by the end of the day to do their homework and continually fall behind in school. It is not a choice for these children, they are sent to work by their parents to help support the family. Some parents remove their children from school so that they can work full time. It made me wonder, why would they do that to their children, why would they limit their child´s opportunities so drastically? However in Nicaragua, even if a person finishes highschool and goes on to get a university diploma, there is still no gaurantee that they will get a job and have a successful carreer. Jobs are so scarce that there is no incentive to continue with a formal education, what is the point? Most families here make $2 per day and need to support a family with those funds. Mind you, that´s not $2 per person per day, that´s $2 per family. Teachers make around $100 per month, and that is one of the most highly respected fields.
There are so many children in the classrooms and at first I thought to myself, ¨Wow! They really need to hire some more teachers.¨ But I´ve come to realize, they can´t hire more teachers. When the government can´t even pay one teacher a decent salary, how are they going to hire two? A friend of mine who works in another classroom said that her class is supposed to have 40 children, but on a given day there are around 18. One may think, well why don´t they all come to school? We all assume that if a child doesn´t go to school, their parents will yell at them, the school will check up on them, or the truency officer will come to talk to the parents. However, as I just stated above, some parents purposefully take their children out of schools. Others may not have faith in the educational system, and others may just not care. And there will be no police officer coming to the house. There is currently no law that demands that children attend school. In fact, they need to pay to go to school, which is another reason why there is such low attendance.
A law is currently being proposed that will obligate children to attend primary school and to make this schooling free. If they don´t go, the police will check up on them and enforce it. That may be feasible in the U.S., but I really doubt there are enough police officers to check up on that many kids, especially when half of them don´t show up. And even if they do all go, with 40 kids for one teacher, not much can be accomplished. Even now with around 20 kids, half of them don´t recieve the attention they need, imagine if that number were doubled!
Dr. Skar brought up a good point during this discussion, why are the only volunteers the only ones lending a hand in these schools? With low employment rates, surely there are people sitting around their house all day that at least know the alfabet. Why aren´t they going to the schools? My mom here in Nicaragua doesn´t have a job. Neither does her daughter. Neither do many of the other family members of students here in Nicaragua. Why isn´t there that drive to help the youth here in Nicaragua? Why are foreigners coming here to help when the locals don´t even seem to care? Maybe it is because they have become so dependent of the non-governmental organizations´help that the Nicaraguans don´t think they have to. Why isn´t there that will for change like there was during the Sandinista Revolution? They see the daily conditions themselves and their neighbors live in and yet don´t seem to make an effort to change the current situation. Personally, I don´t have an answer. I don´t know. I don´t know what has to happen to make people take a stand for what they believe in.
Friday, July 31, 2009
El Mestizaje
I had heard of the word mestizaje before when I was in Spanish 196 and 197, but when they teach you this word they teach you it in the context pertaining to people. El mestizaje in English refers to someone who has parents from two different cultures, therefore the person themselves is sort of a mixture of the two. However I just learned that this word can be used in a different context, to refer to two cultures that come together and mix.
In Granada there is a mixture of both indigenous culture, and Spanish as well. We see it in the buildings, the outside appears to be colonial, from the Spanish, the open gardens in the inside are from the Arabic culture, and the high ceilings are from Nicaragua´s indigenous culture. Religion is especially important here, and the Catholicism was brought by the Spanish who were influenced by Rome.
I remembered learning about this topic in the previous mentioned class, how two cultures mix together. We were learning about countries like the Dominican Republic, and how sometimes two cultures can influence an area, not completely blending, but sort of how you would shake oil and vinegar and see them both swirl together. Its interesting how two cultures can be similar, yet pose completely different ideologies. Catholicism holds the Virgin Mary in high regard, and although some may argue that Catholicism devalued women by not allowing them to be priests at one point in time, think of how important this religious icon, a woman, is to the religion. On the other hand, you have the Arabic culture that subjugates women, commands they cover up, and that they stay in the home. Think of how our feminine ideal came to be, what it once was before Rosy the Riveter during World War II when women went to work while men were at war, think of where machismo came from. In fact, its even there in language, the vacuum is la aspiradora, the kitchen is la cocina, where does the woman stay, in la casa..all feminine words. And where does her husband go while she cleans and takes care of their children? A trabajo..a masculine word. From Catholicism we get praise for the feminine ideal, and from Muslim religion, we get the sense of machismo.
Whats so great about this course is that you are required to speak in Spanish, and I think this was implemented not just as a learning tool for students, but to show respect to the people that live here. If you travel to a foreign country, you should speak their language. However, I cant stand it when my Republican friends bark out that Latinos should learn English. If two cultures coexist like it does in the United States, we shouldnt demand that Latinos assimilate into our culture, because what happens is that their culture is lost, and this is why I believe many of my friends parents refuse to learn English..because they see their children becoming Americanized and they lose sight of their traditional values. So for clarification, Id like to define the following
Assimilate- to make similar b: to alter by assimilation c: to absorb into the culture or mores of a population or group
enculturate- the process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilates its practices and value
acculturation-cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from another culture ; also : a merging of cultures as a result of prolonged contact
In the United States, we should begin the process of acculturation, because this way neither culture is refusing change because they believe their own is superior, and one culture isnt completely becoming similar to the other. When I was in high school, my french teacher told me that she knew french, spanish, and italian, which would make sense because they all come from latin but she also learned german from when France was occupied by Germany during the war. Why should only the Latinos learn English? Why dont more people learn Spanish? Why should it go only one way? We´re all immigrants, unless your heritage is Native American.
In Granada there is a mixture of both indigenous culture, and Spanish as well. We see it in the buildings, the outside appears to be colonial, from the Spanish, the open gardens in the inside are from the Arabic culture, and the high ceilings are from Nicaragua´s indigenous culture. Religion is especially important here, and the Catholicism was brought by the Spanish who were influenced by Rome.
I remembered learning about this topic in the previous mentioned class, how two cultures mix together. We were learning about countries like the Dominican Republic, and how sometimes two cultures can influence an area, not completely blending, but sort of how you would shake oil and vinegar and see them both swirl together. Its interesting how two cultures can be similar, yet pose completely different ideologies. Catholicism holds the Virgin Mary in high regard, and although some may argue that Catholicism devalued women by not allowing them to be priests at one point in time, think of how important this religious icon, a woman, is to the religion. On the other hand, you have the Arabic culture that subjugates women, commands they cover up, and that they stay in the home. Think of how our feminine ideal came to be, what it once was before Rosy the Riveter during World War II when women went to work while men were at war, think of where machismo came from. In fact, its even there in language, the vacuum is la aspiradora, the kitchen is la cocina, where does the woman stay, in la casa..all feminine words. And where does her husband go while she cleans and takes care of their children? A trabajo..a masculine word. From Catholicism we get praise for the feminine ideal, and from Muslim religion, we get the sense of machismo.
Whats so great about this course is that you are required to speak in Spanish, and I think this was implemented not just as a learning tool for students, but to show respect to the people that live here. If you travel to a foreign country, you should speak their language. However, I cant stand it when my Republican friends bark out that Latinos should learn English. If two cultures coexist like it does in the United States, we shouldnt demand that Latinos assimilate into our culture, because what happens is that their culture is lost, and this is why I believe many of my friends parents refuse to learn English..because they see their children becoming Americanized and they lose sight of their traditional values. So for clarification, Id like to define the following
Assimilate- to make similar b: to alter by assimilation c: to absorb into the culture or mores of a population or group
enculturate- the process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilates its practices and value
acculturation-cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from another culture ; also : a merging of cultures as a result of prolonged contact
In the United States, we should begin the process of acculturation, because this way neither culture is refusing change because they believe their own is superior, and one culture isnt completely becoming similar to the other. When I was in high school, my french teacher told me that she knew french, spanish, and italian, which would make sense because they all come from latin but she also learned german from when France was occupied by Germany during the war. Why should only the Latinos learn English? Why dont more people learn Spanish? Why should it go only one way? We´re all immigrants, unless your heritage is Native American.
La Casa Nicaraguense
La casa nicaragüense tiene una arquitectura única. Como dice en el titulo del artículo, esta variedad de estructuras empiezan con la mas rustica, que es la casa de paja. Este tipo de casa es comúnmente habitada por el campesino, quien por ser pobre, y estar contante movimiento, está obligado a construir una casa muy humilde. La casa consiste de paredes de pajas, sostenida por madera. El piso, es de tierra. O sea, el piso de todas estas casas es el piso en donde se construye.
El siguiente tipo de casa s e conoce como la casa proletaria, o casa típica granadiense. Estas casas se diferencian por la mayor parte por tener un techado de tejas y paredes de barro. Aunque no he podido explorar estas casas personalmente, se dice que estas casas son divididas por unas paredes muy frágiles, que son formadas por un marco de madera que se expande de pared a pared dentro de la casa. Para crear el poco de privacidad que ofrece este divisor, el espacio dentro de este marco es tapado por papel periódico o de revistas, que luego se solidifican con almidón. Estas mismas casas son decoradas durante los tiempos de fiesta, como lo es con la virgen de asunción y fiestas patrias. Estas decoraciones consisten de banderolas de diferentes colores, que decoran todo el interior de la casa.
Otro tipo de casa es la casa colonial. Esta casa es el tipo más antiguo de todos, y casualmente, es el tipo de casa en el cual me hospedo. La casa consiste de paredes de barro, pintadas de cal. Tienen un tejado (techo de tejas) y en el medio tienen un área de cielo abierto en donde se encuentra el jardín. En la mayoría de las casas, la mayor parte de estas es compuesta por el jardín, ya que toma un gran porcentaje de la infraestructura de la casa. Debido al inmenso calor que se vive diariamente en esta zona, los jardines y techos abiertos sirven para ventilar el interior de estos hogares.
El siguiente tipo de casa s e conoce como la casa proletaria, o casa típica granadiense. Estas casas se diferencian por la mayor parte por tener un techado de tejas y paredes de barro. Aunque no he podido explorar estas casas personalmente, se dice que estas casas son divididas por unas paredes muy frágiles, que son formadas por un marco de madera que se expande de pared a pared dentro de la casa. Para crear el poco de privacidad que ofrece este divisor, el espacio dentro de este marco es tapado por papel periódico o de revistas, que luego se solidifican con almidón. Estas mismas casas son decoradas durante los tiempos de fiesta, como lo es con la virgen de asunción y fiestas patrias. Estas decoraciones consisten de banderolas de diferentes colores, que decoran todo el interior de la casa.
Otro tipo de casa es la casa colonial. Esta casa es el tipo más antiguo de todos, y casualmente, es el tipo de casa en el cual me hospedo. La casa consiste de paredes de barro, pintadas de cal. Tienen un tejado (techo de tejas) y en el medio tienen un área de cielo abierto en donde se encuentra el jardín. En la mayoría de las casas, la mayor parte de estas es compuesta por el jardín, ya que toma un gran porcentaje de la infraestructura de la casa. Debido al inmenso calor que se vive diariamente en esta zona, los jardines y techos abiertos sirven para ventilar el interior de estos hogares.
Amar (to love)
I love being here. Every morning I wake up at 6am to study, eat a huge plate of papaya, piña, bananos, sandía (watermelon), huevos (eggs) and tortillas. I have been walking a lot in Granada - I don't have access to a bike, and I didn't drive here :) The walk to class in the morning is pleasant, as the air is still cool and still, and sometimes the breeze from the lake is channeled up the narrow streets. I see women opening the shutters and sweeping the sidewalks, hosing the trash down the street, and men opening the doors to their businesses. Being here almost a week, I am learning the faces on my street and the "regulars", and I am certain that the Granadino/as notice me as I make my way on my daily route through the streets to the Convento.
Granada has been the base of the "conservadors" in Nicaragua - the conservatives. Conservative in Nicaragua does not carry the same connotation as the American definition - the conservatives have stood to defend, or "conserve" Catholic values. There are many churches and buildings with past and present religious ties, and our class is in the morning from 8-9am is held the Covento de San Francisco - an old convent that has been converted into a museum (and our classroom).
My Spanish class is one of the best parts of the day, but I find that I gain the most personal fulfillment from our work in the schools. One of the reasons I chose to participate in the Global Academy is because of our service work in the schools. After class, I walk for 20 minutes with four of my classmates to Las Camillias, a primary school, to help teach first graders. It is difficult and frustrating work because of the language barrier, but I love to teach because of the challenge it presents. Every day is a new day, and if what I am doing is not effective, I try something different. Yesterday I played a memory game teaching colors and shapes (colores y formas) with the children that I am working with, and I learned the shapes in Spanish! I only hope that the children get as much from me as I get from them.
Despite the general poverty and the lack of resources in Granada, I don't think that the lives of the people here are better are worse, just different. I am looking forward to working more with the children and helping them further their education. One of the things that I am struggling with is educational expections in the United States vs. educational expectations in Nicaragua. What constitutes a good education in Nicaragua? Yo no se (I don't know). It is difficult for me to ask because of the language barrier and my 23 years of enculturation in the United States of what an education should include. I am trying to suspend my ethnocentric ideas of a "good education" in order to actually help the children I am working with. Although I came to Nicaragua as part of the Global Academy, which is an academic course, we are not in the schools for ourselves. How can I help the children and remain respectful of Nicaraguan culture? Balance of all kinds is a theme that has been running through my mind ever since I got here - environmental, cultural, economic, political, personal... the list goes on.
I love all of the work that we have been doing here. The day after we arrived, we planted trees for conservation and tomorrow morning we are off to Playa la Flor for sea turtle conservation with Dra. Theodora Pinou. We are also going Mombacho Cloud Forest, and in preparation I have been reading The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Thomas Belt, a book written in the 1880s during Belt's travels in Nicaragua by mule. Obviously, the Nicaragua that Belt traveled of over 100 years ago no longer exists, but his vivid descriptions of the florid and lush tropical landscape jump off the page and provide important information for biologists in the present day. I read it before I arrived here, but rereading it upon my arrival is like unfolding a whole new delicious experience, now that I have (somewhat) have firsthand knowledge of the land that Belt traveled through.
We live on a beautiful planet and I feel blessed to be able to have experienced as much of it as I have. When I write here, I am not trying to make myself seem like a saint or a sinner, I am just trying to be honest about what I am experiencing here, for better or worse. I wish that I could bring everyone who is reading to Nicaragua so you could see how it is for yourself, for better or for worse. Thanks for reading what all of us write here. It means a lot to me.
-Mercedes
Granada has been the base of the "conservadors" in Nicaragua - the conservatives. Conservative in Nicaragua does not carry the same connotation as the American definition - the conservatives have stood to defend, or "conserve" Catholic values. There are many churches and buildings with past and present religious ties, and our class is in the morning from 8-9am is held the Covento de San Francisco - an old convent that has been converted into a museum (and our classroom).
My Spanish class is one of the best parts of the day, but I find that I gain the most personal fulfillment from our work in the schools. One of the reasons I chose to participate in the Global Academy is because of our service work in the schools. After class, I walk for 20 minutes with four of my classmates to Las Camillias, a primary school, to help teach first graders. It is difficult and frustrating work because of the language barrier, but I love to teach because of the challenge it presents. Every day is a new day, and if what I am doing is not effective, I try something different. Yesterday I played a memory game teaching colors and shapes (colores y formas) with the children that I am working with, and I learned the shapes in Spanish! I only hope that the children get as much from me as I get from them.
Despite the general poverty and the lack of resources in Granada, I don't think that the lives of the people here are better are worse, just different. I am looking forward to working more with the children and helping them further their education. One of the things that I am struggling with is educational expections in the United States vs. educational expectations in Nicaragua. What constitutes a good education in Nicaragua? Yo no se (I don't know). It is difficult for me to ask because of the language barrier and my 23 years of enculturation in the United States of what an education should include. I am trying to suspend my ethnocentric ideas of a "good education" in order to actually help the children I am working with. Although I came to Nicaragua as part of the Global Academy, which is an academic course, we are not in the schools for ourselves. How can I help the children and remain respectful of Nicaraguan culture? Balance of all kinds is a theme that has been running through my mind ever since I got here - environmental, cultural, economic, political, personal... the list goes on.
I love all of the work that we have been doing here. The day after we arrived, we planted trees for conservation and tomorrow morning we are off to Playa la Flor for sea turtle conservation with Dra. Theodora Pinou. We are also going Mombacho Cloud Forest, and in preparation I have been reading The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Thomas Belt, a book written in the 1880s during Belt's travels in Nicaragua by mule. Obviously, the Nicaragua that Belt traveled of over 100 years ago no longer exists, but his vivid descriptions of the florid and lush tropical landscape jump off the page and provide important information for biologists in the present day. I read it before I arrived here, but rereading it upon my arrival is like unfolding a whole new delicious experience, now that I have (somewhat) have firsthand knowledge of the land that Belt traveled through.
We live on a beautiful planet and I feel blessed to be able to have experienced as much of it as I have. When I write here, I am not trying to make myself seem like a saint or a sinner, I am just trying to be honest about what I am experiencing here, for better or worse. I wish that I could bring everyone who is reading to Nicaragua so you could see how it is for yourself, for better or for worse. Thanks for reading what all of us write here. It means a lot to me.
-Mercedes
Architecture and the Nicaraguan House
In the United States often when we look at the houses around us, we equate them with monetary value that speaks volumes on how we assume a family lives, and the type of socioeconomic class they belong to. However, few people realize that even back home that there is a psychology to the architecture, that houses are constructed with a purpose in mind.
Obviously one of the first things that stood out for the students here is how the houses lack a front yard and a back yard, but rather have a garden in the middle of the house. Although this may be the type of house that the majority of us are staying in, there is a reading that points out that there are four types of houses that exist here. The first is made of straw, the second of mud, the third has walls made of straw that are able to be moved around, and the last is colonial in appearance on the outside, but not what I consider to be colonial on the inside. In one of the readings, they refer to living in these styles of houses as living in a tree.
We talked about the reason for the high cealings here, for the lack of windows and although they are valid points to discuss, we didn't really talk about how the structures affect community. This is what I mean by how there is a psychology to building. In the United States, after World War II, there was a man named Levit who created houses that were not only affordable, but as my dad would call them, houses that are built right on top of each other. There are two towns named after him, one on Long Island, called Levittown. How does architecture promote, or dissuade, community? For a long time architects have tried to promote community back at home, and they have tried to break down barriers between ethnicities and for the most part it works among a race, however it hasnt been as successful between races. What is the purpose of a porch at home? Architects hope that families will sit outside, and engage in conversations with their neighbors, but it is often to no avail. The first thing I thought of when noticing that there essentially is no front porch here, and that families although seem like they are outside because it is open to the sky, are really inside, and I thought, this cant be good in means of promoting community. If youre inside all the time, how will you ever chat with your neighbors? There is a derrogative word called porch monkey, and it usually refers to either african americans or hispanics that sit outside on their porches for long periods of time. In fact, our government, especially Connecticut's, recruited Puerto Ricans to work the fields in Bridgeport and after work when they'd go home they would sit outside their porches and get harassed by police for loitering.
There's a funny thing about expectations, because what I expected about the architecture of the houses dissuading community turned out to be false. The second day I noticed that when people were walking on the streets, they were greeting each other, they knew each other. That doesnt happen in Manhattan, even when people live in the same apartment buildings. They are in such a hurry, New Yorkers expect to have had things done yesterday, while Nicaraguense dont care if it happens tomorrow. And as a native New Yorker, I can tell you that not having a set plan all the time is very hard at times, but you learn to just breathe and like you would do as the Romans do in Rome, do as the Nicas do in Nicaragua.
So I started looking more as I walked in the streets, observing what it is they do that allows for this sense of community. Although they lack a porch, they essentially sit in the living room with the doors open, so if visitors walk by, they can see they are home and ready for company. I think if architects want to learn a little something about how to promote community, they should take a trip to Granada.
Obviously one of the first things that stood out for the students here is how the houses lack a front yard and a back yard, but rather have a garden in the middle of the house. Although this may be the type of house that the majority of us are staying in, there is a reading that points out that there are four types of houses that exist here. The first is made of straw, the second of mud, the third has walls made of straw that are able to be moved around, and the last is colonial in appearance on the outside, but not what I consider to be colonial on the inside. In one of the readings, they refer to living in these styles of houses as living in a tree.
We talked about the reason for the high cealings here, for the lack of windows and although they are valid points to discuss, we didn't really talk about how the structures affect community. This is what I mean by how there is a psychology to building. In the United States, after World War II, there was a man named Levit who created houses that were not only affordable, but as my dad would call them, houses that are built right on top of each other. There are two towns named after him, one on Long Island, called Levittown. How does architecture promote, or dissuade, community? For a long time architects have tried to promote community back at home, and they have tried to break down barriers between ethnicities and for the most part it works among a race, however it hasnt been as successful between races. What is the purpose of a porch at home? Architects hope that families will sit outside, and engage in conversations with their neighbors, but it is often to no avail. The first thing I thought of when noticing that there essentially is no front porch here, and that families although seem like they are outside because it is open to the sky, are really inside, and I thought, this cant be good in means of promoting community. If youre inside all the time, how will you ever chat with your neighbors? There is a derrogative word called porch monkey, and it usually refers to either african americans or hispanics that sit outside on their porches for long periods of time. In fact, our government, especially Connecticut's, recruited Puerto Ricans to work the fields in Bridgeport and after work when they'd go home they would sit outside their porches and get harassed by police for loitering.
There's a funny thing about expectations, because what I expected about the architecture of the houses dissuading community turned out to be false. The second day I noticed that when people were walking on the streets, they were greeting each other, they knew each other. That doesnt happen in Manhattan, even when people live in the same apartment buildings. They are in such a hurry, New Yorkers expect to have had things done yesterday, while Nicaraguense dont care if it happens tomorrow. And as a native New Yorker, I can tell you that not having a set plan all the time is very hard at times, but you learn to just breathe and like you would do as the Romans do in Rome, do as the Nicas do in Nicaragua.
So I started looking more as I walked in the streets, observing what it is they do that allows for this sense of community. Although they lack a porch, they essentially sit in the living room with the doors open, so if visitors walk by, they can see they are home and ready for company. I think if architects want to learn a little something about how to promote community, they should take a trip to Granada.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tourists vs. Travelers
One of the most discussed topics among the students here and between students and Nicaraguense has been the subject of eco-tourism, and tourism versus those that travel. There are a lot of points I want to bring up that I think are important to highlight because many have been overlooked. The first is that for me, is there really a difference between a traveler and a tourist? I don´t really think so. They both do the same thing, travelers take out their digital cameras much like a tourist does, a traveler wears a huge backback like all of us have been doing and a traveler consumes culture just as well. The difference I guess if you want to say that there is one is that a traveler seeks to learn about the culture, but the best kind of learning is when you don´t realize that you are learning, so when a ¨tourist¨goes to a museum, are they not learning about the artifacts from the culture that they are visiting? In my opinion the label tourist is exactly just that: a label, a stereotype for someone who travels a lot to new places. Just because some tourists may do things that are distasteful doesn´t speak for everyone who considers themselves to be a tourist and just because a couple of people when visiting foreign countries make fools of themselves doesn´t mean that every tourist is a fool, and to make that assumption is to take part in stereotyping, its just as if you´re saying that all Irish people are drunks, that all Hispanics become pregnant at 15, that every kid from a poor neighborhood sells drugs, that all Asians are good at math and science. There is no such thing as a positive stereotype because you still deprive people of the chance to be individuals.
Whether traveler or tourist, they are still buying water bottles, and yes that contributes to the pollution here, and someone mentioned that if the country invested money in purifying the water that there would be no need to buy bottled water, but I think that statement lacks merit for a couple of reasons. One, to purify the water is expensive, money that this country doesn´t have. Second, even if they implemented a recycling program here, has anyone been to Manhattan? My dad lives in Queens and there´s garbage all in the street and there´s a recycling program there. Third, few people realize that back at home, where I´m from, the drinking water on Long Island has higher standards to meet set by the EPA than is set for Poland Spring, and yet no one drinks tap water there. Even if the water was purified here, people would still buy bottled water, ¨just to be safe¨. Yes, its important to think about what role you play in contributing to the pollution in where you live, and where you visit, but the point is that really there´s no difference between a traveler and a tourist, a tourist is a stereotype and even if you see a difference between the two, both perform the same actions that contribute to pollution.
Another point important to highlight is that economies depend, and thrive off of ¨tourism¨. Look at what happened to the city of New Orleans, that attracted people to party for Mardi Gras, and after Hurricane Katrina, the only people who went there were people that volunteered. What would happen if Miami, and Hawaii experienced the same thing? What if these horrible tourists stopped coming? Tourism provides jobs, it sustains an economy and the city of Granada is developing because people want to come here, tourist or traveler. To say that people should only go to countries in which they identify with, countries in which their heritage lies, is to promote an ignorance, to only learn about your own culture and to say the world is only what you know, and to only learn your own language. Because really if thats what should be done, what is an Irish blonde like me doing in Nicaragua? Why did I bother to learn Spanish, French, and Italian? To educate myself, to go to France, Nicaragua and Italy and participate in the culture, to open my eyes to the fact that the world is not just Long Island, New York. I couldnt believe yesterday when I was working at the school with a girl that in her notebook her teacher drew a map of ¨el mundo¨, or the world, and it was only of Central America.
The nephew that is staying in the room next to mine here is from Canada, and he was here to do his internship for international business. He told me that he worked with his uncle that works for a company that rents out houses or apartments to tourists, and if tourism didn´t exist, what kind of job would he be doing? Would I have even met Marco? Tourism doesn´t suck dry the culture, it doesn´t rob the people and take advantage of them, that´s where the role of governments come in.
Aside from the negative aspect of contributing to pollution, the only downside that I could think of is that it changes the culture and forces the people to learn English, but I found out last night that the people speaking English in the plaza are not Nicaraguense, and in fact the other day a vendor told me in perfect English that hes from Panama and used to live in Brooklyn.
And yes, the conditions are bad here in the schools, but don´t be so quick to dismiss children back at home. At least here, every kid in school gets bed. In Brookfield CT, my 14 year old brother buys his friends lunch because if they don´t have money, if they forget to bring lunch, they dont get fed. In April I met with the Children´s defense fund and they told me that the largest population in the US living in poverty is children and its important to realize that kids stop going to school in the US because they get lice and cant afford to treat it and the schools wont let them back in, kids at home are getting high and having sex and finding their parents drugs and guns, kids in appalachia have mountain dew mouth, their teeth rot because all they drink is mountain dew and they dont have money to go to a dentist and what started in appalachia and has now taken the entire country at storm is the epidemic of abusing prescription pills, children and adults alike. The only difference is its not in front of your face, and if you miss the news special you wont hear about it. Remember, kids cant vote for change, and their voices arent heard so while its good to be here and help these kids, I remember kids from my own country, and I´m not quick to brush them aside.
Remember, addiction, as well as poverty, doesn´t discriminate. Just open your eyes a little and you´ll start to see at home that what we see here, exists there as well.
Whether traveler or tourist, they are still buying water bottles, and yes that contributes to the pollution here, and someone mentioned that if the country invested money in purifying the water that there would be no need to buy bottled water, but I think that statement lacks merit for a couple of reasons. One, to purify the water is expensive, money that this country doesn´t have. Second, even if they implemented a recycling program here, has anyone been to Manhattan? My dad lives in Queens and there´s garbage all in the street and there´s a recycling program there. Third, few people realize that back at home, where I´m from, the drinking water on Long Island has higher standards to meet set by the EPA than is set for Poland Spring, and yet no one drinks tap water there. Even if the water was purified here, people would still buy bottled water, ¨just to be safe¨. Yes, its important to think about what role you play in contributing to the pollution in where you live, and where you visit, but the point is that really there´s no difference between a traveler and a tourist, a tourist is a stereotype and even if you see a difference between the two, both perform the same actions that contribute to pollution.
Another point important to highlight is that economies depend, and thrive off of ¨tourism¨. Look at what happened to the city of New Orleans, that attracted people to party for Mardi Gras, and after Hurricane Katrina, the only people who went there were people that volunteered. What would happen if Miami, and Hawaii experienced the same thing? What if these horrible tourists stopped coming? Tourism provides jobs, it sustains an economy and the city of Granada is developing because people want to come here, tourist or traveler. To say that people should only go to countries in which they identify with, countries in which their heritage lies, is to promote an ignorance, to only learn about your own culture and to say the world is only what you know, and to only learn your own language. Because really if thats what should be done, what is an Irish blonde like me doing in Nicaragua? Why did I bother to learn Spanish, French, and Italian? To educate myself, to go to France, Nicaragua and Italy and participate in the culture, to open my eyes to the fact that the world is not just Long Island, New York. I couldnt believe yesterday when I was working at the school with a girl that in her notebook her teacher drew a map of ¨el mundo¨, or the world, and it was only of Central America.
The nephew that is staying in the room next to mine here is from Canada, and he was here to do his internship for international business. He told me that he worked with his uncle that works for a company that rents out houses or apartments to tourists, and if tourism didn´t exist, what kind of job would he be doing? Would I have even met Marco? Tourism doesn´t suck dry the culture, it doesn´t rob the people and take advantage of them, that´s where the role of governments come in.
Aside from the negative aspect of contributing to pollution, the only downside that I could think of is that it changes the culture and forces the people to learn English, but I found out last night that the people speaking English in the plaza are not Nicaraguense, and in fact the other day a vendor told me in perfect English that hes from Panama and used to live in Brooklyn.
And yes, the conditions are bad here in the schools, but don´t be so quick to dismiss children back at home. At least here, every kid in school gets bed. In Brookfield CT, my 14 year old brother buys his friends lunch because if they don´t have money, if they forget to bring lunch, they dont get fed. In April I met with the Children´s defense fund and they told me that the largest population in the US living in poverty is children and its important to realize that kids stop going to school in the US because they get lice and cant afford to treat it and the schools wont let them back in, kids at home are getting high and having sex and finding their parents drugs and guns, kids in appalachia have mountain dew mouth, their teeth rot because all they drink is mountain dew and they dont have money to go to a dentist and what started in appalachia and has now taken the entire country at storm is the epidemic of abusing prescription pills, children and adults alike. The only difference is its not in front of your face, and if you miss the news special you wont hear about it. Remember, kids cant vote for change, and their voices arent heard so while its good to be here and help these kids, I remember kids from my own country, and I´m not quick to brush them aside.
Remember, addiction, as well as poverty, doesn´t discriminate. Just open your eyes a little and you´ll start to see at home that what we see here, exists there as well.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Nothing I expected; Everything I hoped for
While I was going to write this blog in Spanish, I decided ultimately that I could not articulate my words well enough to express all that I am feeling in a language other than my own. First of all, I think it is important to include a preface, so that the reader can identify more with what I am saying, because they will see my train of thought, and not just the outcome. This trip, in theory was very simple. It was a group of dedicated students traveling to another country to try to help in some small way, while also developing their meager spanish skills (I am of course referring to myself when I speak of the level of fluency in spanish). What one doesn´t realize, is that real life is actually a lot more difficult to understand, when actually experiencing it. Although I recognized that I would participate in this experience, while in the states, I did not realize the dedication required of me, and the multitude of emotions that I would feel during this trip.
Although we are only in the first week of our stay here in Nicaragua, I have seen such beautiful things. I have seen teachers, who despite their overcrowded classrooms, dirty classrooms (for lack of what we call a custodian), and no running water, continue on day by day, making a difference in children´s lives. I have seen families open up their homes to strange people, who do not share their cultural beliefs, and in some cases do not speak a common language. I have seen people on the bus, despite the lack of space crowd in to fit another passenger, although there are already two people sitting in the seat.
Despite the exultation I have felt from seeing the good in people, I have also had some very low moments. Blind, one-eyed men who rely on the generosity of others; others who already lack the resources to make ends meet, but contribute none-the-less. Water that runs blue from the detergent that was used to clean clothes, because people lack the amazing appliances called ¨washer and dryer¨--which solves two problems in one, cleaning our clothes and clearing our conscious of the damage we are doing to the earth (by emiting CFC´s--unseen toxic gases).
I do not mean to make anyone uncomfortable by what I say, but I speak the truth. I want to share my feelings with others in attempt to change the present into a better future. We can no longer avoid the solving the problem, because it makes us uncomfortable to think of other´s suffering, because in the end, they are suffering whether or not you are thinking of them.
This is my experience, an opening of consciousness...and for that I am very grateful. I hope to bring ESPERANZA to the future, not only of our country, but to the world.
Although we are only in the first week of our stay here in Nicaragua, I have seen such beautiful things. I have seen teachers, who despite their overcrowded classrooms, dirty classrooms (for lack of what we call a custodian), and no running water, continue on day by day, making a difference in children´s lives. I have seen families open up their homes to strange people, who do not share their cultural beliefs, and in some cases do not speak a common language. I have seen people on the bus, despite the lack of space crowd in to fit another passenger, although there are already two people sitting in the seat.
Despite the exultation I have felt from seeing the good in people, I have also had some very low moments. Blind, one-eyed men who rely on the generosity of others; others who already lack the resources to make ends meet, but contribute none-the-less. Water that runs blue from the detergent that was used to clean clothes, because people lack the amazing appliances called ¨washer and dryer¨--which solves two problems in one, cleaning our clothes and clearing our conscious of the damage we are doing to the earth (by emiting CFC´s--unseen toxic gases).
I do not mean to make anyone uncomfortable by what I say, but I speak the truth. I want to share my feelings with others in attempt to change the present into a better future. We can no longer avoid the solving the problem, because it makes us uncomfortable to think of other´s suffering, because in the end, they are suffering whether or not you are thinking of them.
This is my experience, an opening of consciousness...and for that I am very grateful. I hope to bring ESPERANZA to the future, not only of our country, but to the world.
Nicaraguan NGOs
This morning in our Spanish conversation class, my group somehow got on the subject of the government and I saw it as a perfect opportunity to gauge our professor´s opinion of the political history of Nicaragua and the current debates they are having. He mentioned the Somoza dictatorship, what a victory the revolution was and how Daniel Ortega (the current president) played such an integral role. He then went on to lament the fraud that occurred during Aleman´s presidency and the current deception in the second presidency of Ortega. I don´t understand how someone like Ortega who played such an important role in ending the Somoza´s ruling can be so dedicated to the people during one presidency and then be so greedy and fraudulent several years later. He wants to do the same thing he called out the Somozas for doing, extend his presidency for more years than is constitutionally permitted in order to keep himself in power and keep the benefits coming his way.
All of this leads me to the project that I am currently beginning. As president, Ortega has called out several non-governmental organizations for being money launderers and fraudulent. In Nicaragua, there are NGO´s that support the citizens here such as schools and clinics, and there are also NGO´s that demand the rights gauranteed to Nicaraguans in the constitution, such as womens´rights movements. The organizations that Ortega has accused are the latter, saying that they are trying to destabilize the current government. He says they are commiting ¨tercerizacion¨ in which funds coming from outside the country are being used to destablize the Nicaraguan government. He believes they are money laundering and bringing in money illegaly to commit this crime. However, three months after raiding several organizations, the government still does not have any proof of their claims whatsoever.
This is a very bold accusation to make, especially without having any evidence. In addition ot ridiculas accusations, Ortega enacted new laws and deadlines that all NGO´s had to comply with in order to continue working within the country. This left the organizations scrambling to meet deadlines, which was understandably frustrating when they are only trying to help. In his hopes of discouraging these specific NGO´s that challenge his authority, he is also going to discourage the NGO´s that are relinquishing the government of their responsabilities. The NGO´s that provide schooling and healthcare are going to get fed up with his demands and decide that Nicaragua is too difficult to work with, creating more work for the government, and leaving the citizens even worse off than they are currently.
I don´t understand how Ortega can make these accusations. The organizations he is calling out are not radical at all, they are simply trying to give Nicaraguans their constitutional rights. The government wants to allow organizations to finance the citizens well-being, so that it is not their responsability, but not any activity that would challenge the government´s present agenda. The government says it is against the destabalizing of the government, but isn´t challenging the government a constitutional right? These organizations have been very clear about the origins of their funds. They in turn are claiming that the government is trying to suppress the country´s journalists so that the government´s own corruption and lack of transparancy is not evident to the rest of the country.
After doing all this research and reading countless articles from Nicaraguan newspapers, I have come to the conclusion that the government is making these accusations and restrictions as a way to silence their opposition, intimidate them and formce them into self-censurship. They want to monopolize the political floor by making sure they are the only ones that have a voice. To achieve this, the new laws allow them to decide where money goes, so they can direct it to NGO´s the support citizens´ health and education instead of their civil rights movements. The government seems to want to create not a civil democratic soceity, but rather a government that is more totalitarian in nature. To accomplish this goal, the government needed to justifythe restrictions and therefore made the accusations against these specific NGO´s.
All of this leads me to the project that I am currently beginning. As president, Ortega has called out several non-governmental organizations for being money launderers and fraudulent. In Nicaragua, there are NGO´s that support the citizens here such as schools and clinics, and there are also NGO´s that demand the rights gauranteed to Nicaraguans in the constitution, such as womens´rights movements. The organizations that Ortega has accused are the latter, saying that they are trying to destabilize the current government. He says they are commiting ¨tercerizacion¨ in which funds coming from outside the country are being used to destablize the Nicaraguan government. He believes they are money laundering and bringing in money illegaly to commit this crime. However, three months after raiding several organizations, the government still does not have any proof of their claims whatsoever.
This is a very bold accusation to make, especially without having any evidence. In addition ot ridiculas accusations, Ortega enacted new laws and deadlines that all NGO´s had to comply with in order to continue working within the country. This left the organizations scrambling to meet deadlines, which was understandably frustrating when they are only trying to help. In his hopes of discouraging these specific NGO´s that challenge his authority, he is also going to discourage the NGO´s that are relinquishing the government of their responsabilities. The NGO´s that provide schooling and healthcare are going to get fed up with his demands and decide that Nicaragua is too difficult to work with, creating more work for the government, and leaving the citizens even worse off than they are currently.
I don´t understand how Ortega can make these accusations. The organizations he is calling out are not radical at all, they are simply trying to give Nicaraguans their constitutional rights. The government wants to allow organizations to finance the citizens well-being, so that it is not their responsability, but not any activity that would challenge the government´s present agenda. The government says it is against the destabalizing of the government, but isn´t challenging the government a constitutional right? These organizations have been very clear about the origins of their funds. They in turn are claiming that the government is trying to suppress the country´s journalists so that the government´s own corruption and lack of transparancy is not evident to the rest of the country.
After doing all this research and reading countless articles from Nicaraguan newspapers, I have come to the conclusion that the government is making these accusations and restrictions as a way to silence their opposition, intimidate them and formce them into self-censurship. They want to monopolize the political floor by making sure they are the only ones that have a voice. To achieve this, the new laws allow them to decide where money goes, so they can direct it to NGO´s the support citizens´ health and education instead of their civil rights movements. The government seems to want to create not a civil democratic soceity, but rather a government that is more totalitarian in nature. To accomplish this goal, the government needed to justifythe restrictions and therefore made the accusations against these specific NGO´s.
Between Scylla and Charybdis
As I reflected in my previous post, I have been thinking a lot about contrasts. As in the internet cafe and type this, I am spending for an hour of internet more than the average Nicaraguan earns in a month. I have traveled more than most people my age, mostly in developing countries, and I feel that my experiences have helped me learn about the world and people around me. I have learned about the shared commonalities of humanity, and I have come to the conclusion that the divide between rich and poor lies in finances alone. All classes share hopes, dreams, problems, fears and illnesses. The differences are more superficial than one might think.
(Turismas - a common sight. Often more common than Granadinas!)
Although I have been ashamed of the behavior of Americans and other tourists in my travels, my disgust has been especially pronounced on this trip. I have been trying to pinpoint the reason for this and I am grasping for explanations why I feel this way. I have been contemplating my motivations for travel and trying to weigh in my mind if they are worthy or valid. There are many reasons why I feel uncomfortable being here. I am aware of the judgments that I project based on my stereotypes, and I recognize that I might often be wrong. That is one of the reasons why I feel so uncomfortable - I know that others are projecting their judgments onto me, based on my pale skin and huge backpack that is my constant companion.
Last night at the volunteer meeting, the topic of tourist vs. traveler was raised. I feel like tourists come to a place to consume a culture without really caring about or respecting it, while a traveler gains knoweldge of a culture while respecting its people. There was more to it than that, but it is difficult to distill a conversation shared into a blog post. I have spoken to Dra. Skar about this, and this post is not what I intended it to be, and I have not written what I wanted to say, but hopefully I will find the words somehow.
Am I a tourist or a traveler? I don´t know. Maybe that is why I am so uncomfortable. Many of the things that I dislike or find distasteful I often do myself. When I was walking through the barrio on the way home from one of the schools yesterday, I saw a tourist sitting in the backseat of a taxi pour an entire bottle of filtered water over a bunch of mamónes (sweet and tart citrus fruits). When the tourist finished pouring the clean water that he would never drink over the fruits that he would probably never finish, he threw the bottle ¨away¨. There is no ¨away¨, and when people from the ¨First World¨ consume the rest of the world, often through the assistance of petroleum, the environment suffers. It will not be the ¨First World¨ that feels the effects of climate change - it will be the countries that they consume. That I have consumed. And I feel sick about it.
Why does genocide tourism exist? Why do people go on tours to the slums of India and other places in the world, to see how the poorest people in the world live, to consume their poverty and suffering? When they leave, they go back to their air conditioning and their wireless internet and filtered ice water and the pictures that they took so that they can consume. I think that the consumption is what bothers me the most, and that it is so easy to engage in without a second thought.
As I type this, right now, the woman next to me is talking about the consumption of Nicaraguan women. ¨...And he told me the paternity suit left a bad taste in his mouth, but he doesn´t care, because he just found another woman, and that it doesn´t matter anyway because all the women are beautiful and on the tourist street they grab his ass when he walks by...¨ No lo creo. But maybe it goes both ways. I´m not naive or colonial enough to rob Nicaraguans of agency, and if I were a woman here, who knows how I would be.
I do think that we have an obligation to help each other as humans, regardless of nationality, and I often use that as a justification for my travels, as many of my trips have been volunteer-based. Still, what gives me the right to travel to another country to volunteer to study just because I think it would enrich my life and hopefully the lives of others? Who am I to decide?
While in Granada, our group has the privilege of working with La Esperanza Granada, an organization dedicated to community development and the education of children. I am enthused about learning through service, and I believe that giving back to Nicaragua an obligation, especially as I am watching myself learn and grow through being here.
What gives me the right to be here? I don´t know. What gives someone the right to travel to a country that they have no natural ties to, besides the fact that they have money? I have seen so much disrespect and disregard for Nicaraguan culture and Nicaraguan people, and it is not an attitude limited to this country - I have seen it on my other travels as well.
When you bite into a mamón, it is a mixture of sweet and tart and bitter flesh wrapped around a pit. The flavor is constantly changing. You suck the fruit out and roll it around in your mouth until the flesh is gone and you are left with the pit. Somehow, I find that eating a mamón is a apt metaphor for being here and my emotional state. It is easy to digest the fruit, but I am left alone with the hard inner pit of my thoughts and the difficulty trying to reconcile my actions. What right do I have to be here?
-Mercedes
(Turismas - a common sight. Often more common than Granadinas!)
Although I have been ashamed of the behavior of Americans and other tourists in my travels, my disgust has been especially pronounced on this trip. I have been trying to pinpoint the reason for this and I am grasping for explanations why I feel this way. I have been contemplating my motivations for travel and trying to weigh in my mind if they are worthy or valid. There are many reasons why I feel uncomfortable being here. I am aware of the judgments that I project based on my stereotypes, and I recognize that I might often be wrong. That is one of the reasons why I feel so uncomfortable - I know that others are projecting their judgments onto me, based on my pale skin and huge backpack that is my constant companion.
Last night at the volunteer meeting, the topic of tourist vs. traveler was raised. I feel like tourists come to a place to consume a culture without really caring about or respecting it, while a traveler gains knoweldge of a culture while respecting its people. There was more to it than that, but it is difficult to distill a conversation shared into a blog post. I have spoken to Dra. Skar about this, and this post is not what I intended it to be, and I have not written what I wanted to say, but hopefully I will find the words somehow.
Am I a tourist or a traveler? I don´t know. Maybe that is why I am so uncomfortable. Many of the things that I dislike or find distasteful I often do myself. When I was walking through the barrio on the way home from one of the schools yesterday, I saw a tourist sitting in the backseat of a taxi pour an entire bottle of filtered water over a bunch of mamónes (sweet and tart citrus fruits). When the tourist finished pouring the clean water that he would never drink over the fruits that he would probably never finish, he threw the bottle ¨away¨. There is no ¨away¨, and when people from the ¨First World¨ consume the rest of the world, often through the assistance of petroleum, the environment suffers. It will not be the ¨First World¨ that feels the effects of climate change - it will be the countries that they consume. That I have consumed. And I feel sick about it.
Why does genocide tourism exist? Why do people go on tours to the slums of India and other places in the world, to see how the poorest people in the world live, to consume their poverty and suffering? When they leave, they go back to their air conditioning and their wireless internet and filtered ice water and the pictures that they took so that they can consume. I think that the consumption is what bothers me the most, and that it is so easy to engage in without a second thought.
As I type this, right now, the woman next to me is talking about the consumption of Nicaraguan women. ¨...And he told me the paternity suit left a bad taste in his mouth, but he doesn´t care, because he just found another woman, and that it doesn´t matter anyway because all the women are beautiful and on the tourist street they grab his ass when he walks by...¨ No lo creo. But maybe it goes both ways. I´m not naive or colonial enough to rob Nicaraguans of agency, and if I were a woman here, who knows how I would be.
I do think that we have an obligation to help each other as humans, regardless of nationality, and I often use that as a justification for my travels, as many of my trips have been volunteer-based. Still, what gives me the right to travel to another country to volunteer to study just because I think it would enrich my life and hopefully the lives of others? Who am I to decide?
While in Granada, our group has the privilege of working with La Esperanza Granada, an organization dedicated to community development and the education of children. I am enthused about learning through service, and I believe that giving back to Nicaragua an obligation, especially as I am watching myself learn and grow through being here.
What gives me the right to be here? I don´t know. What gives someone the right to travel to a country that they have no natural ties to, besides the fact that they have money? I have seen so much disrespect and disregard for Nicaraguan culture and Nicaraguan people, and it is not an attitude limited to this country - I have seen it on my other travels as well.
When you bite into a mamón, it is a mixture of sweet and tart and bitter flesh wrapped around a pit. The flavor is constantly changing. You suck the fruit out and roll it around in your mouth until the flesh is gone and you are left with the pit. Somehow, I find that eating a mamón is a apt metaphor for being here and my emotional state. It is easy to digest the fruit, but I am left alone with the hard inner pit of my thoughts and the difficulty trying to reconcile my actions. What right do I have to be here?
-Mercedes
Primeras impresións
(The Cathedral in center of Granada)
It is impossible to separate history and economics, especially in Central America. The marriage of politics, economics and history is especially apparent in Granada, a city of sharply pronounced contradictions. In the short time I have been here, what has stood out most is the contrasts. Granada is the oldest colonial city in the Americas, and although the Spaniards may have officially left in 1821, the colonists are still here. They are now tourists.
We arrived three days ago and I have already lost track of time - I could have been here a week, or a month. Everything feels malleable - the time, the texture of my skin, language. Nicaraguans often drop the final S on the end of a word - Adiós becomes adió, gracias becomes gracias, and so forth. Although Gabriel Garcia Marquez is Colombian, one comes to understand how Latin America is the birthplace of magical realism. Anything seems possible in this insufferable heat and humidity and as I sit in an internet cafe typing this, salsa music plays, trucks barrel past and children shout in the streets, playing their games. I hope they are playing games.
In my short life, I have been blessed enough to travel to five continents and twelve countries. What gives me that right? I have the money and I have the resources, but this time is different. I have cried every day, sometimes several times a day, and I often find myself holding back tears as I walk through the central square.
Nicaragua is similar to Costa Rica, Jamaica, Brazil and Ghana - the other tropical countries I have been that are greatly impacted by decisions made by foreign countries. I am not comparing Nicaragua to the other countries that I named because the culture is similar - I have witnessed for myself how previous and modern foreign policy shapes and scars the landscape and the people. In Costa Rica, the land had literally been ripped apart. There were huge gouges in the hills where the topsoil formed ribbons that snaked into the ocean. I was very young when I was there, but I remember that. I remember the children who were my age, who I gave toys to... And where are they now? Have their lives changed? Has the land I traveled through started to heal? My boyfriend traveled to Costa Rica in January and his pictures looked like I remember - destruction for profit. For whose profit? For how long?
Our first day in Nicaragua we traveled to Laguna de Apoyo, the volcanic lake under the protection of the Nicaraguan government. We hiked down a steep incline to plant trees in the soil around the lake. Five years ago you could see the lake from the road, and now the trees are high enough for monkeys to climb and play and have families of their own. That makes my heart happy.
(Laguna de Apoyo)
What breaks my heart the most is the future of the children of Nicaragua. I was walking through the market and a man with a backpack walked past shouting ¨superglue! superglue!¨ Drug addiction and alcoholism is a problem for the street children of Granada, and inexpensive glue is often the drug of choice. When I walk to the convent in the morning for my classes, I saw a boy passed out on a stoop with a tube of glue shoved in his face. Was he dulling the pain? It was 7:30am and he couldn´t have been more than 10 years old. Today when I was walking through the market, I got a sharp whiff of glue that lasted for more than a second. It made me sick to my stomach for more than a moment and I felt dizzy. It wasn´t the smell of the glue that made me sick - I knew what it was, and what it was for, and I started crying. What else could I do?
The tourist brochures leave out the lost boys, the houses without windows, toilets and kitchens for a reason. Without attractions, foreigners would not come and ¨improve¨ the economy with their business and superior currencies. Is tourism bad? I don´t know. Yo soy turismo (I am a tourist) - I travel and I try to support the local economy in what I feel is an appropriate and respectful manner. I see tourists, who come in various flavors but have the shared commonality of money. They are often dressed well (and inappropriately), with expensive digital cameras to record their ¨awesome vaction¨ and huge backpacks, but when the children come to beg, they shoo them away. I don´t think it´s cool or OK to go on vacation and get drunk, rowdy and disrespectful in public, even if you paid a lot of money and it´s your free time, even if it puts money into the local economy. Because I am old enough now, the bipolarity of luxury and crushing, wrenching poverty here is painfully obvious to me. Does anyone else notice the street children and the old, dirty clothing on the vendors when they take their pictures in the central square like they are tourist attractions, similar to the cathedrals and colonial mansions?
When people tell me that I should help the children in the United States, that there is poverty at home, I tell them that I know. I do know. I don´t think that they know how bad it is here, and here could be anywhere in the so-called ¨third world¨. Sometimes I feel so lost and I don´t know what I can do to help. I know that no matter what I do, no matter how much I do, it will never, ever be enough.
-Mercedes DeMasi
"Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...Oh My"
Although first read in Graduate school, I now have reason to reread and reflect on the writing of Thomas Belt's, The Naturalist in Nicaragua, one of the greatest record of the tropics of more than 100 years. I am encouraging our students to really focus on this work as we travel from ecosystem to ecosystem for two reasons. First to see examples of excellent descriptions of plants and animals and what these organisms are doing, and realize that this text represents his travel journal, thus a product of leisurely travel. Keep in mind that Belt was an engineer and his precise descriptions have been the starting point for serious scientific work in ecology and evolution, which was not his field of expertise. This brings me to my second reason for having students read Belt's documentation of Nicaragua in the 1800's. As we take notes in our journals ask yourself if what we are recording will be what students in the next century will want to know about Nicaragua, and the details of it's people and natural resources. Can we contribute to Belt's legacy and help develop a timeline of documented change or will our time here contribute to the gap of global knowledge that exists today regarding tropical biology?
Our day in the field was so rewarding for me, not so much because of the tropical species I witnessed and can add to my life list, but because students I had in Bio100 (WCSU's non-major science course) could make connections between what they were observing and theories we had discussed in class! Ideas of symbiosis between organisms, defense strategies in organisms, and intra-species behavior. Conversations about introduced species and habitat destruction. Conversations about water, sunlight, soil, and ecosystems. I am watching biology majors touch, hear, and see the world around them and the depth of their ideas of how the natural world functions. Exciting to think where these young minds can take me. What a refreshing way to observe students learn!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Hola, aqui Javier. Excelente idea tener una pagina de comentarios. Me disculpan que no puedo encontrar el "acento" o "tilde" en español en esta maquina aqui en el ciber-cafe, al lado de "Tres Mundos". Uhhh, ¿por que TRES mundos? pienso que es por los tres razas que se unen en la poblacion de Nicaragua, y que es aplicable a toda Centro America y el Caribe, por lo menos en esta region donde estamos ahora todos, Uds. y yo. Pienso que el querido amigo Pedro Javier Solis Cuadra nos hablara mañana miercoles en la tarde sobre eso.
Bueno, solo algo muy breve aqui. Es buena idea que escriban lo que deseen, impresiones de lo que Uds. ven, preguntas tambien, reflexiones, etc. Es cierto, hemos llegado a la OTRA AMERICA, o al OTRO MUNDO. ¿por que?... Bueno, Uds. piensen y pueden escribir sobre eso aqui tambien.
abrazos a todos,
Javier
Bueno, solo algo muy breve aqui. Es buena idea que escriban lo que deseen, impresiones de lo que Uds. ven, preguntas tambien, reflexiones, etc. Es cierto, hemos llegado a la OTRA AMERICA, o al OTRO MUNDO. ¿por que?... Bueno, Uds. piensen y pueden escribir sobre eso aqui tambien.
abrazos a todos,
Javier
Monday, July 27, 2009
Bienvenidos
For someone who loves teaching there is a unique joy in witnessing students' learning as it happens. My favorite moments are when students don't realize I'm there or looking, or they think I don't notice how hard they have worked, how much they have sacrificed, what difficulties they have faced or doubts they have had, to overcome, to grow, to learn to love learning.
We left Connecticut in a thunderstorm, left Miami in a thunderstorm, and arrived in Managua just after the rain had stopped. It was as though nature had welcomed us here with a sense of freshness and rebirth of winter rains.
We arrived at the airport and our friends from Nicaragua (Raul and Maria Elena, his sister) were waiting for us with our bus. All of our luggage arrived safely, even the 12 suitcases of donations for La Esperanza-Granada packed last minute with supplies for the schools.
After trying some Caballo bayo and Vigoron at a great restaurant along the way to Granada, the greatest test of my planning and trust in our friends in Nicaragua was just up ahead. We arrived in Granada for students to meet their families here. I was so happy to see so many smiles and hugs as though they had known each other forever, others who were more wary, but willing, to walk through the door into an unknown world, a new culture, the magic place that is the Nicaraguan house, like no other I have ever experienced in the world. We were all so tired after traveling all night, no one really having slept from anticipation, that everyone just seemed glad to have a home, their Nica mom waiting with the warmth that characterizes the people I have met here.
After students were sleeping and my cell phone did not ring, I knew we were going to be fine for the rest of the month. After so many sleepless nights of preparing, we are finally here. Students can begin to come to love what I see in this extraordinary people and culture: tenacity, poetic passion, devotion, and extraordinary generosity of spirit.
The next morning began early at 8 am with a conversation on reforestation, climate, lakes and volcanoes. We worked with a local community at Laguna de Apoyo and MARENA (Nicaragua's National Conservation Agency) on a reforestation project. We planted trees, had lunch, and swam in a volcano lake. It was quite a physical day, and we know next time to take gloves for everyone and require boots for hiking. The students experienced first-hand conservation in a developing country rather than pre-packed ecotourism. There is such a difference here in Nicaragua from Costa Rica that is so close. It is real, the earth, the land, and the people, without the scale tipping to unsustainable tourism, such as the mall in the Monteverde cloud forest. There is no mall here in Mombacho. Let's hope there never will be more than trees, birds, and the life of a beneficent volcano.
The students had great fun in the lake, which was a well-earned reward for all their efforts. It was a good reward for me too. I have to remember that it is ok to just have fun once in a while and laugh and swim and eat well. I am amazed at the energy of their youth, watching them play for hours, so many of them at that point between childhood and the long years of adult life. I hope they always keep their ability to play.
It is a learning experience for me to travel with a biologist and realize how differently we analyze learning experiences in the same context and where we can find points of contact between disciplines to create a dialogue for learning that we want students to have. We talk about it often. It is a challenge to make it happen, to go outside of the rigidity of our discplinary silos. The structure is not there in traditional education. We have to build those bridges, and there are so many challenges, and few well trained architects. I often feel like I am still playing with pick up sticks.
Dora's Spanish is really impressive, and she is so eager to learn, always asking questions that I would have never thought to ask. I think she is a real inspiration to the students. I hope I can inspire them as much with my interest in learning about conservation and science.
Today we had our small group language practice and volunteer work orientation in the morning, and dedicated the afternoon to a study of architecture in Granada and its relationship to colonialism, diversity of cultures, and economic development. Students at every level are getting challenged, which is good. Some need reminders that they won't understand every word and need to learn how to read ideas rather than translate. By the end of the month, they will be experts. They are so willing to work at it, even when I see they are tired. It is a fabulous group, the best one I have had. Of course, there are little details in the schedule to tweak here and there, but to be expected since this is our first time here.
I'm working 8-8 everyday and writing this at midnight now that Javier fixed the wireless at home, which is why the blog started a bit late. Dora worked on the satellite phone and the projector today while I went to the bank at lunchtime. The best thing about the bank was the long line, which I stood in twice. It was heaven. There was air conditioning! :-) It probably wasn't very green, but I am not superhuman. Noted.
I love this country and this city. The students can find their way around Granada easily and walk everywhere. They will take buses starting tomorrow in the volunteer placements in the schools... We will update then and post photos...
Poesia para pensar...
A ceibo tree's first century was begun
by a bird.
It drank
years of night rain. It swelled
with the vast stuff of earth,
unclean sap and forces
that only chemistry pardons. (A tree
is more thoroughly to blame than a corpse;
but its coffin keeps growing, rising to become a house,
a palace of stars, a factory
of feverish sweat and apogee.) Come
see this pavilion of physics,
this loom for weaving chlorophyl--leaves,
fruit, pollen's lust
and the wedlock of acorns: industrial
development of cellulose, active
and passive agents, numbers, columns...
The statistics show
all the years of hard work. And those
who are always passing judgement, devote
the energies of their articles to understand it.
But this tree we behold
with all its laws and majesty and cells
in round figures was built
so that on an April day
a branch would bear the weight of a singing
bird!
--Pablo Antonio Cuadra
We left Connecticut in a thunderstorm, left Miami in a thunderstorm, and arrived in Managua just after the rain had stopped. It was as though nature had welcomed us here with a sense of freshness and rebirth of winter rains.
We arrived at the airport and our friends from Nicaragua (Raul and Maria Elena, his sister) were waiting for us with our bus. All of our luggage arrived safely, even the 12 suitcases of donations for La Esperanza-Granada packed last minute with supplies for the schools.
After trying some Caballo bayo and Vigoron at a great restaurant along the way to Granada, the greatest test of my planning and trust in our friends in Nicaragua was just up ahead. We arrived in Granada for students to meet their families here. I was so happy to see so many smiles and hugs as though they had known each other forever, others who were more wary, but willing, to walk through the door into an unknown world, a new culture, the magic place that is the Nicaraguan house, like no other I have ever experienced in the world. We were all so tired after traveling all night, no one really having slept from anticipation, that everyone just seemed glad to have a home, their Nica mom waiting with the warmth that characterizes the people I have met here.
After students were sleeping and my cell phone did not ring, I knew we were going to be fine for the rest of the month. After so many sleepless nights of preparing, we are finally here. Students can begin to come to love what I see in this extraordinary people and culture: tenacity, poetic passion, devotion, and extraordinary generosity of spirit.
The next morning began early at 8 am with a conversation on reforestation, climate, lakes and volcanoes. We worked with a local community at Laguna de Apoyo and MARENA (Nicaragua's National Conservation Agency) on a reforestation project. We planted trees, had lunch, and swam in a volcano lake. It was quite a physical day, and we know next time to take gloves for everyone and require boots for hiking. The students experienced first-hand conservation in a developing country rather than pre-packed ecotourism. There is such a difference here in Nicaragua from Costa Rica that is so close. It is real, the earth, the land, and the people, without the scale tipping to unsustainable tourism, such as the mall in the Monteverde cloud forest. There is no mall here in Mombacho. Let's hope there never will be more than trees, birds, and the life of a beneficent volcano.
The students had great fun in the lake, which was a well-earned reward for all their efforts. It was a good reward for me too. I have to remember that it is ok to just have fun once in a while and laugh and swim and eat well. I am amazed at the energy of their youth, watching them play for hours, so many of them at that point between childhood and the long years of adult life. I hope they always keep their ability to play.
It is a learning experience for me to travel with a biologist and realize how differently we analyze learning experiences in the same context and where we can find points of contact between disciplines to create a dialogue for learning that we want students to have. We talk about it often. It is a challenge to make it happen, to go outside of the rigidity of our discplinary silos. The structure is not there in traditional education. We have to build those bridges, and there are so many challenges, and few well trained architects. I often feel like I am still playing with pick up sticks.
Dora's Spanish is really impressive, and she is so eager to learn, always asking questions that I would have never thought to ask. I think she is a real inspiration to the students. I hope I can inspire them as much with my interest in learning about conservation and science.
Today we had our small group language practice and volunteer work orientation in the morning, and dedicated the afternoon to a study of architecture in Granada and its relationship to colonialism, diversity of cultures, and economic development. Students at every level are getting challenged, which is good. Some need reminders that they won't understand every word and need to learn how to read ideas rather than translate. By the end of the month, they will be experts. They are so willing to work at it, even when I see they are tired. It is a fabulous group, the best one I have had. Of course, there are little details in the schedule to tweak here and there, but to be expected since this is our first time here.
I'm working 8-8 everyday and writing this at midnight now that Javier fixed the wireless at home, which is why the blog started a bit late. Dora worked on the satellite phone and the projector today while I went to the bank at lunchtime. The best thing about the bank was the long line, which I stood in twice. It was heaven. There was air conditioning! :-) It probably wasn't very green, but I am not superhuman. Noted.
I love this country and this city. The students can find their way around Granada easily and walk everywhere. They will take buses starting tomorrow in the volunteer placements in the schools... We will update then and post photos...
Poesia para pensar...
A ceibo tree's first century was begun
by a bird.
It drank
years of night rain. It swelled
with the vast stuff of earth,
unclean sap and forces
that only chemistry pardons. (A tree
is more thoroughly to blame than a corpse;
but its coffin keeps growing, rising to become a house,
a palace of stars, a factory
of feverish sweat and apogee.) Come
see this pavilion of physics,
this loom for weaving chlorophyl--leaves,
fruit, pollen's lust
and the wedlock of acorns: industrial
development of cellulose, active
and passive agents, numbers, columns...
The statistics show
all the years of hard work. And those
who are always passing judgement, devote
the energies of their articles to understand it.
But this tree we behold
with all its laws and majesty and cells
in round figures was built
so that on an April day
a branch would bear the weight of a singing
bird!
--Pablo Antonio Cuadra
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