Primer Dia

Site from the car as we were driving to Esteli.  There were a lot
of poor little houses along the side of the road.
Sorry about the quality, it's hard to take pictures from a
moving vehicle.

So, I have no internet connection right now, but I figured I might as well write an entry to post later.  Today was an interesting day.  I'm now staying with a family in Esteli.  One of my colleagues is staying with me, too.  She did Peace Corp in Fiji and stayed with a family for a few months.  According to her, this is the nicest house she has stayed in with a host family.  It is really nice.  It feels like we have our own apartment.  Of course, we're sharing that apartment, but that doesn't make it any less nice.Anyway, this morning I woke up to the sound of the birds again, a little earlier than yesterday, but not by much.  I went out for breakfast, and while I was eating my colleagues showed up one by one.  Only Donny and I stayed in the hotel where we were meeting.  Still, it was nice, despite the lack of hot water.  There is something about taking a cool shower that makes you not feel quite as clean afterward.
After everyone arrived, we had to figure out our trip to the embassy.  We didn't have the name of the person we were supposed to meet, and weren't even sure of the time of the appointment.  We tried calling, but couldn't get a hold of anyone.  So, we just went.  We ended up waiting at the embassy for a little while before we finally had our meeting.  It was just to get information about the security situation.

My nice big bed

One thing stuck out in my mind.  On Saturday when I was going around with Maria Jose and Manuel, Maria Jose had said that we were safe once we got out of a taxi.  She explained that taxis are dangerous.  I didn't understand everything she said, but I thought she said that some drivers have an arrangement with some criminals.  I guess this is a part of what is called express kidnappings, which we were told is a problem in Managua.  That made me really glad I wasn't wandering around Managua by myself the whole time.
After our meeting, we got to see the consular section, since I'm going to be working as a consular officer in CJ.  It wasn't as large as I imagine the section in CJ is, they only have 6 interview windows which is smaller than the interview room at FSI.  But it was interesting.
We went to a Nicaraguan restaurant near the hotel.  Our teacher had us try some Nicaraguan food, tostanos (? I think that's the name, a fried little cake with a fried chunk of cheese on top) and some older dish that actually had vieja in the name.  I wish I could remember it.  It was good, though.

The main room, definitely feels like an apartment!

We walked back to the hotel to wait for our last colleague to arrive and for our ride to Esteli.  It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Managua.  I saw a lot of poverty along the way.  Right now is especially bad because they are at the end of the dry season.  The cows were all horribly skinny, with ribs showing.  Apparently they fatten up quickly during the rainy season.
A lot of people in rural areas have animals to help feed their families.  Many work for someone who owns land, in cultivation.  Some have a small piece of land for themselves.  Living in poverty isn't always a bad thing, though.  I was talking with my house-mate about this actually, and she pointed out that the poverty in the U.S. is sometimes worse than the poverty in the rest of the world.  Maybe it has to do with the disparity between the top and the bottom.  When there's a large gap, there is more violence, drugs, and crime.  On the other hand, when everyone is poor, that's just the way of life, and that's no reason to be unhappy.
It's true, people don't seem unhappy here.  But I can't help feeling how different my life is compared to theirs, and all because of an accident of birth.  I could very easily have been born here.  Then what would my life be like?  How would I be surviving?

The view of Esteli from our Balcony

Ivania is the name of the mother of the family with whom we are staying.  Their house is actually a hostal, so they always have a lot of people staying here.  We had dinner, and afterward, we went into the kitchen to see if we could help.  She showed us how to make tortas, a common Nicaraguan food.  It is made of eggs, rice, cheese, and ham.  Everything is mixed together and formed into patties, then fried.  I was too full to try it, but it is probably very good.  I think we may try it tomorrow.
While there, we talked with her in Spanish for a long time.  It was good to see that I could have a normal conversation in Spanish with a native speaker.  Maybe I have a shot at passing my Spanish exam in 5 weeks!