Papel reciclado

Heathcliff Mural

It is pouring right now.  This is the first rain of the year.  It signals the beginning of winter.  It is really coming down, but I have to go back to the school in 20 minutes for a one-on-one with the teacher that came with us.  If I would have known how bad it was going to get, I would have just gone to the school.  Oh well.
Today was my second day in the Spanish school.  We started at 7:30 this morning, so it was a little longer.  The first 2 1/2 hours, Rosa and I spent talking about the education system here in Esteli.  She doesn't know much about how it compares to the rest of the country, but it was interesting.

A pretty red flower that I saw while walking.

So here they have three levels: preschool, elementary school, and college (which is like high school).  The preschool is generally for ages 3-5.  Elementary school starts at age 5 and goes for 7 years.  College is the next 5 years after that.  Most kids graduate at 16 or 17.  In order to graduate, depending on the school, they have to do service and also a large research project.  It seems like there are some good options for education here.  That surprised me because we just talked about this in Mexico, and education in Mexico is horrible.  The Mexican woman that I talked to told me that she worked in a school where there was no bathroom for the kids.  They had to go home during the day when they needed to use the bathroom!  She asked the principal why they didn't have a bathroom and she said that they didn't have money.  Later she found out from the board of education that they had given money enough to build 5 bathrooms!  But the principal bought herself a new car instead.

Another interesting mural, too bad it was graffitied, too.

But that's Mexico.  Here in Nicaragua seems a little better.  They also have three different types of schools: private, public, and subsidized.  The subsidized schools rely on a little money from the government and the rest from dues that the parents pay.  They nice thing about the colegio (which in this case is both the primary and secondary schools in one school) where Rosa works in the afternoon is that the amount that parents pay depends on how much they can afford.  And the parents decide how much they can afford.  But it is generally between 50 and 150 Cordobas per child per month.  Those who can afford more make up for those who can't afford it.  And if a family falls on hard times, they have fundraisers to help raise the money to support that kid.  It seems like they are a little more concerned about their childrens' education here, even though I understand there is a high level of illiteracy.  The government recently has been doing programs to educate the farmers and anyone who cannot read, well, at least to teach them how to read, with the idea of 100% literacy.  It will be interesting to see if they can succeed at that.

The women environmentalists - previously engaged in
composting, now engaged in recycling paper.

Apparently the subsidized schools are better than the private schools.  That surprised me.  I wonder why that is.
After class, and after lunch, we had an excursion with the school to see an environmental project.  They recycle paper at this place.  It started off as a place to compost, but because of the smell, the neighbors weren't very happy, and they decided to recycle paper instead.  It's pretty interesting.  They make the paper into things to sell.  What they sell pays for the cost of running the place, and if there is anything left, it is split among the workers.
On our way back, we walked down the market street.  One of my colleagues was given two little crickets made from palm fronds.  She gave one to me.  It's pretty cute.
Well, I suppose I may be getting soaked soon.  I have to leave in about 5 minutes and it is still raining . . .

One of the founders of the Women Environmentalists.

Me in front of the mural showing the founding of the site.

A really nice house in a poor neighborhood.  Here the
wealthy live next to the poor.

More sights of Esteli.

The cricket I was given in the market.

La fiesta

At the restaurant where we finally ate, there was an ash tray
that said, smoking is bad for your health.  I thought it was
ironic as all such things are.

So, I was going to write a lot earlier, but I got distracted by my homework.  I don't have too much to tell.  We just went out to eat for one of my colleague's birthday.  She is vegetarian, so we had a heck of a time finding a place where she would eat.  We went into one, but just looked at the menu.  We should have done the same at the next place, because after ordering drinks and looking at the menu, she realized they didn't have anything she was willing to eat.  So instead we went to another restaurant, looked at the menu, and it didn't look promising.
We had seen a sign for a vegetarian restaurant earlier, so we decided to check it out.  They only had one dish, so we went to a Cuban restaurant instead.  There were a lot of people there, so it must have been the right choice.  Finally, there we ate.  They had a nice balcony, too.
We didn't stay out too late, but since it gets dark so early here, it felt much later than it was.  Of course, it's late now, and I'm sure I will wake up early tomorrow, so I should probably get to bed.

Espanol, espanol, y mas espanol

Every morning people come around the street selling
avocados.  Here is one of those sellers.

I found out this morning that my host family has internet, but I think it'll be much easier to wait and post these entries when I have internet access on my own computer.  I guess if I had my USB key, I could transfer what I have already written rather than retyping it, or waiting, but alas, it didn't even occur to me to bring it.
Today has been an interesting day so far.  Again I was woken up early, despite the fact that I used ear plugs last night.  I think it must be the light.  It gets light early and dark early here, too.  But it wasn't an unpleasant waking up.  I actually prefer waking up naturally like that.

Inside the school where we are studying.

We had a breakfast of fresh fruit, yum!  We also saw some of the other guests, there are some kids here volunteering.  I don't think they speak much Spanish.  But our host is very nice and talked slowly to them.
After breakfast, I was able to get on the internet to check my email.  I was surprised to find a friend request on facebook from my friends I met in Managua!  I'm glad they found me because I don't think I could have found them.  And I really was glad to meet them.
Then it was off to school.  We had class starting at 8:00.  My teacher is named Rosa.  She is 31 years old, but has 6 or 7 years of experience teaching at this school.  And she has other teaching experience, too.  4 hours of class, and a birthday cake later we came back to our host family's house for lunch.  Esteli is much cooler than Managua.  Even during mid-day it doesn't feel so bad.

My room for studying.

At 1:00, we had readings with Angela (our professor that came with us).  Then at 2:00 we went for a walk around the city.  We saw this arts center where they teach all sorts of art: music, painting, drawing, and mosaics with tusa (dyed corn skins).  It was very interesting.  We also went into a couple of arts stores.  There was a lot of interesting things that I wish I could buy.  I will buy some things later, but I didn't buy anything today.  I need to figure out what I'm going to buy for other people and want I'm going to buy for myself and how much money I'm going to need.  That way I won't take too much money out of the bank, or not enough.  But I don't want to have a lot of Cordobas (the Nicaraguan monetary unit) left over when I'm done.
On our walk, we also saw lots of murals.  They were really interesting.  I took lots of pictures of them, and then one of my colleagues said that she was thinking of doing her presentation on the murals.  I wasn't thinking of it, even though I was taking lots of pictures, but it would be interesting.  Of course, I'm not sure how I would get the information about the murals to give a presentation.  So maybe it's better not to do that topic.

An interesting mural that I saw in Esteli.

I also noticed a home for women.  I asked Angela about it.  She said its different than the ones in the U.S. because they are more open.  I guess that's obvious since the sign is right out there on the building.  If a woman went there, her husband or boyfriend or whoever would know where to find her.  I wonder how many women actually go there for help . . . and I wonder how many of them end up back with their abuser.
We saw the Catholic Cathedral which is pretty and large.  We also saw the central park where they have a fair every Friday, like a market but with music and shows.  I hope we get a chance to go to that.  I want to hear the Nicaraguan music, see the dances, taste the food, and really experience the culture.
I suppose that's it for now.  We're going to eat dinner together and go to a little party later tonight, since it's one of my colleagues' birthday today.

A mural about not littering . . . with litter
right underneath.

Cultural center, these people are making mosaics out of
colored corn husks.

The catholic cathedral

Kung Fu Panda mural!

A mural about drug use

A pretty little arch I saw in the city.

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!

Caminando

I ended up taking a nap, and afterward I realized that one of my colleagues is here in the hotel.  But, I missed him.  He left before I could catch him, so I'm still alone.  I went for a walk around the area instead . . . by myself.  Ok, maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to do.  I don't think it was dangerous, or at least I wasn't walking in any of the dangerous parts.  But I draw a lot of attention.  I don't know if that's because I look very different from everyone else, or just because I am a young female.  And I don't know how to react to these guys calling out to me.  Let's just say it made me feel a little uncomfortable.

A school bus being used as a public bus.  I don't think you
can tell from this picture, but the bus is packed.  I'm not sure
another body could fit in there.

I ended up going to T.G.I. Friday's, yet another place brought by the United States.  It was a pleasant experience, even though I realized that I really hate being completely by myself.  I especially hate traveling by myself.  It makes me wish that Gizmo was here so at least I wouldn't be alone in my hotel room.  And yet I don't like sharing rooms with other people.  Of course, that may be because I don't like sleeping with someone else in the room more than anything else.
One thing I noticed while I was walking around is that they use old school buses as regular buses.  And the buses are almost always jam packed full of people. It looks very uncomfortable.
I think I am probably overloading everyone after not writing for so long.  I guess that just means I need to travel more so I actually feel like I have something interesting to share.