This past week was the anniversary of one of Nicaragua’s most significant moments. On July 19, 1979, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) entered Managua after kicking out the Somoza dictatorship following years of armed struggle. The Sandinista guerillas were hailed as liberators and given a heroes’ welcome upon arriving to the capital city where thousands greeted them with a massive celebration in the plaza near Managua’s old cathedral. Well, 31 years later that party still continues!
After a 16 year hiatus (1990-2006), the Sandinista party is now in power again. Regardless of opinions of the current brand of Sandinismo, thousands of Nicaraguans from all over the country turn out to celebrate the anniversary of the Revolution. As this event is in memory of such an influential moment in Nicaraguan history, I decided to join some friends to see what all the excitement was about. There was a slight problem though; on the eve of the 19th, we found ourselves hours from Managua, in a small mountain village in the department of Madriz in the north of Nicaragua. I had gone out of town for the weekend with some friends to get some fresh mountain air, cool weather, and just get out of the city for a few days. It was well over six hours by bus to get back to the capital, and as we found out, there would be no public transportation on the 19th! All the buses were being hired by the government to bring people from around the country to the celebration in Managua. Options were to stay in Madriz an extra day and wait for the buses to return to normal schedule, or to try and find a ride to Managua on the 19th one way or another! We all had to work on Tuesday the 20th, so we decided to ask around town and see if there’d be a way to catch a ride. As it turned out, we talked with the people organizing the buses going to the plaza and they said if we were there ready to go at 4 am they’d be happy to have us come along! What luck!
We got up at 3:30 in the morning after a few fitful hours of sleep (people were already celebrating with fireworks and singing on the streets throughout the night) and made our way to the bus stop. I think everyone in the small town we were visiting knew everyone else, so we got a few strange looks as we climbed on the bus, but after chatting a bit with our fellow travelers we felt right at home. The whole trip to Managua was an unforgettable experience. The small town we left from sent four buses, but this was just one little mountain hamlet. There were buses carrying people in from all over the country! All the buses from the northern departments met up and caravanned together. This meant that there were literally hundreds of buses traveling together towards Managua. We would pull over for pit stops and I could look as far up the line and as far back as I could see and the line just went on and on! There were people riding on top of buses, packed to standing room only inside, and even some hanging off the back as we made our way south. People along the way were out in front of their houses watching the parade go by and waving; I didn’t have to try to hard to take myself back 31 years and imagine what it must have been like for Nicaraguans in July 1979.
When we finally made it to the plaza, I was overwhelmed with the number of people present. We walked around taking in the crowds and finally found a relatively quiet place in front of the old cathedral. We took a seat and just watched the people passing and the fireworks going off. I chatted with one man who told me he had fought in the insurrection in the late 70’s. “I helped liberate this country,” he said, tears nearly coming to his eyes. He also criticized the current government for losing the spirit of the Revolution of the 1980’s. The whole celebration was clearly a big Sandinista event, though, so I asked him what he was doing celebrating there if he didn’t agree with the way things are going. “Look,” he told me, “you don’t have to be Sandinista to celebrate “El Triunfo.” I’m not here to support the president, I am here to remember the struggle and the victory we achieved as a country. Anyone can celebrate that.” I liked what he had to say and I wished him well before we split ways.
Going to the plaza was worthwhile for me to see a bit of such an historic moment in Nicaragua. While it felt to me in many ways like a political event for the Sandinista government, it was also eye-opening to see so many Nicaraguans from all over the nation together to remember one of their countries most defining moments. And to cap it off, we scored a free ride from Madriz to Managua thanks to the celebration, so it was well worth our while to check it out!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
An overdue update...
We’re well into the rainy season here in Nicaragua, which for me has been a refreshing breath of sometimes cooler air and a little taste of home. It still can get scorching hot in Managua, but at least there’s something to cool down the day and keep the dust down. It seems like the general pattern is still sun and heat most of the morning with high levels of humidity, and then it just gets to a certain point where the humidity is so bad and something has to give, so we get drenched with a good old tropical downpour! And although I grew up with my fair share of rain in the Pacific Northwest, that was a completely different experience from what we get here in Nicaragua. I’m used to days of cloudy weather with consistent drizzling, sometimes really pouring, but generally slow and steady. Here, like most of the tropics, we get ferocious, rapid downpours that often seem to come from nowhere, dump at a rate of several inches of rain per hour, which are often followed by hot, sunny weather just minutes after the rain stops! I am thoroughly enjoying the rainy season, though, and always look forward to the dark clouds that bring cooler temperatures. One of my simple pleasures living in Managua has become going to sleep with the sound of rain falling on our tin roof; it’s almost like living by a creek or by the ocean where you can fall asleep to the soothing sounds of moving water. Even if it’s just bouncing off the roof and going right to the gutter, there’s something reassuring about that consistent yet comforting clatter up there that helps me go to sleep in peace!
Enough about weather though. All continues to go well here in Nicaragua as I approach the seven month mark since arriving in country. I realize it’s been quite a while since I’ve written, so I apologize for the gap in updates! I guess I thought I had to have something really original or exciting to write about and was waiting for that to happen, but I guess just a simple update once in a while is better than nothing!
Work has gone fairly well recently, although I still feel sometimes as if there is more I could be doing. I’m trying to stay busy through coaching a soccer team, giving (very basic!) swim lessons, teaching English, and helping out with any other random activities that come up around the youth center. Last week we had our first “dia cultural” at the center as a way to start learning about other countries and cultures. We asked two French friends in town to give a talk about France, their language, food, sports (just days after France was eliminated from the World Cup, too!) and in general the differences between life in Nicaragua and in their home country. They gave a great slideshow, then we did a chaotic Jeopardy-style quiz game (50 people yelling at you saying they answered first!), taught a typical French playground game followed by crepe samples for everyone involved! The idea is to continue the cultural days, perhaps once a month, to learn about different cultures around the world.
Besides the work at the youth center, I’ve also been involved in some of the rural work CANTERA does. This has mostly meant working in schools doing what I would loosely define as environmental education work. It’s been an enjoyable experience though, especially trying to get kids and youth interested in environmental protection and talking about some of the environmental issues facing their community or the world.
To wrap it up, I have a brief reflection on an observation I’ve had of la vida Nica: I think it’s worth mentioning how important greetings are here in Nicaragua. I’ve picked up on this since the beginning of my time here, but only recently really begun to think about how significant and different this is from the culture I grew up in. For instance, Nicaraguans almost always greet everyone in a room upon entering, either individually or collectively as a group. This usually means a handshake or a cheek kiss for old friends or new acquaintances alike. Even if somebody enters a conversation or a meeting, he or she generally interjects at least a “Buenas tardes” to those present. To my North American-educated mind, this initially came off as extremely rude; I’d be having a conversation or even presenting some point in a workshop, and someone would walk in late with a public “Buenas!” distracting me and the rest of the group from whatever was being discussed. As time went on during my first few months here, I began to realize that this wasn’t just a group of inconsiderate youth, but in fact a great example of the beauty of cultural diversity.
After having been here several months, I myself have began to pick up on this Nicaraguan custom and I think I’m actually starting to appreciate it! I think the best thing I’ve taken from this new practice is the emphasis of greeting people individually when you come into contact with them. I think back to life in the States and the way I was often, like so many other North Americans, so preoccupied with my personal business that I didn’t have time or interest to grant other people a brief greeting. I have this image in my head of some fancy office with every busy in their own little cubicles hurriedly walking in and out, barely even making eye contact with those around them, too caught up in whatever it is that is too important to give anyone the time of day!
Anyhow, I’ve been working on learning from my Nicaraguan co-workers, friends and acquaintances to recognize that human relationships are worth taking a few seconds out of a busy schedule to make someone feel recognized. That’s all I’ve got for now! Until next time, happy 4th of July everyone, and thanks for all the support from near and far.
Enough about weather though. All continues to go well here in Nicaragua as I approach the seven month mark since arriving in country. I realize it’s been quite a while since I’ve written, so I apologize for the gap in updates! I guess I thought I had to have something really original or exciting to write about and was waiting for that to happen, but I guess just a simple update once in a while is better than nothing!
Work has gone fairly well recently, although I still feel sometimes as if there is more I could be doing. I’m trying to stay busy through coaching a soccer team, giving (very basic!) swim lessons, teaching English, and helping out with any other random activities that come up around the youth center. Last week we had our first “dia cultural” at the center as a way to start learning about other countries and cultures. We asked two French friends in town to give a talk about France, their language, food, sports (just days after France was eliminated from the World Cup, too!) and in general the differences between life in Nicaragua and in their home country. They gave a great slideshow, then we did a chaotic Jeopardy-style quiz game (50 people yelling at you saying they answered first!), taught a typical French playground game followed by crepe samples for everyone involved! The idea is to continue the cultural days, perhaps once a month, to learn about different cultures around the world.
Besides the work at the youth center, I’ve also been involved in some of the rural work CANTERA does. This has mostly meant working in schools doing what I would loosely define as environmental education work. It’s been an enjoyable experience though, especially trying to get kids and youth interested in environmental protection and talking about some of the environmental issues facing their community or the world.
To wrap it up, I have a brief reflection on an observation I’ve had of la vida Nica: I think it’s worth mentioning how important greetings are here in Nicaragua. I’ve picked up on this since the beginning of my time here, but only recently really begun to think about how significant and different this is from the culture I grew up in. For instance, Nicaraguans almost always greet everyone in a room upon entering, either individually or collectively as a group. This usually means a handshake or a cheek kiss for old friends or new acquaintances alike. Even if somebody enters a conversation or a meeting, he or she generally interjects at least a “Buenas tardes” to those present. To my North American-educated mind, this initially came off as extremely rude; I’d be having a conversation or even presenting some point in a workshop, and someone would walk in late with a public “Buenas!” distracting me and the rest of the group from whatever was being discussed. As time went on during my first few months here, I began to realize that this wasn’t just a group of inconsiderate youth, but in fact a great example of the beauty of cultural diversity.
After having been here several months, I myself have began to pick up on this Nicaraguan custom and I think I’m actually starting to appreciate it! I think the best thing I’ve taken from this new practice is the emphasis of greeting people individually when you come into contact with them. I think back to life in the States and the way I was often, like so many other North Americans, so preoccupied with my personal business that I didn’t have time or interest to grant other people a brief greeting. I have this image in my head of some fancy office with every busy in their own little cubicles hurriedly walking in and out, barely even making eye contact with those around them, too caught up in whatever it is that is too important to give anyone the time of day!
Anyhow, I’ve been working on learning from my Nicaraguan co-workers, friends and acquaintances to recognize that human relationships are worth taking a few seconds out of a busy schedule to make someone feel recognized. That’s all I’ve got for now! Until next time, happy 4th of July everyone, and thanks for all the support from near and far.
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