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.

Soccer just makes everything better...

This Saturday is the Champions League final in Madrid between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. That brings back high school memories of trying to justify to my parents missing an afternoon class to watch one of the biggest soccer games of the year. Barcelona, the defending champions and the team I was pulling for, lost to Inter in the semi-finals. In Nicaragua, you’re either a Barcelonista or a Madrilista, Barcelona’s arch-rivals Real Madrid. They are by far the two most popular teams here, and you’re either one or the other, no middle ground on this one!
At the youth center where I work, there was so much talk of whether or not Barca would advance to the final that we did a little survey. It was simple enough; everyone who came in the center was welcome to cast a vote for either Real Madrid or Barcelona, and we would total up the votes at the end to see who was more popular. Madrid quickly took the lead, and I did my best to encourage Barcelona fans to come visit the center. Every day of the week, though, Madrid still had the lead, and of course I didn’t hear the end of it! “Barcelona is losing!” the Madrid fans would taunt me. I pretended to get a rise out of it, but as I tried to point out, the popularity contest really wasn’t that important to me; I cared much more about who would win the league.
One of my co-workers had been a little challenging to connect with over the first few months I’ve been here. Nothing worrying, but I just had trouble sitting down and having a conversation. I had figured earlier that it would be just a matter of time and I’d have to keep plugging away. Well, this Barcelona-Madrid rivalry turned out to be a blessing in disguise! Before the week of the survey, we had started to joke around a little more and she appeared more supportive of my presence here, but she just took up the Barcelona thing and ran with it! The funny thing is that she isn’t even a soccer fan, but of course she suddenly became a dedicated Real Madrid supporter when she found out about my support for Barcelona-just to try and get under my skin! I did my part to keep up the rivalry as the big game approached.
As it turned out, Barcelona did not advance to the final of the Champions League. From that afternoon on, I didn’t hear the end of it: “Barcelona lost! Barcelona lost!” Part of me wanted to respond with “Yeah well Madrid didn’t even make it to the semi-finals,” but I figured it would be better to just swallow some pride and accept defeat. My co-worker, of course, was all over me, telling me I didn’t know how to lose, and I had to admit that I have a bit of a competitive spirit.
The funny thing was, for all the teasing provoking I got, my relationship with my co-worker took a marked turn for the better. As the whole thing played out, I realized that she and I could relate much better after a little light-hearted joking. Could something good actually come out of Barcelona losing??? I never would have thought so, but I seem to have been proved wrong. It’s amazing to see what a little humor can do to improve relationships and help people feel comfortable with others. It’s a strategy I think I could have tried from day one, but I’ll be sure to remember that in the months to come.
The World Cup is coming up in less than a month, and I’m planning to create some kind of survey or bracket to put up on the wall of the center to show the progress of the tournament. The World Cup, however, is no laughing matter.