Last week I went along with the other first year JVs to a community in the rural countryside called Arenal, about an hour outside of Managua. This was to be our first real immersion in an exclusively Spanish speaking environment and I was looking forward to the opportunity to test myself a bit. Spending so much time with other volunteers has meant lots of English speaking (with little bits of Nica Spanglish mixed in!), so having at least a few days of all Spanish was a welcoming challenge.
Besides speaking more Spanish, I was greatly looking forward to getting to know a little of the life in the campo. It didn’t disappoint. Life in Managua certainly has its differences from that of an American city, but nevertheless it’s a major urban center and therefore has many inherent characteristics of any metropolis. There are certainly advantages to being in a city (internet to stay in touch with people!), but I can’t help noticing some of the aspects that will prove to be more challenging for me; traffic, pollution, crowds, people in a rush, garbage, etc. The campo, however, is a different story altogether, and the campesinos are quick to agree. Despite the generally more extreme poverty in the campo in comparison to the city, people who live there often point out that it is a more healthy, calmer, safer, más tranquilo way of life.
The other three volunteers (Andrea, Lauren and Thomas) and I traveled to Arenal together and then went our separate ways once we arrived. Lauren summed up the upcoming challenge as we split up: “Well, adios a English ‘till Friday!”
The family I stayed with, like many in Nicaragua, included several generations of grandparents, cousins, and nieces and nephews along with more extended relatives living just up the hill. While my accommodations were comfortable enough and I had plenty to eat, this was certainly an experience in simple living. I took several bucket showers during the week, rose along with the crowing of the roosters long before sunrise, and learned to enjoy beans and rice three meals a day. In fact, the first afternoon I arrived, I was able to help the family shell some of the beans we had that night for dinner. Along with taking the pulp off coffee beans later in the week, I got a taste of what it’s like to provide for a family’s subsistence day by day. It was all to evident how a major disaster-a drought, a flood, a hurricane-could ruin a crop and leave an entire family with little more than the bananas which seemed to grow everywhere to survive on until a new crop might be ready.
The community of Arenal is divided up into five comarcas, or villages. I was staying about a 20 minute walk from the community center, and about the same distance from Thomas, Andrea and Lauren. On the third day, we had a meeting with some of the youth leaders of the community to learn about the various groups active in community organization. It quickly became clear that Arenal is an extraordinarily organized and cooperative community. Many of the young people we met with belong to several different groups such as a youth group, a group of local university students, and a traditional dance group that has gone on tour to Spain. Other groups active in the community include a women’s micro-credit bank, and agricultural co-ops for both men and women.
The people of Arenal are working to create a self-sustaining community, and I was fascinated by how they are doing it. There is little outside influence in the form of foundations or development NGOs, and the real organization comes from the community members themselves. There might not be the motivation or cooperation to pull this off in every rural community in Nicaragua, but I think the people of Arenal are on their way to providing a great example for other Nicaraguan communities facing poverty to take manners into their own hands and work together to create a better life for their futures. Next week, the youth group in Arenal is organizing a Feria Campesina-a country fair-and we’re planning to return to visit our new friends there. I hope to maintain these relationships during my time in Nicaragua and continue to learn from the innovative approaches used in communities like Arenal.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Initial impressions...
Dear Family and Friends,
Saludos de Nicaragua! I hope this finds all of you doing great as you get ready for school breaks, Christmas holidays, or whatever else you have going on right now. I wanted to get a brief update to you to let you know how life is treating me so far in Nicaragua, so hopefully this will give you an idea of what I’m up to.
Although I’ve only been here for four days, this is quickly beginning to feel like a new home, at least for the next stage of my life. I met up with two of my fellow first year Jesuit Volunteers, Thomas and Andrea, during my various flights toward Managua, and the three of us all arrived together on Wednesday evening. We were met at the airport by the current volunteers and immediately went to our new home.
The house is a simple structure in a decent neighborhood in Managua called La Luz. We each have our own room and share communal cooking and living spaces. While we still have two volunteers living in the house who are just finishing up their second years, we will eventually have four of us in the Managua house. There is also another house of volunteers in Ciudad Sandino, about and hour by bus from Managua. We hope to see each other on a consistent basis and maintain a sense of a connected community beyond our individual houses.
The first few days have been relatively low key as we settle into day to day life in Managua. On our first full day, we went out to the Ciudad Sandino house to have a talk with the second year volunteers about safety around the city. The following day we were able to go on site visits to our respective work placements. Although it’s still unclear exactly what I’ll be doing, I do know that I’ll be working at an organization called Cantera. I was able to meet some of the staff members there and see the site. There isn’t a lot going on right now, however, because many Nicaragua schools, organizations and businesses close down near the end of the year to take vacation. In fact, I won’t actually start formal work until early January. While I am certainly ready to get to work and find out more about what my day to day schedule will look like, I’m also grateful for the time to settle in and adjust rather than hitting the ground running. The second year JVs have also planned quite an agenda for us through these next couple weeks to help us settle in as well as learn about the history, politics, etc of Nicaragua.
The other night we had a wonderful meeting with an American woman who has been living here for over 20 years. She is a history professor at a local university, and in just a few short hours she briefed us nearly all the significant events in Nicaraguan history from colonial times up until today. This was highly informative but also raised many new questions about the impact of Nicaragua’s Revolution as well as the current state of its convoluted political sphere. We hope to continue to ask those questions and understand the current situation in the months and years to come…
Yesterday, Saturday the 5th, we went on a city tour of Managua with Fr. Joe Mulligan, our “In Country Coordinator” for JVC. Joe is a Jesuit priest who has been in Nicaragua since 1986, so he is exceptionally familiar with the country and the issues important in Nicaragua today. He generously treated us first years to a day tour as well as lunch, and all of us agreed afterward that we are fortunate to have him as a friend here.
Currently the country is in the middle of celebrating “purisima”, a uniquely Nicaraguan nine-day holiday in honor of the conception of Mary. People here go all out though. I’ve been told it’s even bigger than Christmas! This means there are fireworks going off every night (last night sounded like we were in the middle of a war zone with fireworks exploding practically on our roof) and lots of treats given out. It’s almost like a cross between Halloween and Christmas…Tomorrow is the culmination so we’re getting together with the other JV house to go purisima trick-or-treating.
In other news, Thomas and I went exploring around the neighborhood this morning and came across a competitive and organized soccer game at the field just down the street from our place. It sounds like the new league starts in January so I’ll have to investigate a little and see what it takes to join a team…
Finally, this week we’re heading off to do home-stays in the campo, the countryside here. I’m SO GRATEFUL this was included as part of our orientation here because although we’ll be spending lots of time in urban Managua, I feel a great connection to the rural life of Nicaragua. I’ll have to write more once we’ve returned from that experience next weekend and update you all on our week with even less connection to the U.S. than we’ve had in Managua.
Thank you all for your support! I know I’ll miss everyone more as the time goes by, but I hope it is comforting to you to know that I feel I’m in a great place surrounded by supportive and awesome people! Much love,
Sean
Saludos de Nicaragua! I hope this finds all of you doing great as you get ready for school breaks, Christmas holidays, or whatever else you have going on right now. I wanted to get a brief update to you to let you know how life is treating me so far in Nicaragua, so hopefully this will give you an idea of what I’m up to.
Although I’ve only been here for four days, this is quickly beginning to feel like a new home, at least for the next stage of my life. I met up with two of my fellow first year Jesuit Volunteers, Thomas and Andrea, during my various flights toward Managua, and the three of us all arrived together on Wednesday evening. We were met at the airport by the current volunteers and immediately went to our new home.
The house is a simple structure in a decent neighborhood in Managua called La Luz. We each have our own room and share communal cooking and living spaces. While we still have two volunteers living in the house who are just finishing up their second years, we will eventually have four of us in the Managua house. There is also another house of volunteers in Ciudad Sandino, about and hour by bus from Managua. We hope to see each other on a consistent basis and maintain a sense of a connected community beyond our individual houses.
The first few days have been relatively low key as we settle into day to day life in Managua. On our first full day, we went out to the Ciudad Sandino house to have a talk with the second year volunteers about safety around the city. The following day we were able to go on site visits to our respective work placements. Although it’s still unclear exactly what I’ll be doing, I do know that I’ll be working at an organization called Cantera. I was able to meet some of the staff members there and see the site. There isn’t a lot going on right now, however, because many Nicaragua schools, organizations and businesses close down near the end of the year to take vacation. In fact, I won’t actually start formal work until early January. While I am certainly ready to get to work and find out more about what my day to day schedule will look like, I’m also grateful for the time to settle in and adjust rather than hitting the ground running. The second year JVs have also planned quite an agenda for us through these next couple weeks to help us settle in as well as learn about the history, politics, etc of Nicaragua.
The other night we had a wonderful meeting with an American woman who has been living here for over 20 years. She is a history professor at a local university, and in just a few short hours she briefed us nearly all the significant events in Nicaraguan history from colonial times up until today. This was highly informative but also raised many new questions about the impact of Nicaragua’s Revolution as well as the current state of its convoluted political sphere. We hope to continue to ask those questions and understand the current situation in the months and years to come…
Yesterday, Saturday the 5th, we went on a city tour of Managua with Fr. Joe Mulligan, our “In Country Coordinator” for JVC. Joe is a Jesuit priest who has been in Nicaragua since 1986, so he is exceptionally familiar with the country and the issues important in Nicaragua today. He generously treated us first years to a day tour as well as lunch, and all of us agreed afterward that we are fortunate to have him as a friend here.
Currently the country is in the middle of celebrating “purisima”, a uniquely Nicaraguan nine-day holiday in honor of the conception of Mary. People here go all out though. I’ve been told it’s even bigger than Christmas! This means there are fireworks going off every night (last night sounded like we were in the middle of a war zone with fireworks exploding practically on our roof) and lots of treats given out. It’s almost like a cross between Halloween and Christmas…Tomorrow is the culmination so we’re getting together with the other JV house to go purisima trick-or-treating.
In other news, Thomas and I went exploring around the neighborhood this morning and came across a competitive and organized soccer game at the field just down the street from our place. It sounds like the new league starts in January so I’ll have to investigate a little and see what it takes to join a team…
Finally, this week we’re heading off to do home-stays in the campo, the countryside here. I’m SO GRATEFUL this was included as part of our orientation here because although we’ll be spending lots of time in urban Managua, I feel a great connection to the rural life of Nicaragua. I’ll have to write more once we’ve returned from that experience next weekend and update you all on our week with even less connection to the U.S. than we’ve had in Managua.
Thank you all for your support! I know I’ll miss everyone more as the time goes by, but I hope it is comforting to you to know that I feel I’m in a great place surrounded by supportive and awesome people! Much love,
Sean
Monday, December 14, 2009
Bienvenidos a Nicaragua!
Dear family, friends, and anyone else who comes across this,
Warm greetings from Managua! Thanks for coming across this blog and following a little of my experiences from Nicaragua. I hope I will be able to keep you all updated from afar on what life will be like in Nicaragua for me as I begin a new adventure and stage of my life.
A little background for those of you who might not know what I’m doing here (don’t feel like you’re the only one though; I’m not sure I know yet either!): I am beginning a program called Jesuit Volunteer Corps in which I will be living and working in Managua, Nicaragua from December 2009 to December 2011. JVC is a volunteer placement organization that has volunteers working the U.S. as well as around the world. Volunteers live together in a community and share space and resources while striving to live out the four values of JVC: simple living, social justice, community and spirituality. If you want to know more, please feel free to ask me or check out the JVC website at http://www.jesuitvolunteers.org/.
In Nicaragua there are two houses where JVs will be staying. One is in Barrio La Luz in Managua, which is where I’ll be along with three other volunteers. The other house, which also has four volunteers, is in Ciudad Sandino outside of Managua. Placements for volunteers include teaching positions in local schools, working with the developmentally disabled, and working in community development projects. My position will be working with a Nicaraguan organization called Cantera. From what I’ve been able to find out so far, Cantera has a range of projects including working with women and gender issues, working with at-risk youth and working with rural farmers to improve agricultural techniques in the Nicaragua campo. Cantera has a website worth checking out (in both Spanish and English): http://www.canteranicaragua.org/. At the moment, I don’t know much about what exactly I’ll be doing, but from what I’ve heard so far it sounds like I’ll be working with youth in one of Managua’s rougher neighborhoods. Since many people in Nicaragua take late December of for vacation, I won’t actually start work until early January. Soon after that I hope to have a better idea of what my work will actually be, so look for updates down the road…
I hope to remain as in touch as possible, but with fairly limited access it won’t be as consistent as I’m used to. I ask for your patience in returning correspondence, but I would love to share with any of you who want to know more about life here in Managua. This is the best email to reach me at: srawsonnic09@gmail.com. Once again, thanks for reading and following along from afar. All the best,
Sean Rawson
Warm greetings from Managua! Thanks for coming across this blog and following a little of my experiences from Nicaragua. I hope I will be able to keep you all updated from afar on what life will be like in Nicaragua for me as I begin a new adventure and stage of my life.
A little background for those of you who might not know what I’m doing here (don’t feel like you’re the only one though; I’m not sure I know yet either!): I am beginning a program called Jesuit Volunteer Corps in which I will be living and working in Managua, Nicaragua from December 2009 to December 2011. JVC is a volunteer placement organization that has volunteers working the U.S. as well as around the world. Volunteers live together in a community and share space and resources while striving to live out the four values of JVC: simple living, social justice, community and spirituality. If you want to know more, please feel free to ask me or check out the JVC website at http://www.jesuitvolunteers.org/.
In Nicaragua there are two houses where JVs will be staying. One is in Barrio La Luz in Managua, which is where I’ll be along with three other volunteers. The other house, which also has four volunteers, is in Ciudad Sandino outside of Managua. Placements for volunteers include teaching positions in local schools, working with the developmentally disabled, and working in community development projects. My position will be working with a Nicaraguan organization called Cantera. From what I’ve been able to find out so far, Cantera has a range of projects including working with women and gender issues, working with at-risk youth and working with rural farmers to improve agricultural techniques in the Nicaragua campo. Cantera has a website worth checking out (in both Spanish and English): http://www.canteranicaragua.org/. At the moment, I don’t know much about what exactly I’ll be doing, but from what I’ve heard so far it sounds like I’ll be working with youth in one of Managua’s rougher neighborhoods. Since many people in Nicaragua take late December of for vacation, I won’t actually start work until early January. Soon after that I hope to have a better idea of what my work will actually be, so look for updates down the road…
I hope to remain as in touch as possible, but with fairly limited access it won’t be as consistent as I’m used to. I ask for your patience in returning correspondence, but I would love to share with any of you who want to know more about life here in Managua. This is the best email to reach me at: srawsonnic09@gmail.com. Once again, thanks for reading and following along from afar. All the best,
Sean Rawson
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