I don´t have very long to write because I am getting ready to leave the office. But I wanted to let you know that as of tomorrow I will be living in four of the rural communities where we work for two to three days at a time. I will come back to Jinotepe and my main host family on Thursday, September 4th.
I am going to the rural communities for two reasons. The first is to conduct my investigations for Luke´s Society. Part of my work for them is to do some investigations regarding how the Bible and its teachings brings changes to their lives. I will then take that information and begin to write a Bible Study manual for them to use in the rural communities. The hope is that with this manual further changes will come to the communities. Luke´s Society wants the whole aspect of the people´s lives to change - not only their physical life through having clean water and better nutrition, but also their ways of relating to one another and their relationship with God. They want to write this manual and for me to do this investigation so they better know how much of the communities are actually changing and the depth of these changes. They hope that this work will then allow them to better help not only these communities, but any other communities where they work in the future. The second reason for my stay in the rural areas is to help me understand another side of life in Nicaragua and how rural life differs from that of the city and to also learn about their struggles.
So tomorrow I begin my investigation. I found out this morning that I was beginning today. I had it scheduled to begin sometime this week, but with the way things went last week I assumed it would not be until the end of the week. I will be going with two of my co-workers to one of the communities tomorrow where they have some meetings and activities. I will then stay there with one of the community health promotors after they leave. During my days in the community I will be conducting a series of interviews. I am hoping to interview 10 people in each community. 5 of these will have had a lot of contact with Luke´s Society and the other 5 will not. I will also be conducting a total of 4 interviews with couples in each community. Lastly I will have one group interview or more of a focus group discussion with 3 to 5 people. After finishing work in one community I will move on to another. The children in the communities or some of the adults are going to be taking me around the communities and helping me find the people I need to talk with and making sure I don´t get lost.
On the 4th I will return to Jinotepe for a day and a half and then on the 6th I will leave again for the other portion of the rural communities. I will be there until the 13th. I am mostly really excited about this opportunity. I know at least some of the people in each community, so it will not be like entering a complete unknown. Also all of the people I will be staying with are very trustworthy people who have a long history of working with Luke´s Society. I am a little nervous, though, about my actual interviews. I hope my questions are good and that I get the information that I need. I also hope the people show up. It is common for people to say they are coming and then they have other tasks to do during the day.
When I get back on the 4th I will fill you in on all my fun stories and also on Nica rural life. Hope you all are well.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
At the end of the day!
I am currently sitting in my office (I share one room with four of my co-workers) listening to the rain pouring down on our tin roof. It has been thundering and lightening for a while now, but the rain just began. It begins to fall so hard that it is virtually impossible to hear what others say. But with the rain everything cools off and returns to a much more pleasant temperature. The rain also means that part of our office will get wet and puddles will appear on the floor. We have a couple of leaks in our roof that have not yet been fixed, so water drops onto the floor or runs down the side of two walls.
My co-workers and I are rather tired after our day in the community. We went to the community of La Hormiga where we had a couple of activities scheduled. First we weighed and measured the kids. All of them are very excited for this event because they learn how much they have grown. It is a sort of competition, like most things between kids, and they laugh and boast about how many pounds they increased or how many centimeters they grew. Thankfully today almost all of them gained between 2 and 5 pounds. When asked why they said, it is all the beans I am eating. (The beans have just begun to be harvested so every house has tarps lying on the ground with beans drying on top.) After getting weighed they excitedly run to the back of the house where there is a huge pot cooking over a fire. Inside this pot is a drink called atoule. It is made from grains and soy milk with sugar and is served steaming hot. They all grab their cups on the way and stand, somewhat patiently in line for their share. Many of them have never had atoule with soy milk. It is more common to make it with cow´s milk, but we are trying to improve the nutrition of the kids and so are encouraging mothers to use soy milk instead.
As they were drinking their atoule I sat down next to a 7 year old girl named Jennifer and a 9 year old boy. We talked for a while and they told me all about the animals they have, what they like to do after school, and how many siblings they have. I pulled out my camara to take a picture of them and of course more children gathered around, anxious to be part of a photo.
Slowly the kids began to leave and return to their homes, but not before finding bottles and other glasses to fill with atoule so they could have some when they got home. Many of them drank two to three cups full before leaving and took more with them. Reyna, my boss, said ¨Now they will certainly have gained weight.¨
My co-workers and I waited around on a bench outside under a trelice. We were suppose to have a meeting with the community´s committee to discuss plans and ideas to improve the community for the year, but three of them never showed. We waited for about an hour and a half. While we waited we talked with two of the boys left at the house. They told us about all the hard work they do at their houses and how big and strong they are getting. One of them wanted to play a game with me where each person has a coin and throws it against the wall. Whoever´s coin goes the farthest wins and takes the money. I said I didn´t want to play that game because I didn´t want to lose money. But I said we could play another game that I would teach him. He and I then began to play swords. (In this game you hold the opposite hand of the person and with your index finger you try to touch their body. Whoever touches the other person first wins.) We began to play and quickly everyone was laughing. I won the first one. He didn´t like that and so said ¨let´s play again¨. We played several times - alternating who won. I then taught them thumb wars and various hi-5 games. We kept playing until it was time for us to leave.
We ate the food the boys´mothers had prepared, which consisted of tortillas, rice, beans, two slices of cooked green bell pepper, and chorizo made from soy. We then thanked them all and the boy made me promise to come back so we could play again. I told him to practice so he could beat me everytime the next time I come. He started laughing.
We walked about a quarter mile up the road to the truck. The road was too wet and muddy to bring the truck to the house, so we parked it in a higher area. We got in and drove back to the office, where I am currently sitting.
My co-workers and I are rather tired after our day in the community. We went to the community of La Hormiga where we had a couple of activities scheduled. First we weighed and measured the kids. All of them are very excited for this event because they learn how much they have grown. It is a sort of competition, like most things between kids, and they laugh and boast about how many pounds they increased or how many centimeters they grew. Thankfully today almost all of them gained between 2 and 5 pounds. When asked why they said, it is all the beans I am eating. (The beans have just begun to be harvested so every house has tarps lying on the ground with beans drying on top.) After getting weighed they excitedly run to the back of the house where there is a huge pot cooking over a fire. Inside this pot is a drink called atoule. It is made from grains and soy milk with sugar and is served steaming hot. They all grab their cups on the way and stand, somewhat patiently in line for their share. Many of them have never had atoule with soy milk. It is more common to make it with cow´s milk, but we are trying to improve the nutrition of the kids and so are encouraging mothers to use soy milk instead.
As they were drinking their atoule I sat down next to a 7 year old girl named Jennifer and a 9 year old boy. We talked for a while and they told me all about the animals they have, what they like to do after school, and how many siblings they have. I pulled out my camara to take a picture of them and of course more children gathered around, anxious to be part of a photo.
Slowly the kids began to leave and return to their homes, but not before finding bottles and other glasses to fill with atoule so they could have some when they got home. Many of them drank two to three cups full before leaving and took more with them. Reyna, my boss, said ¨Now they will certainly have gained weight.¨
My co-workers and I waited around on a bench outside under a trelice. We were suppose to have a meeting with the community´s committee to discuss plans and ideas to improve the community for the year, but three of them never showed. We waited for about an hour and a half. While we waited we talked with two of the boys left at the house. They told us about all the hard work they do at their houses and how big and strong they are getting. One of them wanted to play a game with me where each person has a coin and throws it against the wall. Whoever´s coin goes the farthest wins and takes the money. I said I didn´t want to play that game because I didn´t want to lose money. But I said we could play another game that I would teach him. He and I then began to play swords. (In this game you hold the opposite hand of the person and with your index finger you try to touch their body. Whoever touches the other person first wins.) We began to play and quickly everyone was laughing. I won the first one. He didn´t like that and so said ¨let´s play again¨. We played several times - alternating who won. I then taught them thumb wars and various hi-5 games. We kept playing until it was time for us to leave.
We ate the food the boys´mothers had prepared, which consisted of tortillas, rice, beans, two slices of cooked green bell pepper, and chorizo made from soy. We then thanked them all and the boy made me promise to come back so we could play again. I told him to practice so he could beat me everytime the next time I come. He started laughing.
We walked about a quarter mile up the road to the truck. The road was too wet and muddy to bring the truck to the house, so we parked it in a higher area. We got in and drove back to the office, where I am currently sitting.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
My 22nd birthday!
Wednesday was my 22nd birthday and my first time to celebrate my birthday without my family. I woke up in the morning to find a card my host sister, Devita, made me lying underneath my door. It was made of orange construction paper with glittery paint on it saying Happy 22nd Birthday. Around the card she wrote various inspirational messages like ¨You have a part to play and God is going to use you in amazing ways.¨ She also drew a cake in the middle of the card. After reading that I opened a card my parents gave me before leaving the States. It was a nice way to start my birthday morning. 
Both of my host parents gave me huge birthday hugs and wished me lots of happiness along with the common phrase here ¨Dios te bendiga¨ (May God bless you). Then we went off to work where it was a pretty normal day. Most of my co-workers went into the communities to do various activities. But during the afternoon two of my co-workers, Cesar and Reynita, came up the stairs with a gift bag behind their back. Inside was a beautiful skirt, but it didn´t fit. We then had to go back to the store and find something else. I ended up finding a nice black tank top that I really like. It was perfect and so thoughtful of them. I wasn´t expecting to get any presents. And it was even better because just the day before I had begun to hate all of my clothes that I brough with me. I wear the same thing almost every week. 
We returned to the office and everything was pretty normal. Then a little later Cesar came into our office (I share my office with 4 of my co-workers) and said one of the women from the rural communities is down stairs and asked for you. I thought it was a little strange since it was already almost 5 and the people from the rural communities never come after about 3. But I said okay and went downstairs anyway. About halfway down the stairs I realized he lied to me only to get me down the stairs. All my co-workers began to sing happy birthday to me and then a song that says we want cake, so hurry up. 
We all sat down and before distributing the cake it is the tradition here for those gathered around to give birthday wishes and blessings to the birthday person. It was Cesar´s birthday on the 2nd so we were celebrating both of our birthdays. All of my co-workers gave us both birthday blessings and some words of encouragement. It was really neat. After the blessings concluded I was given the knife to cut the cake. We ate the cake and drank juice while we sat around to chat and laugh for a while. 
AFter work we went to Diriamba, the neighboring town, to drop off my co-worker Gabriela (in te back left of the above picture). But we made a slight detour. We stopped in front of a restaurant that makes pupusas. My host dad then looked at me and said ¨Do you like?¨ We all got out and went inside to eat pupusas, which are one of my favorite foods here. They are corn tortillas filled with cheese, cheese and beans, or cheese and pig skin. They are so tasty. After dinner we went back home where my host family dispersed to their rooms to do homework. I received a call about 30 minutes later from a good friend back home who wished my a happy birthday. All and all it was a great birthday away from home! Picture 1) of Cesar, me, and our cake 2) of the cake with my name mispelled although my host parents wrote out the name for the bakery 3) laughing during the party from left to right - Zoilita, Gabriela, me, Reynita 4) same group listening to Reynita tell a story 5) at the pupusa restaurant left side Francisco (my host dad), Levi (my brother), Gabriela (my co-worker and host aunt), right side Devita (my host sister), me, and Reyna (my host mom).
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