Sunday, September 25, 2005
Vingettes
Sorry it has been so long since the update! Especially since I was in Esteli for almost a week working on a Fulbright Application. A weird sort of sloth overtakes me when I am here, especially now that I am staying at the house Jane is renting (Yes, shes renting a house, and it is lovely and I can cook dinner and drink coffee and eat yogurt in the morning on the patio and hang out with Jane and Sadie and Eoghan when they are here!!!!: her house will be the center for the newly created Miraflor Foundation and will be a future café, meeting place, and hospedaje for volunteers in Miraflor, but I am ahead of myself)
Things are progressing slowly on the Fulbright front, and in no small part because I think I am officially burnt out. I am really thinking most about how to tie up loose ends and get everyone trained to do the things I will need them to do while I am gone. I need to find a secure way to store my things, get my export permits, arrange pay and work schedules, and visit various offices and meet with peoples. Technically I think I am supposed to leave a report for my work here, but I don’t think I will have enough time. Oh, well. Here is the news from the last few weeks.
ROWAN HAS LEFT THE BUILDING…August 28th
And everyone misses him so much….Fran especially since they are great friends. We had a kickin’ despedida and Rowan made pizza, and we made meat and veggie Nacatamales and danced all night and got drunk, and still got up to work the next morning. When we brought out the cake, every single one of the guys/and girl wanted to say something nice to Rowan. They love him so much!! They all thanked him for being so great and teaching them so many things and being so fun. And then they al started thanking me and I thanked them and Rowan for all working so hard and putting up with my bad moods. It got all quite sentimental. And although I had bought a large cake, I had thought it would be a smallish dinner party and not half of Sontule, so as Rowan kept cutting the cake, it got smaller and smaller and smaller, until we just got the leftover frosting and cake bits from the bottom. Rowan actually had sort of three going away parties, because his official Sontule one was on Friday, but Hillary came back for a week, and there was a bienvenidos for her, mixed with a despedida for Rowan, and then Saturday night he went out in Esteli with Ray and Ana (I did not go because I was tired). I really cant begin to explain how much Rowan helped me and how great it was to have someone around to bounce ideas off of. I know I am surrounded by friends and family here, but it was especially nice to have someone to talk science with.
STEPHANIE RIDES HER BIKE TO NICARAGUA…..Sept 3rd
Just kidding. She just rode it to Mexico.
Stephanie has arrived to volunteer for a month. She road her bike across mexico for four months, Staring in New Mexico, and ending in Chiapas, where she volunteered for three months. She is very cool, and reminds me a lot of people I knew in Santa Cruz. She´s been great and really fun, and I wish I was in good shape and skinny like her. Very chill, and has been nice enough about working quite a bit while I havent been around because I have been in Esteli working on this thing. Smart chick
THE SAGA OF JULIE AND RAY……Sept 7th
Ray and Julie are a sweet (some would say a little too sweet) couple that came to work for me. They both have had more experience than me and made many useful suggestions and helped me wuite a bit. And yet, Julie never seemed happy. I asked Ray about it, and he said it was probably because she wasn’t feeling well. In fact, she was sick most of the time she was here, poor girl. Anyhow, I think the whole situation and my study and methods an such were not what she was expecting.
Julie and Ray planned a trip to Honduras to renew their viasa. Although you only have to go for three days, I was fine with them wanting to take 10. Before they left, Ray asked me it would be cool if they left about a month earlier than planned. I said fine, what could I say, and I was pretty sure it was mostly because she was not doing so well. Well, the bad luck continued, and upon their return from Honduras, Julie fell really sick to a urinary tract infection, and had many nights of really high fevers and wasn’t responding to antibiotics. In the end, they decided to send her back to the US. I don’t think it was an emergency, but her mom was really worried and she probably wanted to go home anyway. To their credit they both decided that Ray should stay 10 days longer to help out. It was really great that he did because it helped a lot.
I love Paul, but the thing I love best about our relationship is that although we would love to be together all of the time, we won´t shrivel and die like the time I didn’t leave enough water for the baby frogs I was raising. We are more like those frogs that make a mucus coating and burrow themselves way down into the mud and estevate to wait out the dry season until the rains come back and we can come out and see each other again.
I HAVE A FRIEND AND SHE LIKES ME
Lesbia and I have gotten to be really close. She has told me she considers me her only real friend, and the only person she can talk to. I am glad for this, yet it makes me really sad because I am not there all the time, and she really need Nica friends. But I think that she is right when she says Isabel doesn’t want her to have any friends. Suegras (mother in laws) can be tough here, and always expect their nueras (daughter in laws) to work really hard. I think Isabel is great, but she has really stong opinions, and can be difficult at times. I respect her a lot though. I have been encouraging Lesbia to be better friends with Mayra, because they are similar in so many ways. Both very sensitive and bien humilde. I finally got to take Lesbia, Brian, Araceli, and Linda Antonia (Isabels niece) to La Casita, which is a lovely organic farm with lovely food and gardens and swingsets and playground for the kids.
WE WENT TO LEON…SEPT 24-25
It was nice. I had never been. We went in a bus with tons of people from another community. I took Lesbia and Brian and we all had such a wonderful time, and it was the Fiesta de La Virgen Patrona de Leon, La Virgen de Mercedes, and we got to watch the procession, and Brian was wellbehaved the whole day, and we went to the ebach, and went swimming Nica-style in shorts and tank tops, and it was Brian´s first time at the beach, and Lesbia´s second, and even though it was rainy (although the rain did stop while we were at the beach) and the water was really sandy and big waves and riptides, it was lovely, and Brian just loved splashing in the waves and kept wanting to run into the water. And we all thought he would be scared…..Me, Kristy, Sadie, Stephanie, and Chico Javier stayed the night in a chill hostel run by an Australian guy who was way flirty, but we all went out dancing later that night and was really fun( not the Australian guy). Sadie didn´t go and went to bed instead, and it was the first time during any party times that she went to bed before me. Normally I am always so tired! But yesterday I was having such a good day, just looking at churches and wandering about, and no worries, I had tons of energy. We got all excited to go see Charlie and The Chocolate Facotry, but it was dubbed in Spanish! And they always do such bad voices, and the Oompa-Loompa songs wee hard to understand. The other all agreed the original was better, but I don’t know, I thought it was great. Got sad later today though when I realized how SOON I am leaving. I have so much to do!! And I will miss people so much!
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Things are progressing slowly on the Fulbright front, and in no small part because I think I am officially burnt out. I am really thinking most about how to tie up loose ends and get everyone trained to do the things I will need them to do while I am gone. I need to find a secure way to store my things, get my export permits, arrange pay and work schedules, and visit various offices and meet with peoples. Technically I think I am supposed to leave a report for my work here, but I don’t think I will have enough time. Oh, well. Here is the news from the last few weeks.
ROWAN HAS LEFT THE BUILDING…August 28th
And everyone misses him so much….Fran especially since they are great friends. We had a kickin’ despedida and Rowan made pizza, and we made meat and veggie Nacatamales and danced all night and got drunk, and still got up to work the next morning. When we brought out the cake, every single one of the guys/and girl wanted to say something nice to Rowan. They love him so much!! They all thanked him for being so great and teaching them so many things and being so fun. And then they al started thanking me and I thanked them and Rowan for all working so hard and putting up with my bad moods. It got all quite sentimental. And although I had bought a large cake, I had thought it would be a smallish dinner party and not half of Sontule, so as Rowan kept cutting the cake, it got smaller and smaller and smaller, until we just got the leftover frosting and cake bits from the bottom. Rowan actually had sort of three going away parties, because his official Sontule one was on Friday, but Hillary came back for a week, and there was a bienvenidos for her, mixed with a despedida for Rowan, and then Saturday night he went out in Esteli with Ray and Ana (I did not go because I was tired). I really cant begin to explain how much Rowan helped me and how great it was to have someone around to bounce ideas off of. I know I am surrounded by friends and family here, but it was especially nice to have someone to talk science with.
STEPHANIE RIDES HER BIKE TO NICARAGUA…..Sept 3rd
Just kidding. She just rode it to Mexico.
Stephanie has arrived to volunteer for a month. She road her bike across mexico for four months, Staring in New Mexico, and ending in Chiapas, where she volunteered for three months. She is very cool, and reminds me a lot of people I knew in Santa Cruz. She´s been great and really fun, and I wish I was in good shape and skinny like her. Very chill, and has been nice enough about working quite a bit while I havent been around because I have been in Esteli working on this thing. Smart chick
THE SAGA OF JULIE AND RAY……Sept 7th
Ray and Julie are a sweet (some would say a little too sweet) couple that came to work for me. They both have had more experience than me and made many useful suggestions and helped me wuite a bit. And yet, Julie never seemed happy. I asked Ray about it, and he said it was probably because she wasn’t feeling well. In fact, she was sick most of the time she was here, poor girl. Anyhow, I think the whole situation and my study and methods an such were not what she was expecting.
Julie and Ray planned a trip to Honduras to renew their viasa. Although you only have to go for three days, I was fine with them wanting to take 10. Before they left, Ray asked me it would be cool if they left about a month earlier than planned. I said fine, what could I say, and I was pretty sure it was mostly because she was not doing so well. Well, the bad luck continued, and upon their return from Honduras, Julie fell really sick to a urinary tract infection, and had many nights of really high fevers and wasn’t responding to antibiotics. In the end, they decided to send her back to the US. I don’t think it was an emergency, but her mom was really worried and she probably wanted to go home anyway. To their credit they both decided that Ray should stay 10 days longer to help out. It was really great that he did because it helped a lot.
I love Paul, but the thing I love best about our relationship is that although we would love to be together all of the time, we won´t shrivel and die like the time I didn’t leave enough water for the baby frogs I was raising. We are more like those frogs that make a mucus coating and burrow themselves way down into the mud and estevate to wait out the dry season until the rains come back and we can come out and see each other again.
I HAVE A FRIEND AND SHE LIKES ME
Lesbia and I have gotten to be really close. She has told me she considers me her only real friend, and the only person she can talk to. I am glad for this, yet it makes me really sad because I am not there all the time, and she really need Nica friends. But I think that she is right when she says Isabel doesn’t want her to have any friends. Suegras (mother in laws) can be tough here, and always expect their nueras (daughter in laws) to work really hard. I think Isabel is great, but she has really stong opinions, and can be difficult at times. I respect her a lot though. I have been encouraging Lesbia to be better friends with Mayra, because they are similar in so many ways. Both very sensitive and bien humilde. I finally got to take Lesbia, Brian, Araceli, and Linda Antonia (Isabels niece) to La Casita, which is a lovely organic farm with lovely food and gardens and swingsets and playground for the kids.
WE WENT TO LEON…SEPT 24-25
It was nice. I had never been. We went in a bus with tons of people from another community. I took Lesbia and Brian and we all had such a wonderful time, and it was the Fiesta de La Virgen Patrona de Leon, La Virgen de Mercedes, and we got to watch the procession, and Brian was wellbehaved the whole day, and we went to the ebach, and went swimming Nica-style in shorts and tank tops, and it was Brian´s first time at the beach, and Lesbia´s second, and even though it was rainy (although the rain did stop while we were at the beach) and the water was really sandy and big waves and riptides, it was lovely, and Brian just loved splashing in the waves and kept wanting to run into the water. And we all thought he would be scared…..Me, Kristy, Sadie, Stephanie, and Chico Javier stayed the night in a chill hostel run by an Australian guy who was way flirty, but we all went out dancing later that night and was really fun( not the Australian guy). Sadie didn´t go and went to bed instead, and it was the first time during any party times that she went to bed before me. Normally I am always so tired! But yesterday I was having such a good day, just looking at churches and wandering about, and no worries, I had tons of energy. We got all excited to go see Charlie and The Chocolate Facotry, but it was dubbed in Spanish! And they always do such bad voices, and the Oompa-Loompa songs wee hard to understand. The other all agreed the original was better, but I don’t know, I thought it was great. Got sad later today though when I realized how SOON I am leaving. I have so much to do!! And I will miss people so much!
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