Aileen's Turn

Emma, Hannah and Jeff just got back from Costa Rica.  It was a great trip and we will blog about it soon.   In the meantime, here is a photo from a hanging bridge in the Monteverde cloud forest.

Though we had a wonderful time, we really missed Aileen.  Speaking of which, here is her post about life and death in Nicaragua.....

Today I went out to Tapasle, the rural community where we’re building a preschool. I was going to use my truck to help them bring sand, rocks, and water from the river to the school site. I was happy because I got an early start. The last two times I was planning to spend the day in Tapasle, hauling materials in the truck, I got waylaid, the first time by a flat tire, and the second time by a roadblock: two large trucks that were trying to pass each other both got stuck in the deep mud along the edges of the road, blocking traffic in both directions.

Anyway, when I arrived at the community, Hector, the president of the project committee was waiting for me. He said that they had a favor to ask. A man from the community had passed away the day before, and they needed help to bring his body and casket to the cemetery, which was in Sabana Grande, a community about half an hour away, up a long, steep hill. I told them of course I would help them, and Hector took off on his horse to let them know that I would take them.

We unloaded the cement that I had brought with me, and then we got as close to the house as we could, in a vehicle. While we waited, I heard the story of Don Timoteo’s widow, Doña Vicenta.

Vicenta was from the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, which is really isolated, geographically, politically, and culturally, from the rest of Nicaragua. When Vicenta was in her late teens, she met a young man, and moved with him to Tapasle. Soon afterwards, he left to fight in the Contra War and was killed. She was a young, childless widow, in a community where she had no family of her own. She stayed there, and about ten years later met Timoteo. They didn’t have any of their own land, and in the twenty or so years that they were together, they never had children. Timoteo worked as a day laborer on other people’s land, and during the coffee harvest, they both worked, picking coffee. Yesterday, they were working together, picking coffee, when Timoteo had a heart attack. Again, Doña Vicenta is a childless widow, but now she’s in her late 50’s, in a community where she has no family of her own.

As I helped Doña Vicenta into the passenger seat of my truck, I told her how sorry I was for her terrible loss, and she just stared at me, numbly, and remained that way for the entire way to the cemetery, staring straight ahead, unblinking.

Interlude

We are taking a break from the "each person does an in-depth post" series to give a little update on what has been going on lately.  Since our last post, Jeff, Emma and Hannah went back to visit our friends the Valles. When we got there Jeffrey Jr. and his brother were away but we got to spend time with Aileen Jr. and her parents. There was no traumatic river crossing this time but we did get to watch our lunch (chicken) being killed and prepared.  It was so very touching to watch Hannah running around with the semi-developed chicken eggs and other innards that they let her play with.  That evening we stayed at a hotel in the town of El Sauce owned by our old friends the Blancos.  Xiomara and Francisco are amazing people and we were very happy to hear that all three of their daughters were doing well in their chosen professions.  This family is a very bright light in a country where the future often seems so dark.  It was energizing to be around them and we plan to go back very soon.

To the Valle's house we go....

In other exciting news, our zoo continues to grow. The Valle family decided to give Hannah a chick since she loved playing with them so much.  Aileen Jr. and Hannah forced Jeff into submission and we took the little sucker home.  It had to spend the night in the Blanco's hotel with us. Muji (hen in Chinese) is the newest resident of our chicken coop and she seems to be adjusting well.  In addition to Muji we now have a bat living in our patio named Bat Girl.  Bat Girl is probably there to enjoy a nice meal of chicken blood and hopefully not feasting on our dog too.  Actually we chased her away the other day but I would not be surprised to see Bat Girl again.  Speaking of the dog, Cuate is getting HUGE and is lots of fun for all of us when he is not destroying various items he gets his mouth on.

Bat Girl

Thanksgiving was another highlight of the month.  Aileen cooked a wonderful meal of chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce.  We were not able to watch football as there was no power all day and we had to cook and eat by candlelight.  The next day we visited a pre-Columbian museum in a nearby town called Chaguitillo. The museum guide (Jimmy) took us to a creek to see petro glyphs that were about 1500 years old.   Not only was the trip really interesting, Jimmy was a really nice guy who just got a scholarship to study nonprofit management in the USA.  Jimmy is another bright light and we plan to hang out with him before he leaves.

Thanksgiving Nica style

The really big event this month was the end of the Nicaraguan school year.  Hannah had her preschool graduation which was a huge affair.  It started with a mass in our beautiful little church.  The mass was lovely but Jeff found himself muttering in Hebrew and keeping an eye out for lightning bolts (only partly joking).  After mass there was a graduation ceremony and fiesta back at the school.  Jeff had to walk Hannah down the aisle which was good practice for the pending marriage to Oscar - her friend who swears he is coming back to the USA with us. 



Hannah getting her diploma

Emma did not have a ceremony per se, but we did have to go pick up her report card today which was sort of ceremonial.  Teacher Carmen told us that Emma was one of the best students she has ever had (and she has been teaching for 30 years).  Emma did incredibly well and has a growing reputation as the town scholar.  She is at the library every other day picking out books to read (English and Spanish).  Both of the girls will miss being at school.  They have made many friends and have been spending more and more time playing with their classmates.  Though they are making lots of new buddies, Emma and Hannah have REALLY bonded.  It is wonderful to see them together (except of course when they are fighting - which gets surprisingly physical sometimes).

Diploma and report card

School starts does not start again until February and we are about to begin our vacation travels  Jeff, Emma and Hannah leave for Costa Rica in a few days and will return mid-December.  Aileen cannot go as she is taking off many weeks of work in 2011 for our trips to the USA and Peru.  Besides all that, she has started a new school project in another community and is getting really busy again.  The travelers will try to blog on the road but if not, we will post when we get return.  Oh yeah, that is if we are even able to leave.  We just found out we need an exit visa for Jeff to take the kids out of Nicaragua without Aileen and it may be impossible to get one at this late date.  We cannot wait to make another trip to immigration!





Hannah's Turn

This week features Hannah.  She decided to do a photo essay about San Ramon.  Before we turn it over to Hannah, here is a brief update.

Not too much has happened in our daily lives since our last post.  However, we have finally decided our plans for the rest of the year.  When we decided to live in Nicaragua, everyone agreed to assess the situation in November and if we were not happy being here we would move to South America.  After weeks of discussion, debate and yes, some tears we finally decided to stay.  Aileen loves her job as well as the town and was not interested in moving.  Emma loves it here even more and was the one who shed some tears at the thought of leaving.  Hannah says she does not like it here but she is always smiling, has many friends and seems to revel in the freedom of small town life -- we took her vote with a grain of salt.  Once Jeff realized he could support the family by working 15 hours a week, the idea of moving to the mountains or beaches of Argentina took hold.  Cooler heads prevailed and we will continue our wonderful experience in San Ramon.  However, we agreed to take some major trips and encourage visits from friends and family in order to make the most of our time here, especially when the girls are off school. 

On to our feature presentation....Hannah's World in Photos.

My teacher is good and I like her

That is one of the San Ramon buses

This is my dog

This is Freddy.  He fell.

That is Hugo and he is nice

The library where everyone studies

They are crazy guys

He is my boyfriend Oscar

Look at the cute pig

That is our store.  My dog's daddy King is there,

That's my school





Emma's Turn

We are suffering from blog fatigue so for the next four weeks, each of us will take turns posting. Emma volunteered to go first.

On our way to a deserted island

My Crazy Week – by Emma
(this is something Emma wrote for the blog in mid-October that never got posted)

At school I am learning about how important it is to NOT waste electricity. In mathematics I am learning geometry. Yesterday I worked on a painting project at an after school program. This week school got cancelled because my teacher had a meeting. On the long weekend I went to the opening of Santa Isabel school (for Aileen's work).

Escuela Santa Isabel Grand Opening

Cuate (our new puppy) has a new puppy friend and her name is Pelusa. Daddy got a bike and I can ride on it with him by sitting on the bar so we ride around town a lot. If you have NOT seen me on Facebook I will tell you right now I made a video of a song for my Mom and Dad’s anniversary.

My School – by Emma K.
(note: this is from a project that Emma is doing with her classmates in Nicaragua and the USA)

In my school it is more noisy then the San Francisco School. Recess is not as calm. In my classroom it is very noisy and people are always running around the classroom bugging other people. School is noisy but there are lots of very nice friends. I have two best friends, Janyn (Yanin) and Carlos a girl and a boy.

Janyn

School is orange and white but the orange is orangeish-yellow. It is NOT like San Francisco School and is made of concrete. There is a big open space in between the buildings and that is the yard. It is pretty big but not as big as the San Francisco School yard. The power and water always go out and because of that we have a water tank as you will see on my map there is a circle and that is the water tank.

Emma's School

School starts at 7:30. In the mornings we sing the national anthem and the education anthem. We have three subjects, Spanish, Math and Civics. Recently we have been studying nature and Nicaraguan money. Sometimes we have PE or music but not so much. School ends at 12:15.

Emma's Class

Long Time No Blog

It is hard to believe that October is gone and we have been in Nicaragua four months. Things have been a bit slow of late.  Given the rains, the pets, and our work we ended up staying close to town during the past six weeks. We enjoyed some shopping trips to Matagalpa, a nice meal for our wedding anniversary, the national volleyball championship held in our town, and hanging out with friends. Jeff’s job ended and he started doing some consulting work with nonprofits in Nicaragua and the USA.  Aileen started construction on a new school. Emma and Hannah continue to study, play and grow.

Since things have been slow, we will tell you about some interesting medical experiences. As you may have heard, there has been an outbreak of Leptospirosis in Nicaragua and we were getting very nervous. The health care system in Nicaragua was really broken when we lived here in 2000 so we were not sure what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised when a health worker came to our door to discuss Leptospirosis. He provided us a prophylaxis for the disease and said he would return each week with more until the outbreak passes. He then asked if we wanted our H1N1 vaccines while he was visiting!  Unfortunately Jeff had another experience with the medical system after accidentally sticking his hand in our puppy’s mouth while playing (true story Mom, it was NOT a bite so don’t worry). The medical clinic patched him up, ruled out rabies and gave him a tetanus shot. It was a bit disconcerting getting treated in the hallway of the clinic but they got the job done.  The most interesting thing to note is that everything was free thanks to the Sandinista government’s focus on universal health care. Life is far from perfect here but perhaps the USA can learn a few things from Nicaragua.

Fortunately, we now have more interesting things to talk about than our health.  The rainy season is over, school is winding down, Jeff’s job ended and our puppy is growing up. Time to hit the road again!  This past weekend we went to Playa Coco on the Pacific Ocean which is about six hours from our house and an hour or so from the border with Costa Rica. After the long and grueling drive to our cottage by the beach, the girls shot out of the car, quickly changed and bolted to the water.

That night, we drove to nearby Playa La Flor to look for the sea turtles that come ashore to lay eggs every year. When we got to this nearby national park, we paid our entrance fee and were assigned a guide who covered our lights with red cellophane paper before taking us on a short hike to the beach. We were not prepared for what we saw. There were nearly one thousand turtles on the shore – coming and going with little regard for anything other than laying their eggs and getting back to the ocean. Each of us was nearly knocked over numerous times by the giant turtles. Our guide took us to a turtle in the process of finishing her nest (a deep hole in the sand) and laying her eggs. We watched her lay about 100 eggs and cover the nest with packed sand. We then followed her back to the ocean and she swam off without looking back.

The next day we were all pretty tired and decided to play on the beach. There were very few people around this undeveloped area so we had the place mostly to ourselves. We cooked our meals in the shared kitchen near our cottage and had a nice, mellow day. We watched the World Series that evening and went to bed soon after. We had such a good time we decided to extend our stay for another night. Rather than leaving the next morning we woke up early and took a boat to nearby Bolanos Island in Costa Rica. After a one hour ocean trip during which we saw sea turtles, schools of fish and amazing scenery, we arrived at a pristine beach on a deserted island. After a totally treacherous hike up a steep hill our guide brought us to the only frigatgebird nesting site in Nicaragua or Costa Rica. It was quite a site.

The rest of our trip was spent lounging around, playing and chatting. The girls spoke of the Giants, their friends and Halloween. They decided that next year would be Nicaraguan themed costumes. Emma said she wants to be a native Nicaraguan princess. Hannah said she wants to be a stupid drunk guy. Enough said.

We drove back on Monday and did something we try to avoid at all costs – driving at night. However it was really hard to leave the beach so we decided to deal with the horror of Nicaraguan night driving. Jeff actually liked the madness (figures) and drove all the way home. We stopped at a pizza place on the way back and got to watch the World Series. Needless to say that was a huge thrill. When we rolled into town Monday night we noticed a new street sign. We were very excited as signage is rare in Nicaragua. However, our excitement turned to laughter when we realized the sign guiding drivers toward a nearby city was pointing in the wrong direction; why someone put this up is a mystery.

Hail the Victorious Gigantes!

Hopefully this brings our readers up to date. We are looking forward to vacation and upcoming travels and will share them with you in future posts.

What I Like About You

In celebration of our 100 days in Nicaragua we want to share some of the things we like the most about this country.

Aileen
Aileen is still avoiding the blog, but we got her to make a list:

• Our hammock
• Butterflies
• Kids happy with the new school we built in their community
• Birds
• Sunndy days when the soaking wet laundry hanging on a clothesline dries in an hour
• The new tires on my truck
• In Nicaragua, people talk about body size and shape and joke around about it without getting offended
• The old people whose deeply creased faces reflect decades of living under a brutal dictator, through devastating natural disasters, war, and poverty, and they're still smiling

Jeff

There are many things that I enjoy about living in a different country.  However, I have yet to discuss the things I enjoy about Nicaragua.  In fact, I have spent a fair amount of time making bad jokes and negative comments.  I suppose it is time to share some of the wonderful things this country has to offer.

First of all, I really enjoy the natural environment we live in. Nicaragua's beauty is a subtle one but beautiful it is. The subtropical landscape is lush, especially in protected areas that have not been deforested (like the place I worked for example). The colors, foliage, birds, insects, sounds, temperature, rain, lakes, volcanoes, seashore and other things I am forgetting all combine to make something very special. It is not as dramatic as the Sierra Nevada mountain range or as magical as the Amazon rain forest but somehow the combination of it all works well. During the past ten years many public and private nature preserves have been created thus adding to the number of places where the beauty of this country can shine through. You have to work a little harder to see some of the natural wonders of Nicaragua, but that is part of the fun. Sometimes working harder means long and sweaty hikes. Other times it means just paying attention to the new and wonderful things right outside our front door.

Sunset at Finca Esperanza Verde

What I like even more is the people who live here. Nicaraguans are generally very warm and loving people who enjoy the company of their fellow humans regardless of where they are from. The United States has done so much harm to this country during the last hundred+ years you would think there would be resentment against Americans. However, I have NEVER encountered any anti-American animosity in Nicaragua. On the other hand, every time I have been to Western Europe (which the USA rebuilt after WWII) I ALWAYS encounter some anti-American sentiment.  Most Nicaraguans are also very generous with their time, resources and love.  Not a week goes by that our neighbor (who lives in a shack) does not send over some food for us to try.  Not a day goes by that someone does not grab Emma and Hannah and give them a big hug.  That loving and generous spirit which permeates their culture makes it impossible to not love the Nicaraguan people.

Recently I have been thinking about why this is the safest country in Central America and one of the top 25 safest countries in the world. There are likely some complex economic explanations but that only tells part of the story. I think one of the reasons Nicaragua is so safe relative to its neighbors has to do with its people.  Nicaraguans avoid direct confrontation with others. This is sometimes hard for me as I try to be as direct as possible at all times. However, I have to say this non-confrontation thing makes for a more peaceful existence. I believe another reason why crime is so low is because folks have a "we are all in it together" attitude. Aileen feels this cooperative attitude is due to the Sandinista revolution and a quick look at crime stats would confirm that. I also think Nicaraguans really enjoy joking, laughing, dancing and having a good time and crime tends to put a damper on all of that. I am not saying that crime does not happen here; in fact our house got burglarized when we lived here in 2000.  I am just saying that this is a relatively safe place and I think it is largely due to the culture of those who live here.

What I Like - by Hannah

Jeff asked Hannah to tell him what she liked about Nicaragua.  Here is her response:

• My neighbors
• My teacher Yesenia
• Coloring with my friends
• Butterflies
• Our house
• When I get letters
• Playing with my friends
• Getting stickers at the after school program
• Our pets

Can I go now, this is boring?

Teacher Yesenia

I Love You San Ramon - by Emma

The following was written by Emma and copied into the blog letter for letter by Jeff:

1. I like that I (or Hanna) can go where I whant. (when I whant to).
2. I also like all the peoble, evrybody is very nice.
3. I LOVE my teacher.
4. I am very sorry I am going to chang the subject, I think it very funny that a boy in my class (Carlos, who I think very much loves me) wrote on a white bord this, Emma "mi" love ("mi" is my in Spanish).
5. Oky let's get back. I like studying in my school and studying Spanish and guitar.

Classmate Francis



Teacher Carmen

Two More Weeks in Review

We had a very nice couple of weeks. On Saturday Sept. 18 Jeff and the girls drove to Finca Esperanza Verde (where Jeff is temporarily working) and did a nice hike. School was closed for a few days so Sunday we all visited Masaya Volcano National Park and peered into an active, sulfur spewing crater. Fortunately, we left minutes before some decided to through themselves into that crater!  We then went to Managua to renew our tourist visas and due to a series of fortunate events we ended up staying in a fancy hotel with hot water, TV, a swimming pool and no mosquitoes; it was an awesome way to celebrate the three month anniversary of our arrival in Nicaragua.

Emma and Hannah hamming it up at a volcano in an effort to win a photo contest sponsored by their dentist in the USA

Tuesday we went back to Finca Esperenza Verde for some more hiking and school finally started again on Wednesday (thank goodness). Upon returning to school we learned that Emma was one of the top students in her class, with a 98.2% average. It is rude to brag, but we cannot help being so proud of Hannah and Emma who have adjusted so beautifully. Friday was a short school day for the girls as we all went to the city of Dario to celebrate the 20th anniversary of El Porvenir a nonprofit in Nicaragua that Aileen and Jeff worked for ten years ago. It was amazing to see how well the organization is doing and that its unique culture still exists despite some very substantial growth.

Musical Performer at the El Porvenir Anniversary

The following week was a bit slower. The weekend of Saturday Sept. 25 had us stuck indoors due to heavy rain. Power and water went on and off and at some point we lost running water for almost 3 days (fortunately we had water saved up in some barrels). Of course school got cancelled due to the rain because many students do not show up during bad storms. It makes sense that some students do not show up when it rains as they have to cross dangerous rivers to get into town for school. However, the constant school vacations can be pretty frustrating and cannot be very good for the students. Anyhow, the girls passed the time doing their extracurricular activities and playing with their friends.  We also managed to brave the storms and take one of our neighbors out for pizza to celebrate her birthday.

Hannah and Friends Keeping Busy



Birthday Celebration at the Italian restaurant in Matagalpa

The rains subsided toward the end of the week but being stuck inside for many days must have clouded our thinking. We (i.e., Jeff) made the spontaneous and not very wise decision to buy a dog. Our new puppy is called Cuate (Buddy in Spanish). Cuate is 50% Boxer and 100% adorable. The kids love him and are now lobbying to expand the Kositsky Farm with a bunny once our neighbor's rabbit delivers her babies.

Emma, Hannah and a sleepy Cuate

Aileen's work at SOL continues to progress well.  She has finished up one school and is planning the grand opening celebration.  She is now focusing on developing a few schools in other rural communities and hopes to start construction when the rain stops.  Jeff is really enjoying his temporary position at the nonprofit hotel/farm Finca Esperanza Verde.  Despite the fact that this is the slow season, he is keeping pretty busy with a leaky roof, electrical problems, cash flow issues, etc.  We could both tell lots of funny stories about work but choose not to given that our bosses might read this so you will have to wait until we get home to hear them.

Student in SOL's newest school.

That pretty much sums up the past few weeks. Like most of our weeks here, they have been full but mellow and always full of surprises. We are deep into the rainy season so the next month will likely be a bit challenging. However, I imagine Cuate will pose more challenges than the rain!

Another Week in Nicaragua

News About "Uncle Andy"
As you may know, Jeff's brother Andy had a fire in his home.  The entire house was destroyed and everything lost.  Fortunately Andy, his daugher Nadia and their dog Eddy are doing just fine.  Unfortunately insurance is not going to cover much.  If you know Andy (or even if you do not) and are interested in helping his family recover visit http://kositskybenefitfund.blogspot.com/

Independence Day - By Emma
Here is a video from the independence day parade I was in.

I was in the independence day parade.  They were celebrating independence from the USA (note, September 14th commemerates the battle of San Jacinto during which the Nicaraguans defeated American William Walker who had declared himself President of the country).  I practiced for a very long time.  I had to skip school just to practice.  I learned how to use a baton and pom poms.  It was great.

A New Job – by Jeff
Life in San Ramón keeps presenting twists and turns, most of which are fun or at least interesting. The one thing I least expected to be doing in Nicaragua was working but as of last week I am once again employed. The director of a place called Finca Esperanza Verde went back to the United States on paternity leave and I am filling in for a month or so during his absence. It is just a part-time gig and taking care of the family is still my main job. However, this will be a nice diversion for a few months and it is for a very good cause.

Finca Esperanza Verde is a business with a mission (a.k.a. a social enterprise). It is an award winning eco-lodge and coffee farm that creates jobs for folks from San Ramón. Finca Esperanza Verde is also a nature preserve with an extensive trail system. The profits from this business are used to fund community programs such as building schools, repairing the town’s water system, supporting a dance festival, bringing electricity to rural communities, etc. Finca Esperanza Verde was started by Sister Communities of San Ramón, Nicaragua (SCSRN), a nonprofit based in Durham, NC that promotes people-to-people connections and supports social and economic development projects that build friendship, understanding, justice and respect for the Earth.

I starrted this job just one day before the director left for the US. We did not have much time together so I am still trying to figure out my role. Luckily, the staff I are excellent and know what needs to be done to keep the place running. I would like to believe the main skill I bring to the table is extensive experience running nonprofit organizations. However, I fear that my ability to drive a stick shift, use a computer and translate are probably more important.

So far I am enjoying this opportunity.  I have already met some wonderful folks and the farm is a very special place.  Emma, Hannah and I spent a night there and had an incredible time.  Please check out the links above to learn more about our work and how you might be able to support it. Also, I now (regretably) have a mobile phone - the number can be found in the contact info page in case you ever need to call.

What I Did - by Hannah
These are the things I did this week.

1.  Made an omlette with our chicken's eggs.

2.  Went to my friend's birthday party with Emma.

3.  Visited our friend Janeth in Matagalpa where we lived before.

4.  Stayed at Finca Esperanza Verde with Emma and Daddy.  It was really fun.

5.  We had no school this week so I played and played.

Blogcation - By Aileen
I am taking a break from blogging and will write again one of these days.

Week in Review

Like we said in our last post life is becoming more "normal." In some ways, life is very much like it was in the USA. The adults work, take care of the children, pay bills, try to find some alone time, etc. The children go to school, have afters-school activities and play dates. We each have our friends, acquaintances and some folks we could do without. On the other hand, things are so very different. The language, the culture and the simple mechanics of getting things done in a very poor country make this a rich and challenging adventure. Every week we each have new discoveries, wonderful experiences, frustrations and questions -- each of which could be a long post. For now, here is a summary of everyone’s week in their own words, hopefully giving you a picture of our life here.

Not Fun/Fun - by Hannah
This is what was not fun. Arleth (her friend) was not supposed to go into my classroom but she did even though my teacher said no five times. She took my hand when my teacher was not looking and said corre (run) because she did not want the teacher to see. She ran all the way to my house and said it is the end of class to my Dad. My teacher was worried (and called wondering where Hannah was). Last night the lights went out and I had no night light. It was pitch dark and I bumped into everything. Luckily I screamed DADDY and he came out of the bedroom with a flashlight.

Hannah and Her Sisters

This is what was fun. I was drawing with my friend Cindy and I made a pretty picture with the sun and sky and a house and flowers and butterflies and a worm. I like to play with her a lot. Daddy got a new bike and it is fun. I went swimming in a lake and I was never scared a fish would bite me. I did a run jump (off a floating dock) into the lake. Mommy reading stories to me is fun. Preschool is fun. I had green poop and that is really funny (no illness, just green for some reason).

I Have Lots of Subjects So I Do Not Know What to Name This – by Emma
This weekend we went to Laguna de Apoyo and we got onto a floating dock in the deep water. The water was warm and I do not know why. We also floated in tubes. We stayed in the biggest room in a place called the Monkey Hut. I had a really fun time.

Laguna de Apoyo

I am going to be in the independence day parade (September 14th) and I am in the gimnasia (pom pom girls) not the paliona (baton twirlers). I had to buy lots of clothes, knee high socks, a red skirt, pom poms, white shoes and a white t-shirt. Practice is really fun but it always starts late. The older girls are basically in charge of us.

School is really interesting but it is also very fun and hectic. People are always yelling in my face asking me if I like a boy in my class (Emma and Carlos seem to have a little romance going). The teacher can end school whenever she wants like if she has to see her husband because she lives in a different city that is far away. We have three subjects at school, math, Spanish and civics. I think my Spanish is getting good and I can have conversations with girls in my class without going, hmmmm, what does that mean?

Great Escapes - by Jeff

We had a wonderful escape from the patron saint festival in San Ramon by visiting our new favorite place in Nicaragua, Laguna de Apoyo. We swam, ate pizza, swam some more and relaxed by this lake which formed in the crater of a dormant volcano. Thermal vents keep the water warm and the location keeps the crowds to a minimum. The area is protected and thus development is sparse (compared to Lake Tahoe, for example). Speaking of which, Laguna de Apoyo rivals Lake Tahoe in its beauty; the only downside is the lack of skiing.

One of our hens escaped from our chicken run. I spent one night and the next morning running around town looking for our beloved Estrella. I heard many interesting theories; she left because she wanted a rooster, a dog ate her, someone stole her and painted her brown, etc. I finally found her right on the other side of our fence and our neighbor (also named Emma) tossed her over for me. I then spent the next day making our chicken habitat escape proof. Many of our neighbors thought I was being foolish as it would be easier to cut their wings but that is something I just did not want to do. Hopefully the chickens will now stay put. In other chicken news, our neighbor Maria lent us her rooster named Pinto. Estrella and Luna are keeping him company as Maria sold all of her hens. Perhaps they will finally start laying eggs. Hannah says if they do not we should eat them and get a dog!

Speaking of Hannah, as you already read, she escaped a great deal of school. Last week most classes were cancelled due to her teacher’s doctor appointment, the school census and a holiday. This week there was no school Monday – Wednesday because of the patron saint festival. The festival ended Tuesday but Wednesday was also a day off so folks could recover from the holiday. As you read, Thursday Hannah and her friend Arleth came home from school two hours early and Arleth told me there was no more school. Hannah seemed confused but it all became clear to me when her teacher called wondering what was up. I had to explain to Arleth and her mom that we were very happy she wants to play with Hannah but it has to wait until after school. Hannah escapes even more school because her teacher has a workshop Monday and Tuesday (I guess they never heard of substitutes). While I am on the subject, I walked into Emma’s class on Friday to say hello and found that the teacher had not arrived and was an hour late. I improvised an English lesson until someone finally showed up to take my place at the white board.

Universality – by Aileen

Certain things this week grabbed my attention not because they were so meaningful or funny or memorable, but because we/they could have been any people, anywhere in the world. They’re the kind of things that kind of make me wonder why we can’t all just get along.

Last week, I happened to be walking by the kids’ school when they got out for recess. The frenetic energy as the kids burst out of their classrooms and sprinted for the yard was palpable, even from outside on the sidewalk. It reminded me a lot of the energy on the yard at Fairmount (where I used to work) during recess.

On Friday, I had a meeting with a community that has been very enthusiastic about starting a project to build two new classrooms for their school. The meetings I’ve had there so far have been well-attended, with good participation, and with people even showing up on time (!). But when it came time to appoint the president of the committee that would be in charge of the project, there was dead silence. You’ve all been there: silence, a few nervous coughs, some slouching, and everyone studiously avoiding eye contact with each other.

Childen at a Community Meeting

The other day, I was in a rural community and some women were washing laundry in a river, while their kids played and splashed around nearby. As the women finished the laundry, they had to coax their kids out of the water with bribes of treats back at home. It reminded me of trying to get Emma and Hannah out of the water at Laguna de Apoyo.

In Closing...

Okay, after reading this again it is clear that our life is not what we used to consider normal. I guess settled would be a better word. We are really happy to be settled and normal will have to wait until we come home. In the meantime, we are enjoying the differences.  If you are interested in enjoying them too, we welcome visitors!

 

Patron Saint Festival

Jeff
The patron saint festival of Saint Raymond (aka San Ramon) has distinguished (or marred) the past week depending on one's perspective. Our town is named for Saint Raymond Nonnatus who is the patron saint of child birth. He was born by caesarian section in 1204, hence the name, no natus. Saint Raymond was captured by the Moors who bored a hole through his lips with a hot iron, and padlocked his mouth to prevent him from preaching. Despite his radical piercings, Ray still managed to convert some of his guards - much respect to this total bad-ass.

Celebrating Saint Raymond in San Ramon, Nicaragua apparently requires one to be a bad ass, just like the man himself.  It all started at 4am on August 21st with a bunch of rowdies walking around town playing music, setting off firecrackers and yelling via a loudspeaker. For some, celebrating Saint Raymond means ten days of non-stop drinking. For others it involves climbing a greased pole for monetary prizes, chasing a greased pig or goat so you can catch it and eat it, riding bulls, fighting roosters, a death defying bicycle race and of course the high volume karaoke competition that went on way past our bedtime. During the past eight days we have heard about stabbings (one resulting in death), broken bones, a gorging by a bull and multiple arrests. All of this excitement and there are still two more days left! It is just like I said – bad ass.

Our friend's team pole climbing toward victory

All of my politically incorrect joking aside, this is an important celebration for our town. It is essentially a county fair rooted in a religious tradition that has morphed over time (kind of like Christmas). It creates some great recreational opportunities for the citizens of San Ramon as well as a much needed economic boost. There have been some lovely religious celebrations, parades, concerts, activities for the children and a general coming together in the community. We have gotten to see some cool stuff and bonded with our neighbors through shared experiences and gossip. While there are certainly some very ridiculous aspects of this ten day fiesta, there are just as many ridiculous aspects of our American traditions. I would gripe about those too in order to be an equal opportunity curmudgeon but this blog is about Nicaragua.

Luckily Raymond is not the patron saint of education. During the past six weeks of elementary school there has not been one complete week of classes and this week was of course no exception. We have decided to take advantage of the four day vacation and get out of town.  We will miss the last two days of the festival but the events we are going to miss are either a repeat of what we have seen, too religious for us or likely to be too rowdy for the kids. Besides all that, the noise and excitement have worn us down a bit and we could use some R and R. Tomorrow we are heading to Laguna de Apoyo (a lake in an old volcanic crater) to do some swimming and hiking. We will have someone watch our home while we are gone as the celebration of Saint Raymond sets off a mini crime wave each year. Viva San Ramon.

Emma
I do not want to talk about the patron saint festival. I want to talk about chickens. We now have two chickens and their names are Estrella and Luna. Mommy and Daddy’s friend Evaristo had to drive a long way to find chickens. We built a chicken coop but it took us a whole week to find chickens to put in it. We finally got them on Friday.  Our chickens are fat because they had lots of food before. They are very afraid of everybody because it is a new place for them. They got dumped into a truck and taken to a new place and they were very scared in the beginning but they seem to know us better now. My chores in the morning are getting new water, cleaning their bowls and getting the chicken food. The food is called millon (sorghum). I let them into the chicken run in the morning. At night I feed them again and chase them with a stick to get them inside their coop. They have not laid eggs yet and we think it is because they are still scared.

Hannah

We went to a horse contest with our neighbors.  They rode a fake horse and had to grab a ribbon.  Most people could not get ribbons.  My friend Osnan got one.  He did not win because the winner got three.  He won a prize and had to kiss one of the princesses.  He used our broom for his horse.  The adults will do the same thing but with real horses.

Osnan riding to glory

Aileen

Jeff already provided too much information regarding the patron saint festival so I will keep this short.  I really enjoyed attending a little fair a few nights ago because many of the local kids (including ours) were running around enjoying themselves. Below is a picture of Hannah on a carousel.  No consumer safety advocates around here, no way.  That thing was flying!  For those of you who know Hannah, it must have been going pretty fast to get her upset.  After she got off, she was uncharacteristically grumpy, and we realized she had a low-grade fever.  Even though her temperature wasn't that high, we decided to keep her home from school the next day.  When people realized she wasn't at school, everyone agreed that her fever was because of the carousel ride the day before.  Nicaraguans have some pretty interesting ideas about cause and effect!

Hannah and Friends on the Saint Raymond-Go-Round

Closing

The careful reader will notice that the children seem very well adjusted and the adults appear to be suffering from culture shock charecterized by irrational cynicism. Nevertheless, we are totally thrilled to be here and are really enjoying our time together.  The girls still marvel at everything they see but the honeymoon period is over for the adults.  Overall, this is a good thing because we are now settling down to a more "normal" life.  San Ramon now feels more like home rather than just a vacation spot.  On the plus side, this means deepening relationships and a sense of belonging.  However, it also means that the rose colored glasses are gone and we must now face the challenges and adventures of everyday life in Nicaragua.