I had quite a weekend! On Saturday I met with a wonderful elementary school principal named Sobey. She and I were in close contact last semester discussing how to help support the very poor kids in her school. I had written her a card explaining about all of my family and friends back home who want to support the children here in their pursuit of education. She was overwhelmed and very touched.
We discussed at length how the funds will be invested, mostly to compensate for administrative and infrastructural expenses that the government is not covering (i.e. the telephone bill and repairing the kitchen so that they can actually cook the bags of rice and beans provided by the government). Thanks to you, Sobey will be able to contact parents in case of an emergency, and the kids will receive at least one meal per day.
Sobey really wants to build a lasting friendship with all of you back home and hopes that I can bring you back to visit their school. She wonders if I can't arrange pen-pals, so that the children in Esteli can get to know some of the children in the US. (I immediately thought of my cousin Nick and his friends at school...)
On Saturday evening I had two incredible interviews--one with a National Assembly Delegate (the equivalent of a US Senator!) and another with one of Esteli's city councilmen. I couldn't believe my luck! Over the course of three hours, I was able to ask them both very candid questions about the government's most controversial policies, and they were both very open and obliging. (To think that I now have the cell phone number of a National Assembly Delegate!) And apparently he has an encyclopedic knowledge of Nicaraguan history and politics, which will be SO helpful when I'm writing up next year. Neither of these interviews would have been possible without my friend Ledis. I met Ledis through my Norwegian friends. He is an incredibly gifted artist, specializing in murals. Actually, this is how he happens to be such close friends of the National Assembly Delegate. They were both Sandinista youth leaders and 'muralistas,' who painted some of the most beautiful murals in the country. I'll have to take some pictures of his paintings and post them in the future...
On Sunday I visited my friend Nicole in Matagalpa (about two hours away from Esteli). Nicole just graduated from Brown last year and won a Fulbright grant to do research on malnutrition and community health. Here is a shot from the bus ride over. I believe these flooded fields are rice, though I'm not positive.
The main cathedral in the center of Matagalpa (classic colonial-style urban planning--put the church in the middle and then we'll deal with the rest later).
Here is Nicole after scrambling down the surprisingly difficult path down the mountain.
Here is the view of Matagalpa from our mountain top. You can see the white cathedral in the center. Que hermosa!
I wish I could say that the bird in the upper-right corner were an eagle, but it's probably a vulture. Lots of them around. Kind of gives me the creeps. A little ominous.
Another beautiful waterfall to add to my photo gallery. However, all I can think about when I see this picture is the story that Nicole told me: She actually fell down a waterfall when she was hiking in Panama. The mental image is too much...
Here are some of the coffee trees that cover the hillsides of Matagalpa. Matagalpa is well known for its organic coffee and chocolate. Unfortunately the chocolate factory was closed because it was Sunday, but I drank some really delicious coffee at Artesanos.
Very beautiful cacti covering the rocks...
I usually forget to take pictures that include myself, so here's one to prove that I was there too.
We discussed at length how the funds will be invested, mostly to compensate for administrative and infrastructural expenses that the government is not covering (i.e. the telephone bill and repairing the kitchen so that they can actually cook the bags of rice and beans provided by the government). Thanks to you, Sobey will be able to contact parents in case of an emergency, and the kids will receive at least one meal per day.
Sobey really wants to build a lasting friendship with all of you back home and hopes that I can bring you back to visit their school. She wonders if I can't arrange pen-pals, so that the children in Esteli can get to know some of the children in the US. (I immediately thought of my cousin Nick and his friends at school...)
On Saturday evening I had two incredible interviews--one with a National Assembly Delegate (the equivalent of a US Senator!) and another with one of Esteli's city councilmen. I couldn't believe my luck! Over the course of three hours, I was able to ask them both very candid questions about the government's most controversial policies, and they were both very open and obliging. (To think that I now have the cell phone number of a National Assembly Delegate!) And apparently he has an encyclopedic knowledge of Nicaraguan history and politics, which will be SO helpful when I'm writing up next year. Neither of these interviews would have been possible without my friend Ledis. I met Ledis through my Norwegian friends. He is an incredibly gifted artist, specializing in murals. Actually, this is how he happens to be such close friends of the National Assembly Delegate. They were both Sandinista youth leaders and 'muralistas,' who painted some of the most beautiful murals in the country. I'll have to take some pictures of his paintings and post them in the future...
On Sunday I visited my friend Nicole in Matagalpa (about two hours away from Esteli). Nicole just graduated from Brown last year and won a Fulbright grant to do research on malnutrition and community health. Here is a shot from the bus ride over. I believe these flooded fields are rice, though I'm not positive.
The main cathedral in the center of Matagalpa (classic colonial-style urban planning--put the church in the middle and then we'll deal with the rest later).
Here is Nicole after scrambling down the surprisingly difficult path down the mountain.
Here is the view of Matagalpa from our mountain top. You can see the white cathedral in the center. Que hermosa!
I wish I could say that the bird in the upper-right corner were an eagle, but it's probably a vulture. Lots of them around. Kind of gives me the creeps. A little ominous.
Another beautiful waterfall to add to my photo gallery. However, all I can think about when I see this picture is the story that Nicole told me: She actually fell down a waterfall when she was hiking in Panama. The mental image is too much...
Here are some of the coffee trees that cover the hillsides of Matagalpa. Matagalpa is well known for its organic coffee and chocolate. Unfortunately the chocolate factory was closed because it was Sunday, but I drank some really delicious coffee at Artesanos.
Very beautiful cacti covering the rocks...
I usually forget to take pictures that include myself, so here's one to prove that I was there too.
2 comments:
I wish I could be there with you guys!!! I miss you both!
We miss you too!!!
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