A Sunday Morning

I finally got to go to church here in Managua (in English!!). And it was awesome. In all honesty it felt a little bit weird, like somehow 100 other people accidentally got invited to me and God's hangout time. Spending time with God every day has been my anchor for the past month, but it has been one on one, without a worship band or pastor or community of other believers. And in some ways that has been really hard but in other ways I think it has completely changed the way I think of my relationship with God. So with this change came the odd feeling today at church, but it was a good confusion. The biggest blessing of today was the group of people who sought me out after the service to ask who I was, how I was doing, if I wanted to get involved with events, if I was free on Monday to watch football and eat free food... the list goes on. For the very first time since I got to Nicaragua I felt welcomed. Things aren't always easy of course and there's always the complication of transportation, and communication and mismatched schedules. So whether or not they work out, the important thing was that I was invited to do things, and felt truly cared for. I am so grateful. 

-Kayla Duskin

Beach Partayyyy

Two weeks into school UAM set up a trip to a private beach as a welcome back to school type event. It was open to all students but not too many came besides the ISEP students (it was free for us so of course we all showed up). We all loaded into a UAM van and headed out on Friday morning. It took about 2 hours to get there which was a little bit long to sit in a van, but the beach was well worth it! 

I must confess that while I love the ocean, the pool is what really made my day. The ocean is always just a little stressful with the waves and salt and the whole fact that it could kill you... but pools are nice and calm and relaxing. 

Another highlight would have to be the cooler of Toña beer that was included, only in Nicaragua would a school trip provide the beer! We had an amazing lunch and I only got a little sunburnt, so I consider the trip a success! I really want to go back to the beach sometime soon, I'll just let the pictures explain why.

-Kayla Duskin

Techo, Nicaragua Edition

I really can't even count how far behind I am on posting about what I've been up to. But sometime ago I spent a weekend a few hours north of Managua in Chinandega building houses with an organization called Techo (which means roof). Basically Techo chooses a neighborhood, does a bunch of surveying to find out who has the greatest amount of need, and then on a designated weekend a swarm of volunteers head to the neighborhood to construct the houses for the families.

The other ISEP students and I went with a Techo veteran from UAM named Bruno. He's from Bolivia,  speaks stellar English, is completely awesome and very generous to take 4 gringos under his wing for the weekend. We headed out on Friday afternoon, worked all day Saturday and Sunday and made it back to Managua by Sunday evening. 

All in all there were about 90 volunteers at the build, split up into 12 cuadrillas or building teams. At first it was really hard to enjoy building when I couldn't understand most of what was going on due to the language barrier. More exhausting than not understanding others was not being able to express myself or communicate the way I would in English. But eventually I just decided that the 7 other
people in my cuadrilla would just have to deal with my choppy Spanish and tried to laugh at myself and just go with it. Sunday passed quickly getting to know the group more, learning Nica slang (some more inappropriate than others), and finishing up the house.
We stayed in a school for the weekend, and while we were definitely roughing it, it was still well worth it! Despite sleeping on concrete, sketchy hole in the ground bathrooms and bucket showers, it was an incredible experience and something I want to do again before I leave Nicaragua. (If only so I can use my newly expanded construction vocabulary)

Working on the foundation the first day. You can see part of the original "house" on the right.

The concrete floor we slept on in a nearby school.

Working on the roof, terrified for my life.

Part of the most insane game I've ever seen. Each cuadrilla had to make the longest line possible out of what they had on them so everyone went all in and sacrificed everything from shoelaces to pants.

A mostly finished house! Before we added windows and the door.

My cuadrilla with Doña Lorenza (the recipient of the house) in the middle.

The four ISEPers after a long day of work

-Kayla Duskin

What's Inside Your Bubble?

Here in Nicaragua what first struck me as odd coincidences are starting to come together to make a little more sense. How strange, I thought, that shop keepers don't have enough change to break my C500 (US$20) bill. How nice, that when I come home from school my room is mysteriously neater than when I left it in the morning. How comforting, that there are multiple security guards at the entrance to my university. How different, that every where I go there is personnel opening doors and serving me with polite smiles.

At first these all seemed to be a part of the many cultural differences between the United States and Nicaragua. And in a way, they are. However, these "coincidences" don't really reflect the culture of Nicaragua, but the culture of the upper class. 

In the US I am lucky to have more than enough money to get by, even enough to get a college education (which is still something only 30% of Americans have). But here I have been launched into a completely different stratosphere of comparative wealth. Not only am I enrolled in a university here, but a private, English language university which means I am surrounded by the elite of Nicaragua. I am the one percent. Whoa.

In talking to a local Nica about the contrast between rich and poor in this country, she said something about the rich here living in a bubble. While this is true of most upperclass around the world, I can't help but note the differences between the bubble I live in at home and the bubble I live in here. In the US our bubbles can be as big as entire neighborhoods, cities, or even include the whole country depending on what your definition is. 

Here it is impossible to go even a day without realizing how alive poverty is in the world. Every day I come face to face with people who make their living selling plastic trinkets by the side of the road or who drive carts pulled by gaunt, overworked horses or who's children stay out of school to beg for pesos. 

My bubble is feeling pretty thin here in Managua but I don't think that's a bad thing. Maybe if all of our bubbles were a little thinner we could start changing the world into a place where we don't need them.

-Kayla Duskin

Weekend in Matagalpa

Two weeks ago we had our two days of orientation, which was about 1/4th orientation and the rest was getting lunch and going on a tour of Managua. Immediately afterward on Friday us four ISEP students left for the weekend for Matagalpa, which is about two hours to the northeast of Managua.

After a couple taxis, and a very crowded and crazy bus station we were on the bus headed away from the city. Although no one even checks your bus ticket when you get on, bus seating arrangements are surprisingly organized here and everyone is expected to sit in the seat assigned to them on their ticket.  

Everyone kept warning us of how "cold" it gets in Matagalpa since it's up in the mountains, but really
the air just cooled down to a bearably hot temperature instead of the roasting heat of Managua.

Finding anything in Nicaragua is always an adventure since things like street names don't actually exist here. When we got to Matagalpa we trekked through the city trying to find our hostel, La Buena Onda.

On Saturday we went in search of la Cascada Blanca (white waterfall) that we had seen on posters at the hostel. The posters advertised day trips for $35 a person, but we decided to do things the more adventurous/cheap way and go on our own. Finding the bus station, asking around for the right bus, and then the right stop was a little tricky but paid off since we ended up taking a bus for 15 córdobas (less than $1) and then paying only 50 cords ($2) to enter the property. We spent the day there swimming, hiking around the river and eating mangos and bread we brought from the market. The "ecolodge"there has been open for about 6 months and is really just a little restaurant/bar overlooking the waterfall but I got lunch including Nica coffee and a beer for under $4, so I definitely approve. 

The four adventurers

 

On Sunday we trekked Cerro Apante, a nature reserve just outside the city. I somehow forgot to take pictures the whole way up but there was a waterfall and beautiful forest. The hike wasn't too long but made up for it in sheer steepness, it was hard to keep your footing toward the top where it was the steepest. At the top there was a great view of the whole town of Matagalpa. 

I forgot to take pictures on the way up... oops

We walked all the way back to town, finding yet another bus station and caught a bus back to Managua  finally arriving home around sunset completely exhausted and ready for the first week of school.

-Kayla Duskin