SUNDAY (Jan 22nd) was a perfectly relaxing way to start out the week; I spent most of the day reading, journaling, catching up on emails, and even had some time to do some needle-work. I also did a few 'loads' of laundry
- Laundry is quite the process here.. usually I start my 'load' the night before, filling buckets of water (we only have one temperature--cold!), adding powder detergent or bleach, and then soaking my clothes/sheets/towels over-night. In the morning, I wash each item by laying it out on the pila (a concrete wash-board), scrubbing it with a bar of detergent soap, and then using the raised lines on the pila to scrub out any dirt, stains, smells, etc. A rinse using the bowl from the sink on the side of the pila (still cold), and then it's time to hang it on the line to dry in the sun! In the rainy season, some clothes took days to dry, but on a sunny day in January, a shirt can dry in a day--sheets in less than an hour!
Ana and I walked to Mass at the Batahola Norte Cultural Center in the neighborhood to the north of ours, where they have the misa campesina (Mass of the Farmer), which often provides a healthy dose of liberation theology. :) After Mass, we have to catch up with everyone -- Nicaraguans from the neighborhood and other volunteers and missionaries/religious from the States. It's a great community :) After Mass, we came home to Ana's black bean soup on the stove.. mmmm. We had our first community-of-three dinner and reflection. For the reflection, we talked about our love and apology languages--great tools for intentional communication!
MONDAY I had two meetings planned in Mateare, but when they both got canceled I found myself just hanging out at Cantera in Mateare for a few hours. Cantera has four urban territories with youth programs. Mateare (about an hour by public bus from Managua) is the smallest and the community is still being developed, but there is much potential (if only there was more funding!).
- I am still in the process of finding my exact role at Cantera in Mateare. Since I have more than one job at Cantera (read below) and it's a bit of a commute, I'm only able to spend a couple days out there each week. Last fall, I worked a lot with the literacy program, Libros para Ninos (Books for Kids). We (myself and a group of teens) spent two afternoons a week walking to different neighborhoods in the town and reading to any and every kid we could find once we got there. The books we read were all in Spanish (obviously), and many were by Nicaraguan authors. Although working with teens may not be my calling in life, I enjoyed getting to know them (and not-so-very-secretly loved when the kids came with baby siblings/cousins/neighbors for me to hold while we read!) and we're looking forward to starting up the program again this year! I was also asked to teach a Clase de Manualidades (craft class!) once a week which I happily accepted--now I just have to find fun and creative things we can do with limited supplies!! Send me ideas!!!!! I'm sure I'll have plenty of pics to share from the classes in the following weeks..
TUESDAY I stayed home to work on stuff for delegations.
- My work with delegations is time-consuming and sometimes a bit overwhelming, but I am really enjoying it. Since Cantera has so many projects in both urban and rural areas and involving everything from natural medicine and sustainable agriculture to gender equity and popular education (and because we can host at the retreat center!), it is an ideal organization for groups to visit and learn about the history, theology, sociology and social justice issues/current development projects here in Nicaragua. This year, I am working with six different groups (most of high school students, but other groups could come from churches, colleges, etc.) as the In-Country Coordinator. This basically means I plan their entire trip (based on their interests and what is going on at the time of their visit) accompany them (leading, introducing, explaining, translating, etc) for the week or two they are here, and then assist in any follow-up projects that the group would like to do. My first delegation will be arriving at the end of March, then four in June/July, and one in February, 2013. In the past, the delegations have been relatively informal, as they have come with a connection (Sr. Dianne leads groups from her hometown each year), but now we are working to expand. I love the challenge of basically starting from scratch, collecting information, and organizing it by creating resources. Applications, packing lists, itineraries, and info for the new Cantera website have been among my first projects :) I'm a little nervous, but can't wait for the first group to get here!!
After a very productive morning, I spent much of the afternoon preparing for dinner. Each Tuesday we have dinner and reflection with Chepe, our local coordinator for Cap Corps, and anyone who may be living with him at the time (he often has seminarians or extended visitors from rural communities). We often have other friends/visitors that join us for the evening of community and prayer. This Tuesday we (Chepe, Ana, Mat and I) were joined by four of the Voluntary Missionary Movement (VMM) volunteers (who were at our international orientation in Milwaukee in August) and their local coordinator from El Salvador and his wife. I really enjoyed the afternoon of preparation--sweeping and mopping the floors (twice), picking up odds and ends and dusting, and preparing the meal.
For dinner, we had sloppy joes (with a little help from Mom and Dad at home!), salad, fruit, and banana bread (made by Ana) for dessert. It was so great to all be together again and to get caught up with everyone.. it sort of feels like they are our Nicaragua extended-family. :) As we were finishing reflection after dinner the lights (and water!) went out in the house, so we ended up doing clean-up and dishes with bucket water (that we save for when the water goes out) and flash-lights!! It didn't really phase any of us, and it was fun to work together to get it all done. The evening was full of laughs and I went to bed with a smile.. great people :)
WEDNESDAY I woke up and was still under the weather after almost a week of congestion and cough, so I made myself a doctor's appointment before heading to my first meeting with Sr. Dianne and Courtney. Courtney is now working for Cantera and part of her job is working with me on delegations, so we thought it would be helpful to get some wisdom from Sr. Dianne, who has led several groups in the past (and has passed her delegations on to me to lead in the summer). She has also been very generous with the resources she has created and is always willing to give advice. After our meeting in her home, I scheduled a time to come back for spiritual direction(!!), and then walked to Esperanza en Accion, the headquarters of a women's cooperative that make jewelry, pottery, and other crafts and sell them at a fair price for the artisans. I will hopefully be bringing delegations there to learn about fair trade, local artistry, women's empowerment, etc.. and to buy some fun stuff! :)
After busing it to the post office, I grabbed a taxi to the doctor's "office". The doctor is a cousin of a co-worker and is semi-retired, so he practices out of a side room in his house where he has all the basics. He was extremely nice and the place was comfortable. I didn't necessarily agree with the diagnosis, but got an antibiotic to get rid of whatever I did have (thanks to Dr. Kramper in Omaha for the second opinion and go-ahead on the RXes!). More than anything, I'm just glad I was able to make my first doctor's visit when I wasn't feeling like death.. now I know a little more what to expect so hopefully it won't be as stressful if I ever go again!
THURSDAY I was in a meeting in the Cantera administrative office in Managua all day. Each month, the youth team (Cantera's staff and volunteers who work in each of the territories) has a meeting to talk about logistics, planning, and any concerns or suggestions. There are usually 10-12 of us in the meetings and they last alllll day. There is often a "formation meeting" the day after in which we do some self-care and reflect together, but this month's got combined with the meeting. Sr. Dianne led us in a reflection honoring the four January and February birthdays on the team and then gave us each a little pot and some dirt. As we stood there in the circle with our pots of soil, we reflected on how they related to our team, our work, and our lives. For some, they represented room for growth, others potential, others an uncertain future. I kept thinking about potential as in hope which I really liked. However, it also reminded me of patience.. I think plants take forever to grow in the first place, but we don't even get seeds until next month's meeting!! Talk about enjoying and not rushing the process! ;)
After the meeting I went home for dinner and then walked with Chepe and a Nicaraguan friend to the local parish for Mass and Adoration. I really enjoy the masses at the Cultural Center, but am excited for the opportunity to get more involved and meet some new people from the parish. It's also a good chance for me to take some intentional time for prayer, silence, and reflection...much needed!
On FRIDAY morning, we had construction men at the house to build a new wall in the back of our house.. the old was wooden and sort of falling apart, so the landlord is having a new wall and door put in. It's fun to have a little more going on in the house, but it was definitely messy! We're currently with a wall but no door.. good thing the weather's so nice in January!
I was back in Mateare for the afternoon, but I arrived to find the doors closed and gate locked! Luckily for me, the family across the street is involved in Cantera and is extremely loving and welcoming - they're sort of my Nica familia, so I never mind the excuse to go hang out with them! Since the kids are still on "summer" break and their school year doesn't start until mid-February, they were all home to hang out and chat (and eat their lunch!). Their two youngest boys are about five and seven years old and we love spending time together - they can be rambunctious, but they also love to be hugged and to give back "massages"! Once my co-worker, Ma Che (Maria Jose), came to the office, the boys and I walked over as well. After helping her for a while, the boys got a little antsy so I took them outside to play jump-rope, frisbee, and a five minute English lesson! We also got distracted by picking up tamarindos (fruit) off the ground and cracking them open to suck the fruit off around the seed... yummm! In the late afternoon, Ma Che and I had the meeting that got postponed from Monday with the social worker in the Comisaria de la Mujer y Ninez (basically part of the police station for women and children to receive extra services). We met about getting some data for Cantera to use in the planning of future products, but I was also able to talk to the Social Worker about when I can start back up visiting again!
- The Comisaria is where I spend the rest of my work time. Usually about once a week, I spend a day basically just shadowing the social worker. She spends most of her days in drop-in meetings with women (and sometimes children or men) make reports to the social worker and investigator. Many of the clients I have seen are dealing with domestic abuse, but there's definitely a variety of cases. Although I'm not able to do much more than observe the social worker at this point, I have already learned so much from hearing the stories of the women and the subsequent investigations/assistance. I have even been able to do some home visits where we interview victims, family members, and neighbors. It's very difficult to hear, but I am fortunate to finally have the opportunity to work with a social worker here, and hold all of my clients in my prayers.
After such an active (and hot!) day at work I arrived at the house exhausted and with a headache. Ana and Matt met up with some friends after dinner, but I decided to take it easy for the night and maybe watch a movie and talk to Alex. It was just what I needed to finally kick that yucky cold or whatever I had!
SATURDAY we still had workers at the house so things were a little hectic, but Ana and I spent a lot of time together chatting and playing with the kittens. Pics and videos to come - they're at such a fun age! I also got caught up on laundry and some other things around the house. On our way to meet Chepe for dinner, the three of us stopped by the neighbors' house to chat for a bit. Their two young boys are always up to something and wanting us to play with them, so Matt played catch for a few minutes while Ana talked to their mom and I played with their baby sister. At one point we were all inside and there was a shirt with a US flag on it in the room and I asked the boys where the flag was from and without missing a beat the three(four?)-year-old goes, "Barca [as in Barcelona]!! noo.. Africa!!). Haha.. close. ;)
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| Waiting to lock up the gate before leaving for dinner |
We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant with Courtney, Chepe and the two guys staying with him right now. It was a nice treat to get away for the evening. My personal highlight was when Lady Gaga's song You And I (written about Nebraska!!) came on the speakers! Talk about a culture shock! :)
Anyways, that's a little (okay, a lot) about my week.. definitely not exciting, but much different from my life in the states. Hopefully sometime soon I'll throw together a blog about house-life here--simplicity, chores, all the little critters, etc. Until then, I'm back at it tomorrow - a full day of work for delegations and planning my first craft class on Tuesday!
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