So this was my blog for last night when we first got here but we didnt have internet until today so here it is:
WE ARE IN MANAGUA!!!!!! and ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are unfortunately one short. WE MISS AND LOVE YOU BRITT!!!!!
It is almost unbearably hot and humid. By the time our 30min ride from the airport to CEPAD was over my hair was destroyed. There's nothing to do but accept that I will rock a fro until I come home. Managua is very different than what I expected. Not as developed or city like. It reminded me a lot of like Guanica, Puerto Rico but much better. There's a lot of graffiti all over the place, "FSLN" "Viva la revolution" and "Viva Daniel" are all over the place. I wonder how long it has been there and why people have not removed some of it. It is literally all over the place. There are also a lot of people outside of their homes in groups. We drove with all of the windows down. CEPAD is just as hot as everywhere else but it is nice. There are 4 of us in our room but we do have our own bathroom. I happen to have an irrational fear of bugs and there are a lot of bugs here in managua and in our room there are also bugs. Sejour is a lifesave as she is the only in our room who kills them. I'm excited for what's to come.
This is today's blog:
We went over a lot of Managuan history and customs today. I now know how to hail a taxi and tell people i'm terrified among other useful things. We also talked about giving gifts and taking pictures, two things i never would have thought about before. We are discouraged from giving gifts to our homestays because it gives the wrong message about why we are coming to the community. As for photos our guide used the phrase "Poverty Pornography" and I think we as a society need to own up to this. We went to a market this morning and learned what you can really buy for $2 as far as food is concerned and it is not much. It was beautiful and colorful with tons of people walking up and down the stalls. After the market we went straight to a mall and saw the contrast between the two worlds. Somethings, even though they are produced in Nicaragua, are more expensive here than they are in the US such as Nike sneakers because they are produced in Free Trade Zones and so cannot be sold directly in the country.
We came back and had lunch, and on that note our food is great! Like this mysterious woman Blanca cooks and has been cooking for this organization for a very long time and knows what we can and cannot eat. the food is wonderful. Blanca is only mysterious because her daughter brings the food and we've never actually seen or met her but i need to find her.
in the afternoon we went over the nicaraguan military and historical timeline where we talked about the somozas and sandinistas and how the history has brought us to the present we are currently witnessing. we took another tour of the city and saw the monuments that describe the history of this country and its people. we visited the peace park when soldiers brought their guns to be cemented into the walls of the park but the park which was suppose to serve as a symbol of hope for the future is forgotten and possibly dangerous due to numerous squatters. it, like many other parts of the city, have been discarded to the side. It is unbelievable that across from the former palace is a new beautiful palace build by taiwanese money that no one is living in. There are stark differences like this everywhere. i am eager to continue learning about this country!
I know I'm missing things but other people need the computer.
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