Day 1
On Monday, June 28, 2010, after a long day of flying, we arrived in Managua, Nicaragua around 8:30 PM. We anxiously waited behind a line of people ready to exit the plane and then rushed to claim our luggage. It was then that we made our way outside to taste our first breath of humid, Nicaraguan air. We were greeted by the Witness for Peace (WFP) representatives Gaylan, Brook, and Christine (who would be mobilizing us through our delegation) and boarded a small white bus which was driven by a man named Marcos (although clearly a native, he greeted me with a smile when I explained to him that my Spanish was solely minimal—this provided me with momentary comfort, something I needed to suppress my nerves at the time). The first thing that struck me as we drove was the liveliness of the city. People of all ages congregated in store fronts, on decks .. there were couples who walked hand-in-hand, young barefoot boys, no older than 10, who played together, and countless others. I felt such a strong sense of community already and my eyes had only touched the surface of what I knew this country would show me in the next ten days. We drove past an outdoor soccer game that had stands filled with more fans than most of my high school soccer games, and people worked out in gyms which were fully exposed for the only thing separating them from the street were metal gates. I soon realized that a sufficient amount of places would be designed like this to allow ventilation.
Another thing that struck me was how the city was painted. The colors of homes, public buildings, billboards, and all else in the area gave the vision of poverty and evident social injustice a more accepting appeal. As much as this cohesiveness of the natives brought a smile to my face, it was still overpowered by the worst poverty I had ever seen.
Once we arrived at CEPAD (de la Rotonda El Periodista, 200 varas al sur, 200 varas arriba), our place of stay for the next three days, things began to settle in. We walked through a gate, which would have a guard present 24/7 to a large open area filled with a few tables, a large cage with a parrot inside, 3 stray dogs meandering around, and doors which led to our rooms. Inside the rooms was a single fan, a few twin size beds, and a bathroom. The rooms were not as bad as I had anticipated, although there were more bugs than I was ready to stomach so soon in the trip (I learned by day 2 that while showering I simply couldn’t look around..but really, it’s not that bad).
Since we were all exhausted, our itinerary held nothing but an introduction session for us on the first night. Here Gaylan, Brook, and Christine provided us with some background knowledge to ensure that we were aware of the history that Nicaragua held and had a clear understanding of what our delegation was all about. In sum, it was explained that Nicaragua has been under heavy, social, economic, and political strain for numerous years now. Although the country is a beautiful one, filled with rich culture, it is exceedingly poor—noted to be one of the poorest in the Western hemisphere. The current crisis in the nation has its roots in a long history of unbalanced relationships with rich countries such as the one it shares with the United States (WFP).
We were explained that during our delegation we will be witnessing a handful of the unjust economic relationships that exist in Nicaragua and, “get the opportunity to meet with workers, farmers, economists, feminists, activists, and other representatives from the Nicaraguan society to learn how external debt, free trade agreements, and foreign corporations impact the daily lives of the people,” WFP. We will be spending a lot of time listening and hearing the perspectives that aren’t so accessible to us in the global North and have the privilege to meet with Nicaraguans who will share with us their stories of struggle. It is our aim to, “directly witness the effects of US policy here. In sum, we hope to coordinate our efforts and work towards shaping a world in which just economic relationships are cultivated and nourished, which means taking action in the US when we return from Nicaragua,” (WFP).
Day 2
Thus far, I had not done much speaking. I had been taking everything in and most of what I had been feeling came from what I had seen. I had many fears of not getting as much out of this experience because of others due to the language barrier. I knew that it was essential for me to step outside of my comfort zone and speak the little Spanish that I had remembered (from previous years of study) to feel somewhat connected to the community. Even if it was something as simple as thanking Blanca, the woman who would be cooking our meals while we stayed at CEPAD for her food, it was a start.
Day 2 began with a presentation on Nicaraguan culture. We learned proper hand gestures and sayings to use when communicating with the locals as well as other differences in their way of life. One example was that Nicaraguans do not use addresses to get from place to place, but landmarks as references to one’s location. I was taken back by how much knowledge taxi drivers were noted to have (we were told that most can recall locations which have been knocked down for up to 30 years).
At this point we were asked to try and recognize how quick our culture is to judge. We so desperately want to impose our views onto others and here that is exactly what we want to avoid. We talked about solidarity, staying true to yourself and your beliefs while accepting the differences in the world and its people, nonviolence—what it is and how it’s defined, and outlined some hopes and aspirations for the days to come.
After this discussion, we headed towards a local market called Mercado Israel and shopping mall for a socio-economic contrast tour. While on the bus we were told to be cautious of the photographs we were taking and learned of the term, “poverty pornography,” and how repeated picture taking could be taken offensively. Although it was understandable that we wanted to capture these moments by an image, it was more important for us to actually experience them.
We were split up into three groups, each representing one Nicaraguan family (my family included Ashley R., Todd, Joey and I). We were given 40 cordobas, or $2—the average income of a family of 6 in Nicaragua—and were told to go into the market and purchase enough food to feed us for the day.
I felt exceedingly uncomfortable. The market was congested, loud..the language was unfamiliar; I felt countless sets of eyes on me, there were flies, hundreds of them, flooding the produce which hung from metal bars and sat on wooden tables. There was stand after stand with bags of rice, beans, and vegetables. We walked down a narrow path searching for the best prices. We attempted to create a meal which would comprise good nutritional value, but this was more than a challenge when you only had $2. We settled on 2 pounds of white rice, a pound of beans, a small avocado, two cucumbers, and a flavor packet for the rice. We realized that this would be just enough to feed 4 people, when our aim was to feed 6. Also, we hadn’t considered other expenses the average family incurs each day—money that I spent in a few days back in New Jersey could feed a family of 6 for a month.
After leaving the market we went across the city to a mall, which was beautiful. There were stores such as Guess, Audi, Nine West, and many other names familiar to me. We went inside a few stores to take note of the pricing and how it differed from those in the United States. I picked up a pair of women’s Nikes that would sell in the US for about $100 and they were marked $230. We would later discuss that because there aren’t many competitors that the stores could charge this insane amount for a pair of sneakers. These shoes were $230, and I had just played the frustrating role of a family member attempting to feed myself and 5 others with $2..
The rest of the day was spent going over some more history of Nicaragua and site seeing in Managua. The day was long, I was exhausted..but I had already seen and learned a lot. I was both excited and nervous for what tomorrow had in store.
Ashley Covello
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