Nicaragua!: el campo

mah bed (and oscar romero on the wall!)

went to a rural area outside of matagalpa for five days. slept under a mosquito net on a cot-like bed with a tarp instead of a mattress. woke up at 630 and went to bed at 8. bathed and washed clothes in the river, and went to the bathroom in a latrine. learned how to make rice, beans, and corn tortillas over a fire right in the kitchen, filled with smoke. met the most incredible hermanos and padres.

bags of dirt to grow coffee

such an amazing experience and i´m still processing everything. it was really difficult to feel like i was imposing on their lives and following them around for the week. they´re used to people coming to their village, but usually they bring a translator, so that was more of a challenge for both sides. their accent is heavier than the city and my family wasn´t very understanding when i asked them to slow down or change the words they were using so i could understand. but we made it, through lots of charades and laughing. and of course, my handy dictionary.

making tortillas

the pet pig

i had two hermanos- Fausto was 13 and Angela was 16. they brought me to their farm on the second day. i was expecting a few coffee plants, some beans, and maybe some corn, but i was quite surprised that they had papayas, mangos, and lots of everything. their farm was so much bigger than i expected, and had views of the mountains surrounding it. absolutely gorgeous. it seemed like a lot of work, and they were all very proud of their efforts. the kids can only afford to go to school once a week so that they can work on the farm the rest of the days. it´s the dry season now, so there isn´t too much work (a lot of dads, and even siblings, go into the city for long periods of time to find additional work during this time of year).

the view from the farm

papayas!

during the mornings we did a little bit of community work, but mostly just to learn more about the kinds of work that they typically do and be able to spend time with the community members. my padre brought me around a coffee farm and told me about the growing process and such. it was nice to be able to share that with him. he talked about the old spirits of the trees and the beauty of the river. it was really great of him. he was a very quiet person, but always willing to talk politics and such. the first time we talked, he sat me down and told me how hard life is in the campo. their education isn´t sufficient, health services are half an hour away, (the women work in cramped kitchens filled with smoke 24-7 and cause a lot of respiritory problems) stereotypes destroy the relationship with people in the city, and the political party doesn´t support them.

my madre and the kitchen- where she cooked almost all day

the well

the house!

but they have an amazing sense of community. they all support each other and look out for one another. after five years of fighting, their community built a well with potable water. and an elementary school is shared by the 200 or so people. there are more health programs, which have helped to reduce cases of malaria and tried to improve general hygeine (not sure that it´s worked, considering my family never used soap...).
the kids of the community brought a bunch of us up to the top of a mountain, and it was so beautiful. there were horses roaming around and crazy trees that the kids climbed. it´s impressive how kids entertain themselves when there´s no tv or video games!