Pictures!
Top- Masaya Volcano
Next- Former DOLE employees/Nemigon victims
Then- Coffee

I am a little confused and still trying grasp the fact we're not in Nicaragua anymore. I was especially confused about the fact I had been standing next to palm trees mere days ago... and drove 150 miles through a blizzard the other night. Anyways~ I'm still gathering my thoughts, pondering about what to do. For Amnesty International (the CMC Alpine chapter) we will be selling the fair trade coffee we picked up in Nicaragua for a fundraiser, using the money we make from that and donating it to the DOLE/Nemigon victims for any staples they may need, such as rice. Hopefully soon we will have a website of sorts for us to upload our pictures for everyone to see. We still have one class and another paper to write for this course... and I still have 3 anti-malarial pills to go. I've looked @ my pictures over and over again. All 750+. I want to do a longer study abroad program in Central America.
nicole

We are now mostly all back in the states. Everything seems turned upside down to me. and it's wierd that less than 24 hours ago we were still in Nicaragua. Wow.

Welcome to the Jungle, Nov. 15

Starting the day out at 7:30 with rice and beans, the breakfast for champions, we had a long day ahead of us. A 45 min drive up in the mountains in Matagalpa to a fair trade coffee plantation. They gave us the background information and history before they put us to work. We were given a hand woven basket that was tied around our waist to put the coffee beans in. it worked out really well because when you pick them, sometimes they slip out of your hand but usually they fall in the basket. I had known idea that making coffee is such a long process. After we picked coffee for a half hour or so we took a hike in the jungle. We went to the top of the coffee plantation, about a 30-minute hike, and the whole way there where coffee plants on the side of the mountain, all over the place. The top was unbelievable; we had a full panoramic view of the mountains and the noises out there where incredible. As we hiked down, there where trees folding down and screams that sounded like gorillas that where going to eat us but they where only howler monkeys. Once we got down from the hike, the mothers at the plantation cooked us a traditional lunch. The best part of that day was one of my favorite parts of the trip, putting a smile on the kids’ faces. They where very full of life and happiness, they played soccer with an old rubber flat basketball barefoot, the kids make the best out of everything. Towards the afternoon we went to the dry mill, we learned how the coffee is made and taste tested the coffee,

Behind the curtains

We are now over half way throught our trip, which saddens me. We have heard so many speakers and seen so many things, there's almost no time to let it sink in before taking another mouth full. Our minds our overwhelmed, and our eyes are open. This blog is concerning yesterday, our internet was then out of service. The first day we drove around and passed by a vacant lot filled with a makeshift shanty town. Puzzled, we asked why. We were informed that these were people who had been severely injured through a chemical while working in the banana plantations. Yesterday we had the privelage to meet with these people, and capture their stories with our cameras, heart, and mind. They were sriking against their previous employer who had knowledge of the hazard of this chemical, and are now seeking medical treatment and justice. DOLE won't grant it to them. Yes, an American company in Nicaragua has caused great struggles for these people. I wish we could upload pictures onto this blog so I could better explain what we have seen, but for those of you who are family members and friends, you will surely hear more and see photos upon our return. This week thus far, for me atleast, has made me want to change the direction I am going with school and myself to help with these kind of things. For a start, we plan on trying to do something in our communities when we return to create an awareness~
Nicole

What To Think

The more I see of the world the less I understand it. I used to believe that seeing and experiencing other cultures, would in some way make it easier for me to make sense of this world. Within a day of touring Managua my views of what it means to live and be happy have completely changed. While it's hard to see young children begging for money, they seem to have certain personas that, in a way, almost make me, a spoiled American, envy them. Instead of screaming at their parents for the newest PS2 game, they seem to walk around with confident smiles, happily making toys out of palm tree leaves.
Seeing these kids has brought up many questions in my head -- like what does being happy mean, and what would these kids have made of their lives if given the same oppurtunities as I have had. I think that people would be happier if they had no desire for pointless material things -- happier even than if they actually received them. As of right now, I can not forsee what is going to make me happy in life, but I am slowly marking off the things I know will not.
Michael Vogler

Vijamos en la cuidad

We made it to nicaragua!! It feels great to be here! Today we went sight seeing in the big city, and i saw things i will never forget. Guns and old army tanks encased in concrete as a symbol of freedom encasted after the free elections in 1990. Old Govermental Headquarters turned into a political art museum with open roofs. In the plaza there, children would swarm us looking for money in exchange for their crafts made from the plants that grew nearby. We drove on top of the hill that overlooks the entire city which used to be the home and headquarters of the Smozas. Juan Carols said that people would say if you got an inivitation to the Smoza house, it was either to dine with him or to be killed by him. Now in the rubble, there lies a playground where families play and couples kiss. A symbol of Nicarauga's future?

We exchanged our dollars into cordobas today. our van pulled up to a sidewalk where a man with a calculator, and a backpack full of money jumped inside to swap us cash for cash. We certinaly arn't in America anymore, but I feel safe here with my friends.

Nicole and I went for a walk this afternoon, and we ran across a man with his two boys flying kites. They were in an open field of dirt, where rubble lies in the backdrop. The bright green kite shown bold against the cloudy blue sky. We walked past them to the rubble to explore some more and we found the remains of what looked like a house. A baby dolls head was sticking out of the dirt missing one of it's eyes, but the kites still flew agianst the blue.

There is so much beauty in this destructed world.

more later
megan

P.S. I think we should go walk around in the jungle.

megan

(as safely as possible, don't worry bob)

Almost Out of America

I'm almost out of America, and I can't wait to see what's on the other side of the border. I know I'm supposed to be keeping up with this blogging every week (whoops to say the least) but until now, it hasn't really hit me what a bad job of it I've been doing. Just Joking, I haven't had anything really substantial to say except for the fact that I'm stoked to go.

In my communications class the other day we were discussing why we think so many Americans are diagnosed with depression each year, and as we were discussing it, it hit me that a majority of the population has no reason to be depressed, because living in America, we have such a wonderful life with really, no massive or grave external worries. Here's where Nicaragua comes in. When we visit some villages with a 90%+ unemployment rate,I can't help but wonder what the energy of these communities will be? will it be one of depression, of poverty, of life in the slums? Or will these Nicaraguans enjoy what little they do have, and be happy for life, not constantly worrying about what they don't have? Do Nicaraguans live a happy life living in the second poorest country in the world letting their lack of material matters not be a bother to them? I don't know how to express my question without sounding like a spoiled American... I just look forward ... to seeing the poorest people on earth smile. and I hope I can see that. see stupid American coming in again, but all that set aside, I'll see you when I'm there.
megan

Aghhh!

I am exctremely excited. Mere days until we're in Nicaragua! I went to the doctor today to get my (anti) malaria medication, which costed a lot less than I thought it would, and the doctor highly recommended a Typhoid shot. So I got one. Now my left arm is starting to get sore. I have so much to do yet before we leave, most importatnly getting a journal.
Nicole

Counting down the days

We are in the real count down now when things actually have to go from thinking and wondering about to actually doing. This kind of switch is a welcome change for me. I have been so wrapped up in thinking about the coursework and the implications of CAFTA on Nicaragua's economy that I lost sight of this amazing opportunity to go to a new place and experience a culture and people I know relatively little about. I have decided to extend my trip to Nicaragua for a week and do some traveling around Nicaragua with my husband. This week has been a frenetic rush of planning, research, spending (yikes!)and arranging to be out of town and work for 2 weeks. It has been amazing though. I feel like I have finally begun to look deeply at Nicaragua as it is right now, in the present. I am no longer seeking to only understand its past and its long and complicated history but also to experience its rich natural beauty, the cultural centers of Granada and Leon and the beautiful beaches and surfing of San Juan del Sur. I feel like a little kid, I am so excited to go, to completely disconnect from the ordinary day to day banalities of everyday life and work and experience something new and different. Being without a phone, computer and cell phone is also a tremendous bonus! I am bummed I can't be in class tomorrow but I will be thinking about it as give my presentation... they'll wonder how someone could ever be so excited about professional development!
Hasta pronto,
Denise

I Can't Wait

Only eight more days until departure, I cannot wait to go to Nicaragua. I am really excited to stay down there for a week, there is going to be so much to experience. I read on the internet the other day where they play live music at some of the places in Managua, I think we should check that out. Also I am really hungry for some for some real Mexican food. In Mexico I have had some mouth-watering Mexican food that is to die for, I am having cravings and I want to compare the two different country’s food. I think and hope the food is better in Nicaragua because it is not as commercialized down there.
Corbin