The Pan American Highway, shut down, before the Procession
Saint Sebastian
The Three Saints
What nightmares are made of....
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Pictures of where I live
Gaurd Dog and playmate Chanel
Sunday Breakfast
The Jungle, where I live!
My House! I live in the back
Another pic of my house, the hammocks and the jungle
Laying on the Hammock Reading
Laying on the Hammock Reading
At least that was what I was doing when my papa came over and told me to get up and go out to the Carretera and “wait for the procession,” whatever that meant. So I went outside of my house to the main road. This road happens to be the Pan American Highway (PAH). The road you would take if you needed to drive from the US to….Im not sure, but at least Costa Rica. I consider it the 95 of Latin America. Of course that’s not really true because I cross it 5 times a day going and coming from class and Dolores. But yeah, there are huge trucks (like 95) and yeah they are going fast (30, not 70) but there are also cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians sharing the road.
When I got outside to the road I realized that things weren’t normal- first off there were no big trucks, or cars, or any other sort of motorized vehicle. Instead there were hundreds of “peddle taxis” and people in the PAH! Groups started forming on the side of the road and after about an hour of waiting (the urgency my papa expressed when I was in the hammock was pretty unnecessary, but also very Nicaraguan) the procession arrived! At first there were hundreds of people walking (some in costumes) then came the dancers.
The dancers are men and women with elaborate outfits on and large headdresses, interestingly much like the Gambay dancers in Bermuda- peacock plumes and all. And they wear white masks with bright blue eyes. They dance in a line, following a man with a huge shield who is supposed to represent a bull. I know this because I was attacked by the bull. He came up to me and hit me in the leg a couple of times with his huge shield, and the line of dancers (shield-less) followed suit, coming up to me but not hitting me. I still do now know if this happened because I am white or if I was just a random girl looking for a fight with a bull.
After the dancers (there were four groups of these dancers), came the saints! Three saints were carried from Diriamba to Jinotepe, through Dolores. The only saint I knew was Saint Sebastian- the patron saint of Diriamba. My mama explained the others, but I am not well-versed on my saints and found it hard to follow. Saint Seb is easy to identify because he has arrows coming out of his body with colorful strings attached to the ends. He also shares a birthday with my mama and so he is the patron saint of our household.
This story is really interesting because the PAH was shut down for hours. Approximately 5 hours! What, I asked, were the cars and trucks and supplies etc. doing while Carazo had our little fiesta in the streets? The answer: waiting. Today I realized I no longer live in the United States, and I think I like it.
At least that was what I was doing when my papa came over and told me to get up and go out to the Carretera and “wait for the procession,” whatever that meant. So I went outside of my house to the main road. This road happens to be the Pan American Highway (PAH). The road you would take if you needed to drive from the US to….Im not sure, but at least Costa Rica. I consider it the 95 of Latin America. Of course that’s not really true because I cross it 5 times a day going and coming from class and Dolores. But yeah, there are huge trucks (like 95) and yeah they are going fast (30, not 70) but there are also cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians sharing the road.
When I got outside to the road I realized that things weren’t normal- first off there were no big trucks, or cars, or any other sort of motorized vehicle. Instead there were hundreds of “peddle taxis” and people in the PAH! Groups started forming on the side of the road and after about an hour of waiting (the urgency my papa expressed when I was in the hammock was pretty unnecessary, but also very Nicaraguan) the procession arrived! At first there were hundreds of people walking (some in costumes) then came the dancers.
The dancers are men and women with elaborate outfits on and large headdresses, interestingly much like the Gambay dancers in Bermuda- peacock plumes and all. And they wear white masks with bright blue eyes. They dance in a line, following a man with a huge shield who is supposed to represent a bull. I know this because I was attacked by the bull. He came up to me and hit me in the leg a couple of times with his huge shield, and the line of dancers (shield-less) followed suit, coming up to me but not hitting me. I still do now know if this happened because I am white or if I was just a random girl looking for a fight with a bull.
After the dancers (there were four groups of these dancers), came the saints! Three saints were carried from Diriamba to Jinotepe, through Dolores. The only saint I knew was Saint Sebastian- the patron saint of Diriamba. My mama explained the others, but I am not well-versed on my saints and found it hard to follow. Saint Seb is easy to identify because he has arrows coming out of his body with colorful strings attached to the ends. He also shares a birthday with my mama and so he is the patron saint of our household.
This story is really interesting because the PAH was shut down for hours. Approximately 5 hours! What, I asked, were the cars and trucks and supplies etc. doing while Carazo had our little fiesta in the streets? The answer: waiting. Today I realized I no longer live in the United States, and I think I like it.
Nica Food
I learned while working for Broadreach that writing about food is boring, no one really cares what you ate today. But I also think that it is impossible to talk about Nicaragua without talking about what I eat daily. Its interesting because it’s a major topic of discussion within the Peace Corps, between trainees and with our families. Not surprisingly, food is in the spot-light in this Latin American country.
I am lucky, my mama has had 8 other trainees and so she is used to picky eating. I am not a picky eater but am glad she’s had worse because I feel comfortable asking her to “please please please, put less rice on the plate!” or that I don’t need to drink fresh fruit juice (think: oranges, water and tons of sugar) three meals out of the day.
The Bad
Yes, I eat tons of rice (which is fried in oil before boiled) and beans a day. I used to love plantains…now, if I am lucky, I only eat them once a day. Everything is fried and veggies are difficult to come by.
The Good:
I am learning a ton. Because of my inability to relax around my family I prefer to be cooking with my mama than just sitting around and watching her cook. So I am making tortillas from scratch, empanadas and the occasional gallo pinto (fried rice and beans).
My breakfasts are amazing. I get fresh fruit salad of melon, watermelon, oranges, papaya, pineapples and bananas. My parents here have a small farm where they grow mandarins, oranges, bananas (at least 3 types that I can figure out), and plantains. So there is always fruit in the house for everyone in the family (and the various neighbors) to eat at will. They also have avocado trees which means fresh avocado at a majority of the meals.
Sunday Breakfast:
As I said before, every morning I have an amazing fresh fruit salad. This Sunday I woke up a little bit disoriented and sad. I immediately thought of my amazing fruit salad I was about to have, got out of bed unwillingly and made it to the kitchen. Much to my surprise, breakfasts are different on Sundays.
Disclaimer to Brandon- please stop reading.
My parents just sold 13 pigs (don’t be sad- we still have five. They sing me to sleep- and by sing I mean screech, wail and generally sound like they are being slaughtered all night) and we were lucky enough to receive a present from the buyer- some of our pigs in food form! I can safely say that Darla from Market Street Grill really has nothing on a traditional Nica breakfast.
Not only was breakfast from the very same pig I talked to the day before (also wished death upon the night before) but it was made with all different types of pig parts. We started with fried pig meat and fried pig fat. The meet was pretty good and I will just let you use your imagination regarding fried pig fat. The next course consisted of fried pig skin. This is something I’ve had before in Mexico and can confirm I am still not a huge fan of any type of fried skin. The third course is one for the books, and really embodies the idea of a grand finale! This particular type of sausage is black and is made with the blood of the piglet- I think it is called Modunga. My parents told me that its really good for women who’ve just given birth because there is tons of iron in the sausage (duh, its blood). Quite honestly I think I would have been ok with the sausage had I not known about the blood. That being said, I tried everything and even said that I liked everything except the fried skin (I just couldn’t bring myself to say that I prefer fruit salad over this elaborate affair).
I miss Darla.
I am lucky, my mama has had 8 other trainees and so she is used to picky eating. I am not a picky eater but am glad she’s had worse because I feel comfortable asking her to “please please please, put less rice on the plate!” or that I don’t need to drink fresh fruit juice (think: oranges, water and tons of sugar) three meals out of the day.
The Bad
Yes, I eat tons of rice (which is fried in oil before boiled) and beans a day. I used to love plantains…now, if I am lucky, I only eat them once a day. Everything is fried and veggies are difficult to come by.
The Good:
I am learning a ton. Because of my inability to relax around my family I prefer to be cooking with my mama than just sitting around and watching her cook. So I am making tortillas from scratch, empanadas and the occasional gallo pinto (fried rice and beans).
My breakfasts are amazing. I get fresh fruit salad of melon, watermelon, oranges, papaya, pineapples and bananas. My parents here have a small farm where they grow mandarins, oranges, bananas (at least 3 types that I can figure out), and plantains. So there is always fruit in the house for everyone in the family (and the various neighbors) to eat at will. They also have avocado trees which means fresh avocado at a majority of the meals.
Sunday Breakfast:
As I said before, every morning I have an amazing fresh fruit salad. This Sunday I woke up a little bit disoriented and sad. I immediately thought of my amazing fruit salad I was about to have, got out of bed unwillingly and made it to the kitchen. Much to my surprise, breakfasts are different on Sundays.
Disclaimer to Brandon- please stop reading.
My parents just sold 13 pigs (don’t be sad- we still have five. They sing me to sleep- and by sing I mean screech, wail and generally sound like they are being slaughtered all night) and we were lucky enough to receive a present from the buyer- some of our pigs in food form! I can safely say that Darla from Market Street Grill really has nothing on a traditional Nica breakfast.
Not only was breakfast from the very same pig I talked to the day before (also wished death upon the night before) but it was made with all different types of pig parts. We started with fried pig meat and fried pig fat. The meet was pretty good and I will just let you use your imagination regarding fried pig fat. The next course consisted of fried pig skin. This is something I’ve had before in Mexico and can confirm I am still not a huge fan of any type of fried skin. The third course is one for the books, and really embodies the idea of a grand finale! This particular type of sausage is black and is made with the blood of the piglet- I think it is called Modunga. My parents told me that its really good for women who’ve just given birth because there is tons of iron in the sausage (duh, its blood). Quite honestly I think I would have been ok with the sausage had I not known about the blood. That being said, I tried everything and even said that I liked everything except the fried skin (I just couldn’t bring myself to say that I prefer fruit salad over this elaborate affair).
I miss Darla.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Peace Corps Trainees (PCT's) and my Host Family
Hola!
The past three days have been exhausting and from what Ive heard from other volunteers (there are three here with us until tomorrow to give a real persepective on being a volunteer), training is a crazy and tiring three months. There are 24 trainees, 19 girls and 5 boys. Supposedly the proportions are 60/40 and this group is just the exception, but who knows.
The most exciting thing we've completed over the past three days is a long long language assessment which placed us with other PCTs we will be living with for the next 3 months! I was placed in a town called Dolores, it is Carazo municipality, to the South East of Managua (the closest town is Jinotope if you are looking on a map). I was placed in the intermediate language group which is great- falling pretty much right in the middle in terms of my language skills. Its great because the advanced group (pretty much fluent) have to give charlas (health lectures) in a week, ha! I get to start the week after and will give about 5 over my time in training. I will also for a youth group, how you ask? who knows! Hopefully I will by the time Im expected to do it- in apporximately 2 weeks.
A typical week during training: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday we have intensive Spanish classes from 8AM-3PM and then "interactive homework". On Weds and Friday we have technical training classes in Managua (our towns are approximately 45 min from Managua and all within 20 min of one another).
I will be living with a host family. My fmaily is small; mother, father and brother. Sounds sort of like my family! One of the PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) here with us was the "son" of this family when he was a volunteer two years ago, so I have some inside scoop which is cool. Turns out I have my own bathroom, which is high living in comparison to other volunteer placements. I dont know how I scored something so sweet- especially because I dont need it- but I am happy to have it! My "mother" is pretty strict Ive heard, and will want me home by 9, which will be ok- Ill probably want to sleep anyway!
I will be with 3 other volunteers, Stephanie, Neil and James in Dolores. I will have my Spanish classes with them and we will all be together as a group for technical training.
Other than that, the only thing else I have to report has to do with the mass amounts of rice and beans I've already eaten- preparing to eat some more in the morning.
Yummm.
More soon, once I get to training site.
Hasta Luego,
Tucker
The past three days have been exhausting and from what Ive heard from other volunteers (there are three here with us until tomorrow to give a real persepective on being a volunteer), training is a crazy and tiring three months. There are 24 trainees, 19 girls and 5 boys. Supposedly the proportions are 60/40 and this group is just the exception, but who knows.
The most exciting thing we've completed over the past three days is a long long language assessment which placed us with other PCTs we will be living with for the next 3 months! I was placed in a town called Dolores, it is Carazo municipality, to the South East of Managua (the closest town is Jinotope if you are looking on a map). I was placed in the intermediate language group which is great- falling pretty much right in the middle in terms of my language skills. Its great because the advanced group (pretty much fluent) have to give charlas (health lectures) in a week, ha! I get to start the week after and will give about 5 over my time in training. I will also for a youth group, how you ask? who knows! Hopefully I will by the time Im expected to do it- in apporximately 2 weeks.
A typical week during training: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday we have intensive Spanish classes from 8AM-3PM and then "interactive homework". On Weds and Friday we have technical training classes in Managua (our towns are approximately 45 min from Managua and all within 20 min of one another).
I will be living with a host family. My fmaily is small; mother, father and brother. Sounds sort of like my family! One of the PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) here with us was the "son" of this family when he was a volunteer two years ago, so I have some inside scoop which is cool. Turns out I have my own bathroom, which is high living in comparison to other volunteer placements. I dont know how I scored something so sweet- especially because I dont need it- but I am happy to have it! My "mother" is pretty strict Ive heard, and will want me home by 9, which will be ok- Ill probably want to sleep anyway!
I will be with 3 other volunteers, Stephanie, Neil and James in Dolores. I will have my Spanish classes with them and we will all be together as a group for technical training.
Other than that, the only thing else I have to report has to do with the mass amounts of rice and beans I've already eaten- preparing to eat some more in the morning.
Yummm.
More soon, once I get to training site.
Hasta Luego,
Tucker
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
January 19th Already?! Leaving for Nicaragua in the morning!
Hello friends and family!
January 19, 2010 is here, which means I am off to join the Peace Corps! I will be in DC tonight and then leave for the airport to go to Managua, Nicaragua early tomorrow morning. I have over-packed (surprise surprise) and will have to do some major re-arranging tonight after a long day of staging (learning all of the PC rules and regs before arriving).
Thank you, everyone, for your support and love over the past couple of months. Between finishing my thesis (which I did well on- you can now call me Tucker O’Donnell, MPH) and getting ready for the Peace Corps, it’s been a stressful time. I doubt my life will become less stressful in the PC, but it will definitely be a different type of stress!
I am communicating my adventures through a blog- the address is: http://tuckerodonnell.blogspot.com. I will try and update it as much as possible, but I apologize in advance for my sporadic updates because A) I am not a good journaler and B) who knows what my internet access will be! There are lots of mysteries about where I am going, who I am living with and what I will be doing.
A quick note about Haiti:
I have heard from some, but not all of my friends. It doesn’t necessarily mean the worst, infrastructure is still down. I have been lucky to hear about friends from friends and hope that trend continues.
If you have not donated and would like to please consider agencies which will use your entire donation to help the acute issues of the earthquake (and not go to administrative costs etc). I recommend the Clinton Foundation, Haitian Health Foundation, Partners in Health and the Red Cross.
Please do not donate to individuals traveling to Haiti in hopes to “do good”. My philosophy is that they will take away needed resources from the people such as food, water and shelter and if they were qualified to help, a reputable organization would hire them.
If you have donated, thank you! Remember that Haiti will be struggling with this disaster, in conjunction with their past issues, for many years to come. Please keep Haiti in your thoughts after the disaster crews have cleared. Rebuilding Port-au-Prince will require long-term efforts of sound policy, international and governmental cooperation, and continued support. There are 4x the number of people living in Port-au-Prince than it could infrastructurally hold- this is a real opportunity to rebuild PAP. It is also an opportunity to have non-governmental organizations, the government and international powers to work together and build a system of support which allows community participation. Unfortunately we have not seen that so far in this disaster. Haiti’s long history of occupation (particularly in the past 5 years of UN peace keeping involvement- MINUSTAH) and a corrupt government and police force have made the Haitian population weary of these types of situations where “super powers” are providing care for the people. Please keep that in mind when you hear news reports of “those Haitians” and the violence that is likely to occur, especially how it will be portrayed on the news in the US.
A good book to read on Haiti- although it focuses mostly on the rural plateau- is Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. It over-glorifies Paul Farmer to some extent (only making his head bigger) but it ties the issues of Haiti, Public Health and development nicely together.
I look forward to seeing everyone next winter! Please email me, and when I get a mailing address- please write me letters!
Hasta Luego!
Love,
Tucker
January 19, 2010 is here, which means I am off to join the Peace Corps! I will be in DC tonight and then leave for the airport to go to Managua, Nicaragua early tomorrow morning. I have over-packed (surprise surprise) and will have to do some major re-arranging tonight after a long day of staging (learning all of the PC rules and regs before arriving).
Thank you, everyone, for your support and love over the past couple of months. Between finishing my thesis (which I did well on- you can now call me Tucker O’Donnell, MPH) and getting ready for the Peace Corps, it’s been a stressful time. I doubt my life will become less stressful in the PC, but it will definitely be a different type of stress!
I am communicating my adventures through a blog- the address is: http://tuckerodonnell.blogspot.com. I will try and update it as much as possible, but I apologize in advance for my sporadic updates because A) I am not a good journaler and B) who knows what my internet access will be! There are lots of mysteries about where I am going, who I am living with and what I will be doing.
A quick note about Haiti:
I have heard from some, but not all of my friends. It doesn’t necessarily mean the worst, infrastructure is still down. I have been lucky to hear about friends from friends and hope that trend continues.
If you have not donated and would like to please consider agencies which will use your entire donation to help the acute issues of the earthquake (and not go to administrative costs etc). I recommend the Clinton Foundation, Haitian Health Foundation, Partners in Health and the Red Cross.
Please do not donate to individuals traveling to Haiti in hopes to “do good”. My philosophy is that they will take away needed resources from the people such as food, water and shelter and if they were qualified to help, a reputable organization would hire them.
If you have donated, thank you! Remember that Haiti will be struggling with this disaster, in conjunction with their past issues, for many years to come. Please keep Haiti in your thoughts after the disaster crews have cleared. Rebuilding Port-au-Prince will require long-term efforts of sound policy, international and governmental cooperation, and continued support. There are 4x the number of people living in Port-au-Prince than it could infrastructurally hold- this is a real opportunity to rebuild PAP. It is also an opportunity to have non-governmental organizations, the government and international powers to work together and build a system of support which allows community participation. Unfortunately we have not seen that so far in this disaster. Haiti’s long history of occupation (particularly in the past 5 years of UN peace keeping involvement- MINUSTAH) and a corrupt government and police force have made the Haitian population weary of these types of situations where “super powers” are providing care for the people. Please keep that in mind when you hear news reports of “those Haitians” and the violence that is likely to occur, especially how it will be portrayed on the news in the US.
A good book to read on Haiti- although it focuses mostly on the rural plateau- is Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. It over-glorifies Paul Farmer to some extent (only making his head bigger) but it ties the issues of Haiti, Public Health and development nicely together.
I look forward to seeing everyone next winter! Please email me, and when I get a mailing address- please write me letters!
Hasta Luego!
Love,
Tucker
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