Tengo un Gato en mis Pantalones

Hey All!

I like using these Spanish keyboards, because they have so many more options than our boring US keyboards. ñ,ç,¿,€,¡,º,ª... esta bien. Most keys have three symbols on them, rather than two, so they require two shifts, the second being AltGr.

Anyway, I have arrived in Sabana Grande! It is as awesome and beautiful as I thought it´d be, if not more so. I erred when I said that Sabana Grande meant ¨Great Plains¨, because apparently it means ¨Big Sheet¨. It is also in a bit different location than I thought: 20 minutes south of Ocotal, not Esteli.. though it is near Esteli. My apologies.

Here I am surrounded by mountains and farmland, and there are cities nearby. We are staying in a community, with some clusters of houses here and there. The Centro de Solar, or Solar Center, is the center of activity. It is very impressive, as it was only very recently built and runs entirely on solar power. In it they have a tool room, a storeroom, a meeting room, an office, and a library. It sits on 3-and-a-half acres of land, on which they also have an automatic pump for a well, a composting latrine, and many organic gardens. They also have a construction area, where they make Adobe, and are planning to build a hotel and a restaurant. Both of these would also be run entirely on solar power, and the food would be cooked using the solar cookers! I am very excited about this, and I definitely want to come back to see them.

My house is wonderful. We have electricity (most houses in this area are connected to the national grid), and so have light at night. We also have the only refigerator (at least one of the only ones that I know of), and so that is a big deal to the community. My mother is a great businesswoman... she makes heladeto, a sort of ice treat, that she sells for 1ç (Cordoba), which is very cheap. Currently, 19ç is to $1. My mother, Dona Carmen, also pays others to do laundry, and generating business is very important in the community. As good a businesswoman as Dona Carmen is, however, she is an even better cook. I get exquisite meals, and a plethora of variety, 3 times a day: desayuno, almuerzo, y cena.

I have 28-year-old brother, Yenner (pronounced with a slightly rolled r, almost like ¨Yenen¨), who I don´t see much because he is always working, on a farm I presume. my niece Scarlett, however, I see a lot (when I am not working or she is not in school). She stays with us, and Dona Carmen has her eat with me. She is 11, and has a very large reputation for being great with volunteers such as myself. She corrects our Spanish, and is extremely patient with us. We play games such as UNO together, and she is a quiet, proud, and sweet girl. Not too mention wayy too smart to be in the community for much longer.

It is cooler up in the mountains, but it rains more. It is the beginning of the rainy season, where it pours for about an hour every day. Truthfully, the climate is temperate and perfect for me. Bugs are not too much of a problem, except for an hour after it rains (Mudflies cloud the skies, but only for awhile). Never fear, however, because I do have my bounce sheets in my room!

Showers are taken with a bucket. You get a bucket of water, a little bowl, and a closed-off area outside somewhere, and just scoop and pour. Lather, rinse, scoop, pour, repeat. It´s great. You are in much more control of the water, and don´t waste nearly as much. The temperature of water depends on the time of day you are taking the shower (I love the cold showers because they are much more refreshing here, but if you want a warm shower you´ll be taking it during your lunch break). The bathrooms are latrines, where they dig very large, deep holes, and just place a sort of open-bottomed port-a-potty over it. Sure it´s no Ramada Inn, but you learn to live with it just fine... they are even pretty clean.

I gotta tell you folks, as disgusting as that may seem to you Americans, it is great. Like I said, you live with it just fine, and there are lots of advantages to both.

I am also staying with another volunteer... a 44-year-old Scottish man they call Roberto (roll the first r). We eat and work together, and he is something else. Bob has been a wonderful help in my time here so far, because he has been able to give me all the ins and outs of the village. He showed me how to use the shower, where to get clean water, how to chase away the dogs, not to wear sunglasses when talking to people, etc. He is chock full of great information for me, which I try to pass along to the other volunteers. He is also very bright, and is extremely interested in my solar autoclave project. Unfortunately, Bob is leaving us in two weeks. He has been here for 3 months working on getting the women to cook using pressure cookers in the solar cookers rather than over a stove. He discovered that they can make Chocolate cake using the pressure cookers, which is the only reason they are excited about it (even thought there´s certainly tons of other applications). What an amazing gift from God that I brought a pressure cooker for testing too.

Several other non-UD volunteers, CJ, Jenny, and Emily, have all also been a huge help. They´ve given us maps of the community and the towns, vocabulary lists and phrases, and showed us a few other things as well.

Whew, I feel like I have so much more to share, but I am running out of time. Remind me to talk to you about Soccer, Ocotal, and Spanish.

Oh, one last thing. Unfortunately, my camera has died. I am trying to get a new one, but it could be some time. As a result, I will not be able to post any pictures until then. I am sorry, and I will post some as soon as I can.

Reminding you to conserve water, this is Daniel signing off.

Arriving in Managua

So I have arrived in Nicaragua! The flights and all went smoothly, and so we arrived in Managua around 11:30, local time, which is just two hours behind New York.

The view from the plane was amazing, of course. We saw many mountains and trees, craters filled with water. Lake Managua is very large, one of the largest in Central America, I believe. You can imagine, we were all very excited to be arriving. I had just a little trouble going through customs, because I was carrying multiple laptops, which added up to a value greater than the allowed cost of goods, so I had to pay a fee. It was to be expected.

We met with Amanda, who is the liason between ETHOS and Grupo Fenix. She is from Buffalo, NY, and traveled with ETHOS before graduating in ´03, and has done Peace Corps in Nicaragua since then. She now works for Grupo Fenix, who is the company that ETHOS works closely with in Nicaragua. Amanda has been amazingly helpful; she is answering our many questions and translating for us. She took us all in a van, with our luggage, to the house of the family that Vince will be staying with this summer. We are staying with them in Managua for two nights.

They fed us an exquisite lunch. It was made up delicious and fresh chicken, rice, tomatoes, plantations, and some other fruits we don´t even know. Served up with some I-don´t-even-know fruit juice and water, it was perfect.

After thanking the mother, Amanda took us to an ATM, which is by far the most trouble I´ve had so far. We need to take out enough money, in dollars and cordobas, to last us for awhile out in the Great Plains.

Then, we walked through a town for a bit, including a mall. Vince has it made. His mother cooks great food, but there´s also an ice cream place, a radio shack, a quiznos, and a mcdonalds right by him. It is quite nice. Apparently tourism around here is really booming. It is a nice city, but you have to come here with low expectations for ¨nice¨. Basically, people have cars, clothes, and homes, even if the cars, clothes, and homes aren´t the greatest. I personally think it´s all beautiful. And the people have been extremely helpful. Everyone gives us directions, and a man even gave us all maps.

We are now sitting in a very hot internet cafe (the pilot said it was 88 deg F when we landed this morning. I actually did not feel too uncomfortably hot until I sat down here). They sell burgers here, and internet for cheap. I am surrounded by my peers and locals who are asking me how to upload photos onto an email.

Tonight, Amanda said, the plan is ¨nothing¨. We will probably lay low and play some card games and get some rest, maybe try our luck at Spanish with the family (not many people here speak English at all). Tomorrow we are going to get a more formal tour of the city, including Grupo Fenix, where she works.

I am very excited to be here, and it´s hard to believe that there is much to worry about. So, don´t worry, things seem great. I am also excited to go out to Sabana Grande in a few days. Apparently my mother is one of the best cooks in the village!

From Managua, Nicaragua, I´m signing off for now,
-Daniel