Our adventure started the day before our flight to Managua; in one flurry of a Thursday we moved out of our apartment (and New York City), drove to Philadelphia (our new city), filled a 5x10' storage space with our treasured possessions (paintings, tapestries, awesome kitchen tables, chairs, and abundant appliances), took a train back to NYC, subwayed to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, had Thai noodles with our dear amiga Barbarita (shout out for giving us a home for the night!), and.... slept.
Friday was go-time. We had our last hipster meal; our sun-drenched luncheonette gently played 1950s tunes while our pierced and flanneled waitress brought us crafted espresso beverages, and a breakfast of dates, pears, coco, and homemade granola (in soy milk, of course). We then walked, subwayed, and bused to LaGuardia, and looked awesome while doing it.
Two flights latter, we arrived in Managua, and quickly found our way to the extremely swanky Best Western--literally across the street from the airport-- and into the wonderful arms of DO Care and JustHope (the partnered organizations that made Stacen's rotation possible). There we met up with a large group of DOs, students, and many of their loving spouses. All people worth knowing, but a few stand-outs are the leaders of the group (a couple who is in their late sixties and have been to over 150 countries... Hello new life goal!), a groovy pony-tailed doc who spends his days questioning American capitalism and traveling to Peru and Costa Rica on "spiritual cleanses," an eight-time Ironman lady doc ex-engineer that pumped us up so much about what we are doing, a surfer lady-doc who had a "mid-life crisis" and decided to travel and learn Spanish (pretty damn well), and a fellow lovey couple (she's the doc).
And course ....the woman that started JustHope, a minister that has been working in Nicaragua since 1996 and just emanates love for this country. She first became involved in Central American politics by serving in an Underground Railroad for war refugees during the early 1980s, a time when many of these countries were at war and highly violent. Due to complex and painfully shameful US policies, not only did the US cause, manipulate, and extend much of the local conflict, it also denied amnesty to the fleeing refugees. So, an Underground Railroad of sorts was created to take refugees to the much more welcoming Canada.
We encourage you all to read up on some Nicaraguan history; it will amaze you just how involved the US has been since it's independence from Spain in the mid-nineteenth century; Wikipedia gives a fabuloso short intro. (Also see: "Open Veins of Latin America" by
Eduardo Galeano, if you really want to get fired up).
Saturday morning was spent lounging in the Best Western in the morning, filled with exploring the hotel's extensive grounds (and making friends with a goat herd!), the airport, and a local gas station. In the afternoon we headed to Leon, stopping to take some pictures at the lovely (and contaminated) Lake Managua, overlooking two (often active) volcanoes. The road was cleaner than we had seen six years previously, thanks to a government effort for trash removal.
But... the roads and fields were also much dustier than we remembered. Deforestation, brought on by American/foreign monoculture of bananas, peanuts, and other cash crops, surrounds us. Dust is everywhere at all times, getting in your lungs, eyes, skin, and every surface. We will get into this more in later blogs, especially about how it's affected local farmers (no more livelihood), and health.
Leon is a colonial city, crumbling in parts, colorful and beautiful in others, with a pulsing heart of rebellion and pride everywhere (clearly I'm easily swayed by my Latino roots). Because of their history which, much like the rest of Nicaragua, has seen a series of corrupt rulers, dictators, and wacky government, the city has a simple and telling slogan: "Leon-- jodido!!" ("Leon-- screwed!!"). We dig this city.
Biggest cathedral in Central America
The afternoon in Leon on Saturday and all of Sunday were spent in a flurry of seminars (learning about local health issues, global health ethics, etc), walking around the city, getting to know our fellow travelers, learning about Nicaraguan history, and cultural activities.
A very simple exercise that surprised both of us at its effectiveness was a family buying experience. Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere after Haiti, has most rural families living on a $1.50 a day. So, to attempt in a small way to understand this, Stacen and I each were put into a "family" (4 volunteers), given $1.50 and told to feed ourselves for a day, and have some money left over (for transportation, education, electricity, etc).
As you can imagine, this made us abundantly aware of how little food people have access to (and how limited it is to rice/beans), and what an overwhelming task living on the equivalent of a grande drip coffee (no espresso for you!) is for a family.
In the afternoon (after NACATAMALES) we met with Dr. Somarriba, to brief us on Chacraseca. She is THE local doctor that we will be working with for the next month; she cares for the 9,000 residents of the Chacraseca area. She comes every weekday, every week to care for patients. Even more humbling to any American doctor/professional is the fact that for all her work, she earns about $6,000 a year, almost $2,000 more than the average Nicaraguan.
After more talks and another typical Nicaraguan dinner of rice, beans, meat, plantains, and salad, we headed to a musical extravaganza of typical dances and a truly bangin' local band. Then... Ice cream! (Truly necessary in these 90-degree plus days).
This morning, bright and early, we headed off to Chacraseca for the first of the two clinic days with the visiting team; much to say, so we will leave it for the next couple of days.
¡Mucho amor a todos!
hati hati! Thinking about you from frigid NYC.
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