Fiestas Patronales

For the entire month of July, Boaco is buzzing with visitors from every corner of Nicaragua to celebrate the “Fiestas Patronales”.  Meaning “Patron Parties”, it is a series of events meant to celebrate Boaco´s patron saint Santiago, but the activities often times seem random and unorganized . . . and in no way related to celebrating the life of a saint. 


The first event I participated in was the “Running of the Bulls”, which I was told would be quite similar to that of the infamous festival in Pamplona, Spain.  I waited in the streets with anticipation, calculating my ability to leap out of harm´s way were a raging bull to charge at me.  Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that the bulls are not let loose, but kept safely tied up and dragged through the streets against their will, once in a while being slapped on the behind to invoke some sort of excitement.   The dragging of the bulls lasted about three or four hours, and I suppose it was similar to Pamplona´s world-renowned tradition in that bulls were present. 

The second annual “Feria de Turismo” (Tourism Fair) lasted three days.  Various booths were set up with crafts from local and regional vendors including organic coffees and wines, woven hats and baskets, hand-crafted furniture, and lots of jewelry, including my favorite Che earrings carved out of wood.  There was a stage set up for entertainment and more booths promoting local tourist attractions.  

I also attended a couple of rodeos here, which I imagine are similar to rodeos in the United States, but with ten-fold the amount of drunk people, the majority of which are within the ring.  Also it is not a sport to the Nicas so much as entertainment and hope for a fatal disaster.  I did not witness any deaths, or even any serious injuries, but I did see a lot of drunk people pick fights with each other!

You can´t have a Fiestas Patronales without an Hipica!  As I explained a few months ago in my blog, an Hipica is a parade of horses and an excuse to get drunk on a Sunday afternoon.  Sometimes I think it is more about watching the bolos act a fool than admiring the procession of majestic beasts, but the people of Boaco really get into the spirit of it because there are a lot more honest-to-goodness cowboys here compared to my training town in Carazo.  Lots of pretty costumes and horses, and of course a Toña truck (national beer) with dancing ladies.

The night life in Boaco is usually nothing to write home (or blog) about, but during the month of July every bar, restaurant, and random street booth had some sort of promotion going on.  There were tons of visitors from all corners of Nicaragua and PC volunteers were always in town enjoying the festivities.  In other words I was oh-so-very busy with celebrations and visiting, and not-so-very productive at work because everything was closed.

Spanish words and phrases that have no decent English translation:

papelógrafo (large piece of poster-sized paper)

charla (mini lecture, usually accompanied with papelógrafo)

aldoquín (stones used to cover the streets)

fritanga (fried food - meat, rice, plantain - usually at a stand or table outside)

saco (colorful plastic material used for lots of different things)
bolo (really drunk person)

"muy alegre" (tons and tons of people and noise)

My Town

Nicaragua is divided into 17 areas known as departments.  I live in the department capital of Boaco, Boaco, a small city reminiscent of San Francisco in that it is built on a series of very steep hills.  Known as “la ciudad de dos pisos” (city of two floors), Boaco is well-known by Nicaraguans for its hand-made cowboy accessories and cuajada, a type of salty cheese.  The rainy season has already kicked-in, bringing a beautiful green to the hills and a slew of mosquitos into my room.

There is a large market abajo where one can find anything from fresh produce to knock-off Converse shoes.  Anything you can´t find here is usually available in Nicaragua´s capital city of Managua, which is about a two-hour bus ride away.  Buses leave for Managua every 30 minutes to an hour and cost 30 córdobas ($1.40) one way.

Believe it or not, this is a Catholic church. . .

The woman from whom I buy my mangoes.

Walking through the hills of Boaco is known as “sube y baja” and everyone here has calves of steel.  If you are not in the mood to walk up and down hills, however, there are a number of staircases you can use to get from one “floor” to the next.  Pictured above is the “Bailante” staircase, so named because a monument to a folkloric Boacan dancer rests at the top, overlooking the city.   

Huge celebrations I have witnessed since I´ve been here:

Mother´s Day

Father´s Day

Sandinista rallies

Claro (cellphone company) promotion

53rd Anniversary of the local junior high school

7th Anniversary of the founding of the Mayor´s office

Children´s Day

Teachers´Day

I´m probably forgetting a few.  In other words, Nicas LOVE to throw parties!

Aunt Liz and Dance Lessons

I would first like to offer an apology to those of you who noticed that I fell off of the face of the earth, electronically speaking.  In my last post I mentioned how often I frequented the internet café due to my overwhelming free time, but fortunately I have been too busy in the tangible world to go online more than once or twice a week, and my time is usually spent Skyping with my family.  Speaking of which, I would like to congratulate my sister and her husband for the newest addition to their family, Mackenzie Anne.  Isn´t she beautiful?

Shortly after my last post in April I started taking personal dance lessons from a local named Geoffery.  Classes were every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday night for an hour and a half at 90 córdobas per week, which equates to about $4.10.  They were held in the living room of my Nica family´s house, and I could see them spying on me from the doorway as I tried to concentrate on moving my hips in what originally felt like a very uncomfortable manner.  After a few months of practice, I am finally accustomed to the excessive hip movements and also being stared at while I dance (quick reference to machista culture).  I am no longer taking the lessons because it was becoming a bit time-consuming, and believe it or not I was running out of money!  I may start up again in a couple months, but until then I have learned the basics and have been practicing:

Salsa 

Merengue 

Cumbia 

Bachata 

Palo de Mayo

Hope to post again on Wednesday!

Getting Started

I have been in my site since April 3rd, feeling out what the next two years of my life will entail.  Per request, I will be living with an assigned Nica family for at least 8 weeks before seeking a new, more permanent home.  Eight people live in the house, including myself.  It is not as over-crowded as it sounds and I very rarely feel that I lack privacy.

There is running water only one or two days out of the week, which for me means bucket showers every morning!  I have found that it takes a certain level of courage to willingly dump a bowl of cold water over your head.  When the water does come it is collected and stored in barrels or garbage cans, or basically any large container that can hold liquid.  It is then rationed out over the next few days until the water comes again.  When will that be?  No one knows.

I eat gallo pinto (a mix of rice and beans), cuajada (a type of cheese), corn tortillas, and coffee every morning and night.  Only the lunch menu changes from day to day.  The family is very pleased that I eat "like a soldier", which means I will consume almost anything that is placed in front of me.  I usually supplement my daily meals with a banana and a bag of pre-cut mango that I buy from street vendors at 1 córdoba (5 cents) and 5 córdobas (23 cents) respectively.  I also take multivitamins and calcium for good measure.

There are two other volunteers in my site.  Megan is from Oregon and started her service 3 months ago.  She teaches English.  Steve is from California and teaches small business.  He will be replaced by another business volunteer in July.  They are both awesome.

With much more free time on my hands than I had during training I have been finding myself at the internet café daily.  This is a terrible habit as it costs almost $1 every time I go, which is quickly chipping away at my monthly allowance.  At the moment it is a difficult habit to break being that I have not made enough friends to occupy my time and my host family´s preferred pastime is sitting and looking out...

Yesterday I went to the library to check out The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho in Spanish.  This turned out to be more of an adventure than expected (because I didn´t expect it to be an adventure at all).  Apparently one needs to build trust at the public library before being given the privilege of borrowing a book.  I was required to leave my identification as collateral for the tattered novel until I am able to prove myself as a capable book-returner.  It could take months, but I believe that I am up to the challenge!  Little do they know that I have had years of experience in the book-returning business.

Stay tuned this week as I discuss what my job is like and post pictures of my town!


Types of stores in my site:

office supplies
pharmacy
piñatas
photocopies
ice cream (Eskimo)
jewelers
used American clothes
convenience
random collection of things
cell phones

There is also a huge market that mainly sells clothes and produce.

Swearing In Nica 55

Forty-four trainees began our pre-service training in January and 43 of us (in formal attire) swore in on April 1st.  The Nicaraguan Ambassador Robert Callahan spoke eloquently of JFK, Sargent Shriver, and the 50 years of service US volunteers have dedicated to developing countries.  He called us the "pride of the nation".  The Nicaraguan director of the Ministry of Health praised us for our future service and we graciously thanked our training families for putting us up (and putting up with us) for three months.  Then we ate cake!

El Rosario looking sharp!

Me and Rita

Me and Mr. Ambassador Robert Callahan

All 20 Maternal and Child Health Volunteers, plus Donald, Don Eduardo, and Ximena.

 The ceremony was bittersweet.  Now begins our two years of service, each of us scattered about the country.  Strong, newly-developed friendships and family ties will have to be celebrated at a distance.

My new address is:

PCV Elizabeth Malenk

Apartado Postal 23

Boaco, Boaco

Nicaragua, América Central

Summary of my Training

Over a period of 3 months I gave 3 charlas at the health center, 2 charlas to a group of pregnant women, conduceted a survery about nutrition and presented the information to my fellow trainees.  All in broken spanish of course.  The days were packed with Spanish classes, technical lectures, and integration into the community.  I have almost experienced the whole gamut of special events including a baptism, a wedding, multiple birthdays, a baby shower, and I once politely declined an invitation to a wake.  I have had to say goodbye to two aunts and a cousin who sought work in Panama because there is none here.  It is heartbreaking to see them leave.  Though it is still difficult to communicate, I feel very close to my Nica family because they remind me so much of my family back home.  They are fun, easy-going, caring, sociable, generous, and adorable!  See for yourself:

Wilma, Gabby, Baby Matias, and Nuvia

Christian, Pilar, and José Alberto

Stephanie Nicole and Bosco Alexander

Osman and Matias

Matias and big brother Icker

Mama Chayo and Pilar

Mama Tita and Soraya

Matias and Josseling

Tito

Gabriel

In class, in addition to learning Spanish, we learned how to make buñuelos (like a donut made of yuca root), and sopa de albondigas (vegetable soup with dumplings).  The food here is getting more and more appealing and I´m starting to crave certain Nicaraguan dishes.  Lenka´s Nica brother Gerall was nice enough to guide us to a baseball game in Jinotepe, the artesan market in Masaya, and the lookout in Caterina.  Only a handful of memories summed up in this post.  I hope to write more frequently in the future,  As a goodbye present to my family I gave them a photo album filled with pictures to remind them how beautiful they are.  It was hard to say goodbye.  Now begins my service.

Things I sometimes forget that I miss:

hot showers
Starbucks
grass
hulu.com
bagels with cream cheese
book stores
personal space

Volcán Masaya, San Ramón, and La Boquita

I have learned how to wash my delicates by hand.  My family makes fun of me because I take so long (2 hours or so), but I am told that I am good at it.  Mama Tita washes everything else and my whites have never been whiter!  Who needs bleach when you have a stone washboard and the hot Nicaraguan sun? 

I go to church twice a week here, which makes me a better Catholic than I was in the states, but it is mainly to spend time with my Mama Rosario.  I still don´t understand a word and I find that I get distracted by the birds who shoulder their way through the gap between the wall and the roof and perch on the rafters above. 

A couple of weeks ago we traveled to Volcán Masaya for a lecture and day trip.  It was known by Spaniards to be the "gate to hell", so a cross rests high above the smoking crater.  This will probably be one of the more daring adventures I will have in Nicaragua because there is risk of getting killed by boiling lava, explosive rocks, or at the very least passing out from the inhalation of the toxic sulfurous gases.  The fumes were definitely getting to me by the time we left.

We spent "practicum week" in San Ramón, a tranquil little town in the mountains of Matagalpa, giving charlas to the pregnant ladies, playing guitar, and eating fabulous food.  It was more retreat-like than anything else.  I hope that my service will be similar. . .

Making bracelets at the Casa Materna

Sarah McD in a hammock chair

The hotel in San Ramón

I was told it would be very cold in Matagalpa, but I have come to discover that the Nicaraguan version of "cold" is slightly different than mine.  I wish I had known this when packing my long-sleeved shirts and pants for practicum week.  Jill and Lucas were the volunteers who oversaw our work and they were able to relate a few stories about service that PC staff has yet to divulge.  Jill has three months left of service in a small town in Río San Juan.  She travels by boat from Granada and usually spends the 15-hour voyage sleeping in her hammock.  Lucas is stationed in Matagalpa and has experienced more of a city life.  He is looking forward to another year of service.

This weekend I convinced my cousin Osman to accompany me and nine other trainees (all ladies) to the beach La Boquita.  This may sound like heaven to a 20-year old young man, but it turns out that Nicaraguans are afraid of both the sun and the ocean, which is why the beach looks so deserted.  Osman was nice enough to gather some coconuts earlier that morning and he cut them open for us during lunch.  I came home with a terrible sunburn and very few pictures.

La Boquita

La Boquita

Rita´s towel and coconuts

 

Amy and Ana relaxing at the restaurant

A big THANK YOU to all of those have written (the old-fashioned way):

Katie

Dad

Phill

Melissa

Juddy

Ladonna