tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78444486589555377402024-03-12T22:58:27.601-06:00the amazing adventures of heather and koryThis is a personal blog which contains the personal opinions of two individuals among a vast network of volunteers and staff associated with the Peace Corps as well as comments from others and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the United States Government or the Peace Corps.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-68290112111660820842010-04-03T17:20:00.010-06:002010-04-03T18:04:59.351-06:00Leaving HomeAs you can see by our little gage to the right of your screen, our peace corps service is now 100 percent complete. The last week of our service was pure parties and getting the house ready to go. This party was a particular favorite because it began with a pinata modeled after kory complete with tie, hat and sandles (professional sandles of course). Everyone was quite honored to take a wack at him. The rest of the party consisted of speaches made in our honor and long silences when no one wanted to say anything. We found out later that many didnt want to speak because they thought they would cry. (I swear I'm not making that up.)<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456056168805147458" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S7fOLZg1o0I/AAAAAAAABPw/_xyPYJRfR4w/s400/DSC09224.JPG" />This was the third going away party we had from the members of our church. We were very touched, but made sure there were no uncomfortable speaches this day, instead we made everyone sing the national anthem twice and dance and play games. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456056479937828642" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S7fOdgkplyI/AAAAAAAABP4/MuKm965uK7c/s400/DSC09334.JPG" /> We had a presentation with Dr. Lia and Panchita, the team of our big charla project, that hopefully they will finish. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456056686322749538" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S7fOphapkGI/AAAAAAAABQA/IOzBTLhGcWw/s400/DSC09276.JPG" />Even our boss Pilar, George the director of Peace Corps Nicaragua and his wife came. (Ps, those are the baners in the background).<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S7fP6rpfU2I/AAAAAAAABQw/nQoN9Qz7gQc/s1600/DSC09280.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456058080638751586" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S7fP6rpfU2I/AAAAAAAABQw/nQoN9Qz7gQc/s400/DSC09280.JPG" /></a> A final good bye dinner at the casa materna followed by more speaches.<br /><div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456057039561252434" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S7fO-FVRXlI/AAAAAAAABQI/VkEHrMt5Q14/s400/DSC09312.JPG" />The ringing of the bell in the Peace Corps office is the official end of service ceremony. It means you have finished with honor (i guess) and that you are on your way home with no more work to do. I love this picture of Kory! He is so cute! He was very excited to finish all the way to the day we were supposed too.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456057319810602642" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S7fPOZV7FpI/AAAAAAAABQQ/AOmwdgv2SUE/s400/DSC09351.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456057462161526930" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S7fPWrpB0JI/AAAAAAAABQY/efrhhjRurvw/s400/DSC09354.JPG" />And even though we left our home in Nicaragua, we arrive in a home much more engrained in our souls. And in this new home lives all our families whom we adore. We were greated at the airport with tons of people and love and have enjoyed every second of being with the people we love. </div><div>Don't think its all fun and games though, its hard. Though a fluke we found ourselves in the super Walmart in Evenston Wyoming, standing in front of the deoderant, mesmerized by the shear selection of brands and scents and the lovely packaging on every single one. We had difficulty making the decision. Then we were at a birthday party for my cute little niece, wherin she had a pony and a pinata.. and just feast your eyes on how calmly the children are picking up the candy. We were used to a sight much more similar to a chunk of meat thrown into a pirana pond. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S7fPil3aYcI/AAAAAAAABQg/HUZ6exPW87M/s1600/DSC09381.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456057666769674690" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S7fPil3aYcI/AAAAAAAABQg/HUZ6exPW87M/s400/DSC09381.JPG" /></a>Everything here is so luxurious and clean and orderly. Even the outsides are clean. Even the dirt I think is pretty clean. You buy it in sacks here at the store. Its weird. Being jobless for the first time in our lives is unnerving but we are trying to enjoy all the company we have since we are living with Heather's sister. Heather will be pursuing a career in community based social work.. whatever that means (she doesn't even know what kind of a job that will land her) but she has big dreams and is not sure the common social work job is going to cut it. Kory also has big dreams, the first of which include buying a new computer to work on. He will be designing a computer program which he has never done. We are people who need that creative slack that Peace Corps fostered so well in our jobs there. We want nothing more than to keep doing Peace Corps, but here at home. Hopefully we will find our niche in this big strange world full of stuff and order. </div><div></div><div>We are thinking this will be the last blog entry as real life just isnt as interesting. We thank all of you who followed our blog and kept up with what we did. We created it for all who wanted to share in our adventures. The next adventure is parenthood and beyond! Wish us luck!</div><div></div><div>!Adios y que Dios les bendiga! </div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-25279591938121085362010-03-10T11:15:00.009-07:002010-03-10T11:52:17.796-07:00Host Family Goodbyes<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fi5CYxCgI/AAAAAAAABPI/oJhcjsFc9es/s1600-h/DSC08962.JPG"></a>We spent the weekend with our host families for the last time. Going back to Carazo is craziness. The difference in ones personality from when you first arrive in country, unable to speak, stunned at the way things are here, and returning after everything is completely normal, is difficult to explain. This time, instead of them showing us the ropes, and teaching us how to wash clothes and eat fruits, we were showing them how to build ovens and better their buisinesses. It was really rewarding to see our personal growth juxtaposed against itself and to remember the kindness of people who have looked after us.<br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fitJEXESI/AAAAAAAABPA/FPF_4gKxm8A/s1600-h/DSC08958.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447071539484102946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fitJEXESI/AAAAAAAABPA/FPF_4gKxm8A/s400/DSC08958.JPG" border="0" /></a> Victoria<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5filOIO7II/AAAAAAAABO4/u3rkVTak9Y4/s1600-h/DSC08953.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447071403403570306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5filOIO7II/AAAAAAAABO4/u3rkVTak9Y4/s400/DSC08953.JPG" border="0" /></a> Me in the pulpuria<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fieGTLkCI/AAAAAAAABOw/azXThY3cGI8/s1600-h/DSC08951.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447071281042919458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fieGTLkCI/AAAAAAAABOw/azXThY3cGI8/s400/DSC08951.JPG" border="0" /></a> Panchita- Mom<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fiRpc0-dI/AAAAAAAABOo/yRiYLKI_n0k/s1600-h/DSC08946.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447071067140323794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fiRpc0-dI/AAAAAAAABOo/yRiYLKI_n0k/s400/DSC08946.JPG" border="0" /></a> Me, grandma, mom, and cousin pedro<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fiFYihP1I/AAAAAAAABOg/eiHoGq9GYkI/s1600-h/DSC08934.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447070856442363730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fiFYihP1I/AAAAAAAABOg/eiHoGq9GYkI/s400/DSC08934.JPG" border="0" /></a> Marvin, Kory's mom and dad, Claudia and Javier<br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fh9Fz5IGI/AAAAAAAABOY/tNY8gKxk0nY/s1600-h/DSC08944.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447070713976004706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fh9Fz5IGI/AAAAAAAABOY/tNY8gKxk0nY/s400/DSC08944.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div><br />Kory and Javier making popcorn.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-81569764191789085392010-03-10T11:14:00.003-07:002010-03-10T11:46:42.838-07:00Attention Attention, Vegetarian of 5 Years Goes Back to Eating Meat! Read All About it!!!!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fhq2XXz3I/AAAAAAAABOQ/RZhu-Zdti6o/s1600-h/DSC08824.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447070400592203634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fhq2XXz3I/AAAAAAAABOQ/RZhu-Zdti6o/s400/DSC08824.JPG" border="0" /></a> After 5 years, vegetarian gets... hungry. It was decided that he should eat tantalizing tidbits of meat when desired, but not in excess. So those of you who have been saddened by Kory's vegetarianness, will be pleased to know that he will welcome any fine cutlets, but only of the finest. Example, Matt is authorized to share a steak that only he has cooked. Anyone is authorized to buy a pepporoni pizza for him or chicken strips. Meats that will not be accepted include fish, boney kinds, skinny kinds, guts, snakes and slugs.<br /><br />PS, no the wife is not saddened by this new turn of events, but she reports feeling happy that her sweetie is content with eating style.<br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-17376993293500947382010-03-10T11:06:00.008-07:002010-03-10T11:42:45.327-07:00BIodigester, a Poo Miracle<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fhVPSIoUI/AAAAAAAABOI/-1KdRFfPc2c/s1600-h/DSC08831.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447070029324001602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fhVPSIoUI/AAAAAAAABOI/-1KdRFfPc2c/s400/DSC08831.JPG" border="0" /></a> How, you ask can poo be a miracle? Well, you take a cow and a bag of plastic and you get food. Simple.. missed one step.. gas. This is another awsome project that peace corps volunteers are doing here in Nicaragua. We (being health volunteers) havn't had the pleasure of being trained in biodigesters, but we decided to go and observe one so that when we get back to the states, we can impliment this low tech miracle when we build our straw-bale home.<br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fhNZkbu0I/AAAAAAAABOA/2xnZ5CmKzas/s1600-h/DSC08883.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447069894646152002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fhNZkbu0I/AAAAAAAABOA/2xnZ5CmKzas/s400/DSC08883.JPG" border="0" /></a> Look, its like this. You have a cow, or maybe you don't. You can find cow poo in the streets, or you can use other kinds of poo, including human. You mix the poo with 1 part water, well blended. Then you put it in a bag, where the gas is collected and goes through a pipe that lands at your gas stove. This gas is oderless and can provide about 6 hours of cooking a day based on the size of the bag.<br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fg-uumOJI/AAAAAAAABN4/NpO3U4dwlX0/s1600-h/DSC08854.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447069642627889298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fg-uumOJI/AAAAAAAABN4/NpO3U4dwlX0/s400/DSC08854.JPG" border="0" /></a>This day, we went to a very small and dry community in Leon, where there were plenty of cows, dirt, rocks and jicaro trees. They already had the hole dug, so the volunteer showed up with her bags, and pipes and we put it together. I wont bore you with the details, but its a pretty nice biodigester and we were pretty excited at the concept. now we just have to figure out how to insulate it against the Utah winters.<br /><div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fgghTTb3I/AAAAAAAABNo/Pu-5ZYea4dQ/s1600-h/DSC08865.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447069123627675506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fgghTTb3I/AAAAAAAABNo/Pu-5ZYea4dQ/s400/DSC08865.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447068810700806402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fgOTjuWQI/AAAAAAAABNg/KKSC1haYvjU/s400/DSC08909.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fgCV9iQvI/AAAAAAAABNY/sRQ0FBJqkG8/s1600-h/DSC08910.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447068605187506930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fgCV9iQvI/AAAAAAAABNY/sRQ0FBJqkG8/s400/DSC08910.JPG" border="0" /></a> Poo in hole.<br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5ff8xQCSoI/AAAAAAAABNQ/1kUx9OckJHs/s1600-h/DSC08913.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447068509433645698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5ff8xQCSoI/AAAAAAAABNQ/1kUx9OckJHs/s400/DSC08913.JPG" border="0" /></a> Poo out hole.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447069479507247762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fg1PDmwpI/AAAAAAAABNw/JBD0NABUVsI/s400/DSC08868.JPG" border="0" />Nice lady makes you fresco de cacao.. my favorite. Dont worry, Im going to make some for everyone who comes to our party. I dont think I will be ablet toast the cacao like she is in utah. But i will do my best to make it authentic.<br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-88435795428883163162010-03-10T10:43:00.002-07:002010-03-10T11:05:51.102-07:00Crochet with Plastic Bags Project<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fa-XkHckI/AAAAAAAABNI/tNIkZCMxzbw/s1600-h/DSC08715.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447063039340147266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fa-XkHckI/AAAAAAAABNI/tNIkZCMxzbw/s400/DSC08715.JPG" border="0" /></a> This is a project that a few volunteers are doing. Did you know that you can crochet or knit using plastic bags that you get from the grocerty store? It is a fantastic way to help kids here make money and help the environment. I thought that we were plastic bag over users in the states but it is much worse here. If you tell the vender that you dont want a bag, he or she stops, looks at you in this sober and confused way and without questioning, they nervously slip your item into a bag and give it to you. Its funny. Anyway, this is my second bag, I taught the youth group at my church how to do it and they struggled a little, because they didnt know how to crochet. But it was fun.<br /><br />Anyway, I think many of our friends may be interested in this. The plastic bags, once they are cut are called Plarn and I have included a youtube video on how to cut them.<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4gJSR4RtDw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4gJSR4RtDw</a><br />There is lots of info on the web about how to use the plarn to make all kinds of fun things. Im working on a rainbow bag now. I tried making a sun hat, and it didnt really work out that great. You have to learn to crochet, but this takes about 1 hour. Seriously. Also I have found youtube to be very useful in learning crochet techniques so I can follow patterns. TRY IT OUT! Maybe when we come home we can do a little peace corps activity and learn how to do it!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-49808700920851818702010-02-22T10:36:00.014-07:002010-03-10T11:29:37.698-07:00Tangential Chocolate: A Chocolate Story Shamelessly Used as a Vehicle to Say Some Other Stuff<p class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: rgb(102,51,51)"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">The great chocolate adventure continues.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">For those who don’t know what the great chocolate adventure is, let me catch you up.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">A little while ago—translated from “hace un rato,” which in Nica Standard Time is ten years, two years, yesterday or ten minutes ago depending entirely on the context, which may not exist (in this case two years ago)—I decided to dispel a long held, albeit erroneous, belief of mine concerning the making of chocolate.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I believed that the mysteries and apparent difficulty surrounding chocolate production were nothing more than carefully contrived lies intended to keep chocolate expensive and maintain the general ignorance of the bovine public (a theory which, despite my recent discoveries, still holds true in some respects, none of which said respects involve cattle).</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">This quest—I say “quest” because the journey from I-don’t-have-chocolate-ness to I-made-chocolate-ness consumed much of the scant economic resources I had and nearly all of my considerable mental concentration—lead me to Guillermo, the chocolate man.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Guillermo, the self-professed poet, scholar, doctor (without title)…(and practicing), chocolate maker and jokes teller, entered my life as a novelty.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">He managed to further confound my notion that making chocolate should be easy, gratifying, and memorable.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Don Guillermo Castillo told me some great jokes that I didn’t get and all about the secret world of chocolate making, with such specific phrasing as “it’s quite difficult,” “very complicated,” “super delicate,” “you have to test and classify each bean,” or “guaro killed my father so now I’m going to finish it all,” (though I think that last one may have been the punch line to a joke about a man who was asked to explain why he answered “vengeance” when asked why he drank so much, but could have been about chocolate too).</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">He spent hours telling me nothing about chocolate.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Everything was cooked, cooled, stirred or fermented for “un rato” (in this context, probably ten minutes or a day).</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">He did bring out a plate of chocolate to bathe (this is frosting, to bathe a cake he meant) and spoons.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">It tasted like smoke.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Anyway, to sum up Guillermo, after a year and a half of waiting for the right belt to come in he finally repaired his chocolate machine (from which he intended to extract the fruits of a secret recipe for chocolate butter, …for toast) following which he disappeared from the face of the earth.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I can only hope that he is in a better, chocolaty-er place.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Not heaven though.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I don’t expect to find chocolate there any more than money or pornography.</span></span></span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447072881719212082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fj7RSJeDI/AAAAAAAABPQ/DdAmaud_2a4/s400/DSC08735.JPG" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I found Guillermo by shopping around for a hand mill.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">For those of you who live in the modern age of electrical appliances, or anywhere in the developed world, post 1950, a hand mill is a medieval torture device, about which it was discovered at some point in the past that, as a byproduct, things could be ground smaller.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Here I must mention that my wife told me to take the cacao to the town mill instead, rather than purchase a hand mill for several hundred córdobas, as a test. Although I say “town mill,” this may be a bit of a misnomer.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">It makes it sound exclusive, like there is only one.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">To better understand the frequency of mills in any given neighborhood of, say, 400 humble citizens, a paltry seventy percent of whom make tortillas to sell daily, I recommend going to Wikipedia.com and searching “Starbucks,” then cross-referencing the search with a random word like, I don’t know, “Manhattan.” </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I was ashamed to take my cacao to the mill.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I honestly don’t know why.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">It may have something to do with the fact that it was not corn, but could have been due to a number of other contributing factors as well (such as having receive the “bad face” for standing in front of a long line of hard-working women with several pounds of wet corn on their heads waiting for me and my hummus). The mistake of not listening to her suggestion this time would cost me dearly in the two years that followed.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I should have listened.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">What can I say but sometimes they know.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">This isn’t to suggest that women know everything and should be followed blindly.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">To say so would be folly, and a damned lie.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">It is actually against my very religion (The First? Church of Women Don’t Know Everything But I Wish That They Did So I Would Know Who to Ask Stuff in La Dalia).</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">That last part of the name of the church is what is known as an ambiguously placed modifier.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Is the church in La Dalia?</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Or is that where you ask stuff?</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">The membership has decided that this would be the first question for women …if they were to know everything.</span><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447073620503328274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S5fkmReAdhI/AAAAAAAABPo/DygMlu-6-ew/s400/DSC08697.JPG" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Incidentally, the chocolate making experiment failed because it turns out that it<i> is</i> a very long, complicated process.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">At least to get commercial quality, smooth chocolate it is.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Also, cleaning out chocolate liquor (or the chocolate paste which comes from grinding toasted cacao beans) from a hand mill is what I would liken unto cleaning petroleum jelly from a bucket of space Legos, which I can only imagine is similar to washing cold butter from a janitors key ring, which, having not had the experience, I suspect would remind me of cleaning cocoa butter out of a hand mill in Nicaragua.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Processing chocolate in a hand mill is a lot of work, and it sometimes comes out kind of purple and tastes like grass.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">If it is not properly toasted, the resulting chocolate is extremely foul to the taste.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Not just bitter, like cooking cocoa (which can’t kill you), but much worse (because you would swear that it could).</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Eventually I settled for making hot cocoa pellets, or ground up cacao and sugar hand pressed into a cake to be dissolved in a cup of hot water.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: rgb(102,51,51)"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Recently, my wife made a batch of hot cocoa pellets that turned out better than mine (which I had abandoned about a year ago following the third consecutive batch of purple grass-tasting muck).</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">She had followed her own advice and taken the cacao beans to the town mill (not the one that lets the pig from the street clean up the rinsing corn-water, but the clean one whose owner often lets me pay her in peanut butter).</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">When the batch of good hot chocolate ran out, it came time for me to try the mill (the owner of which I now owe chocolate).</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">The results were impressive.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">So much so that I couldn’t bear to use the cacao for hot chocolate, but instead began creating all sorts of chocolate flavors from chili, to rosemary, to cloves, to cardamom and anise.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">(Fortunately I stopped just short of goat hair ginger bites. …Have you tried them?</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Then who are you to judge me?)</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">From here, who knows?</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">I made a box of assorted chocolates for my wife to tell her that she was right (this time) and let me say that life is not like a box of chocolates because unless you are as stupid does, you generally know what you’re going to get, or you can at least find someone who does.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">(Hint: the dark chocolate nut clusters are the really bumpy dark ones).</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">However, life is a little like a box of homemade chocolates for a Valentines Day present:</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">kinda pretty, a little bitter, and you might get some love for the effort.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">The purpose of this story is not to tell you how to make chocolate (or love).</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">That would be pointless because it is just too hard and complicated and you would never figure it out (though you can buy some from me if you want…chocolate).</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">No.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">The point is that if your wife says take it to the mill—I don’t care what</span><i style="FONT-FAMILY: arial"> it</i><span style="font-family:arial;"> is, in the name of all things soft and sweet and spicy, in the name of all things that melt in your mouth, in the name of all things that carry endorphins and help your heart when you get old, in the name of regrets about wasting two years of your life sipping hot cocoa water instead of enjoying the indescribable gratification of dissolving a bar of semi-sweet, chili-laden chocolate made from the beans with your own two hands—just take it to the mill.</span></span></span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S4LKKxrw45I/AAAAAAAABM4/NQS_p4NStXs/s1600-h/DSC08665.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441133586301379474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S4LKKxrw45I/AAAAAAAABM4/NQS_p4NStXs/s400/DSC08665.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S4LLdO3VE9I/AAAAAAAABNA/WbeLV6qXW6g/s1600-h/DSC08667.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441135002883789778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S4LLdO3VE9I/AAAAAAAABNA/WbeLV6qXW6g/s400/DSC08667.JPG" border="0" /></a> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-65339992100049147172010-02-06T15:24:00.020-07:002010-02-06T16:07:55.456-07:00Misión CompletaBefore and After pics that you WON´T BELIEVE!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23tEn_zPtI/AAAAAAAABLI/00FTaHdk4vo/s1600-h/before%26after6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 436px; height: 163px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23tEn_zPtI/AAAAAAAABLI/00FTaHdk4vo/s400/before%26after6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435260989017898706" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23s8z_mN_I/AAAAAAAABLA/pb2ZP3MtV2g/s1600-h/before%26after5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 414px; height: 277px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23s8z_mN_I/AAAAAAAABLA/pb2ZP3MtV2g/s400/before%26after5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435260854799316978" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23s18E06-I/AAAAAAAABK4/sebXp75O-0Y/s1600-h/before%26after4.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 455px; height: 170px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23s18E06-I/AAAAAAAABK4/sebXp75O-0Y/s400/before%26after4.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435260736709651426" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23sr4CMF7I/AAAAAAAABKw/rxG9juvp17g/s1600-h/before%26after3.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 461px; height: 173px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23sr4CMF7I/AAAAAAAABKw/rxG9juvp17g/s400/before%26after3.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435260563826153394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23sjXc_W0I/AAAAAAAABKo/HYcftEGEmH0/s1600-h/before%26after2.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23sjXc_W0I/AAAAAAAABKo/HYcftEGEmH0/s400/before%26after2.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435260417641241410" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23sXCE7HLI/AAAAAAAABKg/Uujc764Uvak/s1600-h/before%26after1.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 443px; height: 165px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23sXCE7HLI/AAAAAAAABKg/Uujc764Uvak/s400/before%26after1.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435260205744725170" border="0" /></a>Well, it has been an absolutley CRAZY couple of weeks trying to get the project done and ready for a party, but the Casa Materna project that you all donated to is officially finished. So officially that we had the ribbon cutting ceremony that was hilariously Nicaraguan... will explain. First though, I want to say how beautiful it is there in the Casa Materna. Looking at these before and after pics, I realized that I have already forgotten how absolutley ugly it was there before. Its hard for us North American´s to believe that they would have lived with it that way for so long, but for them it was perfectly normal. I would say they just didn´t know what they were missing.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23wNY2-V6I/AAAAAAAABMA/UzwGXqkNLNw/s1600-h/DSC08536.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23wNY2-V6I/AAAAAAAABMA/UzwGXqkNLNw/s400/DSC08536.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435264438108051362" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23teDmsMKI/AAAAAAAABLQ/dOD9CsEZLxg/s1600-h/DSC08529.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23teDmsMKI/AAAAAAAABLQ/dOD9CsEZLxg/s400/DSC08529.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435261425925501090" border="0" /></a>Wednesday we baked in our oven for the first time and baked ALL day! I was frustrated at first because all the midwives had to come from their communities and they NEVER arrive on time.. and of course they were quite late, but they DID eventually come and when they did we had a riotously good time baking up a storm. We baked for 7 hours in our little oven which worked like a charm! I am in love with it and wish I had had one when I first got to site. We baked breads that had fruits and vegetables to help teach them methods for improving nutrition. Don´t laugh at me because when I tell you what breads we baked.. you will question their nutritional value, but trust me, anything you can do to help increase variety in the diet here especialy with fruits and veg, is an improvement. We made double batches of banana bread, carrot cake, pumpkin bread and just for fun, cinnomon rolls. They LOVED THEM!!!! I had purchased cakes as refreshement for the party and we ended up not even touching them because had baked so much.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23t5Lu_crI/AAAAAAAABLg/1LpbhHJKXzU/s1600-h/DSC08571.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23t5Lu_crI/AAAAAAAABLg/1LpbhHJKXzU/s400/DSC08571.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435261891964269234" border="0" /></a>So on to the ¨inaguración¨as they call it here, as I said it was VERY nicaraguan and I cannot go into all the details here on the blog or it would take forever. I wrote a short story in a book Im writing called ¨The Birth of Eva¨ and it was like 4 pages long. Lets just suffice it to say that we started 2 hours late, and after we had started the guy from mayors office decided we should sing the national anthem and should do a ribbon cutting, oohh, also that our speakers were not big enough. He said we had to send someone up to the radio station to get the disc with the song. We waited around another 2o minutes or so in which time, a kid brought bigger speakers (we already had big ones) and then later the guy from the radio station came and had the song only on his memory, so we ended up singing it without music after waiting for 20 mins. Ahh these are the things I will not miss. But if you can stay calm, they are decidedly amusing.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23uRq3OHjI/AAAAAAAABLw/-j7pN75F4Ec/s1600-h/DSC08585.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23uRq3OHjI/AAAAAAAABLw/-j7pN75F4Ec/s400/DSC08585.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435262312637144626" border="0" /></a>This is a cute little girl that came to dance for us. It looks pretty exciting in this picture but the dance was just her stepping back and forth back and forth for the whole song. It was cute anyway and I will say that she and her family were the only ones that arrived on time. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23xGReuHMI/AAAAAAAABMQ/266ldP4WbGI/s1600-h/DSC08587.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23xGReuHMI/AAAAAAAABMQ/266ldP4WbGI/s400/DSC08587.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435265415379819714" border="0" /></a>Here´s the last minute ribbon cutting ceremony, I was honored to do the honors.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23ucgz8ApI/AAAAAAAABL4/DUCwvtUDvM0/s1600-h/DSC08589.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23ucgz8ApI/AAAAAAAABL4/DUCwvtUDvM0/s400/DSC08589.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435262498917581458" border="0" /></a>Kory and Doña Alicia serving up the gaseosa.<br /><br />Well, here is the donor list I painted on the wall there. All those who donated are on it and will be there forever. Thanks again for your help in making this dream come true for them and for me. I could not have done it without you guys. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23wkqVM8qI/AAAAAAAABMI/OLCKPZ0LxE4/s1600-h/DSC08516.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23wkqVM8qI/AAAAAAAABMI/OLCKPZ0LxE4/s400/DSC08516.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435264837935231650" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23trB4G1NI/AAAAAAAABLY/HSMMpBX3tJw/s1600-h/DSC08550.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S23trB4G1NI/AAAAAAAABLY/HSMMpBX3tJw/s400/DSC08550.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435261648799978706" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-88834287506549711662010-01-26T10:35:00.006-07:002010-01-26T10:51:57.299-07:00FINISHED!!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S18ozqJgkOI/AAAAAAAABKA/zjUe8eNiqF4/s1600-h/DSC08487.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S18ozqJgkOI/AAAAAAAABKA/zjUe8eNiqF4/s400/DSC08487.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431104543584719074" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S18oVNQREbI/AAAAAAAABJ4/1ipetZHcMog/s1600-h/DSC08485.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S18oVNQREbI/AAAAAAAABJ4/1ipetZHcMog/s400/DSC08485.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431104020432359858" border="0" /></a>Before we start with pictures and fun, I would like to share that we have our plane tickets and we will be returning home on Friday the 26th of March at 830 pm! So get your party ready cause we want to see you ALLL!!!!<br /><br />In other news, I will be paying the final payment to the contractor to finish the PARTNERSHIP project in 1 hour! He finished 1 week early and did a really great job! I am sooo incredibley pleased! One of the midwives said, ¨It feels like we are in a different country!¨ (That is a nice compliment considering that nothing is ¨pretty¨here.) I made a 7 hour trip yesterday to tell the lady at the nursery that we wanted plants. There is no cell phone reception up on the mountain and so I had to go and tell her in person. It was a trying day. I will have to make the trip again on the 2nd so I can pick up the $13 dollars in plants that was included in the project. (yikes) She asked me why I dont buy more so I could make the trip worth it, which miffed me. But what can you do. We are planning the inaguration of the project for the 4th of february and on the 3 we will spend all day baking breads to share at the party. I hope all works out nicely and that they are impressed by the breads enough to want to bake them and sell them. Thanks to all who donated. I will be sending or bringing home gifts for you from the women here. I just have to think of something cool to do. I will post more pics when we get more plants!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S18pMsJuJzI/AAAAAAAABKI/4TljMzWBaM0/s1600-h/DSC08458.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S18pMsJuJzI/AAAAAAAABKI/4TljMzWBaM0/s400/DSC08458.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431104973619210034" border="0" /></a>In other news at church our womens group had an activity where we learned to cut hair. I was worried that noone would come, and then the 1 sister I asked to come from Matagalpa and teach us, brought 4 other girls and we had a blast. Hardley anyone dared to try it out, but two of the young women here went right home and proceeded to give their sister a major haircut that was pretty bad. hehehe.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S18pbDEfw_I/AAAAAAAABKQ/iPZs1I-1xGo/s1600-h/DSC08450.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S18pbDEfw_I/AAAAAAAABKQ/iPZs1I-1xGo/s400/DSC08450.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431105220289479666" border="0" /></a>Also I taught the women in the casa materna to crochet the other day and when I came back on monday they had made a WHOLE bunch of little things! I was pretty excited!<br /><br />ps, I got bit by a dog last week and forgot to mention it. It was all due to the maldito gato. Its probabley better that I did get bitten or my peacecorps service wouldnt be complete. Now I feel like I can come home. It wasnt too bad anyway.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S18qiLHk1QI/AAAAAAAABKY/37VD2LLS6i8/s1600-h/DSC08402.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S18qiLHk1QI/AAAAAAAABKY/37VD2LLS6i8/s400/DSC08402.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431106442220590338" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-41235296288585559712010-01-19T12:46:00.008-07:002010-01-19T13:05:02.498-07:00Cats, birthdays, progress and homecoming plans!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YMkpkTYOI/AAAAAAAABJA/3Hno1p1VVAk/s1600-h/DSC08407.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YMkpkTYOI/AAAAAAAABJA/3Hno1p1VVAk/s400/DSC08407.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428540224614654178" border="0" /></a>Well, I (Heather) turned 31 on saturday and it was pretty ordinary, but its good to be alive! Kory and I have started a ritual where you have to earn your birthday or you dont get to add another year of maturity to your life. So on your birthday you must justify it. I won´t bore the general public with details, but just suffice it say, that I indeed DID turn 31 and am proud to be 1 year more mature.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YM0FUts6I/AAAAAAAABJI/ondwopsvVfQ/s1600-h/DSC08395.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YM0FUts6I/AAAAAAAABJI/ondwopsvVfQ/s400/DSC08395.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428540489763500962" border="0" /></a>In other news, we now have our 3rd orange kitten, who after many days of failed namings and deliberation was given the name Sidecar. Yes sidecar.. like a sidecar on a scooter. Its the best we could muster Im afraid. We dont have any idea what to do with him before we come home, but he has the best spots ever and a really cute face with green eyes, so that is winning him some possible ¨bring home¨points. We have to look into the process first but we will see.<br /><br />As for the projects, I am happy to announce that both of our big projects and our radio show are going well. We have transfered management of the radio show to a local organization called Rainbow and are now just sort of watching to make sure it continues. We had a meeting with the team of charlas listas yesterday in Jinotega and you can see that the Nicas get pooped out a bit after lunch. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YOMF6Gn2I/AAAAAAAABJw/dzHuZwfnRlI/s1600-h/DSC08432.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YOMF6Gn2I/AAAAAAAABJw/dzHuZwfnRlI/s400/DSC08432.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428542001748811618" border="0" /></a>Panchita on her cell, and ohh, Kory appears pooped out too. It was a difficult meeting but we left confident that we could leave on the date we had proposed, so we will almost officially be planning on coming home on the 26th of March! So get ready...<br /><br />My project at the Casa Materna here in my site is going swimmingly as my sister would say. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YNHmuX3FI/AAAAAAAABJQ/4l9mB7WUHw0/s1600-h/DSC08435.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YNHmuX3FI/AAAAAAAABJQ/4l9mB7WUHw0/s400/DSC08435.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428540825147006034" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YN9go-NbI/AAAAAAAABJo/s3HxYOPpyIo/s1600-h/DSC08444.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YN9go-NbI/AAAAAAAABJo/s3HxYOPpyIo/s400/DSC08444.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428541751226676658" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YNqHHxQ9I/AAAAAAAABJg/JsQLKqnZY7U/s1600-h/DSC08436.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YNqHHxQ9I/AAAAAAAABJg/JsQLKqnZY7U/s400/DSC08436.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428541417959015378" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YNX0_YIkI/AAAAAAAABJY/kFhUgbx7Rd4/s1600-h/DSC08440.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S1YNX0_YIkI/AAAAAAAABJY/kFhUgbx7Rd4/s400/DSC08440.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428541103854330434" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-60140154121565659432010-01-13T17:40:00.002-07:002010-01-13T17:59:33.765-07:00Nada es fácil aquíWell, we have begun the project at the Casa Materna La Dalia that some of you contributed too. I had the ¨pleasure¨and duty of buying 3 8¨ tubes of PVC piping for our underground gutter. The guy at the hardware store here in La Dalia said, ¨sure, I will have it before you get back from vacation.¨ Then when I came back, he said no, but that he would call again. I waited another few days and passed and he nonshalantly tells me that they didnt have any. So the next day I go to Matagalpa to find the pipes, determined to bring them home before the weekend so that on monday we could use them. I spent the ENTIRE day, working through miscommunications and lies trying to get these pipes. People here say things that they absolutley dont mean or check on. So when I would call a place, they would say, ¨yes we have them.¨ Then after walking for half an hour to arrive at their place, they would go and check and, ¨oh, we dont have any, they are 6 inches.¨ This happened numerous times. I almost didnt make it home that night, but by a miracle and a last minute phone call, I got the pipes ordered and promised for saturday arrival. Well, they OBVIOUSLY wouldnt arrive on saturday, because that would be way too reliable. Then, I was promised monday before noon and ended up waiting until 530 pm and I went home. He called me then and said they would arrive at 830pm and I said fine but I wont be there. I had to leave for managua at 4am the next day so it was in Korys hands. Well, they did arrive and Kory tells me they are already in the ground, so now I wont even get to see them!<br /><br />It´s a humbling experience to have to fight so hard for every little thing. It shows how difficult it is to get things done when you are poor. On the way home from Matagalpa that day, I was feeling bad, especially because my bus didnt stop for me, but stopped only at the top of the hill and made me run to the top, but I got on. I was standing watching a couple seated with their three kids. When the money collector came by, they didnt say anything when he asked for money (which is the nica way of communicating that they didnt have any money.) He charged a few other people then held out his had and the couple again didnt do or say anything. He finished with the back of the bus and then came back. The man spoke in a very quiet and humble voice that I couldnt really hear but he never made eye contact with the money guy. Finally the money guy just gave him their tickets. I was instantly put into perspective. I had spent the whole day trying to find pipes so I could spend 2700 cordobas when this family did not even have the 22 cordobas for a bus trip. I was reminded that I am here to experience life as they do and that I was ok and I even learned from the experience. I will not take for granted all the available things at home depot or having a car to get there and the ability to pay for things. Anyway. So thats an update. I will soon be puting pictures up so you can see the progress!<br /><br />Just so you know, if all goes well, which we still dont know if it will, we will be coming home in 11 weeks! Right now the date is the 26 of march, but that could VERY well change as our charlas listas project is NOT progressing. Well. pray that it will.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-46625238164425542152010-01-03T10:09:00.027-07:002010-01-03T11:36:52.505-07:00!Y PROSPERO ANO NUEVO!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DWfzluGpI/AAAAAAAABIo/1ZsO35zFqSQ/s1600-h/DSC08341.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422569793266784914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DWfzluGpI/AAAAAAAABIo/1ZsO35zFqSQ/s400/DSC08341.JPG" border="0" /></a> Well, we left the 26th of december to embark on our last vacation before the end of our service.. and probably the last vacation for a few years. Dont worry, we were NOT big spenders, we spent less than $20 a day on food and all fun items. Our hotels costed between $15-25 for the both of us except the last night we splurged on a place with a mirror, it was a nice place for $50. Ok, now that my financial justification is complete, I want to say that it was a great adventure. When we first found out we were going to nicaragua, I put a picture of Big Corn Island up on the blog to represent Nicaragua. (Feel free to flip back.. its kind of cute.) But we finally got clearance from the embassy to be able to go there. Its two little islands in the Carribean, that are serviced by La Costena air. A tiny airline. Here are our boarding passes. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422569916254192562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DWm9wNA7I/AAAAAAAABIw/Zixij9dzIzY/s400/DSC08160.JPG" border="0" />And here is our tiny little one-prop plane. We unexpectadly got the best seats.. of all the 12. We sat right behind the pilot so we could see everything. I thought about my sister the whole time, knowing how much she would have enjoyed it.<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DWXKg-iGI/AAAAAAAABIg/nh0o7TARpis/s1600-h/DSC08165.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422569644802082914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DWXKg-iGI/AAAAAAAABIg/nh0o7TARpis/s400/DSC08165.JPG" border="0" /></a> Here is the first sight of the island from the captains windsheild as we decended. We later sat on that dock (the little one on the left, watching the planes land. See below.)<br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DWAF6kz8I/AAAAAAAABIY/u_Zngj_jKUs/s1600-h/DSC08182.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422569248430280642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DWAF6kz8I/AAAAAAAABIY/u_Zngj_jKUs/s400/DSC08182.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />At first it was hard to find a clean beach.. being Nicaragua and all. We walked around the entire island the first night. The next day we found this pristine beach where we layed on the dock all day.<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DVsJFZH5I/AAAAAAAABIQ/lO8fsuLOpKo/s1600-h/DSC08201.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422568905683574674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DVsJFZH5I/AAAAAAAABIQ/lO8fsuLOpKo/s400/DSC08201.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DVecWb4JI/AAAAAAAABII/Bi_e2GAQlSw/s1600-h/DSC08208.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422568670337163410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DVecWb4JI/AAAAAAAABII/Bi_e2GAQlSw/s400/DSC08208.JPG" border="0" /></a> We had always wanted to get scuba certified, and we had heard that it was really cheep there, but we didn't have it in our plans until a guy at our hostal said he just finished and that it was pretty easy. So we decided to give it a go. We did a discovery course, wherein if you liked it, you could go on for the next two days and finish the course. The first time I went down, I couldnt equalize the pressure in my ears and it hurt like the devil. I ended up not being able to decend all the way. I was frustrated and almost quit. But kory had the time of his life in those 45 minutes while he waited for me to decend with the instructor, so he convinced me to try again. I figured out eventually that I was doing it wrong. The next day when we went out, I went right down, 10 meters with no problems. It was great! The first thing we saw when we got down there was a giant brain coral.<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DVQY2YV2I/AAAAAAAABIA/GzDzWWF6NzI/s1600-h/DSC08217.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422568428879239010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DVQY2YV2I/AAAAAAAABIA/GzDzWWF6NzI/s400/DSC08217.JPG" border="0" /></a> Here is kory watching the video and studying for the test.<br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DVFQSybeI/AAAAAAAABH4/niaso2j5WjI/s1600-h/DSC08219.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422568237603909090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DVFQSybeI/AAAAAAAABH4/niaso2j5WjI/s400/DSC08219.JPG" border="0" /></a> This is us with two other peoples in our class and our instructor Julian. A hilarious french guy who made everything lots of fun. Once when we were down, we started kung foo fighting, but it was like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style because we were flying through the "air". I think Kory is going to be seriously addicted. I liked it too, but got pretty nauseous on the boat. Im super glad we did it though. It made this trip salvaje!<br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DU6xBUS9I/AAAAAAAABHw/4ltvBM-4kkc/s1600-h/DSC08235.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422568057410440146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DU6xBUS9I/AAAAAAAABHw/4ltvBM-4kkc/s400/DSC08235.JPG" border="0" /></a> Next we took a boat out to little corn island, 45 minutes of terrifying and drenching adventure. I really thought we were going to be turned over in the waves. We cought air several times and I was dripping wet. On the way home it stared to rain and we held a black plastic cover over us to keep "dry". It was quite crazy. anyway, here is a sandy christmas tree we made to bring in the new year. I know I look terrible, but I was without a mirror for the whole week and in and out of the ocean was unbecoming of me.<br /><div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DUmidGKVI/AAAAAAAABHg/owkxd8ttyTU/s1600-h/DSC08242.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422567709903038802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DUmidGKVI/AAAAAAAABHg/owkxd8ttyTU/s400/DSC08242.JPG" border="0" /></a> That night, on an island so small that there were no motorized vehicles, only wheelbarrows, we became part of a huge party with people from all over the world. Kory was quite social and built a huge bonfire with a guy from South Africa. We tightrope walked and ate a coconut and even danced!<br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DUMoqNcAI/AAAAAAAABHY/LcVEvhzY1CI/s1600-h/DSC08300.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422567264892055554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DUMoqNcAI/AAAAAAAABHY/LcVEvhzY1CI/s400/DSC08300.JPG" border="0" /></a> The next day we set to building sand sculptures. This is a very nice sea monster out of a bamboo root. Kory also started making these sand balls and placing them all over. We spent a good few hours doing this. It was very relaxing.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422566427503313794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DTb5JLQ4I/AAAAAAAABG4/ctV-3_mCGJY/s400/DSC08308.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DT5SREYUI/AAAAAAAABHI/cB3ahYV2hfE/s1600-h/DSC08319.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422566932463509826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DT5SREYUI/AAAAAAAABHI/cB3ahYV2hfE/s400/DSC08319.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DTxRvuHXI/AAAAAAAABHA/k0B-3bHQIZA/s1600-h/DSC08316.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422566794884685170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DTxRvuHXI/AAAAAAAABHA/k0B-3bHQIZA/s400/DSC08316.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422567050503821858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DUAKAEmiI/AAAAAAAABHQ/ku0pRUeLwJI/s400/DSC08302.JPG" border="0" />This is our little bamboo hut hotel on the beach of Little Corn.<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DTTvQ_mLI/AAAAAAAABGw/0pJ4dGFCgzU/s1600-h/DSC08330.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422566287412795570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DTTvQ_mLI/AAAAAAAABGw/0pJ4dGFCgzU/s400/DSC08330.JPG" border="0" /></a> We found lots of sea treasures and lugged them all home. Here is a nice sea sponge. Below is a pile of conch shells. They were like garbage littering both islands. We brought one of those home too. I dont know if it will make it back to the states, but I hope so.<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DTMgwYZWI/AAAAAAAABGo/NivqM6HwLG4/s1600-h/DSC08258.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422566163258828130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DTMgwYZWI/AAAAAAAABGo/NivqM6HwLG4/s400/DSC08258.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DSMtxgVCI/AAAAAAAABGQ/UMN1QAF0eFA/s1600-h/DSC08289.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422565067241575458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DSMtxgVCI/AAAAAAAABGQ/UMN1QAF0eFA/s400/DSC08289.JPG" border="0" /></a> We slept A LOT during this vacation. MMMMMMM...<br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DRyZevk2I/AAAAAAAABGI/f4d-MxQU-7E/s1600-h/DSC08348.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422564615117575010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DRyZevk2I/AAAAAAAABGI/f4d-MxQU-7E/s400/DSC08348.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DRnWn8k4I/AAAAAAAABGA/ayFZI1bP-J4/s1600-h/DSC08355.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422564425372308354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DRnWn8k4I/AAAAAAAABGA/ayFZI1bP-J4/s400/DSC08355.JPG" border="0" /></a> The last night when we came back to Big Corn, we stayed in a nicer hotel owned by some Italian people. They were very nice. They told us how the great great great grandson of captain morgan (a notorios pirate, in case you didn't know, who frequented these islands) was the owner of the big house we had seen. They said he was very piraty, which means he probably deals, not in gold, but gold "dust" if you will. They said that there are lots of drug busts, but the dealers just dump the cocaine into the sea (because it is cheap in Cuba). It is usually well packed and floats so when the sea is very choppy and its windy, people often find big packs of drugs. That is why lots of people on the island have nice houses. They find drugs! anyway, it was a good bit of story to go along with the island.<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DRQCKdyNI/AAAAAAAABF4/0E6thXXAnEc/s1600-h/DSC08365.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422564024742955218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DRQCKdyNI/AAAAAAAABF4/0E6thXXAnEc/s400/DSC08365.JPG" border="0" /></a>(This is not a pictuer of the great great great grandson of captain Morgan). Well, we are eager to get back to work on our projects and feel sufficiently refreshed enough to do so. So keep updated about the progress, especially those who donated.<br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-74696492377635779642010-01-03T09:35:00.012-07:002010-01-03T10:07:37.464-07:00!Feliz Navidad!<div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DJNoHx83I/AAAAAAAABFQ/vEqmBp5jOJg/s1600-h/DSC08139.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422555187299611506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DJNoHx83I/AAAAAAAABFQ/vEqmBp5jOJg/s400/DSC08139.JPG" border="0" /></a> Well, as you can see, we had a wonderful Christmas. I think the concensus is that it was much better than last year. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422556470176949746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DKYTNkpfI/AAAAAAAABFg/mzff5B9jFDM/s400/DSC08048.JPG" border="0" />We decided to do a Christmas Eve activity with our church, so Kory and I put together some ideas and this is what we came up with. We started off by gathering all kinds of stuff around the house that we won't want to take home. Little stuff. We wrapped it up with newspaper and painted a sacko red, attached a letter from Santa Clause in glitter with golden ribbon (sounds like no big whoop to us, but these are kids and adults who never never had a present given to them like this, especially from santa clause.) We spent the morning of Christmas eve making a sort of wasail that didnt use any apples because there are none here. We used pinapple, oranges and limes. Kory made a star that lit up with an old flashlight led piece, and some wings for an angel. Then we decorated the church with a manger. I (heather) had written a small play for the kids and we gathered all kinds of towels, pillow cases and old sheets, then we dressed them up.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422559026450723442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DMtGEu8nI/AAAAAAAABFo/lnUZZFVe3iI/s400/DSC08116.JPG" border="0" /> The poor little guys got really hot waiting for all their late parents to show up to the play. They did a great job, and Korys puppet narrated the whole evening. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422554823737675394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DI4dv3DoI/AAAAAAAABFA/lgWSNmsxZqc/s400/DSC08123.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422554631494869698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DItRlmosI/AAAAAAAABE4/PTTg8cRSIY0/s400/DSC08121.JPG" border="0" />It was very cool. Then at the end, we sang here comes santa clause in english and we heard a "ho ho ho, feliz navidad" outside, and when we looked out, there was a big red sack full of gifts. But santa had written a very cool thing. he said we couldn't ask for the presents, we had to pick a present, unwrap it, and gift it to someone in the group that would want or need it. We got to go around several times, but by the end, nobody could help saying, "mememe! give it to me!", so we stopped the game. figures. But that doesnt mean we didnt have a great night. I don't think anybody liked wassail. They had never had hot drinks that were not coffee, and it was also, a really hot evening and because it had pineapple, which EVERYBODY knows, you should never eat after mid-day. So .. We still have quite a bit to drink. Kory loved it. But it was sooooo fun for us to prepare surprizes, which to me is the funnest part of christmas. So we went to bed with dreams of sugar plums dancing in our heads and we woke up and low, sant had visited us too!</div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422553503031714834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DHrlvBZBI/AAAAAAAABEY/ztIG7rYeB1s/s400/DSC08154.JPG" border="0" />Kory got a new hoodie and some SUPER cool jeans, mountain dew and doritos.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422555763950221106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DJvMT_9zI/AAAAAAAABFY/hU5vL1SXhqw/s400/DSC08157.JPG" border="0" /> Heather got a cute new jacket and a darling little necklace with a hand carved turtle in it. Kory also made me a little wooden turtle out of bamboo. Its on a stick and the legs move. Its very cute.<br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DJDn91SfI/AAAAAAAABFI/oacTjw2PHdg/s1600-h/DSC08112.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422555015459195378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DJDn91SfI/AAAAAAAABFI/oacTjw2PHdg/s400/DSC08112.JPG" border="0" /></a> Now the thing that really made Christmas, the best, was the food. We decided to have lots of yummy food to graze on all day. We made homemade soynog, which was WAY better than the real eggnog I made last year.<br /><div><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DIbGPmPfI/AAAAAAAABEw/XY0hVtnkS6c/s1600-h/DSC08152.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422554319212133874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/S0DIbGPmPfI/AAAAAAAABEw/XY0hVtnkS6c/s400/DSC08152.JPG" border="0" /></a>Now lets see, we had vegetarian chicken salad sandwhiches, coconut burfi with chocolate, a VEGETALBE TRAY WITH RANCH dip!, chips and salsa with real mozzerella cheese, and homemade yogurt cheese with peppers and spices. It was AWESOME. The only problem was eating it all in one day, being that we were leaving for the Corn Islands the very next day. But we were very very blessed this christmas to feel the true spirit. So we hope you all had a MERRY CHRISTMAS too!</div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-17486059181562906892009-12-22T09:23:00.017-07:002009-12-22T10:13:23.763-07:00PROGRESS!!!<div><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD7EnBP8YI/AAAAAAAABD4/fpYoRYwoPos/s1600-h/DSC07937.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418106408338977154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD7EnBP8YI/AAAAAAAABD4/fpYoRYwoPos/s400/DSC07937.JPG" border="0" /></a> I must say that this past week, we have seen more progress in our works then we have in the last 2 years put together. First, the Charlas Listas project was printed in its full form and we had a meeting to evaluate them with all the big peops. We invited several midwives and casa materna workers and we tried it out on them. We did a test to see how they react with them as tools without any instruction. We also invited one who did not read, to see if she could interpret the pictures and use the tool. She didnt do so hot, but I think she has memory problems, so probably not a good test. Now we have divided them up amoungst several casas maternas and we are evaluating how they are used and if it is easy or hard, or confusing and if the content is well written and executed etc. We have recieved good feedback for the most part. It has been thrilling to see a whole years worth of work, that thus far we have only seen on a computer screen, printed in the size it is intended to be and to see them used. We pray there wont be too many changes and that they will get funded and we can see them put in the casas maternas AND participate in the training before we leave. That is the clencher.<br /><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD2rw4KTBI/AAAAAAAABDo/8K_dTPaK_uc/s1600-h/DSC07939.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418101583441972242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD2rw4KTBI/AAAAAAAABDo/8K_dTPaK_uc/s400/DSC07939.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD1Z5AipVI/AAAAAAAABDY/O_ltskFLjzQ/s1600-h/DSC07946.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418100176875332946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD1Z5AipVI/AAAAAAAABDY/O_ltskFLjzQ/s400/DSC07946.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418106143525341058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD61Mgwh4I/AAAAAAAABDw/7JnNW8lHyeo/s400/DSC07955.JPG" border="0" /> In other news, we built the oven in the casa materna. We had an agriculture volunteer come and help us build and we invited people to help and learn as well. It was mostly successful and despite the rain, we finished. <div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD0cwJz3sI/AAAAAAAABDI/qJJi00talzU/s1600-h/DSC07970.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418099126526271170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD0cwJz3sI/AAAAAAAABDI/qJJi00talzU/s400/DSC07970.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD0J2YgFXI/AAAAAAAABDA/V2KlRuDOork/s1600-h/DSC07977.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418098801780987250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD0J2YgFXI/AAAAAAAABDA/V2KlRuDOork/s400/DSC07977.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzDz59TGZ2I/AAAAAAAABC4/3vf9MaXrwqI/s1600-h/DSC07981.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418098528759474018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzDz59TGZ2I/AAAAAAAABC4/3vf9MaXrwqI/s400/DSC07981.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzDzt1boUHI/AAAAAAAABCw/8kv77Gx7l_g/s1600-h/DSC08009.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418098320489336946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzDzt1boUHI/AAAAAAAABCw/8kv77Gx7l_g/s400/DSC08009.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzDzVFYvvyI/AAAAAAAABCo/MtmdPxouQYo/s1600-h/DSC08019.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418097895275478818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzDzVFYvvyI/AAAAAAAABCo/MtmdPxouQYo/s400/DSC08019.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzDzJEjYnhI/AAAAAAAABCg/1U5853jzBro/s1600-h/DSC08023.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418097688893234706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzDzJEjYnhI/AAAAAAAABCg/1U5853jzBro/s400/DSC08023.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzDy9esickI/AAAAAAAABCY/VRCfnmjzVqE/s1600-h/DSC08024.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418097489752519234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzDy9esickI/AAAAAAAABCY/VRCfnmjzVqE/s400/DSC08024.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418107355880939938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD77w424aI/AAAAAAAABEI/hF08r7gdbt0/s400/DSC08078.JPG" border="0" /> Then thanks to a private doner friend, we were able to build a roof over it, something we hadn`t planned for. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418107739357186450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SzD8SFcuCZI/AAAAAAAABEQ/LbMJaTNQog4/s400/DSC08051.JPG" border="0" />We also began the clean up for the flagstone project that you all helped fund. The first step, which is part of the required 25% community contribution, was that we had to clean up the area, take out all the rocks and garbage, and level the big piles of dirt the last project left there. We enlisted the help of the members of our church, and sadly, not very many of the husbands came.. only mine and the missionaries, but the women worked their tales off, carrying rocks and buckets on their heads. It was a cool day. Also, for those who missed the donation and would still like to donate, email me and let me know. There are always things that go wrong in nicaragua and-or things I forgot to add in. If that happens we will have to find the funding fast and it would be good to have a list of people ready to help. Ok. Well thats all for now. We will post after the holidays and begin the work. The money for the project has been sent here to Nicaragua and I am waiting for them to deposit it in my account! Yipeeeeee!!!<br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-89046116817676576042009-12-11T08:31:00.003-07:002009-12-11T08:40:02.793-07:00WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" >I wanted to let you all know immediately that we have now met our goal for the project!</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> I am in tears writing this right now because I think you all just broke some sort of record and raised the money in 4 days! This means that in a weak or so I will hopefully get the money and we can begin after Christmas. This is soooooo exciting. I just want to say how lovely it is to have things get done. I have been calling and pestering the mayors office for a good two months now to get the sand for the project and still don´t have it. (They promised me today, ... again.)<br /><br />I want to say a special thanks to my sister T and my family for being so supportive and putting fire under lots of peoples seats. Here we say ¨pilas puestas¨ or batteries put. Thats them. Keep checking the blog for updates on the project. Today we build the oven, which WAS part of the project, but the PCPP committee made me take it off. I realized ALL the materials were donated anyway and so we have pressed on. It has been more than extremely difficult to get all the ingredients we need to build this more efficient oven, especially when working with only very old women. But hopefully tomorrow, I will be able to say that the Casa Materna now has an oven, and we will begin training on how to make bread with fruits, vegies and green leaves.<br /><br />Thanks again. I love you all. God bless you during this season!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-32099805135913789092009-12-07T10:25:00.006-07:002009-12-07T17:09:47.913-07:00PLEASE HELP!!!<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);font-family:arial;" >Let me introduce you to a big project I am working on to fix the Casa Materna where I work. I need the financial support of all of you back home to make this project happen, so I would like to tell you a little bit about the project and how it works. This is my casa materna, where approximately 450 rural women come during their last month of pregnancy each year. The Casa Materna was constructed to help encourage women to give birth in the health center instead of at home on their dirt floor. There was an extremely high maternal mortality rate here, but the casas maternas have reduced that significantly. The CM provides a safe place where the women can have supervision of midwives, free healthy food and daily checks from the doctors. They stay until they are in labor and then they go to the health center. It is also a refuge for women who have been raped or abused or are fleeing family violence. The service here is absolutly free and we often find that the small amount of funds that we recieve to keep this place running don´t come.<br /></span><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx08I9gh9QI/AAAAAAAABBY/ZNa1wiC3A3c/s1600-h/DSC06292.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx08I9gh9QI/AAAAAAAABBY/ZNa1wiC3A3c/s400/DSC06292.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412548451816830210" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >This is the main area.</span><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx08bMcCx8I/AAAAAAAABBg/onKi8wbzn64/s1600-h/DSC06295.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx08bMcCx8I/AAAAAAAABBg/onKi8wbzn64/s400/DSC06295.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412548765062186946" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Another view of the main area, this is the first view the women get when they arrive. </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx08oC0dHGI/AAAAAAAABBo/8t67ok0pMIQ/s1600-h/DSC06296.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx08oC0dHGI/AAAAAAAABBo/8t67ok0pMIQ/s400/DSC06296.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412548985818520674" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >This is the only entrance to the CM, which is often flooded with water and mud. The women who are 9 months pregnant and the elderly midwives who work there step on those small stones when it´s full of water.</span><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx08vlMzE-I/AAAAAAAABBw/Nb0rP8QaGjs/s1600-h/DSC06298.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx08vlMzE-I/AAAAAAAABBw/Nb0rP8QaGjs/s400/DSC06298.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412549115306513378" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Here is the back area, where we did our beautiful mural, but you can see that its not an enjoyable or even remotley attractive place. We would like to put a garden here with benches to sit on. </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx082u9nORI/AAAAAAAABB4/BbdgvziAyu8/s1600-h/DSC06299.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx082u9nORI/AAAAAAAABB4/BbdgvziAyu8/s400/DSC06299.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412549238186260754" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >This is an example of all the trash that gets left around or has accrued. This is pretty much how the CM has been for the last 15 years or so. It is dangerous to walk on and the midwives report that there are currently 2-3 slips, trips or falls each week!! I myself have tripped several times. There has never been funds to fix this problem, but the first thing midwives asked me when I arrived was for a garden. When I became aware of a way to get funds through the Peace Corps Partnership Project, we decided to do it.<br /><br />We decided that we would like to cover all the area that is dirt with a stone and cement flooring that is leveled to correctly divert water out of the CM. We would leave deliberate garden spaces where the workers can plant ornamental plants to make the CM a more inviting place, and hopefully encourage women to use it instead of giving birth in their home which could be hours and hours from a doctor. We would replace all the bad dirt in these gardens with new dirt. In the back space, in front of the mural, we would like to leave rows where vegetables can be planted. It would have a drip irrigation system so it does not dry out in the summer. These are some examples of what we are shooting for.</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx09FozGYoI/AAAAAAAABCI/OgR7Hmi3Q3E/s1600-h/DSC06419.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx09FozGYoI/AAAAAAAABCI/OgR7Hmi3Q3E/s400/DSC06419.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412549494229590658" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx089xM2S_I/AAAAAAAABCA/PiRbsZvwBho/s1600-h/DSC06128.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx089xM2S_I/AAAAAAAABCA/PiRbsZvwBho/s400/DSC06128.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412549359046118386" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >The way the project works is that the community has to put forth 25% of the total project costs and they have done this! We busted our trousers and raised more than the required 25%, and this from an extremly poor community! Then after hours and hours of grant writing, and presentation before the board here in Nicaragua, the project is sent to Washington DC where it is then approved and given a website. I provide the names and contacts of all my friends back home and you help to donate the other 75%. These projects cannot exceed $5000, and indeed, we are only asking <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">$1652</span> U.S..</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >This is where you come in, we need you all to help donate what you can to make this happen. The problem is that I can only start the project when the total has been reached. If this does not happen fast, we will not be able to finish this project before we go home in 3.5 months and it will have to be aborted! That means all our hard work and the donations that the community has already made will be in vain.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >If you are thinking of doing something nice for someone else this holiday season, this would be a perfect gift. Please donate what you can, I know for some that will be small, but the sweet girls of Matagalpa and the kind midwives who have looked after me these past two years, would be very much thankful to recieve this gift that they have wanted for so long. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Please help us out by going to the official PCPP website and making a tax-deductable donation <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">BEFORE CHRISTMAS</span>!</span><br /><br /><a href="https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=524-075"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=524-075</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >If you get lost on there, go to Nicaragua, and look for my name (Heather McKinnon) or you can type in the project number which is 524-075. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >It will be A LOT FASTER if you make payment by credit card or electronic payment. Checks are slow and if we have already met our goal by the time your check makes it to Washington, it will go to another project. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Thanks for being part of our service. You have no idea how much all of you support us, by keeping up on our blog, sending us chocolate and taking care of things for us while we are away. This is the part that we absolutley cannot do without YOU. We will keep you posted on this blog of the project success, IF we get the funds on time and can start the project. If you have questions please email me or call me. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Merry Christmas!<br />Heather McKinnon<br />butterfliigirl@gmail.com<br />505-855-7308</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >PS, if you didnt see the last blog entry, its pretty good..</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);font-family:arial;" ><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-53137736287267582622009-12-07T10:07:00.009-07:002009-12-07T17:14:08.727-07:00Two weeks and one long blog entry<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">We have been gone for two weeks and had many different adventures. The first thing we did was participate in the All Volunteers Conference, wherein all 170 or so Peace Corps volunteers in Nicaragua get together to learn and share ideas. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0fZhE0UFI/AAAAAAAAA-o/oslXpN1Ne6M/s1600-h/IMG_2771.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0fZhE0UFI/AAAAAAAAA-o/oslXpN1Ne6M/s400/IMG_2771.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412516850404970578" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">I was asked to do a session on healthy cooking techniques with some other volunteers.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">We taught how to cook vegetarian tacos and homemade whole-wheat tortillas, hummus, babaganoush, yogurt, sandwiches, coconut pancakes, squash soup and bean burgers. It was awesome! We also promoted my new cookbook ¨Cocinar Simple¨ that right now, mostly has only my recipes and a few of Kory´s, but will soon become a cooperative collection of recipes from all volunteers who want to contribute. It will grow and be an awesome collection of what you CAN cookin Nicaragua.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We also had the opportunity to learn what other volunteers are doing in their sites. We attended sessions on bio-digesters (which are giant poo bags that make an oderless methane gas which you can use to hook to your stove and cook with for up to 6 hours a day). We plan on making one for our house when we get home (someday when we are actually homeowners). Another awesome session we attended was how to use trash to make things.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0f6ojBr2I/AAAAAAAAA-w/AMeC_BJtRMQ/s1600-h/DSC07548.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0f6ojBr2I/AAAAAAAAA-w/AMeC_BJtRMQ/s400/DSC07548.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412517419346407266" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" lang="EN-US">We learned how to use plastic grocery type bags to crochet purses, wallets, bags, belts, you name it. Now we just have to learn some fancy crochet moves (we are a bit rusty). <o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">We also had the chance to learn about options for working in international development, which for Heather was quite good, Kory… not so useful. We had an awesome talent show the last night by the pool, where most people got drunk, but there were some really good numbers. Kory read some of his poetry that he has written about Nicaragua (and will hopefully be published when we get home). He also did a very sweet thing and read one of my recipes as a poem to showcase my cookbook. It was very darling. </span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0ezJ2F2-I/AAAAAAAAA-g/AzpUVsNeURI/s1600-h/DSC07557.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0ezJ2F2-I/AAAAAAAAA-g/AzpUVsNeURI/s400/DSC07557.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412516191334161378" border="0" /></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">We ended on a Thanksgiving message from the new Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams and another speech about Food Security (which was the theme for the conference) by PC Nicaragua Country Director George.<span style=""> </span>Overall it was really fun to get to know lots of other volunteers. <o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">The next day happened to be Thanksgiving day and we had arranged to eat at the home of a family who works at the Embassy. We had dinner with a Mormon family with 4 kids. We felt right at home with them. They let us call home, lent us a bed to sleep in for the night and prepared a nice dinner for us vegetarians. It is really amazing that they would open their home to total strangers. Mr. Black was just getting into watercolor, and it just so happens that Kory is a professional in this, so we had a watercolor class with him and his 3 girls.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0gTeQCs7I/AAAAAAAAA-4/m0ATS4V7gk8/s1600-h/DSC07564.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0gTeQCs7I/AAAAAAAAA-4/m0ATS4V7gk8/s400/DSC07564.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412517846079157170" border="0" /></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">It was very fun. We watched movies, played “Set”, a card game favorite of Kory’s and we stayed overnight there. It was really interesting to see how a family can live in different countries. For us it was really nice to experience a different socio-economic level in Managua for a day.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0gpnAdZVI/AAAAAAAAA_A/hwWJlaiviz8/s1600-h/DSC07569.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0gpnAdZVI/AAAAAAAAA_A/hwWJlaiviz8/s400/DSC07569.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412518226386838866" border="0" /></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">After that we headed up to Madriz to hang out with other volunteers. We really enjoyed being with other people as we are most often alone and isolated. Near Somoto is a famous canyon that really resembled Utah. A fat slot canyon I would say. It was beautiful. We, and 12 other volunteers, piled in the back of a moving truck with 17 other foreigners that our friends know there and drove to the canyon.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0h-BbuJpI/AAAAAAAAA_I/ZBFtJ53kQCQ/s1600-h/DSC07571.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0h-BbuJpI/AAAAAAAAA_I/ZBFtJ53kQCQ/s400/DSC07571.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412519676589516434" border="0" /></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">From there we hiked about 2 ½ hours over rocks and through water. The last 2 hours we got in the water and floated down. </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0koU1TvrI/AAAAAAAAA_g/AcAU-4u2Y1o/s1600-h/DSC07583.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0koU1TvrI/AAAAAAAAA_g/AcAU-4u2Y1o/s400/DSC07583.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412522602374872754" border="0" /></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">When Matt said we were going to “float” the canyon, I, being from Utah, imagined a large raft with paddles and life jackets and rapids, but this was NOT the case here in Nicaragua. We put on life jackets or tubes and got in the water and swam/floated slowly downstream. It was super fun, but it got a bit cold near the end and it took several hours before I could feel my fingers again. </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0jRl_ZF0I/AAAAAAAAA_Q/IM7aNfbxs1A/s1600-h/DSC07591.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0jRl_ZF0I/AAAAAAAAA_Q/IM7aNfbxs1A/s400/DSC07591.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412521112331949890" border="0" /></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">This is a picture of most of the people who are left in our group (Health 46) that arrived here in Nicaragua with us. <o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">That night was the huge Somoto Carnival festival where they have lots of bands in the street and dancing contests. Almost everyone went but us. We were too tired and didn’t want to spend the 120 córdobas (6 dollars!!!!) to get in and dance for an hour, so we watched episodes of “The Office”. <o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">We then decided to go to the Miraflor reserve, which is a jungle/organic farm protected area in a cloud forest.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0rDn6FbzI/AAAAAAAABAQ/yVTHl0ysmyE/s1600-h/DSC07761.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0rDn6FbzI/AAAAAAAABAQ/yVTHl0ysmyE/s400/DSC07761.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412529668421414706" border="0" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">We had the amazing opportunity to sleep in a TREEHOUSE!!! The tree house was in a very old strangler tree (it’s a parasite tree that surrounds other trees and kills them, the original tree dies, leaving a hollow cavity inside). Here are some pictures. </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0ltDltlAI/AAAAAAAAA_o/CspmbZYybPA/s1600-h/DSC07633.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0ltDltlAI/AAAAAAAAA_o/CspmbZYybPA/s400/DSC07633.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412523783157027842" border="0" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0mWN-BxXI/AAAAAAAAA_w/Oas0nrDEU94/s1600-h/DSC07648.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0mWN-BxXI/AAAAAAAAA_w/Oas0nrDEU94/s400/DSC07648.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412524490318005618" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0xtAaYuHI/AAAAAAAABBQ/XAu2gra6iU4/s1600-h/DSC07657.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0xtAaYuHI/AAAAAAAABBQ/XAu2gra6iU4/s400/DSC07657.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412536976443750514" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0pgNow0dI/AAAAAAAABAA/bR2_aK9wIhs/s1600-h/DSC07654.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0pgNow0dI/AAAAAAAABAA/bR2_aK9wIhs/s400/DSC07654.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412527960562389458" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0qXmyJvqI/AAAAAAAABAI/XfG8nCxVo-s/s1600-h/DSC07680.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0qXmyJvqI/AAAAAAAABAI/XfG8nCxVo-s/s400/DSC07680.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412528912205463202" border="0" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">The only problem was that the toilet was quite far away, which along with the fact that we were drinking homegrown, fresh chamomile tea, makes for a rather humorous story. The tree was off by itself and in the night, the clouds came in and rested over the jungle making it difficult to go pee in the latrine some distance away. So going pee in the night was going to be difficult. I found this awesome spot that was sort of a hole in the tree with a tiny little seat that would allow me to pee all the way to the ground, a PERFECT midnight potty, right outside the door. Not knowing that chamomile could act as a diuretic, I didn’t know why I had to keep peeing, but one time I got up in the night and decided to try the hole. My candle was not light enough to show anything and then it blew out, so I just pulled down my pants and sat down on the “seat”. I went and then when I stood up, my but cheeks felt quite stingy. I thought it was just from sitting on a tree branch. I pulled up my pants and then realized that I had fire ants on my bum! I went inside were there was a candle and we tried for a long time to get all of them off. OUCH! They hurt. I had ants in my pants for another good hour and the welts to prove it!<o:p></o:p></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">You wouldn’t think that a place in the middle of nowhere with no electricity, could have such delicious food, but the woman who ran the farm was an AMAZING cook. We ate fresh, organic vegetables prepared in the most delicious ways that I have eaten in Nicaragua. It was like being in Europe. NO ONE stared at us, which you don’t realize is a luxury until you haven’t been stared at for a good two years straight. Anyway we highly recommend Reserva Miraflor.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">For the last bit of adventure we headed back to the office to have our final oral Spanish exams, which will tell us at what level we speak. It was stressful but we are now glad we have it over with.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">(no results yet).</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The next day our group (health 46) was whisked away to a beachside resort on the Pacific coast for our Close of Service conference. We learned about all the paperwork we have to do, the rigorous medical exams including pooing in a cup once a day for three days, decisions about flights, resumes, how to find a job, apply for graduate schools, etc. It appears that it is just as hard to get out of Peace Corps as it is to get in. The good thing was that we were treated like kings. I had not been less than stuffed with food for the entire two weeks, and this was not helping. We swam in the pool after the first day and then we sang karaoke until 1am. When we went back to our luxurious beach-front bungalow, I had a feeling I should go out on the patio. I was sitting out there a few minutes when I saw a guy in the Turtle hatchery, which until then had not had any movement. I went over and saw that there were baby turtles in there and he invited us to go and release them. What LUCK! We have wanted to do this for many many years and have had no luck. The only bad thing is that our camera battery died and we couldn’t take pictures, but it was a full moon and the turtles were so little and darling. Again with luck, the next morning we woke with dreams of baby turtles and found they were releasing more, so we went crazy with the pictures.</span></p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;"></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0s-IWC42I/AAAAAAAABAg/pSBb-izM2vk/s1600-h/DSC07827.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0s-IWC42I/AAAAAAAABAg/pSBb-izM2vk/s400/DSC07827.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412531773072663394" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0sEgUP1OI/AAAAAAAABAY/bfqi5S7wCZ4/s1600-h/DSC07822.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0sEgUP1OI/AAAAAAAABAY/bfqi5S7wCZ4/s400/DSC07822.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412530783075161314" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0wzqPPY9I/AAAAAAAABBA/LYjdwiywaho/s1600-h/DSC07855.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0wzqPPY9I/AAAAAAAABBA/LYjdwiywaho/s400/DSC07855.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412535991238878162" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0ue5lh-HI/AAAAAAAABAw/FgMg0RUsfak/s1600-h/DSC07852.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sx0ue5lh-HI/AAAAAAAABAw/FgMg0RUsfak/s400/DSC07852.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412533435558393970" border="0" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:85%;">That about sums up our awesome trip, except that we also asked special permission from the Embassy to go to the Corn Islands for Christmas and we were approved!... But we may not have enough money to go. We will see, because we also have a ton of work to do in these last 3 ½ months.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">PLEASE DONATE TO MY PROJECT ON<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=524-075</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!!!</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-65962818419920208002009-11-25T16:43:00.000-07:002009-11-26T08:19:06.333-07:00Cute overload<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmhUPjmbGI/AAAAAAAAA-A/X7A-XkexzSk/s1600-h/DSC07422.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402526597152926818" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmhUPjmbGI/AAAAAAAAA-A/X7A-XkexzSk/s400/DSC07422.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmhIQocSzI/AAAAAAAAA94/pDMfqf1jswM/s1600-h/DSC07429.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402526391283239730" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmhIQocSzI/AAAAAAAAA94/pDMfqf1jswM/s400/DSC07429.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Svmg7B9d28I/AAAAAAAAA9w/kwJkeezuqAQ/s1600-h/DSC07434.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402526164006591426" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Svmg7B9d28I/AAAAAAAAA9w/kwJkeezuqAQ/s400/DSC07434.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Svmgyt1Cu1I/AAAAAAAAA9o/JwaZ3WvZnkM/s1600-h/DSC07428.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402526021163596626" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Svmgyt1Cu1I/AAAAAAAAA9o/JwaZ3WvZnkM/s400/DSC07428.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmgoOUAocI/AAAAAAAAA9g/Ycw_dnmINZ0/s1600-h/DSC07424.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402525840904856002" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmgoOUAocI/AAAAAAAAA9g/Ycw_dnmINZ0/s400/DSC07424.JPG" /></a> These are the kittens I saved. Their owner, told me the mother had abandoned them. I told her that we could save them and that I would be over. I went over the next day, and we taught them how to drink milk from a plastic bag TRUE NICA STYLE! It was darling. Their mother came back a few days later. So the family decided to give me one.. I couldnt say no of course. They told me I was their second mother because they had them thrown away in a box int he back yard, awaiting death when I came over with milk. Not to sound like a superhero or anything, I mean, dang, their just kitties. But they are flippin' cute! I dont have my kitty yet, they are too small. Its sure to break my heart again. Im positive of it. </div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-79109374652732773432009-11-16T16:45:00.004-07:002009-11-26T08:18:24.642-07:00Halloween Anarchy<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmgWTalIMI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/U66X_bSEslE/s1600-h/DSC07294.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402525533036945602" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmgWTalIMI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/U66X_bSEslE/s400/DSC07294.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmeUZWRCpI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/Q61APD9orQ8/s1600-h/DSC07267.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402523301246470802" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmeUZWRCpI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/Q61APD9orQ8/s400/DSC07267.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmeMkbeNMI/AAAAAAAAA9I/HCxTLafzWEo/s1600-h/DSC07251.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402523166782141634" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmeMkbeNMI/AAAAAAAAA9I/HCxTLafzWEo/s400/DSC07251.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmeEpMSdzI/AAAAAAAAA9A/2u4lbGaKPe8/s1600-h/DSC07280.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402523030621681458" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SvmeEpMSdzI/AAAAAAAAA9A/2u4lbGaKPe8/s400/DSC07280.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Svmdq2M917I/AAAAAAAAA8w/7PR150qqfxE/s1600-h/DSC07244.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402522587437586354" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Svmdq2M917I/AAAAAAAAA8w/7PR150qqfxE/s400/DSC07244.JPG" /></a>Well what do you do on halloween, your favorite holiday, when everybody in the village thinks its a satanic holiday, and they are also spreading rumors that Mormons drink blood and worship satan? Well. you make a delightful scary breakfast for your wife, you take advantage of your english classes need to learn about culture in the united states and you throw a very quiet party. So kory told his english class to dress up and they arranged all kinds of treats and games. We watched some black and white movies and bobbed for mandarin oranges. It was a great time. But the anarchy came the night before. When having recieved countless plastic fangs and spider rings from our family, we decided that it would never do to pass them out, thanks to the above named reasons, so we thought it would be rather father christmasish to walk around the night before and sprinkle them all over in the streets. Then on all hallows eve, all the children would be helping us celebrate, when they woke and found such strange objects. Surely they would figure out what they were! So that is what we did. A humble but respectable halloween.<br /><br />Also, the response to the service entry and related blog has been very disappointing.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-35635028020991706302009-11-09T07:59:00.003-07:002009-11-09T08:33:39.724-07:00Fishing for Others<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Development Question</span><br /><br />Since being here in Nicaragua, I have often considered the illusive and ever-evolving idea of sustainable development. I have entertained several theories, some simple, some complex, which originally lead me to the idea that that answer lied in the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills. I now believe it to be much simpler than that. Here is basically how I broke it down: Brigada development is "give a man a fish" development. He eats for a day, but may have starved otherwise. It is necessary, but not sustainable. The second form of development is that which is employed by the majority of organizations working in third world development: "teach a man to fish." Sure, he eats for a lifetime, but then you are left to teach another man to fish. That, therefore, is not sustainable either. The Peace Corps approach is more like "teach a man to teach a man to fish." This way, the village eats for generations and you go home. Is it sustainable? It is if the village likes fish. That is to say, it is a great idea, fishing, but they don´t own it. Everybody knows that the boy who has a paper rout and saves up to buy his own bike will take better care of it than the boy who recieves a bike as a gift. This lead me to the fourth approach to sustainable develpment, or at least to fishing. It is this: "teach a man to think and he'll find a way to eat." Although we know that "fish" isn´t literally "fish," I used the word "eat" here to leave it more ambiguous. This theory is a little bit more complex. Basically it is the idea that if given the means to occur naturally, the idea of development will become liquid and fill the shape of the container it is given. This is the most sustainable means of development out of the four mentioned, as it makes no assumptions about the size or the shape of the container. However, it gets really ugly really quickly when one considers the enormous task of developing critical thinking and problem solving skills over generations. How do you teach a people to think?<br /><br />Enter the fifth theory. It is so much simpler than all of this. It´s not new. Not by far. Nor does it require generations and generations of work and long complex explanations. This is not some obscure Jared Diamond social theory. Here is how it works: "Teach a man to fish for others." Service. Simple as that. How does this relate to development? To answer that, one has to first chose one of the dozens of definitions available for the word. That is, we have to ask ourselves, "what is the end-goal?" "Toward what are we developing?" By by-passing all of the complicated problems with "development" work infringing on cultural identities, or imposing Western ideals on under developed cultures, the answer can be as simple as a fulfilling life, personal liberty, and happiness. If this is developement, then the answer can be as simple as SERVICE.<br /><br />My friends, the Golden Rule is flawed. The Golden Rule asks that you do unto others only after first asking about yourself. It requires that you first ask "How do I want to be done unto?" Forget that. I say, "Do unto others as they need done unto, and for once don´t ask 'what's in it for me?'"<br /><br />It comes down to this: This life, for whatever reason you assign to it, or whatever religion you use to justify it, is hard. I don´t care if you´re Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hare Krishna, Pagan, Athiest or anything else. This life is just hard. If there is anything you can do to make it just a little bit easier for anybody, then damnit, do it! Do it now. Do it quietly. Do it well, with all of your best talents and resources. Do it selflessly. And learn to graciously accept the service of others.<br /><br />I have started a new blog for the purpose of making anonymous comments about services rendered, recieved or even witnessed. The idea is that it is hard to set an example by doing things anonymously, yet the examples are so important to inspire others. Please comment on this blog and do so anonymously to preserve the spirit. The blog is<a href="http://fishingforothers.blogspot.com"> fishingforothers.blogspot.com</a><br /><br />I hope all is well with all of you.<br />-KoryUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-73259497362392198642009-10-29T10:18:00.008-06:002009-10-29T11:02:54.099-06:00Rótulos Milton<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunDlmDytQI/AAAAAAAAA8M/ISOaPbMTc3M/s1600-h/DSC07127.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunDlmDytQI/AAAAAAAAA8M/ISOaPbMTc3M/s400/DSC07127.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398060679019279618" border="0" /></a>Well, enough about us. Let's talk about, ... well it's just us. Us, us and more us. For this, I make no appologies. The fact is, if you didn't care about us as much as you like to pretend you don't, you wouldn't be reading this. I know, I know. The title of the blog may be a little bit exagerated, since not all of our adventures are amazing, but you are, in fact, reading it. I also make no appologies for this since you, the reader, will likely have had a hot shower either sometime before reading this or will have one shortly after. By shortly I mean within five months of course.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunA6z1NiPI/AAAAAAAAA7k/qD4MdvEijKs/s1600-h/DSC07230.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunA6z1NiPI/AAAAAAAAA7k/qD4MdvEijKs/s400/DSC07230.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398057744958589170" border="0" /></a>I made an airbrush yesterday. You can't put me in a third world country, take away all my toys and tell me not to play. I built this little bruiser out of an old ink jar, a radio antanae, a bit of bamboo and a piece of tubing from a broken iron. What you can't see in the photo is that the other end of the tube is connected to my mouth, making my lungs the air compressor. The advantage of this is that I can control the air pressure with my mind instead of buttons and levers. The disadvantage is that my air compressor is encased in a broken rib (the tragic result of playing soccer in a muddy field against fast little kids who have eaten, breathed and slept soccer for their lifetimes, in a pair of plastic-soled street-purchased sandals). Every breath is agony. I am now working on some various tips to refine the spray. I am making them from tapered metal writing pen heads.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rótulos Milton</span></span><br /><br />Here is a story for you. A friend of ours, María (name changed to protect the people who have never used the internet or a computer and will never see this anyway), sells tacos. Actually, she makes tacos and her sons sell them. Lately the taco market has dropped through the dirt floor and they can barely eat. Her eighteen-year-old son is a bit of an eighteen-year-old. By this I mean that work is for other people who don't have important social lives. He was a member of our Art Club we started when we first arrived here. He has also been participating in a drawing class I have been giving and an English class. The kid has talent. He just needed some direction. Well, I helped him to start his own business. I helped him with the capital and I am overseeing the financial part and guiding him on the creative and p.r. parts. The business is that of making signs. Sounds simple enough, but this is a resource strapped country and sign making generally consists of the person in the house who knows how to write misspelling two or three words on a piece of paper with a pen, which is then glued to the front of the house. The thing is, there are so many home businesses that are unmarked because of this system. We started with a sign for his mother, which was free, to have a sample to show when looking for clients. She repairs clothes, in addition to making tacos. We decided to advertise for her.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunBWxUUIdI/AAAAAAAAA7s/TARpHg3UWpI/s1600-h/DSC07139.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunBWxUUIdI/AAAAAAAAA7s/TARpHg3UWpI/s400/DSC07139.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398058225320075730" border="0" /></a>We made the sign using used clothes (some of them may even be yours!) because it is cheaper than buying fabric. We can buy used clothing for ten to twenty-five cents U.S.$ per article. "María" now has over 2,000 córdobas of work to do (about $100, also known as enough to live on for a month or two). <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunB8gPUMWI/AAAAAAAAA70/cYbP0O9X7Ys/s1600-h/DSC07200.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunB8gPUMWI/AAAAAAAAA70/cYbP0O9X7Ys/s400/DSC07200.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398058873570734434" border="0" /></a>With photos of this sign we moved on to other clients. More used clothes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunCmH5lO_I/AAAAAAAAA78/1n-VMxUiVg8/s1600-h/DSC07211.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunCmH5lO_I/AAAAAAAAA78/1n-VMxUiVg8/s400/DSC07211.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398059588591631346" border="0" /></a>We have a Mill sign to make this week and a background to paint for a local photo joint. Milton is learning how to balance the expenses and the income and calculate his profit, fifty percent of which automatically goes to his mother as rent, food, etc. I am really proud of him and his work. After a couple more jobs I will step aside and let him run things.<br /><br />One night while working, he brought a picture of his head and a catalog for clothes that he had cut up. he said that the body on the picture had been damaged and that he just needed a new body to save the photo. This was the only body in the catalog that was the right proportion to his head size. His intention was to have me photograph it and he would have it printed at the photo store to replace the old (skinny) one. Notice the giant sports bra behind him! He wishes! Hilarious. Enjoy this taste of Nicaragua!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunEWyUFQCI/AAAAAAAAA8U/C-9tCO76a9s/s1600-h/DSC07186.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SunEWyUFQCI/AAAAAAAAA8U/C-9tCO76a9s/s400/DSC07186.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398061524122419234" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-12627653061606491932009-10-20T10:08:00.023-06:002009-10-20T11:56:08.146-06:00Matt and Brooke<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3h0eJGthI/AAAAAAAAA5s/qhkxtl643r8/s1600-h/DSC07054.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394716220220421650" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3h0eJGthI/AAAAAAAAA5s/qhkxtl643r8/s400/DSC07054.JPG" border="0" /></a>Well our friends Matt and Brooke came and went in a torrent of great fun.When they got here we brought them immediately to our site and we made it just in time for them to be the final exam for korys english class. We made beans and rice and homemade lemonade. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3jUkN-J2I/AAAAAAAAA6E/_88usj_t_9Y/s1600-h/DSC06775.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394717871118886754" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 300px; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3jUkN-J2I/AAAAAAAAA6E/_88usj_t_9Y/s400/DSC06775.JPG" border="0" /></a>Kory did show and tell with all his awsome inventions but in fast forward, knowing we were going to leave again early in the morning. Some of the boys from our church came over to pick out a tie that they brought (thanks to all who donated by the way).<img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3ulGw1eHI/AAAAAAAAA6M/MLwyhaHve7k/s400/DSC06790.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394730249897736306" border="0" /><div><div><div><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3ulGw1eHI/AAAAAAAAA6M/MLwyhaHve7k/s1600-h/DSC06790.JPG"></a><div> </div><div> </div>Anyway, they came officially to film our training that we did for youth. We (9 volunteers from our region) were given money to do a training for 4 kids each from our communities.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3wBzIuDOI/AAAAAAAAA6U/WQfjiBGalO4/s1600-h/DSC06826.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3wBzIuDOI/AAAAAAAAA6U/WQfjiBGalO4/s400/DSC06826.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394731842357038306" border="0" /></a>Please note the awsome mural kory made in the background, that later served as a backdrop for the photobooth.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3xJ6FilbI/AAAAAAAAA6c/VA-b3RO8UaM/s1600-h/DSC06899.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3xJ6FilbI/AAAAAAAAA6c/VA-b3RO8UaM/s400/DSC06899.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394733081173333426" border="0" /></a>We spent 2 days in Estelí talking about all kinds of things related to aids. Thanks to some awsome and creative volunteers (also known as Matt and Jess) we stayed up ALLLL night the first night (I want to note that I had to get up and leave on a bus at 5 am and then I stayed awake until 3 am. Suckk!) but it was actually really cool. We called it a lock in because they all had to stay and participate. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3yYjF5XJI/AAAAAAAAA6k/7atHfvd2PEg/s1600-h/DSC06829.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3yYjF5XJI/AAAAAAAAA6k/7atHfvd2PEg/s400/DSC06829.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394734432210476178" border="0" /></a>We had a mini casino in which we showed them the odds of aquiring an STD if they didnt take protective measures, we did a condom water toss, a mural,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St30QP7gamI/AAAAAAAAA60/weRGPSHNbjs/s1600-h/DSC06870.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St30QP7gamI/AAAAAAAAA60/weRGPSHNbjs/s400/DSC06870.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394736488650926690" border="0" /></a> olympics,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3zVQNCkJI/AAAAAAAAA6s/JKl8kecej9g/s1600-h/DSC06890.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3zVQNCkJI/AAAAAAAAA6s/JKl8kecej9g/s400/DSC06890.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394735475112186002" border="0" /></a> a fashion show, a photo booth... TONS! it was exausting and well executed. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St32u8Qh60I/AAAAAAAAA7E/AeVRd-9nZVk/s1600-h/DSC06949.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St32u8Qh60I/AAAAAAAAA7E/AeVRd-9nZVk/s400/DSC06949.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394739214969596738" border="0" /></a>Matt and Brooke filmed the whole thing and did interviews with lots of people and hopefully will be able to edit us a nice few films.<br /><br />After all the work was done we brought our kids back to our site, leaving just enough time to allow M & B the pleaser of chopping down a banana tree with ripe bananas, <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St33rbG3t8I/AAAAAAAAA7M/QooHGw5iLfs/s1600-h/DSC06954.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St33rbG3t8I/AAAAAAAAA7M/QooHGw5iLfs/s400/DSC06954.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394740254042732482" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St34g1Vy6FI/AAAAAAAAA7U/Jv5dfmrE5jY/s1600-h/DSC06952.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St34g1Vy6FI/AAAAAAAAA7U/Jv5dfmrE5jY/s400/DSC06952.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394741171617720402" border="0" /></a>and the next day got on yet another bus to Leon. Leon is a pretty Tuanis (cool) city here in Nicaragua and we walked around for the night. <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3iv7NmeBI/AAAAAAAAA58/gPOWzKjyGrk/s1600-h/DSC06958.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394717241636190226" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 300px; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3iv7NmeBI/AAAAAAAAA58/gPOWzKjyGrk/s400/DSC06958.JPG" border="0" /></a>It is also one of the hottest places on earth.. or so it feels. I think the matt and brooke almost died. Us desert dwellers, we cant live well in the humidity. Kory went on a shopping spree of used clothes and the next day we were off to the ocean. Brooke said.. ¨now this is vacation¨ and boy was she right. We had worked our tails off and spent about 18 hours on buses during the week. So we sprung for a couple of $20 bungalows that on high tide were about 20 feet from the water and relaxed. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3iHx6pk0I/AAAAAAAAA50/GvuZ5efES5M/s1600-h/DSC07042.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394716551946015554" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3iHx6pk0I/AAAAAAAAA50/GvuZ5efES5M/s400/DSC07042.JPG" border="0" /></a>We were going to go and do turtle patrol all night, we even bought flashlights, but then it started to rain and we couldnt do it. All in all it was a great vacation. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St35dyCiaTI/AAAAAAAAA7c/IihV_mzNpYI/s1600-h/DSC07001.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St35dyCiaTI/AAAAAAAAA7c/IihV_mzNpYI/s400/DSC07001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394742218703661362" border="0" /></a>For more info on the matter you should check out matt and brookes blog and matt and jess´s blog. (see right hand column.)<br /><div>I just want to add a special thanks to all the people who helped donate stuff to send for us. We have been having a ball with it. Eating gummy eyeballs, chocolate, and other delicious unmentionables. With the spices mom sent I whipped up a VERY convincing and delicious vegetarian sausage for my cookbook and some banana bread as well. The ties and clothes have been extremly valuable and the books as well. THANKS SO MUCH! It should be known that no peace corps volunteer is complete without the support of friends and family. Knowing that I sound like a complete idiot... you are the wind beneath our wings. hehe. Thanks agian. We love you all!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3hXgIXWQI/AAAAAAAAA5k/VdGDxTU6wb4/s1600-h/DSC07103.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394715722537982210" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/St3hXgIXWQI/AAAAAAAAA5k/VdGDxTU6wb4/s400/DSC07103.JPG" border="0" /></a>PS, this is the traditional nica photo we took in front of two backdrops, please note the dirty door. LOVE IT! (sorry I couldnt turn it on this program... but it adds the nicaraguanness of it.)<br /></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-65077787092155651922009-09-26T08:43:00.004-06:002009-09-26T08:58:51.638-06:00The great DONA<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sr4pQoElYmI/AAAAAAAAA5c/_CVG6O5VoJc/s1600-h/DSC06715.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385787569992983138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sr4pQoElYmI/AAAAAAAAA5c/_CVG6O5VoJc/s400/DSC06715.JPG" border="0" /></a> Well, we have found the Casa Materna to be in a financial pinch lately, suffering because the economic depression has trickled down to the NGOs and other funders here in the small town. It is also in between harvests. We just had the corn harvest and the coffee harvest.. the big daddy is about a month away. So there is little money to be spent on pulling out that old rotton moler that has been bothering you for so long, or buy some things at the store. (Which are by the way two of the things the casa materna has done to help make money.) Anyway, Kory and I decided to paint this mural to help call attention to services that they offer. While kory was painting on the finishing touches, I heard the sweat screaming sounds of a 3 year old having his rotton, sick, black teeth being pulled out. Ahh the sounds of progress.<br /><div><br /><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sr4o2dsb-VI/AAAAAAAAA5E/QewkFFDi42E/s1600-h/DSC06687.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385787120530749778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sr4o2dsb-VI/AAAAAAAAA5E/QewkFFDi42E/s400/DSC06687.JPG" border="0" /></a> Well after a super hard week with a sucky neighbor making lots of trouble for us here in our site, I was gifted with a house full of loving friends, who had come to help make donuts (or dona as they call them here) for a wedding. While we cooked, Kory entertained all the kids with tricks. It was 3 hours of fun and fat, we made 84 little donas and dipped them in chocolate. I felt very blessed this day to see that I still had friends and that they were willing to give service for someone else (the couple getting married). It was fulfilling in a deep way. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385787407810829330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sr4pHL5WHBI/AAAAAAAAA5U/irhulU-cMp4/s400/DSC06690.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385787278754133474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sr4o_rH1NeI/AAAAAAAAA5M/ZL5i-vcPMuc/s400/DSC06703.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-59441609620152782372009-09-20T14:18:00.004-06:002009-09-20T14:28:06.691-06:00How to Get a Job<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SraO90MSfxI/AAAAAAAAA40/G5-GaTZQRFQ/s1600-h/DSC06683.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SraO90MSfxI/AAAAAAAAA40/G5-GaTZQRFQ/s400/DSC06683.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383647597201358610" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SraO90MSfxI/AAAAAAAAA40/G5-GaTZQRFQ/s1600-h/DSC06683.JPG">This past week we did a training that focused on helping people recognize their career goals, figure out what kind of job they wanted, how to find that job, that job, then how to interview for that job. It was one of the most important and pivatol things we have done here for more reasons than one. We are really proud of all the people who hung in there, who made great sacrifices to participate.</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SraPW0wECXI/AAAAAAAAA48/itrJlSweXgs/s1600-h/DSC06647.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SraPW0wECXI/AAAAAAAAA48/itrJlSweXgs/s400/DSC06647.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383648026848135538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SraOxUjPJpI/AAAAAAAAA4s/rqi2Ai4Eq2M/s1600-h/DSC06671.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SraOxUjPJpI/AAAAAAAAA4s/rqi2Ai4Eq2M/s400/DSC06671.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383647382549243538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SraOfsw4xlI/AAAAAAAAA4k/XTKeKn6AUOQ/s1600-h/DSC06686.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/SraOfsw4xlI/AAAAAAAAA4k/XTKeKn6AUOQ/s400/DSC06686.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383647079811302994" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-52460564843824503432009-09-15T09:43:00.014-06:002009-09-15T10:31:49.185-06:00Wheels of progress...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-38kD4z8I/AAAAAAAAA3k/Vf2X-ISICqs/s1600-h/DSC06530.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-38kD4z8I/AAAAAAAAA3k/Vf2X-ISICqs/s400/DSC06530.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381722330831048642" border="0" /></a>Well, we havnt updated the blog in a few weeks. This is very sad I know, but its because we are busy, which is happy. I dislike being idle. I will make a small account of what we have been doing. We went to Jinotega a few weeks ago to review our big Charlas Listas project with the bosses and they loved! This is good, but we only got half way through. So we need to go back and review the rest. Then we have to have them translated into a language called Misquito. This will take a lot of work. We are also compiling activities you can do to teach each topic. But the bus ride to Jinotega is one of the most beautiful in the country and we stopped on top of the mountain to buy vegetables and get some bids on plants for the garden in the casa materna.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-4f0RcFVI/AAAAAAAAA3s/Rwl3lG90x7o/s1600-h/DSC06562.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-4f0RcFVI/AAAAAAAAA3s/Rwl3lG90x7o/s400/DSC06562.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381722936478274898" border="0" /></a>I (Heather)also finally learned how to make a few things with corn. Each year when they harvest corn, they make all kinds of different things with it. Things made with fresh corn smell and taste very sweet and delicious. I had been waiting through 2 harvests for someone to teach me how to make these things and had not had the opportunity until the other day. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-29sMneRI/AAAAAAAAA3M/UGvhVLT_KjQ/s1600-h/DSC06518.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-29sMneRI/AAAAAAAAA3M/UGvhVLT_KjQ/s400/DSC06518.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381721250683386130" border="0" /></a>This is called Atol, and it is a pudding made with the fresh corn. Basically you cut the kernals off of the cob, and then have them ground into a paste. For atol, you add a little water to the paste and mix it good, then you strain it through a cloth. What you get is some delicious corny flavored liquid and REAL cornstarch! Its crazy! Then you just cook it until it thickens with a little cinnamon, then add milk and sugar. It is steller. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-3UbC8BGI/AAAAAAAAA3U/LE-Mbvh1kbs/s1600-h/DSC06516.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-3UbC8BGI/AAAAAAAAA3U/LE-Mbvh1kbs/s400/DSC06516.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381721641216377954" border="0" /></a>The next thing we made was Guiríllas, which are sort of like tortillas but they taste sweet. These are one of my favorite things to eat in all of nicaragua. And when the guirílla ladies get on the buses and the whole stinky bus starts to smell like sweet corn.. mmmmm!!!!! They are served with cuajada, which is a simple crumbly salty cheese. Anyway, to make them, you just take the ground, raw corn and spread it into a griddle full of melted butter and then turn it over after it cooks on one side. I was hoping that someone from Utah could try this with your corn there and tell me if it works. I know the corn we have there is A LOT sweeter and may be too different to make these, but they are sooooo delicious, SOMEONE should try this. I will for sure when I get home. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-3l6QJQqI/AAAAAAAAA3c/v2BMLSk-ewk/s1600-h/DSC06521.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-3l6QJQqI/AAAAAAAAA3c/v2BMLSk-ewk/s400/DSC06521.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381721941651047074" border="0" /></a>This is our reading group. It was a smash hit the first week, but the second week it started raining and only one person came. Ahh nicaragua. Today we will try again. I really hope this works, we are going to try and tempt them into good attendance by rewarding them with a party and some cool t-shirts. They can at least all identify letters and such, but they cannot read well. They are all women from our church, and it is hard to teach them in church when they cannot read. Anyway, as literacy is part of the womens organization of our church, AND nicaragua has an outstanding history of literacy programs, we decided to jump in. During the somoza period, the sandonistas held literacy classes in hidden places at night to try to help elevate the people. Then when the sandonistas came into power, they made a program where they sent all the young people in high school out to the country to teach people to read. Today, the highschool students all teach people in their community. Its pretty cool. The only funny thing is that each year after they complete the literacy course they declare their territory ¨Free of illiteracy¨ which is a complete joke, otherwise they would not have to continue year after year. Hehe. Here is one of the signs-<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-9LXwqkrI/AAAAAAAAA4c/CgrmW8iu9OM/s1600-h/DSC06606.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-9LXwqkrI/AAAAAAAAA4c/CgrmW8iu9OM/s400/DSC06606.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381728082785374898" border="0" /></a>Kory has been working very hard in our back yard this week. After giving a charla about mosquito control in a rurual comunity, he learned that MINSA will fine you for having too much growth in your yard because it harbors mosquito larva and snakes. We have been fighting the nicaraguans about our yard grouth for a long time. They think it is a barbaridad, but we LOVE it. BUT, now since we could be fined, and seeing as how we dont want to be causing mosquito problems, kory sharpened the macheti and went to work. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-5ipbZt4I/AAAAAAAAA4E/CS-hAXhvUxA/s1600-h/DSC06589.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-5ipbZt4I/AAAAAAAAA4E/CS-hAXhvUxA/s400/DSC06589.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381724084618508162" border="0" /></a>He battled against this big.,. no, huge beehive that was in our lime tree. He had all kinds of schemes to try and smoke them out including homemade darts, levers, smoke rings, torches etc. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-51nfX8CI/AAAAAAAAA4M/sVKrYwb2d1k/s1600-h/DSC06579.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-51nfX8CI/AAAAAAAAA4M/sVKrYwb2d1k/s400/DSC06579.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381724410515812386" border="0" /></a>Finally he got them out, only being stung 4 times which is miraculous, and cut the branch down. The next day we went to harvest our limes before our neighbors did, and found the bees busily rebuilding. Horrible little creatures. Why cant they be cool bees, that give honey? Anyway, we got the limes and found that we had lots of bananas growing too. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-6GMmMkII/AAAAAAAAA4U/dU4PF0FwJCU/s1600-h/DSC06627.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-6GMmMkII/AAAAAAAAA4U/dU4PF0FwJCU/s400/DSC06627.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381724695354445954" border="0" /></a>The next day kory build the COOLEST rake you have ever seen out of bamboo. I love that kid. When my sister came, she said it was like swiss family robinson, and its totally true.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-42olbcvI/AAAAAAAAA30/LM-hh5y7zb8/s1600-h/DSC06604.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Sq-42olbcvI/AAAAAAAAA30/LM-hh5y7zb8/s400/DSC06604.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381723328477885170" border="0" /></a>Yesterday was the 14th of September which is Independence day here. They always do this big old presentation in the stadium. The highschool kids practice their drums for about 2 months before, tossing aside less important topics in school like math and reading, and pound the SAME rythms every second of every day. Every little child, aspiring to someday play the drums, gets a stick and water bottle or peice of metal and pounds endlessly the rythms. It really makes you want to die. Being as how whatever happens outside, happens inside, we had to tell our little neighbor boy Yader, last night, from our bed to be quiet. He was on the other side of the wall and had been pounding for about 2 hours on a plastic bottle. Anyway, the actual presentation is pretty impressive, and makes you real proud to see all your students, and littel friends out there dressed all nice and in all kinds of silly uniforms and dancing, throwing batons and playing drums. There were tons of people. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /></span>In other news, my grandfather passed away a few days ago. This is very sad for my grandma.. I think. I have been trying to call her for two days and have found her phone line very busy, true to her cute gossipy self. Anyway, he had lived in a nursing home for many many many years and i hope he is free and happy where he is. As for us, we will continue working on. Thanking God every day for our health and energy and being able to be in this wonderful difficult place, learning and learning and learning about ourselUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844448658955537740.post-11840289619627305242009-08-31T19:18:00.004-06:002009-09-02T15:12:35.521-06:00bright ideas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Spx2vkkN7FI/AAAAAAAAA2s/Iq5uv0FsSEw/s1600-h/DSC06380.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Spx2vkkN7FI/AAAAAAAAA2s/Iq5uv0FsSEw/s400/DSC06380.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376302614815042642" border="0" /></a>No you are not looking at one of korys weird paintings, he ACTUALLY did use our blender to make a new light fixture in our house. This sad sad blender. We saved our money .. or rather I was too tight to buy a good blender which costs about 800 cordobas, so we bought one that costed 350. It barely stirred the food. The motor caught on fire within the month while trying to blend COOKED BEANS! Can you believe it. So it was hanging out in the storage room that had a bad light socket. Kory did this in a few hours one day. Dang it he´s funny.<br /><br />In work news, this is a nutrition charla I did in my house for my church womens group. We learned about good nutrition and then I taught them how to cook with vegetable, green leaves and soy beans. We made a delicious vegetable soup with yucca leaves and TVP, we made these little fried soy balls that were full of green leaves and onions and garlic (no cracks about deep fried things being unhealthy! You do what you can here. Baby steps) And we also used the soymilk to make banana smoothies (frescos). Yum!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Spx3P2tf2jI/AAAAAAAAA20/_Kk1XDuy1lU/s1600-h/DSC06385.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Spx3P2tf2jI/AAAAAAAAA20/_Kk1XDuy1lU/s400/DSC06385.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376303169441618482" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Spx4PTV9_2I/AAAAAAAAA28/0YCU3OsroBA/s1600-h/DSC06397.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z3kcko1DJgs/Spx4PTV9_2I/AAAAAAAAA28/0YCU3OsroBA/s400/DSC06397.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376304259459317602" border="0" /></a><br />No news about the cat. I heard 2 seperate roomers (how do you spell that) about where he was and I went looking, with no luck, Now I hear that someone named Doña Marta has him tied up in her house in Barrio San Martín. Marta better watch her back! I have looooottss of photos of that cat to prove he is half mine.<br /><br />I also started a literacy group with my church womens group. It was really cool. I hope they hang in there for the 7 months we have left.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4