[Vision2020] Dave Barber in Nicaragua: Letter 10

[Louise Barber]

Letter 10 (Feb. 25)

 

Domingo, feb 25  Yesterday, my fourth Saturday here, was the first with no
traveling.  Today, like all the Sundays, has been relaxed and low-key.
Still, it´s been an interesting weekend.  Yesterday morning I got up at
seven and went out for a walk in the cool air.  Only the air wasn´t that
cool, and I was exhausted when I returned an hour-and-a-half later.  To take
a walk properly I´ll need to get up before dawn -- haven´t quite done that
yet.

            The big event of the day was going with Mario to his mother´s
house among the caña fields.  She was baking cornbread, in an old horno, an
oven like I hadn´t seen since New Mexico 30 years ago:  made of clay or
concrete, circular and dome-shaped, about 4 feet in diameter at the base, 3
feet high, with two entrances at 90 degree angles.  The entrances were
covered, as heat needs required, by the tops of old metal drums.  They had
the oven heated when we got there, and the batter in the trays, with platano
leaves underneath and on top.  The trays -- there were 10-12 -- took 12-15
minutes to bake.  The bread came out in various shapes from rolls to
tortillas, about an inch high.  The bread is made from ground corn, some
kind of dry cheese, and sugar.  They´re dense, really tasty with a corn
flavor stronger than any Idaho corn could produce.  We had a party with hot
cornbread and Pepsi.

            During the cooking I got my first horse ride in 30 years, on a
very gentle yegua named “Lucera.”  This was a nice follow-up to a few days
earlier, when I was walking to school, and a man I didn´t know stopped on
his motorcycle and said, “LESGO,” pointing to the seat behind him.  I´d been
operating on Katrina´s (Nelson) first principle, which is “Don´t turn down
anything directly offered.”  I figured if it worked with food (and so far it
mostly had) it should work with motorcycles.  So I got a ride to the school.

            Katrina´s second principle is, “Don´t have expectations.”  Her
third is, “If in doubt, tough it out.”  Combined with Meghan´s principle,
“Always keep busy,” I´ve been fine.

            Sunday morning Mario and I went out in search of NACATAMALES for
breakfast.  That´s a mixture of corn, pork, and cheese.  He drove me past
the house where Meghan stayed, and I saw why Meghan went down to the river
so much -- it´s nearby.  In the afternoon Mario and I went swimming at the
dam of the River El Salto [pictured at Bookpeople], which is the same river
as Meghan´s with another added on.  We swam for at least half an hour, and
my body actually got cool and stayed so for a while.  Later same afternoon
Mario took his sport coat, Ana took her wedding dress, and Doña Amanda got
all dressed up, and we all went off to the photographer´s house to have
their wedding pictures taken.  Their wedding was nine years ago, but they
didn´t get pictures at the time.  Mario parked the car in the photographer´s
back yard, in the near vicinity of a young man washing his car, a large ox,
a horse, and some huge pigs.  Visible in the next block was a large
evangelical church.

            27 feb.  Yesterday (Monday) was one of those days:  I went to
the school at 10 and the computer room was not open, so I waited, eventually
learning at 12:15 that the electricity had gone off an hour earlier.  It was
really hot.  I walked back home and resorted to my recently rediscovered way
to beat the heat -- wet down my shirt.  I was tired but the bedroom without
my fan working was not an option, so I sat in a chair in the shade in front
of the house, trying to read, but the brain wasn´t going.  Around 4 went
back to the school to pick up a list of my students from Ruby, my English
teacher partner.  (This was the occasion of my first Spanish pun.  Earlier I
had tried to get the list from Ruby but, as I told Mario and Ana, 'Busque la
lista, pero la lista no estaba lista.')  Had a good time wandering around
the area where Meghan lived, which looks like the oldest and most affluent
part of town.  It´s the Fort Russell area of Villa El Carmen.  Also saw a PE
class in action:  they were holding races down the street outside the
school.

            That night I cooked spaghetti, largely from a can but with fresh
tomatoes and 'minced' beef, for seven people:  Ana, Mario, Aura, both
grandmothers, Roberto, and me.  They ate it all up.

            Aura-abuela slept overnight here, with Aura her granddaughter,
Sunday and Monday nights.  On Monday Mario took her into Managua to get her
visa for busing into Costa Rica where her daughter (Aura-sobrina's mother)
lives and needs help taking care of the two kids while one recovers from
appendicitis.  They arrived at the embassy about 6:30 am to find 250 people
ahead of them.  By 8 am, when the embassy opened, there were 1000 people in
line.  It was an all-day project.

            Costa Rica and Nicaragua have a relationship roughly similar to
that of the U. S. and Mexico.  Thousands of Nicas live in CR, generally
sending money back home.  The Costa Ricans look down on the Nicas, and the
CR government has taken steps to control the flow of immigrants and
visitors.  If a Nica wants to go to Honduras or El Salvador, no problem --
but to get into CR you need a visa.  This costs the equivalent of $20 and is
good for 30 days.  Monday the CR government grabbed some $20,000 from Nicas´
visas.

            Had enough?  Now I´ll see if I can get Yahoo to send some
photos.

            Dave

 

 


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