A little slice of paradise.
The calendar seems to think that I’ve been here for a little over a month now, and several people have been asking for updates, as I readily admit that I have been lacking in posts. I tend to think that the normal every day things that happen here arent that exciting, but then again, when the last post was about a woman being shot in the old neighborhood, I suppose its probably better to inform you all that nothing crazy is happening rather than let you wonder whether I’ve been abducted (I have not). With that said, I’m sure there are some things worth mentioning.
*note – wrote this paragraph 10 days ago, see update at end of paragraph* At this very moment I have some lovely kind of flu – I think it’s one of those 24 hour things that leaves you feeling terrible one day, and then just a little crap the next. I’m on day 2. I think I would be mostly okay if it werent for the heat and the fact that I have to work extra hard to stay hydrated. Panchita was also sick yesterday, and she says her whole family is sick now too, so that actually makes me feel better and I dont have to worry about having malaria or dengue or some other kind of strange bacteria. *it was just some kind of48 hour virus, i’m fine now*
A little Nicaraguan rain storm
Miss Maddie Jalandoni flew home after a year and a month working here in Managua. For those of you who don’t know about Maddie, she was a student with my group of SIT, and she graduated early and came back to work with Manna Project here in Managua. Also, in the next couple of weeks Maura, another former SIT student who came back to live and work several years ago, and whose wedding I attended in December, will be moving back to the States with her Nicaraguan husband Silvio.
Aaaaanyhow, home is feeling very home-like now. I’ve been getting to know my boss a bit better lately, and had a very depressing chat with her about a friend of hers who was murdered two years ago by his crazy nicaraguan girlfriend. The weird part is that I remember reading about this guy either right before I came to Nicaragua the first time or some time after I got here and thinking the whole thing was very freaky. Turned out that Lillian and her friend Carmen were two of his closest (and really only) friends while he was working here. I’m just now realizing that a lot of news I tend to share with you guys is kind of depressing or disturbing, but the thing is that’s just the stuff that I write because I’m still processing it. You know, it’s not the kind of stuff you hear about happening to people you know in the States very much. Life can be a lot more extreme here for some people, but it makes you realize what is important and all of the stuff that we should be grateful for that maybe we don’t always think about.
Last depressing news – a girl on one of Lillian’s delegations ended up in the hospital about a week ago with a gastrointestinal infection, severe fever and dehydration and blood pressure of about 40/20. She was very ill and the whole experience was very eye opening. 3 days later she was well enough to fly home and all is well with her now. So let me give you all a little insight into the positive side of this story. She was really worried about going to the hospital even though she was so sick she couldn’t even walk herself to the car without help. Why was she so worried? Because she has only experienced US hospitals, and from those experiences she knows how much a visit to the emergency room can cost, plus a night in the hospital, plus tests, plus medication. She could have died if she had waited any longer to go the hospital – and the biggest thing holding her back was the fact that she couldn’t afford to pay the kind of bill she would have ended up with in the states. Finally some one convinced her not to worry about it because her health was far more important. She went to the hospital 5 minutes from our house where she was told that all of the tests and medication were free. The doctors at this public hospital saved her life. For free. And she isnt even Nicaraguan. Then of course the fact that it was a public hospital and the doctors and nurses didn’t have time to be there for her emotionally and the fact that she didn’t have a private room and was sharing a space with a lot of other sick and freaked out people became too overwhelming for her and she was moved to the private hospital in the neighborhood about 10 minutes from here. She felt much better emotionally in that hospital. And for 2 nights stay plus medication in this hospital she paid I think less than 300 dollars. Because of her unfortunate illness, I now feel much better about the kind of health care I can receive in this country only minutes from my house. That feeling is something I do not have in my own country. Because the truth is, I would have done the same thing she did and refused care for as long as I could knowing that I can’t afford the hospital bill. With this in mind, please consider what that says about our health care system in the states, and for those of you who are adamantly against health care reform, maybe you can give a bit more thought to the potential advantages. And if this isnt enough to convince you, think about the fact that I can get my teeth cleaned here for 10 dollars. I could get several teeth capped for 150. Doesn’t that seem like that’s how it should be? And yes, this is high quality dental work.
Word, got the photo at last!
Right-o. Now, let me tell you about some of our guests. The United Students for Fair Trade planning committee was here for several days. There were 12 of them, and at one point we ended up with a full house, which was not a little bit overwhelming, but it’s pretty cool to have so many interesting and motivated people here. Right now we’ve got a musician from Texas named Edward. As we speak he is playing with some Nicaraguans on Canal 11. He is good friends with Philip Montalban, who is a famous Nicaraguan Reggae star, and who has been over to the Quaker House several times – Got a picture with him! Every weekend we have a Czech woman who stays at the Q House so that she can go to her Shiatsu classes in Managua. And then lots of young volunteers and former volunteers for ProNica. Including one young woman from Vermont.
This is a long post, and it doesnt nearly contain all that has happened to me in the last month, but it’s a start. Promise to try to be better about this. And my last little note is, please pay attention to the news about the coup in Honduras. There is a solidarity group from Nicaragua (of Americans) over there right now to act as peaceful witnesses to the protesting that is going on. They, along with a crowd of Hondurands, were attacked by police forces the other day. This behavior is tried and true in Central America, and as much as we might hope that the region has been moving forward and away from violent conflict in recent years, this latest news shows that there is still a long way to go. But the people of these countries and peaceful witnesses to the conflict should not be the ones to suffer this kind of injustice. Please take the time to read this message from one of the women who was in Honduras during the lates round of protests:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/casabenlinder/message/5316
Love you all, miss you too!
