A little Q & A

So, I´ve noticed that I´m not answering most of the questions posed to me. So I´m going to take some time to resolve this issue.

Campo:

Was there any government presence there? Yes, but only in the form of UNAG, unión agricultural. I´m a bit shaky on this, but it´s state-run organization for farmers, which pretty much includes every campesino. This organization is currently focused on land reform, in the hopes that the government will buy land, then give it out to land-less campesinos. But then again, this might actually be one of those organizations that used to be part of the (Sandinista) state in the 80s, and is now indepent, or affiliated with the Sandinista party. Other than that, I didn´t see much. Even the literacy program is taught over the television, and since La Amancia never has electricity, and only three TVs, this can´t be very effective. What usually happens is that an NGO swoops in, gives out free medicine or builds a few new houses, then leaves. I also don´t remember any police, although that might be a mistake on my part.

You said the family has a radio--is that how they get news of the world outside La Amancia, or is it just entertainment? We only used it for after-dark dance parties. I asked my mom once if she had any hope for the future, and she said no. I don´t think my mom sees any point in listening to the news.

How does the local economy operate--on the barter system? Hard to say. I only ever saw people giving things away. It´s probably a system of reciprocity--whoever has a resource, like coffee or oranges, will give it away to those who need it. I didn´t see a market around La Amancia, but there must be one, and I think that would use currency.

I am wondering whether or not the grown children help support their mother and the younger kids. My mom there has a complicated family life. I know for sure two of her older children still live in La Amancia, but her son hates her, and I met the daughter only because we went to visit her. Her younger daughters all helped to take care of the baby, and it´s possible that her kids sent her assistance, and I just didn´t know about it. I never know what I can pry into and what I can´t.

How old was the woman who you lived with? I think she must have been at least 43. She had her first baby in 1980, which was 27 years ago, and she couldn´t have been younger than 16. Well, yeah, she could have, but I´ll pretend not.

Does Edu help women start businesses, and if so, what kind of businesses do women do? Right now, she runs a pulperia, a small convenience store. When she lived in Matagalpa, I´m beginning to gather she worked only with cases of violence against women. I´ll ask her about it.

Were the bugs as bad as expected? Not at all. I had some bedbug issues, but nothing serious. The other two communities had a terrible time with mosquitos, but La Amancia didn´t have any issues.

How are you dealing with all of the poverty you are seeing/experiencing? Not all that well. It´s depressing to see how little the government is doing to help its people. Ortega seems to prefer saying empty words about supporting Iran´s nuclear weapons program, or criticizing Bush´s foreign policy in a manner that won´t actually incite a US response. Worse for me, most of the people are very pessimistic about the direction of the country. On the carribbean, they are taking matters into their own hands, completely ignoring the government that ignores them in turn. But also, I´m personally uncomfortable living in such poverty. The food is heavy, I think because people feel fuller quicker, there´s not always electricity, the living conditions themselves are not like the couches and lazy boys I´m used to, etc, ad nauseum. This isn´t a vacation, I keep telling myself. But it´s hard to get used to living like this (and I´m certainly not experiencing the brunt of poverty--I´m still sheltered in many ways). I hope to take this experience with me, and use it as momentum for my career goals. And of course this is all great social capital.

Do the people seem happy despite their lack of material wealth? Depends where you are living. On the Pacific side, most people are very cynical about the future. So yeah, Nicaraguans love to go out to clubs, or love to chat in front of a pulperia, but the poverty is something they are unhappy about. The Caribbean coast is completely different, again because they do not depend at all on the central government to help them. It´s very empowering. And there´s the whole carribbean philosphy, which everyone there firmly believed in. So, although they were generally poorer than the Pacific Nicaraguans, everyone was optimistic, and for good reason.

So, what are you eating? Hard to say. In Managua, I eat rice, beans, cheese, fruit, and bread. My beverages are water and fruit drinks. On the coast, I ate shrimp, fish....and rice, beans, cheese, fruit and bread. I really didn´t like the food on the coast--there was sauce on everything, and it was way too rich. And heavy. I love to eat, but I never really got excited about eating on the coast. Except for my very first meal, rondón. That was spectacular, and I´ll never forget it. For a change of pace, I had ramen noodles (with an egg. I´ll never forget you Caryl!) last night. And I made wild rice soup last week, which everyone loved. I´m making it again Wednesday night. Also, there´s a great vegetarian comedor that I like to go to as well. I had garbanzo bean soup there, and they have excellent soy burgers.

I wonder how you will decide on your independent study topic--any subjects floating to the top yet? Actually, yeah. I want to work on a women´s coffee cooperative, either in Matagalpa or Esteli. My project will be a case study, focusing on how effective their organization is, the effect of machismo in the women´s home life and work, and their amount of access to the international coffee market. But I still have research to do, namely the coffee business, the Nicaraguan women´s movement, and the history/functionality of Nicaraguan cooperatives.

What kind of folk arts/crafts do you see being constructed. Is it mainly for markets or for selves? I bought a kick-ass necklace made out of large, wooden-like seeds. I´ve also seen a lot of earrings made out of polished coconut shell, which I really want. Other than that, I was shown some very expensive hand carved cups, definetly only for tourists. I think it´s a mixed bag. I´ll pay more attention in the future about this.

Do they paint the cement houses or do they color the cement? All (completed) houses I saw were painted, in any color you can imagine. The issue is really maitenence. My house, for example, is this great green color, but I don´t think it has had a fresh coat in years.

When will you start your book? Difficult to say. Maybe after I become president.