Hey all,
After being in Nicaragua for over a week now, I have had time to begin to get to know the country. We have only begun to explore the many things that this country has to offer, and only scraped the surface on the some of the problems and delimas faced by its people. We have enjoyed the immense hospitality of people who were stretched already to the limits of providing for their family, and yet they gave us portions of food larger than any home cooked meal we could have ever had back home. We saw people with no formal education pooling together resources, settling disputes, and organizing communities with passion and success like I have rarely seen. It is humbling to me to see the sort of advantages I posses, yet looking back what have I yet done to compare to what these people with no resources, it makes me think about how much more I could be doing. I can’t help it but to be embarrassed by the sole fact that I am from the United States, a place that has helped cause some of the strife here, that goes on living, consuming without regard to the conditions that the people who are making the goods are working in, without regard to how much what I have could affect the lives of so many people in other countries. Whatever happens once I go home will require a lot of thought. To process so much in such a small amount of time I feel is not possible. In talking with people at home, sharing experiences with people, eventually I will figure out what I want to do, what I want my part to be in helping Nicaragua, but it won't happen right away. More thoughts from me and others are sure to follow, and thank you to our dedicated readers, your support is amazing.
Jonathan Waltz

Back from the Campo

Hey everyone! We are back from the campo and we all have some fun, interesting, and moving stories to tell, hopefully we will get to an Internet cafe tonight. Thank you to everyone who is keeping up with the blog. It means a lot to know people care to read what we are writing and experiencing. Miss and love you all!

Britt

Hello Bonners

Hello Bonners-

I am writing from a small home in Batahola, spending the night with Todd's old host family. It is across the street from a basketball court--and a cultural/education center that was started by an American nun many years ago. I feel as if we found our long-term partner for the enrichment grant/project.

Ironically, we toured this Center two days ago. They run a number of amazing progams--including a scholarship program for poor college students, who them complete community service at the Center; sound familiar? I would write more--but I don't want to be rude to my host family. If you get a chance--google Batahola Cultural Center. You may get here sooner than you think:)

Adios.

10 Minutes, 10 Years

How long did it take me to read an article about the Reagan Administration's support of the Contras during the 1980's? I am guessing it took me 10 minutes every once and a while. Now, I have come to see first hand that Nicaragua has never recovered from the damages of that 10 year war. Was that the only way our government could have expressed its displeasure with the direction the Sandinistas (who toppled a ruthless dictator and not a democratic regime) were taking? It is never comfortable stepping out and questioning others--but it becomes alot easier when you meet real people who have to live with the consequences of questionable policies.

So far, so GREAT!

This place has been absolutely amazing. I've enjoyed learning about the political and financial aspects of Nicaragua's history. Our female speakers have provided us with stories that are absolutely mind-blowing. For example, Yamileth who survived several years on a dump, showed her determination and strength while explaining her struggle. When she said that Nica's take care of their problems and are self-providers, I felt nothing but admiration and respect. If we were to look up heart, dedication, and faith in the dictionary, we would certainly see Yamileth's picture besides those words.

Also, we went to Puntos de Encuentro which is a womens' group that films videos (Sexto Sientido) on issues for women. I believe that their films need to be shown globablly, as they are beginning to distribute their videos to other Latin American countries. Sex education is an extremely important aspect of learning for not only Latin Americans, but people everywhere. Hopefully, we'll be seeing the success of these films in the states within the next few years.

Lastly, I would like to explain how humbling this trip has been. In America, we sometimes overlook/underappreciate the things and people that we have in our lives. We become materialistic and undervalue the people who continue to support us. This is a call for us to review our lives, and appreciate what we take for granite each and every day because there are many less fortunate people in this world waiting for the things that we do have.



-Tariq Shabazz

Managua!!!

Hey!!!

So first, Britt has been doing a really good job on providing details and such to help you guys try to visualize what we have seen for our own eyes. It´s Day 3 now, and to be honest it´s quite impossible to really paint a clear picture that would sum up everything. There are so many mixed emotions when thinking about everything I´ve seen thus far....from poverty to miracle stories. As Britt was saying before, yesterday we met with a woman named Yamith. She had such an inspiring story about how she survived living in a dump...LITERALLY...to finally living in what she calls¨home.¨ If there´s one thing I would have to say about this trip so far...it would be that you truly learn the definition of Humbleness. Yamith´s story as well as many others here, have shown that despite disaster...they never lost hope but fought and found ways to survive on their own. People such as Yamith, prove that change is possible anywhere...anyhow...The people of Nicaragua have taken matters into thier own hands and that´s is such an admirable thing.

-Natasha Perez

Why?

When I was a political science professor at Middlesex, I started each semester by asking the students to bring in a political song; one we could use to examine some of the definitions of political science (e.g. the study of struggles and competions for power). To cover all the bases in case they failed to deliver, I would have a few songs in my back pocket--including Tracy Chapman's "Why".

"Why do all the babies starve when there is enough food to feed the world?" These lyrics are swirling in my head as we drive through Managua staring at extreme poverty--words cannot convey the conditions. (This is the second poorest country in the region.) We spend a few hours meeting folks who live in a colossal garbage dump. Yes, their neighborhood is in the dump--and 1000 live off of the garbage that they can glean--in order to survive. It is hot, dirty and desparate.

It is clear we will all complain alot less about our own struggles or challenges when we return home. We will always have a clear reference point to remind us that by sheer luck--by pulling a card from the deck that meant we were born in the United States--we were placed on a very different trajectory.

It is also clear that we will never really leave this place. As we learn more about Nicaragua's history--including America's role--it will be hard for many of us to forget about this country and its people. I suspect TCNJ Bonners and alum will be coming down here trying to support local efforts to improve the quality of life for years to come.

Peace-

Pat