After just three weeks into my new life in "El Viejo" Chinandega I have found my days full, often running from my wake up call at 5 am until nearly 6 or 7 in the evening. You might think these seems odd because historically I haven't had a reputation for overworking myself. However here in Nicaragua it is a little different because most of the time I don't really feel like I'm working at all. Whether it's in the school observing and helping with classes, or in the village making visits to the homes of the small business owners who wake up every day in hopes that they may generate a few dollars of income to feed their families, I am always on the go. The diversity in my work has kept me excited just about all the time over the first several weeks. I manage to mix some diversity into my weekends as well. Usually on Friday I am looking forward to at least on day in the ocean. Lately I have been spending a lot of time with some really cool Nicaraguans who live on the beach and keep my weekends interesting. One individual specifically Patricio, a 17 year old surfer who grew up on a surfboard reminds me of myself when I was his age. Which I might add is a little scary.
There are so many people to work with and help that sometimes I just have to step back and realize that there is not time limit on any of the work I'm doing here. All that I can do is prepare myself for each day and try to make people see the goodness in their own lives. Some of the best days I've had so far have come when I spent several hours just talking in some ones home. It feels good when they start including me in the gossip. Well... As long as I am not part of the gossip.
There are so many great stories to share that sometimes I start to feel like it's not worth even trying to describe them. I think I may have found a house in "El Viejo" where I can live for the next 2 years. The home is owned by an elderly woman who lives next door. Her commons area would be shared with me and I would end up sharing her shower and bathroom also, but for the money it is definetively the best place that I could find. At 60$ a month I think that I will almost be able to live on my astonishingly low Peace Corp salary. We won't talk about that right now though. I know times are tough in the United States with the economy and all, but I might mention their is a World Food Crisis and Nicaragua is in high risk of being impacted by the escalating cost of produce. Let's just say the people here aren't so concerned with self-awareness and finding themselves as much as they are finding FOOD!
Your gift baskets are always appreciated...
I have started working a lot in Micro-Finance and most of my time is spent with the women and families that are recieving the small loans. Most of them are very poor and appreciate anyone taking interest in their business. It's really kind of fun to start thinking creatively with someone about how they can maybe sale a few more pieces of bread every day. Other folks are buying clothes and re-selling them in different markets for a nominal profit margin. One woman has a molina which is used to grind corn into batter in order to make tortillas. Tortillas, along with beans and rice are just about all most of these people eat. So, naturally her business thrives, but she is undercharging people to use her machine, and of course she assumes the cost to repair it. At the end of the month she doesn't have any idea what her maintanence costs are or how much revenue was generating by renting out her machine. The project at hand in this situation is to first figure out if she is making money or loosing money. Keep in mind many of my business owners do not read or write so the task of taking accounting, marketing, and budgeting has to be simplified and translated in order for this program to reach the people in need.
The challenges are immense, but the reward is great, and the relationships are so fulfilling. I am starting to sound like a broken record but it is the small things that have the greatest impact.
