Hi all,
I keep getting busy and putting this off. Well, I'll try to update a bit plus add a couple of stories that I wrote earlier.
Been busy lately mostly with anti-war/peace activities. Last week, for example, I was in the street every day after work, except one day that I was in Matagalpa and didn't get back till 9:30pm. Thankfully, sort of, this week there are only two events. I am trying to rest up. The events have been fun, am meeting lots of new people, with the common interest of peace at least. Almost everyone at work has been to one or more events, good to be working with people that are like-minded...
Web based peace petitions if you are interested:
http://www.zmag.org/wspj/index.cfm
http://www.moveon.org/emergency/
Also, there is the US Peace Boycott at www.adbusters.org if you want more concrete actions for peace to get into.
Getting back to me... Here's an event I wrote about almost a month ago.
Well, shortly after the last update, we went to Matagalpa as usual for our workshop and I was all excited because after an activity on Saturday (a games workshop that was great fun, maybe another day I will write about that) we were going to go to Penas Blancas up north, a far off, remote spot that is supposedly kind of wildernessy. I was all excited to go, haven't been out of the city much lately...
So, after the workshop on Sat, all of us (about 10 people) had a big lunch at Martha's (my boss) mom's house in Matagalpa. Good food, although not too vegetarian, but there was salad at least. (Typical vegetarian's consolation prize) After lunch, we all piled out of the house, towards the truck. A single 4 door pickup truck.
Hmmm... It occurred to me, how exactly are all 10 of us going to fit in there? plus all their luggage for the weekend? Hmmm... That means at least 5 people have to ride in the back. With all that luggage.
Hmmm...
That is strictly against YCI policy. I thought about trying to explain that to them, but it was hard enough to do that when I actually worked for YCI let alone when I was no longer in that. 10+ years of YCI conditioning is hard to break.
Then it occurred to me that we would not only be riding in the back, but riding on the railings or whatever you call them. Hmmm.... I was leaning towards not going given these conditions, then one guy (the driver) talked me into it. Or almost. At least, I decided that I would go with them across town, the maybe 15 blocks across town to where some of our luggage was and see how it went. So, I was the last to hop on the back. Precisely as I jumped on the bumper, the driver started off... If not for the quick reactions of myself and the others in the back, I would have been a splat on the pavement.
So, I scrambled in, quickly reevaluated the danger, lack of comfort on my scarcely padded buttocks (I have not gained any weight, I regret to report), and hot sun in my paleface and quickly decided that this was not going to be the most fun and safe adventure ever.
I told the group that my culture is a bit more safety conscious and that I didn't feel comfortable riding in the back, nor did I think they should really. So I was returning to Managua.
I think they think I am a bit odd (true to some extent, perhaps), but I know they respect the fact that I speak my mind. Maybe I'll go next time when less people are going. Maybe I am a bit of a fuddy-duddy. If so, I blame YCI for the brainwashing. :)
In some ways, my work has been a bit boring. A lot of what I do is write reports, notes from meetings and workshops. Lots of frustrations of late with the typical Latin American culture of doing things at the last minute (something I was certainly guilty of in school though at times) - but funnily enough, this habit of our boss Martha frustrates the rest of the team far more than it does me. It annoys me more in the way it affects them, raising their levels of stress, etc.
Been working lots lately, some Saturdays as well, which I don't like, but the process with the youth group is on Saturdays so in some senses it's ok, and fun. We had a so-so session two weeks ago and I felt bad because my part (as well as some others) were not as well-prepared as they should have been. But the last one on Saturday was great. Everyone left feeling great after that session...
Getting to know Matagalpa a bit and the night life there. When Wilmer comes with us, we always end up going out till 3 or 4am and then trying to still work the next day somehow at 8am. The last Friday I remember thinking I can't do this again - I simply could not concentrate on the workshop to take the notes. Still my boss seems happy with what I am producing...
We have fun at work too, sometimes having meetings (e.g. for our operating plan) at various people's houses and cooking lunch together. I enjoy working with these people, even if sometimes I don't enjoy every aspect of my work.
Some notes about culture and things. Funny thing that Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans say, instead of a week from today, say, 8 days from today. Two weeks = 15 days. Being late is a classic, world-renowned characteristic of Latin Americans, although certainly one should be careful not to generalise. I have certainly met people here who are more punctual than I am! Still it can be hard to get used to. When the Uruguayans were visiting for the Games workshops, we would say we'd go out at 8pm say, but they might show up at 10:30pm. And workshops might start at 9am instead of 8am.
In this culture, it is important to be careful about giving feedback and criticism. People can be direct here, but not generally with criticisms. I still screw that up with my North American tendency to just say what I think about something or someone.
Well, the Matagalpa nightlife lead to one date and have had a few others, including an ecologist, but still nothing of interest to report. I know, I know, I should make some stuff up, to make this update more interesting, but maybe in the next edition. :)
I have had a few visits from Costa Rica and Canada in recent months, including one that I lost at the bus station, still not sure what happened to Diegito. It was good to catch up with people that I haven't seen for a while...
I think that is enough, gotta get to bed, still trying to catch up on sleep from last week and get rid of these dark circles under my eyes...
Un abrazo,
Rob