Isla de Ometepe

Here are a few photos from our weekend in Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua.

Playa Santa Domingo


Kayaking on Lake Nicaragua, near Charco Verde. Volcan Concepcion in background (1,600m)


Bananas!


A lancha and Concepcion


View of the lake and Charco Verde (the Green Lagoon)


Beautiful view of Concepcion in the clouds

Alden, Coby, and Jennie getting ready to board!

Vacation week...

I finished my official work here last week and launched into my vacation week! It has been a great mix of activity and relaxation.

One of the things I really wanted to do is take more surf lessons. I found out about an all girls surf camp called Chica Brava, run by an American woman who has been living here for about 5 years. I originally intended to take private lessons but was invited to join the camp that they had scheduled this week. There were 5 girls including me, from LA to DC and all in their late 20s to early 30s.


All were super mellow girls, very nice and happy to have me join in. Our instructors were Missy, from Florida and Maite, from Guadalajara, Mexico. The instructors were awesome; they were encouraging and pushed us, yet made sure to not push us outside our comfort zones. It was great being with all women too. I'd taken surf lessons before, but I don't think, having had this experience, that I would choose again to take lessons from a male instructor. Anyway, the camp lasted 6 days but I only participated in 3 days' sessions.


The first 2 days we went to Remanzo, the beach I mentioned in an earlier post, known as a good beginner beach. By day 2 we were all paddling out, learning to turtle roll (on a long board you use the turtle roll when you're paddling out and a big wave breaks right in front of you. If you can't get up and over it, you will get pushed backwards or tossed so what you do is grab your board, flip over so you are under water and your board and the wave passes over you/your board and then once it passes you flip back over and climb up and keep paddling out), popping up (standing up on the board), and we started working on choosing and paddling for our own waves. When we needed their help, the instructors would push us into waves allowing us not to have to paddle and limiting the steps we had to think about.

Surfing is exhausting at first. When sets of waves are coming in towards shore and you are trying to get past them, it feels like a battle -- and that's before you've even tried to paddle for a wave! But it also feels incredibly satisfying to successfully stand up on the board and feel the wave underneath you.

The first 2 mornings we had to be up at 530am to be at the beach around the high tide. We generally surfed for a few hours, took a break and then would go out in the water for another 30 min. or so, before being ready to call it a day. On day two, I realized it was time to quit when I had ingested a gallon of salt water, I felt my shoulder sublux (a mini-dislocation) and sprained my foot on the ocean floor after getting tossed!!!

The 3rd day we went to another beach, called Hermosa. We took a boat there. The boat anchored off shore and we all got a bit nervous when the instructors told us that we would have to paddle IN to shore, behind the huge waves we saw crashing into the beach. It was a bit scary but we followed instructions and kept an eye out for each other and made it... The waves were a lot bigger at this beach and we all had a pretty frustrating morning, but it was good to see a different beach, different wave behavior etc. There were no subluxed shoulders but we all did get stung by jellyfish so that made the day exciting! Paddling back out to the boat after surfing for 2 hours was so tiring!! Overall, I was really pleased with my progress. I am excited to keep surfing (though a little bummed out that if I surf in the Pacific Northwest it will most likely be in a wetsuit and not a bikini). Most of all though, having this experience with a group of awesome women, was empowering as well as fun.





Yesterday, I went on a horseback tour around the finca with the resident cowboy, Jonny. For about 2 hours he toured me around all the parts of the finca that aren't accessible on foot. It was a beautiful ride; a windy but fairly clear day.. I was able to see some amazing views of the finca.. We also saw howler monkeys and a sloth!!



My classmate and friend, Coby Jansen, arrived this week as well! It has really nice having her here! She is setting up a project related to water contamination and will either be working here in San Juan or in Leon with a University of North Carolina project. Alden, Coby and I met up in town yesterday to observe the Virgen del Carmen celebration. A statue of the 'virgen' is sent out on a boat while other boats follow, people set off fireworks, and celebrate with food and drink. The ceremony is about the 'virgen' blessing the fishermen for a good catch. The rainy season has really set in and we got caught in a serious downpour in town. It is amazing to watch the sky turn black and open up. And equally amazing to be warm while you are running through pouring, pounding rain!

Tomorrow Alden, Coby and I are heading to Isla de Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua. I visited the island when I was traveling through Nicaragua in 2006 and am excited to return. We hope to visit a nature preserve, do some kayaking, and hike to a waterfall. We will return Sunday and then I'll head to Managua on Monday to catch my flight back to the States.

This has been a wonderful week and a great way to end my trip to Nicaragua. I am going to be sad to leave the amazing finca, and my very gracious hosts, Alden and Federico, as well as many of the other people here on the farm, who have become friends. I am sure that I will be back!

Miscellaneous Photos

Safety is in the Eye of the Beholder (or, 6 year olds with Machetes)

It's interesting to be in Nicaragua as a Public Health student. At home we take for granted the kinds of safety measures that are part of our daily lives; that are part of health promotion and prevention efforts --- wearing bike & motorcycle helmets, using lights on our bikes when we ride at night, the list goes on and on. Regularly here we see people riding motorcycles without helmets, often with small children riding along with a parent. Cars pass other cars at high speeds on corners and people walk along and into the street as cars speed by, seeming not to be concerned at all about traffic.

Today, as Alden was treating someone with a run-of-the-mill cold in the living area of the house, we noticed Robert, one of the farm workers, carrying his 6 year old son up the hill towards our house. I immediately thought it strange that he would be carrying the boy up hill in the heat and figured he must be sick and be coming to see Alden.

When they arrived at the house we noticed the blood. Roberto's 6 year old son had been helping him cut grass, which is commonly done here using a machete. He was wearing a flip flops and sliced through his big toe. Luckily, his wound was not deep enough to even require stitches, and Alden expertly cleaned and dressed the brave little guy's toe and sent him and his grateful Father off with instructions on how to care for the wound. From the perspective of someone like me who's been raised to follow certain safety precautions (some might argue TOO many safety precautions - ha) this event was thought provoking, if not surprising. From my educated, health -care worker perspective I could ask "Why the hell would you let a 6-year old who doesn't have fully developed muscle control hold a machete, much less work beside you cutting grass with it, in flip flops??".. Well, of course its very common for kids to work at a young age, his Dad probably learned in much the same way, and this is how things are done on the farm (No fancy lawn mowers here). But it got me thinking -- I thought about SCHOOL.

This quarter in school we talked about the time orientation of people's beliefs about health and their own lives. Communities where there is a lot of poverty or where disease prevalence is high and life expectancy is low, may have a more present-oriented view of health versus one oriented towards the future, which then guides their health decisions and behaviors. Life is quite simply focused on getting through the day to day stuff, not about leading a long life into the future. In addition, where there is poverty (or lack of education or racism), there is a decreased sense of control over one's own life. If you don't have a strong sense of the future being yours to live and something you have some degree of control over, the idea is that this effects your everyday health behaviors and choices. I don't know if this is at play here; there are many reasons people do what they do, and it's not to make a black and white statement, like developed countries are one way and developing countries are another (we need only watch the daily news at home to see numerous examples of people making choices we would consider unsafe where their health in concerned); at least this theory would assert, it has more to do with the characteristics of your specific community, than what country you're from - in developing countries there is simply more poverty and less education.

The ideas of prevention in health sort of assume that people have a future-oriented view and a sense of control about their lives. I wonder how this effects public health work in these areas and how we can change messages to take that into account. With the diabetes program that Federico and Alden hope to promote, how many people in this area will actually buy into the idea that by controlling your diet and exercising you can have an effect on the health of your future?

Just a thought...

Sunset over the Finca

Ups and Downs ....

Hello everyone!

In the last few weeks, I've really gotten a taste for Nicaraguan Bureaucracy. We have hit some roadblocks, which we are hoping are temporary, along the way to getting the clinic up and running! We had two meetings last week, one with MINSA (Health Ministry) in Rivas (the municipality) and the other with the big guns at MINSA in Managua.

In Rivas we met with Dr. Venegas, whose first words to us were "No somos conejitos de indio".. In English the equivalent phrase would be "We are not guinea pigs".. Ah, nice way to start out. So, though we are proposing a center which would primarily be used for prevention activities including education on diet and exercise, we spent a good deal of energy trying to convince the good Dr. that we were not planning on carrying out any crude medical experimentation on the locals. There is, understandably, suspicion against Gringos, who, let's face it, don't have the best record in Latin America, but at the same, some of the claims he made were just ridiculous (e.g. there was a clinic here run by Americans, where they were selling medications to the Nicas to "try to get rich"; the people running the clinic apparently made over $25,000.00 doing this activity). First, you gotta sell a lot of medications here to make that kind of money, and second, as if rich Americans would leave high paying jobs at home, come to Nica to fight with the bureaucracy to build a clinic, pay to have the clinic built, so that in the end they could take in a whopping 25K!!! Needless to say our meeting with MINSA in Rivas was more than a bit demoralizing.

Instead of Dr. Venegas approving our center at that meeting (as was in his power to do) he made us an appointment to go to Managua the next morning and meet with HIS boss, Dr. Juana Ortega. More hoops to jump through!! We left the farm at 7am to make it to our meeting in the capital. We had a 'strategy' meeting in the car on the drive, to organize how we would introduce the project, who would say what, etc. in an attempt to remedy any mistakes made in previous meetings. The head of MINSA Managua, Dr. Ortega, was a very kind and professional woman, who seemed to "get" our program and appreciate that its goal is to be a complement to the (however lacking) medical services that exist here, to use education and support to help improve the health of the local people, not to sell drugs or do medical experimentation. Just when we thought we had finally made some headway, another doctor (Dr. Ortega's pit bull of a sub director) started ripping apart our plan (which she hadn't read until that moment despite the fact we'd sent it to her the week prior) and asking us questions about minutia (challenging us as to whether each exam room is to exact building standards is just one example - which is completely ridiculous when you consider the quality of buildings in the area). We left the meeting with more hoops we had to jump through (complete list of required equipment for the center, make some small adjustments to make our plan more clear on certain points, etc.) and a promise that once we have the center completed, we can call for a building inspection.(Oh, but it might "take a year after the inspection to get approved")

It is quite clear from our experiences here that the gov't will do whatever it can to slow or halt the process of getting things done. Everything is made more difficult than it has to be; from getting permits, to having an inspection, to sending documents to the right people. Every time you fulfill one requirement they inform you of another one, which you were unaware of before. I know I sound jaded, but it is very frustrating and sad to know that all these blockades are thrown up in the way of people who truly want to help the health situation here. There is such a lack of resources it is baffling as to why the bureaucrats would not want to accept all the help they can get. I believe it is due to a mix of distrust and pride, but it seems senseless nonetheless and the local people suffer.

Unfortunately, the bureaucratic hurdles were not are only setbacks last week. Our doctor, Carmen, who we all love, left for the weekend in Managua, and then abruptly called us to quit. It was not totally unexpected, because we were aware of worsening family issues. Unfortunately, her husband could not accept her working so far from Managua and was becoming increasingly depressed, controlling and threatening.(never mind that he doesn't have a job and they have 2 kids to feed.. but don't get me started on the status of Machismo here in Nicaragua). It was very hard for us to see her go since she is a very good doctor and was very committed to the project here. Fortunately, after the abrupt phone conversation, she was able to bring her 2 boys to the finca for lunch this week so we were able to have a proper goodbye!

On a happier note -- we had a BBQ on the 4th of July. The party was at Chris's house (the owner of the finca) and was complete with hamburgers, hotdogs, brownies, beer, and fireworks!! One of the other homeowners here was at the party with his family, including 2 young kids. It was very fun to play in the pool with them and watch the fireflies after sunset.

This week, Alden and I continued to work on education materials development and curriculum development for the group classes that they hope to hold at the center. I really hope that they make it through the certification process so that all this work we've done can be of some use! :( But, regardless, It's been a good learning experience for me and I think my time here has been appreciated by Alden and Federico.

This is my last official week of "work" here with the program. I start 3 days of surf lessons on Sunday, which I am very excited about! Coby, one of my classmates who will be working on a project here as well, arrives Sunday too! I am really looking forward to seeing her and having a girlfriend here. After surfing, I'm hoping to do some horseback riding around the finca, and then spend my last few days relaxing by the pool :) before heading home on 7/20.

List of books I've read since arriving here 4 weeks ago:
Nicaragua (a history book)
The Country Under my Skin - Gioconda Bello
Pride and Prejudice - Austen
Saturday - Ian McEwan
The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
The Road -Cormac McCarthy
A Quaker Book of Wisdom
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Mary Smith

Geez, I've certainly made up for not having time to read during the school year!!!!! No homework at night--- yippee!

I hope this post finds you all well. I'm looking forward to my last week here and then looking forward to Summer in Seattle!!

xo.
jennie
photos from top to bottom:
1) Insect of unknown name
2) Architechture - San Juan del Sur
3) Camilo by the pool
4) Federico, Alden, Carmen, Carlos, Camilo
5) My Feet with Basil
6) Me by the pool, posing

Adventures at la Finca and beyond

This week has been more relaxed regarding my "work schedule" but has provided some adventure nonetheless. Last weekend I spent Saturday on my own touring around San Juan. There is not much to see as it's a pretty small town (15,000 people) but I enjoyed walking up and down the beach, visiting the local English book store (I've read 4 books since I arrived here!) and sitting outside near the water to enjoy one of the local beers, La Victoria. I was reminded of how different this trip is for me, when I took a taxi back to the finca and had to negotiate the price etc. I've been traveling in style this time around, so while it felt good to be on my own visiting town, I was aware of the sense of being on my own (a gringa) in a strange town once again! Needless to say I made it back to the finca safely (I haven't totally lost my ability to travel!)..

On Saturday I also did some weeding for Federico. And by "some" weeding I mean that I lasted a few hours. Using a stick in one hand to warn any snakes or insects that might be crawling in the plants I used the other hand to pull grass up from the roots in a bed of flowers. The activity was surprisingly satisfying for someone who is not what you would call a 'green thumb' and gave me an increased appreciation for what the farm workers do every day. I was incredibly sore the next day and sunburned as well.

Sunday Federico, Alden and I set out for a hike (to what seems to be a ubiquitous site in Latin America -- a Jesus statue on top of a hill), but were turned away by a serious looking guard who told us that since the hike goes through private land, he was under order to prohibit people from hiking up. I guess the rich people of San Juan want to keep the riff raff at bay. We enjoyed our day though, walking along the beach, having lunch overlooking the ocean, and visiting the market for items to supplement our food at the farm.

The Finca continues to amaze me. I'm trying to learn about fruits and veggies here and I'm learning from Dtra. Carmen (who is trained in naturopathic medicine) about the uses of many of the plants grown on the Finca. I've had Calala (passionfruit), Zapote (a custard like, VERY sweet fruit) and of course Platanos since I've been here. There is a tree called Marango, the leaves of which are full of nutrients; Alden gathers the leaves and then goes through the process of drying them and grinding them up so they can be spread onto food. It is filled with micro nutrients, protein and other good stuff! I need to bring some back for Dad - I can see him spreading the stuff over all his food! The Malinche tree is my favorite so far; it has gorgeous orange/red flowers..

While the flowers and trees are beautiful the bugs are another story.. I swear, I've tried to be nice, but they are out of control. I am trying to keep a curious attitude about them, rather than let fear take over, but it's a constant challenge! We (and by "we" I mean Alden or Rosibel) kill a few scorpions daily. I think it must have been the movie "Clash of the Titans" that gave me nightmares about scorpions (any fellow children of the 70s remember that movie scene where Medusa's head bleeds scorpions?!) but to this day I think they are the scariest creatures on the planet! Anyway, I digress. Today we had an ant infestation after a big rain and I got bit between two of my fingers as I reached for my water bottle. I'm telling you, the pain did not last long, but it was intense, and my hand was numb for a good 15 minutes! Oh, and it BLED!!! The ants have a scissors like pincher so they literally cut you; the cut on my hand looked like a paper cut... I was a total baby about it too! But the ants and even the scorpions are not the worst of it.. As I've told some of you, I had the pleasure of coming into contact with a mite somewhere on the farm! (I blame it on Federico for "making" me do weeding).. You might have heard of "scabies"?! Well, yes, I got em! GROSS GROSS GROSS. But in Spanish scabies is called "sarna".. Doesn't that sound romantic??

Luckily, I'm living with a nurse and a doctor and I was quickly diagnosed and given the treatment: covering myself in toxic cream from head to toe before bedtime, and then washing my sheets, pillow cases, and clothes (that I'd worn x the last 3 days) in HOT HOT water... The good news is I'm feeling much less itchy and I won't be bringing any mites home to the US with me (hear that, Mike?)..

One of the things I've enjoyed most about being here in Nicaragua and on the farm is the weather. Since it is the beginning of the rainy season, we get a good rain daily; sometimes during the day, and sometimes at night. We have had stunning lightning and thunder storms as well. A few nights ago, we all sat outside on the patio and watched the sky light up for hours and then listened to the heavy rains come. Lightening bugs were also lighting up the sky between the flashes of electricity and all the while the frogs were calling. It is really a magical thing to experience.

I've also enjoyed my many interactions with the workers on the farm. The are an extremely friendly bunch of super hard working individuals. Today, Alden, Carmen and I walked up to the finca from the main road (about 3km) because after it rains the road is too muddy to be passable by car.. As we walked we came across many of the workers who we stopped and chatting with. The gringos that work here have a great relationship with the workers because everyone works -- Federico and Alden are not just sitting here being served-- they are working on the farm and really giving to the community.. So, its nice to see that kind of relationship develop.

As far as work goes, we have a nice routine. I usually get up between 7:30 and 8 (I'm the last one up of course) and we work until lunch and then work some between lunch and dinner. Often I'll work on things in the evening as well. There really is no set schedule. The last few days I've been working with Federico to revise an article he is writing for the journal of the Pierce County Medical Society of which he is a member, to describe he and Alden's journey to and work in Nicaragua. I created a flyer (see previous blog about computer genius) for an insert in the monthly journal that will hopefully raise interest and funds for the Community Nutrition Center. We are also discussing educational materials development for diabetes education. Once goal of the center is to educate young Brigadistas (community health volunteers) about Diabetes, so we are working on a curriculum for that. Hopefully the Brigadistas will not only be able to have more knowledge when they go into communities, but can be involved in helping Carmen lead classes at the Center. Group classes are going to be an important aspect of the Center's work, so we've also been working on coming up with a plan for class topics and finding information to support this effort. I have to constantly remind myself to relax and not be anxious to get everything done in one sitting. I'm not a particularly bossy person, but I can get annoyed when it seems like its "all talk and no action"; I am having to learn to sit back, listen, and gently help guide (but not force) the process.

Today we met a wonderful man, Mr. Gonzales. He is a community leader(known to be quite an eccentric we had heard) who runs a group called the Chronic Club (reminded me of Dr. Dre and Snoop, but I digress). The group provides support for people with chronic conditions in the community. He is also a very interesting example of someone who found out he had diabetes and with the proper education, support and insistence of his Doctor, was able to turn the course of his disease around. In Nicaragua, there are many challenges to making an impact on Diabetes, including taboo around the disease, myths (for example, if you marry someone or sleep with someone who has the disease you will 'catch' it), difficulty changing ideas about food and diets (rice, platanos, potatos, gaseosas (sodas)) that are very high in sugar etc. It will be interesting to see if and how the education and support provided by the center can change attitudes and behaviors.

I went surfing again yesterday. I was very intimidating because the water was quite rough, but with some encouragement, I got out there and was able to catch a few (baby) waves. (Sorry no pics to prove my prowess!).. I plan to work for a few more weeks here and then have the last week to relax and do my own thing.. The plan definitely includes more surfing. I'm excited to take some 1:1 lessons!

I hope everyone who reads this is well. I am having a wonderful time here and learning tons, but will look forward to seeing all of you when I return to Seattle, or at some point during the Summer!

Love,
j







Photos top to bottom:
1) Alden and Carmen walk up the road to the finca
2) Federico in the hammock
3) Rosibel at the casa
4) A bus in SJDS
5) Noelle, Bree, and Jennie (surf/beach friends!).
6) Augusto Sandino, hero of the Sandinistas; "Jamas Nos Venceron" They will Never Beat Us.