adios nicaragua.

in nicaragua, adios echos throughout the streets. adios when you are greeting someone briefly, when men and boys are hoping to get your attention, or when you are leaving an encounter. adios when you are coming and adios when you are going. i appreciate the reminder that god is all around and moving us through each of our encounters, since grace seems to be organizing this trip more than i am.

tonight is my last night in nicaragua. it is hard to believe that i have been here for weeks already. my plan was to have left days and days ago, but there was so much that i kept wanting to do before i moved on. i revised plan after plan until eventually, i had to let go of making plans beyond the next day or so.

last tuesday, i arrived in esteli in northern nicaragua. it is home to mama leche (who was a practicing midwife that now educates women about breastfeeding); cecalli, a medicinal herb farm, laboratory, and treatment center; and multiple co-ops for women, for farmers, for any number of good causes. there are more shoe stores here than i am able to count, more natural and herbal pharmacies than anywhere else i have been, and a high concentration of universities. in addition to being a relatively progressive nicaraguan town, esteli is nestled amidst beautiful hills and mountains.

wednesday afternoon, i took a day trip to a 35m waterfall and swimming hole. friday through sunday, i traveled to miraflor, which is a nationally protected area of small farms, or fincas, at cloud forest elevations. i stayed at a place called posada la soñada, where the views are spectacular and the nurturing of the clouds left me with a feeling of rejuvenation. the homecooked meals were also amazing, particularily due to the green vegetables that we were served! my soul felt refreshed after being there.

tomorrow i leave for guatemala. well technically at 4 am in the morning. so now i bid adios to nicaragua. it has been great!



things i dont want to forget, but may not make sense outside of my head:
-talking to teenage boys about hiphop post their breakdancing performance
-eskimo ice cream
-miguel´s finca outside of esteli: machete action, sopa with noodles, potatoes, platano and coffee
-accidentally going to a funeral

parks, parishes, processions.

after three days of surfing, fishing, and lazing around san juan del sur, i headed for granada on saturday afternoon. we arrived in granada amidst a bustling array of street vendors doing everything from repairing shoes to selling hot dogs and mangos. granada is quite a contrast to the sleepy surf town of san juan del sur where the city is nearly silent during the day (since most people are out at the beach). in san juan, the gringos and nicas come out at night to go to the bars and to dance at the pulsing bass at the disco. in granada, the days are full of noisy vendors and buses calling their destinations out like it is an animal´s mating call - managuamanaguamanagua. we were challenged to get dinner after eight o´clock last night, and we were the only ones in the bar we heard was the place to be. it is an interesting flipflop of activity.

i have really enjoyed my time in granada. everywhere i walk there is something new to appreciate. there are a number of parks, each with their own character. there is a main central plaza with a beautiful yellow cathedral. a park with sculptures and poems honoring the revolutions and fighting that has taken place in granada, which was burned to the ground after one occupation. another park is on the lake where there was a celebration for the ascension of mary over the weekend. at the festival, there was a carnival and bull riding and lots of fried food (some of which was tasty). they even had bright red candied apples. i learned at one vendor that all the apples are from washington! i went to a fort to look over the city and counted at least five catholic churches amidst the tiled roofs of brightly painted cement houses and stores lining the narrow streets. i love the color scheme here - yellow next to fuscia next to lime green next to pink next to cobalt blue and so on, each accented with complementary colors in the finish and metal work.

on sunday, i went to a mass at what was described as the most local church in granada. the church bells from the multiple churches in the city filled the air throughout the day. i considered trying to make it to a mass at every church, but i think one was sufficient. it was a relatively quick mass with a nearly full mariachi band! outside of the church, i met a man named conrad hooker whose village in eastern nicaragua was flooded and can no longer feed its inhabitants. in his caribbean cadenced english, he painted the picture of what it is like to live in the northern part of the state where there is little infrastructure and no money to support creating one. to my knowledge, there are a number of peace corp positions stationed out near where he lives as well as a few ngos, but it sounds like there is a long way to go, even to just make sure people have access to food and water.

after leaving the church, i heard drumming coming from the central square to discover a parade led by the local high school drum line followed by every adult baseball team in granada. there were about 12 teams in full uniform parading down the street. beisbol is the nicaraguan national pasttime (even over futbol). it was fantastic! later in the day, i saw another procession. there was a horse-drawn hearse, ornately crafted and accented with black lace curtains. there were about seventy-five people walking behind the mobile tomb and a band riding in the back of a pickup truck in the rear. although the two processions had very different purposes, they both made me stop in my tracks to pay attention to what is happening in my surroundings. i think that is one of the most important experiences of this trip for me - paying attention to the details happening in my current surroundings.

yesterday i had another chance to pay attention to my surroundings at laguna de apoyo. it is the most beautiful volcanic lake i have been to so far in nicaragua! the water was clear and a nearly perfect shade of aqua. i could see the bottom, and even a few fish that were swimming in the lake. after a long bus trip and walk to get there, it was nice to relax and enjoy the quiet sounds of the waves lapping on the shore while drinking pitaya juice and eating ice cream.

today i am headed to the northern part of the nicaragua, to esteli and miraflor. each day holds something entirely new to discover. traveling is fun!

la isla bonita.

leaving the homestay and transitioning to backpacker mode left me with a taste of culture shock. i went from living in an old wooden house with a latrine and bucket shower, a huge garden, lots of chickens, pigs and piglets, a cow, three scrawny dogs, a very demanding cat, Jacqueline (host mother) and Brian (her eight year old son) to staying at a hostel on the other side of the island with lots of tourists, loud american music, billiards and rum. it was a bit of an adjustment.

i had grown really accustomed to living with Jacqueline and being generously taken care of by her. she graciously opened her house to me and another student from the trip, giving up the nicest room in the house for us to stay in her home. the best description of the house it that it was like a large wooden barn. it is one of the oldest and nicer structures in los angeles and has been in her family for generations. she would wake us in the morning with huge trays of food: gallopinto (rice and beans), eggs, tortillas, plantain, watermelon, juice and coffee. then we would head to clinic or class, returning hours later with our bellies still full from breakfast to be served an enormous tray of nicaraguan delights. most of the food is a variation of starchy vegetables, rice, beans, plantain, tomatoes, and eggs or meat (fish from the lake, freshly slaughtered chicken, etc). one day i ate four whole fish - two for lunch in fish soup, and two for dinner fried and served with rice beans and salad. my plate was clean and my stomach sufficiently stretched after every meal. as we ate, jacqueline would share stories of her life. of living in guatemala where her husband was killed a few years ago, of moving back to nicaragua, of educating her son at home the year that she could not afford to buy him a uniform. its a good thing that more than 80% of communication is nonverbal. she was patient with us as we tried to understand, and she cried when we left.

i left the western part of the island to head to the southeastern portion with two other girls from the brigade. we happened to get a ride from an australian guy who ran a hostel near the base of the volcano we hoped to climb. we slept in hammocks overlooking lago cocibolca and listened to the waves lap upon the shore.

we explored the ecofarms near our hostel one day, and yesterday we climbed volcan maderas. it is 1394m high, and muddy most of the way up. the last time it erupted was about 1000 years ago, and now there is a lake in the crater. hiking through cloud forest is pretty spectacular.

now i am in san juan del sur, a touristy little surf town. we arrived this morning after taking a ferry off the island and getting our bearings. it will be fun to relax for a few days (not that i havent already been doing that...)

venga chica. chica venga.

i am not even sure where to begin at this point. one week in clinic. one day at a cooperative farm helping harvest beans. multiple classes about nicaraguan culture and health care. and the brigade ends in a couple of days.

the clinical experience has been extremely humbling and inspiring. learning how to triage effectively based on the resources available is a cultivated skill. we have seen such a wide range of patients and although the health care is free and available to all, there is a huge health disparity between the services that could help and the resources we have to work with. i am extremely impressed with all of the doctors that we have worked with and am grateful to have their perspective on how to treat everything from congestive heart failure to fungus, stings and bites to extreme dysbiosis.

one of the aspects that makes this model work is that there are doctors (naturistas=naturopaths) who live and work in this community full time. thus the model supports development of health in alignment with the values of the community, instead of imposing external values on an existing system. if you want to learn more about NDI, click here for a link a to short movie. or here for their website. the movie was mady by tony, who is a film student from arizona and has moved here to work with NDI. he has been our medical translator and general detail coordinator. and the movie is about how naturopathic medicine is a sustainable answer to a problem. it may do a better job of showing pictures and giving an idea of what i have been doing than i am able to do in words.

in part of our service to the community, we went and worked on a cooperative farm just outside of town today. many people from this island work in the country for their primary employment (when it is available). the average nicaraguan makes $2 a day. the coop we went to is owned by the poorest people from various villages on the island. they each have their own plot, and today we got to harvest beans! i am sure we looked slightly ridiculous out there harvesting and giggling, and i doubt we were the most efficient workers...but it was great fun! there were lots of instructions from the nicaraguans who took us out there...chicas chicas, venga venga. then they would point to another row that we needed to harvest. i hope they enjoyed giving us instructions as much as we enjoyed playing in the mineral rich dirt!

we are finishing classes this afternoon and tomorrow, and i look forward to the upcoming days!

la flor y la punta.

ometepe is beautiful! the island is in the middle of a lake and was formed by the two volcanos that we can see from town. the soil is dark and ashen. the foliage lush. the animals prolific. the heat is mild at this point. and life is at a much slower pace...i am still trying to slow down.

its day three of the brigade and i am definitely in an adjustment period, from the work, the language barrier and from adapting to not having much alone time. this morning we worked in a town called la flor and had the afternoon off! i went swimming at la punta jesus maria in lake nicaragua, which is the only lake in the world with freshwater sharks. as if swimming in a murky lake wasnt exciting enough! this is such an amazing opportunity to share what we have learned and to see the power of our medicine work in a community that can really benefit from it. i find myself full of mixed emotions and pulled in many directions. between the language barrier and the cultural differences, i am still processing a lot.

5 quick things i love about this town:
bucket showers
gallopinto and plantano
jugo througout the day (fresh from my host familys yard)
chickens, monkeys, horses everywhere
tropical rains

Made it to Managua!

I made it! I have to start with the disclaimer that i am exhausted, so forgive anything too nonsensical. I have a feeling that this sense of fatigue may greet me for the next few evenings. Luckily traveling is just as exhilarating as it can be exausting. Getting here was a bit of an adventure in itself. The day began at 4 am cst, when we left to drive for the airport. (Thanks for driving me mom! You are the best!) Things went smoothly for the first leg of the journey, DFW to MIA, and when I got to Miami, I discovered that my flight to Nicaragua was delayed. In thirty increment intervals. For five hours. I did a lot of really great people watching and tried not to fall asleep. I did get to fly first class, so I have no hard feelings about it. I took some pictures of dining in first class in honor of my brother, but i will post them at a later time...(I think you will appreciate them Mark!) So eventually I made it to Managua!

Once I arrived, NDI had someone waiting to pick me up, which was a huge relief since i was borrowing cell phones to try to reach someone to let them know what the plane status was. Unfortunately, I arrived too late to make it to the last ferry to Ometepe, where I will be for the next 10 days. Luckily, Tabatha, who is the doctor largely responsible for this brigade, was in touch with the driver and I ended up at a hostel in Managua with plans to get to Ometepe tomorrow.

The smells of arriving were amazing. Street food mixed with fresh summer rain combined with the smoke of small cooking fires. The colors accentuate the dynamic smells. The gray sky after the storm provided a great contrast for the bright pinks and yellows of ads lining the streets and the painted tin houses that line the road. I already love this country!

At the hostel, i met a group of about twenty health science/premed undergrads who just came from Ometepe and were at NDI for a few days. How is the world so syncronized sometimes?!?! Although I wasnt able to meet my group tonight, these kids told me stories of things they saw and learned in the clinic, and about their new understanding of naturopathy. I spoke to them for a bit about my experience choosing naturopathic medicine and then joined them for their last night in nicaragua. After hearing their stories, i am really excited to arrive in Ometepe tomorrow!

So I will depart here at 5 am for a couple hour drive to the ferry, and then I will meet everyone after a ferry ride. Yippee!!!! I love my life, even with its twists and turns! Okay, since my eyes are drooping, I think i will head for my bed now.

grandparent love.

there is really nothing else quite like the unconditional nature of grandparent love. i think that there is something to be said for the fact that they can see your strengths and weaknesses, know that they have already raised their own children well enough to handle you, and then love and support you regardless. at least i am blessed that mine do.

i had the pleasure to see both sets of grandparents in the last month. in early july, i was in south dakota with my mom's family. we were in the celebratory 4th of july parade (see the above picture of grandpa sam and joyce). later we attended a rodeo and watched fireworks from the rodeo stands. i think there should be a requirement to spend the 4th of july in a parade and at a rodeo. seriously. what could be better or more patriotic than a bunch of waving, cheering, and well-trained horses to celebrate the declaration of independence?!?

over these past few days, i was able to visit my dad's parents (see black and white photograph) in houston, texas. granger and pampaw have taught me a lot about how to grow old, accept what is, and to pray as hard as you can for the things that you cannot control. they have demonstrated unconditional love in every way possible, from worrying about me traveling to praying for me on topics as varied as finding my keys to doing well in school. it is a gift to get to see them and learn from their guidance and examples. and i am grateful that they will be praying for me as i prepare to leave for nicaragua. since i still dont speak spanish and i lack a clear itinerary, i can use all the divine help i can get!

everything is bigger in texas.

at least restaurants and portions sizes are bigger. and maybe waist lines too.

in the interest of documenting my daily activities, i think that it is important to cite the gustatory delights in which i have already indulged. a quick list:

• breakfast burritos/tacos (multiple days, multiple kinds. if i had to eat one food for the rest of my life, i might choose breakfast tacos.)
  
• tamales from a roadside stand (technically from a gas station. they were still hot and steamy in their ziploc bag. i promise i don't eat like this every day.)
  
• sweet potato empanadas (also from a gas station. also delicious.)
  
• smoked meats (assorted kinds of texas barbeque served on butcher paper. served with paper towels, not silverware.)
• gumbo (served with egg rolls. this combo was a bit confusing to my palate, but the gumbo was delicious.)
• tacos (need i say more.)
• granger's oatmeal cookies (if you have every been to my grandparent's house, you know the addiction that lives in the cookie jar. she started making these cookies because they are healthier than other sweets. i am not normally big on sweets or sugary bits, but i think that i must have eaten over two hundred of these cookies in the past two days. you don't have to be hungry to eat these cookies. the best part of each cookie: you can taste the grandmother love baked into every bite.)

this menu varies substantially from my normal diet of nuts and berries, but who am i to object to eating locally! and its certainly is local texas fare. mmmmm.....tasty!

harvest at round mountain.

harvesting grapes is fun!  perhaps i should have been a farmer instead of a doctor...alas.  at least i get to play farmer for a couple of days every year.  this year was my father's first large harvest at his vineyard in the hill country (just outside of Austin, TX).  overall he produced about 9600 lbs of grapes, which at 150 gallons of wine per ton of grapes, will yield of about 300 bottles of wine.  not bad for a four-year old vineyard!  

this was the second half of the harvest.  two weeks ago they raided the vines for the tempranillo, and this week, we cleaned out the tinta cao and turiga nacional.  my aunt and uncle, five employees from another vineyard, and 12 adolescent boys that live next door joined my parents and me for harvest. we were a motley crew indeed!  after we pillaged the vines for their purple jewels in hundred degree humidity, we trucked them over to Spicewood Vineyard.  these were some of the only grapes to survive the weather this year in the hill country.  my dad sells his grapes to Spicewood, who makes excellent wines.  i like their cabernet claret and the reisling the best.  you can check them out by clicking here. 

destemming and crushing the grapes was a bit different than the episode of i love lucy where she stomps the grapes with her feet, but not much...i shoveled some of the grapes into the destemming machine and dad mixed dry ice into the crushed melange of juice, skins, enzymes, and tannins.  it was a really neat process to be a part of and especially satisfying to know that these fruits were hanging on the vines only hours ago.  (i am employing strong self-restraint to avoid using terms like 'fruits of my labor' and 'labor of love.' please appreciate the will-power this requires.)

after wrapping up harvest yesterday and celebrating the rain that briefly kissed the drought-stricken earth, we did a bit of land maintenance this morning.  the most important part of this was my tractor driving!  seriously, have you ever driven a tractor?  it is awesome!  just because you can walk faster than the tractor can drive doesn't lessen the power of having a giant machine under your control.  you can lift heavy things, mow large areas, scare animals, and guzzle gas all at the same time.  why you ask?  well i think that any small boy will share my excitement about tractors.  just count the number of children's books about tractors and large machinery.  they connect with something deep in the psyche and remind us both of our power and our insignificance.  tractors are like earthly representations of powerful spirits that connect us with our concept of god.  (well maybe not that last part, but tractors are cool!)

to check out more pictures of the harvest at round mountain vineyard, most importantly of me on a tractor, click on photos.

Salute!