Unfortunately I haven´t been able to write recently, due to a combination of the fact that I have (for once!) been extremely busy with work, and the fact that the power keeps going out! Blackouts here are an ever-present problem. This issue lends itself to an interesting debate over the privatization of formerly public services, such as power (privatized) and water (soon to be privatized, if the Neoliberals get their way). In theory privatization means that as "consumers" we can chose between companies, and use our buisness as a means of leverage to encourage inter-company competition and to secure the best prices. In practice, however, the industry is dominated by a single company, and if you don´t like it then too bad. And since it is no longer a public service, people´s democratic voices as citizens ... read more

Well, today is officially the ONE MONTH mark of my arrival in Nicaragua. Things have started to normalize a bit for me, so that I no longer feel the need to write a blog every 2 seconds about all of the "new and exciting" things that are happening. "New and exciting" has given way to "regular and routine", which I have to admit I prefer! Looking back, I can see that each week here has corresponded with a phase of "culture shock", as taught to me before I left for Mexico last year. Week 1 was the "honeymoon phase", where everything was different, exciting, (and scary). Week 2 was the "hostility phase", when things started to get to me and really bother me. The unknown bugs and noises, irregular schedule, language issues, and terrible telenovelas all ... read more

Since the last journal entry concerning Puerto Cabesas, we then proceeded to travel to a small town called El Ayote. Actually, I don´t even know that Ayote should qualify as a "town": it´s a tiny, hole-in-the-wall, out-of-the-way place in the middle of the mountains in Nicaragua´s Southern Atlantic Region (RAAS). It consists of a few muddy roads, lined with sagging little buildings that look like they can barely support their own weight, let alone the weight of the heavy rain that purpetually pounds down on them, turning the "streets" into muddy cess pools. It´s the kind of place that if you blink twice, you would miss it. Thus, you can understand my shock when I was informed that El Ayote has recently been classified as an "urban" area by the Nicaraguan government. "It´s a city," I ... read more

So much has happened in the past week that I´m really at a loss as to what to say. Last Wednesday I was feeling sick, so Juliana made me stay home and rest. I think it was a good idea. because after (a lot!) of sleep I felt much better. I decided to go outside and wait on the front porch until Juliana got home from the University, as we were to travel by bus to Managua later that evening. As I sat outside reading, the little girl who lives next door (Marie) strolled past. She seemed surprised when I greeted her. A few minutes later, I looked up from my book to see her peering at me cautiously from the porch gate. I smiled, and invited her to sit with me. I then invited her ... read more

Well, here i am in Nicaragua: I can barely belive it! What´s strange is how at HOME I feel, and Í only just got here. Maybe it will hit me later... But all the stressing about the trip b4 I left, and the hours sitting on the plane and worrying myself to the point that I felt like I was going to throw up (but fortunately didn´t!) must have used up my worry-quota for at LEAST a year. So when I finally arrived, I wasn´t worried at all. I was barely even looking out of the cab windows, it was just like¨"O, OK, here I am¨. It feels like home already. Strange, eh? Juliana (my hostess) and I hit it off right away. I think we´re going to get along really well. I can already tell ... read more