Touring Managua

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Crazy TieBow Man

Today we toured Managua!!! We got to sleep in since it was a late night at the disco last night. We all jammed onto the bus-- all 30 of us with some people three to a seat. A couple of the spots we toured were monuments that I was not intereted in. But we went to a normal supermarket and it was fun to see all the different foods they had. I got a pastry that tasted like a stale sopapia. I bought coffee and jam for gifts, some fruit juices (pina and guanabana) and some weird banana cream of wheat cause I wanted to try something different. We also went to a fair trade shop and learned about fair vs free trade. There were some crafts for sale and even though I wanted to support the fair trade artists, I decided not to buy anything. While we were waiting for everyone to make their purchases, this weird guy came up to us on the street and was doing tae bo moves (see video- so funny).
Anyway, after we ate lunch at this really cute place. We had poposas, which were tortillas filled with either beans, cheese, chicken or veggies. After lunch we walked through a mall and unfortunately I was immediately snapped back into my normal American consumer mentality. But right when we walked outside we were again faced with reality as there were tons of beggars lining the street. There were so many kids on the streets and at all the monuments we visited throughout the city trying to sell things-- for example, water or fruit, or they would make things for you-- for example, kids would make things out of palm leaves and tell you it is a gift but then expect you to give them money. Some kids would just ask for cordobas (the name of the money in Nicaragua) and they would keep following our group around.
We also went to a tourist area on the shore of Lake Managua. I could not believe how big it was and how disgusting it was from all the pollution. Lake Managua is the second biggest lake in the country and is completely void of life because of how badly it is polluted. Oil companies and Kodak have been dumping in it for years, and sewage and regular trash have been dumped in it as well. Afterwards, we went to an overlook of the whole city where there was a statue of Sandino as a monument to symbolize his control of the military even after he was kicked out of power.
At the end of the day we went to a traditional church service, although I couldn't understand it, and I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. I appreciated it as a sort of escape for the people of this country as a place of worship, to find hope and happiness.

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Photos

me and kristine
i don't know what the building is in the background