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Published: November 17th 2008
monday
17 november
So tomorrow we are supposed to leave at the asscrack of dawn to go to Managua. We have charlas all day tomorrow and Wednesday and then Thursday 20th we swear in as official Peace Corps Volunteers (!!!!)
The problem, though, is the political sitch here. Nicaragua had their municipal elections on Sunday Nov 9th. Which just means that mayors, or alcaldes, were voted upon.
The two parties here are the Sandanistas FSLN, and the Liberales PLC. The President, Daniel Ortega, is a Sandanista and right now the Sandanistas are basically in charge. However, there are a lot of PLC liberales in Nica, too.
The elections on the 9th were plagued by riots. They still have not declared a winner for the mayor in the capital of Managua. The PLC only really won in two big cities, Jinotega and Masaya. But they are demanding a recount. And all hell is breaking loose.
We are fine here in Esteli. The Sandanistas won, as they always do here in the north, and that's just the way it is.
But Managua is a different story. So we may not be going to Managua at the asscrack of dawn. I have every faith in Peace Corps Nicaragua and have no doubts that they will keep us safe. Just wonder when we will actually get to swear in! It's kind of a problem.
Below is part of an email from our Safety and Security guru.....
Members of the FNT (Sandinista Labor Movement) are gathering in 37 strategic points of Managua to pressure the CSE (Electoral Counsel) to announce the winner of the municipal elections. Violent confrontations have already erupted in points of the capital like: Rotonda Jean Paul Jeanie, Metro Centro, Villa Fontana, 7 Sur, Rotonda El Periodista and Cuesta el Plomo.
For tomorrow, Tuesday, November 18, 2008 the PLC has scheduled a march during the afternoon. Violent confrontations are likely to happen.
PCVs should avoid coming to Managua unless there is a medical emergency or the visit can be resumed by noon. During the afternoon is regularly when the violence begins and the traffic jams, saturating the principal entrances to the capital. Any medical appointments or emergencies should be cleared with the Medical Office.
The protestors are utilizing metal objects to puncture car tires. They are also burning tires, firing mortars and throwing rocks to the opposition.
PC is monitoring the situation and will keep PCV/T’s and staff informed of the Situation.
So yes. I will also keep you all informed. BUT DO NOT FREAK OUT IF YOU DON'T HEAR FROM ME TOMORROW. I will TRY to either email tomorrow if we don't go, and I will be taking my laptop and hopefully have wireless at the hotel if we do go.
Yeah politics!
How's Obama doing?
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tuesday
18 november
Okay, so we did indeed get up at the asscrack of dawn and get on an expresso to Managua. Went straight to the conference center and reunited with Environmental Education Nica 48. We haven't seen them since we left the hotel in Managua at the beginning of September. Good to see what they've been up to for the past 3 months of training.
However, our day has been cut short as the Embassy told us to get to the hotel before the violence escalates. Some of us were asking our bossman about going to see a movie... and, i quote, "Well, not tonight becasue there will be war, but maybe tomorrow." So yeah. We were told not to look out the bus windows because they didn't want everyone to see a bus full of foreigners driving through the rioting areas. So now we are at a crappy hotel with crappy bunks, community showers.... and wireless internet!
Okay more later!
**********
Wednesday evening
19 november
Okay. Well. Things were not so bad last night. .. in Managua or in this "hotel". We were stuck in this training center poor excuse for a "hotel" for the night, but escaped to liquor store and spent the evening reliving college days, including drinking beer and rum out of styrofoam cups, blaring music out of one of our dorm rooms, and playing "never have i ever." So we made our own fun.
Unfortunately, today we had a full day of conferences and business to attend to.... which included filling out lots of surveys and questionaires about our 3 months of training, practicing for swearing in tomorrow - singing Nicaraguan National Anthem, singing Star Spangled Banner, practicing repeating our oath in the espanol... and we were briefed on cross sectoral stuff from TEFL, Small Business, Health, Environmental Education, and our own Agriculture.
Perhaps most interestingly, we had a meeting with the American Ambassador to Nica, Robert Callahan... which was a very frank conversation about the embassy's role here; how the Obama administration will affect Latin America; what will happen to foreign aid in Nicaragua with this campaign scandal and how will that affect our Peace Corps service - since many of us collaborate with NGO's and usaid; and how does the Embassy, as a rep to the US govt, deal with President Daniel Ortega and his alliances with Bolivia, Venezuela, and Cuba and his general anti-American sentiments and strategies... All of this, and more, in a 20 minute speech and a 45 minute question and answer session. i was impressed by his honest and very frank answers, even if i wasn't totally in agreement with the way our policies are carried out here.
Afterwards, stuff had calmed down enough in Managua that we were allowed out. Several us took a bus to the mall; some went shopping; most of us ate wonderful western food; some went to the circus in town; some went to the movies; and some stayed here and are watching movies on laptops with the projector. i went to the mall, ate and loved my Burger King and fries, and was generally overwhelmed by the massive mall, prices posted in USD$, and Christmas mall decorations and music playing everywhere.
This will be my first time spending the holidays in a tropical setting and, dear god, it does not feel like Christmas. Holidays in Beijing sucked because my kindergarten students learned all about Christmas but didn't believe in Santa - and that killed a small part of my soul... and here, damn, guess Christmas will be kind of important as it is a largely Catholic / Evangelical country... and i have a pretty decent Holiday play list on my ipod, but it just doesn't feel like the end of November when we are getting sunburned and sweating profusely in the heat of the midday.
At any rate, things have apparently calmed down for the moment. There is still no declared victor and the word on the street is that they will not declare until Dec 5th... so a few weeks away. But by that time i will be in my new site of Moropoto.... trying this thing called Peace Corps service.
All for now. Am going to pack up my portion of this wreck of a room as we leave this "hotel" tomorrow when we go to swear in as PCV's at the American Embassy in the afternoon, and we get to move to decent hotels that are Peace Corps approved for tomorrow night and Friday, too. THAT has been a bit of drama today, but the PC has handled our collective brattiness very well and we are placated.
Excited to get dressed up and be professional tomorrow and sing the Nican national anthem and ours and finally become a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Yay, patriotism!
ps when was the world series and how did i just find out that the phillies won?! also, mom, i just got your package today - thanks for the skittles, ziplocks, etc and especially the stl dispatch nov 5th paper! ben, a package for you is on its way to the states... 😉
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Cassi
non-member comment
don't freak out?
okay, mbb, whenever you know your mom is going to read something, the worst thing you can do is begin the situation with "don't freak out". i would think you would know this by now. guess what your parents are doing right now...they're freaking out. even if they say they're not freaking out, they are. Silvia, don't freak out, molly's fine.