Friday, February 16, 2007

our day at the beach

Eduardo Carson is an elementary school teacher in Edmonton, Alberta. He and his students at St. Angela's School raised money so that our acupuncture brigade could take the kids at Parajito Azul to the beach for the day.

A huge thank you to Ed and to all of his students for this wonderful experience!






more beach pics






even more beach pics















Friday, February 9, 2007

hasta el proximo

andrea, lindsay and lynda flew home this morning. back to their families, and back to the cold. chris and I will do the same on monday. it is hard to believe that after so many months of planning that the brigade is actually over.

thank you to everyone that offered us love and support along the way.

thank you especially to my amazing team. they spent the last three weeks waking up early in the morning and working their asses off in the intense nicaraguan heat. they
rolled with all of the unexpected punches that nicaragua offered them, including crazy sandy wind, nasty coughs, violent stomach viruses and three flat tires. they worked even longer hours than the already long days that i had booked for them in the clinic. they gave from their hearts, and they did amazing work with the kids at the parajito azul centre.

Lynda: you are such a brilliant and lovely woman. i have heard andrea speak highly of you over the course of our friendship, and it was such an honour to finally meet you and to share this experience with you and your daughter. thank you choosing to come to nicaragua with us, and for doing all of the (often underappreciated) work of charting for the clinic. your documentation is the tangible evidence of the amazing work that happened at the centre. i am forever a member of your fan club. thank you for trusting me to take you on this trip, and for opening your heart to this experience. thank you especially for being the mama to us all.

Lindsay: when i talk about lynda being the mama to us all, i think of you as being the mama to the babies. thank you for being the one to hold each and every child that came through the clinic. you were doing so much more than keeping them on the table, and getting them ready for their needles. you were loving them deeply, and that was obvious to all of us. thank you for being so flexible with your position in this group, and allowing your role to change from artist to nurturer. the clinic could be so chaotic, and you were the one that consistantly worked to make it a safe, quiet, and peaceful space for the people recieving treatment. your generousity of spirit and your open heart helped those amazing kids to feel safe with us. thank you for your friendship in tricky times, and thank you for all of your hard work. i look forward to a bottle of wine and a long talk as soon as i get back to edmonton. i love you.

Andrea: what can i even say? that i adore you. that i believe in you. that i feel incredibly blessed to have shared in this journey with you. andrea, i have trouble believing that this entire experience came out of a conversation in your clinic almost a year ago today. look what we made happen! and we are not finished yet. there is still a long road ahead of us, and i am committed to walking down that road with you. thank you for trusting me to plan this trip for us. thank you for encouraging me to have the confidence to be a leader. thank you treating these kids with the exact same respect as you treat your clients at home. thank you for loving them, for singing to them, and for healing them. thank you for teaching a TCM workshop in a rural community in northern nicaragua. thank you for holding workshops on acupressure points for the staff at the orphanage. thank you for consistantly going above and beyond what was expected of you, both from the people here in nicaragua, and from our team. thank you so much for coming to my favourite place in the universe both to heal children, and to teach communities how to heal themselves. i am so blessed to have you in my life.

much love to you all. thank you for coming to Nicaragua.
abrazos,
jania

(chris and angel are still here with me. They both know how much I love them, and how grateful i am to have them around. i plan on showering them with love over the next three days in lieu of blogger style tributes. xoxox. i also plan on spending the rest of my life with chris, and inviting angel´s future children to spend summers with me in edmonton...so both boys know that i love them like crazy. they have been invaluable members of our team, and i wouldnt trade them in for anything.)







Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Results

As an acuncturist in Canada, I spend half my time treating clients and the rest of it standing there, with my sales jacket on, trying to explain what I do and why it will work. I am not a good salesman. I am not the kind who can sell you a car, or land. I am not a politician, so I´m especially poor at selling ideas. I sold shoes in grade nine, my hair teased in awesome eighties style, but I wasn´t really good at that either, because I would always tell the truth. "You don´t want those shoes, those will fall apart. You want these..."

And so it goes, that when I am trying to sell acupuncture, the subject of proof dominates the conversation. Everyone wants to know if it works. And as I´ve said, I´m an honest gal. They want to know how long til it works and how long will it last etc. To say that clients are sceptical is an understatement. Sometimes they are just curious, sometimes they are defensive and sometimes they are down right rude. But every day, I go to work and there I stand, with my jacket on, and whip out for demonstration the latest models of healing for sale. I don´t mean to sound negative. I knew that becoming an acupuncturist would involve this kind conversation with folks and most days I don´t mind.

I want acupuncture to heal, solve, or fix someone´s problem as much as you do. In Canada, we especially like to fix our problems. Healing is too nebulous a word, fixing, now that really nails it. Problem solved, done. I want that too. I know my clients want it, but I didn´t realize how tied me-myself-and-I had become to it until I performed 161 acupuncture treatments in 12 days on the children and staff of Pajarito Azul.

Here are the results:

one child could not have a bowel movement without an enema and had not had an unassisted bowel movement in a year. Medication proved ineffective. Acupuncture resulted in daily BM´s and no enema was used.

one child with anorexia and epilepsy was seizing 3 times a day. Medication was no longer effective. During treatment, the child only had 2 seizures in 3 weeks and gained a pound.

one child with failure to thrive grew an inch and gained half a pound.

I could go on and on and on. The truth is, the results were amazing and most of them I´m going to keep to myself. Not cause I´m stingy, but out of respect for the 161 experiences that I had the honour of being a part of.

I am really happy with these results. I´m proud of my team. I feel blessed and so honoured to be a part of this. But the truth is, I didn´t fix anybody. Not one child.

But the truth is, I never do.

love andrea

ps. I want to thank all my clients past and present. I am dedicated to your healing paths and I so appreciate your patience with my learning curve. Thanks to everyone who continues to help me grow as an acupuncturist and as a human being. Thanks to my medical team here and at Pajarito Azul. But most of all, thank you to every one of those children. They made me grow up.

Photos I took today

Hi, I thought I might just describe our day by telling you about the photos I took today.It was our last day at Parahito Azul and so a sad and yet happy day too. The first one was in the hallway of the orphanage,just Andrea on her last day-refreshed and ready to go-not yet aware of the emotion to come-the goodbyes-the hugs the presents for her and from her.and yes the crying of many.Amanda comes on her way to school-a blind girl that Andrea is treating for headaches-she wants a photo of us with her and so it goes everyone wants photos. I think the idea is that we will send back copies and we will, of course.The next photos is a surpize the staff gives to us with the help of two of the ladies that live there. They dress up in these elaborate bright long dresses and do traditional Nicaragua dances of godbye for us. Now how could you not get tears with this. It was very moving.I take a photo of this young man outside the bars of our clinic.He is moping the floor.Everyday he mops and everyday the cleaning ladies come along behind him and mop again. I presume it is his job. We see many of the orphans working,mostly cleaning but also looking after each other.Andrea has brought a little wading pool from Edmonton. We fill it up with plastic balls and pop in one of the cerebral palsy kids .It allows them to stretch and not get hurt. More of these balls have been donated by -well probably shouldn´t say but great supporters of our cause and thank you.We go to Los Torres,the poorest part of town and I take so many photos-we visit a school, a home of Jania´s friend,a church and I cann´t describe it, but the photos will.It was very humbeling and I feel we just take so much for granted at home.We leave some of the socks,toothbrushes and art supplies with the school to be distributed. The need is so great, I am thankful we brought so much to give away. Last we end our day by going to park way above the city that honors Sandino-the first revolutionary of Nicaragua and it was inspiring to see the whole city-Looking forward to some down time before we head home.Lynda House

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Inside

There is water all inside of me. Like I could cry any minute, but also like I could explode and end up washed straight away into the gutter with the plastic and the rest of the garbage. I´m a walking tidal wave. I am trying to carry myself well, keep every one´s spirits up, but with every step, a little water spills over the side.

I thought I understood poverty. I thought of myself as poor, with Visa debt, student loans, and such. But it´s bullshit. I don´t carry my baby to the meridian of the road. I don´t stand with my three year old on the yellow line and hold her up to every passing car. I don´t try to rip car doors open to crawl inside. I wouldn´t kill to eat, kill for fear, kill for a job, kill to be anywhere else.


To see the little kids, the age of my own daughter standing in the road while cars whiz by, is no longer freaking me out. If that happened in Canada, someone would call the cops. Here, she is selling gum, or just begging. I´ve stopped worrying that she will be hit. I don´t look that closely, because I know she´ll be ok. People driving at top speed seem to know that at every intersection, little girls 2 and 3 years old will be standing, perfectly still, waiting.

Today I made jokes in a burger joint, enjoying making my friends laugh, while outside, two kids were passed out near our car. I didn´t stop to wake them up. It´s not safe for me, I cannot call the cops for them. I don´t even speak Spanish, so instead, I make my friends laugh inside the BurgerLoco while they sleep.

At the orphanage, Hector, perhaps the smartest of the orphans, asks me if I will cry when I leave. He tells me through a translator, "Because I´ll cry when you leave... a lot". I tell him yes I will cry for him when I go, I almost start just then, but I keep it inside.

Andrea

hi from land of sun

Well hello everyone, yes you are finally hearing from the "mature" member of this group.The madre , if you will. Impressions of Nicaragua- EVERYTHING IS MADE OF TIN, OLD TIN, AND EVERY BUILDING HAS BARS! On the doors, the windows, and fenced with barbed wire.The children at the orphanage are charming and sad and so very physically and emotionally challenged and yet they each have their own personality just like kids everywhere. It is a privelege to be here and experience their world. They have lots of love from their caregivers but like most places of this sort there is just not enough.The acupuncture from Andrea is helping and it is a joy to so such results in such a short time.The trip to the beach yesterday was so much fun for them.Wheelchairs i n the water-it didn´t matter. I think maybe this is the one time this year that some of them will be outside of the orphanage and I´m thankful that we could be there to see it. Today we present them with the hand made bracelets, the cards from Etta´s daycare and the socks and shoes that we brought. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support in this worthy project.PS I have taken 195 photos.Big surprize, I know. Lynda House

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

jiñocuao

we can´t work at the clinic on the weekends at parajito azul. most of the staff go home to be with their families, and they have asked that we take this time off too. it is hard to leave the kids for two days, especially since we are seeing such progress. andrea wants to keep poking them. lindsay wants to keep holding them. we all want to see them continue to improve.

but since the centre has asked us to respect their down time, i have packed the weekends full of as much nicaragua as possible. i want these amazing women from canada to see that there is so much more to nicaragua than the chaos of the capital city. i want them to fall in love with this country, just as i have, so that they will want to return. once nicaragua is in your heart, it is impossible to ignore her cries.

i took our group to my favourite place in the world, the town of jinocuao. it was a four hour drive from managua, with the last hour and a half on bumpy country roads. it is a town of campesinos. of people that live off of the land. it is a town so filled with community spirit and love that i am overwhelmed each time i visit.

our team stayed with families in the town. chris and i were with julio and evelia, the same family that i have been staying with since 1999. this will be my fifth time in their home. each time i feel more welcomed, and even more loved. i feel a part of this family, so far away from my own.

kids are everywhere in jinocuao. we are swarmed with kisses and hugs from the moment that we arrive in town. we walk down to the river with a group of twelve kids, and chris wins them over by being a clown, and then cliff jumping with them. they tell my that my boyfriend is beautiful. i agree.

24 hours is such a short amount of time to spend in jinocuao. i try to cram it all in. we visit the pigs and the chickens that hang out by the outhouse, the the new playground that a german delegation helped to build, the furniture workshop where the community beds are built, the mini-library where the kids can study, the well for gathering water to bathe yourself with, the water pump for the drinking water, and the corn grinder that each family will visit every morning to have fresh cornflour to make the day´s tortillas.

on sunday morning after the local church service, andrea gives a workshop on acupressure points and massage. she addresses some of the regular health concerns faced in the community, such as diarriah, malnutrition, pain control, and high fevers. the response is amazing. community members are excited to learn about new techniques that will allow them to heal themselves, but more importantly, to heal each other. we are humbled by the energy and the love that is sent our way.

it was my time in jiñocuao that convinced me to go into social work. it was here that saw first hand the amazing power of community. these people have almost nothing in terms of material wealth. they are some of the poorest people in the americas. but they opened their homes and their hearts to us without a second thought, and they are doing AMAZING things for themselves within the community. they are working together to create change. i respect them more than i can say, and i am so grateful to have had the opportunity to share this experience with my partner, and with my friends from canada.


i hope that you are all well! thanks for your ongoing support and love!

abrazos muy fuerte,
jania

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The Acupuncturist Finally Speaks

Hey every one. It's me, Andrea, the acupuncturist on the project. This is my first blog attempt...ever. I am so happy Lindsay and Jania are so computer savvy. I can't even check my email from here. Sad. Here's my story so far.

The orphanage is like a smooth stone you hold in your pocket. You can't stop thinking about it and you find yourself wanting to pick it up and hold it. The children pierce your heart. I truly have never experienced anything like it. I feel insignificant, but the children are very trusting and it makes me want to work hard. I seem to have so much energy and I can't stop thinking about treatments I want to give them. I keep picking up the stone to feel it and look at it.

It seems like almost all the children have cerebral palsy. I am becoming an expert in the treatment of CP in the same way that the others in my group are becoming bilingual in Spanish. I'm learning the language these children speak, with their contracted limbs and upward stares. I keep praying that what we are doing here will make some sort of ripple in the water.

I have to throw the stone in.

Love,
Andrea

Safe & Sound

Hello all you lovely people...

We have arrived safe and sound in Nicaragua...it felt like we had been travelling for quite a long time so when we arrived I was first struck by how the airport smelled like a swimming pool...the humidity and chlorine-like scents...then hit with a wave of tiredness...and then just completely weirded out and disoriented...now that I have a day or two of sleep under my belt I am doing much better.

Nicaragua is very endearing...there are lots of pairs of beautiful brown eyes and the people are very friendly and hospitable...I have enjoyed driving around in the back of a red pick up truck...embracing my prairie girl roots...but today we had to trade in the pick up for a fancypants SUV...it´s ritzy...we have a driver, Eduardo...who helps us get safely from A to B and back again...the dogs bark all night and the locals have a night security system set up that involves sending coded messages via whistle blowing...at our hotel we have several pet parrots and other sorts of birds...they wake us up each morning...I have discovered delicious local beer...Victoria...and you won´t believe it but they have FANTA orange drink here...yeah!!

We have spent two days at the orphanage...my first impressions of Parajito Azul was probably relief for the centre being so clean and large...it helped seeing the sun shining all around us...and then joy to finally get to meet these children that we have met through photos and heard stories about...what a lovely bunch of children...they are thumbs up fantastic.

I have already been invited to a birthday party...two fridays from now...I feel pretty special...as it happens I was invited to Helen´s birthday and she is the first friend I made...she is 37 years old and has lived at the centre since she was a little girl...on our first day visiting Parajito Azul she sat quietly embroidering in the corner of our meeting room where Andrea and the others were planning which children to see and how to organize the clinic...I sat straight across from Helen and while she wasn´t sitting at the meeting table...she and I soon made eye contact and that was it...our friendship began...she likes to laugh at me...probably because I don´t understand any spanish...nonetheless it didn´t take long before she was attempting to teach me to embroider...this is not a handicraft that I have a natural talent for...

Today we started the acupuncture clinic...I got to hold lots of lovely babies...some cried, some laughed and many of the 14 treatments we provided fell asleep after their acupucture...Andrea says that is a good sign...I´ll leave the acupuncture talk up to her...I was just happy to hold the babies and send them lots of good wishes and love...they are fabulous children...I already have many stories to tell about them...one of my favorites is a girl Karina...she is 14 years old with CP but to look at her you would think she was 3 years old...so tiny...anyway when you tickle her she laughs and laughs...it´s a contagious giggle...and she likes to grab my nose and earrings...we have fun playing together...she is pretty great.

I look forward to meeting more of the children and making more new friends...
ciao
Lindsay

Saturday, January 20, 2007

las madres

it has been an intense couple of days.

we took a long hot bus ride from leon to esteli. it was an old american schoolbus (remember the bluebirds?) and chris and i squeezed our bums into a seat made for children. i slurped a fried banana out of the bottom of a plastic bag and chris slept on my shoulder.

there is a saying in nicaragua that if someone smells on a bus, it is probably the cheles (white people). i think that we proved them right.

in esteli we visited las madres, a group of women who lost their sons and daughters in the revolution. they created the ´gallery of the heroes and martyrs of the revolution´ so that their children will be remembered. so that their stories will be told.

the first time that i met las madres i was 19 years old. it was my first time visiting a country where the scars of war were still so raw, and
i had no concept of grief on such a grand scale. the mothers told us about their individual stories of loss, and then they spoke of the pain of a town devestated by war. of a community that had lost its young men, and many of its young women. of a people steeped in grief. they spoke of children leaving for war and not returning. of torture and brutality that they had witnessed, and of bodies that were never found.

and once they were done telling their stories, they comforted us as only mothers can. they wiped away the tears of the strangers from another country who had never experienced war. they held us as we cried for their loss.

even though i have been back to nicaragua several times since that first visit, this is the first time that i have returned to visit las madres. chris brought his camera, and the mothers sat for interviews. they took chris around their gallery and showed him the photos of their sons and their daughters. they thanked us for being there, and for allowing their voices to be heard. they asked us to tell their story and the story of the revolution to our friends and family back home.

there is no government support for their museum, and they getting older every day. they are so afraid that when they die this history will be forgotten.

after the interviews chris and i walked for miles together. we wandered aimlessly around town, trying to digest what we had heard. we have both experienced the grief and pain of loss within our own families. how can we even understand loss on such a grand scale? and if we can personalize the loss of this group of 1500 or so women in esteli, nicaragua...how can we maintain distance from the loss of the mothers in afghanastan, of the mothers in iraq, of the mothers in sudan? how does all of the grief and the loss not eat us alive?

i cried like a baby before i went to sleep last night. chris held me and comforted me.

nicaragua, nicaraguita. this country always brings me so much joy, so much hope, and so much happiness. but it also challenges me in a million different ways.

the acupuncture brigade arrives tomorrow night. i am looking forward to starting a new chapter of this trip, and to introducing three amazing women to this beautiful country that i love so dearly. i am filled with hope.

abrazos,
jania








Wednesday, January 17, 2007

The girls arrive in 4 more sleeps

So I had a lovely family dinner last night at my mom's...and my family is placing bets on how many babies I will fall in love with and bring home...apparently they know me too well...or do they?...time will tell...

my stepdad was updating me on the latest news report on the political going-ons of Nicaragua...and ended the update with the good wish that I don't get kidnapped...here's crossing my fingers that I stay safe and sound...As far as politics go...it will be an interesting time to be in Nicaragua...since their new president Ortega's inauguration and given his history with the country...we plan on staying safe and being wise!

Well we are 3 sleeps away from boarding the Red Arrow and 4 sleeps away from flying off to Mangua via Housten...we get up way before the roosters on Sunday morning...as our flight leaves at 6:30am...for a non-morning person I am going to have to work really hard to not growl with my travelling partners...I will do my best to be kind...I hope the airport is serving caffiene somewhere at that early morning hour....oh to be one of those early risers!...

4 sleeps till we get on the plane and what do ya know...I caught a cold...or perhaps it's my body's reaction to the immunizations that I have had to catch up on before our departure...either way having a runny nose at this point in the game cramps my pre-trip
excitement...for all of your praying people...send a word heaven bound for some speedy healing of this cold...who needs to be dealing with congestion at high altitudes?...after all there is take off and landing to get anxious about...and I think that is enough to worry about...at least for one girl...I am not too keen on flying...but at least it will get me where I want to be...Managua...thankfully I have a lovely Dr and a good ol'acupuncturist to help me through this cold...hopefully with their combined powers I will fly congestion-free.

Tomorrow I go to visit our friend Teacher Ed at his school where his class had a popcorn/bake sale to raise money to donate to the children at Pajarito Azul so that our team can take them all to the beach...an outing they don't often get taken on. I will also be picking up a giant bag of shoes to take down to the kids...and Jania's cousin called me tonight to let me know he has 100 toothbrushes to donate...along with the art supplies, socks and kids undies that many others have passed along...I am going to be as popular as Santa...with my backpack full of gifts...

I was doing some pondering and you know what is so super cool about this project?...well sit back and let me tell you...it's how so many people in our home community of E-town have gathered together in various ways to support the children of Pajarito Azul...it's quite beautiful...look at the good we are making happen by working together....ahhh...what a hallmark moment...we should be proud...and we should hang out doing good more often...my heart is overwhelmed with awe and pride when I see what we have accomplished as a community...and we haven't even left E-town yet...imagine the stories we will have once we get to Managua...I look forward to sharing them all with you when we return...the love keeps on going on...the ripple of goodness spreads and spreads...

speaking of love...
here's me sending much love to all you...

I have reached the bottom of my cup of neocitron so I am off to catch some zzzz's and continue the countdown to Managua
Lindsay

leon

chris and i have spent the last few days studying spanish in the university town of leon. there are too many new words and new rules to fit in my brain. and when we are not in class, we are interviewing locals for chris´s film. which means that i am the translator, stretching my spanish to its limits with each new conversation. today i am tired. my brain hurts.

there have been some fabulous interviews though. we spend yesterday at the Casa del Cultura, where we met with the director of the centre and a social action promotor who has worked at the centre since its creation in 1979. it is our favourite arts centre in nicarauga, and the kind gentleman took us through slowly, explaining the historical, political, and cultural significance of the various works of art. we have a blown up photo of chris´s favourite piece in our living room at home: ronald regan with guns strapped to his back, sitting on the shoulders of a campesina woman, who is bleeding from both wrists. at her feet are two clowns, one with the face of dick cheney.

yesterday the profesors from our spanish school agreed to be interviewed, and they shared their thoughts on everything from the privatization of electricity, to their memories of childhood during the revolution, to the new law making abortions illegal in nicaragua.

this morning we interviewed our favourite nicaraguan painter, alejandro cabrera. he sat in his doorway for two hours, painting and talking to us about his life and his art.

tonight we meet with a soldier who fought in the revolution. he is taking us to the local ´legion´where we will see images from the contra war, and hear his stories about the struggle and the aftermath.

we are so blessed to be here, and so lucky to have all of these people opening their hearts to us, and telling their stories. people want to be heard. to feel as though they have a voice.

i am so lucky to have the opportunity to record these voices, and to learn from these stories.

i cant wait for the girls to arrive and for the clinic to begin!

tomorrow we leave for esteli, a town in the mountains known for it´s fabulous political murals.

abrazos,
jania

Monday, January 15, 2007

6 more sleeps

Hey Friends...

Well our saturday night fundraiser was a grand success...the house was full...I mean it was a full house...thank you, thank you, thank you to every one of you who have helped to make this project a reality.

I must confess as cohost I started the night with a mild to moderate case of butterflies and was feeling slightly shy...that was until I reached the microphone and realised there was an audience waiting to be entertained....I quickly got over the butterflies...despite of my high fives performance as Andrea's cohost there's no way my cheesy jokes and sorta sweetness can compete with the amazingly talented folk who came out to sing, play instruments, swing and climb through the air, boombox, act and adlib...it was quite a night...there was some fantastic steel guitar being played...all sorts of good things happened in the Catalyst last saturday...Etta even sang us a little "how much is that puppy in the window" and the word on the street this morning (in the hospital lunch room) was that little Etta (self proclaimed: ballerina/hockeyplayer/skateboarder) of the night was shaking it up and twirling on the stage during intermission...if anyone stole the show it was this cutiepatootie...

so we are 6 sleeps away from begining our journey...the Red Arrow seats have been reserved and Andrea and I can anticipate quality snacks on the first leg of our Nicaraguan adventure...(at least that's what a little bird told me)...it's hard to believe that we are actually going to be leaving E-town...this trip all feels more surreal than just around the corner...

I am finishing up my immunization program (thank goodness for my patient boyfriend who has to put up with his disorganized girlfriend) and tonight as I sit here typing my left arm is throbbing from my polio vaccination...boo hoo.

I just talked with our friend Ed who told me he has a tonne (almost literally) of shoes for us to take down to the kids...and my friends at work...in the ICU...have been so generous in gathering up some money and kids socks and underwear....it's so very cool how much we can accomplish when we come together...that's the power of, that's the glory of: SYNERGY...it's magic!...A few people have dropped off art supplies and I can't wait to meet the kids and sit down and see what creative expressions appear on the paper and such from their imaginations...I think there will be lots of laughter as we paint, draw, glue, cut, rip, and artsn'craft it up....

I have been starting to anticipate what it will be like to get off the plane in Managua...it's hard to wrap my around around leaving on Saturday from my cozy home sweet home and my fairly safe and easy living in Canada and arriving Sunday in a new land where I barely speak the language (unless I miraculously wakeup fluent in Spanish along the way)...and I hear Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in our part of the world...second next to Haiti...(I think)...then again I have never been a fact quoter...so be sure to double check and cross reference anything sort of factual or quasi-factual statement I might make...

I am prepared to be overwhelmed...to have my heart stretched and maybe even broken...it will certainly be a perspective building trip...and a humbling experience in multiple ways...I look forward to growing into my experience of Nicaragua...I am curious what it may stir up and awaken within me...

More than anything...I can't wait to meet the kids...to see their faces, hear their voices, to hug them and laugh with them...I so look forward to making so many new little friends...I can't imagine what that initial moment will be like...of arriving at the orphanage and then walking through the gate and seeing these children that I have been dreaming of and praying for and talking about over the past couple of months...my heart already loves them...it's going to be hard not to want to bring them home with me...good thing I only have a one bedroom apartment...

Lindsay

Sunday, January 14, 2007

murcielago

murcielago is the spanish word for bat.

during a recent spanish lesson in canada, my profesora realized that this was a new word for me and she used Batman as example to help me understand the new vocabulary.

for weeks leading up to our trip i refered to chris as "my sweet murcielago", thinking that i was buttering up my comic loving boyfriend by calling him "my sweet superhero", instead i was calling him an ugly flying rodent.

bats and i have a bad history. the last time i was in nicaragua a bat flew up out of the outhouse while i was using it. the bat flew full speed right into my butt. i ran out of the outhouse screaming with my pants around my ankles, much to the delight of the neighborhood children waiting outside. so i have some bat issues.

last night chris and i woke up to a flapping sound in our room. chris's main suspect was the king cockroach that had been hiding out in the bathroom. but no, it was my nemisis, the murcielago. he hid under our bed, and scrurried across the floor. chris wanted to pick him up and put him outside, but i know that those little creatures can carry rabies, and i didnt want chris to risk the bite. so i told the sweet girl downstairs about our problem. she giggled at the silly cheles (white folks) and promptly dealt with the bat. she used a combo "broom handle and heel of her shoe" approach. chris was upset at the violence. am i a bad person for not being upset? peta be damned. i rolled over and fell back asleep.

i hope that people made it out to the big fundraiser last night! was anyone there? i am dying to hear how it went!

take care! the clinic is closer every day!

xoxo
jania

Friday, January 12, 2007

la playa

we ran away from mangua to hit the beach for a couple of nights. we are rationalizing it by calling it a "study break". our spanish books have been put to good use, but i have to admit that our swim suits have also had their time in the sun. we are at las penitas, a gorgeous little beach town on the pacific coast just outside of the city of leon. besides the locals, a family from managua, and a guy named archie from norway, we seem to be the only people on the beach. craziness. chris has befriended a 16 year old surfer names patricio, and even though patricio has a cast protecting his most recent surfing fracture, i am betting that he will be chris's teacher by the end of the day.

we had an amazing time in managua on wednesday. the streets were filled with people celebrating ortega's inaguration. dry law went into effect on tuesday night, which means that for 48 hours it was illegal for any restaurants or stores to sell or serve alcohal. it was a preventative measure to make sure that the ortega partying didnt get too crazy. chris wants to start a campaign for a dry law if the stanley cup ever ends up in edmonton again. (residual bitterness from his neighborhood destruction and the impact on improvaganza ticket sales) i have a feeling that he wont receieve popular support on that one. hockey fans love their beer.

there were thousands and thousands of people in the streets for ortega. everywhere we looked people were wearing red and black (historic revolutionary FSLN colours) or bright pink (the new image of the FSLN party) and waving massive flags in support of ortega and of the party. every age group was represented, and people were dancing and singing in the streets. there were more police on the road to the plaza then i have ever seen in nicaragua before.

chris brought his video camera and we had the opportunity to interview tonnes of nicaraguans from all different walks of life. a retired military captain who served in the revolution in 79, a woman who works in one of the massive textile factories in the free trade zone outside of managua, a man who sells ice cream on the street to support his family, someone from the ministry of internal affairs, and a 16 year old boy who grew up hearing his father and grandfather talking about comandante ortega and the great revolution. and they were all so eager to talk with us on camera...to have their voices heard. it was powerful, and i think that chris ended up with some great footage.

we are so lucky to have angel here with us. he has been so key in setting things up for our clinic, and he has been such a great friend to have around the city. he is meeting with MINSA (the ministry of health) this morning to confirm that everything is set for the arrival of the brigade, and to ensure that our needles and herbs enter the country without problems. we are hoping that he might join us on the beach later today.

only nine more days until the AWN team arrives and the clinic begins!

i hear from my friends back home that all is going well with our fundraiser planning. If you havent bought your tickets yet, get them now! thanks to everyone who has lent us their support, their talent and their kindness! thanks to Kristy Harcourt for promoting our event and our clinic on CJSR's Gaywire last night!

abrazos muy fuerte,
jania