I woke up around 5:30am and finished packing up my things.
Alvaro was supposed to come at 6am, but he got held up at a church function.
Ubania and Alvaro’s brother showed up at 6:30, and we picked up Alvaro on the
way to Esteli. I had to catch a bus at 7am, so we were really rushing.
We made it in time though. I was on the bus for about two
and a half hours, but it was through some really gorgeous countryside full of
hills, ranches, and deep valley. We even had to cross some streams a few times.
The bus was a very interesting experience for me. I was a regular yellow school
bus like in the US, but there were some luggage racks installed above the seats
that ran the length of the bus. There were five men, by my count, that were
“employed” on the bus. One was the driver, one was a money handler, and the
other three were like bellhops. The money handler did not take money for the
first hour of the trip since on one got off the bus. Then, he took 30 Cordobas,
which is equivalent to $1.50 USD from all the adults. He would never ask for
money from anyone right away; he would just keep track and wait awhile. Of the
other three guys, two would ride on the side of the bus while the other one was
on top. Their job was to help throw people’s larger luggage and items on top of
the bus. Luckily, Alvaro told them that my bag would ride inside the bus.
When I was dropped off, I thought I had been left in the
wrong place. It seemed like the middle of nowhere even though the website had
said that the bus would go straight through the village. I had to walk about
twenty minutes to reach Lagartillo, which wasn’t a big deal once I figured it
out. One of the main contacts of Hijos del Maiz, Luis, met me at the entrance
to the village. He took me back to his house, so that I could talk to his wife,
who would put me with a host family. Apparently, she was not expecting me until
Monday because Luis had not checked his email recently. Therefore, she had to
go out and find me a new host family, as my original one was gone for the day.
By this time it was around 10am.
My host mother’s name was Francisca. She has a small two
bedroom home. My room has a desk and a bed with a mosquito net. There is no
indoor plumbing, or running water for that matter. Three families share an
outdoor shower, latrine, and laundry area. I had to get over my thing against
Porta-Johns pretty fast. One of the families that share the area is Francisca’s
son’s family and the other family is her daughter’s. They have ducks and
chickens that roam the yard (as well as the neighborhood). They also have a
couple of pigs tethered in the back. She uses a traditional wood burning stove,
so she has to collect firewood every day and smoke fills the house.
When I arrived at my new home for the week, Francisca
promptly offered me some sweet bread and coffee. Since I didn’t want to insult
her as my first action in her home, I accepted both even though I do not like
coffee. I was very surprised to discover that I actually liked the coffee. I
chatted with her for a while and went into my room to take a short nap.
When I got back up, lunch was being prepared, so I helped
make the rice. We had rice, eggs, and a fried tortilla. I also watch Francisca
walk outside to knock lemons down from a tree to make the freshest lemonade I
have ever had. Then, I went on a walk with two of Francisca’s grandchildren.
Helen is 6 and Carlito is 3. They showed me the park and the town monument,
which is dedicated to the six people who lost their lives during the contra
war. They also showed me their school and playground. It rained for about 30
minutes after that, so I went inside for a while.
After the rain stopped, I decided
to take a shower while it was still hot outside, so the cold water would be
refreshing. About the time I got out (3:30pm) was about the time most of the
village returned from a baseball game in the next town. Their team (many are
members) had won their game. Therefore, they started partying and drinking in
the streets.
I sat outside and talked with
anyone who stopped, including my teacher. I ate a dinner of rice, beans, fresh
made cheese, and tomatoes. Everyone was having a great time outside, and the
children played kickball in a nearby grassy area. I met the other American
student there, Nicolia, who is there from California.
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| My Host Family's house |
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| My bed |
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