I was fortunate enough to go to San Juan del Sur and teach photography workshops. While there, I taught photography to people of the community. Overall, it was an amazing experience living in the Nicaraguan culture. I am going to give you a feel of every day by writing about each day.
Day 1 – August 10
I had a red-eye flight on this day. It left at 12:55 am, but while sitting in the airport I saw a group of people going somewhere in Latin America. I started to listen to some of what they were saying because after all, what are you going to do this late at night in an airport? I gathered they were going on a mission trip and found it quite funny he had forgot his bible. Who goes on a mission trip and forgets a bible? But, it got even better. Later, I found out he was leading bible studies in whatever country they are going to. It was an entertaining start to my day.
I arrived a little before 12:00 pm, found my stuff, bought my $5 tourist card and proceeded to exit. I was very nervous because I knew somebody was coming to pick me up, but I wasn’t sure what exactly to look for. I wandered up and down the hall looking for a sign, but I didn’t find anything. I walked up and down again and decided I should just put my stuff down and wait. After waiting for about 15 minutes somebody showed up with a sign with my name on it. I was sure glad to see him!
We got into his van and began to drive to San Juan del Sur. Within five minutes of driving I saw a prostitute and a mashed up charter bus. Welcome to Nicaragua? For the two hours it took to get to SJDS, my eyes were pretty much fixed on my surroundings. It was very lush and green, but very poor. The main highway is shared between all means of transportation. I saw people walking, riding bicycles, being towed by donkeys, riding horses, people driving tiny cars that resembled the cars in the Flintstones, normal cars and Land Rovers. It was a bit of a shock to see the most current, expensive cars share a two lane highway with carts being hauled by donkeys.
Looking back on it, something funny happened in the car, but at the time it was rather scary. After about 10 minutes of driving, the driver asked me where I was going. I said San Juan del Sur in my broken Spanish. I took three years in high school, but hadn’t studied for a year. He said, I know you are going there, but where? I replied, with a family. He asked me if I knew the family and I responded with a shy “no”. He gave me a skeptical look and nicely said something to the effect of, how do we know where we are going? At this point I started to freak out a little bit, but just threw out the name of the person who had helped me plan this volunteer project, who is the co-director of Comunidad Connect. He smiled and called that person (thank god). He then told me who I would be staying with.
I went to the beach with Roman the first day and attempted to body surf, but with no luck. I started to become very homesick.
I went out that night with Roman and some other volunteers and we had a bbq at some one’s house. This is when I discovered the thing to do here is to drink or surf, or both. After this, I wasn’t exactly sure how I would spend my time since I don’t particularly like either. I also decided this was a “break all of mom’s advice she had been giving me for the last 18 years trip”. I managed to ride in the back of a truck and ride on the back of a motorcycle without a helmet all in my first night. She wouldn’t approve, but sometimes you just have to immerse yourself in the culture and leave your home behind.
By the end of the first day I felt extremely lonely, wanted to go home and already couldn’t wait to get home to take a shower. The water pressure and cold water was tough to get used to. It was lonely not having any friend there with me. It was my first trip completely by myself, but I was happy there was a couple staying in my home stay with me. They are from the Portland area and helped tell me more about the house and Nicaragua. They did manage to frighten me the first day after telling me the guy staying in my room before me had had his room broken into and his valuables stolen from him. Apparently there weren’t bars on the windows before that, but there were now so I felt a bit better. I was hoping my trip was going to get better since I had high expectations of my trip.
Day 2 – August 11
Chickens, anyone? I woke up very early to the sound of chickens yelling. It was a tough morning because I was not used to the sun setting at 6 and rising at around 6. It made for short days if you got up late. It isn’t like back home where I went to bed around 11 or 12 and woke up at 8. I managed to swallow my malaria pill after a short battle. Until this trip, I had never been able to swallow a pill.
I went out that morning to take pictures, but didn’t go far. After reading all of the stories about people getting robbed I was afraid for my camera and myself. I left the house and a woman in a window talked to me, but I had no idea what she was saying, but I asked if I could take a picture of her and she said yes. She ended up smiling and waving every time I came back home, so it was nice to have someone local who was so kind.
I found out I was going to have 12 students for my class. Initially, I thought I would have three since I had three cameras, but that turned into six and then twelve. Mara said it might be possible for me to visit Estelí at the end of my trip. That is where my girlfriend’s family is from, so I had a deep interest.
That afternoon I had three hours of Spanish class. My brain was completely fried. I took Spanish classes with Dinoraha at Spanish Ya. This class was the first time I had a real conversation about real world dilemmas in a language I didn’t really speak. We discussed how modern technology, such as computers are become essential resources for school, but in Nicaragua the majority of families can not afford one or pay to use a cyber. The internet places cost around $1 for an hour, but for a vast majority of families, that is far too expensive. It is stunning to think that a dollar, a mere dollar, is too much to spend on an hour using a computer. Think about all the pointless dollars we spend daily on activities or things we don’t need. Here I was, in another country, where a dollar was too much to spend on something.
That night I had chicken, gallo pinto and fried bananas. The chicken was loaded with salt, which reminded me of eating at my girlfriend’s house since they throw salt on just about everything and in amounts that are enough to kill you.
Day 3 – August 12
Malaria pill made me feel sick this morning. I had a slight stomach ache after swallowing the malaria pill, which I choked on.
I had my Spanish class in the morning again and they were kicking my butt, but I was thoroughly enjoying it. Dinorah and I talked about affording college, which was sad to learn about, but good to know.
It was extremely tough to look at all of the animals. From dogs, to horses, to donkeys – none were healthy. I felt bad for the dogs and little kittens because they don’t have anything to eat. There are strays and pets, if you can call them that. Some of the animals are pets, but nobody takes care of their animal. Most people own a dog for security, but just feed it leftovers, if they are lucky. It’s complicated down there. On one hand, I felt bad for the animals, but why should I feel so bad for the animals when there are people who have nothing, also. It was a mix of emotions and I got lost in my sympathies.
I was inspired for the first time in awhile with my photography. I was on the beach watching a sunset and saw a woman and her daughter playing in the sand where the waves barely reach. I asked the husband if I could take pictures of them and he responded in English, “of course!” Alberto, the husband, turned out to be a bartender at Iguana Bar, which is a very popular bar in SJDS. I am not sure why it is popular, but everybody seems to go there. It was awesome to see that family so happy and I was thrilled they let me take pictures! I promised to send them their photos.
After a few days of looking I found some postcards, although the quality was terrible. They were impossible to find. After wandering around for about 30 minutes that day I found a sign that said they sold post cards. One post card ended up being a little more than 50 cents. I was beginning to like my trip more, but decided it would be a lot more fun to come back with friends.
That night I went to The Pier with Natalie and Cole (the couple staying in the same home stay), which is a bar sort of at the end of the beach strip owned by some very strange Canadians. We met this guy there who had worked for 12 years on a project helping poor kids in Managua go to school. I guess they constructed a school and it was a success, but it was a lot of hard work and he now owns a shop called Neptune in SJDS. It was great for all of us to practice our Spanish with him and listen. He spoke slowly for us and made sure we understood. One of the things he said that I really loved was, “I don’t make a grand fortune, but in my heart it is a grand fortune.” He was now living life freely. He had lived on a beach for five months and traveled. I was going to start my class tomorrow and have them make Flickr accounts to upload photos. This night I was also offered cocaine on the street when we were walking back. It is unfortunate there is quite a bit of drug use there.
Day 4 – August 13
Maria, my host mom talked with me about the cost of fruits, since I love fruit. Apples are expensive and raspberries and strawberries are non-existent, where as mangos and other tropical fruits are cheap.
I thought the sunset I saw the other night was one of the most beautiful places I had ever been, until this night. I went to the statue on the hill, which they call La Cruz. Germán, one of my students, who is a local painter, took me and I was taken aback by the sunset. It was the most gorgeous thing I had ever witnessed.
My classes this day were good, but there were more children than I had thought and we had some trouble registering them on Flickr, since you have to be 13 years of age.
It was nice to have a woman there who could speak both Spanish and English since my Spanish was still very rough. Unfortunately, I got my hopes up and she just showed up the first day.
Spanish classes in the afternoon were tough after two hours of teaching photography. That, combined with the heat and humidity made learning much more challenging.
Day 5 – August 14
It was very heart-warming to see my class so excited about learning. They were all very eager to learn, but not only the basics. They wanted to jump into more complicated stuff and editing with GIMP, but first they had to learn the basics of composition before we could edit. It is pretty hard to edit a photo to make it look better if you don’t already start with a decent photo.
This day was pretty cool because the owner of the place where I was teaching had a customer come in and he just ignored him and finally said, “We are closed. I am in class. Come back later.” It was awesome!
Day 6 – August 15
I got home early this day – around 12:30 am or so. Cole and Natalie invited me to go with them when they went out. We went to The Pier for a bit and then to Coquitos, which has live music quite a bit. After that we went to a pizza place, which wasn’t half bad.
Germán told me we could go back to the statue tonight, since the time before I didn’t have my own camera. I took some great pictures with the smaller cameras I brought to teach on, but I wanted some photos with my own camera. It had been a week since tennis and I was starting to miss it. The local sports park in SJDS used to be a private tennis court for a famous political person, but was converted not too long ago.
I had pitaya juice for lunch again and let me tell you this juice is amazing. The color is unbelievable and the flavor itself is delicious. It is a deep red juice with chunks of pitaya in it.
Not in a million years do I think I would get sick of the view from the statue. Even though it was overcast and I was a bit disappointed as far as taking pictures, I still enjoyed the gorgeous view.
When I began this trip, I was some what disappointed with how it had started, but by this day I was really getting out of this trip what I wanted. I needed something liberating before school. I needed something where I could learn and throw myself into something completely new. Although I had a tight schedule every day, I still felt as if I had a ton of time.
Day 7 – August 16
I woke up thinking – a lot. So here is a little excerpt from my journal around 6 am.
“It’s interesting – anywhere you go you will find the same thing. The only differences you will see are the extremities – or what you choose to see. People fall asleep in the middle of sidewalks here. I see many different malnourished dogs everyday. It’s strange to me that as a global society we focus on ourselves before the global part. Why can I see mansions that sit on the cliff line as if in a movie and turn around and see poverty? A school in a worn down building with desks scattered everywhere. Why can’t wealth be balanced? People are selfish, but at the same time, so am I . I have more money on me than most of these people will make in two weeks. But how do you balance money? If you throw a lot of money somewhere quickly, it just upsets the balance the place has now.”
I went to a baseball game with a bunch of teenagers playing with my host dad, Julio. I had some very, very interesting corn. It was 25 cents and it came from a bucket. I took a bite into it and it was hard. The corn was hard! It was as if the seller put a bunch of corn in a bucket filled with hot water and salt. After the baseball game and the bizarre corn, Julio and I played pool, which costs 10 cents a game, roughly. It was a blast even though I was the only guy there not to win a game.
Natalie and Cole left today. I missed them already, but I was hoping they would have a good time in Granada. Also, I was hoping somebody else would move in soon!
Over dinner Julio started to tell me about the war in the 80’s. I asked him to continue with more since he had stopped. He was 18 when he left with 130 people. He returned two years later with 30 men. He told me he was hit by shrapnel and had scars from bullets. Apparently, the church or somewhere has explosion sounds for some reason and it makes him nervous when he hears them. He also said when moms of the dead see him in SJDS, they cry. As if the story wasn’t sad enough, he proceeded to tell me that some people in the mountains who had nothing shot themselves because they didn’t want to live this life. I had never heard a war story from anybody before, so it was different for me, especially since it was in another language.
Day 8 – August 17
Class went well today, but the class was moving slower than I had hoped. Not everybody showed up every day, or on time.
I tried planning my trip to Estelí and Miraflor today, but it was tough to do. I couldn’t find something that worked. I needed a private room for a decent price since I had my camera gear with me. Most places are hostels and have shared rooms. Transportation is also one of the expensive things in Nicaragua and I didn’t want to take a bus because of safety and I had three bags with me.
I went with my Spanish teacher to Pelican Eyes, a local resort hotel, to watch the sunset. They are up on the hill and have the most gorgeous view. I thought the view from the statue was nice, but this view was even nicer. The sunsets are absolutely spectacular!
Day 9 – August 18
I had a very frustrating class today. I had a mere three students. Normally I would have seven or eight.
I went to my Spanish teacher’s house after our lesson to take pictures of her daughter because after all everybody deserves a good picture and photographers are rare in SJDS. My Spanish teacher was rather poor and the poor in Nicaragua cook by gathering sticks and making a fire and cooking over that. It is exactly what we do here for fun when having a beach fire or something. It seems quite a few people have parrots, too.
Today I decided not to go to Estelí. I talked with Mara about how I would get there and where I would stay and it just sounded like a lot of trouble for only two days there. I would have had to keep my luggage at a hotel in Managua, catch a bus or two and a taxi and spend the night in Managua the day before my flight. When I return, I am planning on visiting Estelí and Miraflor, since it looks beautiful.
Day 10 – August 19
My class was a complete nightmare today. The woman who spoke Spanish and English dropped off a student who had not been there since the first day. Keep in mind I was only teaching for a week and there were two or three days left of class. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, a student brings three of her friends! What am I supposed to do with all these kids who don’t have Flickr accounts and can barely use a computer? I was very disappointed this day because there was so much enthusiasm and so much planning on my part to arrange this opportunity and only a few take it seriously. I was very fortunate to have Germán, this other woman and the director of the place where I was teaching in my class. Germán took it seriously and took notes.
I needed to get some more money for my Spanish classes, so I went to the BDF bank down near the beach, but they don’t give money in dollars. After two or three tries figuring it out I asked and the woman who worked their politely pointed me to a red sign where they dispense money in dollars and córdobas, the local currency.
It didn’t occur to me until today that most of these people have never had a hot shower. Even though it was incredibly hot, I was craving a hot shower.
I was excited today because I only had one more day of Spanish classes. As much as I enjoyed them, I was more than ready to be done. I was learning faster than I could comprehend and it was becoming less fun as each day passed.
Day 11 – August 20
I found out from my host parents that public universities are free, but there is a really difficult entrance exam and the education isn’t all that great.
Today I finished my Spanish classes. 30 hours – 10 days! Yikes! And when I received my certificate, of course they spelled my name wrong.
Mara informed me of some local dancers that dance every Thursday at El Timón, a restaurant near the beach. I went and took some pictures. They wore very beautiful dresses and had strong stage presence. Whenever I put my camera up to take a picture they would look directly at the lens and smile.
Day 12 – August 21
Today was my last day of teaching and I decided working with little kids is quite challenging. It is ultimately really rewarding, but I need to be selective in what I help with.
This day was close call day. A horse tried to buck me while I took pictures of it in the morning. Then, Germán took me to a tower that overlooks SJDS, but while riding the motorcycle up there, a dog started to chase us and started to gain on us. The dog must have been a mere three feet away and almost bit us. After the tower he wanted to find the hieroglyphics. So we went on this long trail in a jungle environment. As I was walking, I brushed many plants and didn’t notice that there were hundreds of ants on these plants. These little tiny yellow ants bit me about four times. Some hurt worse than a bee sting and some didn’t. They left marks that lasted a few days and pain that lasted until I fell asleep that night.
I had been eating plates of fruit at the market with orange juice, but I kept seeing jugo de sandia (watermelon juice) and was curious because you don’t see that in the US. So, today I decided to try it. It is exactly what you would imagine – chunks of watermelon put in a blender and blended. It wasn’t horrible, but it sure wasn’t yummy.
Day 13 – August 22
I had a pretty lazy morning since I didn’t teach my last photography class until 2 pm.
Around noon another man arrived who would be living in the house. Ben had been staying at Pelican Eyes, but wanted to practice his Spanish more and live with a family. It was rewarding to find somebody who spoke less Spanish than me and who I could be assistance to. Maria asked him “soltero o casado”, which means single or married and he turns to me and asks if he heard pepper. It was funny because we have all had those embarrassing experiences with another language.
I had ice cream with my host sister today. We went down to the Eskimo near the beach, which like most things in Nicaragua are incredibly cheap. Two scoops of ice cream for 75 cents.
I saw an interesting event today. Traffic was stopped and there were a bunch of people assembled. I noticed there was a coffin in a truck and about fifty people were following it blocking traffic. As I went into town, it was quite empty, which was a rare site to see.
This night Diana and I spent quite a bit of time tracking down her dad. Around 5:30 pm we went to her mom’s work to pickup food since her dad was supposed to do that. We went home and ended up waiting for awhile for her dad, but he still didn’t show up. So around 6:45 we went back to where her mom cooks at this restaurant and she said he was down at a restaurant near the beach. Yup, you guessed it. We walked down to the beach in search of him, found him and Diana stood outside the restaurant for a good minute. I asked her, “Are you going to go in?” and she just looked at me nervously, so I walked in and she followed. We found him drunk with his friends and as we were walking back he definitely could not walk straight. It was a weird night because he usually always came home around 5:30 pm, but then again people drink far too much in SJDS.
After that escapade I met Ben at a restaurant where he was eating with some surfing friends. When dinner ended, we all went out and ended up at Iguana Bar, a very popular, but very sketchy bar. Drugs, prostitution, heavy drinking – you name it, Iguana has it. When I got home I saw Diana with 100 córdobas ($5) and I asked her where she got it. She said from her dad and her mom cut in and said when he was drunk!
Day 14 – August 23
I went to a local baseball game with Mara, JT (co-director of Comunidad Connect), and some other volunteers. While there, there was a fight. This man didn’t like the umpire’s call so he came and got in his face and the umpire decked him. They both threw up their fists, but then players from one side came out and shoved the guy who got in the umpire’s face.
The trip was almost coming to a close and I was reflecting today. Here is an excerpt.
“The trip is coming to a close and after all I have seen, what do I do with it? People make $100 a month if they are lucky. It’s so extreme, the differences in wealth. I see a Cadillac Escalade driving past a man sleeping in the middle of a sidewalk, obviously homeless. So, how do I take what I have learned, what I have seen and transform that into something positive – something that will start a new direction? How do I justify spending what I do when people live under such extreme conditions? How do I relay what I have seen to empower others to question their current lifestyle? How do I create something that is more than just another picture of a part of the world that lives in poverty? It’s tough to evoke action in yourself and even harder to demonstrate something that provokes action in others.”
I do, in some ways, regret not exploring some of the countryside, but I was traveling alone and I didn’t feel safe. Keep in mind when viewing these photos that you are seeing the more beautiful parts of SJDS and the conditions, although still sad, are far better than a large majority of the country. Use your imagination to fill in the blanks for what I didn’t capture and share with your friends and family.
Day 15 – August 24
I went to Playa Maderas with Ben and some people from a Hostel. They surfed and I took some pictures and after a few hours we made a fire and roasted sausage over a fire. I packed that night and looked forward to leaving in the morning.
Day 16 – August 25
Around 7 am I hopped in a shuttle van and was off to the Managua airport. I ended up waiting a very long time because they had two people working the check in counter. That flight went fine. I was excited when they said we were going to land twenty minutes early, but forty minutes before landing they said we would arrive 10 minutes later. Now, you may be thinking, what is the big deal? Ten minutes isn’t much, but when you have an hour layover in Houston, ten minutes is very important. When my plane touched down I had 50 minutes until my flight left. I was near the front of the plane so I booked it off the plane and went to the shortest customs line. Little did I know, I had also jumped into the slowest customs line. Each line was letting 2-3 people go in the time it took for one person to leave my line. It also appeared there was a teenager without a passport, so they had to call somebody in to deal with him, which just slowed down the process. I reached the customs officer, who ended up asking me quadruple the number of questions I am normally asked. From the time I left customs I had 30 minutes until my flight left. It had already been boarding for fifteen minutes. I went and frantically started to search where I could find my bag. I grabbed it, power walked to the next line in customs and again I picked the slowest line. I made it through there, dropped my bag onto the belt to be loaded onto the plane, walked in a panic to security. I took off my belt, my shoes, kept checking my watch and put my bag on the belt. The TSA officer yelled, “Bag check!”. I thought, wait, why? Then I told him in a rush, “My water. Can you just take it out and throw it away?” He was very understanding, asked where I was coming from and said Nicaragua and I had a connection. He said, “Okay, you’re all set.” I grabbed my bag and sprinted through the airport I was weaving in and out of people since my flight left in 10 minutes. I finally reached my gate, sweating and out of breath. They said, “Are you on this flight?” I replied, “Yes, I just got here.” They took my ticket, issued me a new seat because my seat had already been given up to somebody on stand-by and they were just about to give away my seat. The agent at the gate had to tell another agent to stop calling people’s names because Mr. Appel was on this flight. Three minutes after I had sat down, the gates closed. It felt as if I was in one of those movies running through airports trying to stop the girl, but there was no girl.
It was bittersweet to come home, but I have come to realize many of our necessities are actually not necessities, but very big luxuries. Next time you take a warm shower, know that there are many people who will never experience that sensation. Next time you think a dollar is merely a dollar, think about how much a dollar means in another country. We are very fortunate to have what we have and too often we lose sight of that.