Sharing is Caring

“ If you don’t know how to share with others, you’re not truly a human being.”

Of course, I’m quoting the wise words of Gerardo from dinner on Friday night. We had been talking about a woman in my conversation class who said that one of her favorite activities is to share things with others. (In particular, as a teacher, sharing knowledge with children.) Before I came to Nicaragua the concept of sharing was not something foreign to me, but I don’t believe I had ever thought about the act of sharing as something essential to my life. However, it has become quite clear to me that sharing plays a major role in my life every day. Whether it comes down to the sharing of skills, food, clothing, houses, stories – here in Nicaragua most everyone seems to understand and embrace the concept of sharing with gusto. Even the children here enjoy sharing much more than I ever did as a kid- I’m constantly receiving pieces of cookies and candies, drawings, and hugs. I’ve come to realize that in most circumstances sharing is much more than just giving physical objects. Sharing is a way to express to others what you care about and what you love. When you share a piece of a cookie (granted in some circumstances you might be full and not want food but that’s not the point here) you are showing a person you care for them. Similarly, when you share a personal story with someone it is a means to show someone what you care about.

That sharing of personal stories, ladies and gentlemen, is what has been my focus for the past week and a half. A project thats initial goal was to be a documentary about the CCBN has turned into a Personal Narrative and Public Speaking workshop because of needs that were presented to me by different faculty in the Center. The workshops are built upon what I learned in my 202: Community Organizing class. (Chiefly, the teachings of Marshall Ganz). Here is a portion of the executive summary that I turned in for the project proposal so you can have a better idea of what the workshops are about:

Objective

To utilize the power of personal narratives of youth who participate in programs at the CCBN as a means of fundraising and personally empowering individuals through a strengthening in self-knowledge and identity. Storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool for connecting human beings and inspiring them to action. Whether that action be communicating the purpose and activities of the center to the rest of the world or building community in an expression of shared identity and values.

“We have the opportunity to share our personal narrative: This is what I’m doing. This is who I am. This is why I’m important. This is what I care about.” - Edward Norton

Goals
• To empower youth of the community and strengthen their sense of identity.
• To have youth of the community realize the role of the CCBN in their lives and value its importance.
• To strengthen the storytelling abilities of the youth and teach them how to properly articulate their story as a means of motivating and inspiring others.
• To make the reality of the center tangible to donors and other involved outside of the physical presence of the community.

Solution
• To hold weekly 2 hour training sessions with members of the mural tour team and scholarship students for the next 4 weeks to strengthen their public speaking and self presentation abilities

Necessary Resources
• Time, energy, and commitment of scholarship students and mural tour guides.

Last Sunday was the first session, and to my knowledge it ran very well. At first, the scholarship students were a little frustrated with the idea of 2 hour training sessions every Sunday, but once we started doing dinamicas (icebreakers) and I gave my presentation about personal narratives they seemed to be more open to the ideas of the project. Honestly, the session was a little nerve wracking for me because of my Spanish ability, but I made it through all right with the help of Amanda and Rigo. I am also still utilizing PC’s flipcam and taking videos of the scholarship students during different activities so they can see their progression from the first session to the last session. I’m really excited!
My days in the Center now basically consist of making lesson plans for my conversation classes, the sessions, working on a Google Earth mapping project for the Center, and meeting with 4 different students for one-on-one conversation classes. On Wednesdays I get to go with Gerardo to work on the mural on the Clinic in Nueva Vida- it’s almost finished! Also, this Friday I’m holding another Knots for Nicaragua class in the library with kids. Yes, I’ve been quite busy but I’ve loved every minute of it! I just continue to thank God for this opportunity all the blessings that He’s given me (shared with me haha). I can’t believe I only have a little over 2 weeks left here!
Lots of Love,
Hollis

¡ "Ríos de Vida" !

Sharon and Ariel Working Hard

Vivir o Sobrevivir

7/9/10
In lieu of taking a trip with Amanda to Matagalpa for a few days I decided it was more important to bond with my new family. So, this morning I woke up earlier than usual to go with Gerardo to Nueva Vida. After taking the 113 bus for 45 minutes we finally arrived and unfortunately the poverty was great and near the worse I’ve seen. However, I feel as if I was desensitized by seeing La Chureca because the level of poverty was no longer startling. Walking up to the clinic created by the Bucknell students there was a vastly different atmosphere simply because of the brightly painted walls. We left a world full of sadness to see a glimmer of color and a glimmer of hope. The clinic is nearly free (30 cordobas so roughly $1.50 per visit) and has transformed the community of Nueva Vida. Gerardo spends almost every day at the clinic painting a mural from 9-4, and allows any child who want to participate to do so. Today I got to be his assistant, and I was pleasantly surprised by my level of painting ability. The mural depicts different nature scenes of Nicaragua as well as the daily life of Nicaraguans. I have to say one of the most powerful things that happened to me today was when Gerardo left me alone for a few minutes, and I was approached by the janitress of the clinic, Petronila Gonzales. We got to exchanging life stories (because that is simply what is done in Nicaragua- or I just over share everything) and she told me many unsettling things. For instance, Petronila told me of her 14 year-old son’s intelligence and how he excels in school, but how his gifts are going to waste because he should be studying at a level that is more difficult for him and his school does not offer English classes. To truly improve your life in Nicaragua knowing English is a must, and Petronila does not have the money to afford English tutoring and there is no organization in her part of Ciudad Sandino that offers any type of English programs. She told me, “How could I have the money? When I must use the $100 I make a month to provide water, food, and electricity for my 7 children and 4 grandchildren [one of whom is very sick].” It was in that moment that I realized the majority of people in Nicaragua, not simply those who are selling things in the street, are not working to live but simply working to survive. Petronila repeated her name and her position at the clinic several times, and I was felt as if she wanted some sort of monetary compensation or for me to look her up when I got back to the US. It’s so frustrating for me to not know how to properly deal with situations like this. If I could give her son English classes I would, but I’m only here for another month and I’m already quite booked at the Center. I also didn’t know if I should give her the 10 cords I had on me, but then I realized Gerardo and I needed to get home somehow. I probably won’t ever know how to act properly in these situations, but I told Petronila it was wonderful to meet her and I would be sure to pray for her and her family.

A Combination of Art and Service Changing People

7/8/10
5:16 PM
This morning, Gerardo and I discussed art in front of the gorgeous painting he's been working on for the past few days. He has a few art books that we used to talk about different painters, and he told me that one of his favorite artists is Degas because of the movement he creates with the dancers. It was wonderful. Shortly after our discussion, my Conversational Spanish class came through for me, because I was able to give Gerardo a presentation about the Chicano muralist Judy Baca. I wanted to show him my presentation because I found many similarities between his works and her works, especially the clear emphasis on knowing your history and the where you come from in order to not lose your sense of identity.

Speaking, I followed my presentation showing my family another Conversational Spanish creation- Mi Vida - a 7 minute iMovie about my life. During this discussion about art and then viewing a synopsis of my life, I realized how much I’ve taken my family, especially my amazing my parents, for granted. My parents have sacrificed so much for me and my sisters and created so many opportunities for us that many children never get to have. Much of the art that I know is due to the trips to museums we used to take when I was younger. I owe them the world. So yes, thank you parents. :)

11:23 PM
Just hung out with the family for a few hours. I love being with people so full of laughter and love. Some great jokes about Milli Vanilli were exchanged. (Don’t ask.) However, my family is not only full of humorous people they also have a deep understanding of what is necessary for community development. They shared a video with me from Bucknell University about their Brigade program, which is apparently a service trip to Nicaragua during winter and summer break. It’s a lot more than just a trip though, the students and professors are building a relationship with the Ciudad Sandino community. I’d really like to study this more and look into something similar for PC. Gerardo said that these projects, like the mural project, change people. Both foreigners and community members alike. Children who would never be seen performing any “acts of service” or “work” for the community are learning about what community truly means and what it means to be an active part of the community. As Gerardo said, “Service changes people.”

And wow, I happened to just find these 2 quotes in my notebook from the Fall Pastoral Council training and I think they are very appropriate for my current situation:
“I hope to have the opportunity to touch the lives of others, and really work to be a true disciple of Christ.”
“Service helps me to deepen my faith, as it often challenges me to stretch my boundaries and think about life in new ways.”

Self Expression

7/6/10
My being here is so much bigger than myself. I keep thinking all about me- my discomforts, my problems, my homesickness etc. However, tonight, I was reminded that I am here for a reason and this experience is far more than a test to see how I can handle myself in a foreign country. I had the pleasure- and by pleasure I mean I was blessedly allowed- to attend a presentation of the artistic works of my new host father Gerardo at Jubilee House in Ciudad Sandino for a group visiting from Bucknell University. (Just a quick sidenote: I moved out of Doña Rita’s house on Sunday after much discussion with Amanda about having a different Nicaraguan cultural experience than the one occurring in Doña Rita’s more than comfortable house.) Gerardo is the painting instructor at the Center and he has been painting there since he was a young boy. He felt a personal, human connection with the murals he was taught to paint during his childhood and his experiences inspired within him a passion for art. His mural skills remind me of Diego Rivera and his separate paintings are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen (and that was from a projector so I can’t imagine how amazing they are in real life). His style is best described as a modern Picasso. I mean, that’s the closest comparison I can make to another artist because when it comes to it his style is simply Gerardo Arias. The vibrant colors, energy, movement, and emotion expressed in his paintings and his level of technical skill are truly breathtaking. I’m not an art critic, but I know enough about art to know when it’s good and when I like it and when a person like Gerardo is creating something extraordinary. However, it is not only is his art that is extraordinary. In my opinion, what is more extraordinary is the greater story behind his art about his life and his connection to Batahola. Gerardo is a great testament to the importance of the CCBN for honing talent within the community. During his presentation I was blown away by both Gerardo and by his art. He said he feels that life is just a passing moment and all of his gifts and talents don’t really belong to him because they were given to him from other human beings through the blessings of God. Therefore, he believes it is his duty to pass on his gifts to others. That is why he works on so many mural projects with youth, like the project at the clinic in Nueva Vida (a poverty stricken community on the outskirts of Managua in Ciudad Sandino that consists of refugees from Hurricane Mitch in 1998), and why he works as the Painting Instructor in the Center. Gerardo wants all children to have the same opportunities that were given to him and for them to have a passion for art ignited in their hearts. Incredible.

In addition, his presentation focused on the importance of murals and their role in the self expression of artists. In particular, the expression of political feelings towards the government. Unfortunately, these feelings are being repressed and most of the murals that were shown in Gerardo’s presentation no longer exist because they were destroyed by the government. (I learned that former President Alemán even tried to destroy the beautiful murals in the CCBN.) Now, I realize with greater clarity the importance of murals for storytelling and documentation purposes. Man has been painting as a means of documentation and expression since the time of the caveman and cave paintings. Murals should be allowed to be painted everywhere! Now, I must do my part to make sure that the murals that still exist in Batahola are preserved and protected. Since I learned a lot about the importance of storytelling the past semester in PSP 202 (through Marshall Ganz and others), I’ve been asked to initiate a storytelling project. Part of my storytelling project is supposed to be training the mural tour team and some other youth at the CCBN about how to make tangible connections between their stories, the murals, the Batahola community, and Nicaragua as a whole. However, (and I may be biased now) I believe that one of the strongest stories at the center is Gerardo’s. He grew up during the revolution and his family was very poor. His mother sold cooked beans in the streets, and he used the charcoal left over from her fires in the morning to draw all over the walls in his house. So far, that’s all I really know about Gerardo’s childhood (not much I’m aware) but I am excited to learn more.

I think that moving from Doña Rita’s family to the wonderful family of Gerardo, Maria Eugenia, and their 13-year-old daughter Sara, though it was difficult, was one of the best things that could have happened during my time here. I truly feel at home and like I am a part of this family. We eat all of our meals together and they are constantly asking questions about my life. Maria Eugenia even gave me a lesson on how to wash my clothes by hand today because I no longer have a washing machine. Their house may be modest but their hearts are big. I’ve also never met a family who is so talented with handicrafts. Maria Eugenia makes beautiful jewelry, Sara embroiders many different things, Gerardo has his painting, and with my friendship bracelets I fit right in. This next month is going to be a good one I can feel it.

Right to Healthcare

Well, this was sure to happen sooner or later. Yes- I spent Wednesday night (6/29) in the hospital with a stomach virus and extreme dehydration. Unfortunately, the onset of my symptoms began in the afternoon during the first Knots for Nicaragua class with children in the library. However, instead of my illness being a completely horrible and debilitating experience it really showed me how great a support system I have here in Batahola. Amanda and Greta were incredible and were constantly by my side. (Amanda even stayed the night in the hospital- she slept on the floor in the hallway!) Juan and Mariluz, a couple I barely know, took me to the hospital and continued to check on how I was doing. Doña Rita and my Nicaraguan family nursed me back to health after I was back home. The Administrative team from the Center sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and I received an overwhelming amount of well wishes from my students and friends I have at the center. So even though my family is not here with me, though I miss them more every day, I felt more than taken care of.

Even though I was still recuperating, I managed to make it to the first ever Cierre Cultural yesterday, a celebration of 27 years of the CCBN and its mission to promote human rights, dignity, and equality to transform society into the Kingdom of God through a showcase of all of the amazing talent the Center has produced from its classes over the last semester. In my opinion, the Cierre was the best way for me to comprehensively experience all of the diverse offerings of the CCBN in my short time here. There were handicrafts, photography exhibits, paintings, beautiful folkloric dances, Latin rhythms, musical acts, singing, and theatre. The pride of each person who took part in the event was evident through the smiles stretched across every face; a pride equally reflected in the faces of the audience full of families and friends of the performers. I have to say the most striking performance for me was a skit by the children’s theatre group entitled “¿Quiénes somos? ¿Dónde estamos?” (Who are we? Where are we?) The children portrayed the hard life of children in the streets, selling whatever they can to get by and sniffing glue to make their hunger pains go away. The topic may seem extremely adult for a child to perform on stage, however here in Nicaragua it simply is the reality. The skit ended with a child carrying a large black trash bag out onto the stage and passing balloons out to the 15 other children who formed a line at the front of the stage. Each child then said a different human right that they were entitled to and popped their balloon- it was extremely powerful and reminded me of story hour last week. The fact that these children can recognize the rights they hold and the human rights to which all should be entitled is really something incredible to witness. And on this July 4th, even though there will be no fireworks here in Managua, I again find myself thankful for the rights and freedoms that I’ve been granted by being a citizen of the United States.

Next week the center is on vacation and I’m not quite sure what I have in store for me; possibly a trip to Matagalpa with Amanda to visit her friend Sara who is doing a project about water use and conservation in Nicaragua. Trip or no trip, I have a lot of project planning underway and a lot of water drinking to do. My experience in the hospital- Salud Integral, a very nice private hospital that was very similar to hospitals in the US- has also made me curious about the conditions of Nicaraguan public hospitals and the average's Nicaraguan's ability to receive good health care. We'll see if that leads anywhere...

Lots of love,
Hollis