As I sit here in Milwaukee, drinking Mate, and reading other blogs of volunteers and travelers in Nicaragua, a thousand thoughts are racing through my. It's impossible not to think about how different life will be once down there. To compare and contrast life in these two vastly different countries is something that I can only hope to scratch the surface of. Going from modern country life, to modern city life, to living out of a tent in small withdrawn finca will be quite a shock to my perceptions. I have known others who have done it (for three years!) and that is what gives me hope for myself.
The little that I know of Nicaragua from the books and blogs that I have read is this:
It is a country, like many other Latin American countries, that has experienced it's fair share of war and corruption, poverty, tragedy, and hardship. But these are only what you first hear about when you skim over the headlines. If you dig a little deeper you quickly find out that the people are what make the travel worth while. Even in the face of all that's working against them, they give what they can and more. That's what I'm hoping to find out and to give what I can back. Sure there is the second largest rainforest, the historic city of Granada, and some delicious food, but the kindness and genuineness of the people are what draw me.
I don't have many reasons why I chose to travel to Nicaragua over any other country in particular. I was planning on New Zealand for it's ease to travel and it's farming and permaculture opportunities (not to mention the landscape), but as I was getting set to go, two friends quickly changed my mind. Sandra and Jean-Pierre are a couple that I met in Mexico that were looking for land and they were eventually led to Nicaragua. In an email with them, they mentioned briefly that they were close to buying land and if I changed my mind I could come and help them start up their permaculturally designed home. It was not a hard choice to change my travel plans since I would be helping my friends and would not have to search hard for meaningful volunteer work. It also presented a great opportunity to learn the principles of permaculture first hand and to live in a culture that I am naturally drawn to. So for the first month of the trip I will be at Project Bona Fide and for the seven thereafter I will be with Sandra and Jean-Pierre.
Project Bona Fide is what I have to write about last. Project Bona Fide is a project that I was lucky enough to come across while searching for agricultural projects in Nicaragua. I had a month before I was to help my friends and I wanted to put it to good use and start volunteering right away. Their main project is located on Isla de Ometepe on lake Nicaragua (The 17th largest freshwater lake in the world). Originally inhabited by the Nahua tribe from Mexico, then colonized by the Spanish, it has long since changed and is now being slowly developed for ecotourism. The island is roughly 15 miles long and yet hosts two active volcanoes. Project BF is a project with agricultural permaculture at it's base and uses that to work with the local community. I will refrain from writing more about them for fear of writing untruths, but their website is www.projectbonafide.com and they have an excellent blog.
So I have one week left in the states to prepare myself. Next week I will be in Eau Claire with my mom and that side of the family for thanksgiving and then my flight leaves Saturday the 28th. Ready or not!
If your interested in the Nicaragua of now I definitely recommend any of the Peace Corp Volunteer blogs that are out there (http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/?showcountryinfo,nu). Wikipedia has a good overview of the countries history and it's present struggles. The last recommendation I have is the non-fiction account of Salman Rushdie's travels in Nicaragua. The book is called The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey. It's a very insightful journalistic account of the history, poetry, culture, and public figures of the country.
Thanks for reading and inspiring me to write. Blogs are normally not my forte but this will indeed make sharing my experience much easier. I will not have to think about writing back to 80 people and then probably procrastinating and writing to no one. I know myself too well and I know that I wait too long to contact friends and family. Though, I do like email or letters and I plan to use both. Email me at llee9016@charter.net and if I ever have an address, I will surely post it.
Saludos!
