Fiestas Patronales

It is a shame that we don’t share this tradition in the United States, but each town in Nicaragua has a patron saint and therefore a birthday. It just so happens that my town’s fiestas were this October 9th. It is principally a religious holiday, but like anything it turns into an excuse for merchants to come to town, dance parties, and drinking. Well the main event was the confirmation and baptizing of hundreds of people in San Dionisio and the outer communities. I got to be the honorary photographer and here are a few pictures of the family. It was so nice to seem them all dressed up and it is amazing to see how much I really do value them as my family. I would do anything for them and they embraced me as one of the family for the parties and confirmations of my host sister (Lindys) and cousin (Joel).

It was a beautiful day for the fiestas, there was not a cloud in the sky and it looked like we were going to luck out. The day kicked off with an event called Palo Lucio, which means that they stick a 10m pole in the ground and lube it up with oil, fat, and any type of grease they can get their hands on. The goal of the game is to get to the top of the pole and it is a riot to see guys trying their hardest only to slip back down the pole. The other big event was chancho encebolado which again is a pig that has had all it’s hair cut off and is bathed in oil and grease. This led to some drama because after one of the kids finally caught the pig there were arguments that it was unfair because there was less grease and then someone stole the pig. It was a big deal and the police had to get involved. Remember, I am in an agricultural society, pigs are a prized posession here and the winner gets to keep the pig to raise and then eat.

Fiestas in Nicaragua are not just a one day thing. The party continued on for two nights. The first day was the religious event of confirming the kids, but the next night was the dance party at the town hall. I invited several of my Peace Corps friends and we were quite the spectacle. Of course it is a big deal if we grace the party with our presence and even more so if we are seen dancing with the locals. I was shocked how much we were talked about the following day around town. It was funny for a lot of my friends because rumors spread of the professor dancing with certain people and how I dance funny. I didn´t mind, it was a great night and I made the most of it. It was an added plus that Jamie and Karen came early and I got to cook for them.

I Don´t Mean to Brag

OK, maybe a I do… what are you going to do about it? I hit the infamous half way mark in my Peace Corps service. It has been a rollercoaster since September, I was depressed and felt like I was doing nothing, I was ready to get out of Nicaragua, and I even felt optimistic about my final year. What I have heard from RPCVs is that the second year always flies by and I was hoping that it would be true. Yes, I was naïve, but I figured that as soon as I passed September time would hit some type of warp drive and before I knew it I would again be back in the States. I guess it is like anything and time only seems faster in retrospect, there is no fast forward button and I am still in this for the long haul. Yet, my attitude about things are changing. I have also heard from RPCVs that the second half of your service is when you finally getting things done. I guess some people would say when you start building your legacy. Ha, anyways, I have reached that point and this weekend I was able to proudly look back and see I have made a difference in my town.
Case and point: my youth soccer league. It started with me working with 15 kids and we would go down to the soccer field everyday and just kick a ball around. I had my ups and downs with counterparts and I was ready to throw in the towel. Slowly we began traveling to other towns and even got a few teams to come and visit San Dionisio. Well right before my trip to the States we took it a step further and turned my one team into a league. Rumors had spread around town that the gringo might actually know what he is doing and more kids started asking to join my team. I teamed up with another NGO in town and now I am the proud coordinator of 10 teams. I was nervous that it would be more work than joy, but did last week prove me wrong. We are just about to finish the first round of games and that means eliminations. I got to the field expecting to find it deserted on Saturday, but both teams were already there warming up. For those of you that have stuck with me and have been reading my blog, punctuality is not a strength of Nicaraguans and they are proud to admit it. Well I had 40 kids in the field waiting for me and the referee (a local teenager) was getting together the necessary paperwork. I was impressed all of this with no adult in sight and purely maintained by the kids. This is what I was supposed to accomplish, it was sustainable, the kids took ownership of it, and they were enthusiastic. Maybe it was my good mood, but I swear that they were the best games of soccer I have ever seen played. You would have sworn they were professionals except that they were smaller and not as strong. My team finally seemed to be taking my advice to heart; they were passing back to the defense, trying different angles of attack, and using the clock to their advantage. All in all we played 3 games on Saturday and had about 200 kids in the field. The most interesting part of the league is that we are attracting younger and younger kids. There are kids always waiting on the sidelines eager to play or form their own team the following year. I knew that this was a good thing for the community when I was sitting on the sideline and all of a sudden there was a penalty kick in the game. The stands emptied and you saw kids traversing the field on bikes and foot to get a better view of the action. I have never seen so many happy little kids.
The games continued on Sunday. The adult league was out traveling and that meant we could end our first round of games a week early. My team was struggling throughout the league, we had only won one of our 4 games and were in last place. This weekend for us was do or die and I am proud to say they came clawing back. We won the first game definitively 4-0 and on Sunday it was a nail biter 1-0. I was so proud of them that I bought them all frescos after both games. It would have been impossible to dampen any of their moods. I guess this is my gift for being a Peace Corps volunteer. In the end it wasn’t me who was congratulated for the soccer league, but it was seen as a work of the kids and the town. Yes, I did a lot to get it started and I would like to take the credit, but the point is that the community took ownership of it. I have directly touched the lives of 200 kids and indirectly of many more.
After a year of my service I can proudly look back and admire what I have done. I worked in 4 rural primary schools in 6 classrooms. I have directly taught over 240 students and made appearances in another 3 classes. I worked at the local high school teaching English for another 300 students and have a youth environmental brigade in town teaching the importance of garbage removal and reforestation. It isn’t about the numbers, but rather the point that one person can have a profound impact on a community. The best recognition of my work is that I can walk around any part of San Dionisio not because I am the gringo, but because I have either worked with them or someone in their family and I feel appreciated. I am eager for my final year in San Dionisio and hope to do so much more for my new home.

Just a quick rundown of upcoming projects:

- I created a Facebook link, but I am trying to create a reference library in the central school. I am working with International Book Club and need to raise $200 to receive a 35lb package of books.

- I am planning a college fair for the end of the school year. I have been contacting national universities to come and give presentations at the high school about the importance of a professional career. I also hope them to dispel many of the rumors regarding the application process and talk about the accessibility of scholarships.

- Youth Baseball League with my friend in Muy Muy. We were fortunate enough to get a donation from the US Embassy and SoCom for $3,000 worth of baseball equipment and enough to form 2 teams in each town.

- HIV/AIDS workshops with the health center in town.

- Pen Pals with local schools and hopefully schools in the States.

- I am always open to new ideas…