More gravy please.

I am sitting in my room, the fan pointed directly at my face in order to both feel the breeze and distract the mosquitoes, taking this opportunity to gather some thoughts and express them both to myself and to all of you. PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH AS THERE ARE SOME BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS MIXED IN TOWARDS THE END.

Thanksgiving is in two days! This will unfortunately be the second Thanksgiving in a row that I have been abroad and not with family (L). Last year, if all you devoted blog readers recall, I was in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and I, Avi Richman, organized and cooked a Thanksgiving dinner feast for 28 people. Thinking back to last year, I never could have predicted that I would now be sitting in Granada, Nicaragua about to spend Thanksgiving in Managua. Of course, I would have hoped to spend the holiday with my family this year and then hit up the Black Friday shopping but as they say, the turkey eating must go on.

This year’s festivities will be held at the Deputy Chief of Mission’s (DCM) House in Managua. The DCM is the #2 in command of the embassy here and I happen to have met him at the Rosh Hashana meal so a group of PCVs, mostly my friends, will be going to his residence/compound for a stress-free, complete holiday meal. He has a pool and cable tv so honestly I am not sure what could be better. I also invite you all to check back during the weekend for an after-Thanksgiving post similar to last years (here is the link) that will include all of the many things for which I am thankful and appreciate.

Before heading to Managua on Thursday, I will be going to visit my family in Masatepe to stay tomorrow night. I am also super excited about that as I have not seen them in almost 3 months…wow time really does fly.

Oh and even though the fan is directly pointed toward me, Granada’s weather has taken a huge turn for the better….like you could not even believe. I believe the change took place last Monday at precisely 4pm when the wind came in off the lake and all of the sudden Granada became not so hot anymore. You may think that I am joking when I say precisely at 4pm but it is the honest truth….weather just changes like that here. Anyway, it still is hot during the day but it is not nearly as humid and in the evenings there is normally a brisk wind. It is actually really pleasant for me and as for the Nicas, they say it is too cold…..haha…oh tropical dwellers.

Now let’s move onto some other recent news and thoughts that have been swirling around in my head.

Making friends is really hard here. I do also remember it being hard in Washington DC but here it is 50 times as hard. I have to deal with foremost the language barrier but also I have been trying to navigate how friendships/relationships even work here. Do you invite someone over for coffee? Do you meet in the park to chat? I just don’t know yet. Also where do I even meet these friends? And do these friends even exist?

There definitely is not the same 23-28 year old crowd of past college, professional types who meet for happy hour after work. Most 24 year olds are already married with two kids here. Of the ones that are not married with kids, there are many guys that are alcoholics or womanizers. Then there are those that work or study in Managua and only come back to Granada to eat dinner and sleep. Suffice to say it has been difficult for me but I really have been trying and am happy to report some successes.

This past weekend I went out Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night with new Nicaraguans. Friday I was invited to go a “party” by a guy who I met through my American friends who just left for the US. We went to someone’s house and the party ended up being a rehearsal for some traditional folk dancing that would take place in Masaya on Sunday. Thankfully, the invitees were not asked to participate and we were just able to watch the various pairs go about their business dancing to the marimba. It was very cool and very cultural.

Then Saturday I was on my bed, in my pjs, ready to read and go to sleep when I got a phone call from an old friend, Rebecca, who I met during my first week in Granada. She now works in Managua but was in Granada for the weekend and wanted me to come out. I was REALLY tired and not in the mood but I was finally able to convince myself to just do it. After all, I need to make friends and I am not doing Peace Corps to sit in my room and read books. It’s all about relationship building baby! So I went out, got to see a really random street party taking place and ended up meeting two new Nicaraguans that were with Rebecca. A 21 year old guy and a 23 year old girl. Both live in Granada and both are BIG time talkers which I really like.

Then Sunday I hung out with one of the girls I met on Saturday night and we chatted in the park and then went on this train that rides around town on the weekends. This chica literally knows everyone in Granada and always seems to be what we would call in the US, a student leader. She is probably involved in Student Government and all that jazz. Anyway she is really cool and hopefully a friendship will blossom.

Basically I give myself a ten for making friends over the weekend and if I can actually become friends with one of the people then that would just be well…swell.

Basketball League. I think I mentioned before that I am playing in a basketball league. Well this past weekend my team had two games and I got thrown out of the second one….the first time ever in my life that I have been thrown out and it happened in Nicaragua. And I have probably played, coached, and reffed in well over 1000 games. So why did I get thrown out? Well just so it is a little more understandable…first I fouled out. Also I fouled out just a few minutes after I was really getting into a good rhythm and had just scored 8 points in a row….this was the first time I had actually done anything well offensively on this team. So as you can imagine I was not happy.

I think I have what I will define as comparable to the Black man’s syndrome in the US who think that every misfortune to him is because of discrimination. That’s how I feel a lot of the time here, slighted because I am a foreigner, lets call it the Gringo Perceived Discrimination, or GPS. I have fouled out 3 of the past 4 games and at least 2 of the 5 fouls from every game have been complete bullshit….calls where I honestly did not even touch the person. So I really feel that because I am a foreigner I am getting singled out. Maybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t.

After I fouled out, I just let the refs have it from the bench, screaming and cursing up a lot BUT all in English. Haha…no one can understand me….haha…the Gringo has an advantage over you. I can smack talk and you just don’t know what I am saying. But after enough times of saying F#%$, I think they caught on and finally gave me a technical foul. Yet the technical foul came a good 15 seconds after I was completely calm and sitting silently on the bench. Of course, I yelled (this time in Spanish) that I had been sitting on the bench quietly doing absolutely nothing and now you call a technical. This is bullshit. Esto es mierda. And then I officially got thrown out and had to leave the court. BUT it’s an outdoor court so I just went far enough away and continued to watch the game. We were far enough ahead and better than the other team so I knew the techs wouldn’t matter but I still apologized to the team after the game. Hopefully I at least earned the respect of the referees and my team. That’s all I ever wanted in the first place….

Kids. I need to do something that involves kids. A group of my students came to hang out with at the house the other day and it was really fun just chatting with them, getting to know them better, etc. They invited me to a little despedida party they are having to celebrate the end of the school year but as it is on Saturday afternoon I may still be out of town.

Blog Writing. I was selected to write for the www.peacecorps.gov website under the Volunteer Blog section so yeah I gotta brush the shoulders off (for all you old people out there….that means that I am congratulating myself). They are working out the final kinks for the site but you should see me there soon and you can say you know me. More updates on this once I know more.

Family Visit. 33 days and counting. You have no idea how excited I am for their visit. It is going to be awesome!

News flash. Jaguars suck! Who would have ever imagined that our season would be over by week ten? No one is the answer. At least I wont be missing a playoff game.

News flash. Gators are good. Two more to go, baby. And I will use this public forum, to officially announce that IF the Gators make it to the national championship, I, Avi Mordechai Richman, will be there, in Gator apparel, watching the game, on US soil. I just have to go if we make it. And I am not even close to ready to go back to US but it’s just Miami so I can just speak Spanish the whole time and ignore all of the white people.

News flash. Nicaraguan elections are “over”. They did an official recount and the Sandinistas won a vast majority of the mayoral offices including Managua. Now the opposition party, the Liberales, are beginning a campaign to annul the election results and have a new election in January. There has been scattered violence and protests throughout the past week but all is calm now….at least for a while. We will wait and see what happens.

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND PLEASE ACTUALLY GIVE THANKS FOR ALL OF THE WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITIES AND ADVANTAGES THAT YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED IN YOUR LIFE!

Goodbye Joey :(

This post was written last Tuesday, November 18 and I thought it was going to be published in the Mandarin Sun and thus didnt post it…..but it wasnt published and so I will post it here.

I have just spent the last 15 minutes crying in the bathroom, marking the first time that I have cried in Nicaragua and probably the first time since my ex-girlfriend and I ended things about two years ago. I feel as if I was just stabbed in the heart and then the perpetrator twisted the knife a few times for good measure. Joey, one of my best friends in Peace Corps Nicaragua who has been on medical leave in Washington DC for the past two weeks, has just informed me that he is being medical separated from Peace Corps for a period of at least three months and it is 99 percent likely that he will not be allowed back to Nicaragua. For the first time in Nicaragua, I feel truly alone.

Since the first days of training it was clear that Owen, Joey, and I would be best friends. You know when people just click; well we did. There were supposed to be two more years of amazing times together in Nicaragua with the three of us and in a flash everything has now changed. What was supposed to be, will not be anymore.

Being a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) is a very challenging job. You may have the image of a guy or girl in dreads and hippy clothes lying on a hammock hours at a time reading all the greatest novels, and to be honest, that image may be correct in some cases. But in most cases, we work hard, put in long hours, are always on call (sort of like a doctor), and ALWAYS have to be on good behavior in the community. It has been said that it is like living in a fish bowl for two years. Additionally, we must make time to stay healthy, do laundry by hand (my least favorite chore), clean the dusty house, prepare meals in creative ways (because eating out is too expensive or not an option), try to make friends, learn about a new community and culture, AND do it all in a different language. It is especially difficult to make local friends and establish a solid support system even for a very sociable person like me. It can be overwhelming at times, especially when you are upset, like right now.

You know how you can be having a rough time at work or with life but there are still people you can always count on to bring you back up. Well for us PCVs, almost all of those people are thousands of miles away and so we are left to rely on fellow PCVs. We become more than just colleagues and friends in a very short period of time due to the intensity of the experience. We become part of a tight-knit community sharing similar experiences, frustrations, and excitement in a completely foreign environment. Without this community, I would just be one guy doing his best to help out but with this community, real changes are being made as thousands of students are being taught new skills, tens of thousands of relationships formed, and lives changed in Nicaragua and around the world. And a great part of this life are the fun times spent with other PCVs every so often to share experiences, laugh, speak in English, and just forget about any frustrations. This obviously will still happen but it will no longer be the same. .

Peace Corps service presents many challenges and losing a best friend is just another unexpected one I get to add to the list. This job never was supposed to be easy. And for me, it is all these challenges that make being a PCV the best job. I am forced to constantly learn, adapt, and even change my opinions. Even in the most trying times, I am still thrilled and honored to be doing this job and would not change it for anything else….well unless the NBA calls looking for an undersized, not so fast guard.

UPDATE: Joey did officially get medically separated and is now back home in Ft. Lauderdale, FL to spend Thanksgiving before going up to Seattle to begin working at a ski resort (where he worked last year). He is doing just fine but it obviously is amazing when someone’s life changes trajectory so quickly. Nicaragua to ski resort in no time flat. And he is planning on applying for reinstatement to Peace Corps asap and he told me that he WILL try to come back to Nicaragua but if not, the he WILL definitely join Peace Corps somewhere else.

As for me, I have stopped crying but it still really sucks to think about the fact that he isnt here anymore. It still really really sucks! I am in charge of going to San Ramon (Joey’s site) to collect all his personal belongings so that Peace Corps can ship them to the US. This will probably happen within the next two weeks. I am also now on a mission to make more friends, good friends, and went out Fri-Sun night in Granada with different Nicaraguan peeps so it’s a good start. I will post another update before Turkey Day!

Sardipulg, Pinmani, Coctel Party, Oh My

Firstly, I would like to apologize for the terrible entry title. It just isn’t that funny.

Now, I would like to begin what will be a HUGE update of the many things that have been going on here during the last two weeks. I have stayed busy, I keep on learning, life continues to be interesting, and a bit of frustration has made its way into my system.

LEC NATIONAL COMPETITION

Let’s start with the most recent events and then I will make my way backwards, sideways, and upside down through the past weeks. This past Wednesday was the La Empresa Creativa (LEC) national competition. The student business competition took place in Managua at the Hotel Intercontinental (American chain). Ten student business groups came from all over the country, traveling long distances, some waking up as early as 3:00am, in order to be part of the event. And all the students had to pay their own way to the competition….lunch was on Peace Corps. Among other important guests were the United States ambassador to Nicaragua, the Peace Corps director, other important people from Nicaragua’s business community, and yours truly. For many of the participating students, it would not only be their first time in a five-star hotel, but also their very first trip to Managua. The stage was set for a very professional, unique, pretty awesome day.

The schedule of the competition was as follows: first was an exposition where the students had the opportunity to sell their products to anyone in attendance; next came the formal presentations of their businesses; then lunch; then the announcement of the winners.

The two winning groups from the Granada regional competition were among the ten total groups. They were Piñmani (from Ticuantepe) and Sardipulg (from Granada). Piñmani’s students created a marmalade/dessert that combines pineapple, peanuts, and other various spices. I tried it….I think it is yummy. Sardipulg was founded by seven students from my rural school, Berta Pacheco, and their product is an anti-flea dog shampoo which boasts sardinillo, a native plant to their community, as its principal ingredient. Sardipulg won first place while Pinmani took second at the Granada regional competition and thus were representating us at national. Did I even write an entry on the regional competition that I spent many painstaking days planning? If not, then just know that it went really well but I was surprised by the judges’ choices.

The exposition and presentation period went very well and I thought that my group, Sardipulg, had a good chance at winning best presentation mainly because one of the kids in the groups is just an amazing presenter and everyone loves him. But I didn’t think that their chances were very high of placing in the top three as their business plan leaves a lot to be desired. Then came lunch. Lunch was amazing…well at least for me and the rest of the North Americans. If you were to survey the Nicaraguan students, they would probably tell you otherwise. Remember that we were at the Hotel Intercontinental, an American chain, so the lunch was a bit luxurious and not that culturally sensitive. There were two forks, two knives, a spoon, three plates, a cup and saucer, and probably five or six napkins, etc, etc. The innocent looks on my students’ faces were priceless as they tried to decide what to do with all of the unnecessary luxury. I gave a quick table manners class about the napkin and which utensils to use first (even though that is not my strong suit) and then we proceeded to eat. Lunch included an all vegetable salad, side roll, rice, more cooked vegetables, and chicken and beef skewers. The students weren’t really sure what to do about the salad and vegetables….but fortunately they took care of the rice, meat, and bread. Honestly, when you are used to eating rice, beans, and bread for almost every meal of your entire life, variety can be a bit scary.

After lunch, we took a stroll around the hotel, checked out the pool, and made plans to visit the elevator after the announcements of the winners. Then we headed back to main ballroom for the announcements. I never really liked drumrolls, so I will just get right to it. Piñmani won overall first place and Sardipulg won overall second place! So the two winners from the Granada regional competition won the national competition as well. I will now toot my own horn….toot, toot. First place won 500 dollars and second place won 400 dollars! That is A LOT of money for these kids so the rule is that the groups must work with their respective Peace Corps Volunteer in order to use the money responsibly. Other groups won sums of 100-200 dollars and every student present got a new backpack with a bunch of school supplies. My students were very excited about the victory, the school’s director even more excited, but that was even the highlight of the day. That honor falls to the trip to the elevator. This was the first time that any of the seven of my students had ever been on an elevator in their entire lives. Take a second to imagine that…………….. We went up the elevator to the fifth floor of the hotel and then took in the views of Managua. I then asked a cleaning lady to let us into one of the rooms so the kids could look around. I wish you could have been there to see the kids. Words truly cannot describe how wide open their eyes were. It made my heart smile.

Finally, it was time to leave the hotel and head back to site, only I wasn’t allowed to do that immediately. Why? Because of this little thing called unfair elections in Nicaragua. Ever since the elections this past Sunday, there have been protests, senseless violence, and other disruptions due to what most believe were corrupt, unjust elections. So right outside the hotel, a bunch of “protesters” (they were really just dumbasses) began to throw rocks at each other, destroy cars, and loot the nearby mall. It was not complete chaos, but it was still enough of a problem to make us stay in the hotel for a little while longer. Eventually, we went out through the back way and I returned to Granada.

IN SERVICE TRAINING AND COCKTAIL PARTY

Two Fridays ago, my group, Small Business Development 47, had our first in-service training. We all came to Managua and spent the day catching up and re-focusing on the task at hand. In total, there were only 13 of us there and we started with 20. 5 people have already gone home permanently, 3 left, 1 got kicked out, 1 went home because of a family sickness, Joey, my good buddy, is Washington DC on medical leave, and Andrea is in Panama recovering from minor surgery. I will now use this space to boldly predict that by the end of my service, there will only be 12 persons left. That would be a 60 percent retention rate….not too strong in my opinion. Anyway, the day went well and it was good to see everyone in one place again. Then most of us headed over to the Holiday Inn Managua (another nice American hotel) where Peace Corps had paid for us to stay the night because my project was having our annual fundraiser there that same night. I went it to the hotel room and just laid down on the bed…it was so comfortable. Not to say that I have been roughing it in Granada but still I had not gotten a chance to be in an air conditioned, comfy room since Washington DC. I then took a long hot shower….my first one in 3 months. Yes, people, it has been over 3 months since I have felt hot water.

Around 7pm the cocktail party started and it was a blast. Most people from my group were there and we enjoyed each other’s company, shared some beverages, and laughed a lot. The new ambassador, Robert Callahan, came as well and he is a great guy. He hung out with us the whole night and bought us many, many drinks. Your US tax dollars at work. The night then got a little crazy and by the end of the night, I had stolen some muffins from the hotel and won 20 dollars at the casino attached to the hotel (I didn’t even start playing until 3:15am!). To top things off, the next morning we got free breakfast and I stayed down in the dining room for a good 2 hours eating everything in sight. Good times.

LA DESPEDIDA

The next night after the cocktail party madness, there was a despedida (farewell party) for my good friends from Granada, Patrick and Melissa. They came down here six months ago and have been doing volunteer work for an organization called Empowerment International on their own dime. They are amazing people and I am lucky to have met them. They actually just left Granada for good a few days ago and in another month or two, they will begin an 8 month trip around the world. How cool is that?!?! So we had their official despedida the Saturday night before at the house of a Danish friend of theirs. There was more beer and pizza then I knew what to do with. I also got to meet a lot of cool 20-30something Nicaraguans that I am going to try to make my friends in the future.

The day before Patrick and Melissa left they helped run a baseball clinic that included a visit from Dennis Martinez, the most famous Nicaraguan baseball player ever, AND Cal Ripken Jr. Check out the news article in the Washington Post about the visit. Just google Cal Ripken and Nicaragua.

BASQUETBOL

I have started playing basketball in yet another league with another new team. We are called Las Bestias and our record currently stands at 4-1. I haven’t been much of a help to the team as I am playing horribly but fortunately they are winning in spite of me. I have to admit that I am somewhat out of shape and am now a step slower than I used to be. Recognizing this, I have decided to actually start practicing basketball again and to get back into form. I definitely am a bit out of shape and think it is now time that I not only get back into shape, but get into the better shape than I have ever been. I heard my dad has been working out so I need to stay stronger and faster than my old man.

HALLOWEEN/MATAGALPA

This is going back a few weeks but it is definitely worth noting. I made my first real trip out of Granada and headed up north to the cool air of Matagalpa in order to celebrate Halloween with a bunch of other PCVs and also have a sweat-free weekend. I woke up at 4:30am in order to catch a 6:00am direct bus from Masaya and by 7:00am was already feeling a bit chilly riding in the bus. The ride up to the north was beautiful passing through green rolling hills, untouched land, and roadside towns. Arriving into Matagalpa, it was love at first sight. The city is so different from Granada and so beautiful. There are almost no tourists, there is more commercial activity, and lots of hills. And did I mention that you can actually walk around the city in jeans and a jacket without sweating profusely? Before the party, I hit up the many thrift stores that are on the main strip of the city and found a retro Florida Gator starter jacket that I just had to buy (cost of 3 dollars). Then because of the Gator jacket, a friend of mine suggested that I go to the party as a 1980s football fan, short jean shorts, high socks, belly short, etc. Great idea. And so I continued shopping and got a pair of jeans (that would be made into very short jean shorts) and some sweet orange and blue high socks (total cost=50 cents). I believe you will appreciate the costume (check the picture below). Party was awesome…I hit on a lot of girls and even in my short shorts (maybe because of them) I had some success. It felt great to be out of my site and not have to be on my best behavior all the time.

On Saturday, Owen, Joey, and I, along with one of Joey’s visiting friends, went to visit his site, San Ramon, which is 10 km outside of Matagalpa. His site could not be more different than mine. It is a tiny little town of a couple thousand people hidden in the mountains. His host family cooked us a big lunch, we walked around town a bit, climbed up to a mirador to see the city from above, and then headed back to Matagalpa so I could watch the Florida-Georgia game. What a game?!? Total domination. Sorry Bulldog fans, try again next year…..the Gators are just too talented, too fast, too good.

Saturday night, we all went out and met some girls that we had met the previous night. It ended up being another crazy night, the kind of nights where you and your friends recap everything that happened the next morning at breakfast. Joey and I then got a ride back to Managua from one of Joey’s amantes and ended up eating lunch at this really fancy country club in Managua. It was so cool to see the country club and see how the other 5% of Nicaraguans live in contrast to the rest of the country. Yet when the check came, Joey and I were stuck with it. 28 dollars. Apparently when we asked the girls if they wanted to eat lunch with us before I left for Granada, it was an official invitation. And in Nicaragua if you invite anyone to anything you have to pay for it all. The rule is absolutely ridiculous and makes it incredibly difficult to actually hang out with anyone here. You always have to be like “well do you want to go out for some drinks, but you have to pay for it.” It is frustrating.

Still, overall I give the weekend a 10 out of 10. Good times.

DEATH

Unfortunately, not all news is good news and within 24 hours there were 3 deaths within the families of my friends here. Two of my friends grandparents died and another one lost his mother. Patrick, one of the guys in my group, had to fly back to the States on Thursday as his mother finally succumbed to lupus. Really, really sad day and I could not imagine what he must feel right now to lose a parent. Just want to see that we are all thinking of you buddy.

FRUSTRATION

I have been really stressed over the past few weeks. Why? Because I am an impatient person living in a country where one of the most famous sayings is “Hay mas tiempo que vida” or in translation “There is more time than life”. People never show up on time and my students never do their assignments on time. Seriously, meetings here start a good hour late at times, not 10-15 minutes, but an hour! So if you remember how I mentioned a long time ago that I finally made it to a country where I will always be on time. Well, that is definitely true and it is killing me. Frustration has also spread over me due to other things recently so just another reason why I need to begin exercising much more.

SIX MONTHS!

Without even realizing it, I hit the six month mark in Nicaragua. Honestly, time has flown by and I am really enjoying life even with its frustrations. I now speak fluent Spanish and just have to continue working on it every single day to become perfect. I beginning to feel more comfortable in Granada and with my role as a teacher and business advisor. I could even feel more comfortable if I had a stable housing situation. School is almost over here with it now being exam period so I am focusing on other projects. I will update you as I get more involved. My family is coming to visit in just six weeks and I couldn’t be more excited. Remember that you are all more than welcome to come visit and I promise you that you will have a great time here. Life is so different but so amazing to witness.

Hope you enjoyed the update and if you did update me on your life. I miss hearing from you all. My email is avirich@gmail.com

Election Fever

EDITORS NOTE: The following article was intended for publication in this week’s Mandarin Sun section of the Florida Times Union. However, due to the political content of the article, Peace Corps Nicaragua decided it was best that I delay the publication date. Keep in mind, that as a Peace Corps volunteer, I have to remain as neutral as possible in my local political views, but as a human being, I have many of my own opinions. I still do not know exactly why this article could not be published but maybe one of you can let me know.

Over the past few weeks many notable events have happened here in Nicaragua and around the globe. Some highlights include the regional competition for “The Creative Enterprise” course, a big Halloween blowout in the city of Matagalpa, rapidly falling oil prices, and most importantly the end of the rainy season in Nicaragua. My clothes can finally dry in peace! While I could easily write this piece about the events listed above, I feel it is more responsible to talk about the one issue on my mind. Elections and Politics.

As a Peace Corps volunteer, political involvement in host country issues is strictly forbidden. We are supposed to stay politically neutral in both our opinions and actions while serving in country in order to avoid any possible conflict or biases in our community development work. However, as a political science major, I am unable to set aside my extreme interest in the two elections of this past week, American and Nicaragua, and feel obligated to discuss these important civic events. To all Peace Corps staff members reading this, I am smiling while telling you to not be nervous and to just read on.

While spending most of my life in one of the world’s most advanced democracies, I am now getting to see democracy work at its more infant stages while witnessing a different electoral process. This past Sunday was Election Day in Nicaragua and as I write this article there are reports of violence and disturbance around the country, primarily concentrated in Managua, in reaction to what many perceive as an unfair, corrupt electoral process. Political leaders have called citizens to the streets in protest, ultimately leading to acts of violence, destruction, and two deaths. Even though the votes are still being counted, calls for a recount started immediately after the polls closed. Fortunately for me, Granada is known to have pacific residents and I only witnessed a smooth electoral process.

Having the experience of living through these elections as well as those in the United States, I was able to observe some interesting differences worth sharing. As I mentioned previously, Election Day takes place on Sunday (even in the very Catholic Nicaragua) while Monday is treated as a national holiday in order to count the votes and announce results. The crazy, high-tech boards of CNN and Fox News and automated voting machines just do not exist here. Results are counted slowly. In order to provide for a tranquil voting atmosphere, Nicaragua does not permit the sale or public consumption of alcohol during anytime between 24 hours prior and 24 hours after the election. They also do not allow any political campaigning in the days leading up to the election and you cannot enter a voting center with wearing any party related paraphernalia (I like the previous rules). After voting everyone must have their thumb marked in black ink to assure that they cannot vote again at another booth. Some other notable differences in the electoral process are that the minimum voting age is 16, there is no early voting or absentee ballot process, and there are no public debates.

Nicaragua’s history of democracy is very short compared to the United States. There is still very little confidence in the system and political leaders in the country, yet politics remain important and visible. Before the elections, I spoke with many locals and read many opinion pieces that urged everyone to vote and express their opinion. Nicaraguans very much want to have their voices heard and are looking for more out of their political leaders and many cited the United States’ elections on November 4 as motivation for the improvement of their own political process.

The United States’ election was a big deal down here. Nicaraguans followed this election closely and the world watched the United States at work. The day after the historic night that saw the election of Barack Obama to the presidency, many of my Nicaraguan colleagues and friends proactively congratulated me and expressed how impressed they were with the American “civic party.” A principal at one my schools told me that she stayed up until 3am watching coverage and literally cried listening to the acceptance speech and seeing the millions of emotional supporters. Most Nicaraguans I have talked to were supportive of Obama and all were happy to see a change. It is also very obvious to me both from following the news and from being abroad, that people still consider the United States as a leader of change…quite the responsibility.

Of course I also had to take this opportunity to converse with my students about the significance of the election and the need to become informed and active in the political process. I told them about civil rights and how the Black community was not equal just two generations ago. We talked about how this election demonstrated that real change is possible within realistic time frames. And we discussed the power that each one of them could possess by become informed, politically involved, and active in making desired changes. In my Peace Corps aspiration statement, I wrote “My true aspiration is to further a sense of hope for the future in Nicaragua; outside of that everything else is secondary.” I hope that these elections, both domestic and abroad, will also serve as examples of the power that each individual can possess.

History Made

From Wednesday November 5:

Last night was absolutely historic, it was magical, it was electrical if you will. In fact it was so “electrical” that it sucked all of the electricity out of Granada. And as I write this on the morning after one of the most historic moments in the history of the United States, I am sweating profusely in the wet heat of Granada that can only be alleviated by a nice, cool fan which in most cases requires electricity to run. Supposedly, electricity will be back at some point this afternoon but as always it is just a guessing game. In the meantime, productivity will drop to almost a standstill as people sit in the rocking chairs and wait it out.

So lets talk about last night! How amazing was it for you? Honestly, even if you were a McCain supporter, even if you are a hard-core Conservative who believes only in free-market values, hates gay people, and wants to eliminate all taxes, you had to get emotional during Barack Hussein Obama’s acceptance speech. You had to understand the gravity of this moment in history. Only 55 years ago Blacks were fighting for equal rights in the United States of America, the cornerstone of democracy and equal opportunity in the world. 55 years ago people. Many of our parents lived through civil rights and now we are living through the next phase of it. A black man (yes, half black but looks black) is now the most powerful man in the world. Can you even grasp what this means to all black people and minorities around the world? I frankly, don’t think I can truly understand the magnitude of all of this. I think I need more time to reflect.

As I sit here, lights out, productivity down, the women in my office that run a sewing business where they make bags, clothes, dolls, cool stuff, are talking about the election. These Nicaraguan women, who are awesome by the way, did not go to university and probably do not stay up to date with US politics but they are talking about Barack Obama right now. It is true that about 30 minutes ago I high fived everyone in the office and made sure they were aware of what just happened but the women continue to talk. One of the women was just explaining to the others how Barack’s father is black and mother is white and that he will be good for Latinos.

If you weren’t aware of this by now, I am in Nicaragua, not the United States. But this election was followed by everyone. Nicaraguans, Granadinos, Masatepinos all paid attention. There were daily stories in the newspaper and very interesting opinion pieces. I imagine that most of you reading my blogs are worldly people and think beyond the border of the US but now I hope you can truly understand how connected we all are in this world. Please stop thinking just in terms of your person, your city, your state, or your country. Please start thinking in terms of the world as a whole, as nations as one, as people as united. The world is excited that the United States has a new president. Why would a world so against the United States right now be so excited? In my opinion, besides the dislike of George Bush, Barack Obama has been given an opportunity to change the perception of the United States and to really unite countries around the world like never before. I think we are ready. We have felt the real effects of rising oil costs, scarcity of food, and the destruction of war. Our wallets are hurting right now, from the rich to the poor, urban and rural, American and Nicaraguan. And in good and bad, the United States remains the world’s leader (albeit a less powerful one). Barack Obama has a HUGE responsibility to lead the world into a new age where we all work as one to help each other. Let’s help him out.