Malls, meetings, and musings
by Rachel Berkowitz on January 15, 2010
I don't know what exactly I should write about. Not because there aren't a million things to potentially discuss...more that so much has happened in a mere 5 days, and the nature of our work (hopping around, having met over 30 people--Hannah is keeping track--, many of whom we may not encounter again during our trip) provides us with so many experiences to process all at once. But I wanted to post, because the number of people and experiences will continue to pile up. So here we go.
SEGWAY:
The past 5 days have been a genuine roller coaster of emotions and moods. And to prove that to you, I will use my emotions to highlight some of my experiences (see? Isn't that a clever way to organize things? Yea...hopefully it won't be too painful for you J )
Unsettled:
Our arrival in Nicaragua and quick shuttling off to a nice hotel, followed by drinks with some very friendly, engaging Nicas who were either visiting or were permanent residents of Nicaragua, having returned after having fled with their families during the Contra conflict in the 1980s. They took us, along with Mike, the NU alum who works for Fabretto Children's Foundation, away from our nice hotel and out for dinner and drinks at a mall (La Galleria) that trumps most of the malls I have seen in the States. My thought: where am I again?
Questioning:
What does it meant to have a fancy mall and Central America's largest dump in the same departamento (check out Hannah's awesome blog post for more on La Chureca)? Is unequally distributed "progress" any progress at all? (And how should progress be defined, in dollars gained or in humanity realized?)
Frustrated:
I wish I had learned more about Nicaragua before coming here. For those of you who may also find themselves wanting to learn a bit more about the 2nd most impoverished country in Latin America and the Caribbean, US involvement here has been...interesting. Even had an American President for a spell. Also, in 1972, a massive earthquake killed 10,000 people and crushed the city of Managua, leaving many buildings in ruin and, according to Martin, an AMOS staff member, necessitating the directional system of addresses here (an address will literally begin with something like "De donde fue el arbolito"--"From where the tree was") Particularly relevant in the wake of Haiti's horrific earthquakejust days ago (click here to donate to the cause).
Pumped about the potential for cross-cultural, multi-national collaboration even on a small scale:
Fabretto Children's Foundationand AMOS(the current partner of GlobeMed at Rhodes College) both maintain Nicaraguan and non-Nicaraguan staff and seem to really work with and for their communities--just the sort of solidarity we always speak about in GlobeMed. Of course, our times with each of these organizations has been very brief...but it made me feel pumped all the same.
Frustrated again:
I wish my Spanish were better. You miss so much when you can't fully understand what is being said. Continuing to practice and learn, though...
Relieved:
I'm glad that some language is universal--no mater where you are, a silly face sems to often be able to make a child giggle,
Questioning again:
We attended a meeting about the project Creando Nuevas Empresas en Nicaraguawhich involved, among other organizations, USAID Nicaragua and Agora Partnerships. Agora supports and consults with burgeoning entrepreneurs in Nicaragua, using job creation as a tool for alleviating poverty. Hannah and I discussed during and after the event (and continue to discuss) the pros and cons of continuing to push forward into the open market global economy as it exists today. Who is doing the pushing, who is being pushed, and how do people on both sides feel about that sort of relationship? To what end? What is "enough"? Would infusing some more "socialistic" support be better? Worse/ Possible? (these are incredibly vague, open-ended questions and will continue to be fertile soil for our growing thoughts...please contribute your perspective!)
Unsettled again:
AMOS, where we are currently staying, is somewhat isolated, and we were discouraged from wandering about at night. When we returned from the Agora meeting yesterday, it was getting dark, we were hungry. So...we ordered a veggie pizza from Pizza Hut. Again, where am I? But it was also tasty...so unsettled but full is probably more accurate.
Awed:
The drive with AMOS to and from their site in El Coyol in San Jose de los Remates was absolutely breathtakingly green and mountainous, as is the view from AMOS. Similarly, the Volcan Masaya was gorgeous (as you can see here)...though sulfur smells disgusting.
That concludes this edition of "emotions and moods of Rachel." We travel to Leon this weekend, and then on to Nagarote for some more potential partner visits. I have no real conclusions to draw from anything yet, just thoughts (clearly)...I am sure our next bit of traveling will present me with more subjects on which to ponder. Please leave some comments and thoughts of your own! Till next time...
This post is #2 of an ongoing series for the GlobeMed Partner Search Fellows Program, through which GlobeMed's two PSFP Fellows, Rachel Berkowitz and Hannah Robbins, aim to build partnerships between GlobeMed and 15 new community-based health NGOs in Central and South America. These posts will help us follow their journey, as Rachel and Hannah help GlobeMed expand to new university chapters and community-based partners this coming year. To read the entire series of blog posts, click here.
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