This is a great city. Everywhere I travel lately, I seem to find myself in a Colonial City. Antigua, with its fancy restaurants, bright buildings and safe side walks (safe from holes, not pickpocketers of course); Ayacucho with it's run down center, one decent cafe, and the constant smell of dust and trash. Then there's Granada. Somewhere in the middle of the two previous cities I've visited, it's center is impeccably restored (except for gapping holes in the sidewalks), and the central square is lush and tropical with kiosks selling drinks and snacks in each corner. These kiosks and various outdoor restaurants primarily serve locals although there are one or two more expensive places to eat that cater to tourists.
They say this is the second most touristy city in Nicaragua which is very strong evidence for how poor of a tourist industry there is in this country. Other than a few white faces wondering around, most people seem to be local. I've met a good group of them who've taken me out dancing and shown me around town. Despite my burgeoning social life, my best friend may be a 12 year old street kid who comes to my hostel for lunch most days. He's quite charming, if not slightly dirty. I have a thing against giving money, so instead I bought him lunch. Now he seems to be part of my daily routine.
Things were going quite well with my spanish tutor, but I think he was drunk and hitting on me at our last lesson. Must find a new teacher.
So my days are consisting of reading spanish: newspapers, books and UNICEF reports. And chatting with people around town. Yesterday I stumbled upon the market. This seems to be my favorite part of the city so far. It's where prices are a third of what they are in stores (although, in reality there aren't many 'stores' so the market is the only place to go for things like vegetables and bootleg movies). And while the smell is less than pleasant at times, there's something mesmerizing about wondering through the endless maze of wooden stalls.
Right now it's the rainy season...and as I write, I'm looking out over the hostel's courtyard as the rain is pouring down off the tin roof into the tropical garden. The rain only lasts about a half hour, but it's a welcomed relief from extreme heat.
That's all for now...
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
He llegado! (I've arrived)
Hello friends and family....
I've made it to Nicaragua, had a nice weekend at the beach, got lost in a sketchy neighborhood, met some great people in the UN circuit, stepped on a dead mouse, and seen some live salsa music. all in five days. The Danish guy I'm working with, Lars, invited me to stay with him and his adorable Venezuelan wife upon my arrival. They've got a great house with a pool, so I'm inclined to take them up on their offer to rent a room from them. The only problem is that they live a bit far out and without a car it's difficult to get around, because taxi's rarely come to this area.
Managua is a very strange city. It's been devastated by earthquakes and never quite rebuilt. The whole city is basically a sprawling suburb, which range from fancy houses to shanty towns, with some of the fanciest megamalls I've ever seen, thrown in every now and then. There's no "downtown" and no area that even has strollable streets. You really need a car to get anywhere. The bus system is basically nonexistent and taxis are fairly cheap, but sort of sketchy at night for a lady like myself. And so, since I don't have to be in the office until Lars is back from his trip to Denmark on June 11th, I'm taking off to Granada tomorrow morning. There I should find decent cafes, quaint colonial buildings and hopefully a room with a good fan. It's hot here.
But I can't complain, I much rather the heat than the cold, and a fan can do wonders as I'm not sure my internship salary will afford me the luxury of air conditioning. The little bit that I know about what I'll be doing is really interesting. I'm reading all sorts of reports right now on the millennium development goals (MDG's) and the development situation in Nicaragua as it relates to Health, Education, HIV and Water. (The areas that UNICEF works in that are covered in the MDGs). Ultimately I'll be doing a combination of research and statistical analysis to offer a suggestion as to how much additional funding would be needed for the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua to reach the MDGs by 2015.
The UNICEF office is shared with UNDP and pretty much all the people I've met through Lars and Yajiada are somehow connected to the UN system here. Everyone's got an interesting story and my first dinner party was quite lively and all senses of the word.
Well I suppose that's all for now. I just returned from San Juan Del Sur, a beach town 2 hours south of Managua, and I need a shower. I hope you guys are all finding time to appreciate the summer months. Keep in touch!
-Amanda
I've made it to Nicaragua, had a nice weekend at the beach, got lost in a sketchy neighborhood, met some great people in the UN circuit, stepped on a dead mouse, and seen some live salsa music. all in five days. The Danish guy I'm working with, Lars, invited me to stay with him and his adorable Venezuelan wife upon my arrival. They've got a great house with a pool, so I'm inclined to take them up on their offer to rent a room from them. The only problem is that they live a bit far out and without a car it's difficult to get around, because taxi's rarely come to this area.
Managua is a very strange city. It's been devastated by earthquakes and never quite rebuilt. The whole city is basically a sprawling suburb, which range from fancy houses to shanty towns, with some of the fanciest megamalls I've ever seen, thrown in every now and then. There's no "downtown" and no area that even has strollable streets. You really need a car to get anywhere. The bus system is basically nonexistent and taxis are fairly cheap, but sort of sketchy at night for a lady like myself. And so, since I don't have to be in the office until Lars is back from his trip to Denmark on June 11th, I'm taking off to Granada tomorrow morning. There I should find decent cafes, quaint colonial buildings and hopefully a room with a good fan. It's hot here.
But I can't complain, I much rather the heat than the cold, and a fan can do wonders as I'm not sure my internship salary will afford me the luxury of air conditioning. The little bit that I know about what I'll be doing is really interesting. I'm reading all sorts of reports right now on the millennium development goals (MDG's) and the development situation in Nicaragua as it relates to Health, Education, HIV and Water. (The areas that UNICEF works in that are covered in the MDGs). Ultimately I'll be doing a combination of research and statistical analysis to offer a suggestion as to how much additional funding would be needed for the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua to reach the MDGs by 2015.
The UNICEF office is shared with UNDP and pretty much all the people I've met through Lars and Yajiada are somehow connected to the UN system here. Everyone's got an interesting story and my first dinner party was quite lively and all senses of the word.
Well I suppose that's all for now. I just returned from San Juan Del Sur, a beach town 2 hours south of Managua, and I need a shower. I hope you guys are all finding time to appreciate the summer months. Keep in touch!
-Amanda
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