Marathon: Check. Next up: Europe

Yesterday, I ran the Madison marathon while Lisa Jepsen ran (and dominated) the half marathon. It was a very hilly course, and it rained the last 5 miles, but the temperature was perfect and the scenery was beautiful. My quads are quite angry with me today, but it's a small price to pay :)

Tomorrow, the European adventure begins. Andy, Michelle, Monica, Andrea and I fly into Madrid, then we will pass through Paris, Brussles, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, London, Cork, Munich, Rome, Sorrento, Venice, Milan. Then Andy and I will have a week in Spain, probably staying mostly in and around Oviedo (where I did my study abroad). Amparo, my Spanish host mom, sent the keys to her house, so I'm excited to go back "home," walk the streets of Oviedo, go to a movie in Spanish, hike Cristo...all the things I used to do. I'm sure the month will go fast...I'll post updates when I can!

I heart Iowa

My padre has brought it to my attention that I have yet to officially announce that I am back HOME in the USA. It was a great trip, but it's nice to get back to cooler weather (vs. 98 degrees and about 10,000,000,000 % humidity), hot showers, oatmeal for breakfast, a gym, and my fam...and puppies :)

We were actually able to accomplish a lot in two short weeks at the co-op. Here are just a few:
*Provided a small business seminar
*Shared market survey results and made recommendations
*Translated emails, presentations, phone conferences, and legal documents
(Side note: we translated a Skype call with a company in Texas that ended up placing a 700-piece order!!)
*Contacted potential buyers, distributors, and business partners
*Helped facilitate orders
*Created new designs for the line of baby clothes
*Photographed current clothing designs to create an online product catalog
*Attended a presentation to learn more about Info Co-Op in Nicaragua

Now I have a few days back home to unpack my things from Cedar Falls and organize my life before this weekend's marathon in Madison, Wisconsin (I'm sure my breakfast from the last two weeks will bite me in the butt on this one), and then we leave for Europe on Tuesday the 31. Hard to believe how fast summer is going already!! More in a week from Madrid!

Back in Managua

Yesterday was our last day at the co-op, and it was a busy, busy day! We got plenty of clothes as recuerdos. We translated a legal sales contract for a company in Germany [why we translated it into English, I have no idea..] and a meeting with a client in Texas via skype. High-pressure translations!!

Then we helped Leslie work on her order, picked up our bags from the house, and Doug drove us back to CEPAD. We went to get fruit smoothies, which was the first fruit we had (outside of a couple mangos, which, btw, were AWESOME) for the last two weeks! And found a sushi place a couple blocks away, which totally hit the spot! There was a group here singing traditional Nicaraguan songs, so we just chilled at CEPAD for the night.

This morning we went to Casa Ben Linder with Doug, there was a presentation about Info Co-op, an organization that regulates all cooperatives in Nicaragua. It was really cool to get some more perspective on the whole coop scene.

Then we stopped at La Escuelita in Mercado Oriental again to hang out with some of the kids for a bit. It was fun, and they all remembered us from the water park last Friday! When we had to leave, they all tried to pile out the door at once, and it ended up like a domino effect with all 50 kids piling out and falling in a giant pig pile.

We came back for lunch, and Louis I and Louis II came here with a couple groups from Jersey and Oregon, so we got to hang out and catch up with them for a few hours, which was awesome! This trip we have gotten to see so many friends from last year - Harold, Wendy, Gerald, Louis, and Louis! It's way cool to be able to go to another country and have friends to see and catch up with.

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Another 'Only in Nicaragua' Breakfast

Last week we told Tomassa that we ate a lot of spaghetti back home, so today for our final meal at her house, she made us a big batch of a cheesy/creamy pasta and breadsticks. Yep, for breakfast. With coffee!!! It was good, but I can say that's the only time I've ever had (and prob ever WILL have) spaghetti at 6am! It was a nice gesture! More later...

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Un Ratón... :(

This morning, Robyn and I woke up to find that a mouse had gotten into our bread bag, which we left in the stove SPECIFICALLY so that our food wouldn´t get eaten by mice. So, we had no bread for our PB sandwiches today. At least we still had a few granola bars, some almonds, and banana chips left!

We had a pretty busy afternoon today with translating emails for María, taking pictures of all the products they offer here (and, oh joy, I got to model some of the clothes because they were just using the sizes they could pull out and some of them happened to fit me).

And we helped out with English lessons :)

Also this afternoon, Marcio found a huuuge (by our standards) lizzard running around the co-op and caught it, so that provided some good entertainment.

We are leaving with Maria and Julia soon to go out for coffee or sommmmmething after work since this is our last full day here. We will be working a half-day tomorrow and heading back to Managua in the afternoon.

Back in Nueva Vida

We made it back to our house last night, and it seems WAY less terrifying than it did last week. Last week we thought we were getting shot at, robbed, and that there were drug deals going on in our neighborhood. Now we understand that people throw rocks at their big metal doors to scare dogs away, our host brother accidentally got locked out of the house, and that a few households sell ice because not everyone has a freezer. That clears up some of our confusion! :)

It has also gotten a lot easier to understand some of the people we see on a daily basis, like Tomassa´s mumbling, grunting mother, and she´s not so bad! Last week she would walk over and grunt at us like we were supposed to know what that meant, but last night she came over and we actually had a conversation with her. Things are definitely looking better.

Steven-cito (our 3-year-old host brother) was very excited to see us, so he did his usual running back and forth and back and forth, sliding around on his skateboard, break dancing on the cement floor, and running around. That boy has so so so much energy!

This morning Marcio walked us to Maria and Julia´s house, and we began our 40-minute trek to work. Today we are hopefully going to do some more translating and go over our small business presentation, survey, and suggestions with a few of the co-op workers.

A few notes on culture -

*POLITICS -
Presidental elections are in November, and the current president is basically changing the constitution so that he can run again. People expect that even if he doesn´t win, he will rig the elections so that he does. While this seems crazy corrupt, most people seem to think that this is the noble thing to do. If he has the power to stay in power and doesn´t pull his rank to keep his position, he would be seen as a coward.

*RELATIONSHIPS -
Over 70% of mothers in Nicaragua are single women. Men often hold all the power, beat their wives, or leave them after they have children. This morning Maria told us that even though she has been with her boyfriend for four years, she doesn´t want to get married because men here are so unfaithful...

*SAFETY -
We talked to Yelba about safety in Managua, and even though she has lived here her whole life, she is really concerned about her safety, goes straight home from work, and doesn´t ever go outside at night. She told us about the times she has been robbed, some even within 2 blocks of her house. As twisted as it may sound, her perspective made me feel better, because it justified some of the fears we have here.

San Rafael del Sur

Quick update on our weekend so far -

Friday morning Carl, Leslie, Ben, Kai and Ella picked us up in Nueva
Vida and we stopped by CEPAD to pick up snacks and hop on the bus to
La Escuelita in el Mercado Oriental (Central America´s most dangerous
and drug-infested neighborhood). We took a bus full of
Spanish-speaking preschoolers to a waterpark for the day, and it was
so so so fun to be in the midst of all the kids and to see how excited
they were for something that seemed so simple.

Then we piled back in the car with Carl, Leslie, and the gang to grab
a quick lunch (and some DELICIOUS coffee) and come to Barcelo beach.
The area is beautiful (the house is AMAAAZING - pool, 4 bedrooms, nice
kitchen and bathrooms, workout room) and the back yard backs into the
ocean! So drastically different from our homestay in Nueva Vida. When
I get back, I will have to post video tours of the beach house vs. the
home stay experience.

Yesterday and today we have just been hanging out at the
pool/beach/around town/bartering for jewelry, so the weekend is going
fast! We also found out about a big weekly meeting in Managua for
non-profits and fair trade companies in the area, so I think Robyn and
I are going to try to stop by there Thursday morning to get a little
more context for our project at the co-op.

I will have to write more next week about our family at home and about
the strange happenings at the co-op!

Our night in Nueva Vida

Last night was our first night in Nueva Vida. We are staying with Tomossa's family (her, her husband, and her two sons that are 3 and 21 years old). It is a 30-40 minute walk to and from the cooperative each day.

Yesterday we got to hang out at the co-op. They recently finished with a big project for a Canadian company that sells baby clothes (Golly Gee Baby -- super cute). Since they have some down-time right now, a few of the co-op members are taking English lessons two afternoons per week, so we got to sit-in on a lesson. They are learning pretty basic things, but it was kind of a relief to see how hard it can be to learn English, since sometimes Spanish can be so challenging too! I've never seen someone learn English from such a basic state, so it was fun to observe and help out.

This morning (after breakfast of rice, tortillas, and fried chicken...which could really only ever happen here) the group capstone group stopped by for a tour before they head up to Siares.

Robyn and I got to translate Julia's presentation about the history of the co-op for the group. Then Carl and Leslie (missionaries through CEPAD) stopped by to take us to a mural that a Nicaraguan artist they know painted at a school for disabled kids.

We are doing some more translating work this afternoon then hopefully going over some of the development work with Maria Elena. They work long days here - 7am to 6pm, plus our walk on either side makes for long days!

Another morning in Managua

We stayed a second night at CEPAD, and we are heading to the co-op this morning. Yesterday we ran some errands in town with Harold, one of the CEPAD coordinators.

We went to the bank with armed security guards, where we had to walk through airport-like security to enter. We then had to take a number and wait in a sitting room of about 30 people until one of the 18 tellers call our number. [why so many people? and why so many tellers? wow.]

Then we went to a grocery store where Robyn and I bought food for the rest of the week. Our total bill was just under US$13 for the two of us. yeah, total! ....it would sure be nice to have that kind of grocery bill in the US!

Last night our friend Wendy came to visit us, so that was awesome to catch up with her for a bit. She helped out with our group last year, so we got lots of bonding time in! :)

Then we wen with Harold to the airport to surprise the UNI capstone group that arrived.

In other news, I don't think I've stopped sweating since we got here Sunday night.. Delish.

More soon!
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Checking in from Managua

After a long day of smooth travels, Robyn and I made it to Managua! We are staying the night at CEPAD (an agency in Nicaragua that houses incoming volunteers and facilitates volunteer projects throughout the area). Tomorrow we are going to help Harold run some errands, and then stop at NV to check-in with the co-op workers.

We had almost a 3 hour delay in Chicago, which we think was linked to the Houston-Chicago flight that got diverted due to a security threat, but it ended up working out just fine. No more excitement to report now, but we will see what he rest of the week holds!

been watching your world from afar

Well, I leave this weekend, so it's time to go public with this blog!

Robyn and I take off Sunday morning. We will spend two weeks working at a fair trade, organic clothing cooperative in Nueva Vida, Ciudad Sandino (Managua), Nicaragua. A group of women started the business after Hurricane Mitch destroyed the city in 1998. They began from ground zero - they had no money, no materials, and didn't know how to use industrial sewing machines. The women purchased equipment, learned to sew, and even began harvesting their own organic cotton to use in their products. They used the natural disaster as a chance to learn and create a new future for themselves, their families, and their community. The co-op now serves customers internationally but is still struggling to grow. Click here to visit the co-op's current website.

Over the semester, Robyn and I developed some ideas for the co-op to improve its current business practices, designed new marketing materials, and did a market survey to find out how the co-op could meet the needs of potential customers and distributors in the US. We hope our ideas will help the co-op members expand the business!

*If you learn from defeat, you haven't really lost*