The Coffee Crisis and how Nica Almost Gained a Sibling
Well we finished up our rural experiences...things changed slightly. After going to La Corona and spending time with families that were cooperative members, we spent a couple days in San Ramon (where I spent the summer of 95) with some down time for writing assignments and recovery.
Well, a few of the houses where we stayed had mud walls and dirt floors, but most of the houses in La Corona were much nicer than we had anticipated. There were definitely latrines and basic conditions, but things were not as rough as expected. Unfortunately I spent most of my time there in bed, 35 hours to be exact...exiting only to throw up occasionally. I made a quick rebound and am as good as new fortunately. We´ve had quite a few people fall ill over the course of the trip, which is somewhat expected given the conditions, but very unfortunate nonetheless.
The coffee crisis/free trade section of the course was incredibly interesting. We visited worker cooperatives, a large scale hacienda, a worker union, a coop office, and a dry mill. We did everything from pick coffee and depulp coffee to do an actual cupping at the dry mill. In addition to learning alot about the fair trade movement, we learned a ton about coffee. Talking with the buyers from California was an excellent bonus and I know we will all be supporting taylor maid and counter culture when we return to the states.
After coffee, we opted for a closer rural community than trekking all the way to Achuapa for various reasons. We ended up in San Ramon, a gorgeous town just north of matagalpa, where we stayed with families/dorm, and visited a textile cooperative El Chile, where we nearly bought them out. They have AMAZING textiles...please email me if you´d like me to send you some photos of the samples I bought. We had some down time to hike and work on the various writing assignments due this week...it was a nice rest before our service project.
We have now made it to Dario, the last stage. We got oriented today and are set to put in a full day work tomorrow at the learning resource center with a mix of concrete flooring, desk building, and painting. Friday we head to a rural community to meet with a local school. This segment is about education in Nicaragua. We return to Managua Friday afternoon. It´s hard to believe it´s almost over....
But, how Nica almost gained a sibling....
Many of you know the story of Nica. If not, see the previous post from July. Mark told me he really wanted another Nica, so I´ve been on the lookout for injured kittens to bring home to Marin. Well, I´m sleeping in my homestay in San Ramon (a truly wonderful family by the way...the really welcomed Julia and I into their home). The wind was crazy and we were sure the roof was going to cave in on our heads. I hear this kitten crying, very loudly and I bolted upright in bed. After I was sure I heard it again, I strapped my headlamp on my forehead and pulled on my tevas and bolted out the door. Instead of being outside, I nearly ran into the kitten in the living room! I was so surprised I nearly fell back. I managed to scoop the kitten up and then other family members joined me (probably wondering what I¨m doing up at 2 in the morning). They explained this was a frequent visitor to their house, and after climbing in from the roof would get stuck inside and then cry like this...well since it wasn´t really their cat, I explained the story about Nica and they were very supportive of me bringing the cat home. I was wondering how I was going to get the cat to Dario and then home, but decided I´d figure it out. We placed it in the clothes hamper for the rest of the night.
In the morning I gave it some milk and pancakes...it was grey and white with huge ears and eyes and not much else to it...pretty pathetic looking really. Well, unfortunately, it turned out it was a boy, and given the boy cat situation at our house in Marin, would not be welcome by our alpha cat Basil...so I sadly had to let him go outside the backdoor the following morning when this was discovered...
So, so far, no sibling for Nica and no birthday present for Mark. But I´m working on it....
Saludos,
Alicia
Well, a few of the houses where we stayed had mud walls and dirt floors, but most of the houses in La Corona were much nicer than we had anticipated. There were definitely latrines and basic conditions, but things were not as rough as expected. Unfortunately I spent most of my time there in bed, 35 hours to be exact...exiting only to throw up occasionally. I made a quick rebound and am as good as new fortunately. We´ve had quite a few people fall ill over the course of the trip, which is somewhat expected given the conditions, but very unfortunate nonetheless.
The coffee crisis/free trade section of the course was incredibly interesting. We visited worker cooperatives, a large scale hacienda, a worker union, a coop office, and a dry mill. We did everything from pick coffee and depulp coffee to do an actual cupping at the dry mill. In addition to learning alot about the fair trade movement, we learned a ton about coffee. Talking with the buyers from California was an excellent bonus and I know we will all be supporting taylor maid and counter culture when we return to the states.
After coffee, we opted for a closer rural community than trekking all the way to Achuapa for various reasons. We ended up in San Ramon, a gorgeous town just north of matagalpa, where we stayed with families/dorm, and visited a textile cooperative El Chile, where we nearly bought them out. They have AMAZING textiles...please email me if you´d like me to send you some photos of the samples I bought. We had some down time to hike and work on the various writing assignments due this week...it was a nice rest before our service project.
We have now made it to Dario, the last stage. We got oriented today and are set to put in a full day work tomorrow at the learning resource center with a mix of concrete flooring, desk building, and painting. Friday we head to a rural community to meet with a local school. This segment is about education in Nicaragua. We return to Managua Friday afternoon. It´s hard to believe it´s almost over....
But, how Nica almost gained a sibling....
Many of you know the story of Nica. If not, see the previous post from July. Mark told me he really wanted another Nica, so I´ve been on the lookout for injured kittens to bring home to Marin. Well, I´m sleeping in my homestay in San Ramon (a truly wonderful family by the way...the really welcomed Julia and I into their home). The wind was crazy and we were sure the roof was going to cave in on our heads. I hear this kitten crying, very loudly and I bolted upright in bed. After I was sure I heard it again, I strapped my headlamp on my forehead and pulled on my tevas and bolted out the door. Instead of being outside, I nearly ran into the kitten in the living room! I was so surprised I nearly fell back. I managed to scoop the kitten up and then other family members joined me (probably wondering what I¨m doing up at 2 in the morning). They explained this was a frequent visitor to their house, and after climbing in from the roof would get stuck inside and then cry like this...well since it wasn´t really their cat, I explained the story about Nica and they were very supportive of me bringing the cat home. I was wondering how I was going to get the cat to Dario and then home, but decided I´d figure it out. We placed it in the clothes hamper for the rest of the night.
In the morning I gave it some milk and pancakes...it was grey and white with huge ears and eyes and not much else to it...pretty pathetic looking really. Well, unfortunately, it turned out it was a boy, and given the boy cat situation at our house in Marin, would not be welcome by our alpha cat Basil...so I sadly had to let him go outside the backdoor the following morning when this was discovered...
So, so far, no sibling for Nica and no birthday present for Mark. But I´m working on it....
Saludos,
Alicia
