On Having Four Wheels

After four years of living in Nicaragua, we decided to purchase a car.  It was a long, painful and stressful decision even though we did not want it to be.  We were worried that this decision would further remove us from living in solidarity with our friends and neighbors. While at times it was frustrating to not have the option with MCC (they have a policy that workers cannot own private vehicles, one that we very much respect), it was also nice not to have the choice.  But there are several factors that made us think that this just makes sense for now.  One previous MCC friend jokingly called us “sell-outs,” and most of our Nicaraguan friends said “finally!” 

The public transportation system generally works pretty well here in Managua, we have written about it before.  But then sometimes it doesn’t.  Before Estela arrived, I (Cassie) traveled to one of my workplaces, Accion Medica Cristiana three days a week.  For some reason, the only bus that will take me there, the lovely 106 route, only passes by every half hour, when all of the other routes usually pass every five minutes.  And then when it does finally pass, it usually does not stop.  Unfortunately, this resulted in frustration and tears on a regular basis.  What literally is a five minute ride in a car, usually takes 1-1/2 hours of waiting at a bus stop, sometimes being able to climb on the packed bus, but too often having to take a taxi after waiting for an hour. 

On top of this our work at the Seminary requires us to carry a lot of technological equipment (computer, powerpoint projector, speakers, etc.) For this reason we do not feel comfortable hopping on the city bus or getting into a taxi with someone we do not know or trust. We were generally calling a friend who is a taxi driver to come and pick us up, but the costs to and from were adding up, we were actually more than doubling our monthly transportation costs just from the costs we incurred on Saturdays. 

With the arrival of Estela, purchasing a car seemed to be the right thing.  I have traveled frequently with one child on the bus, but it can be tricky to ride the bus while standing up, trying to keep myself up by holding onto the pole, setting a child on my hips strapping all of my bags to my shoulders and around my neck (for some reason I can never just travel with one) and making sure that my cellphone doesn’t get stolen.

These factors were at the forefronts of our mind, when one Saturday a student of ours at the Seminary, Juan stopped us and told us that he was selling a car.  It is an old car, a 1990 Kia Rio to be exact (or so he thinks, it could be a little older or newer), it was nothing pretty, but it had a brand new motor and all of the original Korean parts have been replaced with Chinese imitations.  He even said he would purchase it back from us when we are done with it.  And so we decided to go for it.

We received our car ten days ago and are very grateful for this added convenience.  Kevin still plans to take public transportation to work each day.  Estela and I do enjoy riding the bus, so we will continue to do that as often as we can.  If you come on down for a visit, we can assure you a fun ride!

Hanging out in the Barrio

All of our days involve time with our neighbors, both the kids or adults.  When living in a barrio, sharing walls along with smells and sounds, a communal life is the norm.  Whether we are purchasing an egg from the local pulperia, chatting with our neighbors about the latest news in the neighborhood or being greeted by a hug from one of the kids upon walking up the road, our neighbors play a big role in our life.  Just last week, I (Cassie) was home with Estela, in bed around 6am.  Suddenly Brisa entered through the window with a dead bird in her mouth.  She dropped it on the floor next to me, proud of her work.  Me, being terrible with these kinds of things, went right to my neighbors.  They came over and cleaned it up for me, while laughing and teasing me for my timidness.  It wasn’t the greatest start to the morning, thanks to Brisa, but it was great for community building.

The kids in our neighborhood are always interested in spending time with us.  They often do not have a lot of structured activity outside of school, which only lasts four hours each day.  So we try to provide some type of activity for them twice a week.  To be honest it has been much less in the last month with the arrival of Estela!  Our time together can involve a craft, reading books, playing a more active game or a movie night with popcorn.  This week we have plans to play their favorite game, BINGO. 

We recently did some crafts that my cousin Kelly generously sent down with us.  We made caterpillars and butterflies and the kids loved it!  Enjoy the photos!

    

How We Grocery Shop

Sometime ago the Nicaraguan government thought that it would be a good idea to start a national feria (you may want to translate this as fair, but a more fluid translation would suggest farmers market). The government began to provide pro-FSLN farmers known to practice superior farming techniques (we actually know one of these farmers,have seen his land in production and drank milk straight from his cow) and producers with a small stipend to cover their travel costs. They also decided that they would not charge these farmers a fee for the selling of their goods. What this means is that Capitalianians (the people who make up the Managuan population) now have the opportunity to visit their local farmers market each weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

Cassie and I (Kevin) have gotten in the habit of going to the feria following our work at the Seminary on most Saturdays. We have developed relationships with farmers, with cheese makers and plant growers. We know where we can now find fresh salt from the sea, sesame seeds to toast or make into tahini, a woman who extracts stevia and a wonderful and aspiring English speaker who grows the most beautiful vegetation these eyes have ever seen. The market is an event for many as there exist local artistic events for adults, Nicaraguan delicacies and artisan goods for purchase, playgrounds and trampolines (I recently found out these these are just for children ages 3-13, oops).

Through this new option for consumerism Cassie and I have been optimizing a change in our diet. No longer will you find many packages of processed goods in our home, nor will you find many things kept in plastic or cooked in carcinogen producing cook wear (Cassie is maybe finally converting over to the cast-iron - fingers crossed). Instead of doing a lot of our shopping at the local grocer La Colonia, or within the clutches of the global, ever-so-effective, destroyer of all things good, Wal-Mart (ie. Pali and La Union), we are buying people whose names we are getting to know as we see them each and every week.

Of course, we do find ourselves venturing into the market that is open 7 days a week in-front of our barrio and we are still buying some items and imported produce from the local grocery store, but we are sure finding ourselves there a lot less than in the past. Above all we are just having fun, learning about different food options that we have never seen before and doing things like sampling the thirty-three different varieties of bananas that are grown in Nicaragua. We hope that you all can make a trip to your local market during the harvest and enjoy the bountiful blessings we so richly receive. And if anyone has a way of getting a honey crisp apple down here before it is squishy I would be more than willing to send you a fresh pineapple, papaya or mango from Nica. Happy Picking!

Estela Maryuri

We are thrilled to share that on September 29th our little girl, Estela Maryuri Lane Zonnefeld arrived into our hearts and home.  She is a brave, beautiful and resilient girl. We could not be happier!