First few days of work

I didn´t imagine when I came to Nicaragua that I´d be spending an hour and a half in Cost-co! Today Esmeralda, Fatima and I went supply shopping- first to the Centro Commercio (aka, the mall) and then to Price Savers, which is Nicaragua´s Cost-co. I was totally disoriented and thought that I was going back to Logan Square afterwards. Instead, we climbed into a taxi with our purchases and the leftovers of a rotisserie chicken and went back to the barrio.

Things have been going well so far at the office. I´ve spent a lot of time chatting with Gustavo, who I´ll be working closely with on the youth organizing project. He studied anthropology, loves revolutionary Latin American folk music from the 60´s and 70´s, has his own band, and is married to Esmeralda´s daughter Judy. He´s been involved in environmental justice organizing and is really interested in studying the power of music in affecting social change, particularly in rural areas.

The barrio is pretty poor, and doesn´t have any paved roads. Any time a car goes by, a cloud of dust is raised- apparently the dust will get worse in a couple of months. There is only water between 3AM and 7AM, meaning that families fill huge barrels full of water during these hours to use throughout the day, and it´s back to shower in a bucket! Some houses are built sturdily with concrete, and others from scrap metal and found wood. I have felt really welcomed by everyone at the office (most of whom live on the same block). I haven´t gotten the chance to take any pictures yet though...