my journey contines

i don’t think it will hit me until i’m home, and even then maybe not until after a little while. i was sitting in a taxi yestereday driving around just trying to absorb as much as possible of my surroundings. and while i know this is not everybody’s passion, i wish that my family and close friends could be here even for a short time to share in this experience.

there are little children, i’d say from the age of 4 in the middle of the street rolling on the grass that divides to two lanes, fighting, that run up and start trying to clean your windshield when you drive by. they’ve got the puppy dog eyes perfected as they ask you for “un peso” and hold out their hand.  this is always sad. why are they out so late at night? why aren’t they in school? there are some questions for a good research project and there’s possibility for change there for sure. but one of the things that gets me even more is when there are mentally/physically handicapped people that are in the middle of the roads begging for money. it just seems so wrong and it’s one of those things that at least for now, i remain helpless to.

the majority of my time here has been spent in the sun as really the rainy season only lasted till about November and maybe early December… it’s starting to get very hot again but the sun is always out! it’s beautiful. i so am not looking forward to the snow.

yesterday i was walking and talking to some people in various organizations about possible work opportunities in the future… at one point i found myself not lost, but confused about where my destination was. (i knew the area more or less)… i stopped and asked for directions from 4 people, each of which gave me a different answer, but they were so helpful!!  finally i stopped at a little food stand, like a mini outdoor convenience stand… they were so friendly and initially amused at me rusty spanish (although i was amazed as i continually feel more confident and able to better communicate!!) anyways, before i left, i decided to get a hotdog and bottle of water and sat down to talk. it ended up that they invited me to their house and to go with them to the beach this weekend… hahaha. i love it!

the holiday weekend here is called Semana Santa and it really started tomorrow. businesses close and pretty much everybody heads to the beach. i will also be heading to the beach with a few friends, to San Juan del Sur (I haven’t been there yet.)… take pics, I sure will. you know me.

i’m also debating what will make the transition easier. do i need to set up my suitcase and start packing? just so that i can look at it each day and have the realization start to sink in? eek i don’t know… any ideas?

thanks for reading,
Shannon

wendy wendy wendy….

we had a farewell surprise party for Wendy tonight, thanks again Megan for hosting and setting that all up and all your hard work! Wendy got a new job back at home and so she is leaving us tonight/tomorrow (middle of the night-ish). while we are all very excited for Wendy, we are also sad that she’s leaving.

that’s one thing that’s hard about working abroad as such… people come and people go. but friendship is stronger than distance, and with communications these days it’s much easier. so we know you won’t be with us at Chaman, or Los Idolos, or MetroCentro, or Gallerias, etc. BUT we will keep in touch.

we’ll miss you, Wendy!!

thanks for reading,
shannon

me & wendy

all of us!

today, ladies and gentlemen, i am going to venture to Mercado Oriental (Oriental Market) — the largest market in Central America, spanning at least 30 city blocks. as foreigners, we are advised not to go there… at least, not alone. so I’m going with Claudia, a friend that I met at Viva Spanish school (originally she was my teacher…) Anyways, we are going… so I should be fine.

i will update you later

thanks for reading,
Shannon

i’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. yea, maybe even more than usual, believe it or not… you see, i’ve been thinking about overall how wonderful it’s been to be here in Nicaragua (i know i had a hard time for a while there…). and then i think *gulp* i haven’t been in Toronto for almost a year and a half. my roots will always be there, and that’s where my family is and i can’t WAIT to be with them again. although i also feel like all these new friends i have are now all over the world… and that’s a tad bit lonely. i guess that comes with the territory in this job? but it’s a bit scary.

you see i was also thinking of travelling. my internship is finished April 4th… and i was thinking about the grand idea i’d had to go backpacking through Central America. i was a little afraid that it’ s a now or never thing. when am i going to have the opportunity to come back here? and it’s much easier when i’m young, and single and don’t have a job (minus the $ part…). that’s not to say that i imagine myself getting married anytime soon unless there’s somebody very important that some of you have waiting for me to meet? ahahaha… but. in all seriousness, yea. i bought this awesome backpack!! i wanted to use it… soooooooooo these are some of the ifs, ors and buts in my head at the moment.

and when i DO come home. then what? it’s exciting, right? the world is my oyster. but i don’t like oysters… haha. i like home and my family. and change is good. it’s the one certain thing in this world, next to death and taxes. and sheryl crow always told me that “A Change Would Do You Good”…

*gulp*

the next unknown.

thanks for reading
Shannon

It’s my other housemates birthday today… so Happy Birthday Marshall!!

so in Nicaragua they do not only celebrate love on Valentine’s Day, they also celebrate friendship. what a wonderful concept, because we all have friends (although we might not all have a special someone *sniff sniff* hahaha) anywhooo with red balloons in the coffee shops and cut-out hearts on the windows of the stores, today is recognized for all types of relationships - platonic and romantic.

asides from the repeated statement that nicaraguan men have hearts so big that they have room enough to love 3 women each… and that the ratio is somewhere like 3:1 for women to men… there are some beautiful people here and i’ve made some wonderful friends. took me a little while to adjust to some of the cultural differences, and i’m probably STILL adjusting. some friends i’ve made just recently, having met in Matagalpa last weekend… or at work today. jajaja… it’s nice to meet new people

another friend i’ve made while being here is Kiki, my housemate. and today just happens to also be her birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kiki. She told me that she has red hair because she was born on Valentine’s Day, and the good news is that if you don’t have a Valentine you can love her for Valentine’s Day

and since my other housemates birthday is tomorrow, we had a little party at our house to celebrate both of them. i will upload pics tomorrow

happy valentine’s day

thanks for reading
shannon

Here are some photos from my time in Matagalpa this weekend. Am I getting good or what? ahahaha… I love taking pictures.

friday finally came Wendy picked us up (Kiki and me) around 1:30 and we headed on our way - destination: matagalpa. after a delayed stop in PriceSmart (similar to Costco) we were off… one more stop at On The Run for lunch and we were off again…

about 45 mins. into the drive Wendy noticed that the engine light had gone on… now Wendy has had problems with said car on and off, although it’s been a blessing to us all! however, we weren’t sure. usually she just uses it driving around Managua… anyways, next thing she noticed the temperature gauge was in the red…. and smoke was coming out of the hood. thankfully there was another car stopped at the side of the road with a young girl (maybe 23) and two young boys and their grandmother, changing their tire. they had the orange triangles we are required to use when stopped on the road here… so we stopped behind them. after checking it out for a min, they walked over and the girl quickly took charge pouring water into where coolant should be. it quickly became apparent that we apparently had none in the car… as the water was spouting out and the car was having serious issues. the girl then flagged down a 4×4 and a bunch of guys jumped out. she asked them if they had rope and promptly tied a 8ft. piece of rope doubled between the two cars. she then proceeded to pull our car - TOW the car, down the high way. see said video.

after stopping once to re-attach the rope, we stopped in a little town (i’ll have to check for the name with Kiki). we were being watched with somewhat strange reactions as three “chellas” jumped out of this car being towed and gathered around it. one guy came over and said he was a mechanic, and after calling somebody in the office to check it out, we found it was okay to leave the car with this mechanic and continue on our way to Matagalpa. how you ask? on a bus. yes, a bus. one of the experiences that until this day i had not experienced. today was the day.

Bus photo - Copyright 2008. Kiki Tegelberg (click to see more photography)
This bus is unusually uncrowded, but gives you an idea…. It is not the bus we took up north.

This is a photo I snapped while driving back from Chinandega… it gives a better idea of just how crowded these buses are. Craziness…

And this is Wendy gracefully posing for a photo in the bus on our way to Matagalpa. Notice all of the passengers also either staring at me or posing for the photo. haha…

very nice and asked about where I was from, what I was doing, etc. She was on the bus with her three children heading back to where they live in Matagalpa… she told me about a non-profit organization she had started that reached out to care for those in need: orphans, street kids, young mothers, etc. and we talked about a friend she had in Canada, etc. later she asked if we would like to get off at their stop, in about 10 mins., andAbout 15 mins. into the ride, the lady in front of me (I was standing the whole time) started talking. She was catch a ride to Matagalpa with their friend. SURE! Sure enough 10 mins later we jumped off the bus which barely stops at the stops (sometimes people jump off when it’s still kinda rolling) and walked to the truck. we got into the back of the pick up truck, after assuring the woman that it was okay and would further enrich our adventure! haha… it was so dark you could see all the stars. it was beautiful!!!

Kiki shares a little about it here…

Part II — A little hard/impossible to see but the rest of the audio haha.

in matagalpa we went for dinner at a local cafe and then heard some local talent play in another restaurant. it was really fun!!

but what an adventure. and really not anything i would do back in Toronto… haha

thanks for reading,
Shannon

hope everybody’s doing well. many of you i haven’t spoken to in quite a while now. drop me a quick e-mail and give me an update! seriously (i’m not just saying that).

i am going to be travelling up north for 2 days with the gender & marketing specialists. i’ll be observing and interviewing participants in some training sessions related to cotton and diversifying crops. i’ll also be taking lots of pics so be eagerly awaiting that

anyways, thanks for reading!
shannon

i went to Paz Centro again today and met some of the producers who are raising pigs. please see the following video and pictures

This is the view right near my house, I always wanted to snap a picture of the mountains/volcanoes but normally the taxis drive crazy fast…. so here’s a first.

This is a group of the producers of sesame - there was a meeting for some training on the preparation of food for the pigs that these women are raising for additional income.

Re: See Pig. (Andrew? hehe)

Little pigs, piglettes (?), are so cute when they run.

This is the view driving in La Paz Centro. Good thing I have image stabilizer because we were bouncing all around on those crazy roads…