Hola! Signing in from Leon, Nicaragua here. Well, unlike Scott and Darren, I haven't really had much beer but I did attend a Slovak wedding last Saturday, at which the beverage of choice was slivovitza (a 60-proof plum brandy). Thank god that my experience with our Bulgarian rakia had prepared me very well for this challenge (which included my friend's dad serving us a shot each the morning after the wedding - that is, on an empty stomach and while we were still hung-over). My travels from the day after the wedding have taken me from Stara Tura (where my friend lives) to Bratislava to Vienna to Brussels (on Sunday), to NYC (on Monday), to DC (on Tue morning), to Managua (on Wednesday) and to Leon (on Thursday morning). I finally caught up on sleep last night - 11 hours straight!
This is my second glimpse into Central America (the first being a 10-day trip to Costa Rica) and there are a few things that have caught my attention in Nicaragua so far. The lush vegetation and incredible landscape (lakes, volcanoes in the distance). The level of poverty - run-down buildings, old cars (including some Soviet Ladas), U.S. inherited school buses serving as public transportation and crammed to the brim, cows, goats, and horses roaming freely by the road, people on bicycles and on foot everywhere, and I haven't really been in the rural areas yet where I am sure the poverty is even more striking. But, most of you have seen all of this in other developing countries, so I won't go into too much detail.
Leon is a striking small town with colonial architecture. The house where I'll be staying (renting a room from an old lady who spent 24 years in the US) seems quite ordinary from the outside judging by it's small entrance door. But step inside and you are transported to something from a movie set - a long, spacious, tall-ceilinged and immaculately furnished house with all common areas facing towards an inner courtyard/garden. This open space makes for a cool breeze, which is very much appreciated given the heat.
As far as the work goes. I am doing my internship with the MCC in Nicaragua, helping their Monitoring & Evaluation team. That will mostly include trying to make sense of lots of data, visiting agricultural producers in the field, and doing some data analysis - hopefully all to prove that MCC's projects in Nicaragua (which are focused in the areas of agriculture, infrastructure and property rights) have made a positive economic impact in the two regions in which they are implemented (Leon and Chinandega) in the north-western part of the country.
Hope everyone is doing well. And, as someone addicted to blogging, I encourage you all to write! :) More impressions/stories coming soon as I explore Leon this weekend.
Besos,
Denitza
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