update on the marches

Two large marches took place this past Saturday here in Managua. One march was by opponents of President Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista party, particularly protesting an October decision by the Nicaraguan Supreme Court overturning the ban on reelection. The second march was by the Sandinistas, celebrating the fact that the Supreme Court overturned the ban. There was much talk about violence, as the two marches were going to happen at the same time and be only blocks apart on their respective routes. Also, the police announced that they would not ban homemade mortars. Most inter-city transportation shut down on Saturday as close to 250,000 people showed up for the 2 marches. University classes, including Alan's, were cancelled.

Fortunately, there was little violence in spite of the tensions. The police made sure the marchers avoided contact, and the atmosphere ended up being more festive than divisive. We are thankful that a spirit of peace was on Managua. Thanks for your prayers.

Praying for peaceful marches

Tomorrow (Saturday, November 21) there will be 2 marches in Managua--one of Sandinista government supporters and one of opposition leaders. Unfortunately for the economy and the security of the country, almost everything is shutting down due to the fear of violence in these marches, including Alan´s classes on Conflict Transformation (ironic).

To give a very brief background: about one month ago, the Supreme Court changed the Constitution to allow for re-election. The parties not currently in office are very upset about this change, which happened rather suddenly and by means that some have called undemocratic. This is one of the reasons that several citizen groups and opposition parties have been planning a march to protest the lack of transparency of the current administration. The government decided to plan a march for the same day. Nicaragua is a country that still has very fresh wounds from living through a recent revolution and war, so people take very seriously these kinds of threats of violence.

View from a bus window

We spend a lot of our time riding buses (and taxis) in Managua. Some days we carry books to pass the time, but sometimes we put the books down to take in the daily bustle of Nicaragua's largest city. Here are some things we see:

- small, green parrots for sale, offered to you on small sticks

- iguanas for sale (to make into soup), usually held up by their tales

- bags of green mango slices, usually sold with salt and chili sauce (chile sauce always poured from old soda bottles)

- clown jugglers who toss a few balls or bowling pins at stop lights and then pass their hats to waiting cars

- old school buses from places like Harrisburg, PA, Mojave, CA, or Albuquerque, NM

- new Russian buses that were recently "donated" to the Nicaraguan government and then "sold" to the Managua bus cooperatives

- countless pickup games of baseball and soccer

- scrawny horses pulling carts laden with tree trimmings, empty plastic bottles, or discarded metal appliances

- a horse cart with a Washington State license plate (pretty sure the horse and cart had never been to Washington)

- pickup trucks whose beds are so full of avacados, oranges, or green plantains that the bumpers are practically dragging on the ground

- flatbed trucks carrying huge canvas sacks filled with plastic bottles that lean precariously to one side

- families of five or six traveling together on one motorcycle

- a woman breastfeeding on the back of a motorcycle

- a man on a motorcycle answering his cellphone and removing his helmet at the same time (see previous post)

- signs for Coca Cola, Pepsi, and a Nicaraguan soda called Kola Shaler

- pink and yellow billboards announcing government programs or displaying huge photos of President Daniel Ortega

-signs insisting "6 squares of toilet paper are enough"

-volcanoes rising up out of Lake Managua

Working

I (Beth) have disappeared from the blog for a number of months, and it may appear to you readers that our lives consist primarily of Simon and going to fun events like baseball games and circuses. What I want to tell you is that we also are still working! :) I will now answer some frequently asked questions:

Q: Who cares for Simon while you are working?
A: We take turns. We have divided our work so that we are each doing some of our tasks from home. Also, Yolanda Cruz, a wonderful woman who has worked for MCC for years, joyfully cares for Simon in our home 1 day per week. We are so thankful for this time to share equally in parenting responsibilities!

Q: Have you had any visitors or exchanges happening lately?
A: In September we received a group of North Americans for a Learning Tour about Global Family in Nicaragua. Nicaraguan university students who receive scholarships through Global Family accompanied the group, and we traveled through Nicaragua. My favorite part was seeing the students' encouragement at the positive changes that Nicaraguans are promoting all over the country.

We are in the selection process for IVEP and YAMEN!, two programs in which Nicaraguan young people spend a year serving and learning in another part of the world.

I have also been helping to orient and support the SALT, YAMEN!, and short-term volunteers.

Q: Alan, are you still teaching? What are you teaching?
A: I'm wrapping up my 3rd year of teaching in the Bachelor's in Theology program through the UPOLI and the Baptist Seminary. This trimester I've taught 2 classes - the final of a 3-part research methods class, and an intro class on conflict transformation. Students from the research class have been doing community research projects to identify areas in their communities and churches where there is a need for peace. Topics range from addiction problems in local neighborhoods to marital satisfaction (both inside and outside the church) to domestic violence to gang participation. I've been impressed with how the students have courageously confronted some very dicey issues.

Q: When does the school year end?

A: Saturday, Nov. 28 is the last day of classes; Graduation is on Saturday, Dec. 5.

More about baseball

After a month and a half of blog-o-sphere silence, we're back in the game with more baseball action, this time Nica-style.

Last night we finally made it to a Nicaraguan baseball game after 3 years in Central America's baseball capital. Managua's team (Bóer) took on León (los Leones). Tropical storm Ida dampened the diamond, but not the spirits of the several hundred fans that showed up in spite of the rain. We bought our $3 tickets and had dry seats under the roof, and we watched five innings of action before the game was eventually postponed. Managua -Bóer was up 3-0 on a 3-run homerun in the bottom of the 4th.

It was Simon's first trip to the ballpark - he loved the attention from the vendors and fellow fans. And he gripped his little Dodgers cap tightly the whole time. One girl who sold fried pork rinds with yucca asked if Simon was for Bóer or for León; we said that he's nine months old and really doesn't care who wins. "Oh, well, we'll just say he's for Bóer (boerista)," she replied.

Baseball is the biggest sport in Nicaragua. It was introduced by US Marines back in the 1920s and 1930s after they were "invited" by the government and then decided to stick around, which seemed suspiciously like an "occupation" for most Nicaraguans. But one lasting benefit has been a love for baseball. The season starts in late October as the rains subside, even as the US World Series heats up the chilly northern fall. Typically Managua and León field the powerhouse teams, and every once in a while Granada or Estelí or Matagalpa put together good teams. Nicaragua's best players get sucked up in the US baseball system, and fans here follow them closely (see our last post about baseball from Sept.). The remaining players take the field mostly for the love of the game, hoping that perhaps a stand-out season will catch the eye of an MLB scout and earn them a professional contract. Otherwise, their meager salaries cover only the basics.

Our trip to the ballpark (named after Dennis Martinez, Nicaragua's most successful son in the majors) reminded me of a minor-league game in the US - cozy atmosphere, families with little kids enjoying the game, hotdogs and soda. The atmosphere was decidedly Nicaraguan, however. Also for sale were fried pork rinds or pork strips with yucca, pizza with ketchup, and french fries with grated white cheese, all served on flimsy paper plates. Vendors walked right in front of our seats every 3-4 minutes selling everything from food to beer to individual cigarettes to little noisemakers to bags of plantain chips with chili sauce. Women vendors all wore the frilly white aprons, the 'uniform' of nearly every Nicaraguan woman who sells something. Several women took time from their selling to hold Simon; the fans across the aisle whipped out their cameras to snap photos of him. They were all free with their opinions about how we should dress Simon on a rainy night, the care we should take with him leaving the stadium, whether or not we shave his head (we don't...he's naturally that way). There were also plenty of opinions about the play on the field, although we still have a lot to learn about the nuances of baseball vocabulary - heckling is our next phase of language learning.