Institute for Gender Studies

The university where Alan works is home to the Institute for Gender Studies. The Institute was founded 5 years ago to promote gender studies and gender issues in Nicaraguan higher education. The first five years have witnessed the development and implementation of a sexual harrassement policy at the university, something rather uncommon for Nicaraguan institutions. The institute also promotes a healthy view of masculinity and femininity among students, staff, faculty, and administration.

Two weeks ago the Institute celebrated its fifth anniversary with a special celebration that included a student drama and a brief concert by a group from the national choir. Dr. Jerjes Ruiz, Alan's boss and director of the Institute for Humanistic Development gave the meditation. Here are some photos from the event.

Circus

Last weekend we took Simon to the circus! Actually, mommy and daddy were probably more excited than Simon, but we all had a good time in the end. Here are a few photos from our time.

You had to see it...

The other day I was running an errand here in Managua and saw something that was almost too hard to believe. I saw a guy riding a motorcycle and also wearing a helmet. That in itself is rare. But then I noticed the guy take off his helmet as he drove. With his helmet occupying his left hand, he reached with his right hand into his pocket, pulled out a cell phone, and answered it. Now both his hands were full, leaving no hands to hold the handle-bar. He even went over a speed-bump like this! He wrapped up his phone call, put his cell back in his pocket, put his helmet back on, and continued on his way as if nothing had happened. Amazing.

Homecomings and Goodbyes

We've had lots of comings and goings here at MCC in the last three weeks. Three weeks ago, we said goodbye to Maritza, a 1-year volunteer from Bolivia. She returned home a few weeks early so that she could participate in the Mennonite World Conference in Paraguay. Maritza served in Nicaragua through MCC's YAMEN program.

Then two weeks ago we welcomed home two Nicaraguan young adults who spent the last year in the US & Canada as part of the IVEP program. Sugey is a university student from Estelí who spent the year working near Ontario, Canada. Violeta is a univeristy graduate who worked as a Spanish tutor at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. Both girls are from Brethren in Christ churches here in Nicaragua.

We went to the airport and welcomed them back; their families also came, and there was much cheering when they came out from baggage claim. We then traveled to Estelí for a special welcome-home service at Sugey's church (the photo shows Sugey sharing a bit of her experience at church).

The next week we said goodbye to our SALTers from this year - Rachelle, Matt, and Kayon. While the homecomings were heart-warming, the goodbyes were bittersweet. We will miss these SALTers greatly. The outgoing SALTers pose for a photo with Cecibel, an IVEP participant from last year.

YAMEN is a program designed to give young adults from globally 'south' countries a 1-year service opportunity in other globally 'south' countries. Nicaragua received one YAMEN participant, sent another to Mexico, and will receive a young adult from Colombia in August.

The IVEP program allows young adults from around the world to spend a year of service in the US or Canada. Nicaragua has now sent 4 young people, with another young man headed to EMU in August.

The other side of the program is SALT, which allows young adults from the US and Canada to spend a year of service in other countries. We have received 7 SALTers in the last few years, and we will receive 3 more in August.

For more information on all these programs, visit MCC's website.

Farm Show

This afternoon we decided to take a family outing to the Managua Expica, or Farm Show. The fairgrounds are about 12 blocks from our house, so we enjoyed a pleasant Sunday afternoon stroll for Simon's first up-close look at farm animals. We enjoyed seeing the cattle and part of the horse show. Simon squealed with delight, but we couldn't tell if the excitement was about the horses or about the attention he received from other spectators. Here are a few photos from our outing.

a trip to the pulpería

One mainstay of Nicaraguan life is the local pulpería - or a general store. Sometimes it's called 'la venta' - simply 'the store'. Most of them are small, perhaps the front room of someone's house, where you can buy lots of little 'general' things. And they are everywhere. At latest count there are no less than 7 pulperías in a 1-block radius of our house. And so we can conveniently get everything from milk to gum to soda to fresh fruit juice to cooked beans to raw meat (we avoid the meat).
On Tuesday Simon and Alan went to the pulpería on the corner and came home with the following:
- 12 limes
- 6 oranges
- 6 tomatos
- 6 bananas
- 3 medium onions
- 2 lbs. of potatos
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 carrot
- 1 bunch of mint
- 1 cantaloupe
- 1 medium avacado
- 1 tube of medium Colgate toothpaste
Total: $8.50
(photos forthcoming)

More Information on Honduras

Our MCC friends in Honduras have written more describing the situation in Honduras - check out their blog here. We also recommend the link to the article that our friend, Andrew, coauthored for Christianity Today's website.