Claassen Family Visit

We thoroughly enjoyed our week with Beth's family (all 7 who came). We wore them out, traveling to various Nicaraguan must-see sites. But the most meaningful was just sitting around and being with the whole family for the first time in more than a year. It was very life-giving for us, even as we stayed up way past our bedtime every night to talk. This is a sibling photo taken on an abandoned castle that overlooks Lake Nicaragua.

Neighbors

I know we've posted some pictures of neighbors before, but we have a lot of neighbors. Here are the four ladies who live across the street--baby, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. They have welcomed us with warmth and the occasional tasty Nicaraguan morsel.

The second photo is of a birthday party at another house across the street. Britany, the little girl with the red party hat, celebrated her 2nd birthday. The Winnie the Pooh piñata was larger than many of the kids in attendance, but they loved it and whacked off Pooh's legs in no time.

follow-up to our banana post

In light of our recent post describing our visit to a banana plantation in Honduras, we thought you might be interested in this article from yesterday (Thurs., Nov. 8) in the LA Times. Click here to read it.

An Average Evening

The rainy season departed last weekend, dropping buckets in one last attempt to soak Nicaragua. But it's now given way to (relatively) balmy weather with breezes that are drying things out (including our clothes). One result of the rain that hasn't left, however, is the mosquito. Their numbers have swelled at our house in recent weeks, and neither the lower temps nor the drier air have discouraged them.

The mosquitos are particularly annoying in the evenings. So a typical evening for us involves Beth washing dishes and Alan slapping at the walls with his trusty fly/mosquito swatter.

Even with our mosquito eradication program, we still manage to get quite a few bites. A friend from Pasadena told us that rubbing the inside of a banana peel on a bite helps the itch to go away. She's right. Our only trouble is after so many itchy bites, we just can't bring ourselves to eat another banana.

Mud and Hot Water

Going back a little earlier in October, we hosted a group of MCC Human Resources people. Here they trek through the mud on the way through Patastule to visit the Mennonite church and income generation project. In the photo below, our team and the HR people share a Nicaraguan meal (note the "gallo pinto"--the Nica staple food--being passed in the foreground).
After the week of traveling, sharing, and translating, we took some time for unwinding as a team at the Aguas Termales (hot springs) in the central region of Nicaragua. See more pictures (from this and our time in Honduras) here.

Connecting and Re-connecting

We spent October 18-29 in Honduras. Most of the time was meetings on short-term (Connecting Peoples) groups coming to Central America. One highlight was talking with Kurt Ver Beek (Calvin College prof) about his super-interesting work in this area. Click here to see some of this research. Another highlight was brainstorming with the other Connecting Peoples Coordinators and the MCC Policy Analyst about advocacy and education. The photo at left is this group in the MCC Honduras office.

In the midst of these Connecting Peoples meetings, we also found other connections. We enjoyed spending time with the BIC folk (Nate and Cathy Bert, Rachel Bowman, Mike Holland, and others) and MCC friends from Honduras (especially some from the Guatemala trip we took last month).

We also really enjoyed re-connecting with each other, with cooler climates, and with nature on our vacation to the Western highlands of Honduras. The other 3 photos are from Gracias & La Esperanza.

Where bananas come from

We had the opportunity to visit a banana plantation in Honduras this past week. We went with our "activist" sensors on high alert, knowing of the injustices that happen when transnational companies come to Central America to exploit cheap labor, tax-free zones, and fewer labor rights. In Nicaragua, currently there are hundreds of banana farmers protesting outside the National Assembly because their children are being born with deformities due to the pesticides used on the plantations and the refusal or inability of the government to place restrictions on the transnational companies.

Actually, this plantation wasn't the squalid, slave-exploiting, pesticide-infested kind of environment we might have pictured. But the tour raised several questions for us. What does dignified work mean? Does it depend on culture and economic class? When I eat a banana that I don't need from across the world, am I exploiting a Central American, or giving them work?

On a related topic, we have some friends who work in maquilas (sometimes known as factories or sweatshops). Though there are some terrible situations of people not being allowed to go to the bathroom, working long hours without compensation, or layoffs for trying to organize, this is not always the case. Our friends are thankful for the opportunity to work and feel a sense of loyalty to their companies.
So here we are, continuing to find the gray areas. We can't fight for the shutting down of all maquilas, the boycotting of bananas, or the complete repealment of CAFTA. But we want to stand in solidarity with people here as they organize and work for justice, live simply to break harmful cycles of consumerism, and keep listening to those around us.

1 Year Anniversary

Today, Nov. 2, marks one year that we've been in Nicaragua! Wow. This year has gone by quickly. We're now ready for year #2. This photo is from a 3-day vacation in Honduras...we're standing on the wall of an old Spanish fort-turned local love shack, overlooking the town of Gracias.