You know what, I'm nearly finished.

I have less than a month left in Nicaragua and everybody is set on reminding me of this fact. I'm trying to make the most of these last few weeks...and to take plenty of photos to record important people and places and events. Life has become comfortable and settled here: someone asked me the other day which parts of Nica culture I find hardest to adapt to and I found it difficult to answer because in general Nica culture is now my "norm". Think I may be in for a bit of a shock when I get back to the UK...

A few pics of the last couple of days:

Painting!
Drying the new bean harvest of the roof of the garage

10 years of San Lucas Nicaragua

At the end of June Fundación San Lucas Nicaragua celebrated its 10th Anniversay. Happily, this coincided with the completion of the new building up to a usable condition so the celebrations were combined with its inauguration.

Nuevo edificio: new building

I have to say that I am quite proud of this building, especially as it is the first that I have taken all the way through the construction process and feel is "mine"! So, I was even more proud when it was announced (by surprise) that I was to cut the ribbon to open the building. What a priviledge!

It seemed a fitting way to commemorate 10 years of San Lucas' work; to have a new space in which to undertake all the training that we do, to hold events and to develop new activities. It is also significant for the community of La Conquista that there is a community space with no political ties.

Here's hoping that it will be one of the cornerstones for the next ten years and more.

Official opening...cutting the ribbon

Plaque "Training Centre San Lucas: constructed to grow the spirit of knowledge and wisdom in every human being.
Work financed in collaboration with Luke Society, Partnership Ministry Team Luke Society, Christian Reformed Church Nicaragua, Toby Ministry, Latin Link y the Baglan Family
La Conquista Carazo Nicaragua 25 June 2011
And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick Luke 9:2"

Time out in Costa Rica

I have really got very little time left in Nicaragua! However to comply with the tourist visa rules last week Kat and I went to San Jose in Costa Rica for a few days outside the country so that we could re-enter and finish our stay legally.

San Jose is a very big city. Perhaps it is the effect of living in a small, jumbly, Nicaraguan "city", where horses and carts are still a feature of everyday life, but for me SJ was quite overwhelming. So much traffic, so many American chain stores and other shops selling cheap plastic goods, fast food restaurants, punky disaffected youth culture, concrete, peeling paintwork.

We stayed with my Nica Uncle and his family in a suburb of SJ, overlooking the city which is surrounded by cloud -topped mountains. It is the perfect setting for a city, but travelling into the centre on conjested roads past the half finished urban sprawl and arriving at a destination where the main attractions are shopping centres and American restaurants was somewhat a disappointment.

This is perhaps a little harsh. There are some pretty bits of SJ, and there is evidence of cultural corners. The national stadium (built by the Chinese) is very impressive, and is set in the midst of an expansive park with a lake, a public running track, wooded areas, sculpture and a swimming pool. My Uncle, Aunt and cousins love living in the city and find life very convenient. For them SJ, and Costa Rica in general has lifted itself from all of the problems that Nicaragua has and life is much better. They can choose from a number of supermarkets, eat in Pizza Hut, go to the cinema, ride on big new buses, be guaranteed a paved road...

But what about knowing the women in the market that you buy produce from? Being assured that the fruit and veg is local and fresh? The interesting mix that living in a small, hectic city provides is lost in SJ and I will miss it in Britain too. I can never guarantee that there will be water in the tap 24 hours a day or that the bus will actually come or that I will be able to buy exactly what I want at the shop or in the market...but all that adds a little sponteneity and adventure to life.

Josef, me and Tio Cesar

Rain on tins roofs

The winter is just beginning in Nicaragua. It hasn't yet been officially announced but almost every day there is a bit of rain and I have awoken several times during the night to the sound of rain pummelling the roof above my head.

Sometimes it's just the normal sort of rain that we get in the UK: hard enough to get wet but nothing to be fussed about. My Nica mama comments that the flowers are getting watered and I have to think about taking an umbrella to the bank.

Sometimes, however, the rain is torrential. Thunder cracks and the lightening flashes through the whole sky. Drops the size of almonds start to fall and within a minute or so you cannot distinguish one drop from the next as there is so much water.

The first really hard rain in Jinotepe happened one Saturday morning while I was pottering around in the house. In seconds the noise was so much that even shouting at each other had little effect. The roof, in places, visibly moved, adapting to the pressure of the water and the guttering sagged with the weight of all that had to be discharged. In several places cracks that had developed during the dry summer began to let in drips or streams and an army of buckets and pans were quickly employed. In parts of the gutter that had for months been accumulating leaves and dirt water overflowed in all directions.

You might say that this was the first test of our roof in the new season. All summer we had not been concerned with its upkeep; letting little flaws develop with no consequence, but this heavy rain picked out all of the faults.

It seems that equally in the easy, sunny weather periods of life we can let little flaws develop with no consequence. Miniature cracks in the parts of our character that we are not caring for, an accumulation of rubbish in various parts or a lack of care to maintain good habits. Then, when the rain starts to fall, we start to notice. Maybe a light light rain we can cope with: the umbrella strategy. Maybe we can even see that a little watering does us good. But when the heavy rain starts to pummel on our tin roofs, then we notice the faults. We are put to the test; have we cared enough to keep in good condition? Can we discharge the water effectively or will it splash out everywhere? Do we keep dry or get wet?

¡Profe!

Apologies for not updating for quite a while now...you may well be wondering what I've been up to these past few weeks. Apart from a severe bout of v&d which stopped me in my tracks somewhat I have been really very busy. The building site still needs some supervision: buying materials and communicating with the foreman who is little by little completing bits and pieces as our funds dictate. I have also been doing some English teaching in a Christian school in Santa Teresa, about 20 minutes from Jinotepe to cover for another Latin Link short termer for 3 weeks.

Profe, short for profesora (teacher), is approximately equivalent to Miss in English and it is what I have become accustomed to hearing at every interval. English teaching was perhaps the one thing I did not either want or expect to do at any formal level while in Nicaragua. I have given, and continue to give classes one night a week at church informally but suddenly becoming the person responsible for educating 5 years worth of secondary school pupils is quite a different matter. I agreed to take the classes to get my friend out of a bind but soon discovered that I had signed myself up to a whole load of work. Classes need prepared, homework tasks thought of and subsequently marked, tests set, discipline maintained and most importantly knowledge successfully imparted. For me this takes hours of prep and then al of my concentration and energy in the delivery. Frankly, although I enjoy the teaching, it is way too exhausting to consider doing it full time! Much respect for teachers.

Another piece of notable news is the sad loss of my camera. The main control broke while I was on holiday and on the recommendation of a friend it was taken to be repaired. However, the story goes that while in the repair shop the camera was stolen by two guys who broke in while the assistant wasn't paying attention. The owner of the shop has replaced for me the camera with what might be described as a "thoroughly inadequate piece of semi-technology". Ahem. I think I make my feelings clear.

Building: finished. Or just about.

We have a complete building...walls and roof and a floor of sorts. There are still a lot of finishing touches, some of which will get completed soon (for example the electrics) and some of which will have to wait for more money to come in (including doors, windows, paint, floor tiles...).

However, it is very exciting to have the roof on as it feels so much more complete and we now have a wonderfully usable space!

From the road, behind the San Lucas fair-price pharmacy

Doña Gladis, who runs the pharmacy, Dr Francisco, Kirsty, Dra Reyna

Volcán Mombacho: beautiful Nicaragua

The stunning view accross Granada to Lake Nicaragua The four of us after not having climbed very far...later pictures show more of the effort we put in

El Principe Azul: beautifully common in this part of Nicaragua