Hola...
(This is a sample post written during a presentation on blogs to members of ANIBIPA.)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
where's my protein?
Today began with another big breakfast and a trip to the United States Embassy. After going through several metal detectors and security procedures, we entered the new embassy compound, which was built in 2007. Our contact at the embassy was Carolina Rodriguez, who works in the Information Resource Center and coordinates educational programs including youth exchange programs and scholarships both in Nicaragua and the U.S. for English learners. No pictures, because we weren't allowed to bring our cameras along.
From there we traveled with Carolina and our group to the Managua Biblioteca Roberto Incer Barquero of the Banco Central de Nicaragua, a library described to us as "public, but not recognized as such." There we saw the American Corner, a space in the library with collections and staff sponsored by the U.S. Embassy. Two little girls were busy coloring at the desk.
Libraries in Nicaragua are very slowly opening themselves to the idea of lending books out to the public. They have been influenced in this regard in large part by Jane and the success of her lending program in San Juan del Sur. In the library of the Banco Central, only books from the American Corner may be taken home. Children and adults have access to books, periodicals, videos and programs having to do with the United States. One special element of this is that many U.S. holidays are celebrated in the Corner, from Halloween to Thanksgiving. Children can participate in the fun and games that accompany these events.
Our visit to the American Corner was followed by a tour of the library, its closed stacks and art collection, led by a very animated librarian named Rafael who enthusiastically promised to consider coming to our book fair in San Juan del Sur on Saturday (especially if Jane would offer him her delicious free breakfast).
Upon saying goodbye to the librarians at the Banco Central, we made our way to the Palacio National, the Casa de los Pueblos, and the ruins of the old Cathedral, destroyed in Managua's earthquake and never rebuilt.
The now-empty and open to the public Palacio National was full of FSLN posters and revolutionary art, and quite a bit of flora and fauna were flourishing inside as well.
Jane described the unrest that followed the elections in Managua and the rest of the country in November. Public consensus is that the elections were stolen outright, and there is a great deal of fear. Things are relatively calm at the moment, but riots have broken out in other cities while we've been here.
We went home and got a bit of rest before meeting another group of library science students, several Nicaraguan librarians, and the distinguished author and former vice present, Sergio Ramírez. Dinner was held at Casa Mejia Godoy, where we were unfortunately unable to hear the esteemed musicians play. Some of us purchased CDs before leaving, however.
Ramírez graciously posed for pictures with everyone and signed every book pushed before him.
He answered questions about his inspirations and process as a writer, and later we ventured to ask him a little about Nicaragua's social problems, but most of us were hesitant to ask the political questions that were really on our minds. While the people, both native and expat, that we have spoken to have been quick to condemn the current government and lament the current economic situation in Nicaragua, there does not seem to be much of a consensus on what would be better and what is needed. People are clearly nervous. We have met people who are still Sandinista at heart, the say. They do not say what they are, now, in thought and action. Sergio Ramírez ended his talk , and it was followed by delicious plates of carne asada, pollo, pescado, and a vegetable plate that left one of us a little disappointed. She knows what to ask for next time, though.
¡Mañana, ANIBIPA, Granada, y San Juan del Sur!
From there we traveled with Carolina and our group to the Managua Biblioteca Roberto Incer Barquero of the Banco Central de Nicaragua, a library described to us as "public, but not recognized as such." There we saw the American Corner, a space in the library with collections and staff sponsored by the U.S. Embassy. Two little girls were busy coloring at the desk.
Libraries in Nicaragua are very slowly opening themselves to the idea of lending books out to the public. They have been influenced in this regard in large part by Jane and the success of her lending program in San Juan del Sur. In the library of the Banco Central, only books from the American Corner may be taken home. Children and adults have access to books, periodicals, videos and programs having to do with the United States. One special element of this is that many U.S. holidays are celebrated in the Corner, from Halloween to Thanksgiving. Children can participate in the fun and games that accompany these events.
Our visit to the American Corner was followed by a tour of the library, its closed stacks and art collection, led by a very animated librarian named Rafael who enthusiastically promised to consider coming to our book fair in San Juan del Sur on Saturday (especially if Jane would offer him her delicious free breakfast).
Upon saying goodbye to the librarians at the Banco Central, we made our way to the Palacio National, the Casa de los Pueblos, and the ruins of the old Cathedral, destroyed in Managua's earthquake and never rebuilt.
The now-empty and open to the public Palacio National was full of FSLN posters and revolutionary art, and quite a bit of flora and fauna were flourishing inside as well.
Jane described the unrest that followed the elections in Managua and the rest of the country in November. Public consensus is that the elections were stolen outright, and there is a great deal of fear. Things are relatively calm at the moment, but riots have broken out in other cities while we've been here.We went home and got a bit of rest before meeting another group of library science students, several Nicaraguan librarians, and the distinguished author and former vice present, Sergio Ramírez. Dinner was held at Casa Mejia Godoy, where we were unfortunately unable to hear the esteemed musicians play. Some of us purchased CDs before leaving, however.
Ramírez graciously posed for pictures with everyone and signed every book pushed before him.
He answered questions about his inspirations and process as a writer, and later we ventured to ask him a little about Nicaragua's social problems, but most of us were hesitant to ask the political questions that were really on our minds. While the people, both native and expat, that we have spoken to have been quick to condemn the current government and lament the current economic situation in Nicaragua, there does not seem to be much of a consensus on what would be better and what is needed. People are clearly nervous. We have met people who are still Sandinista at heart, the say. They do not say what they are, now, in thought and action. Sergio Ramírez ended his talk , and it was followed by delicious plates of carne asada, pollo, pescado, and a vegetable plate that left one of us a little disappointed. She knows what to ask for next time, though.
¡Mañana, ANIBIPA, Granada, y San Juan del Sur!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
in which we buy more than we ever planned to
We have had quite a full day, met some amazing people, and bought some wonderful things to bring home. It all began with a huge feast of fruit, gallopinto (a Nicaraguan dish of rice with beans), tostones, pan dulce, jugos, eggs, tamales, and quite a few other options.
After breakfast, we piled into our 15 person van and drove through Managua to Codice, a beautiful gallery of art and handicrafts owned by Juanita, a friend of a friend whom Lyndsey was told she must look up while visiting Nicaragua.
Codice is housed in what was once Juanita's home...
And was full of beautiful pottery, paintings and crafts.
After meeting Juanita and learning about how she came to know many of the artists in Nicaragua, and asking her what she thinks of Obama (she's excited), we hopped back into our van and drove to Masaya.
On the way we passed a volcano...
The Masaya artisan market was an overwhelming bazaar of souvenirs geared for tourists. We had lunch, did some shopping, 
and met Frankie, who talked his way into our hearts and pockets.
While half of the group stayed in the mercado to shop and have lunch, the rest went to Hamacas O & M, a hammock "factory" in the home of Oswaldo and Martha Suazo.
Third generation hammock makers, they assemble the hammocks in their shop from pieces made by workers in their homes.
At 13 dollars for a small chair hammock, some of us just couldn't resist. The hammocks were divinely comfortable after a morning on our feet.
After leaving the fabrica de hamacas, we had snacks at the amazing house of Susan Wyss, a retired archaeologist who now owns a English and Spanish language bookstore. 
We saw this beautiful rainbow from the top of the hill she lives on.
The view was great, even on such an overcast afternoon. We relaxed and learned all about Susan's adventures digging up old Managua and joining the Peace Corps in Ecuador.
One of the many pre-Columbian artifacts in her personal collection. She has an amazing library, too...
After the bocadillos and sangria, we went to Susan's bookstore to meet with a Nicaraguan economist who answered our questions about finances in the country. At the store, most of us bought books by Sergio Ramírez, hoping he will sign them when we have dinner with him tomorrow.
And after that, we went next door to the newly opened Italian restaurant Pane e Vino. The puttanesca pasta was delicious, as was listening to all the local expats' gossip!
Here we are in front of Susan's bookstore, Frontera Books.
We'll be up early tomorrow to go to the American Embassy, visit some libraries, and have dinner with Juanita Bermúdez (from the gallery we visited today) and Sergio Ramírez at the Casa Mejia Godoy.
Here's a video, taken at lunch in the mercado, of some musicians performing a marimba version of the song Caitlin taught to everyone else in the van today, Nicaragua, Nicaraguita.
After breakfast, we piled into our 15 person van and drove through Managua to Codice, a beautiful gallery of art and handicrafts owned by Juanita, a friend of a friend whom Lyndsey was told she must look up while visiting Nicaragua.
Codice is housed in what was once Juanita's home...
And was full of beautiful pottery, paintings and crafts.
After meeting Juanita and learning about how she came to know many of the artists in Nicaragua, and asking her what she thinks of Obama (she's excited), we hopped back into our van and drove to Masaya.
On the way we passed a volcano...
The Masaya artisan market was an overwhelming bazaar of souvenirs geared for tourists. We had lunch, did some shopping, 
and met Frankie, who talked his way into our hearts and pockets.
While half of the group stayed in the mercado to shop and have lunch, the rest went to Hamacas O & M, a hammock "factory" in the home of Oswaldo and Martha Suazo.
Third generation hammock makers, they assemble the hammocks in their shop from pieces made by workers in their homes.
At 13 dollars for a small chair hammock, some of us just couldn't resist. The hammocks were divinely comfortable after a morning on our feet.
After leaving the fabrica de hamacas, we had snacks at the amazing house of Susan Wyss, a retired archaeologist who now owns a English and Spanish language bookstore. 
We saw this beautiful rainbow from the top of the hill she lives on.
The view was great, even on such an overcast afternoon. We relaxed and learned all about Susan's adventures digging up old Managua and joining the Peace Corps in Ecuador.
One of the many pre-Columbian artifacts in her personal collection. She has an amazing library, too...
After the bocadillos and sangria, we went to Susan's bookstore to meet with a Nicaraguan economist who answered our questions about finances in the country. At the store, most of us bought books by Sergio Ramírez, hoping he will sign them when we have dinner with him tomorrow.
And after that, we went next door to the newly opened Italian restaurant Pane e Vino. The puttanesca pasta was delicious, as was listening to all the local expats' gossip!
Here we are in front of Susan's bookstore, Frontera Books.
We'll be up early tomorrow to go to the American Embassy, visit some libraries, and have dinner with Juanita Bermúdez (from the gallery we visited today) and Sergio Ramírez at the Casa Mejia Godoy.
Here's a video, taken at lunch in the mercado, of some musicians performing a marimba version of the song Caitlin taught to everyone else in the van today, Nicaragua, Nicaraguita.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
a very warm welcome
Hello everyone! We have all arrived safe and sound here in Managua. After a long but pleasant day traveling—most of us had a three hour layover in Atlanta which we spent chatting, eating, and exchanging book recommendations (this is what happens when 13 librarians travel together)—we landed in Nicaragua at 8:30 in the evening. Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua, and we will be here until Tuesday when we travel to San Juan del Sur, home of the Biblioteca Móvil.
Those of us flying together out of Dulles arrived at the airport early and decided it would be a good time to take perhaps an inordinate number of photos...
Approximately 10 hours later we went smoothly through customs (one of us is missing a bag, but we've been promised it will arrive at our rather luxurious hotel, El Camino Real, about 30 seconds from the airport).
From the air at night, Managua looks like any other city. We'll find out what it's really like tomorrow.
Jane Mirandette, owner of Hotel Villa Isabella in San Juan del Sur and founder of Nicaragua's first public lending library, met us at the airport, which is brand new. Sandino, the anti-imperialist folk hero who inspired thousands of Nicaraguans to take up his name during and after the revolution of the late 1970s, greeted us too.
We were shuttled to the hotel, where we settled in and then met for drinks. Everyone got one free bebida on the house. Nicaragua is famous for its ron, the best of which is Flor de Caña. With coke and lime, that gets you a Nica Libre, only a slight variation on the well known Cuban cocktail. Jane gave us gift bags—decorated by children from the biblioteca—full of bottled water, hand sanitizer, maps and snack bars, and talked to us a bit about how she ended up in Nicaragua (she came on a trip 10 years ago and realized she had left her heart here) and how she became such an integral part of the library community here without ever wanting to be a librarian. She is quite an amazing, gracious woman and an inspiration for anyone who has ever wanted to work, live, volunteer, or all three, in Latin America.
Tomorrow we're set to visit a local art gallery, a hammock maker in the city of Masaya, several markets and a bookstore. It's a small world here—some of us had connections with various expatriates and nicas, and Jane already knows all of them!
For those of you anxiously waiting to hear from us, we are quite safe and well cared for. We have Internet access at the Camino Real, but it is limited and not everyone brought a computer. And we are also quite busy! We will check in as soon as we can, and on Tuesday when we arrive in San Juan del Sur we will be able to call you for free. For now, be assured we are all thrilled to have left our winter coats behind.
¡Hasta mañana!
Those of us flying together out of Dulles arrived at the airport early and decided it would be a good time to take perhaps an inordinate number of photos...
Approximately 10 hours later we went smoothly through customs (one of us is missing a bag, but we've been promised it will arrive at our rather luxurious hotel, El Camino Real, about 30 seconds from the airport).
From the air at night, Managua looks like any other city. We'll find out what it's really like tomorrow.
Jane Mirandette, owner of Hotel Villa Isabella in San Juan del Sur and founder of Nicaragua's first public lending library, met us at the airport, which is brand new. Sandino, the anti-imperialist folk hero who inspired thousands of Nicaraguans to take up his name during and after the revolution of the late 1970s, greeted us too.
We were shuttled to the hotel, where we settled in and then met for drinks. Everyone got one free bebida on the house. Nicaragua is famous for its ron, the best of which is Flor de Caña. With coke and lime, that gets you a Nica Libre, only a slight variation on the well known Cuban cocktail. Jane gave us gift bags—decorated by children from the biblioteca—full of bottled water, hand sanitizer, maps and snack bars, and talked to us a bit about how she ended up in Nicaragua (she came on a trip 10 years ago and realized she had left her heart here) and how she became such an integral part of the library community here without ever wanting to be a librarian. She is quite an amazing, gracious woman and an inspiration for anyone who has ever wanted to work, live, volunteer, or all three, in Latin America.
Tomorrow we're set to visit a local art gallery, a hammock maker in the city of Masaya, several markets and a bookstore. It's a small world here—some of us had connections with various expatriates and nicas, and Jane already knows all of them!
For those of you anxiously waiting to hear from us, we are quite safe and well cared for. We have Internet access at the Camino Real, but it is limited and not everyone brought a computer. And we are also quite busy! We will check in as soon as we can, and on Tuesday when we arrive in San Juan del Sur we will be able to call you for free. For now, be assured we are all thrilled to have left our winter coats behind.
¡Hasta mañana!
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