The gems dropped by Ms Hill to the youth was the pure truth! I can go on and on regarding the numerous themes she touched on but for now I’ll focus on the recording clip between 9:58-10:57. The following themes were touched on:

Power of Prayer

Empathy

It’s Past the Physical

The power of prayer was so cliche to me until 2019 when I became acquainted with prayers of intercession. I was in a season of praying for physical healing. In moments of desperation, we try pulling out all the tricks from the hat. But this my friends wasn’t a 1x trick, nor a genie in a bottle scenario. This was me and God connecting for the long haul - which I later learned. Vulnerability. Stepping out of Comfort Zone. Manifestation. Praying out loud was out of the ordinary for me. I saw my parents doing this growing up but never did on my own until a real life connection to God happened in my adulthood. Two of my top scriptures of this season were:

Mark 11:22-25: “Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. ”

‭‭Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death...”

The power of prayer wasn’t solely for the benefit of me but also for others. And the kicker: praying for those that I wasn’t on the best terms with. Like Ms Hill said “...I pray to learn how to love than to be loved because God has given me in abundance”. It was during these prayers that God truly wow’ed me in how He intervened for others through me. He truly renewed my heart/mind (Romans 12:2) to let go of unforgiveness overtime. There were subtle and blatant reminders of how God was working. We are so used to saying it was just by luck. But, nah, it’s all part of God’s plan, period.

Empathy is a quality that has been of second nature to me. It’s as if when someone near me or far feels off, I feel for them. Us folk, with big hearts, know how this is. It’s of no shock that my spiritual gift: mercy which in so many instances I’ve seen as a con. It’s about balancing and having healthy boundaries. I’m not an octopus; humanly I cannot reach out to all; but I can still try. From an encouraging text, to an empowering story on IG, to a phone call just to let someone release, we all need someone to lean on, like Bill Withers said in his classic track.

Regarding the battle being spiritual and not merely physical (of flesh and blood), there are no jokes on that one (Ephesians 6:12). Within our physical bodies, we all have the Spirit of God within us whether you believe me or not. Let’s put it this way if you were simply a physical body where would your conscience be, feelings, etc? We would be like the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. But we aren’t so let’s not downplay how beautifully complex God created us to be. Back to the previous point, remember when you violently clash with that same cousin all the time when you see them, or that friend who always talks down/gossips about you or even that parent that chooses to yell instead of talk it out when it comes to disagreements, know that there is something deeper than the eye can see going on. Now, I don’t want to overspiritualize 24/7, but just have an idea that we are more than just our flesh. This area of sensing spiritual warfare came more as my prayers for others intensified. People downplay what this walk looks like as a simple “God is good all the time” quote but let me tell you it’s definitely not for the weak hearted. But again, I am speaking from my own personal experience. Everyone’s encounters with spiritual warfare to encounters with Christ will look different. Like, everyone has various spiritual gifts but not all are one in the same.

When your mom asks for candied yams- you better make them! Growing up Dominican, candied yams would not ever be found on the table. Traditional American sweet potatoes, specifically. The closest we got is batata aka Carribean sweet potatoes which would typically be cut and fried, or a dulce de batata. I remember growing up and when my mom would start frying them, I’d eat a few before she set the table. I know I’m guilty , haha!

Back to the holiday menu, typical Dominican dishes would look something like this: some type of rice, a casserole (either lasagna, sweet plantain casserole, etc), various types of meats (either turkey, chicken, pernil - where my Boricuas at!), potato salad, some type of cold salad (we need our veggies!) and appetizers (pastelitos, quipes, etc). As you can tell, this is one of the only reasons I like this season. If it was solely dependent on weather, it’s a full no! Only the northern east coast folks who dread this weather would understand. Either way, it’s so dope how America is infused with so many cuisines from all cultural backgrounds- literally a melting pot. With the pandemic hitting this country so hard, we were not able to celebrate with extended family as we usually do, but the love was still the same. The menu at my parents this year was candied yams, chicken, pork chops, steak, yellow rice, potato salad. Let’s not forget the dessert: homemade carrot cake. My mom and my little sister got them hands in the kitchen, let me tell you! When I tell you I was on cloud 9, you don’t even know! But most importantly, I’m grateful that all my family members and I are still here even when COVID has hurt so many families in so many ways. We must count every single blessing as life is too short for all the extra nonsense!

For God didn’t give me a spirit of timidity or fear, but gave me a spirit of love, power and self discipline

2 Timothy 1:7

“Start now. Start where you are. Start with fear. Start with pain. Start with doubt. Start with hands shaking. Start with voice trembling but start. Start and don’t stop. Start where you are, with what you have. Just… start.”

— Ijeoma Umebinyuo

Highest Commodity for Parents

A few days I went to Price Rite (initially) to purchase diapers to provide as a donation to a family friend that was headed to Puerto Rico. As you all know, Puerto Rico, was hit hard with a 4.7 magnitude earthquake on December 28, which kicked off a sequence of seismic events on the island, according to a report provided by CBS News. More than 2,000 tremors have occurred since the original quake, leaving the island's three million people in fear, and waiting for aid. My prayers go out to my friends with family out there and the rest of the island. For all the corrupt dealing with the aid, the truth WILL come to light. Puerto Rico pa’ lante!

I ended up purchasing a Pampers brand 92 pack (size 4) for $25, baby wipes and pads for women. I then ended up driving to BJs to grab a few more items. I happened to check the cost for the Berkley Jensen brand (which was their cheapest option) and there was a 156 pack for $26. A 64 pamper difference! I headed right back to Price Rite. Just to give you some info: Price Rite is near where I live in a heavily residential area with easy accessibility to public transportation. BJs, on the other hand, is easiest to get to in car. I am sure there is public transportation but some walking involved. Mind you, its winter time in Boston.

I head back to Price Rite with Pampers brand pack and receipt in hand, and I ask the woman who’s monitoring the self checkout section to do the return. As she calls another man who works there to finalize return, she proceeds to tell me something along the lines,” wow, someone who paid for pampers. Do you not know there was a woman with a baby that was trying to take some pampers?! Do you not think about DCF and the police?” I am assuming that she must’ve recognized I was Dominican or maybe because I look younger, but I was confused as to why she was telling me these details. I just literally looked at her and said “Oh, thats bold”. Even the guy finalizing the return, whom also was Dominican (our accents when speaking Spanish are particular), “De que estas hablando?” *with an annoyed look* 

I was upset at my lack of response. Thinking about it later, I am like I don’t know the woman this store associate referred to. What if this woman and the father of the child were working parents but couldn’t make ends meet? What if she was a single parent that struggled to get pampers or even food on the table? I doubt anyone grows up saying, “When I have a baby, I want to steal pampers”. Never! But who knows what was going on in the lady’s mind: emotionally, physically or mentally. Its so easy to have 0 compassion for some people and not others. Its still ok to tell someone hey you broke the rules but you know this time, we can let you off or what other resources can be provided? There were so many what if’s. I realized that me, as a woman who has no kids, buying pampers (either for causes or because I know someone with a child) is probably not a burden. But I saw my little sister with my niece and how a child can go through so many pampers at a given moment. This sparked a thought. I began to look up links about the issue of affording pampers. 

https://www.thenation.com/article/welcome-to-america-where-parents-cant-afford-diapers/

https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/us/cnn-heroes-cannon/index.html

How about this? Ask local organizations like your local Department of Transitional Assistance office, how are they helping families who have difficulty affording pampers? Search for local non-profits to see what they are doing about this issue. Even go as far as asking a store manager from a store that sells pampers, if they tend to see parents that may need help buying pampers (hopefully not biased in making assumptions)? For me, I noticed that when I pray more I can just sense better around me. I’ve always been empathetic. I blame it on my parents. But we are all smart, if you observe people, you can notice if there is sadness, anger, frustration. But PLEASE don’t make the mistake of assuming and just going up to anyone. If you sincerely feel like God is speaking to you and you are guided to go up to someone to give them that $25 for a pack of pampers. Just do it. All it takes is 1 person. These are the baby steps in helping humanity become restored.

Get Creative for the Love of Food

Thanks to Christmas, New Years and a short visit from mamá in Boston, I’ve been on a cooking hiatus until this week. I made a vegetarian meal that consisted of: homemade hummus, tomato & onion mix with spices, roasted cauliflower with spices. The freshness and various tastes made this a vegetarian wrap that anyone would enjoy!

Sometimes, I have days I want to experiment with completely vegan dishes, sometimes vegetarian and sometimes meat based. Cooking has become more of a competition of “Chopped” minus the random basket ingredients- to see what I had to make a healthy & tasty dish. I’m a fan of knowing what’s in my food (thank you Dr Sebi for making me conscientious about ingredients). Although I’m not solely plant based, my curiosity in finding plant based ingredients to replace dairy or meat items, was intriguing to me. This is what actually got me in the kitchen (at times). Before, I’d just stay away until the food was ready but was always ready to eat. Working on an urban farm (based in the city) also made me cook more. Perks of working on a farm: the overflow of vegetables & herbs I’d bring home. Photo shoots of all the vegetables/herbs was athe norm. They better werk! Haha. On a side note: Greatful to God for this experience.

Most importantly I come from a line of home grown Dominican chefs (oh, the perks of growing up with home cooked meals!) All the ladies from my mom’s side literally got no competition- if you don’t believe me, try it for yourself! In addition from my dads side, his older sister also got the juice. Need I say more ? Vivid memories of the tables filled with food on Turkey Day, Christmas Eve and New Years Eve remind me of the love that is put into cooking. Gotta wait a whole 11 months until then *sad face*

I’ve learned to appreciate what food can do in marrying cultures together to bringing individuals together. Similar to the one & only Anthony Bourdain (Rest in Love). My dream job: eat foods from various cultures, travel and learn about each country’s history from the mouths of the locals. The way he was able to connect with others with 0 judgement and his thirst to learn more was humbling to watch.

And drum roll please:

I made vegan coquito (no alcohol), so if you want to add some Bacardi to your cup, be my guest. I used brands that didn’t have the unnecessary ingredients like some of the cheaper brands. Although a bit more costly: quality>quantity. Grateful for the small things.

Faith Vision Boards and the Exclusivity of who the Education System Decides to Fail

I received a text from a chat group I’m in sent this past Saturday morning: “Morning! My moms having vision boarding at her house today”. Wow God’s timing! I was planning on doing my faith vision board at some point so I’m glad this gift came sooner. Shoutout to Renee’s mom, Damali! Me and Renee with our boards.

Initially, I arrived and greeted everyone. Like busy bees all the ladies were cutting out powerful images and empowering words from the pile of Essence and Harvard School magazines among others while vibing to some music. On a side note: I spoke to a young woman who attended and she happened to mention that she had applied to LOTS of medical schools. As someone that is always rooting to see more Black MDs among other underrepresented groups in leadership positions within the medical field, I inquired more and pointed her to a center I had interned at that ran a program: BWH STARS catered to underrepresented junior & senior undergraduate students and first year medical students. Unfortunately they won’t be running the program in 2020, but will in Summer 2021. Be on the lookout!

My passion for empowering high school teens to college students stems from my subpar experience at the high school I attended. A dictatorial regime when it came to discipline, but lacked in properly readying students for college/alternative routes like trades or entrepreneurial activities. AmeriCorps tutors (majority white american) came on the scene my 1st year to spicen up their resumes and see what the “struggle” looked like for the Black and Latino students they would end up “saving” from the perils of the “inner city”. You see how crazy this sounds? Well, many unfortunately STILL have this mindset. And did I mention that many of us didn’t even fit the “stereotypical mold” of their wildest dreams _______ (fill in the blank stereotypes of Black and Latino groups). Sadly, as a Dominican teen I didn’t even have the slightest grasp of the various levels of racism, micro-aggressions and prejudices until years later. Thanks to taking sociology & public health courses, studying abroad, volunteering and domestic & international internship experiences (mainly by my own inquisitive nature) at university level the wheels began to turn for me. After graduating from university, I happened to reconnect with a few tutors whom witnessed and disclosed to me much of racist commentary most of their white American counterparts who thought they were saving “us” were exhibiting through a white savior complex lens. A Race and ethnic relations course (the class that changed my WHOLE life) should be made part of the mandatory curriculum required for all freshmen as English & Math were and still are. When it came to deciding the college of choice there was no detailed process of doing so as I, now, realize was so important. It felt like my high school preferred to bow down to the MCAS (Massachusetts standardized testing) rather than preparing us for the SATs and strategically navigating college (in order to atleast come out with the least or NO debt)! Most of my high school’s student demographic consisted of Black and Latino students, and per usual, we were given the short end of the stick when it came to the resources that were needed. I later learned that my high school was funded partially through public resources not just private. Fun Fact!

The young woman at this past weekend’s activity had shared that she was Haitian and explained her high school experience to me. Although in a private school, she noticed the disposable income most of the wealthy kids had as they were tutored at their own leisure while she was not allotted the same. She also mentioned the ridiculously low standards that Black youth were held at vs their white American counterparts. The power of the tongue is real-- speak death onto a person see how they turn out years later vs someone who gets life spoken into them. It’s that simple. At one point, we were like oh shoot we gotta finish our boards! I realized how particular my attention to detail was because when I looked around I saw everyone was finished. LOL

I ended up adding more to my faith vision board over the weekend. I came across a Stop & Shop recipe magazine and a real estate magazine at home (food and financial wealth) best of both worlds. I felt like Nemo recently because you know, life happens, even after you do these “pick me up” activities. Try to be the Dory to your family, friends and even strangers. 

Although I did not have the most fruitful high school experience I am grateful for what I have learned years later so in the present and future I can empower & engage!

First Post of the Decade! Thank God <3

I vowed 2020 to be the year of healing. Typical cliche-ish New Years New Me stuff, huh? Yes, but on the flip side I actually mean it. 2019 was a year of losses and pain but planting seeds of abundance and progression for the better. My personal relationships were reshuffled and some became outright nonexistent, an invisible diagnosis made its grand entrance, having an individual relationship with Jesus Christ reminded me why He must be 1st before embarking on any relationship/any other life decisions made/etc. (but let me remind you this hasn’t been a linear path since becoming born again Fall 2018), welcoming a new therapist with hesitancy, a reminder that career paths are usually never stagnant and the final thought of 2019: to heal and no longer be codependent. Moving passively is no longer an option.

I left and entered the New Years with sancocho in my belly. A traditional Dominican soup that consists of a variation of meats (gallina, chuleta, longaniza, etc), víveres (aka root vegetables), verduras (greens) and other vegetables to make the seasoning on point.

And my dad captured a shot of me with both my grandmothers, very blessed to still have them here!

I counted down to 2020 with my sister in Christ on one side and an old friend I hadn’t seen in so long on the other. The words of Healing and Restoration continued to imprint themselves in my brain during the NYE church service and days after. The affirmations the pastor made that night was so necessary for me to hear! Although changes don’t happen overnight. It's been a long road for me to even get here. We'll get to that part because once upon a time I wasn’t planning on stepping into churches any longer, EVER.

For some reason, deep down in my soul, I know this year is going to be different. Uncomfortable yet necessary. Publicly claiming this puts the pressure on 100, but God has given me a spirit of power, love and self discipline as we all have once we truly tap into the our spiritual relationship with Him. Things just flow as they need to.

What uncomfortable decisions have YOU needed to make in order be an active player in YOUR own healing?

Before I go, Happy New Year ya filthy animal!

I heard chickpeas are a good source of protein- and it’s been a soup feeling set of days with this snow in Boston?! I received inspiration from the attached link and of course season to the T! I used canned chickpeas as I was on the go- made no negative impact in the soup! Good for me. With the addition of all the sautéed vegetables and select seasonings that yell “season as mamá would” I went for it! It came out amazing and I was able to incorporate this soup with a chicken recipe (chicken & chickpea stew)!

A few pointers:

1) make sure to chop up all your vegetables and place in a plate (so your not scrambling to throw everything in your pan for sautéing )

2) make sure to have all your seasonings ready as well

Soups tend to be pretty straight forward especially with no meats being involved! If you have any inquiries feel free to message me!

First time cooking tofu! So I wanted to see how well tofu absorbed flavors (plus I’m trying to cook with every plant based protein in the world)! Here we have seasoned tofu with cauliflower mash! I would recommend using the recipe attached but make sure to check the salt taste after the tofu has been marinated with soy sauce - because soy sauce carries its level of sodium - and too salty is no bueno! So be weary before adding your pink Himalayan salt. Also before even starting the cooking process make sure to let tofu dry out as much as possible by pressing with paper towels (there is a link within this link that gives tips for letting tofu dry out). Also, to give the tofu this charred look and with some crisp make sure to leave in the broil setting for about 6-7 min on both sides. As always my cauliflower mash always gets the usual SBPG (salt, black pepper & garlic) powders after the cauliflower is steamed and blended in a food processor.

Does anyone like the combo of sweet & salty? If you do, this is for you! Introducing you to my version of the broccoli crusted “pizza” with a sweet potato spread as the topping. This came out better than expected! Here’s a piece of the full pie- enjoy!

A few pointers for how I made the broccoli crust:

1) Rinse broccoli off and blend in a food processor with seasonings to your liking (the usual suspects: salt, black pepper, garlic powder and whatever else your little heart desires). Add eggwhites to the mix and a small scoop of Greek yogurt & protein powder. Take a tiny taste to get flavor to your liking.

2) Put on parchment paper on a metal pan at about 375 for like 20 minutes. I let it broil for about 8-10 minutes.

A few pointers for sweet potato mash.

1) I cut them up and steamed them. I then fork mashed them & added the usual seasonings.

2) I also added a little bit of tomato paste (about 1.5 tbsp) and seasoned the mashed sweet potato more. I also added a little bit of water to soften.

Voila! Any questions holla!

So I never thought I’d be using egg whites THIS much but they got protein! This concoction is what I would call Eggwhite Sweet Potato Veggie with shredded chicken flourless “muffins” (now say that 5x FAST)! You could literally even take this to go but I ate all of these in one setting for a late breakfast. Also another thing I added sweet potato and shredded chicken because they were leftovers (leftovers are your friend- so improvise!)

Pointers for making this recipe (do note these are the measurements I used as part of my fitness challenge):

1) Blend .5 cup of egg whites (I added some pink Himalayan salt, black pepper, and garlic powder prior), 1 tbsp of Greek yogurt, .5 cup of mashed sweet potato, .25 cup of already seasoned chicken.

2) On the side sauté an onion (whichever yellow, white or red) and cut up about 2 small red sweet peppers- (I get them from BJs) with an oil spray or regular oil. Then add 1 cup of spinach.

3) Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Already have your oven set between 350-375 degrees.

4) Get your muffin tin ready with parchment paper ready and cut pieces to fit each slot. I then sprayed with an oil spray and added a scoop to each.

5) Leave in oven between 20-23 minutes. Broil for 2 minutes if you do not want charred like mine which was left for 4 minutes broiling. Might I mention how damn good it was !

Nothing better than some carribean inspired spice in yo life! My dinner was on point: Jerk Chicken Breasts with Garlic sautéed asparagus. I’ve tried to do my own personal challenge of how many combinations of seasoning styles I could do for every batch of chicken breasts I make. Why you ask? I’ve taken part of a fitness challenge that literally screams: PUMP protein and low/to no sugar veggies in your meals. To say it’s not challenging would be a lie! Plus I’m not a fan of consuming meat & dairy every day- but I have #s to meet- so the plant based protein sources weren’t “high enough” to win the protein race. Either way, the jerk seasoning I found was inspired from the website attached. But as my Dominican foremothers (aka anyone linked to the Afro Diaspora or just from family backgrounds that people LOVE to cook) would do, we barely measure anything, the taste dictates the seasoning story.

A few points for this meal once chicken unthaws: 1)ALWAYS clean the meat with fresh lime or lemon and salt (non-negotiable).

2) Let the chicken marinate in the seasoning for a few hours(incorporate an oil so the dry seasoning STICKS to the meat).

3) I personally like using grape seed or avocado oil for cooking at high temps (for the sake of my fitness challenge I’ve been using oil sprays)

For the asaparagus it’s pretty self explanatory:

1) cut off the bottom ends and make sure to wash thoroughly

2) cut up your garlic into small pieces (or grate it), I also added a small amount of low sodium soy sauce

3) While cooking asaparagus, add sale & pepper to your liking. I add garlic powder to basically anything, so that’s my extra for this one.

Hope you enjoy!

Twas a rainy day in Boston and I had a gift certificate so why not make the best of yesterday’s rainy day and stop at local mom & pop spot: Fornax plus I was hungry! For anyone not from Roslindale, this is a local spot for sandwiches, pastries, breads etc. it is a place that oozes “shop local”! I went inside greeted a young man who didn’t say a word out his mouth behind the counter- its manners , maybe it was his 1st day who knows? Either way I was looking at the menu and then pulled out the paper menu that I had with me. I finally decided on the ‘Sandwich Special’: half sandwich (a variety of options excluding 2 sandwich types), a cup of soup (a selection of 4 soup options) and a choice of the side. I placed my order with a young woman and waited until I was called by 1st name to eat- saying names is always a nice touch of customer service- I like that! My review on the food: the spinach lentil soup was great for this type of weather (and I was happy a plant based option was provided) but it lacked flavor. I wish there were flavors of seasonings that yelled out at me- but unfortunately they weren’t there. The pesto sandwich included the Fornax pesto, slices of mozzarella and tomato. The pesto seasoning was very light. For a half sandwich the size was good and it was toasted just right! My favorite item on this dish was side of the roasted potatoes- they were perfectly crispy! I was hoping to get a have a great day Michelle- but did not. I am happy that my belly felt a good full (not that trashy food full). Just a side note: I have gotten a sandwich in the past and bread that they make there previously.

4.5.2012 Isla de Ometepe—The island of monkeys, hills and hipsters

And the journey begins on the ruta (general bus service in Nicaragua) with the route from Masaya to Rivas and from there to Rivas’ port San Jorge to catch a ferry or lancha, a smaller version of a boat. As me and another intern sat and waited for the lancha we met a fellow named Richard, native of Provincetown, relatively close to Boston compared to where all other foreigners I’ve met were from. Finally the lancha came and for about an hour of swaying back and forth we finally reached our destination, the town of Moyogalpa. Once we arrived a few taxi drivers began asking if we needed rides to hotels—the usual, whenever people arrived to the port. Richard, Paul and I searched for hostels and we came across el Hospedaje Central, a French family owned business. Many tourists from Europe and other places were here and plus they had monkeys, deer and cats so why not take the offer? Unfortunately all the dorm style beds were full so Paul and I settled for the regular room including private bathroom. Richard decided to stay at the Landing Hotel near the port, but he would return later for drinks and to hang out. Later that night, I met some Germans who were volunteering for a year in Esteli, another town in Nicaragua. Their work was in development involving education. Thereafter, we met a Scottish guy Alan who was traveling and also completing his first book. This night I managed to learn some phrases in German, listen to ridiculous stories of drugs from 2 other foreigners, and drink some melon fresco (always my favorite). Finally, my night of conversing ended by 2 or 3 in the morning. The next day for breakfast I had some gallo pinto, eggs, and bread with marmalade. Overall, I thought everything went swell at this hostel. The only negative thing I could say is that I was overcharged for my stay and food expenses (which I will explain in the next few lines)! However, we were in a rush to get to hiking towards Volcan Concepcion so I paid, without much thought or explanation from the employee. Fail, on my part, I should’ve stayed longer but that’s how the story went. It was during our hike that it dawned on me that I was definitely bamboozled for my money.

Back to the hiking trip! We saw beautiful birds and saw many lizards going in and out of holes in the dirt. Along the path, we also managed to see a few horses and cows being led by their owners. The best part of all—the monkeys, the main item off my bucket list was finally checked off. I had seen some in Nicaragua but from far distances, and I never felt satisfied with my view, but this time around they were up close and personal! The path was made up of dirt roads and had hundreds of trees everywhere. Finally a little before the start of the volcano there were old lava rocks all over and branches of all different types of trees. After about 2 hours into the trek I decided to lie down and read/relax while my friend continued on his own personal trek. It was quite relaxing, and a great meditation spot, for those looking to just hang out with nature. Although my feet ached by the end of the trek I appreciated the awesome things this side of the island had to offer especially its nature.

Back to the money situation, I returned to the hostel and spoke with Ben, the same employee who I had paid for my stay from there. I posed the issue to him and mentioned I was charged for an extra juice and something extra I was not sure of and the numbers didn’t match, however all he said was I don’t have the old papers showing my expenses (since their tab system is literally writing what people order on random sheets of paper, and not in a notebook or something more orderly). Also, the owner, who seemed like a pretty understanding person was out for the morning, therefore there was no one to really speak to. I was more upset over the principle behind it and at this point I felt as if their customer service wasn’t as high as I previously thought. FYI: If you decide to come here, definitely write out what you order on your notebook/phone and be sure to get updates from them on your tab to avoid what happened to me.

My next destination was to heading to the other side of the Isla de Ometepe, since there are two separate sides to this island. There are 2 volcanoes, Volcan Concepcion y Volcan Maderas. On this side of the island, there are different towns such as Altagracia, Santa Cruz, Maderas and probably a few others I am not sure of. We had to take a bus from Moyogalpa to Santa Cruz, about a US$1 but it took some time to get out there since the bus was full. Finally we reached Santa Cruz at about 5 pm. We headed towards a hostel, Little Morgan’s but it ended up being full, so the search began. We hit up a few hostels and asked for prices and finally came across Hostal Espirales, which was charging us US$5 for a night. The only thing that was bothersome was the large amount of flies and mosquitoes in this area. The worst, was electricity going out at 3 am (later found out the whole town didn’t have any for a few hours as well). After much twisting around in bed trying to fight the heat, my body couldn’t take it and I left the room. There was another couple next door and the guy came out and mentioned he woke up because of the heat as well. His name was Edwin—a local Nicaraguan. He mentioned that he was here for the week of Semana Santa and also to accompany his girlfriend for work purposes. She was working on her master’s thesis and her project dealt with plantain growers in the Isla. I also asked him for traveling advice since there are a few towns, such as Rio San Juan, San Juan del Sur and Somoto that I would like to visit before I leave. I have literally a month left! Wild. After his advice, we figured we would stay up until sunrise. First, the sounds of dogs barking, then birds chirping and finally chickens squawking filled my ears. Once the sun rose, we went to look for a fruit seller and he showed me a comedor (basically a local place to eat, usually in the homes of the owners). He mentioned being charged a better price than what we paid at this hostel for food. He paid 90 cordobas for a delicious, huge fish, while my friend paid 150 cordobas for his fish. After our short walk we returned and I got ready for the day. After getting ready Paul and I paid and we were gone.  He went back to Moyogalpa and I went to the Comedor I was referred to. The actual name of the food joint was Comedor Santa Cruz but the owner Maria, planned to put a sign for Comedor Maria, since another local business decided to take the name after she used it for a few years, according to her. When I walked in she was separating the good rice from the bad rice. When I speak of bad rice—it does not mean its harmful bad but more so this rice was stained from the sun and therefore got a black color from it. But due to the pickiness of people, rule of thumb is to just take this out, Maria laughed as she said this. Also, I happened to meet a Canadian girl who was helping Maria separate these pieces of rice. After asking Maria of what she offered for breakfast and other questions, I finally asked the girl where she was from and what she was doing here. She was traveling back and forth from Costa Rica and happened to stay in Isla de Ometepe and at some point, she heard about a small community of foreigners living in a town called “Enanito”. The owners of this community’s land were a couple—in which the wife offered a masseuse course and I was not told of what the boyfriend did. The price was pretty high but according to Kate she paid 1/3 of the price here she would have paid in Canada. She ended up becoming close with Maria after a visit she made here with her friend John and also after Maria had let the both of them camp on her property, after finding out all of the hostel s in the area were full. Thereafter they created a wonderful bond although Kate’s level of Spanish was minimal.  It was a really beautiful memory I will remember from the Isla. Maria seemed to be one of the most genuine people I have met during my stay in Nicaragua. Something as simple as her offering great customer service and even offering her home to random strangers, meant a lot. After our goodbye’s to Maria, Kate and I headed towards Altagracia where she would go to the bank and from there we would catch buses to where we needed to go. Once she did her transaction, we headed to the Central Park in Altagracia. We settled down had mango and cacao fresh juices. Thereafter we began asking around when the next buses would come, and was told it would be by 12. But half an hour turned to another hour and we realized we needed to hitch a ride. Its funny something I would always fear doing in the States, I started doing  in Nicaragua. Kate needed a ride back to Santa Cruz while I needed to reach Moyogalpa. After trying to catch rides, a man by the name of Hernan in his pickup stopped and mentioned he was going to the other side of the town so we readily stepped in. After a brief conversation with Hernan we just sat in silence observing the trees, people, multiple pulperias (equivalent of corner stores/small shops in the States), and of course the cows & horses that needed to cross the street. A few minutes into the ride, Kate was dropped off and I continued onto Moyogalpa with Hernan. Once I reached the Port I said my thank you and was off to catch a ferry. I caught the ferry which was a bit expensive compared to the usual traveling prices but I was told that from Thursday to Sunday finding transportation would become rare and more expensive (unless you hitched rides). I got on the ferry which was about US$3 to reach the port in Rivas. Once there I was approached by taxi drivers but I knew it would be expensive and I walked farther away from the Port to find a ride. Finally, I managed to hitch a ride about 10 minutes into walking. This time from a guy on a motorcycle named Peter, a local Nicaraguan as well as the previous guy. He said he wouldn’t mind taking me to the local market of Rivas after I asked. It was quite a bumpy ride to get there but it got the job done! Once he dropped me off I said thank you and waited for the bus heading to Managua. Luckily, this bus passed by the main road in Masaya. Finally, the bus got in and there were many people trying to get on the bus. Finally I got a seat and I was on my way back to Masaya after 2 hours of travel. I reached the main street and had to walk a long straight strip until finally reaching my home.

As I sat down, I thought to myself, this was one of the most relaxing and good weekends I have had in Nicaragua. I met some cool people and definitely appreciated the kindness of different locals in providing rides, advice and overall important life values—as shown by Maria through her genuine acts of kindness.

3.29.2012 Communal Bank Workshops-- (First one Ever) !

Finally, the day has come after a few schedule changes. The plan was to have the presentations today at 10 am until the completion of all 3 workshops—health/nutrition, basic accounting and empowerment. I was filled with butterflies although I was completely confident in what I would say especially the health related topics.  I had given myself a crash course in diabetes & obesity and about the different important body parts. Don Ramon, the driver from ALTERNATIVA, was nice enough to take me to the community of Las Flores (smaller neighborhood within Masaya), where the workshops were being held. After driving on the highway for a bit and passing dirt roads for the last 15 minutes we reached our destination. Don Ramon parked the car a few houses down and we began walking towards the home. Along this path, we met eyes with a few cows that the family owned and were greeted by the squawks of chickens and barks of dogs. “Saludos” I said loudly as three women looked up at me from their sinks where they were washing clothes.  They all greeted me and I took a few minutes to set up the flipchart on the walls and turn on my laptop as my guide (since I prepared power points for 2 of the 3 topics).

After setting up,  two of the women, Johana y Marling from the communal bank and Rosa, the wife of another communal Bank member sat down in chairs, where I placed notebooks and pens for each. And here began my first presentation de la diabetes, obesidad y nutricion. They seemed to enjoy it and Rosa seemed to answer each question I asked or put her thoughts towards the charla—what Nicaraguans call these talks. This in fact is essential in communities, to have at least 1-2 people within groups who understand and are able and willing to teach others what they learn in these workshops. This becomes a sustainable method, because even when I leave I know there will be a member who can teach others and essentially this will create a domino effect within the community. Back to the workshops! After realizing Rosa was answering majority of the questions I then asked Johana and Marling questions to see if they had retained the information. I drew out some of the body parts so it can be easier to explain their functions such as arteries—blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart, which is normally oxygenated. I saw the interest within them once they asked “podemos cojer notas”—“can we take notes.” This definitely made the workshop worthwhile because I felt I didn’t have to force them to participate, it just flowed well. Because of the descriptive PowerPoint, this one took about an hour or so to complete it. I saw that it was getting near lunchtime and I asked “prefieren comer almuerzo o quieren terminar las poresentaciones primero”—“would you prefer to eat lunch or would you prefer to continue until the end.” They all answered that they preferred to finish, which was exciting for me!

After midday the daughters of some of the members returned home from school and one of the members, Jairo who is also the husband of Marling returned from his work as a taxi driver. Marling went to attend the house duties while he began taking the notes for the remainder of the presentation. Rosa and Jairo stayed for the remainder of the presentations, while Candida—matriarch of the family and member of the communal bank provided her thoughts on the topic and then went back to washing dishes or cooking. Marling and Johana went to attend the house chores as well. I also realized something cool, the younger kids who returned began copying what the workshop participants were doing—they also began taking notes of whatever I put down, which brought a big smile to my face. That’s when I definitely knew I would return before I left to do more workshops with this group. The presentation of accounting went pretty fast since Jairo and Rosa easily understood the basics and I introduced them to the idea of opening bank accounts (I plan on getting information about requirements needed in banks for new members to open accounts).

Last but not least, the presentation of empowerment. I spoke about machismo in Nicaragua—basically an issue going on in many countries of the world. The definition is a strong or exaggerated sense of masculinity stressing attributes such as physical courage, virility, domination of women, and aggressiveness. I stressed that this hindered both women and men from moving forward. Women, because many were hindered from moving forward economically (getting a job, instead of being a house mom) and emotionally (mental abuse from machista men make women fearful) among other factors. For men, it just kept them mentally locked in this world that just posed issues to different women they came across, especially those within their own families. I came across a case of a woman who did not want to tell her husband she was taking out of loan out of fear of him not liking this idea and I came across another situation, where a woman did not want to mention continuing her education to her current partner since her partner said he was going to provide everything she needed. The thought of her working for herself or pursuing her education didn’t seem like a “good” idea to him. These were just a few thoughts that came to my mind as I did this presentation. I then explained to them the 4 components of being able to measure empowerment within individuals and different groups. These 4 consisted of assets (economic power), knowledge & know how (educational components and different forms of trainings), capacity (use knowledge to reach different members of the community in order to create social change) and will (confidence in making decisions in their future plans). These are some examples of each component in which each holds a great level of importance when affecting members on an individual and collective level.

And that’s when we reached the end and the different members thanked me for my time, and I mentioned I would be back for workshops of sexual health geared towards the younger children and a writing course for the members who couldn’t read or write. This has been a rewarding process, to say the least.

Until next post, adios!

3.10-3.11.2012 Birthday Party, Night Out and Trip to Leon

Feliz Cumpleaños Joshua! It was my host cousin’s son's birthday and it fell on March 9th. As the usual, birthday parties out here consist of having “queques” =cake and just some of the family over. Quite simple compared to the birthday parties in the States where a full course meal and cake is served, while there are lots of family, music and dancing. Well at least that’s how some of my family gatherings play themselves out. But any who, we sang las mañanitas and Feliz Cumpleaños and then marimba came on the boombox. Marimba, is the musica tipica of Nicaragua and most of the dances are done with a female and male partner. My host aunt, Argentina, and both of her grandsons Joshua and Jafet began dancing along with her, while I just watched. I just felt good vibes the whole afternoon just spending time with my host family and their family who lives next door. In particular, I met my host cousin’s cousin, Miriam from next door. She’s a 34 year old woman who is a great nail artist and is currently getting her certification for this. She’s a very high spirited person although, when we got into deeper topics she exposed some personal stories of her life. She mentioned that she already had 4 kids. Her major complaint about her kids was that respect was an important factor missing within her family. Also, she was separated from her ex-partner for years and now he lives in Costa Rica, so this didnt help at all. Her story began like this: At the age of about 14 or 15, she became pregnant with her first kids, set of male twins at that. She then went to Costa Rica with her ex-partner to start a life and work out there to further support her kids. She then had her daughter a few years later and the youngest one years after that. She mentioned something that was interesting. She told me that life in Costa Rica was way better than in Nicaragua. She mentioned that in Costa Rica she could get about $600 a month and live fine, basically invest more in herself and family. However, in Nicaragua you live a rougher life and getting enough money for even basic household appliances such as microwaves and refrigerators was a struggle among other things.  She also mentioned that many of her friends from here live tough lives since they are stuck working for many hours a week just enough to get food on the table but hardly any investments into the house or other appliances as I mentioned previously. She also gave me a point of advice, to find a partner who was supportive  and respectful since she had to deal with the breakup of her ex partner. Also, I have come to find that on the first day of meeting Nicaraguans, they were willing to be very open and let me into their personal lives, even if it was good or bad story. Many times, I was stuck just nodding my head signifying my understanding and empathy in their stories, but not being able to fully relate. It makes me struggle on a daily just imagining how to live out here because compared to most Nicaraguans I have it good. I still live at home, never had to work to sustain my family (just for internships and jobs that supported myself) and school was something that was a given, not even questioned, I would ever opt out of it. Whereas here, if your mother needs an extra employee to help sell clothing or fruits in the morning, you have to help out and in some cases drop out of school to take over some days when a parent may be busy.

 Off the serious note and to a new topic, the weekend got started off right. It was Mehrdad’s last night and in light of this we made a few stops to different lounges to dance and just enjoy our time together. Mehrdad, as mentioned in my previous entry was an intern of Casa Nica. It was a late night since walked back and forth to different places within Masaya. But for some reason I have felt safe walking around this town, its lovely.

Next day, on Saturday, my trip to Leon began in the early afternoon since I slept in and decided to hang out with my host family. The route to go Managua was first taking a micro bus from Masaya and then catching the longer bus to Leon (basically school buses). After about 3 hours of travel I finally reached Leon! As I asked around how to get to the central park from here I realized something: people do not walk enough out here! I kept on asking people how to walk out there and a few mentioned no its too long, take a taxi or take the bike taxis. Personally, I appreciate walking around to get to know each area I go to and hey it’s healthier. It’s overwhelming how many taxis are always open since it’s a huge form of employment for Nicaraguans. As for the Nicaraguans who take it every day, I wonder if they take it out of convenience or if this is something so embedded in the culture that people just don’t question it.  I walked for about 30 minutes and finally reached my destination. I just got a view of beautiful churches and the central park. The Central Park was filled with different food stands ranging from dishes of rice pork and beans to just simple pizza. After making my usual observations I finally called Jaime to let her know I was at Leon (I was going to meet up with Jaime and Caroline since they had arrived earlier). We met up later and stopped by this laid back coffee shop and I had an amazing mango juice. We then began asking around for cool things to do since this is Nicaragua’s “University Town”. Later that night, we were able to watch a live rock band and then find a great club playing Caribbean music. Overall a wonderful night! We ended up staying overnight at this simple but great hostel where we were served breakfast and had Wi-Fi, all just for $6. In particular, the owner Maria was the sweetest so it made my 2nd hostel experience great.

Finally for Sunday, we all decided to go to the Museum about the Revolution. Our guide’s name was Victor and he partook in the Revolution for Nicaraguans to gain their freedom not mainly from Somoza, but also the marines from the United States of America. Nicaragua has had a rocky history, since they have been under attack quite a few times. (I posted the link of the political history of Nicaragua which shows the timeline from the 1800’s). My jaw dropped a few times as I saw pictures of guns, blood and protests. Our guide had also been tortured by Somoza's officers and had nails pulled off, which was horrid story to hear. As far as the politics in Nicaragua, all Nicaraguans wanted to be was a to be a sovereign state without having other countries interfere in their political affairs.

As the tour went on there were multiple pictures of Che Guevara, Carlos Fonseca and Augusto C. Sandino. There was about 2 or 3 with Fidel Castro, and then one with Hugo Chavez. It was a learning experience I would never forget and made Leon one of my top favorite visits!!

3.2-3.4.2012 Esteli Trip