I have just returned from two and a half weeks in Nicaragua. It was such a busy trip that I didn't have time to write anything while there, but I thought I'd send out a little something on my return. The travel day to Managua was enlivened by its coinciding with the first day when you could not bring any liquids onto the planes. You can imagine the scene of mass chaos at JFK when people, who had not been told of the new regulations at check in, were forced to throw away hundreds of dollars worth makeup, toothpaste and other toiletries. That was not the best of ways to start the trip, but then none of us wants to deal with the results of alternative to tight security, now do we?
Upon arrival in Nicaragua I was struck by the fact that Managua is a really familiar place to me now. I guess five trips in two and a half years will do that. Most things were not much changed this trip. It was still hot and humid. There was still no hot water at Quaker House (where we stay while in Managua). Cars still honk constantly just to announce that they are coming and that you'd better get out of the way. Cabbies still leave the motor running while they fill up with gas. There are still no street names. I still haven't learned how to count Managuan blocks, a necessary skill since without street names all addresses are given as a certain number of blocks (or alleys or paces) from a landmark. And there was still no AC pretty much anywhere. The elections are coming up in Nicaragua though, so this trip the Managuan streets were lined with campaign posters. A lot of them were quite effective advertising too. The FSLN (the Sandanistas, or the current incarnation of what once were the Sandinistas) in particular seemed to have hired a good PR person to work on their billboards. They were colorful, carried *ambitious* and extremely improbable goal slogans like "cero hambre, cero desempleo, salud gratis" (zero hunger, zero unemployment, free health(care)), and were crafted to be accessible. The text looked as if it had been handwritten and the candidates were referred to only by their first names and were depicted in friendly looking pictures. Daniel Ortega with a huge smile on his face and his name signed in his, or at least someone's, handwriting. You get the picture.
From talking to Nicaraguan friends, it seems that most people are not too excited about any of the candidates. The one well liked candidate, Herty, recently died unexpectedly. So in contrast to the spin doctor constructed FSLN posters, "Herty vive" (Herty lives) could also be seen scrawled with genuine feeling on walls across all across the city.
New for me on this trip was having the German and Spanish in my head fight with each other. After speaking German all summer it was, at first, much easier to access than my Spanish. Spanish was still easier to understand for me German, but I really had to fight with all my might not to starting speaking in alternating Spanish and German. By the end of the first week it was getting easier to speak just Spanish, but even at the end of the trip, I still had a very strong urge to say "keine Ahnung" instead of "ni idea" (no idea).
New in Managua in general this trip was an additional challenge to daily life: rolling blackouts. Due to the world wide energy crisis, neighborhoods all throughout Managua were having blackouts daily. Even snazzy hotels and the rich neighborhoods were not being spared, though they probably had electricity more of the time than did some off the poorer ones. Managuans are remarkably able to deal with less than ideal circumstances, but the lack of electricity (and sometimes water) was not going over well. It was a daily topic of conversation and there was some unrest in the city. Hardly surprising given how difficult it makes life when you don't know at any given moment if you will have power or water. It made our research lives more difficult too of course. But luckily most of our equipment is battery operated. We did have to test one set of subjects by flashlight though. Won't be showing clips from those subjects to anyone!
We did manage to have a few days off over the course of the trip. We stayed at a fabulous place in San Juan del Sur (near the border with Costa Rica) called Pelican Eyes. It had infinity pools, gorgeous rooms, AC, hot water, a beautiful view, the whole 9 yards. It also had blackouts though. Just to remind us that we were still in Nicaragua.
Near the end of the trip we also had a day at Montelimar, a beach resort not too far from Managua. Our experience there was mixed. And we did leave there relaxed, though it certainly wasn't Pelican Eyes. Managua, unfortunately, has a way of making you feel the tension throughout your whole body without 10 minutes of your return from the most relaxing of days off.
Despite the blackouts the trip was quite successful on the research front. We were again running tasks looking at numerical abilities as well as spatial abilities. We ran tons of subjects,even though the disability week festivals meant the kids at the school were often unavailable. We have lots and lots of data to look at now. I, personally, have very little time left to look at my data though. I'll be in Scotland less than two weeks! So that means despite the breakneck pace of research work we have been maintaining in Nicaragua the last two and a half weeks, I won't be doing much in the way of slowing down. Good thing I love my job.
Leaving Managua is always somewhat of a relief. It's a tough city to like and we work so hard while we are there that by the end of the trip we're all about ready to collapse. I have some mixed feelings this trip though. As I am leaving my job in a few weeks to go back to school, I don't know when I will be coming back to Nicaragua. But I'm hooked, if not on Managua itself, than on the people and on the research. And I will be back. Estoy segura.
Saludos,
Molly
