Friday, June 15, 2012

Baggies for Horse Poop?

Bet that one got your attention! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I wrote a blog entry for June already. It was boring. Now there is this one. Just about today and some conversations. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Today I went paseando, or just to hang out, in the communities by my school out in the middle of nowhere. I also went to my school to check out the progress of the Bottle Classroom—slow going. One man working---not even the Foreman was present….but that could be a whole other boring entry in and of itself. The project will get finished, although it will probably take twice as long, at least, as we thought. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX So my Nica friend and I were traveling along the winding dirt road in the mountains so she could do her job—basically collect money people owe a bank of sorts that exists in our town (bill collector!) Needless to say, she wasn’t 100% successful. But we also stopped at 3 or 4 houses along the way to visit friends in the countryside. I drank 4 cups of coffee, ate 5 baked goods, drank a glass of Mango juice, and was fed a huge plate of beans, eggs, fresh cuajada (local cheese) and tortillas. I held a 15 day old baby for 20 minutes and met some of the parents of some of my students (spread out among various houses). I was gone for 7 hours. I had wanted to get some surveys for my project filled out at the school, but there wasn’t really class today---even though teachers would tell you that of course, of course there was school today---the students just left after 2 hours. But that is really not the point, and well, frankly, happens all the time. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX One of the best conversations I had was about the difference in how we treat animals in the US and how they are treated here. They think we are absolutely insane and indulgent—while any one of you reading this (unless you too are living here) would probably think all Nicas are animal abusers. I mean, in this country, I have seen perhaps 2 dogs ever walked---on a leash—and not in my town. There are 0 rules about animal droppings—and the streets often turn into rivers of the brown stuff after a good rain---coming from dogs, pigs, horses, donkeys, ox, etc. If a dog or cat gets sick, they die. Or maybe they are shot. People do not buy pet food. Dogs are hissed at and often hit with brooms, sticks or rocks when they enter a “people” room. And certainly, certainly, no one here has ever heard of a boarding house for animals! (*note some of these generalizations may not be true in the larger, more tourist cities). Now, considering all that, imagine Nicaraguans learning for the first time today about animals in the USA---that dogs and cats often sleep IN A BED or on a SOFA!!!?? (Items many of them do not own themselves…). Imagine their eyes as they hear for the first time that in the USA you can be fined MONEY and expected to pay if you do not pick up your animal’s poop??!!! This is followed by an account of a friend of friend who paid 1,000USD to take their sick pet to the vet—more money than they have probably spent on a doctor for themselves or their children in their entire lives…Top if off with the idea that Doggie hotels and Daycares exist---some people put sweaters on their dogs and they ride INSIDE the cars----well, they were slapping their knees and nearly rolling on the ground laughing. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Hold back judgment. That is a big, big part of all of this. Are we better because we put our animals in people clothes and let them sleep inside? I just can’t believe that. But we are different. Our situations are different, our environments are different, so many things are different that to judge without putting in the time or effort to understand the differences just feels wrong. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Another difference we discussed—being married with kids in the US usually means that particular man won’t have children with a different woman outside of his marriage, or if he does, it is met with some backlash. I learned today that while some people sort of frown upon that here, it is widely accepted and does indeed happen (ok I already knew that but this time I am closer to the situation). It could be that the man and his previous “wife” were actually never officially married, or they were, but paying for a divorce is too expensive (actually, come to think of it, I have never heard of ANYONE getting divorced here—they just leave and start a new family…) That is to say that, before we judge, it is important to at least try and understand why things are as widely accepted here as they are. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX This is advice I am trying to take from myself all the time. It is working a little. But I think it is pretty important. Tolerance. A willingness to consider a perspective that may make you uncomfortable at first. Yup, I am working on it. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Ok that’s it. School feels sort of over, even though the first semester doesn’t end until next month. The Bottle Classroom is slowing down, but will probably be finished before I leave. We started an adult English class—it is cancelled almost every week due to rain or power outages. I still play basketball with kids on Saturday mornings. We have a bunch of formal reports due soon. I am hot and tired often, though today was a good day. I am overwhelmed just a bit, thinking about GRAD school, and due dates, and references and resumes and the GRE etc. while trying to be present in my life here. And I kind of like streets without animal droppings in them—does that make me a snob? (-: But really, have you ever seen horse poop? And can you imagine bagging it?

2 comments:

  1. love it. people in my town are very entertained by how much i love my pup.

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    Replies
    1. right?? i love your pup too! how is miss mani? how are you?

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