The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Priscilla has emailed me some really sad news. Fabiola, the little girl from La Chureca, will not be moved out of the dump because of refusal from her mother and step father to let her go. This is very very upsetting but I´m staying hopeful that her mother has a change of heart. Priscilla visits Fabiola at least once a week and is not giving up hope either.

In other news...Yesterday while walking home with Marissa, my Canadian FUNARTE partner, two guys (who´s images are burned in my brain forever) decided to rob me infront of a school and in the middle of tonnes of mothers, fathers and children all of whom did nothing to defend me when the two men were easily stoppable. They only managed to get my Toronto cell phone but it was the principal of it, it was the public humilitation and mockery. I am sooo fed up with men here. Their comments, remarks, rude gestures. These guys were just horrible. One pushed Marissa onto me and then the other started feeling the side of my body. I was in total shock so without really thinking I elbowed the one feeling my side really hard in his arm. He recoiled and then walked off laughing with the other one. One of the bystander mothers shock her head and said ¨poor girl¨in spanish of course. She tried to mime that they had taken my cell phone. The only thing left that had pictures from Nicaragua. Anyways its just really unfortunate that things like that have to happen after a good day at work. It really defeats a person. I got on the phone with mom right away and got her to cancel the phone plan. Then when I got home yesterday in tears from what had happened, Sayda ran and got me a package from Rachel for my birthday and I was sooo moved and happy. I called rach and told her all about what had happened and how her package could not have come at a better time. This is just the way life is here, still I find it all very hard to just accept. I am treated like dirt and scum from the guys as a female here and I´m treated even worse as a foreigner. We get up and give our all to the next day though, thats all I can do. Must not dwell.

Next week FUNARTE is on vacation so Jess, Marissa and I have decided to pack it all up and go to Granada and the Isle de Ometepe for five glorious days. They will not be without their challenges but we have been doing mucho research and according to all of our friends here, Ometepe and Granada are where it is at. I am thrilled. We leave Sunday morning. Tomorrow I´m going to work on a mural project with Manuel from FUNARTE and a bunch of kids. The mural is going on the Esteli Library! Its very naturalistic and flowing. I love it. All from Manuel´s imagination. He is an artistic, let me tell you. I´ll take many pictures with my new memory card that I just picked up at RadioShack here (Yes there is a RadioShack here! Payless and RadioShack are the only familiar stores here in esteli and they look nothing like the ones we have back home.)

Thought I´d just tell you all how I`m doing. Its a battle of ups and downs but I perservere. There isn´t really much of an alternative.

XOXO
S