Cusmapanian of the Month: Febrero 2008

“buENNNNNAAAsssss!” Maximo, the happiest man in Cusmapa choruses as he briskly walks past our front door into the budding garden. Lauren and I giggle because every time he greets us, he sounds like a car whizzing past “vvvvvrrrOOOOOOOmmm!”

Maximo, known as “Chelemancho” or “el Chele” by his fellow Cusmapans, is the 40-some-year-old thick-mustached school gardener, and has Lauren and my vote for “Cusmapan of the Month”, our new feature series here on blog-land.

Chelemancho’s area of expertise, horticultura (gardening), is showcased day-after-day here at the school. He teaches students (and us gringas) about a variety of plants and their medicinal properties, and practical uses as well. According to Chelemancho, if a small cactus is placed in front of your computer screen, it will absorb the powerful and dangerous UV rays emitted from the computer, protecting you from certain doom. Chelemancho also believes that if Lauren and I drink the tea made from flowers of a plant he’s cultivated in our garden, we will be “flying airplanes for three days”. He sprinkles laundry detergent and chili water throughout our vegetable patch to deter pests and parasites. The dirt excavated from our yard to build a compost pile is currently “frozen” though it has been unearthed for over 3 months (and the temperature here never gets below 50 degrees). Chele claims that the earth must sit in the sun for six months or one year before being used for gardening purposes. He also presented us with some type of sketchy fruit wine which apparently has the power to solve all of our intestinal issues. AND he politely informed me the other day that once our beets and tomatoes come in, if we eat a plethora, we can consume all the oil our hearts desire and it will have no negative effect on our bodies.

Chelemancho lives on the edge of Cusmapa, in a large cabin-like structure (owned by a gringo ex-Peace Corps volunteer who got married to one of our co-workers then ditched town, but not before buying a significant amount of property) which overlooks the valley and communities below, offering the best sunset lookout in town. Chele’s “screened” porch includes a variety of entry points for hungry mosquitoes, a single hammock for napping purposes, a handful of halved Coke containers with sprouting flowers, and in baby-blue paint the word MANCHO stomps across one wall. He tells stories of the olden times in Cusmapa, where during the rainy season our half of town was cut off from the rest because there was no bridge. For a few months of every year, he used to live off the land and read gardening books in languages he does not speak.

Chele has recently taken to sporting a navy-blue and white checkered blazer, complete with shoulder pads. We believe the blazer may have previously been owned by an obese NASCAR official. It gives Chele this robotic gangster look that’s simply marvelous.

What we love most about Chelemancho is his constant state of glee. He is, perhaps, the jolliest man we have ever met. Even when describing the hardships of life, Chele meets the world with a grin, eyes crinkled at the sides, moustache corners tickling his rosy cheeks. Yesterday, he arrived at our house completely sweaty and out of breath, wheezing: “I’ve been riding my bike so much lately that now whenever I walk I am exhausted!” and with a chortle, trotted off to water our plants.

Lauren decided to collect leaves from our banana tree to dry them for book-making purposes. Chele, busy as usual planting eggplant and strawberries, sprung from his gardeners stoop when his watch alarm beeped at 5 PM on the dot, exclaiming, “Y ahora, estoy alegre para estar un dia mas viejito!” (translation: “and NOW, I am happy to be one day older!”).

Entonces, Chelemancho wins the award for “Cusmapanian of the Month: Febrero 2008” for his unlimited knowledge of the plant world, unrivaled sense of style, the best and fullest moustache we have seen in years, and for his revolutionary philosophy on aging. Now we are off to drink flower petal tea and “fly airplanes” or maybe find a few cacti to absorb the death rays being transmitted by our laptops.

Hats off to you, Chele. May your 5 PM alarm continue to beep-beep for decades to come.

If you want to see my recent photos...

you can check them out here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/callie.monroe

Enjoy!

El Pizote (Written March 2007)

Fixed gaze out the plastic-laden rippling with time
cracked glass, fingers tracing the crooked rusty window-frame
sweat-stuck to the seat, gulping greedily for any breath of fresh air
I think of the children back in the States
who smeared their fingers across these sticky seats
twenty years ago,
Pestering the exhausted bus driver,
throwing wads of paper, envious
of the cool kids, the 8th graders and high schoolers
who always commandeered seats in the very back rows.

I take a gander at my companeros smashed against each other
“The people on the bus go up and down!” sings through my head…
Though they don’t seem to bounce much,
mouths in straight lines, fixed eyes, leaning, balancing, a sweaty mass.
I scoff at the “40 passenger maximum” inscribed on a silver plaque.
The department of transportation would have a heyday
with the 120 plus pasageros inside
plus daredevils perched on the roof with burlap bags of onions and coffee.
Who needs “oh shit” handles when you have 50 pounds of veggies to hang on to?

How many suburban neighborhoods has this old rambling wreck
of a once canary-yellow monstrosity witnessed?
I think it probably enjoys it’s sweet revival as “El Pizote”,
the lifeline between the middle of nowhere and the town closest to the middle of nowhere.

Cream with screaming burnt orange racing stripes,
as if the “road” from Cusmapa from Somoto up and down mountains was a go-cart track
and not a dried up river bed of
boulder-dodging
5 MPH
brakes screeching
shock-breaking
dust-laden
yellow-brick road.
I’m sure not in Kansas anymore,
though I just discovered the only grocery store within 4 hours is owned by Wal-Mart
and “Eye of the Tiger” blasts as we bump along
and the kid sitting across from me sports a shirt with stars and stripes flying proudly
which certainly adds an ironic kick to the situation.

A rainbow of tassels on the stick shift flutter in the breeze
an arc of letters calls out a blessing on our voyage “Dios bendiga esta bus y sus pasegeros”.

God bless “El Pizote” indeed,
Without this voyager the pirate of the northern mountains,
I’d have no peanut butter,
and Wal-Mart would be out a full 50 cordobas per month.

A loud “NO FEAR” sticker on the rearview mirror in fearless bold font
would warrant skepticism as turns are taken at remarkable speeds,
but I’m positive it’s just for show.
I know driver and he doesn’t speak a word of English
beyond the necessities of “Hello” and “I love you.”

What more do we really need to say?

Two Important Updates

1) Refering to the "street cred" blog... just thought you all should know that a couple of weeks ago I spent an afternoon moving giant bus tires with all the men I work with at the school. I was covered in oil and dirt, but they were obviously impressed with my manual labor capabilities. So I think that probably covered my street cred building for the month.

2) A miracle of an update... little 7-year-old Cindy (who had surgery last May on her foot, and hasn't walked since she was a year-and-a-half years old) is now full of attitude and walking MORE than the doctor thinks she should be able to. She's been prancing around in circles throughout her house, pushes Magda (her mom)'s hands away... wants to be completely independent. She's talking now about starting DANCE classes. She's entirely inspiring.

Yet another unexpected joy...

This is love:

to fly toward a secret sky

to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.

First to let go of life.

Finally, to take a step without feet.

- Rumi

Cece on Christmas Eve

Nothing in the world like spending Christmas with my little sister in Cusmapa, Nicaragua.

Blowing bubbles and listening to Pink Floyd under breezy orange trees and buttery sunshine.

Goggles worn as sunglasses... life doesn't get better than this.

Feliz Navidad!

Hi friends and loved ones!

It´s sort of lame of me to post a group holiday greeting like this, but I figure I haven´t updated a majority of you on my happenings and wanderings in some time... (aka since I moved to Nicaragua last January) and also wanted to wish all of you a very happy holidays! I hope this note finds you well, blessed, and at peace.

Things are wonderful here, I wake up every single day feeling blessed and in complete awe of where I live, work, play, and love. Cusmapa (the little pueblo I live in) has grown to be a second home for me, everywhere I walk I am followed by children shouting ´Adios Profé Callie! ´ and my Spanish has (bit by bit, with much confusion and many headaches and also laughter) improved to the point where I can ACTUALLY communicate with people! It makes all the difference in the world to be able to talk to someone in their native language, and I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to really learn to speak and listen in another language. I am still teaching the music program, we just had our last concert of the year yesterday, and a wicked dance party to close out the school year. We´re singing Bob Marley and Simon and Garfunkel, and I am that wierd teacher that dances around and giggles all the time! Bet you can´t even imagine that! Ha.

I have about a month of vacation (finally!) and my mom and sister, Cece, are here visiting for the next two weeks! We´ll go to learn how to make tortillas tonight, fresh cheese tomorrow, and are quietly enjoying Christmas with eachother and one of the families I spend a lot of time with here.

I´ve decided to stay here for at least another year. I feel that one year has barely been enough to tap the surface of things here, that I am just gaining the trust of all the kiddos and their parents, and starting to build real friendships and relationships. My roomate, Lauren, and I have so many ideas for projects we would like to start next year! One of the main things I have noticed in my year here is the lack of critical thinking capabilities, the kids don´t have books at school and learn basically by memorization and repitition rather by truly thinking and challenging what they are told about the world. You all know me, and know that this type of knowledge doesn´t fly in my book! The church here seems to be a good social force, but I feel that a lot of the times people are told what to believe and take it at face value rather than thinking for themselves. So, Lauren and I will be teaching a class to high schoolers here at the Fabretto center, with hopes of igniting some sparks of interest in their learning more about themselves and about the world. We are also going to start a knitting group with about 10 of the women who work at the school with us, one night a week in our house... knitting and cookies. Lauren being responsible for the knitting, me baking the cookies. There´s really not a lot of places for women to socialize here so we think it would be a great way to get to know more of the women in town, in a postive environment, and would be fun for them to learn a new skill as well. I am also starting a university choir (most kids study in other towns on Saturdays, and are free during the week, so they have time), we want to teach yoga classes, start a paper making program, some lithography (lauren´s an incredible artist), and scarily enough I will be giving more piano lessons!

SO to cut this ramble short, I am BUSY and finding lots of things to spark my passions. Life is good... slow and quiet days mixed with the breeze in the orange trees in our garden, neighbor children playing and laughing in the streets, snorkling pigs, cackling hens, the sweet tones of reggaeton music floating in from neighboring houses, rain on my tin roof, my horrific (yet improving) guitar picking, students jamming on bongoes and tambourines and anything else they can get their hands on.

I will be back to visit the states in July for Jason´s wedding (!!!!) and my little bro´s 21st birthday, and am hoping to see many of you then! (As my plans after next December still aren´t certain, Lauren and I may stay on longer with Fabretto or we may ramble through Mexico and the rest of Central America for 4 or 6 months...). I would love to hear from any of you, updates on life and how you´ve been the past year. I wish all of you many blessings, and for those of you who´ve been with me as a real part of this journey I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. You fuel the flame that keeps me waking up every day here with a beaming smile.

I miss you, love you, and wish you joyous, joyous blessings.
Cuidate mucho! (Take Care!)
Peace, Callie