La Tierra (The Land/Soil)

I am finally becoming comfortable with Nica (short for Nicaragua) being my HOME for the next ten to eleven months. At first, the widespread and colossal differences between my home in Michigan and my new home here were overwhelming. I wondered, “How am I going to live here for ten months or a year? I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it!” Yet I am becoming accustomed to the things that were incredibly difficult for me at first and beginning to appreciate the depth of life and culture here.

The most difficult aspect to adapt to was the abundance of dirt. I am accustomed to relatively clean cars, clean floors, clean clothing, clean streets…the list goes on. The vehicles that the volunteers use here are NOT clean because it is impossible to keep them clean, considering the roads in Ciudad Sandino and Nueva Vida are covered in mud and dirt even if they are paved. We drive 3 old Toyota Land Cruisers (we call them ‘ambulancias’ because they used to be used as ambulances in Nica), all with mechanical transmission. The ‘youngest’ is a 2000, the middle aged is a 1998, and the Vieja (‘old woman’ in Spanish) is so old that its year is not known among the volunteers. This is the vehicle I drive – yes, I am driving an old manual transmission! – to and from the clinic every day.
I would eventually like to post a video of part of the transit to and from the clinic to give you a better idea of the intense ‘off-road’ drive through Nueva Vida. There are potholes filled with muddy water so deep that the driver has to maneuver carefully through the pothole in order to get through. This can be difficult when there are children walking in the streets, stray dogs running in front of the car, and men and women with food stands set up on the side of the road. I think that after learning to drive the manual transmission Vieja in Nueva Vida during the rainy season, I can drive almost anywhere!

Although I deep cleaned my room 2 weekends ago (as well as switch my bed to a twin size to free up more space in my room) and plan to sweep it weekly, dirt accumulates surprisingly quickly on cement floors! Additionally, my windows are screens with thin glass panes on the outside that one can close to help keep out rain when necessary. But dust still travels through the screens, adding to the accumulation. I cannot imagine what it will be like during the dry season! The entire living area in the dormitory is cement floored, so dirt accumulation is an issue throughout the dorm. We have wonderful women who clean the common area/kitchen for us once a week, which definitely helps. Additionally, I scrubbed the shower 2 weekends ago because no one knew how long it had been since it had been cleaned (which means it was at least 8 months!).It was also incredibly difficult for me to get used to having less storage space, because I love organization and a ‘pretty’ room! I brought along some easy to assemble plastic shelving units with me and was provided a small desk without any drawers. I need to use my suitcases under my bed for extra storage. I got the idea from Felicia, the volunteer coordinator, to stack two plastic Coca-Cola crates on top of each other (we have extra crates in the dorm) and top it with a hard surface (I am currently using cardboard) to function as a nightstand. It is very different from what I am accustomed to, but it is beginning to feel like home!

We are incredibly blessed to have a washing machine in the dorm, because this is a luxury in Ciudad Sandino. Here, people wash their clothing by hand and hang it to dry. I should start a collection of clothing line photos, because they are so colorful and fun! There is no reason to have a clothing dryer here because it is hot enough to hang your clothes on the line to dry. It is more difficult in the rainy season because if the clothing line is not covered, the clothing takes a long time to dry due to recurring rains. We have a clothing line inside the first floor of the dorm (all of the walls surrounding the downstairs common room are screens), but good luck getting your clothes dry on very humid or rainy days! The clothes come out smelling not quite clean. We can’t figure out if it is because of the incredibly cheap laundry detergent we have at the dorm, because we air dry our clothing in a humid climate, or a mixture of both.

Although Nicas have to work very hard to keep their homes and workplaces clean, I have seen many hardworking women sweeping. They sweep inside their homes and the sidewalks outside of their homes. Doña Conchita, the woman who maintains the outside of the clinic and opens the gate for cars to enter and exit, keeps the cement entrance swept immaculately. She also sweeps the dirt ground surrounding the entrance to keep it looking nice. Nila, our incredible ‘housekeeper’ in the clinic, is constantly mopping the mud and dirt off the floors to keep them clean. The clinic always smells wonderful! Although she has arthritis in her elbows from years of cleaning, she puts in a full day of hard work. She arrives at 8am and mops, restocks supplies and sterilization tubs, prepares coffee and a snack for the employees, does clinic laundry, and cleans anything and everything. She takes an hour for lunch and a siesta which helps sustain her throughout the rest of the afternoon until 5pm, when the clinic closes. Although I have not yet become close with many Nica women, Nila strikes me as the quintessential Nica woman. She is hardworking, lighthearted, and joyful, yet carries many burdens. Nila is a widow and has many children. She works fulltime to make the money to support her family, and most nights and weekends are devoted to caring for the children and fulfilling household duties.
Something wonderful happened this morning at the clinic. I was filling out a new chart and assessing an 8 day old baby girl. Her parents had not yet chosen a name for her. Henry suggested my name, saying "Kimberly is a very good nurse, and this would be a good name for the baby girl". 'Kimberly' is my Spanish name because 'Kim' is difficult for Spanish speakers to pronounce, and Kimberly is a well-known name in Nicaragua. I laughed and told the parents, "There are many good names to choose from, for instance Sara or Juanita or other popular names. Take your time while I am filling out the chart to think about it". A couple of minutes later, the parents had finished deciding on a first and second name. Here in Nicaragua, children are given two names (nombres). They also have two last names (apellidos), the father's first last name and the mother's first last name. Guess what name the parents chose? Kimberly de los Angeles. Now I have a beautiful Nica baby girl named after me! I am pictured with her and her mother to the left.

In my next blog entry, I will continue to describe difficulties and joys I have experienced here during the adaptation process. Rest assured that I am becoming accustomed to the difficulties, and the joys are becoming more apparent with each new day!