To borrow from that great thinker, raconteur and wit, Jon Bon Jovi, we’re halfway there. That is at the time of writing - by the time this is published we will have completed seven of the twelve weeks and thus will be 58.3% of the way there. Who ever said that pedantic arithmetical accuracy does not good lyricism make?
This is a question which has been asked increasing amounts over the days being in El Bramadero.
A main character in my host family is a ten-year-old boy called Luisito who has named himself my brother, simply because I have the same birthday and age as his actual sister Eleader. “Twins”.
Sitting at the dinner table pulling numerous funny faces at each other.
“Is he bothering you?”
Popping his head in the window calling my name and hiding.
“Is he bothering you?”
These past couple of weeks, a lot of time has been spent on eco-stoves. We have been surveying all the houses in the village, announced the beneficiaries, had them pick up all the materials and, ultimately, started the construction of our first eco-stoves.
Barbara, the pig at José's house, where Andy and Jonny are staying, has grown on all of us. We cherish her so much that having our body parts covered in dirt after one of her many snuggle-sessions is an honour. She was unexpectedly taken away from us one afternoon, in the most emotionally-charged ways imaginable. The UK volunteers have therefore decided to dedicate a few paragraphs to her; our favourite spotty pig.
Rural, idyllic El Bramadero is a far cry from my fast paced city of birth (Wolverhampton), famous for its high octane nightlife and non-stop excitement. El Bramadero is nestled in leafy mountains, surrounded by tiny farms. It looks so peaceful. I never would have thought that I would want or need for a more tranquil place. But sometimes village life can get a bit too hectic. This is almost completely due to how many cockerels there are in the local area. And how early they wake up. And just how loud they are.
En el mes de octubre del año 1998, en el municipio de San Juan de Limay, el Huracán Mitch destruyó la comunidad de la Grecia, Platanares, entre otras. Este fenómeno natural ocasionó la muerte de 5 personas por ahogamiento, procedentes de la comunidad de Platanares, municipio de San Juan de Limay, Departamento de Estelí.
Week four of my stay in Nicaragua is drawing to a close, which has left me reminiscing about what we have been doing so far. My personal highlight of this past week must be our Hurricane Mitch Tour of the Platanares community, which was an educational experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.
De mi punto de vista nuestro grupo es muy bonito, pequeño pero un grupo muy unido. Cada semana es súper y me divierto mucho. Por ejemplo, esta semana tuvimos las clases de inglés - aprendimos los nombres de las herramientas en inglés y al igual los voluntarios británicos aprendieron los nombres en español. También, terminamos la encuesta de la comunidad que teníamos pendiente. Sin embargo, para nosotros fue un poco triste porque algunas personas rechazaron la oferta de una eco-estufa o un filtro de agua, porque las eco-estufas y un filtro de agua son un gran beneficio.
On Monday we were scheduled to receive training from ASOMUPRO (the partner organisation we are working with) on the use of management of water in our community, however this was postponed until Tuesday, leaving us with a free day and a chance to explore our surroundings. Mixis, the team leader for the national volunteers, suggested we visit a nearby tobacco plantation and, having only a lengthy date with our hammocks as the next best alternative, we decided to strap on our boots, lather ourselves in DEET and factor 50 sun cream and embark on the day’s adventure.
Mornings in El Bramadero are quite something to behold - lurching to and fro between a cacophonous nightmare and an awe-inspiring collection of new and interesting sounds. If anyone could survive unroused between the hours of five and seven, then I´d fear there is a corner of some Bramadero house that is forever England.
At his earliest convenience, the first cockerel offers a cock-a-doodle-do to his colleagues in the neighbourhood, who - reckoning that this was a point thoroughly well made - spend the rest of the morning voicing their unanimous agreement.
