BAD WEEK. Semana mala.

What a bad week has been from last Thursday! Classes at school were just a waste of time. We went to give class in the morning from 7 am to 12 noon, came home, had a quick lunch and Frank went back to teach from 1 pm to 6pm and I stayed behind. He got very frustrated with teachers hanging out and students plainly refusing to take the class after he waited two hours for them to come back from an activity they were having.

We have never come back to school and Frank called Peace Corps and resigned to our services here in Nicaragua. It has been a blow to Peace Corps, they said we are model volunteers and were doing a lot of progress, but we think there is no progress at all. Every secondary prject we have started has been a failure because a lack of interest, apathy and laziness from the people we are supposed to help. Don't get me wrong, since came here we have not met the first bad Nicaraguan, they are extremely friendly, warm and very generous with the little that they have. But they don't believe they will ever get out of poverty, so why bother with any training?

There are tons of volunteer people from countries all over the world with hundreds of projects. They build houses for the poor, build schools, improve latrines, give food away etc. And we offer just training. Well, they don't want that. They want the money or the goodies. Training is a bore.
One story from volunteers from Holland that they brought from Holland some great livestock to improved the local production of milk, after the cows were given away and the volunteers turned their backs, each one of the cows was sacrificed to sell the meat.


On Monday the Director and the Administrator came over our house to ask us to come back. That was a surprise! They said the students were ready to come to our house to protest against our decision and the Administration stopped them. I just imagine the front of my house filled with 3000 students screaming for us to come back.

Now, I'm in the process to give everything we have bought, microwave, refrigerator, stove, toaster oven, and all the junk we brought back from the States or our son has sent us. We are happy to give it to people who needs it.


ESPANOL

Que terrible semana hemos tenido desde el Jueves pasado! Las clases en la escuela han sido una perdida de tiempo. Fuimos en la manana a dar clases de 7am a 12, vinimos a casa, comimos algo y Frank regreso a la escuela para ensenar de 1 pm a 6 pm. Yo me quede en casa. Frank se frustro mucho con los profesores y su pasividad y los alumnos se rehusaron completamente a recibir la clase despues de que Frank los espero pacientemente por dos horas a que regresaran de una actividad que estaban haciendo.

No hemos regresado a la escuela, asi que Frank llamo a la oficina de los Cuerpos de Paz y renuncio a nuestro voluntariado. Ha sido un gran golpe para ellos, nos dijeron que somos voluntarios modelos y estabamos haciendo muchos progresos. Pero no es la realidad, el progreso era muy poco, casi nulo. Cada proyecto secundario que iniciamos fallo por falta de quorum, apatia, falta de entusiasmo e interes y pereza de quienes estabamos tratando de ayudar. Vale la pena aclarar que desde que llegamos a Nicaragua no hemos conocido a un Nicaraguan malo. Todos son increiblemente amistosos, calidos y muy generosos con lo poquito que tienen. Pero ellos sencillamente piensan firmemente que nunca van a salir de la miseria en que viven, asi que para que molestarse con entrenamientos?

Hay muchisimas misiones caritativas y de ayuda de muchos otros paises, ellas construyen casas y escuelas, mejoran letrinas, regalan comida etc. Y nosotros ofrecemos solamente entrenamiento. Bueno, ellos no quieren esto, ellos quieren el dinero o las cosas materiales. Entrenamiento es muy aburrido. Una historia muy caracteristica es la de unos voluntarios de Holanda que trajeron vacas especiales de Holanda para mejorar la produccion local de leche. Apenas las vacas fueron regaladas a sus destinatarios y los voluntarios se fueron, cada una de las vacas fueron sacrificadas para vender la carne.

El Lunes vinieron a la casa la Directora y el Administrador de la escuela para rogarnos que regresaramos. Esa si fue na sorpresa! Ellos dijeron que los estudiantes iban a venir a la casa a convencernos que regresaramos, asi que ellos vinieron en vez de ellos. Me imagino el frente de la casa rodeado de 3000 estudiantes.

Ahora estoy en el proceso de regalar todo lo que compramos aqui: micro-onda, nevera, estufa, horno y todo lo que habiamos traido de New York o nuestro hijo nos habia enviado. Estamos contentos de dejarselos a gente que lo necesita.