Cada quien tiene su manera de matar pulgas.

Everyone has their own way to kill fleas. In English we would say, 'there is more than one way to skin a cat.' So, maybe the Nicaraguans can find their own way to prosperity, even relative comfort for their people. It appears to me that so far they are still looking for that way.

Last year in February, I encountered Nicaragua really for the first time. Of course, like everybody else, I had heard about the Sandinistas and the Contras and the US involvement. I had even heard that the US Marines invaded Nica in the early 1900's to preserve the financial interests of businesses that were likely not playing fair. We (US) had once longingly looked at the San Juan River as our canal of passage, before choosing Panama. Nica has been under democratic rule for sometime now, though the Sandinistas still have significant legislative power. Last February, ignoring all this, I volunteered to work on a medical mission in Nicaragua.

Our group, Hope Clinic International, assiduously avoids politics and sets about helping advance the medical care of children in Nicaragua. Last year we established a year round clinic in the city of Esteli. The clinic employs two Nicaraguan doctors and it is supplied with medicines for treatment of parasites, iron deficiency and many common ailments. Twice each year two teams of medical and surgical/OB doctors, nurses and volunteers briefly tours the country providing medical care as we go. The surgical/OB team is by necessity more hospital based and our medical team is able to work in more flexible conditions. Last year I worked in Esteli and Jinotega, and some of the group then went on to Chinandega. This year I worked exclusively in our clinic in Esteli. My work each year was very rewarding.

Last year, I had listened to Learn Spanish CD's in my car and learned mostly nouns and a few very basic phrases. This year I had prepared by taking a Spanish course in my home and I actually knew how to conjugate a verb. My vocabulary had also greatly improved beyond the simple tourist vocab that most beginning language courses focus on. Still, I only speak a weak Spanglish. The people of Nicaragua are very forgiving. They always understood me, but they speak so fast, I am only able to pick out pieces of what they say. Fortunately some of the volunteers with us can translate well. (One of our volunteers learned most of his Spanish by listening to Spanish love songs. Still he was a quick and eager learner and soon was able to move beyond amor to medical terminology.) My translator was a native Nica, which was very helpful to me.

The people of Nicaragua are very charming. Everywhere we would go, they would listen to and sing along to music. It appears that many of the big magnet speakers, once so popular in the US, are now all in Nicaragua as even the small farmhouse/roadside restaurant that we stopped at had these massive speakers cheerfully playing. Most have a good sense of humor, which often transcends any potential language barrier. They tease each other and us gently with the humor. (Similar to the one US born translator, one Nica named Chico, seems to have learned all of his English from television, movies and music. Last year he seemed to answer several questions with the title to a popular song. He could do spot on imitations of Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, and John Wayne and he often played with our pronounciations.) Obviously not all people are the same in any culture, but these distinctives seem strong.

More later.