My experience in Nicaragua has been quite an
experience. Whether it’s taking the bus, getting stranded in random locations,
ordering a bean burrito, or attempting to cross the street, every day is packed
with adventure for the happy blonde "gringa" that I am. At a party the other
night, my other exchange-student friends were talking about their complete lack
of culture shock. I cannot boast the same situation. Perhaps because I am an
extremely nervous person, perhaps because I have not previously spent more than
3 weeks at a time in any country other than the U.S., or perhaps just because
I’m the worst at hiding extreme terror, I seem to have suffered more culture
shock than anyone else I know studying with ISEP.
There were many obstacles I had to overcome (and many
more I still have to overcome) since being here. Buses were very difficult. I
refused to take any by myself for a good two weeks at the beginning. I didn’t
like how packed they are, and how everyone on the bus always looked at me like
I had just crawled out of a spaceship. Yet, I am happily now taking buses like
a pro. The Nica time is also something that took some getting used to. After
being punctual for the first few weeks, I showed up to my nine o’clock at
fifteen after this morning (the traffic was awful, another aspect of life here
that is difficult to deal get used to), but I was early compared to others.
Spanish is another thing that is very difficult for me because it is the second
other thing I fear besides taking a bus. If I hate anything, I hate knowing I’m
doing something very badly. And I speak Spanish very badly. I know that the
only way to get better is to keep practicing, and I am improving marginally
every day (I hope). The other real hardship I faced was my diet. I am a vegan
(a very strict vegetarian who does not eat milk or eggs) and finding food to
eat here has not been easy. As opposed to Nicaragua, in the United States there
are plenty of restaurants, grocery stores, and products that cater specifically
to those types of dietary restrictions. After a week of eating nothing but
veggie sushi and granola bars, however, I discovered the burrito stand at
school and the wonderfully delicious avocado sandwich. Adjusting to my new diet
here has been hard, but very manageable.
That being said, I love it here! It is a beautiful
place with the kindest, happiest, most accepting people that I have ever yet
encountered. While it is mildly horrifying at times trying to deal with the
many differences between this culture and my native one (most notably the lack
of tasty vegan meat-substitutes, like Tofurkey), it is also very exhilarating
and rewarding. I have made a lot of friends here who are pretty amazing and
most everyone is helpful and accommodating (with the exception of some bus and
taxi drivers) in spite of it being quite obvious by my appearance and by
everything silly I do that I am not Nicaraguan. Sometimes people will come up
and talk to me (many of them actually assume I am German), and ask me where I’m
from and what I’m doing in Nicaragua. Often these people are children, and one
time when (inevitably, this happens in every conversation with a child), I said
something stupid like, “Repite, por favor. Mi español no es muy buena...” (my
favorite phrase), the youngest child in the group looked at me and said, “Uno,
dos, tres...” while holding up corresponding fingers. It was not very helpful,
but super adorable!
I am only one and a half months into this experience,
but I can already tell it was a great decision to come to Nicaragua. Though it
was (and still is!) difficult to adjust, I am finding the short time I have
spent here is one of the most educational and beneficial things I have ever
done for myself. I love my classes and my professors, my roommates and friends,
and even all the crazy little things that mortified me not very long ago (like
the bus and the cheek-kiss greeting). I am learning Spanish (very slowly) and
learning about a culture vastly different from my own. There are really no
words to describe how rewarding this experience has been so far. This article
does my experience little justice. There are really know words to describe it,
but I will try: I love Nicaragua!
- Tricia Lebkuecher
We
might be used to having many trees on the streets and have nature invade our
houses (e.g., running into a snake under your bed.) Nevertheless, many cities in other countries
are aware of their pollution and of the effects their behavior as a city has on
the environment. Stefano Boeri is currently designing the Bosco Verticale
(Vertical Forest), which is a project for metropolitan reforestation that, instead
of being horizontal, is actually spreading vertically in a building.
Dickson
Despommier has come up with a new idea.
It probably applies only for places like USA, but it is still an
interesting solution to the shortage of food.
In places like New York, where people fight over an apartment the size
of your bedroom, there is little horizontal space to grow food. Thus, he has come up with an idea of a
building that grows different crops.
Since we can already grow grass on roofs, why wouldn’t we be able to
grow crops inside buildings? Next to the
building would be a facility where people would sort the seeds to where they
belong.
On March 29th, 2012, Bibloko held a press conference
sponsored by Universidad Americana and Fundacion Margarita Te Voy a Contar to
announce our new campaign: Donate your own story! The event was promoted by
several famous Nicaraguans such as Nicaraguan singer and story teller Carlos
Mejia Godoy, Miss Nicaragua 2011 Adriana Dorn, Nicaraguan writer Sergio
Ramirez, broadcast, and producer and director of Fundación Margarita te Voy a
Contar, Margarita Pasos. They were accompanied by Universidad Americana’s Rector
Dr. Ernesto Medina, UAM-CUSE Provost Dr. Marvin Happel, UAM-CUSE Vice-Provost,
creator and director of Bibloko, Giselle Poveda, and her work team. We were glad
to receive so much support! Even Adriana Dorn herself already wrote a story.
This is only the beginning of Bibloko an amazingly
creative initiative that will revolutionize reading and writing in Nicaragua. I
invite you all to contribute to this new campaign by donating your own story
which thousands of Nicaraguan kids will be reading soon.
As he recounts his story of how met the Lorax, the
guardian of the land, Once-ler tells Ted that he didn’t listen the guardian’s warnings.
He embarked in a goal of cutting some insignificant trees for his business.
However, due to his greediness and indifference he ultimately destroyed the
forest. After this event the Lorax decides to leave. Before he parts he leaves a
stone with the word “unless” engraved in it. 
What seems only like an efficient form of nature
attempting to contra attack climatic change, also creates a striking sight. Recently,
an astonishing photo of a beautiful tubular “roll cloud” was captured near
Brazil. If you see the picture, you’ll see the type of amazing clouds that
nature can form. Roll clouds are under the category of low cloud formations
that sometimes form themselves along with storms. In a nutshell, “roll clouds
aren’t dangerous in themselves. […] Many roll clouds form in relatively calm
weather as a result of sea breezes.” These clouds have not only be seen in Brazil,
they have also been sighted in Australia, off the coast of Queensland in the fall.
Wouldn’t it be nice to feel the cool breeze while witnessing a roll cloud?
Are you really into art or at least somewhat
interested in what artists do today? Then it shouldn’t be a shock to you to
realize that it surrounds you all the time. The movies you see, the songs you hear, the poems Adriana Díaz and
others write, the videogames you play, and even the ads you see in the
billboards are all contemporary art.
