El Transito Journal, April 15, 2009
Water and Electricity, or lack thereof…
Greetings everyone, from sunny Westlake Village!
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!
He is indeed alive!
I am back home safely after my recent, two-week journey through C.R. and Nicaragua (March 27 - April 10, 2009). I am very grateful for this opportunity to reflect on my solo journey through these two visually stunning countries in Central America, and to share the news, thoughts, and lessons I have learned with you. First and foremost, I thank God for His protection and providence, and I thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I was traveling alone most of the time in a rented Toyota Yaris and it proved to be a convenient, little car that was great in mileage. It was not necessary to rent a 4-wheel drive because it is Latin America’s dry season and the roads are relatively decent. I landed in San Jose, Costa Rica, and from there, I drove to - Guanacaste -Liberia - Penas Blancas; crossed the border safely into Nicaragua - to San Juan del Sur - Managua - and finally, I arrived in El Transito at dusk on April 1, 2009.
What a treat it was for me to drive through the two remarkably beautiful countries with their varying landscapes! It was also huge that I was stopped by the police only once in Managua, and that was for not wearing the seatbelt. (Two trips ago, I was stopped four times in six days.) I told the Managuan policeman that I was a missionary serving the people of El Transito and that I had been working very hard lately (all true), I was a little confused driving in the congested Managua streets, and to my surprise he let me go without, as usual, demanding some form of peace offering. Amen. Other than that, no other complications or dangers emerged even during my border crossing (by foot) with four luggage that included two laptops (I was bringing a brand new laptop for Pastor Carcamo in El Transito to use) and a bunch of other small gifts, books, art supplies and donations. The guards (aduana) at the border did not even bother to check any of the bags. I don’t know whether it was my American passport, or if I just did not fit their racial profile for a potential drug smuggler. Easy and smooth, just as God ordered and just as many prayed for my safe journey...
The first building phase of our Learning Center -- El Transito Arts/Community Center (ETAC) -- was
almost finished by the time I arrived in El Transito on the evening of April 1st, thanks to Claudia Tinoco, a volunteer architect from Managua who designed the new bathroom and ordered all the materials, and Jorge, who did all the actual work of building. The beauty of the simple project was that I did not have to be there physically to oversee the construction, as I trusted Claudia Tinoco and Jorge Hernandez to get on with what they do best. They also made improvements, i.e. building the concrete counter top and sink area in the small existing kitchen, which previously was just an empty 4 x 5 meter shell. It was exciting to visualize a huge teaching kitchen there eventually. Going back just a little over two years ago, I had purchased this property with a vision to build a small center to serve the community and to meet their various needs. The ¼ acre, rectangular lot property on the Calle Principal came with the small existing building that is badly damaged and needs replacing. But instead of a total demolition, Claudia had suggested that we work around the existing space and reinforce what we have.
There, in the mixture of the old structure and the new, I fully unloaded my luggage for the first time during this trip and made my decision to stay there in the existing structure for the rest of the trip. I was thrilled to see the brand new water tank and water pump installed, gleaming with their shiny new parts and fresh paint. The 2,500-liter tank was FULL of water. However, due to the fact that the water pressure was too low (not enough electric voltage to run the water pump to get the pressure) it was virtually impossible to have fresh running water… No water meant no shower, no toilet use or even simple cooking. Of course there was the Ocean Hotel located ten minutes away, the only bed and breakfast/hotel in El Transito. It has air conditioning, has unlimited amount of cool ocean breeze, and offers hearty American-style breakfast and fresh coffee... It was awfully tempting to go and stay there for a week; a thought of cool, clean shower to wash off the dust and sweat would be heavenly.
But I REALLY wanted to feel and absorb what it is like to stay with the locals in El Transito town. I would have to get used to this... I had ordered three new beds to be delivered to ETAC, and I was determined to use at least one of the beds for the next seven nights. It was a formidable feat, if I say so myself, considering the fact that it was averaging 95-100 degrees everyday with the extreme wind blowing in all directions. The amount of dust the wind carried proved to be a BIG challenge, and even the locals commented on how bad the wind and dust were this time around. I always carry a small package of wet baby wipes on my travels, but my brand new Johnson & Johnson wet wipes just could not keep up with this dusty and muggy force of nature. After three days of wiping and dusting every flat surface where I sat, touched or slept, I gave up... ‘Locals live like this all year round and I don’t see them using wet wipes’, I thought, and I decided to grow/give up.
More challenging than the heat, wind and dust, however, was the low electrical voltage running (or not running) through the entire bottom half of the fishing village nearer the ocean level where ETAC is located. Before last year’s hurricane, the town apparently had a transformer that distributed sufficient electricity to all the residents near the water, but after the Hurricane destroyed and burned the transformer, Union Fenosa, the Spanish-owned electrical company, never bothered to replace the transformer. No one from the village complained or brought the problem to anyone’s attention, so they just lived on, making most of the little voltage that they did receive from the half-functioning governmental grid.
All of this was very, very frustrating for me. This is where my American spirit and blood kicked in and I had to act on it by voicing my discontent in the inefficiency and apathy (or call it an injustice) in the monopoly of the Nicaraguan electricity. I talked to Gina Castillo, and asked Gina to prepare the letter of petition for all the local residents to sign. To help expedite the case in point, inadvertently and reluctantly, I had to become involved in the local politics. Via Pastor Carcamo who knew the Mayor Juan Gabriel Hernandez from their Sandinista period, I requested a meeting with Juan Gabriel. The Mayor was not only one, or two, but three hours late in arriving (I suppose that is quite the norm and is acceptable in Nicaragua). Without much option, PATIENCE had to be my major and only virtue at that point. I asked Amilcar and Lupe, age 9 and 11, to go buy some ice from the nearest pulperia (store), and when Juan Gabriel arrived at ETAC with his four-men entourage – the driver, bodyguard, Nagarote’s city attorneyand assesor (named Juan Blanco) and his education counsel, I gave him the plastic cup full of Fanta Orange soda on the rocks. My agenda: to share our ideas for the ETAC with the Mayor, ask for his support, and request/demand the new transformer! He winked and grinned at his four-men entourage, and blurted, “…notice how Julie said that the whole community, not just ETAC, needs the new transformer right away?”. At this very 'machismo' and Latin ‘politician’ moment, I really didn’t care whether I was the subject of his teasing or not, I just desperately wanted/needed that new transformer. I also did not feel that it was ETAC’s responsibility to purchase the brand new transformer for the whole town only to give it away to Union Fenosa to own and operate, which, everyone hinted, was the only quick way to solve the problem.
We had just invested nearly $1,300 to install the brand new, 2,500-liter water tank as well as new water pump that came with 1 horsepower and 5 amps. Additionally, I had to invest another $110 on the new electric stabilizer that Claudia told me would vastly improve the electric current. So after spending $1,410 on the water system, on my fourth morning, I felt very optimistic about the new voltage stabilizer fully functioning. I turned the pump switch on and confidently locked the bathroom door to take a long-awaited shower. At first it ran great and for a few minutes I was able to enjoy the full shower (the first in four days; please don’t talk to me about body odors), but in the middle of my full foamy shampoo, the water just stopped right after the pump stalled like a horse that just ran a 1,000-mile marathon. I could not walk out to shout for help as there were full of people still working, and as it was, the next-door neighbors were constantly eyeing my every single move. (Matter of fact, if you ever come to visit El Transito, forget privacy... as no such thing exists. With a 5 AM rooster call, soon kids will start knocking at your door... oftentimes with "what are you doing?", "Can we help you with anything?", or simply "Good morning, Ms. Julie" and a big grin on their face...) Full of soap, stingy eyes, naked and wet, I felt completely helpless, and the only thing I could do was to give up to God and pray. I stood in the shower praying that the water would start again; even a minute or two of tinkling drops would work, I prayed. I got out eventually, and began my renewed appreciation for water – the source of life. Jesus Christ is that water, our life source.
Thus continued the rest of my week at ETAC. On my fifth day, I was excited about a half-day shopping trip to Leon with Pastor Carcamo to purchase a few essentials for the center including a small electric cooker/burner. Pastor Carcamo knew Leon by heart, and he led me to not one, not two, but a few small electronic goods stores in the Central Market. This allowed Pastor Carcamo to show off his negotiating skills to get the best price. Seven stores and 45 minutes of haggling later (in 100 degree heat), the Pastor was very proud that we saved the whole of $2 on a $20 stove. Absurdity came to my mind but I gave him all the credit in smile and with words of praise. This precious electric burner would at least allow me to boil water in the morning for a cup of coffee (there are plenty of good coffee in Nicaragua). Well not so fast…. It took more than half an hour (I am not kidding!) for water to come to a boiling point, enough to make a mere 1 ½ cup of coffee.
So the rest of my week at ETAC unraveled in a step-by-step, commodity-by-commodity, comfort-by-comfort, giving up process, and I had to humbly succumb to the wild and untamable forces of nature very prevalent in the region. Patience, especially, was the hardest and I struggled with it throughout the week. American dollars in my wallet was of no good to me at this point, as I could not even purchase a small, college dorm-size, refrigerator to cool the water bottles in near-100 degree weather. What would be the point!!!???
Water. Electricity. I thank God for making me truly appreciate what we take for granted everyday back in the comfortable United States of America. We are blessed with the best infrastructure to be established anywhere in the world!
Jicaro Art that ETAC could implement and teach... The idea is extremely exciting! |
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All Cement Kitchen!
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Juan Gabriel, Mayor of Nagarote, Julie, Amilcar (who loves any photo opportunity), and Gina
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