Current Events

Yesterday, as Jim and I sat in the kitchen at Suni, wasting time on the internet as usual, we got a text message that Erin and Maria were downstairs. We didn't know that they were coming to Managua, but it was a pleasant surprise, and they ended up spending the night at Dona Claudia's as well. After dinner we went to Las Gallerias with Erin, Maria, Heydi and Hellen, because Erin needed some things. Heydi is leaving the house today, because her term is over and she now has a month and a half vacation before the next starts up agian. This is disappointing, because she's the most talkative of the girls, and talking to her has really helped me with my comprehension skills.

Dan and Nathan arrived today, to spend their last two days in Nicaragua down here in Managua. They're ready to get back, and truthfully we're kind of jealous, simply because we're bored here at Suni due to a complete lack of work to be done. I think that we're going to be heading out in the morning to go to the Masaya Volcano, something that I've been looking forward to doing this whole time.

Earlier today, we went with Emilio and another guy to start setting up a Suni stall at this place in the city that I can only describe as something that reminds me of a flea market. Apparently, for 10 days out of the year, it fills up with vendors, and people come from all around Central America to buy things, because for these ten days, no tax is assessed on items bought there. This is a big deal, because sales tax down here is about 15%, simply because no one ever charges it, so when they do, they need to make a good bit on it for it to be effective. Preparing the stall first involved clearing a pile of rotting scrap wood, and waterlogged particle board from the area in front. We loaded it all into the truck, and then when I asked what we were going to do with all of it, the non-Emilio guy (i have to find out his name!) asked me if I had ever seen the "Basura Municipal de Managua" (Managua Municipal Dump), and when I said that I hadn't, he laughed and said, "Then you're about to!". Outside the dump is a relatively expansive slum, and that was our first stop along the way. As soon as we pulled in, the truck was spotted by a group of boys, who could not have been much older than 8. They ran and jumped onto the truck, and yelled for it to stop. We stopped, and they immediately began ransacking the pile of wood for anything that looked flammable (which was most of it) and started throwing it off into the street. Quickly they were joined by a group of men, who were more effective at removing the larger pieces. Once they had taken what they wanted, we drove onward into the dump, leaving a pile of wood in the middle of the street, quickly being divided up between the different households that were represented. Two of the boys stayed on the truck with us, and directed us through the dump to an area where we could deposit the remainder of our garbage. When we got there, the boys proceeded to offload the rest, and we payed them a few cordobas. The dump itself is composed of acres and acres of dirt mixed with compacted trash, that forms the "ground" layer, and is continuously packed down by the lines of trucks and carts eternally driving back and forth. On top of this layer is a good six foot deep layer of new garbage that stretches for acres in every direction. In this heap, thousands of people work side by side with thousands of vultures picking it clean of anything valuable. The people (often whole families, with old people, and babies) are after scrap metal, glass, plastic, and paper-recyclables. There are even some shanties built on top of the mounds...why commute to work if you could live on top of it? The vultures seek, and easily find bits of rotting meat, and dead animals. We saw two mounds, ten feet high and about 30 feet in diameter, one comprised completely of cow skulls, and another comprised of assorted bones. Both were covered in a two foot thick layer of vultures, stripping them clean. In all directions, random fires burn, probably fueled by discarded petroleum products, and methane from decomposing garbage. Needless to say, the smell here is something that I've never before experienced, and wouldn't miss too much. Interestingly enough, the rate at which trash arrived at the dump (which services the entire city of Managua, population: 1,850,000) was only a tiny fraction of what I have observed at the Montgomery County Solid Waste District, that only services a single county in southwestern Ohio (population: 559,000). I attribute this to the fact that people here literally put every single item they have to its fullest use. Every bottle, cardboard box, or piece of plastic that can be used again, is. In addition, many of poorer residents burn their trash with the wood that they use for cooking including plastic, styrofoam, and other things that really should never be incinerated.