A Very Candid Post

One year ago, we were packing our twelve suitcases to embark upon an adventurous mission for God's Kingdom. It's difficult to believe that we have lived in Nicaragua for nearly a year! We have settled into our new lifestyle and a general routine. I suppose we didn't realize just how different our lifestyle truly was until our best friends came to spend two weeks with us. I have tried to maintain a positive attitude in every update from Nicaragua. I will never feel inclined to complain about my circumstances here. In witnessing the poverty and need in this country each day, I realize how fortunate we are.

My friend, Elaina, has encouraged me to share with our supporters what our lives look like in Nicaragua. Please know that we are not complaining about any of these aspects; we just want you to see how truly fortunate you are in the United States.

Let's start with the basics. Bugs. We have cockroaches. Lots of them. Big ones. Everywhere. To quote Peter Nethington, "The cockroach that ate Cincinnati was just in my shower."  Personally, I am not fond of getting close enough to take a picture, so this movie poster will have to suffice.

Other bug species that we encounter frequently and in great numbers are tarantulas, flies, bees, tiny little vicious biting ants, and of course, mosquitoes. Several students and teachers have contracted a disease known as Chikungunya which is carried by these nasty blood-sucking varmints. There is also the fear of Dengue and Malaria. For those of you who know me, you know that I am the best mosquito repellent to have around because they are all attracted to me. Even wearing repellent daily, I currently have 29 mosquito bites--all within the last 5 days.  And finally, even though they are not bugs, there are other things that creep and crawl. Geckos are cohabitants in any home. And, although they are fast and at times pretty large, they are great at controlling other insects. It took some time to get used to watching them crawl above my head at night. We have had a snake in our apartment, and these guys are pretty common...I took a picture of him because he was safe and sound in a deep glass bowl!

scorpion

In the grand scheme of life here, critters are the least of our concerns. Although we have no hot water to wash dishes and do laundry, we do have a way to take a warm shower, if we are brave! Allow me to introduce you to our source of hot water showers, the widow maker. This dazzling piece of technology heats the water in your shower with electricity. We strongly recommend that if you come to visit, listen carefully to our tutorial on how to operate this. Sometimes they go out...with a bang. Hannah has been the lucky one each time we've had one stop working. She explains, "I hear a loud pop and see a flash out of the corner of my eye. Then, it catches on fire for a few seconds. I just jump out of the shower as fast as I can when it happens."

The Widow Maker

Up until a few weeks ago, we were blessed with a full-size North American stove and oven through our sublease. Now, we have this:

This stove is sitting in a space made for a typical North American
sized stove.

This is a Nica stove. In a previous post I told you that people here typically don't use an oven. On this stove, the oven is definitely an afterthought. Sadly, I cannot fit my cookie sheet in it. For perspective, keep in mind that the size of this space is about the size of a typical North American stove model.

Most of you are used to simply flipping a switch and a light comes on, or turning on the faucet and water comes out. Here, you never know if these actions will produce results. For example, yesterday, our power went out at 6:30 A.M. and did not come back on until almost 4:00 P.M. And, we are regularly without water. Luckily, at our new place, we have a water tank to use as a reserve. Here's Spencer checking the water level on our tank.

Spencer checking the water level in our
reserve tank.

Also, it is HOT, all the time. This time of year we have the added bonus of humidity. We have no central air conditioning-not at work, at home, or in the car. The only relief is a fan. We do have a small air conditioning unit in one of our bedrooms, but remember, electricity here is 6 times more expensive than in the states. To give you an idea of the difference, we ran the A/C in our bedroom for several nights for 4 hours. Our next bill had gone up $14.00.  

It's dirty and dusty, too. I wear flip flops all the time. From the time I step out of bed until I go to sleep at night, I have shoes on my feet. No sooner than the floors are cleaned, a new layer of grime and grit seeps in through the doors and windows. Along with the dirt and grime, trash is unavoidable. Refuse lines many dried up river beds, trickles down hillsides, and rolls along the streets. The garbage is depressing, but since most of the population cannot afford trash removal, it is a fact of life here.

Another luxury in the states is the fact that the cops leave you alone unless you've done something wrong or need help. Here, not so much. Unfortunately, checkpoints are frequent. Jeremy gets stopped several times per month to check his paperwork. Sometimes, we encounter corrupt "policia" who demand a fine or "multa"or they threaten to take you license--even though we've done nothing wrong. 

Ahhh the language barrier... We are getting so much better! But our friends were a bit overwhelmed with prices quoted in Spanish and in Cordobas. I can now quickly convert "Cords" to dollars when I look at a price in the store. Elaina stared at this for several minutes in multiple stores as I explained that, yes, this bottle of sunscreen costs $18 plus 15% tax bringing the total to a whopping $20.70!

This is approximately $18.00 

Sunscreen is not the only exhoritantly priced item. Common items like cereal, chips, canned goods, chocolate chips, butter, baking needs, and nuts are very pricey, too. That is, if you even find the item. We have yet to find many of the items we used in the states on a regular basis.

I hope we didn't overwhelm you with this post. As we have settled into life here, much of this has become second nature to us. God created the Kane family to be resilient and steadfast. We will continue to march forward as we encounter year number two in Nicaragua. We love it here and we are thrilled that God called us to do His work in this country. 

We could not do this without the financial blessings of our supporters. If you are a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual financial supporter, we would like to gently remind you to check your records as we finish our first year of work. We are so blessed by each of your gifts (and especially blessed to buy a bottle of sunscreen) ;-)