Love, Peace, & Gratitude

Meet The 17-Year-Old Who Blew The Lid Off Racial Profiling With His iPod

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 21:22:20 -0600

Meet The 17-Year-Old Who Blew The Lid Off Racial Profiling With His iPod:

“We’re going to go out there and violate some rights.” NYPD police recordings..

Perfect day for an afternoon run. #vacationathome (Taken with...

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 14:58:50 -0600

Perfect day for an afternoon run. #vacationathome (Taken with Instagram)

US Interventionism in Latin America

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:40:15 -0600

US Interventionism in Latin America:

For the few Americans who studied the history of the US of A in Latin America, your studies most likely left you ashamed and disappointed in your government. The constant history of American forces helping to install dictators in place of democratically elected officials is appalling.

Even worse? Finding out it’s still happening today. Read more about the US’s involvement and complacency in Honduras today.

Reverse Culture Shock: Back to NYC

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:33:00 -0600

Reverse culture shock started simple with me… I couldn’t figure out what to do with my toilet paper. Each time I went to the bathroom, I had to resist the urge to throw my TP in the garbage, remembering instead that it went in the toilet. What an odd concept, toilet paper in the toilet! I didn’t think such a simple change would bother me, but this slight difference in the routine of my life really caught me unaware.

It was odd to return home in the evening of December 23rd, which was followed by Christmas Eve, Christmas, my birthday (slightly anti-climactic as usual, as it is 2 days after Christmas), and New Years Eve. That’s a lot of events, social plans, and people for a short period of time.

An unexpected blessing was seeing my darling friend Amelie, who I refer to as my novia [girlfriend], as she had plans to be in New York the day after I got back. Since my real novio [boyfriend] was at a Jets game with his Dad, I had the day to myself to enjoy Amelie one last time in the Americas.

The photo below was taken of me at our lunch at Alice’s Tea Cup - my part-braided, part-straightened hair is a perfect symbol for my part-Nicaragua part-NYC state of mind:

Seeing Amelie and having her relate to my confusion of being back in the USA was a perfect medicine to my soul. Because, beyond my shock at the unbelievable cold temperature of NYC, the hustle and bustle was what felt different. It felt as if this crazy Latin American experience of mine had never happened. I wanted to jump in the air and shout at everyone, “WAIT!” I went to Nicaragua, I experienced a whole other reality, and I lived a whole other life, so why is everything here the same?

Mike’s apartment was just as it had been, the MTA Queens/Manhattan bus system was just as frustrating and inefficient as it had been, the New York City people were just as fast-moving as they had been, and everyone in this big city felt so together yet so alone at the same time.

I’d be lying if I said I was embraced by total warmth by the people of Nicaragua, and that instead of whistling at me and calling me names in Spanish, the men said “Buenos dias,” and the women asked “Como estas?” I’m not sure that it’s the country itself that I’m missing, or if it’s the children I had the benefit of getting to know for a short period of time, and the friends I made in the other volunteers.

I miss the confusing buzz of German with the occasional English or Spanish word mixed in. I miss the mutual understanding after a long day of school where the classroom was chaos. I miss hearing “teecha, teecha” from my English students. I miss the shared interest among so many people to make a difference in the world, in whatever way that meant. I miss the daily discussions on what was wrong with the school systems, the teachers, the classrooms, and what we could possibly do to make it better. I miss the feeling each morning of knowing what I’m doing will make a difference, no matter how tired I am (or how upset my stomach is by Nicaraguan food and drink). I miss the children of Nicaragua - no matter how rambunctious, stubborn, and difficult they could be. I miss seeing the smile of satisfaction from a correct answer. I miss speaking Spanish all of the time!

Those things aren’t all gone; they’re still with me. Those conversations can still be had; I just have to take the reins. New York City is still beautiful; my home is as dear to me as it has always been. I feel so lucky that Teach for America is the next big marker on my horizon. I can’t wait to get back into the classroom and continue to make a difference.

A little something in me has changed, and I look forward to continuing to learn and grow from that new corner of my soul.

Belize: Days 1 & 2

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:01:54 -0600

Belize could practically be a different continent from Nicaragua, and I am loving the Caribbean feel.

Day 1: When I first arrived at the airport, I was dreading having to unpack my overpacked pink suitcase at Customs. Happily, the customs man and I had a conversation that went like so:

Customs Man: Is this your first time in Belize?
Me: Yes, actually it is!
Customs Man: Are you sure you haven’t been here before? I could swear I’ve seen you somewhere.
Me: No, this is definitely my first time here.
Customs Man: Oh, well maybe it was in my dreams or in my future or somethin…

After the airport, I spent my 24 hours in Belize City, waiting for Mer to arrive, and I chose not to leave the Guest House for the 1 day I was there for a few reasons: I was tired; there isn’t much to see in Belize City; the men were aggressive; the danger level is high; I was a single white female on my own.

I did meet a group of fantastic Belizeans who were either working at, visiting, or just hanging around the Guest House in which I was staying. As the chef/my good friend for the night, 60-something year old Michael said to me, “Why go anywhere, when the world always comes to me here?” We had an amazing night of drinks, delicious food, loud music, and good company. It was my perfect initiation into this crazy little country.

A quick highlight from my stay there was a young man named Henry from Nigeria who told me he was in Belize hoping to be awarded a Visa to the US, which is apparently easier to get from Belize than from Nigeria. Shortly thereafter, he proposed marriage to me, explaining that it was fate that had brought us to the Guest House at the same time… he had been there ‘waiting for’ me. Why did I give him my email address? Why not, I thought. Saw this in my inbox today:

Hi lauren,meeting you is the most interesting thing Belize has offerd me late,though 4 a short time we met but really you are d most beautiful of all,more charming,adorable even irresistible.
pls try to explain further why we cant get along.
Enjoy the rest of ur tour.
Merry christmas & a woundafull new year.
Fr. Henry
Belize city.

Day 2: Mer and I visited Corocal (outside of San Ignacio) today, which was my first ever experience in Mayan ruins! We had a nice time and we’re planning another early day tomorrow, to head to Actun Tunichil Muknal (also known as ATM), for spelunking & cave exploration, to see Mayan sacrificial victim skeletons (!!), and for some wild adventure.

Belize is great! Next stops are Dangriga and Caye Caulker. Home in 5 days. How crazy is that?

With love, peace, & gratitude,
Lauren

Last Day in Nicaragua

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:26:59 -0600

Today is my last day in Nicaragua. When did that happen?! Here is the plan for today:

Breakfast at Euro Cafe (mmm, good!).
Swim in the pool.
30 minute massage (complimentary with my pool membership).
Lunch at home (I’m thinking tortilla wrap with refried beans, fresh veggies, and lime).
Make $516 donation to La Esperanza Granada (thanks to your help!).
Interview for a potential TFA teaching placement (which could be in Canarsie, BK, my hometown!).
Finish Christmas/Hanukkah shopping.
Telepizza (vegetariano? jamon y pina? vamos a ver).
Sleep until 3:30 AM … when I leave for Belize with Merry!

It’s a pretty Gringa day, but since I’ve already had my last day at the schools, I’ve already eaten my last typical Nica meal last night, and I’ve had plenty of delicious Nica rum, I’m ready to enjoy Granada at its finest.

It’s going to be so hard to say goodbye to the beautiful souls I’ve met while volunteering. The volunteers here—from every corner of the world—are the amazing driving force behind the success of the students La Esperanza Granada serves. And the students themselves… I hope that we’ve done good by them. They deserve nothing but the best.

A rainy day during dry season It’s rained quite a few days...

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:40:00 -0600

A rainy day during dry season

It’s rained quite a few days in dry season this year (rainy season is July - October, dry is November - June), which of course gets my overactive mind worrying about the effects of global warming.

The real concern though, is that when there is rain, there is no school. (Happily, although it rained a lot last night and effected my delicates drying on the clothes line, it didn’t rain today to effect school).

The reason there is no school when it rains is because most of the students live in houses like the ones pictured here. When it rains, their houses leak, the roads flood and become muddy, and they can’t risk soaking the shirt on their back-probably one of the only shirts they own-on their way to school. Even worse than the mud and getting wet (which sound like a great time to a developed country kid), their families cannot afford to take them to a doctor. If they catch something while shivering in the rain, their health can be endangered.

And so, rain is yet another interruption preventing the children of Nicaragua from attending school. While the disruption to their education can be frustrating, it couldn’t be any other way with the way that they live.

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:48:15 -0600

““If you judge people, you have no time to love them.””

- Mother Teresa

La Esperanza Granada volunteer video created by my friend Sandra...

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:53:37 -0600

La Esperanza Granada volunteer video created by my friend Sandra Sikman. A quick glimpse into the volunteer experience here (including a word or two from yours truly!).

Lessons Learned

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:51:00 -0600

My friend Beth, whom I did AmeriCorps with, is soon to head to Guyana as a part of the Peace Corps to teach. She asked me for some best practices and tips which, at the end of the first day of Summer School here in Nicaragua, and after 6 weeks of teaching, I was happy to prepare.

Here are my lessons learned…

Leave time for the slower responses. When you ask a question of the class, the same few hands will always go in the air, or the same few kids will shout out. Different kids learn in different ways, and some just need a few extra seconds to process. Make sure everyone gets a chance to participate, even if that means waiting a few more seconds or calling on someone who is too shy to volunteer.

Group work is key. In Nicaragua, copying off of another student is a common practice, but today I saw an amazing example of peer-learning. While I was helping one student and another boy was awaiting my help, a little girl who was his neighbor helped him with an addition problem by holding up her hands and demonstrating a way to find the answer. By the time I was ready to help the little boy with the question, he had already figured out the answer with his friend’s help.

It’s okay to be stern sometimes. No one responds well to an angry / yelling teacher who is grumpy all the time, but kids do well with order. I’ve had the chance to observe volunteers who teach with confidence, enforce rules, and don’t allow themselves to be interrupted. Other volunteers are a bit more quiet, are flexible with the students, and do not command the same amount of respect. The students are dramatically more receptive to the teachers who take control of the classroom, exerting confidence, and enforcing rules in a fair and reasonable way. My Mom always taught me the phrase “don’t smile in September,” which means that if you are serious about the rules in the beginning and you demand your students respect them, your job will be easier throughout the year as you will have set the tone for your classroom. Once you have commanded your students’ respect, it’s much easier to be flexible and softer with them.

Patience, patience, patience. There isn’t much to explain here, other than how essential it is not to take students’ poor behavior and weak performance to heart. In Nicaragua, many of the students are struggling dramatically. In the Summer School where we teach, the Principal made an announcement at the end of the normal school year that the majority of each class had not passed on to the next grade. There is a lot of work to be done, and it is often slow. Patience can be a difficult thing to maintain, but it is essential to your slow and eventual progress.

Self-care helps your students. I’ve done a lot of yoga while in Nicaragua, and I’ve taken time for naps, a swim at the pool, and books to read. The refreshment I get from taking care of myself makes me that much more enthused and balanced and ready for the next day in the classroom. Even if it seems impossible where you are, a little bit of self-care can go a long way.

With love, peace, & gratitude,
Lauren

La Purisima Concepcion de Maria

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 07:26:00 -0600

Dear Granada,

I’m so glad to be able to witness and take part in your celebration for the conception of Mary. At 7 am though, is 5 minutes of loud church bells, followed by a full marching band walking down my street necessary?

Love,
Lauren

LGBT Leadership: Split Hairs and Burnt Bodies

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:00:52 -0600

Time to get on my soap box again. In honor of the Transgender Day of Remembrance (Nov 20), I encourage you to read more from Pete Subkoviak, “LGBT Leadership: Split Hairs and Burnt Bodies.”

Imagine them chucking her torso on the side of a highway, with absolutely no regret or sense of immorality. Imagine being the mother called into the morgue to identify a defiled torso as your daughter. Swallow that bitter pill of reality and tell me that marriage is the most important issue for the LGBT community in 2011. For several in the transgender community, it might as well be 1969 all over again, because nothing has changed for them.

Have you heard of Shelley Hilliard’s murder by fire this week? If you haven’t, therein lies the problem. Read more here.

Yoga at the beach, Las Peñitas, Nicaragua (Nov 5-7). Left to...

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:20:00 -0600

Yoga at the beach, Las Peñitas, Nicaragua (Nov 5-7). Left to Right: Amelie, Sandra, Sonja, Lauren. (Photo by Bev Forsythe).

Las Escuelas de Granada

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:27:00 -0600

Working in the schools here is both an exhilarating and frustrating process. I absolutely adore the kiddos with whom we work; they are excited to learn, they take great pride in their studies, and they are eager to demonstrate that they have learned something new.

The culture of the schools here certainly has its opportunities for growth. School is often cancelled without much notice: because of rain, because it’s the day before the day before the day before the holiday, because the teachers want to have a meeting, or just because.

When school is in session, the students are eager to get everything correct on their worksheets and to always have the right answer. As soon as they are done, they throw their papers in the air and yell “teacher, teacher!” asking if they’ve gotten the correct answers. If we write anything but a check mark on their papers, their faces show immediate disappointment that they have gotten something wrong. Their enthusiasm for learning and participating in English class is fantastic.

Their interest in success often leads them to copy from a friend, memorize an answer instead of truly learning it, or ask us to simply tell them the correct answer. The habit of copying is one that is the hardest to deal with. Although we constantly ask children to work only on their own sheet and to not help out a friend, there is something understandable—and almost sweet—about their genuine interest in being helpful to a friend in need. Unfortunately, this does little good for the child we are trying to teach.

The teachers of each class add another element to the mix. Some of the teachers in the classes where we work are fantastic. They ask for a copy of the work we are doing so that they can test their own knowledge of English and see if they remember how to translate querer into English (usually, they do). When the kids are noisy, they demand “silencio!” and if we ask the students to repeat a phrase we have taught them—and they don’t do so with enough gusto—the teachers will wave their arms as if conducting an orchestra and ask them to speak the phrase again, with enthusiasm this time!

Other teachers are different. They interrupt the class in the middle of a lesson to make an announcement. They call to each other through the classroom windows, distracting the children. They talk to the students seated around them during the lesson, preventing the children from paying attention to the lesson being taught. These teachers make me worry about the quality of education that their pupils will receive.

The real differences in both the teachers’ attitudes and the students’ behavior in the classroom are dramatically reflected by the location of each school. One of the four schools in which we teach (I’ll call it “La Escuelita” for the sake of this post) wears me down each time we travel there, due to the attitude of the teachers and the disorder of the children in the classrooms.

Escuelita is the hardest school to get to, located far off of the main road from Granada, hidden deep in an impoverished corner of the community. The roads to this school are made only of dirt and are often difficult to cross due to large pockets of mucky water, garbage, potholes, and mud. The homes are scrapped together of miscellaneous material, and of little protection from the unforgiving rains. The school in their community is just 2 years old, and was funded by La Esperanza Granada. This means that these students either did not attend school before the building was created, or that they had to travel far to get to a school building. Were they able to make the journey every day? Did they have a quality education before these two years? These answers could explain a lot about their behavior.

In my first week, I lent a pen to a girl in La Escuelita who didn’t have her own. Although a pen might cost just 20 cordobas ($1) here, 20 cords is a lot of money. I forgot the rule that—although we help with necessary school supplies—we are to never lend or give anything to the students (as they might get used to the gifts or feel comfortable taking items without returning them). Of course, when I left the school that day, I left without my pen; I had forgotten which student I had given it to, and I felt foolish. The pen was from Mike’s company, and it had sentimental value to me, so I felt doubly disappointed.

Yesterday, after a hard day of school at La Escuelita with unruly students shouting in my classroom, I was ready to leave at the end of the day. As I walked out, I heard “teacher, teacher!” and I hesitatingly turned back. There, with an outstretched arm, was the little girl who had borrowed my pen two weeks earlier, ready to return it back to me. And with that small act I was ready to keep working hard for the students of Granada for another day.

Send me mail!

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:27:00 -0600

Since mail takes about 2 to 3 weeks to arrive, you have only 2 more weeks to send me mail! (Hint, hint). Receiving letters from home is great!

If you need it, here is my address here in Granada, Nicaragua:

La Esperanza Granada
Lauren Slater
Calle Libertad #307
Cuadra y media al lado de Parque Central
Granada, Granada, Nicaragua

I recommend sending any mail by November 30th at the very latest.

You’re the best!

Photo

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:33:32 -0600

Viviendo la vida

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:21:00 -0600

Hello friends!

I’ve really become a developing country kid, between my bed net last week and my latest development this week - I’ve been adding oral rehydration salts to my water.

I’ve had the pleasure of being sick with TD for the past week (I’ll let you google it if you are brave), and have not been able to eat anything but rice, tortillas, and bananas, since Monday morning. I started Cipro (an antibiotic to fight the virus) and oral rehydration salts to gain back the valuable electrolytes I’ve lost. Amazingly, a bottle of powerade costs $0.66 here, so I’ve been well stocked on delicious blue and red flavors to keep me strong. Nothing can make you homesick as much as a good ol’ belly ache when you’re thousands of miles from home, but happily Momma Slater and Mike have both done a great job of worrying about me from afar.

In other news, I went to the market in Masaya yesterday with my friend Sandra and bought an adorable pair of leather sandals for C$100 (100 cordobas = US$4.54) which I have been wearing around the house to break in. We also bought a nice big Cuban cigar to share with the girls for our getaway weekend in Leon (tomorrow thru Monday), which I can’t wait to cough through and illicitly enjoy!

We’ve had off from school because of the Day of the Dead celebrations on Wednesday and the impending elections coming up this Monday. They are expected to be quite contentious, so my friends Bev, Sandra, Sonja, Amelie, and I are headed to Leon and then to the beach to avoid any protests or violence. It’s an exciting time to be in Nicaragua, where each day we see groups gather to hear political commentary, others driving in the back of pickups with political songs blaring, and political t-shirts, flags, graffiti, and posters adorn every corner of the city. Ortega, the incumbent president, is expected a guaranteed win (whether the votes are his or not), so what we are really waiting to see is how his opponents and their supporters will handle their expected loss.

There haven’t been many days of school since I’ve arrived, but I’m looking forward to Wednesday and Thursday of next week, the only two days of the week I’ll get to be back in the classroom. Although they warn us against bringing valuables, I’m hoping to sneak in with my camera one day soon to catch a picture or two of our kids. For now, check out these pictures from La Esperanza Granada from October’s newsletter. You might just catch a photo or two of me in there!

La Esperanza Granada’s latest campaign is to raise enough funds to purchase 30 new computers for the high school students to use at the school, at about $200 a piece. They’ve raised enough for 23 computers so far, and I’m excited that my fundraising efforts (which will come to a close in December, at the end of my volunteer term) will help to support that work! To help make this magic happen, help me make an impact here. With your help, I’ve already raised enough for 2.5 computers, and I’d love your help to bridge the gap, since we have only 7 computers left to go!

The rainy season is coming to a close, which will hopefully mean that the cucarrachas (beetles) and ratones (rats) will leave our home and return to wherever they came from. Until then, we’ve been entertaining a few extra guests here at La Libertad!

My good friend Mark leaves tomorrow to return home to Australia (I am in total denial!). Although we’ve known each other just two short weeks, he is a good soul with a great perspective, and will be deeply missed by the La Esperanza family, myself included. A good excuse to travel to Australia and discover a new corner of the world, I think. Safe travels, Mark, y te echaré de menos!

More updates soon. Missing you all but loving la vida!

Love, peace, and gratitude,
Lo

Happy Halloween, everyone! It’s party time in La Libertad;...

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:01:52 -0600

Happy Halloween, everyone! It’s party time in La Libertad; we’re taking this holiday quite seriously.

Reflections

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:09:00 -0600

Due to the private nature of this post,”Reflections” is available on request! Please email me, lnslater (at) gmail (dot) com, and I will be happy to send it your way. Sometimes, innermost thoughts and private words are not meant to be shared with the world wide interwebs.

The dove painted onto my bedroom door

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:31:00 -0600

The dove painted onto my bedroom door