Today is a lazy laundry day, and a day to remember some of the stories we have gathered since arriving in Elstelí. The lady who runs the lavanderiá in town travels around Nicaragua every Sunday. She loves her country. She loves to travel. She loves foreigners who speak Spanish for the mutual learning opportunity that becomes possible. She has no desire to visit the US because everyone who does returns with horror stories.
We learned of one such horror story from a warm-hearted, enthusiastic man who was working hard at his respectable job. He took a moment to share what happened when he tried to go to California to be a gardener. He was there three years when he was... mistaken.. for being a Coyote- which is slang for a smuggler from Mexico. The pronounciation of Coyote is more like coy-oh-tay.
Side note in order to differentiate people from Mexico, and people smuggling: I worked for a little over a month at a farm last summer. The group I worked with were women from various parts of Mexico. I spoke as much Spanish as they did English, but we understood each other. They were some of the strongest, friendliest people I have ever met. They immediatly welcomed me, showed me pictures of their families, and shared their food. I have very fond memories of my time there.
Back to the story. The man from Nicraragua was mistaken for a smuggler from Mexico, which are quite different countries in the first place. The police who arrested him accused him of speaking Spanish, being Coyote, planted a pistol on him, tied his arms to his sides, and his feet together, and shipped him to a prison in Mexico. Eventually, an amnesty organization helped him return to Nicaragua.
He did not tell his story with hatred. He did not tell his story with resentment. His general demeaner was one of benevolance. He also is against the proposed canal that would go through Nicaragua, and destroy the beautiful freshwater lake around Ometepe Island, which is one of the places on the very top of my To Do list. I want to help with the permaculture project they have going on there, and do the ten days of silence retreat.
I started to think about racism in places. I think it stems from trying to justify bad behavior, and a fear that if people being discriminated against get the proper rights and respect, the tables might turn, and those that have been racist might be the ones discriminated against. It's awful when it's obvious, but all too often, it's a sneaky thing. All too often discrimination is conducted by well-meaning people who have ideas that I'm not sure they're aware of. I know I've done some micro-aggresions to people, and felt awful after I realized. Maya Angelou's quote 'I did then what I knew. When I knew better, I did better' helped alleviate some of the guilt of doing shitty things. I spend a lot of time thinking about my thoughts, and learning. I'm excited for doing the ten days of silence because I think it will help me get deep in there and sort through things. I also hope that one day more people will feel comfortable visiting the US because there are heaps and heaps of beautiful things. There are scary things, too.
Here's to more love in the world, and to accepting that we have assumptions, as well as understanding that they're assumptions. Here's to stretching our comfort zones in order to see a little more clearly, which is doing something to those assumptions. Here's to traveling, and the humbleness that comes with it. Cheers.
We learned of one such horror story from a warm-hearted, enthusiastic man who was working hard at his respectable job. He took a moment to share what happened when he tried to go to California to be a gardener. He was there three years when he was... mistaken.. for being a Coyote- which is slang for a smuggler from Mexico. The pronounciation of Coyote is more like coy-oh-tay.
Side note in order to differentiate people from Mexico, and people smuggling: I worked for a little over a month at a farm last summer. The group I worked with were women from various parts of Mexico. I spoke as much Spanish as they did English, but we understood each other. They were some of the strongest, friendliest people I have ever met. They immediatly welcomed me, showed me pictures of their families, and shared their food. I have very fond memories of my time there.
Back to the story. The man from Nicraragua was mistaken for a smuggler from Mexico, which are quite different countries in the first place. The police who arrested him accused him of speaking Spanish, being Coyote, planted a pistol on him, tied his arms to his sides, and his feet together, and shipped him to a prison in Mexico. Eventually, an amnesty organization helped him return to Nicaragua.
He did not tell his story with hatred. He did not tell his story with resentment. His general demeaner was one of benevolance. He also is against the proposed canal that would go through Nicaragua, and destroy the beautiful freshwater lake around Ometepe Island, which is one of the places on the very top of my To Do list. I want to help with the permaculture project they have going on there, and do the ten days of silence retreat.
I started to think about racism in places. I think it stems from trying to justify bad behavior, and a fear that if people being discriminated against get the proper rights and respect, the tables might turn, and those that have been racist might be the ones discriminated against. It's awful when it's obvious, but all too often, it's a sneaky thing. All too often discrimination is conducted by well-meaning people who have ideas that I'm not sure they're aware of. I know I've done some micro-aggresions to people, and felt awful after I realized. Maya Angelou's quote 'I did then what I knew. When I knew better, I did better' helped alleviate some of the guilt of doing shitty things. I spend a lot of time thinking about my thoughts, and learning. I'm excited for doing the ten days of silence because I think it will help me get deep in there and sort through things. I also hope that one day more people will feel comfortable visiting the US because there are heaps and heaps of beautiful things. There are scary things, too.
Here's to more love in the world, and to accepting that we have assumptions, as well as understanding that they're assumptions. Here's to stretching our comfort zones in order to see a little more clearly, which is doing something to those assumptions. Here's to traveling, and the humbleness that comes with it. Cheers.