Tierra del Fuego

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Groundwater research Nica style

WHO: Essa (aka Vanessa)
WHAT: Peace Corps, Environmental Education
WHERE: Nicaragua
WHEN: Sept '05 - Nov '07
WHY: To get some sort of master´s degree out of this gig...

My entries may have been a bit lacking in substance lately, but not because I haven't been doing anything. It was finally time to put my 6-month-in-the-making master's thesis project plan (officially titled, "A pump test method for rope pump wells to forecast seasonal changes in yields") in action. I've spent the last few months meeting the folks in the community where I was planning to do my thesis project, doing surveys, sitting wells, doing lots of calculatin' and figgeren', and outfitting wells so that the tests can be performed without damaging the wells or leaving the well users without water during the tests. This entry shows the process I went through to get things set up and a bit of how the pump tests have gone thus far.

Without getting to deep in details, the idea was basically to do a series of pump tests (evacuating the well to measure recovery, or how long the well takes to fill up again) on rope pump wells. This information can be used to determine well productivity, which may change during the course of the dry season, as the water table drops since it's not being recharged by rain. The wells are simple and widespread across rural areas of Nicaragua and Central America. The pump mechanism looks like this:

So after figuring out how much water I would extract each day from the well, I had to have a place to store the water so that it would not go to waste, as well users rarely use hundreds of gallons at a time. I bought 290 gallon storage tanks for each well I was testing. The stars were aligned in my favor the day I planned to do the tank and pipe installations, as all the materials I had ordered were in (minus a few trivial things), the technician from the water utility, Eduardo, showed on time, and transportation was not too difficult to locate. Here some of the workers are placing cement blocks upon which sits the tank.

After the tank was set up, Eduardo wanted to see if we could run electricity for the drill out to the well from the nearest house. So he set up this amazingly precarious contraption to try and splice the wires. I told him I didn't want to spend my grant money paying off his hospital bills.

Having failed at that (not because he fell, the line was dead), we resorted to the hand drill, with the help of the well owner, Don Esevio.

We ran about 60 feet of PVC pipe into the well, to ensure that the probe used to measure the depth to water would not get entagled in the ropes. To finish up, I can't remember what Eduardo's doing here...christening by fire...or a bit of witchcraft??

The first well was an adrenaline pumping event- at least for me as I saw my months of preparing unraveling before my eyes as we found roots had penetrated the well and almost prevented us from being able to push the PVC down as far as it needed to go. But, Eduardo persevered (I tipped him amply).

Taking a break from the excitement, I made some bread with the Isabel, Maria, and Maruca:

We installed pipe in four different wells, this one serving the local chapel. We had to supspend work as we were within a hairs breadth of getting shocked by lightning.

Eduardo, Gilberto (another well owner) and I took refuge in chapel, which was threating to float away in the deluge...water was streaming under the door on the right.

After having done a preliminary test on all the wells, I found one was too productive to measure (we couldn't pump fast enough (as the pump has a maximum rate of 5 gpm) to get the water table to drop). I was worried that this would set us back considerably, but with the help of one of the local well users and his sons (Jose, Jose Jr., and David) and their antediluvian purple beast, we were able to get to town and buy all the necessary equipment to outfit a fourth- hopefully less productive- well.

A few weeks later, John, my advisor from Michigan Tech, showed up and helped us take measurments. The two guys pumping, Jose Jr. and Alvaro, are local hires to help pump the well and dump buckets into the tank. They make the work more fun by telling jokes. I'm pretty easy to make laugh, but consternation was all I could muster after hearing this one - Q: What did one banana say to the other banana? A: We're pure potasium.

Is anyone laughing?

Noemi, another Peace Corps Volunteer, came and helped too. She quickly got bored counting buckets (the crayons were a quick easy way to keep track), so she turned it into an art of organization...

With all the Purisima activities at the chapel, we gathered quite a few spectators while doing our tests before mass:


Below is a plot of the data we took during three pump tests on one of the wells. I'm a little disappointed that the pumping regime I had planned would not yield expected results...it won't allow me to extrapolate a trend for groundwater behavior over time. But, all is not lost, as we are still able to determine productivity and we'll just have to do pump tests over a span of months rather than days to see changes in productivity with drop in watertable. In any case, reproducibility is good!

So, the next steps are to monitor depth to water table in the four wells, and do more pump tests over the course of the summer (until the end of August or so).

Stay tuned for the next entry - John and I embark on a sailing adventure to the Island of Omotepe, home of two active volcanoes in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, to make some contacts for future projects...

President elect Ortega

WHO: Essa (aka Vanessa)
WHAT: Peace Corps, Environmental Education
WHERE: Nicaragua
WHEN: Sept '05 - Nov '07
WHY: La vida es un carnaval


So, the election excitement is over and life's back to normal...but we did have an exciting one with the predicted split liberal vote , making way for Daniel Ortega, the Sandanista candidate, to take the presidency. In my conversations with people, there are all over the board on their reaction. Those that are unhappy worry that Nicaragua will return to the same situation in the 80s (war, land redistribution, food rationing, poor quality food, astronimical inflation rates), cause the already miserable economy to worsen, and inflame relations with the US. Not to mention they are not happy that his wife is a recognized witch (which, according to one woman, explains how he won the election.)

The fact that he has taken office makes Peace Corps Volunteers ponder our future here, as the last time he took office in '79, he kicked the Peace Corps out. I'm a little worried, but it is doubtful that will happen this time around, as he keeps reiterating that he is intent on having a good relationship with the US and vows to keep the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement on track. In any case, it is a good lesson for all us PCVs on what living in a politically unstable country is like. No wonder few Nicaraguans make long term plans around here - if it's not the hurricanes or malaria that get you, it's a radical change in government.

These past few weeks I've been busy getting my thesis project started. As one of the tasks, I sat of the wells I will be studying for two days in a row. I wanted to get an idea of how much water the well users extract. It was pretty boring, and I know the locals think I'm crazy, but they did invite me to a birthday party that eveing, so they couldn't have seen me as too weird. One of the days was washing day - below is Isabel washing clothes for her dad and two brothers. She uses an old piece of culvert (I think) that the highway department blasted out when the redid the road a few years ago. Only the women washed, but the boys pumped the well and made sure they always had enough water.

Here's Maria and her daughter washing on their more primitive rock - they use the barbed wire fence to hang the clothes to dry.

In other parts, where there's enough surface water, they commonly wash right in the river.

Day of the Dead

November 2nd is the day of the dead, and everyone visits the cemetary to clean and paint the graves (they usually pour cement slabs over the graves), and decorate them with flowers. The day is festive, though not rowdy, and the priest came to give mass.

Halloween

My neighbor Jose Luis, and his stepdaughter, Liz Carmen, spent Halloween evening with me. We all sat around my Halloween candle that my folks sent last year, and Jose Luis told ghost stories...he swears they are true. They always involved meeting someone who had died and came back to protect someone from something.

Some of the Nicaraguan old and young:

The old switcheroo

WHO: Essa (aka Vanessa)
WHAT: Peace Corps, Environmental Education
WHERE: Nicaragua
WHEN: Sept '05 - Nov '07
WHY: La vida es un carnaval

Just today, less than a week since Jose Luis launched into his schpiel about how he will vote for liberal candidate Montealegre to see, perhaps, a change in the politics in Nicaragua - and how he didn't believe Ortega would do anything good for the country - he tells me (as we fumigate the latrine for cucarachas) that not only will he vote for Ortega, he will also act as the local elections monitor here in town for the Sandanista party !!

He laughed when I cried,"¡No jódas!" (loosly translated as, "are you kidding me?")

"What can I do," he asks, "I'm a Sandanista at heart."

Presidential campaigns

WHO: Essa (aka Vanessa)
WHAT: Peace Corps, Environmental Education
WHERE: Nicaragua
WHEN: Sept '05 - Nov '07
WHY: La vida es un carnaval

Lots going on in Nicaragua right now with the end of the school year approaching, impending doom of water scarcity accompanying the summertime months, and the presidential election. Perhaps I exaggerate the second point, but everyone keeps scaring me saying we'll only get water once a month since this year's rainy season was anything but rainy. The truth is I do have the means to buy water from private dealers - at the scandalous price of 55 gallons for $1. 20. While that doesn't seem like much to us, the government run water utility sells the same amount for half a cent. Peer pressure will be the thing to contend with...how can I buy barrels of water for myself while my closest neighbors, who can't afford that, look on? Being rich in the eyes of my neighbors is...uncomfortable. Anyway, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

As part of a PCV duties, we must participate in the training of the new groups that come in. Naomi, Sarah, and I were chosen to give a presentation for the new Environmental Education group on working with NGOs and community groups. We had a great powerpoint presentation ready to give, with lots of slides of our work, and, wouldn't you know it, the school we were out lost the electricity just before we arrived (Nica is in rolling blackout mode to cut costs). So, we had to rely on a laptop with 32% power to show our stuff. It was a debacle, but we adapted as best we could.

Fortunately, the same fate didn't befall me as I presented my thesis project to representatives of the local water utility, mayor's office, and NGO I'm working with. I garnered support from the mayor's office in assisting me with introducing me to the community members I will be working with, and from the water utility in helping me outfit the wells for the study. It went well, though last I heard from my NGO partner, we could be stalled until after the election, as some paperwork is getting held up at the mayor's office. Trying to find a way around it...

Going to be spending a lot of time here in the next few months...

At the homestead - here's Jose Luis. Maybe he got a half price deal on the shirt...

I bought a cake for the family to celebrate the fact that the water tank was finished and also to thank them for all their help getting me settled into the house. It took about two weeks for Jose Luis to finish it, so it was quite the undertaking. With some persuasion, I finally got the people at the pastry shop to write, "Feliz Pila Nueva" which means, "Happy New Ferrocement tank."

The presidential election is next Sunday! Though I am prohibited by the PC to attend any political rallies, I do talk to my neighbors and friends about what they think the outcome will be. Some are noncommittal, others staunch Sandanista or Liberal supporters. Jose Luis, though he says he's supported Daniel Ortega (the Sandanista candidate who held power after the revolutionaries overthrew the US-backed Somoza regime in the 70s), in the past 4 elections (in which he won only the first), he will vote for the Eduardo Montealegre, who the US supports. Basically, he says he hopes that things will change for the better, and is tired of hearing Ortega loop into his anti-gringo rhetoric time and time again. He says he knows Nica needs good relations with the US - so much of their economy is dependent on US aid and commerce. At the same time, I don't feel that he is terribly hopeful that Nica will see any real change if Montealegre wins. He reminds me of the grouchy donkey in Orwell's Animal Farm.

In any case, here are some pictures of what propaganda in Nicaragua looks like. The red and black Sandanista flag mounted in a tree is ubiquitous throughout my department...

Here are some campesinos putting up posters and painting telephone poles in support of Montealegre

All bus stop shelters are fair game for whosever party gets there first. This is for Rizo, who is another candidate with ties to ex-president Aleman who was accused and convicted of embezzling millions of dollars. Some anti-Sandanistas fear that the having Montealegre and Rizo as liberal candidates will split the liberal voters, and lead to the election of Ortega.

A Daniel Ortega billboard in Managua. The stern figure with the big hat behind the dancing lady is Sandino, who was very instrumental in getting the US military out of Nicaragua in the 20s - he is revered to this day, not only for this feat, but also because he was killed by the first Samoza dictator.

Finally, an Eduardo Montealegre billboard in Managua. There are a few more candidates in the running, but they will take a small percentage of the votes. I have a friend who finished his PC service about a year ago. He is back now as an elections monitor through the Carter Foundation. A few weeks ago when I asked who he thought would win the election, without hesitating he replied, "Ortega." This is an exciting time to be in Nicaragua!

Tour the new casa

WHO: Essa (aka Vanessa)
WHAT: Peace Corps, Environmental Education
WHERE: Nicaragua
WHEN: Sept '05 - Nov '07
WHY: La vida es un carnaval

Okay, got my pics of my new digs up finally. This is Jose Luis cleaning out the water tank:

Auxiliadora helping me paint one of the two rooms.

This is it- freshly painted. My house is as wide as the door where you can see Gueguense's head peeking out to the first window. Auxiliadora and Jose Luis live in the other yellow house to the left.

The living room/kitchen. It's really nice because I live on a dirt road that basically turns into a footpath not far from my house, so there is virtually no traffic. You'd think that would make it quiet, but there are several neighbors who engage stereo wars, so at times it does get pretty noisy.

My kitchen corner.


Princess Vanessa's bed


You might notice a lack of closet space. Yeah, there is none so everything is pretty much out in the open. Makes it feel kinda cluttered. I did take out the 28 pounds of Peace Corps handbooks that I wasn't using back to the office in Mangua and that has helped a bit.

More soon!

Home again

WHO: Essa (aka Vanessa)
WHAT: Peace Corps, Environmental Education
WHERE: Nicaragua
WHEN: Sept '05 - Nov '07
WHY: La vida es un carnaval

I've been back in Nicaragua for almost a month now, and getting back up to speed with work, settling into my new house, and getting my thesis project up and running have dominated my time. My hand is much better now - doesn't hurt at all and is only slightly deformed.

As usual, I've had difficulties uploading all the pics I want to, so until I get it figured out, you can check out the ones below:

My new backyard - I decided to get away from the hustle and bustle of the main highway that runs through town and am now about as far away as I can get while still in the city. It's much smaller, too, which helps cut down cleaning time. The owners, Auxiliadora and Jose Luis, live right next door - so close we can talk to eachother through the walls- are really great and have helped a lot in getting my house in order. I gave up some amenities (toilet and shower)- I now have a latrine and share a stall for bucket bathing in the yard with a neighbor, but did gain a decent sized yard for Gueguense to play in. No well either, like I had at the last house, which will make this summer harder (they say sometimes they go up to a month without water), but Jose Luis spent 2 weeks fixing a 1000 gallon ferro-cement tank in the backyard, so I'm sure that'll help out a lot.

I got a cold last week, and Auxiliadora came over often to chat while I was laid up in bed. She made me breakfast one day - eggs and beans, and demanded that I drink her sure-fire cure to the common cold: A tea of lime juice, honey, cinnamon, garlic and onion. Sounds rank, but the honey and lime dominated so it was pretty good.

This is Megan - she is a new volunteer going through training and she came to spend 4 days with me as part of her training. I think she though the highlight of the visit was the food - she was thrilled to get a break from the typical Nica fare her host family gives her and eat lentils, oatmeal, and tikka massala.

While Megan was here, we went to the school and did a science experiment on what happens when hard boiled eggs sit in used motor oil. (Relates to oil spills and their effects on ocean ecosystems). If you want to know what happens, give it a try at home...

Here's a couple of the 1st graders (David, Fernanda, Azucena) diggin' "Clifford- El Gran Perro Colorado"

Our garden project is coming to an end (as the school year - ends in November). We had...umm...moderate success. The only things that grew really well were pipian, a type of squash. Evidently, 6 had grown really large, and the day before they were going to harvest them, some hungry campesino came in the night and stole them all. This one grew a week later...

Victoria, a woman who lives near the rural school, and her daughters run this little guirila (see bleow) stand that caters to passing busses and Peace Corps Volunteers (meaning me) working in the area.

Every time I go out their they are sitting there, shucking their 1000s of corn cobs. They get up at 3am, which gives them time to prepare enough the tortillas and cuajada for the morning rush of busses going to some of the pueblos in northern Chontales.

This is Victoria's granddaughter, Carla, displaying the guirila - a hot corn tortilla with a slab of salty white cheese. Sustaining and tasty.

Guense's getting bigger!

I have more pics of what my new house looks like, and will try to get them up soon. Thanks for all the cards and packages (Dad, Kathy, Katie and Craig - Guense loves his new toys...so much that he finally seems to have abandoned what remains of his paint roller.)