Honduras, time for defining new relations

Letter to the Editor of the New York Times, unpublished, 27 September 2009
Re: “In Honduras, Talking, Takeout, but No Accord” (International, September 27):

Clarity from Washington is urgent. The Times reports the State Department’s ambiguity: “it might not accept the election result if the Micheletti government remained in power to administer them.” Acceptance would endorse the use of a coup d’etat and the use of force against the Honduran people who have valiantly opposed the coup government. Reinstatement of elected and forcefully deposed President Zelaya is a necessary step to revive democratic process. Washington should act on their promise of a new era of U.S. – Latin America relations, eloquently posed by Mr. Obama to the April Summit of the Americas. Continued ambiguity from the State Department is de facto support for the coup, a position that revives Washington’s horrific history of support for military regimes in Honduras and leaves the Honduran people under a government instated by the military whose repeated use of violence and repression against them suggest a bleak future.

no need for typecasting

Letter to the Editor of the New York Times, 27 September 2009, Unpublished
Re “With a Receptive White House, Labor Begins to Line Up Battles”

Stereotyping and theoretical propositions are disservice. The U.S. Government placed tariffs placed on tires made in China in full compliance with international trade law, specifically the WTO provisions accepted by China upon its joining the regulatory institution. The United Steelworkers supported the decision of the U.S. Government to use international law to support their membership. The article cites the “risk” of protectionist outbreak and pain inflicted on other North American workers, both speculations based on theory. In reality there is no commerce that fits the economic models underlying those statements. It also frames the union’s action as “battles”, messaging not so loosely charged against corporations whose lobbying efforts reach the absurd. Tagging the union reinforces a stereotype that prevents progress towards mature industrial relations in the U.S. It would be a service to readers to replace conjecture with more news, perhaps the United Steelworkers campaign for greener energy jobs.

Nika and Friends

Just some more pics of the things that keep us going here

Nika and Friends

People, Pies, and Puppies

Its been way to long since either of us have added blogs about everything and nothing. Since my trip to Costa Rica we had a few other visitors. Matt’s cousin and a wonderful friend from Mexico came for a few days, following that Matt’s dad came for a short visit as well. This was all during Samana Santa. We went to Leon and Granada, colorful colonial cities and enjoyed Good Friday processions and colorful sawdust carpets in the streets. We also showed our guests Volcano Masaya and Nindiri, the volcanoes we like to run up now and again. We walked around the craters as the sulfur created clouds in the sky. After that we took them to relax and go for a swim at one of our favorite weekend spots, Laguna de Apoyo. It was really nice to have some family come to see where we live and some highlights of visiting Nicaragua.

We just finished the mango season and are missing a fridge full of mangos. We became creative with the things we made, mango ice, mango juice, and for our guests I made mango pie. Of course there are no pre-made pie crusts to be had . . . .so thanks to Bittman I learned how to make pie crust. I can’t wait to try it with fresh berries (not to be found in these parts)

Nika is also missing those mangos so now opts for the pits laying in the street. She did enjoy meeting our guests. I think Matt’s dad actually took a liking to her. She just recently bounced back from her surgery.

SemanaSanta2009

Costa Rica with the Folks

Click below for all CR pics

Costa Rica with the Folks

It has been a while since I have written. Nika is growing so fast that she doesn’t quite know how big her body actually is, so much so that she tried to jump over a table . . .knocked a cup of water onto the computer . . .and that was that. Thus I am now computerless.

I recently got back from traveling to Costa Rica with my parents. It was really nice to get out of the heat of Nicaragua for a bit into some cooler, fresher air and be with my parents. We first went to a Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio on the Pacific coast for 2 days where we saw white faced monkeys and a few 3 toed sloths while relaxing on a beautiful white sand beach. Then up to a Parque Nacional Volcan Arenal more north which had a huge active volcano in the middle of a thick rainforest. I saw such great birds, a bunch of really colorful tanagers, toucans, and when I went on a hike one day, I saw a cat called a Tigrillo (I think ocelot in English) - it looked like a baby cheetah. It is the 3rd most endangered species in CR with only 40 left in the country. That of course was such a treat. Our last stop was at a park in the cloud forest in Monteverde. There I saw a Quetzal - again a super big treat. I also did a canopy tour on a zip line which was fun. After 9 days we took the bus back here and I showed my folks a bit of Nicaragua. We did a bunch of day trips outside of Managua. It was nice to have familiar faces around and show them where/how we live and introduce them to Nika.

Getting Big

Getting big . . . okay so I sound like a first time mom . . .but Nika is growing so fast! What once was a little ball of Nika is now a big puppy.

It's raining Mangos!

Its mango season! We have a great big mango tree in our front parking area and it has so many mangos that the branches are being weighed down. Most are quite green but when a gust of wind blows the ripe ones fall from the sky. Nika finds them in our back patio area and likes to play with them. Sometimes she comes running inside excited that she found a good one. I take them away, wash them, and put them in the fridge. Other times I hear them hit the car or the pavement in the front and I quietly go outside and snatch them before the guard does and put them in the fridge with the others. In the morning I make a great mango smoothie breakfast.

My friend Lia once said when she eats these types of mangos, its like a mango milkshake in her mouth . . . .I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Nicaragua - the land without jumper cables

We had a nice Sunday planned . . .we were going to get some errands done and then meet up with some friends for the afternoon at a place that looks out on a lake.
When we were running our errands we took Nika along and while Matt went into the hardware store I stayed with Nika listening to music in the car. Matt came out 5 minutes later and tried to start the car . . nothing happened. He tried again . . . nothing happened.
Luckily we were parked on a hill. Matt pushed to get the car rolling and we figured when it picked up speed I would start it and it would be fine . . .it worked before.

After pushing nothing, just a clicking noise. We tried again, Matt pushed and I tried to start it . . just clicking. We turned the corner into a neighborhood to try again . .push, . . click, click, click. We pushed it to a gas station, of course they could jump us and we could go on with our day. I forgot to mention it is 2pm the hottest part of the day.

When we got to the gas station, they said they didn’t have cables, ask some of the cabs that drive by. Matt stood at the busy intersection asking cab after cab, even a utility truck. No one had cables. Nor did a lot of them want to roll down there windows to talk to Matt. He asked one guy, does anyone in Nicaragua have cables . . the guy answered, ask an electrician . . thanks a lot

In the end a family helped us. It took 30 minutes for a big pick up truck to get the engine started. We ended up having to buy a new battery, but there aren’t any Sears around these parts, nor is any body shop open on Sunday. We have friends that have a membership to Price Smart (a Walmart owned Cosco-like store) where we bought a battery and wanted to buy jumper cables . . . but they didn’t have any!

BBQ in February

When we moved into our little house we were so excited because it had a built-in brick oven/grill in the back patio area. Unfortunately though, a tree's branches hung over the chimney, there was dirt in it, and the cooking level was all rusty.

A couple of weeks ago we asked our guard/buddy Wilfredo if he might be able to help us cut some branches away so that we could maybe use the grill. We took Nika for a walk and when we got back Wilfredo had already cut the branches down. Now all we had to do was clean it up. We took the bricks out of the chimney that were blocking it and scrubbed the rust away. Now it was time to grill.

We invited some friends over to help us out with our experiment and we got together some veggie kabobs, coal, and lighter fluid. The coals were glowing in no time and we feasted.

The next Sunday Matt and I decided to try another experiment . . .brick oven pizza!
We made the dough from scratch . . .after spending 2 days hunting down yeast, one day bargaining with a bakery to sell us the yeast the following day and the second to go pick it up. We let it rise and spread it out in pizza shape. We then put it in the grill until it got golden brown on one side. We took it in the house, flipped it and added the toppings onto the brown side. We added, homemade tomato sauce, eggplant, broccoli, garlic, and cheese and slid it back into the grill. Of course we didn’t have a backers paddle so a plastic plate did the job. We made two pizzas and of course ate two pizzas that night ☺

The fun doesn’t stop there. For Valentine’s Day we decided to make s’mores in our grill. We got the coals to glow, took Nika’s stick from her and popped a marshmallow on it. We found Hershey’s and had to improvise a little with the grams. It was a good Valentine’s treat.

While I felt bad cutting the tree, I think the little treats have made up for it.

The two of us bacame the three of us!!

Welcome Nika.

The Fischer-Dalys now have a new family member; her name is Nika. She is a 3 month old boxer puppy. She truly has become a companion to us and definitely keeps us busy and entertained. Now that I am no longer working at the school, she and I spend A LOT of time together. I unfortunately had a seizure and am now taking medication for epilepsy, so Nika has been a great distraction for me ☺

Nika is pretty popular, all the guards and the fruit-selling ladies on the block know the gringa and her little dog Nika. We are hoping to get her running with us very soon.

Luna de Miel en Patagonia and Buenos Aires

	Argentina - Luna de Miel

Patagonia – flying through the horizon, sky and land competing for one’s attention – natural diversity evincing Pachamama’s finest. Look ahead; a sea of wispy clouds invites you. Look again; a massive mound of mountains challenges you to enter their shadows. The guanacos casually run off. The condor effortlessly rides the wind. The shepherd trots by on his horse, weatherworn face displaying the constant contradiction – physical challenge and sensory reward.

For six days we explored the Torres del Paine national park on the Chilean side of the Patagonia region. Its namesake three towers of rock draw sightseers from the usual suspects – Western Europe, North America, Japan – many of whom we met along the way and happily shared tips, gas, photo-snapping and the like. Although viewing the towers and Glacier Grey – second-most well-known natural wonder of the park - has been facilitated by excellently marked trails and three rather nice lodges (the kind that make one feel sorry for the chaps that’d weathered the construction process) strategically placed to access the mountains, taming the mountains, winds and wildly volatile weather remains, happily, beyond man’s/tourism’s grasp/ambition.

Day one was a struggle – to put on a windbreaker without it blowing away, to walk through the open fields without oneself blowing away, reminding the body that the tent and week’s food are necessary – and an inspiration – Paine Grande grew evermore majestic as we approached; Lake Pehoe flashed a brilliant glacier-green; Laguna de Patos rippled in an afternoon sun. Reaching the campsite, the body happily rested on the sands aside Lake Grey.

Day two changed the scenario – we traded marching along with the house & home on the back for frolicking through an obstacle course of rivers, rope & ladders amid a barrage of frosty sleet – as we hiked up to a new campsite a short distance away, set-up camp, and proceeded walking along the ridges of Grand Paine next to the Glacier Grey. The cold was a nice change, the rain heavy with anxiety, the views chilling raw art.

Day three was a day to cover ground – from Glacier Grey to the center of the “W” at Camp Italiano – Christmas Eve turned into an ideal evening: delicious glacier water from the river alongside, rather tasty tea time, mediocre tortelloni made delicious by the wine in a box. We slept refreshed under the easy sound of swaying slender trees.

Day four - picture-perfect morning hike up the “French Valley” made for a memorable Christmas day: scrambling up rocky riversides, bouncing, along with the sounds outside, through the funky forests, and each turn challenging the preeminence of the last view. The mountains and glaciers appeared crisp and clear as we hiked under the sun in t-shirts to Camp Los Cuernos. The wind that rolled over the lake at night as semi trucks passing over our tent, made for a sleepless night.

Day five – Up early to get started on a long day. The wind continued to pound so much that we held on to rocks to keep our balance. A couple times the rocks didn’t help and we ended up on the ground with bruises. The rain started as we crossed a fast flowing river and then soon turned to snow. Six hours later we arrived to Camp Torres. A quick nap and warm beverage and we scrambled 45min up rocks to the towers. All we saw was a wall of clouds . . . .same view as five years ago. We waited, 20 minutes and the sun peeked through the clouds, opening the sky and finally the towers. Three rock towers jetting out of a coppery green lake! Worth the wait.

Day six – packs light, we hiked out of the park with achy knees as we walked down, down, down.

The next day back on the Argentine side in the small town of Calefate we feasted on lomo . . .Argentine beef . . .”when in Rome” . . .or better, when in Argentina where some of the best beef comes from, where the cows eat grass and have space to walk around the Patagonian steppe. Yum.

Buenos Aires – A city of music, dance, parks, people, food, and wine. Our days we spent walking down the streets with eyes wide and enjoyed walking and walking some more with coffee breaks now and again at the many cafes along the way to keep us charged. . .its like Disneyland compared to Managua.

We visited the Oriental gardens, the Botanic gardens and all the gardens of Palermo where we ran every morning and sat on benches with the paper to people-watch.
We visited the neighborhood of Boca, where the Boca Juniors have their stadium and the buildings are brightly colored with Gotan Project coming from every storefront.
We visited the neighborhood of San Telmo where the parks turned into art fairs and people danced tango under the sun.
We visited the Plaza de Mayo and saw la Casa Rosada – the presidential palace, as well as the obelisk downtown.
In Recoleta we went to the Recoleta cemetery, where the rich and famous are buried in mausoleums and crypts bigger than our apartment in NYC was.
Along the way we stopped in museums to stare at South American contemporary art including Xul Solar and Diego Rivera.

At night we always found some yummy food to sit and enjoy with a glass of wine followed by an ice cream scoop or two ☺ From the favorites of variations on rice, beans and plantains, the options offered made us giddy.

So now we are back in Managua, still look at pictures and talk about our trip as we sip on mate - definitely an unforgettable honeymoon - and begin life with Nika, stay tuned to meet her...