Nicaragua: Portland, Houston, Managua

28.06.07 Portland, Houston, Managua

on the plane, i learned a number of hopefully helpful words from the “Sandeo Rural Participativo” book that Gordy (unwittingly?) loaned us. here’s the beginning of the ongoing list:

esfuerzo effort
nivel level
mundial worldwide
calidad quality
diseño design
herramientes tools
apoyar to support (financial, physical)
manera way; method
líderes communitarias community leaders
promedio average (numerical)
valores values
manejar to manage
cierto certain
criar to raise (children, animals)
quebrada ravine
cascada, caigo de agua, salto waterfall
cosechar to harvest
capa arable topsoil
manzana area measurement
sembrar to plant
le~na firewood
propias property
mano de obra labor
juicio case (legal)
escolaridad schooling
finca farm
jornaleros unskilled workers
piso de tierra dirt floor
bestias para carga mules; beasts of burden
cerdo pig
paja/zacate types of grass
bosque forest
tierra balestre arid land unsuitable for farming
gallinas hens
chunto bull
oveja lamb
cabra goat
pizotes wild animals
coche de monte donkey cart
mapaches raccoons
zancudo mosquito
culebra snake
ardillas squirrels
pendiete pending
riego irrigation
huerto crop (of land)


one moment of the trip that is noteworthy: we got off the plane late and ran to E2 where our departure to Managua was supposed to take off. the attendant took our tickets and waved us onto the plane, but people were already in our seats. the attendant followed us a minute later and told us this was the wrong plane as it was bound for New Orleans and that our airplane was to be found across the terminal at E20. gotta love flying!