And I'm Off
... to Nicaragua.
Everything fell into place, and in ten hours, I'll be boarding a plane first bound for Houston, where I'll meet up with Ladan, and then on to Managua. By 7PM local time (5PM here), I'll be in Nicaragua.
I remember watching the Iran-Contra scandal hearings in 1986 on TV; I remember watching Oliver North, looking as if he had been poured into his immaculate Marine uniform, hold up his right hand and swear to tell the truth; I remember hearing Reagan say, over and over, "I don't recall."
At that time, I couldn't imagine I'd ever visit this country. As a teenager I consumed books about the CIA by the truckload. I read about covert operations in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia. I recall reading about the Sandinistas, the FSLN. Back then I had no real political leanings, but I was feeling more and more disgusted with the hand the CIA had had in so many countries, so many democracies, so much death. It feels ... ironic? or is 'just' (as in 'righteous') a better word? that I've been to Iran and am now going to Nicaragua. In a way it's made the show-trial aura of the Iran-Contra hearings unexpectedly personal for me.
In preparing for this trip, I'd been reading about the country online. Conveniently, this month's presidential election provided an opportunity to catch up on recent developments. Hoping to find some travel books (we've bought the new 2006 Lonely Planet guide, the first year they've had a book specifically for Nicaragua, presumably an indication of the relatively small, but growing, tourist industry there; but it's with Ladan in Phoenix) I went to the SJSU library the other day, which, I have to say again, is just the coolest damn library I've ever seen. Unfortunately their travel section is small and had very little about Latin America. However, I did find two non-travel books about Nicaragua, one written by Salman Rushdie called "The Jaguar Smile". This was a surprise to me, as I hadn't heard of it before. Turns out Rushdie's donations to an aid organization in the 80's helped to set him up for a visit there in the summer of 1986. He spent about two months traveling around the country, interviewing FSLN officials, including President Daniel Ortega, as well as average citizens. He relates a very even-handed view of the Sandinistas and what they were trying to do; he doesn't hesitate to criticize their mistakes, but nonetheless finds reason to admire and genuinely hope for the success of their government, a sensation that he openly professes to have no precedent for, given his background as a dissident journalist. The book is short, only 170 pages, but presents a fascinating range of short stories about events he witnessed and people he interviewed while there. I finished the book in a few hours and felt extremely contented; this was exactly what I needed to provide a more down-to-earth view of the dry encyclopedic history lessons about the country I'd been soaking up in the past few weeks.
The majority of the countries I've traveled to - Italy, Iran, India, South Korea, and Mexico - have been places that, years ago, I'd never have thought I'd ever visit. And they've all turned out to be incredibly eye-opening and moving experiences for me. I'm looking forward to this week in Nicaragua to spark that same feeling of exploration and discovery; the overwhelming feeling that living in one country for an entire lifetime feels so depressingly stifling. There's so much world out there! Trips to other countries always make me feel so alive.
I'll be back in one week, but hope to get another post up here before then, depending on the frequency and quality of my internet access while there. Regardless, I'll have plenty of pictures to share when I get back.
Everything fell into place, and in ten hours, I'll be boarding a plane first bound for Houston, where I'll meet up with Ladan, and then on to Managua. By 7PM local time (5PM here), I'll be in Nicaragua.
I remember watching the Iran-Contra scandal hearings in 1986 on TV; I remember watching Oliver North, looking as if he had been poured into his immaculate Marine uniform, hold up his right hand and swear to tell the truth; I remember hearing Reagan say, over and over, "I don't recall."
At that time, I couldn't imagine I'd ever visit this country. As a teenager I consumed books about the CIA by the truckload. I read about covert operations in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia. I recall reading about the Sandinistas, the FSLN. Back then I had no real political leanings, but I was feeling more and more disgusted with the hand the CIA had had in so many countries, so many democracies, so much death. It feels ... ironic? or is 'just' (as in 'righteous') a better word? that I've been to Iran and am now going to Nicaragua. In a way it's made the show-trial aura of the Iran-Contra hearings unexpectedly personal for me.
In preparing for this trip, I'd been reading about the country online. Conveniently, this month's presidential election provided an opportunity to catch up on recent developments. Hoping to find some travel books (we've bought the new 2006 Lonely Planet guide, the first year they've had a book specifically for Nicaragua, presumably an indication of the relatively small, but growing, tourist industry there; but it's with Ladan in Phoenix) I went to the SJSU library the other day, which, I have to say again, is just the coolest damn library I've ever seen. Unfortunately their travel section is small and had very little about Latin America. However, I did find two non-travel books about Nicaragua, one written by Salman Rushdie called "The Jaguar Smile". This was a surprise to me, as I hadn't heard of it before. Turns out Rushdie's donations to an aid organization in the 80's helped to set him up for a visit there in the summer of 1986. He spent about two months traveling around the country, interviewing FSLN officials, including President Daniel Ortega, as well as average citizens. He relates a very even-handed view of the Sandinistas and what they were trying to do; he doesn't hesitate to criticize their mistakes, but nonetheless finds reason to admire and genuinely hope for the success of their government, a sensation that he openly professes to have no precedent for, given his background as a dissident journalist. The book is short, only 170 pages, but presents a fascinating range of short stories about events he witnessed and people he interviewed while there. I finished the book in a few hours and felt extremely contented; this was exactly what I needed to provide a more down-to-earth view of the dry encyclopedic history lessons about the country I'd been soaking up in the past few weeks.
The majority of the countries I've traveled to - Italy, Iran, India, South Korea, and Mexico - have been places that, years ago, I'd never have thought I'd ever visit. And they've all turned out to be incredibly eye-opening and moving experiences for me. I'm looking forward to this week in Nicaragua to spark that same feeling of exploration and discovery; the overwhelming feeling that living in one country for an entire lifetime feels so depressingly stifling. There's so much world out there! Trips to other countries always make me feel so alive.
I'll be back in one week, but hope to get another post up here before then, depending on the frequency and quality of my internet access while there. Regardless, I'll have plenty of pictures to share when I get back.
posted by GregP at 11:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home