HOY Hear Out Yellow

So, I'm writing from Colibri Hostel in Leon Nicaragua. Actually, I should say I'm rebelliously breaking the rules by both having my lights on and using the computer past 10:30 pm. Colibrí is a strict, but quaint little hostel- home to outdoor gardens, lemon trees, and also my new mini schnauzer. We arrived in Leon on Thursday, immediately enthralled by the bold colored buildings, active city streets, and ancient architecture. Leon is beautifully energetic and diverse as the streets are crowded with mango vendors, children playing soccer, lanyard artisans, and of course, overwhelmed with hippie backpackers stopping at hostels on their way to South America who haven't showered since they left North America. Leon is quite an interesting city. Perfectly acceptable modes of transportation include the following: a mother, father and child on one bike, biking with both hands holding a table above one´s head, 40 people in the back of what looks like a human trafficking vehicle, and of course vans that carry 10 people and blast Paula Abdul. So many things have become completely normal to me now; it scares me how unsurprising it is to see 6 year olds selling gum on the side of street in hope of making a few cordobas. Being comfortable with American amenities is my greatest struggle. My mind is contaminated with thoughts of converting the cost of my ipod for example, to cordabas, and then estimating how many meals it could have purchased for a street kid.

Since we've been here we've been fortunate to have the help of some very talented, professional, and incredibly helpful resources. In addition, we've been lucky to have a number of important interviews in the past few days. We've even been able to have guidance from some other filmmakers and researchers working with similar projects here in Nicaragua. Seeing all that others have accomplished is both inspiring and at times, discouraging; as occasionally we feel a bit small scale and out of our league. I am confident that our passion and commitment will help us to reach our ultimate goal of providing some sort of sustainable help for the banana workers. As we hyper-focus on interview questions or necessary footage its hard to feel like we're really making difference- but Britt is quick to remind us that these small steps towards making a moving documentary are contributing to our long term goal.

This weekend we've taken a break from discussions regarding the multi-faceted plight of the banana workers, to walk around the market, attend a professional and beautiful dance performance, dance to live Nicaraguan music, and been treated to delicious meals from our very own 5 star chef, Muyambi. Sunday, we visited the Pacific-side beach. The ride there was refreshing and uplifting. Grace and I stood in the back of the pick up truck, absorbing both the bumps of the unpaved road and the warm breeze. The sky was rolling with tremendous white clouds and blindingly bright sun. A commercially untouched landscape was decorated with trees and fields were backdropped by volcanic mountains. We played Frisbee, swam through a fairly ominous storm, and then frantically (yet unsuccessfully) fled back to the truck in efforts to evade swarms of mosquitoes. There is no way to describe our ride back to Leon that doesn't sound cliche; but nonetheless, we sat in the back of the pick up truck singing to camp songs together, beneath stars and moonlight.

Britt and I have taken to sleeping on hammocks at night to an eclectic soundtrack of crickets, owls, and city chatter. It's really amazing and we wish you were to sit with us in our hut enjoying freshly made coffee with the 6 of us.

Wow, we´re probably home by now...in the time its taken you to read this novella.

With love,
Lauren and your favorite bananaworker enthusiasts

Hola amigos! Brittany here (or should I say Victoria). It is almost 9pm and feels like 2am. We just got back from a visit to the neighborhood Eskimo bar…no, not that type of bar, just an ice cream bar! I’ve had some good ice cream, but I must say, Nicaraguan ice cream tops it off with a cherry on top. Today was a long and exhausting day, but the perfect last day in Managua. We are sad to leave, but are excited to see what the next 10 days in Leon and Chinandega will bring. Managua was a good stepping stone in learning more about the banana workers’ situation firsthand and now we will be visiting the actual plantations and talking to a lot more people who are directly involved and were directly affected. We have a lot more connections there, especially a filmmaker who is, ironically enough, working on a documentary about people affected by pesticides. I have no doubt that we will learn from him, and each person we meet with will allow us to understand the story of the banana workers a little more.

After our usual breakfast of rice and beans (somehow we haven’t gotten sick of them yet), we headed to a big market to buy some more rice and beans. But, alas, they were not for us. We have been planning to bring the banana workers something substantial before we left, either food or clothing. Since we knew that there wasn’t really a way to feed all 1,200 of them, we decided to provide them with as much food as possible, so we bought mass quantities of rice and beans. Of course, we made sure to give the bags of rice and beans directly to the leaders in charge when we arrived at the encampment, to avoid any havoc and chaos. We spent the afternoon playing with the children (my favorite moment was playing hopscotch with Connie and two children), talking with families and adults, dancing in the rain, and just taking it all in for one last time. For those of us who know Spanish and those who just know the basic words, we have come to realize that even if we don’t speak the same language, we still understand each other. It just takes patience. As one man told me today, ´we are all brothers´. We had an interesting encounter with a missionary group from Indiana that came to the encampment to provide music, a performance, and intimate sermons, as well as pass out eyeglasses. We felt distant from such a group of Americans and realized we have come a long way from those first moments at the encampment. We are clearly grateful that other people are helping but we recognize that the banana workers have a much deeper story that cannot be understood in one afternoon.

All in all, as we leave Managua, we are happy we have accomplished all that we have, and feel like we have developed strong connections with the banana workers. Being in their presence has helped us understand their situation and has truly inspired us to tell others about their story. We hope that our documentary will be that opportunity for people to experience all that we have. I personally am amazed by their hope and faith. Even though their pain and hardships are physically visible, their strong will is undeniably present. What is especially hard for me is seeing the children, who have such potential, yet are so limited. I have struggled with how we can live in such a harsh and unfair world, how we can allow others to live the way they do and do little to help them. But I have come to realize that so many people do not know about such terrible living conditions like the banana workers. It is you and me who can change the imprisoned fate of others, and together we can.

Today was our first experience filming in the rain- not terrible and the ponchos were particularly exciting. We woke up especially early to compensate for our consistently late mornings the past few days. Bianka, Brittany, and I took a lovely walk past Ortega’s house to pick up a Spanish documentary titled, “Our Every Day Poison.” Although recommended, the film turned out to be not so effective unless painfully boring was the intended response. However, I´ll give this documentary credit as it was slightly better than last night’s entertainment: Spanglish. Adam Sandler, I expected more from you. Muyambi asserts that in our newly-acquired filming expertise, we’ve become too critical of other movies.

In any case, the majority of our morning was spent at the encampment- near heart wrenching for me, personally, knowing it was our second to last day with the Managua community. Despite being unable to verbally communicate in any eloquent manner, I feel as though we’ve developed very real and close bonds with some in such a short time. Especially the children, especially Carlitio. Carlitio has potential to be the most adorable 8 year old that I have ever met…(I´ll post a picture) We’ve started to fear for his safety as we think Grace is scheming a way to bring him home with us… Grace and I can’t help but want to give these children everything we can. As they instantly accept and welcome us, they stare with big hopeful eyes stained with the pain that overhangs the encampment. And so we do; we put Cordoba’s in their pockets and lollipops in their hands, but it’s not near enough.

I hope there will soon be a way for these children to have everything they deserve. Hopefully, the message of this documentary will instigate positive change to provide necessities, sustainability, and
opportunities for these strong people and their children. I later encountered a familiar face from another documentary. We talked, and by talk I mean he spoke in Spanish, words I could not understand, and I responded with all that I could- multiple “mucho gusto’s” and a genuine hug. Being there leaves me feeling so conflicted, all I want to do is help but it’s hard to do so in a way that allows for this community to help themselves and not in a way that simply hands over temporary sustenance. While I was off distracted by the smells of cooking fires or engaged in a game of Tag with Carlito and his friends- Bianka, Connie, Muyambi, and Brittany conducted two interviews. One dialogue was with a former banana worker and another with a Doctor that provides check ups for encampment members. We left the encampment onward to our favourite mall. Lunch as per usual and another 6 person cab ride to a University. The tentative interview was ultimately not quite successful, but I think these challenges can only be expected in the nature of our visit and resources here. The rest of the day consisted of research, naps, and two variations of rice dishes for dinner. We´ll be heading to Leon within the next couple of days and I´m excited to see what the change of environment will bring. Wish us luck on our journeys!

With love,

Lauren, Grace, Connie, Muyambi, Bianka, and Brittany

We had a late start this morning as everyone was exhausted from watching ¨Hotel Rwanda¨ last night. Seriously, everything we do here has added meaning to why we are here. I have never seen the movie before, and it left me speechless by the end of it. It triggered a lot of emotions for me, but mainly overwhelmed, shocked, depressed and confused by how people can be so ruthless and cruel. For those of you who have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It is based on the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. I cannot help but to question how hatred can be so powerful, enough to make one kill another. This kind of brutality is still existing in our present world. We live in such an interconnected world, and we are becoming more dependent on each other. We need to look past our differences and help one another, for this is the only way to achieve world peace.

Anyway, we ate lunch at a new mall today! We have been eating at this mall called the Plaza Inter and decided we need to experiment new places. After lunch, we found the Peace Corps Headquarters after asking about ten taxi drivers. Piling 6 of us into a taxi has become a daily routine. 60 cordobas later, we arrived at a fully guarded blue-walled compound. We met up with the Environmental Director and she was a great help to us. She gave us contacts to peace corps volunteers in Chinadega and hopefully we will get to meet up with them this weekend when we travel to Leon. After we left the Peace Corps office, we stopped by the park near our place and enjoyed our favorite Nicaraguan snack: Eskimo Ice-cream! Oh did we ever tell you that we are President Ortega´s neighbor? Yes, he lives next to us and we were thinking of dropping in today for a coffee visit but thought maybe that would not be such a good idea...

Today was Nicaragua's Father's Day. We went back to the banana encampment where there was a special meal for everyone. There was lots of music and we danced with everyone who was willing to dance with us (We're not so good at the Nicaraguan dancing ways). The leaders of the encampment had us help them with portioning the food and handing it out. It was really rewarding to feel like we were really doing something to help. We danced with the people and played soccer with the children for hours. I'm comfortable speaking for the rest of the group that is has been the best day here so far. It was so unbelievable and overwhelming to have that many people smiling all at the same time. The children played so well together. Everyone made sure than everyone else was able to participate. It was so beautiful. They took turns taking pictures with our cameras. Bianca bought candy for them. The whole experience was so joyful.

Update From Day Four: Today the six of us enjoyed a walk through the streets of Managua to the encampment for our second day of filming the banana workers. After having felt uncomfortable and intrusive on their daily lives yesterday with our multiple cameras and microphones, today was a very different experience. From the moment we walked into the crowded neighborhood of tents, we were eagerly welcomed by the former banana workers and their families. They were excited to shake our hands, talk to the cameras, perform interviews, and welcome us into their homes of plastic, wood, and scrap metal. Their excitement fueled ours, as we were better able to grasp a sense of the purpose of our being there through their appreciation. We've been struggling with feeling as if immediate help (in terms of food, medical assistance, and clothing) is more necessary than our documentary; however, we are confident that our filming provides the banana workers with hope for the future. Because the situation is overwhelmingly complicated with layers of politics, history, and community dynamics, there is a lot of information to uncover. Fortunately, we have great resources and contacts to help us. In addition, we have been lucky to witness interesting events each day and capture them on camera. Today, we were able to see the chaos, excitement, and even distress that occur when food and money are distributed to the hungry men, women, and children. Grace and Muyambi were filming in the back of the pick up truck serving food, while Connie, Britt (Victoria), Bianca, and I took pictures of the shouting lines of people surrounding the truck. Afterwards, we meandered through the community to meet individuals and hear about their struggle. We had the opportunity to interview a father of three small boys who were directly and terribly affected by Nemagon. Today was full of emotion, delicious food, beautiful pictures, and serendipitous encounters. We look forward to tomorrow, as we plan to focus on the kids in the area and playing soccer with them.
So, we’re getting into a routine now. We’re acclimated to the area, weather, and customs... we´re essentially native Nicaraguans by now. We had our favorite $2 lunches at our favorite mall and it was awesome, but we still need Muyambi to hold our hands when we cross the street.

Love,
Lauren and your favorite cinematographers.

Yes it´s Day Numero Tres and we finally met up with the banana workers today! We took a cab to the encampment where 1,200 of these banana workers live. All of whom are suffering from the effects of Nemagon. We interviewed the four main leaders of the association and it was just an overwhelming experience. We received more than enough information we can digest in a day and also talking to the other banana workers there was a real insight to their sufferings. We spent all day there filming.

Everyday we have spent here thus far, even though it has only been 3 days, has been wonderful. It is very different from the first time we were here because now we are getting more in touch with the lives of the Nicaraguans. We are learning how to negotiate our dollar to cordobas exchange rates with the money changers, how to squeeze 6 people in a cab without squashing anyone, learning how to cross the streets properly (somewhat) and enjoying the wonderful gallo pinto and refrescos. The best of all, we are all learning so much about each other, everyday is full of surprises!

Today Muyambi's friend Bianca and the five of us went to the Centro de comercial (the mall) and the University of Central America and spent the day there. We took taxis there and back. We were very  happy to spend the day on the campus with the students. It was an absolutely beautiful campus. We interviewed a few students about Nemagon and the banana workers. We even ate in the school cafeteria. Afterwards, just the five of us left Bianca and went back to the house and ate an amazing dinner.
A list to make you all jealous:
Chicken
Rice and carmelized onions
Beans
Tomato and onion salad

We have arrived safely in Nicaragua! After a long day of traveling, we are settling into our 'house' and enjoying our first official night together. In fact, as I write, Muyambi is serenading me with his guitar playing.

Although our day was long and quite tiresome, we are very ecstatic to begin our adventure! The day was full of unexpected surprises (issues with Muyambi's visa at JFK, the crew decided to show up late to our connecting flight in Miami, hanging out on the runway in Miami to let the storm pass, etc.), but we were able to keep a positive attitude and take something out of everything. I can tell already that this is going to be a great group and we are learning so much about each other. Bianka (Muyambi's Nicaraguan friend) is a tremendous help and we are so grateful she is joining us.

Time to get ready for a good night's sleep. For those worried parents, keep in mind there's a 2 hour time difference, so it's only 11pm and not 1am! We're especially content after a delicious dinner at a nice restaurant nearby, the perfect first dinner that consisted of other food besides rice and beans!

This is my first entry, so i am really excited and ready to say it all.  Interesting enough today was our first official interview with the banana workers. Rather scarely but a wonderful experience as well.

Being on the camera was challenging. I felt like the bad guy who was being nosy by recording everything that was happening including all private moments. For long i had looked at tourists with cameras in Uganda negatively. But being the one holding the camera today taught me a lesson to remember.  A lesson that we should never judge others. 

Well there is alot to say, but i will leave the rest for tomorrow.