Extracts from Ilana's Diary

The diary has jogged many more memories.

The UPE experience:

Arriving at La Gloria and no one there expecting us, left alone to sit around helplessly till the evening when Don Pablo finally showed us to our quarters.

Negotiating ‘easy’ coffee picking slopes with Jairo, but never quite succeeding.

Our heroic revolutionary addresses to the peasantry...

My early efforts in the minefield of Latin American Spanish: expaining to Jairo that Kerry was not feeling well -'esta floja' - which means 'she is feeling weak' in Iberian Spanish, only to learn that it means 'she is a loose woman' in Latin American Spanish.

A baby-kissing politician in the making? "Oona is brilliant with the kids, she doesn't speak any Spanish but she spends ages with them, playing and chattering".

How little we ate, how much we drank. The water canteens we took were never used for water, if you believe the diary.

Being driven down the mountains to Matagalpa with Tony to do some supplementary feeding purchases for the brigade.

The heated discussions about whether we were being interventionist, paternalistic, do-gooder foreigners by helping the UPE access the health facilities they were entitled to: "You hear so much about the brilliant achievements of the revolution but La Gloria doesn't seem to have reaped much at all, apart from the fact that it has been nationalised and everyone is equally badly off...it's confusing, on the one hand we want to promote the achievements of the revolution, but there is not much here at La Gloria to show for it. Maybe it's the drain the war has put on resources? Or is that the excuse they always use? Whatever it is the campesinos are really being neglected!"

"This has caused a bit of controversy among brigade members, some of whom think it's a good thing - as every little bit helps - but there is also a quite understandable opinion that we shouldn't intervene and be seen as the miracle workers from a ‘superior’ country".

The parties they held in our honour: the first one where none of the women of La Gloria were present, starring the young bloke with the headband, flares and funky John Travolta moves... followed by the farewell party where we tried to insist that the women attend. More evidence of her vocation? "Oona and I had to go and hassle Paula's husband because he wouldn't let her go, and the only condition we'd said we were going to the fiesta was if all the women and children would be there as well as the men. Paula's husband sat there sulking while Oona did her charming act ‘Perrr Favorrrr’ - she knows no Spanish but communicates better than most people on the brigade. He let her go in the end". We later found out that he had beaten her up after the party.

I forgot about the haircut. Thank you Anne!

The top secret commando mission I undertook with Ken to discover Mark's secret hiding place. We placed a sign on a nearby tree that said ‘Mark's secret hiding place - please keep out!’ I have no memory of this but it says so in the diary, so it must be true.

The gift giving controversy: did we really ban people from doing this?

The tearful farewells on leaving the UPE.

In Managua:

My brain shutting down while trying to interpret for the man who was giving us a talk about the Church... turned out he knew some English and ended up helping me!

The US Embassy picket.

Eating our way through Managua.

Climbing over the fence back into the hotel Arlen Siu at 2am having broken the curfew.

The holiday:

The train ride to Leon, still ranks as the best in my life.

Being taught how to wash my clothes the Nica way.

The jaunt with Claire to Puerto Morazan - looking forward to reminiscing about that!