So Obama winning the election is nothing short of marvelous. There is one line that Obama has said repeatedly; ¨My story could only have happened in the USA.¨ Living in Nicaragua, I can definitely say, that he is so right.

I have experienced more personal racism here in Nicaragua than I have in my whole life living in the United Sates. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t racism in the U.S., is just that, on a personal level, I have never experienced it, on an institutional level…that’s a different story.

The indigenous and ethnic people in this country are discriminated against, but if you have a lot of money, it doesn’t matter the color of your skin, it’s all green. But the fact that Barack had so many opportunities to excel in his academic career, a supportive diverse racial family, and the space to dream and believe against the odds, is not a gift many people have in the world.

Living here and seeing how much the governmental systems are bent against the poor , and the poor are also the people ethnic people, overcoming these obstacles seem only possible with help from your extended family, or international opportunities. There are many qualified people in the country, and there would be even more if ignorance and illiteracy wasn’t a weapon used by the system.

November the 6 was the mayor elections here in the country. In the capital, Managua, there were riots, deaths, people hospitalized over corruption in the Conservative party stealing the election from the Liberals. The elections here made me so much more grateful for an election to be with out fraud and directly from the people. I have read and seen videos of people fighting, getting arrested and dying for the right to vote, but being in the midst of it this past month, really brings those textbook pages alive.