Grease Lightning

Still on the house hunt. Unfortunately, the house I really like and want to repair isn’t coming along quite as quickly as I would like. The owner has gone quiet, but in good Nica fashion, my host family and I are calling constantly. We shall see. There are a few more options around the neighborhood, but nothing that I like quite as much. The houses in second and third place both have occupants at the moment who may or may not continue their contracts into 2012, so that would be a problem. Otherwise they are good finds.

As far as actually doing my job here in the community, I have started giving English classes!! After much pestering, I got the kids in my youth group to figure out a time that worked best, get a good group formed and get on over to my house. First class went really well. We (I) gave them all English names, which they had a lot of fun with, and taught them basic greetings (how are you, what’s up, hello). We also got started learning numbers. Like most of us in the US, the kids here received English all throughout school, but not much sticks in middle school English class, and even though they know the numbers, pronunciation is really difficult in English. So although many of the words were not new, we spent a lot of time going over pronunciation. Good stuff.

I also went to my first dance class with the “jovenes” (youth) of my town. I was, admittedly, really nervous to go to this. Not only because I assummed they can all dance, due to the fact that Latinos can naturally dance (yes, I’m being stereotypical here), but because I cannot dance (white man’s overbite and such). I mean in a crowded club when no one cares is one thing, but in a class where everyone is watching I definitely get nervous (maybe I’m just a little paranoid with the whole gringo thing). Anyway, class ended up being A LOT of fun. Even though the teacher never actually showed, the youth group leader was there and about 40 jovenes (jovenes = teens ages 14-25). They started by doing a routine to the Grease mix that they had learned in a previous class. Awesome! I definitely was the only one who knew the words, but it was a lot of fun to watch and got me excited to dance. Since there was no teacher, we didn’t do any routines (thank god), but we practiced the bachata and the salsa. They assigned me the best dancer to teach me, assumming off the bat I would probably be awful (good assumption), so it didn’t take too long to pick it up. I stepped on the poor guy’s feet a couple of times, but I think by the end I wasn’t a horrible partner...although anyone who has ever tried turns with me knows that that is just not a good idea...since we were speaking Spanish it was hard to warn him about my inability to be spun and such. Ohhh well. I plan on going back, but I think tonight’s class is reggatone, so I may just be watching this one...

Looking forward to going back to my original host family’s home for Christmas. They have a tree, lights, and have been raising a pig to roast (yum). Also just looking forward to being with my friends from training, both Peace Corps and Nica. After having been with me for three months, they always understand my broken version of Spanish and I understand them. Still working that out here in my new site. 

Anyway, that’s all for now. English class and dance tonight! Think graceful thoughts for me!! Much love!

My birthday, video style

Staying Busy

So how am I staying busy now that it is “summer” break here in Nicaragua?? Well that’s a really good question. I have already talked quite a bit about the youth group I am trying to get rolling, as well as my garden, but those only take up so much of my time...without formal classes to teach, it is up to me to get out of the house, meet people, and generally try to get to know the community. This is way harder than it sounds. Especially when my Spanish is only so-so, it is tricky to walk up to someone’s house, sit down, and actually engage in a meaniful conversation. So far my favorite strategy has been to always have a reason to go to someone’s house. I know this sounds like a no-brainer but sometime it is hard to think up reasons to go places...for example (just had to stop writing because my seriously dirty six year old host brother tried to jump into my bed...really like the kid but he is all kinds of sucio)...ok so anyway, I usually claim to have a question about a house, gardening, or something of the sort.

My current personal project is finding a house. As lovely as my new host family is, there is very little privacy (Example A: nosy host brother) and I really really really want to be able to cook my own food. While there are a decent amount of empty houses in Posoltega, very few are livable (at least what we think is livable, and I promise my standards are significantly lower). The ones that are nicer tend to be pretty expensive, as the families purposely designed them to accomodate Americans working with NGOs in the area. So my goal is a small house, preferably with indoor plumbing, and a decent yard where I can have a garden. I think I have found this house, but it needs quite a few repairs.

The house I am interested in is located in a neighborhood outside of town, but it is right next door to a teacher that I really like, so I would feel very safe and comfortable. She also does NOT have young children, which will be a nice break from the young children who have recently been invading all of my privacy. There are a lot of kids that hang out and play in the street though, which I really like. Other benefits of the house are that it has an awesome backyard. It is already walled in, big enough for a nice garden and to have a dog, and has 7 or 8 beautiful plantain trees. It is super shady and pretty so I can already see a hammock going there : ) ....The house is also very pretty from the outside and just needs some paint to make it look a bit newer. Likewise, it has a zinc roof, which may not sound great, but is significantly better than the other option here, which are shingles (I think that’s it in English...sort of pieces of clay)...they let in all sorts of animals and water. Also, the house already seems to have electric although I need to look into this more...

On the downside, the house does not have indoor plumbing...in fact, it doesn’t even have a latrine...it has a hole for one, but nothing is built...It doesn’t even have a shower that I can find. Luckily, my host father is a builder, and has offer to do the construction work, so doing the work isn’t the hard part, it’s figuring out the cost. The house also has a dirt floor, so I will most likely lay a concrete floor and just finish it with some sort of polish so it’s not too rough. I will also probably need to put some type of protective bars on the door, as right now it is just a wooden door...we shall see. Currently I am waiting for the owner, who is moving to Costa Rica, to give me permission to bust open the lock and get started. I also need to write a contract with her discussing who will be paying for the repairs and how that will work out with rent, lights, water, etc. So much to figure out!!! But, I really like the house, so I am hoping I can make it all happen. Not to mention furnishing the thing, but that can happen later...

So, that’s how I have been keeping busy. I’m also trying to get myself a puppy : ) ...they are all over the place, so I just need to gain confianza (become good friends) with someone whose dog is having puppies so they just give me one...I don’t really care what kind it is, but I think people are embarrassed to give me a mut because they think I deserve a better type of dog...I don’t care and actually prefer the muts here...they are much sweeter and not bred to be guard dogs. In the meantime, I just play with my host family’s dog a lot since they ignore it and tend to tie it up. Pobrecita. 

That’s all for now, think happy thoughs about my house!! Lots of love!

Pride

Despite how often I have told myself that I have the ability to laugh at my own mistakes and inevitably laugh alongside others while they laugh at my mistakes, my pride can only take so many beatings before I start to get frustrated, and often down right angry. 

As I suspect is the case in many small towns where foreigners are a rarity and any gringo becomes the token gringo, my every action is often analyzed and discussed at length. While it can definitely be fun and even an advantage to have everyone know who you are and look out for you, it also gets really (REALLY) old when you hear about the way you swept the front patio (and how they think you aren’t very good at sweeping patios) a couple hours after you did it...who knew you were being watched? And for the record, who the hell sweeps dirt?! Oh, and they water it! It is not only that I am being watched, but that my fellow community members tend to approach critiques in a, “so we hear you were sweeping earlier today...” sort of way. I then tell them that yes, I was sweeping, knowing that I am about to hear all the ways I was not doing it the way they do it or think it should be done. When they then demonstrate what I looked like while sweeping and tell me that here in Nicaragua they sweep much faster and in a more effective manner (all the while laughing and talking rapid Spanish) I can do nothing but feel silly and ineffectively try to defend myself in broken Spanish (in this case I was definitely not doing a bad job sweeping because sweeping too fast means you have dust in your face). 

I apologize for using “they” so often, as this instantly segregates me from the Nicas and creates a “me” versus “them” attitude. I do not at all mean to convey this, but at times it is hard not to feel very alone in a community where you are, in fact, very different from those around you. Undoubtedly, I have found a number of people with whom I can relate to, have deep (relatively given the language barrier) conversations with, and enjoy being around, but still there are days when I feel completely trapped in my head or unable to relate to a single person around me. Clearly I often think in extremes here in Nicaragua. As a fellow volunteer could not have said any better, when he’s not thinking about ETing (early termination of service) he’s thinking about extending. Meaning, most days are either incredible or kind of suck. One day I can be riding the bus, eating delicious bus food and thinking that this is the simple life. I can picture myself in a hammock, working for an NGO and never leaving. The next day there’s not enough water for a bucket bath, all I want for breakfast is some freakin cereal and my host mom is lecturing me on why mattresses are the cause of kidney failure. Who’s got the issues? Nicaragua or me?

The fact is, it can be easy to forget that I am living in a third world country. Not meaning that I don’t realize I’m using a latrine everyday and that my feet are always dirty, but that not everyone in the world is living this way. Haven’t I always brushed my teeth with a bottle of water and checked my bed for scorpions before climbing in? I sometimes forget that I am only here for two years, essentially just playing house, experimenting with a new lifestyle. No matter how much I hate the latrine out back or really wish I had enough money to buy a refrigerator, I know that this is all only a temporary situation. Unlike those around me, I can leave. This freedom to choose to live in a third world country is something which leaves my community members baffled and often sets me farther apart from them. Though they greatly appreciate my work, and feel the need to care for me even more since I seem to have some strange need to leave the comfort of my family and friends, they can’t quite grasp why I would leave a life they imagine is something like that of a telenovela (soap opera). 

On my first day in site, feeling completely out of my element and unable to speak a word of the Spanish I had learned over the past three months, one of the first women I was introduced to in my new school was the cleaning lady (she does much more than clean, but this is her basic role). For a little background, my area was hit the hardest back in the 80’s by Hurricane Mitch, killing thousands in floods, as well as a nearby volcanic explosion. Therefore, upon meeting me, this woman, like many Nicas takes my hands and begins asking me if I am sad to be away from home, don’t my parents miss me terribly, how could I possibly leave me good, kind parents, and what kind of a child am I? Of course I smile and explain that my parents appreciate the work I am doing and support me. I also explain that they will undoubtedly visit so she can see them and know that they are doing just fine. Unfortunately, (and this has happened more than once since) I remind our kind cleaning lady of the son she lost in the hurricane and his untimely death. This was clearly a tragic and completely unrelated event, however, she began to cry while holding my hands, weeping about how I had left my parents just as her son had left her. Well, not much to say to that (in any language).

Point being, I don’t really remember what my original point was. Perhaps, that everyone has an opinion and that these opinions are based deeply in how we are raised and where we come from (duh). Though my immediate reaction to being judged (and being told exactly what I am doing wrong or differently) is often frustration, I suppose if I can come in out of nowhere to assess their teaching abilities, they can critique my sweeping abilities (although I am going to have the freaking cleanest dirt patio in town). I’ll try to snap a picture of the dirt watering...it is funny.

P.S.

Garden update: second group of Nica teens did NOT show for garden work. I was somewhat expecting this, as my first group was filled with the older kids and older guys, who are not only more responsible but more accustomed to garden-type work. The second group was full of preteen girls who are truthfully more interested in bracelet making. I’m not too worried, as clearing the land is what I needed the machete labor for and that is done, so now we just need to get digging and planting. Hopefully I can recruit the first group again this weekend when they aren’t working. Also, started a volleyball team!! First practice last night was pretty ramshackle, but definitely going to be fun...hanging out with people my own age always makes me feel better. Nica youth definitely rock. 

Thanks for reading, lots of love, as always!

Gardening and Transportation

So a quick update on the garden. I officially have a rockin’ new youth group. At first I found myself sitting all alone at 8:00am thinking I was getting my first taste bit of bad luck, but thank goodness they pulled through. At about 8:45 (I should have known to be patient considering I am working with teenagers and Latinos) they showed up. Only about 6 teens pulled through, but they kicked some serious butt with the machetes. I only asked them to clear a small patch of land in an empty lot next door and they went machete crazy clearing out knee high weeds in way more land than was necessary. It is impressive how quickly a couple of Nicas can clear land as well or better than a lawnmower with only machetes. They laughed at me when I said that they had done plenty for one day and we could leave digging and planting up to the next group...I was tired just watching them! After laughing and calling me a silly gringa they made plans for what type of barrier they will create for the garden and what the next group will need to bring to plant. Essentially, they have taken over as all good Nicas do when they realize they can do it way better than I can. Ah well (I’ve still got English classes up my sleeve and I KNOW they need me for that...).

More importantly than gardening, is transportation in Nicaragua...I keep meaning to write about it, as I spend a great deal of time on the buses here and think they are pretty awesome. Not only are they way more reliable than the buses in the US, but they are cheaper, WAY more fun, and just a cool (not in the temperature sense) way to travel. For example, the buses in my area are all old school buses bought from the United States and brought down here. They are not, however, just plain ol’ yellow anymore. Since the buses are not owned by the government, each bus driver is able to pimp out his bus to the max. Crazy colors, stickers that read “Jesus is my boy”, stereo systems, TVs, and anything else that can be stuck, painted or hung on the bus for added distinction. Likewise, each bus is run by a driver and a “cobrador,” or the guy who yells out the window “CHINANDEGA, CHINANDEGA, CHINANDEGA” as the bus drives by to let you know which bus it is and to hopefully convince you to get on their bus. He also goes up and down the aisle collecting money. This may seem tricky as he has to remember exactly when everyone gets on and who owes money and who has already paid (and there are no tickets like on a train), but I promise, he never forgets. 

My favorite part of all, however, is the food. This is something that tourists can not enjoy right away, unless they want to spend the whole rest of the trip sick in the hotel, but after a few months it is definitely one of the added benefits of travelling via bus. Practically each time the bus stops, as well as in the bus terminals, ladies (and some men) board the buses for the sole purpose of selling delicious food. They walk up and down the aisles waving the incredible, and cheap, food in your face, so that it is impossible not to eat constantly on a bus trip. My favorite bus trip is from my site to the department capitol, Chinandega, where women board the bus halfway through selling warm Nica versions of doughnuts....They are covered in sugar, freshly baked and incredible. 

If I’m not travelling alone, I prefer to travel with someone who also enjoys eating large quantities of crap and isn’t afraid of trying bus food (it’s helpful to be with a Nica who can advise you away from sketchy foods that may have hidden animal parts, etc). Often if you sit next to someone friendly they will let you know what it is they are eating and whether or not it is safe/good....they may even let you try it (only with a snack food, gross if you had to bite it or something). 

Nicas also drink everything out of plastic bags (part of the huge trash issue). Imagine a bag the size of a ziplock sandwhich bag, except no zipper...they pour the drink in and knot the top closed. You then turn the bag sideways, bite off the corner of the bag and squeeze out the drink. All Nicas do this like pros, even teeny little kids. At first, any drink that arrived in a bag was bored into a cup for me, as they assummed I couldn’t do it, but know that I am in site, buying my own drinks from the corner stores, on buses, etc, I have had to learn the bag method. Unfortunately, figuring this out takes a couple of times spilling mango juice all down the front of shirt in front of the whole bus...I have since mastered the bag method which all drinks excpet hot drinks....yes, they put hot drinks in plastic bags too....it’s really ridiculous and when the hot drink burns my lips I lose all cool, stop holding the bag the right way, and it goes everywhere....something to work on for the next two years...

So I suppose my main point in all of this is that travelling in Nicaragua is way fun, as long as you have a strong stomach, can figure out how to drink out of bag, and can put your money in your bra (I forgot to mention this before, but it really is the safest place for your money...otherwise you will probs get pickpocketed). Come visit me!!!

Lots of love!

Starting Over

**I'm trying something new where I write ahead of time on my computer and then just use a flashdrive to upload these at the cyber, so my updates are a bit old**

So I finally have a bit of a break in my schedule and therefore some time to think, write, and just do nothing. Since arriving in Nicaragua we have barely had any unscheduled time, due to spanish classes, training, moving, etc, so I am both looking forward to, and terrified of the upcoming months before school starts where I basically have nothing to do. My current goals are: start a garden in my host family’s house, start a small tree nursery (just to practice for when I have to do this in the schools), get a youth group up and running (for the sake of child labor in the garden and tree nursery) and possibly start teaching some english classes. Luckily, I think some of these things are starting to come together pretty quickly.

Last night, after having hung out a night or two on the street corners near my house (in a non-prostitute sense), I was able to have my first official meeting with my youth group. So far they seem like a really eager, awesome group. The ages range from about 12 - 21 years old and they are almost evenly split between girls and boys (which is unusual). They are not only really excited to make bracelets from recycled materials (let’s be honest this is the only recycled thing I currently know how to teach them), but they actually want to help in the garden. I somewhat thought I would have to bribe them into helping, using the I’ll teach you bracelet making if you work in my garden method, but apparently teenagers like gardening here....so, I’m all set! They even split themselves into two groups! Twelve are going to arrive 8:00am saturday morning to clear the ground and get started and the rest are coming monday at 8:00am to finish...try getting kids in the states to voluntarily garden at 8:00am on their first saturday of summer vacation...no way! So far my biggest concern is figuring out a way to keep the chickens out of the garden, as there are a ton in my backyard. I may just have to eat them all.

So wish me luck!! Update soon.

Running with the Bulls

Right off the bat I feel like I should apologize for taking so long to update. I think it has been almost a month. That being said, I am going to go back quite a bit in this blog and most definitely am going to forget a few things, but hopefully I hit the key moments of the last month.

For those who don’t know much about the Peace Corps process, or haven’t been listening to me at all when I tell you what I’m going through, I have been in training for the last three months in Carazo, a department of Nicaragua (much like a state in the US). I spent the last couple of weeks saying goodbye to my youth group in Carazo, my training family there, and receiving endless training lectures from the Peace Corps to prepare us for the next two years in our permanent sites (mine is Chinandega). At this point I have come to love my host family in Guisquiliapa, Carazo, love the people in the town, love my training site mates, and can’t quite believe I have to pick up and move. It is hard enough getting to know a family and town once, so to have to do it all over again...alone...is terrifying. At this point all trainees naturally start getting pretty angry with the Peace Corps for making us fall in love with our training towns only to rip us away. Before I move on to the part where I leave my host family practically crying and wanting to quit the Peace Corps so I can stay in Guisquiliapa, here are a few funny moments.

As anyone who has ever lived in a small farming/cattle raising community can tell you, you do not get in the way of a herd of cows going home (or going anywhere for that matter). They are not particularly smart, they are easily frightened, and they will run over small children (or whatever is in the way). At just about any given moment, someone in a Nica town is leading their cows through the streets. It is a given that cows, or cow led carts, always have right of way and you simply get the fuck out of the way or it is your own fault. It just so happens that two rather aggressive female cows (with enormous horns, who knew the females could have horns too???) eat in a pasture next to my house all day and are led home at night by one of my “nephews.” 

Normally this is no big deal as you can hear my nephew yelling at them to get them moving and everyone knows to get out of the street. However, one day, the cows deciding to leave the pasture of their own accord...apparently someone didn’t close the gate right. As the cows come meandering around the corner into our happy game of street baseball, we all immediately take cover behind trees and inside houses. My nephew starts throwing rocks, the cows return, and all seems to be safe. But like all naively cocky three-year olds, my young host brother thinks it’s a good idea to taunt the more aggressive of the two cows, who is still waddling her way back to the pasture. Sure enough, she doesn’t like being made fun of by something the size of her head and just as I reach for my brother’s hand to pull him away, the cow actually starts charging, nostrils flared, rearing, bucking, and all. I wish I could say that I scooped my host brother up and led him heroicly to safety...however....I ran. I ran hands flailing and screaming (much to the delight of all of my teenaged nephews who did impressions of this for a long time to come). When I reached safety and turned around, thinking my host brother was in front of me, I looked to realize he was the only child not yet in a house and was about an inch from being flung. Luckily, he did get inside right before the cow turned the opposite direction and charged down the street; however, I don’t think I will ever be able to live down ditching my three year old host brother. 

As I write there is an alarm going off in my house. It is a broken tweety bird alarm clock that my family refuses to get rid of. It goes off at all hours of the day and night and NO ONE ever turns it off. For example, it has been going off now for around 45 minutes and no one has done anything about it...am I the only one who hears it? Two nights ago it went off for 30 minutes at 2 am...everyone slept right through it until someone finally must have kicked it. I would throw it down the latrine if I could find it, but it’s in my host parents’ bedroom. I actually think the beeping will drive me mad.

Returning to the end of training. We finished up with our youth group by presenting (and even selling) some of our awesome bracelets made of recycled plastic and chip bags. The project came out way better than we expected it to and we (my training mates and I) are going to miss our youth group so much! Hopefully when we return to Guisquiliapa for Christmas our garden will still be watered and well cared for. When we left it we had flowers on the squash, tomatotes, and peppers (I think those are the ones, although we use the spanish names so god only knows what I think I’m growing...). Aside from a few ant problems all was pretty strong.

Our swearing in ceremony, to become volunteers, was also really lovely. The US ambassador spoke and presented our certificates along with the country director of the Peace Corps, and our host mothers were also presented with certificates (which was the best part). Aside from having to sing the Nica national anthem, and our own (both were a disaster on my part), the ceremony was beautiful. The country director also held an incredible Thanksgiving dinner for us after the ceremony in her home in Managua. So good!! This was particularly nice as the Nicas obviously don’t celebrate Thanksgiving and there is no way I could have afforded such American food on my own budget. Definintely a delicious treat.

So all of that puts me here, in Posoltega, Chinandega. Luckily, things have improved quite a bit since the last time I was here. I am happy to report that the latrine now has a curtain covering the entrance rather than a piece of tin roofing. My overly-curious six year old host brother did burn two rather large holes in it, however, so I am somewhat in the same position, but oh well. Likewise, I now have my own light and electrical sockets in my room (yay), which means that I can plug in my fan (thank the good lord). I did go out and buy myself a fan and mattress, although I was given several lectures by my family and random strangers on the bus about how mattresses are the new cause of kidney failure/issues due to the extreme overheating they can cause. I reassured them all that I will be sure to use my fan, and that I can not help the fact that I am just a silly American accustomed to a mattress (what I actually bought isn’t even a mattress, it’s a stupid foam pad). What I wanted to say is that the overuse of salt and need to fry everything is the reason for kidney failure....but we didn’t go there. Whoa sorry, sore topic.

Anywho, I am still on the hunt for my own house. As much as I do really like my host family here in Chinandega, I feel that I have already fallen in love with one family in Nica, and am now ready for some privacy. Likewise, as much as I love children, I am going to be with them all day everyday very soon and need some adult time. There are a few empty houses around my area, so hopefully one will work out. I thought I was on to something a few days ago when a family who recently moved out of town offered to let me live in their previous house for no rent, only paying water and electric, until I actually saw the house and realized it was essentially a big, decaying barn....knew it was too good to be true. So, we shall see.

Yesterday I went to the coast for the first time with the teachers from my school as an end of the year celebration. It was absolutely one of my favorite days here in Nica. The mountains and volcanoes are huge in the background and the water is clear and blue. The beach was practically deserted, so we walked up to the restaurant huts lining the beach and had our pick of food. The owners bring out fish and you haggle over which one you want. They fry it up right there and you spend the whole day eating, listening to music/dancing, and swimming. It was a relaxing and fun way to get to know the teachers. 

This week we are just preparing for the end of the year graduations (“summer” is here for Nicaragua, as their seasons are switched) and planning summer activities. I just formed a new youth group with a bunch of kids that hang outside one of my teacher’s houses, so I am hoping that they can help me get my new garden started and also form a volleyball team for an upcoming tournament in my town. They seem like a good group, so I am excited. 

I’ll just close with some current Nica fashion trends:

1. rat-tails ... men only (this is because they all watch 80’s music videos)
2. men wearing women’s engagement rings....bling is bling
3. ghetto nails ... I just got a pedicure with french tips and flowers (they didn’t give me an option)
4. Hollister (usually fake)

Thank you everyone who has been writing me awesome long e-mails, I love reading them : )

Much love!

Posoltega

Hi! It has been so long since I´ve had the chance to write...can´t believe my last entry was when I was sick...ah!

So, the long and short of it is that I am now in Posoltega, Chinandega!!!! I have not officially moved to my new site, but I am here visiting for one week to get a handle on where I will be living for the next two years. In case anyone was confused, I only get to live with my current family in Guisquiliapa for three months (which is now three weeks) until I am officially signed in as a volunteer. My training period is almost up. I have now been officially assigned to Posoltega, Chinandega, a decently sized city in the southern part of the department of Chinandega. I am in the HOTTEST part of Nicaragua by far, but it is insanely beatiful and the heart of food production. This was basically the last place I wanted to be sent (I really wanted to be up in the mountains), but now that I am here I am realizing how beautiful it is and how in need, so I am definitely changing my mind.

Chinandega was also seriously wiped out by Hurricane Mitch back in 1998 (the destruction is still everywhere), so I have my work cut out for me. This also means that tons of NGOs are still hanging around and looking for eager Peace Corps volunteers to give money to...perfect!!

I will be working with three schools in and around my area. The one right in my town (three doors down from my new host family) has 22 teachers and over 400 students. Holy crap. They all want help and all want to start new projects right away. Their enthusiasm is incredible, but I am definitely going to need to explain that I can only work directly with 2 of them (or I will actually go crazy). I also visited my second school, which only has three teachers, and something like 20 kids per class. It is multigrade, meaning more than one grade per room and per teacher (duh), but it is in an incredible small town about two kilometers away where I get to ride my bike and all kinds of fun stuff. The teachers (who are all under the age of 26) walked me around to every house and cancelled school today to introduce me to the community...I think that´s a good thing? I am definitely excited about everyone´s enthusiasm, but I am going to have my work cut out for me (they also think I know a wholleeee lot more about gardens that I do...at least I know more than I did at the beginning of my three months).

So yesterday when I first arrived in my new site I had to try very hard not to cry. For one, Nicas like to ask you over and over again if your sad and would rather be at home. I wasn´t sad until they kept asking me if I was sad....Strangely (sorry real parents) I´m not sad for the US, but for my training family. I have gotten to know them, call their home my own, and finally feel like I fit in just right with them. It is really difficult to be pulled from my training town when I am just getting into my groove (garden is actually growing, people can understand my version of spanish, etc)...Suddenly I am in a new town where no one knows me, once again my Spanish sucks, and I have to learn the habits of a new family...

To make matters a bit worse, I arrived to house that had no door on the latrine (yea, that is outdoor latrine...walls only up to my waist), no lock on my door (that goes outside), and no mattress on my bed...There is now a lock on my door and piece of zinc roofing has been turned into a makeshift door, but I don´t think I´m getting a mattress...

I´m OK with this, and definitely happier than I was yesterday, but I am still missing my "family" a lot...although I don´t want to offend the people I am living with now, I am on the hunt for a house of my own...I am looking forward to cooking for myself and having a mattress (and possibly an indoor bathroom).

So, that´s all for now...send me lots of emails (even if I don`t respond in a timely manner)!!
Lots of love : )

PICTURES!!

Family Members and Youth Group Members...some neighborhood faves, Nefri, Randall, Jon

My host father making jam, Oscar

My training group with our first language teacher...Jessi, Krista, Pat, Darling, and Me

Making Jam!!

Youth Group in a Human Knot

Human Table...girls beat the boys!

Jam and Soup Equals Bacterial Infection

Hi all! So this has been an interesting week. I have been on a mission to make jam with my family, as well as dehydrated fruit...éssentially for selfish reasons, because I miss eating good dried fruits and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Not that I ate these things all the times in the States, but when you suddenly can´t have something, or it is very expensive, you want it VERY badly.

So, my mission to make jam. My host father is an organic farmer, and always looking for new ways to make interesting foods, so he loved this idea. We started on Sunday, using a fruit called Guyaba, which I have never seen anywhere other than Nicaragua, and is delicious. It is green and typically sweet, about the shape of an apple, and you can eat the entire thing. Right now, there are so many in the trees that it goes to waste rotting on the ground. Well, we spent Sunday making our first batch. Without typical store bought preservatives it was not as jelly like as jam in the States, more like applesauce texture, however, I think it tastes great...or did think it tasted great...

For lunch Sunday my host mother made a Nicaraguan specialty, a soup with chicken and all sorts of fun things that I happily ate and enjoyed before making more jam. Come Sunday night I was feverish and feeling miserable. I am not sure if it was the jam, soup, or pizza I had had in town two days before, but I do know that having a bacterial infection in a foreign country where there is no air conditioning and bucket showers is pretty miserable. Luckily, my family and the PC doctors are incredible, so I was on antibiotics the next day, drinking lots of fruit drinks, and feeling better within a day or two.

In case anyone was wondering I continue to prove to the people of my town that I am a Gringa, their word for white girl, in so many ways. I also get called Chela, referring to my white skin, and Gata, as in cat, because my eyes are the color of a cat´s. For example...
1. I am afraid of spiders the size of, or larger than, my hand...sorry I don´t think this will change...and I will continue to ask if they are poisonous.
2. I can´t play soccer...sorry, futbol
3. I always hit my head getting out of the really small, overcrowded bus in which there are ten too many people.
4. I say I like people using the verb which means you like someone in that special kind of way, when I just mean they are cool...pretty sure I have told most of the town I have a crush on them
5. I can´t carry a bucket of water without some of it spilling...women here can carry them on their heads...

So anyway, I´m getting there. Today was our Site Fair, in which we learned about all of the possible locations we could be sent to for the next two years. I am already in love with a few, but really trying not to get my hopes up too much. I find out in two weeks where I will be, so cross your fingers for the Departments of Boaco or Maltagapa. Both have lots of mountains, horsebackriding, and lovely people. Though I´m sure I would love them all..

Ok, that´s all for now. Lot´s of love! xox

Quick Update

Hi all! Really quick update! Sorry I haven´t been updating in so long. Time has been flying by, and everytime I get the chance to sit down, all I want to do is eat, read or sleep. The cybers tend to be hot and crowded so they aren´t my favorite place when I have down time. Enough complaining.

I taught my first class, in Spanish, on Thursday!! Very exciting and successful. I taught a sixth grade class about the Milky Way. Used a RAN chart for any teachers out there, and I definitely think it went OK for my first time. Spanish wasn´t perfect but I got my point across. I teach again this upcoming Thursday and am definitely excited to see the kids again.

Our garden at the school is finally planted and looking beautiful. All of our seeds are germinating and our biggest problem is keeping kids out. We tend to find footprints in our seed beds, but so far no big disasters. Our boss said he was ¨positively surprised¨ by how well it turned out....thanks...

Youth group is also going well...lots of cool bracelets made from plastic bags. Only problem is the crowd of drunk men that tend to form outside of the windows, but we have successfully managed to lock them outside of the school gates during out meetings...They do like to climb the fence and whistle at us from outside, but it´s better than them hanging outside the door or sitting in the group whistling while we talk. Men here definitely have no sense of shame.

Today, we visited one of four remaining active volcanoes around the world where you can look down into the center. It was pretty awesome and VERY hot. We weren´t allowed to hike far from out vehicles, however, in case the volcano started to errupt and we had to evacuate...apparently it´s been threatening to do something lately...

Also just receieved our lists of future sites...there are 22 in all...I do not want to get my hopes set on any particular site and end up crying when I don´t get the one I want. They all look pretty incredible. Rivas, right next to Costa Rica, and close to my training family, would be nice though.

I am officially sweating in this Cyber now, so I´m going to head home to hopefully play with the neighborhood kids and have a relaxing saturday afternoon!

OH! And I got a new cellphone! So email me for the number!!! xoxo

Pulseras y Dengue Fever

Hello again! Seems like I´m only going to be able to get to the Cyber once a week. Training has definitely picked up like crazy. I typically wake up around 6am (more like 4am when my 3 year old host brother wakes up and starts yelling "Donde esta KATIE!" outside of my room), attend Spanish class or a series of Charlas (lectures) from the Peace Corps until lunch, attend more Spanish class or Charlas until 3 or 4pm, prepare for the night´s activities (like our Youth Group), eat dinner around 6pm, watch a telenovella (soap opera) and go to bed by 8pm. The days here are long and packed, but they are definitely a lot of fun.

Last night, we had our fourth youth group meeting (and were observed by our trainer), in which we started our recyled art project. With the kids on Tuesday we had decided that we were going to make pulseras, or bracelets, weaved from plastic shopping bags that are all over the streets of our town. We figured a few kids would bring one or two bags and we would spend most of the time teaching them how to make the bracelets....INSTEAD they showed up with TONS of already made, intricately weaved bracelets that they had been practicing making all week AND one kid even made a piñata out of plastic bags and bottles!!! We also had 22 kids attend the meeting. We basically sat back and let the kids who knew what they were doing teach the others. It was awesome. We are hoping to make even more in our next meeting and perhaps figure out how to write Nicaragua into the bracelet, like those cool tourist bracelets you can by all over the world.

Tomorrow is a day I am not as excited for. We are going to the school at 8am with the fifth and sixth grade students from the local school (hopefully they show) to make our school huerto (garden). Although I know this is a great thing, it is supposed to pour rain tomorrow because of the hurricane on the Atlantic coast, and digging in the mud will make an already challenging day even worse. Oh well.

Other than that, I am finally feeling like my Spanish is somewhat coming to gether. I can use complete sentences (most of the time) and am actually able to apply what I learn in class with my family and friends at home. Next week my training group of four is going to be split into two separate groups, and I am going to be placed with a fellow trainee who I consider to be a much better speaker than me. I am definitely happy to have been placed with her, but I will have to work to keep up.

Can´t remember if I have mentioned my bud Sissy yet. She is the four month old kitten living in my house. She is a pretty funny/sad little character. Her "job" acccording to my family is to catch mice, therefore she barely gets fed. I have taken to sneaking her food under the table and feeding her almonds in my room, as she is so skinny I can´t stand it. She also sleeps in my lap during class. This is becoming a slight problem, however, as she waits for me outside of my room, the bathroom, sits at my feet at the table, etc. Not only is my family catching on, but she is going to be one sad kitten when I (note: my food) leave. I am also her sole guardian in the house against my host brother. He tends to pick her up by one leg, kick her, hold her upside down, the list goes on. He does the same to the dog, but she´s a bit tougher.

A few more things to add to my list of strange things Nica´s love/do:
1. point with their lips (as in they make a kissing face and point their lips in a direction, rather than their hands)
2. they are obsessed with the 80's...I spent 3 hours last sunday watching 80´s music videos with my host nephew...
3. they are equally obsessed with Michael Jackson (and therefore like wearing white shoes, tight pants, etc)
4. every man must make some noise or comment about every woman who walks by or he is no longer a man
5. beans must be eaten with EVERY meal...no exception to this rule

That´s all for now!! Xoxox

Ya

Week two has flown by. Sorry it seems to take me a week to blog, but time truly does move quickly with the Peace Corps taking you here, there and everywhere.

Tuesday started the week off strong with the celebration of the Nicaragauan Independence Day. My entire first week I listened to school bands furiously banging their drums, and finally I understood why. Note: my town has be prohibited from large fiestas and parades due to excessive drinking and general trouble with the police. So, on Tuesday we took a short bus trip to the town next door and watched the parade. Four of my family members attend the private school in this town, Sta. Teresa, and are therefore part of the parade, so we moved throughout the crowd to watch them. In Nicaragua, parade watching is not quite the same sort of enjoyable, relaxing experience it is in the US. Rather, it is pushy, hot, and very crowded. The crowds move with the parade, walking in between dancers and drummers as they see fit, and shoving mercilessly. At first this is disconcerting, but once you get the hang of it, it is pretty fun to be a part of the parade.

Thursday and Friday were equally tiring, but necessary, days spent in PC training, learning about organic pesticides, how to protect against Malaria/Dengue (I´m screwed), and all sorts of other things. Thus far, our training sessions have been a bit overwhelming, as we haven´t had the chance to put many of the gardening lessons into practice, but soon enough we will have the opportunities to try out what we are being taught. As for getting sick, it is inevitable, I just hope it´s not Dengue or Malaria.

One aspect of training that is going exceptionally well (so far) is the youth group that my fellow trainees and I have started in our pueblo. Our first meeting only brought in about 8 curious 21 year olds, friends of my "nephew," but thankfully due to some door-to-door pleading, Jehovah Witness style, we were able to rangle 15 kids at our second meeting, including THREE girls. Granted, the majority were either my extended family members or friends of my nephew, but they seemed to really enjoy themselves and be very excited about our recycled art project and future activities together. Hopefully, this will be a lasting and sustainable project.

As I spend more time here, and become more comfortable with the language, certain words stick out. My current favorite, and the word most widely used in Nicaragua as far as I can tell, is "ya." Literally meaning "already," the word can be used for just about everything. Some examples:

Dinner is ready, "Ya, Katie" (pronounced KAH-tie)

Your dog is trying to get food or lick your hand, "Ya, Ya" (Cut it out!)

Your kid is banging his spoon on the table, "¨¡Ya, insert name, ya ya! (Enough already!!)

The TV show ended, "Ya" (It´s over)

Kids are running through your garden, "¡ YA YA!" (Get the fuck out!)

Essentially, this is an quick, effective word that can be used almost all the time to convey that you are tired of something, want it to be done with, etc. The only problem is I tend to say "yea, yea" a lot when listening to people speak and hope that this isn´t being misconstrued as, "ya, ya, enough already, stop talking." I usually catch myself and switch to si or bueno, but yea is a hard habit to break.

Some other small but interesting quirks I have noticed living in Nicaragua (and had not anticipated):
-all teenage boys and young men want to look like Cristiano Ronaldo...faux hawks (hair always gelled), capri pants, tight shirts, etc...
-Avril Lavigne, Justin Beiber, and Lady Gaga (this one I get) are really big down here...Avril, what?
-young women almost exclusively wear jeans...dresses are for grandmas...I guess I will be a grandma because it´s freakin hot down here and jeans are miserable...

I´m sure there is a great deal more, but it is seriously hot in the cybercafe, so I am off to find an icecream vender (the only cold thing around). Write me lots of e-mails : ) xoxo

A Week in the Life

Greetings! Sorry it has taken so long to update!! Although time seems to move slowly here and no one is in a great rush to do anything, I can´t seem to find a moment to spare. I can not believe I have already been here one week. This country is truly starting to feel like home, and I finally feel like I am catching on to the language (at least a little bit).

My family is wonderful. They are smaller and quieter than most, but I think this is a very good think. My immediate family is only a mother, father, and three year old son, so except for the normal antics of a three year old, our house is fairly calm. They do, however, have a VERY large extended family, who takes over most of the surrounding neighborhood. This is wonderful as I can live in a quiet house, but have lots of fun family members to visit and hang out with. My 20 year old  ¨newphew¨ Reynaldo hangs around the house the most, as he is very close with my parents, so he tends to be the one I go to most often with questions on what really is said or culturally acceptable in Nicaragua. Most of the volunteers, including myself, have found that it is easiest to talk with Nicaraguans of similar age, as they are interested in similar topics and tend to slow down more and enunciate.

My host padre is also very interesting, however, as he is an organic farmer. He is extremely helpful in teaching me methods for composting and farming in Nicaragua, as it is no easy task, and I am definitely a beginner. Along with significant language classes, we have started recieving lessons in gardening and environmental issues, which is what I am most worried about picking up. Yesterday we worked on creating seed beds and transplanting. This is not only labor intensive work, but impossible when in Spanish. I barely get it in English. Hopefully I will catch on...

The Spanish classes we attend are incredible. Peace Corps absolutely has their act together when it comes to this. We have one language facilitator per 4 students in one community. Classes are three hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon used to apply what we learned in the morning within the community. Essentially the lessons are everything I always wished school could be. We come in and ask any questions we have about what a word or phrase is that we may have heard the night before or something we are curious about, and only learn useful relevant vocabulary. I feel as though I am learning so much, as I immediately apply what I am taught in the community or with my family. I have no choice but to speak Spanish, and therefore am slowly but surely picking it up.

Even though we are learning we are still the constant butt of jokes around town. Most of the time it is very funny, but I think we are going to have to learn to laugh A LOT at ourselves. For example; in the first youth group meeting we attempted to have, in which we mangaged to gather 8 youth (mainly 21 year old males coming to check out the new muchachas in town) one member of our training group declared that she likes to ¨montar los caballeros¨ ....ride cowboys....I should mention that she is 65 and hilarious...She often provides much needed comedy around town, and although it involves our group being laughed at, it also gives us the opportunity to introduce ourselves and explain why we are in town.

By the way, the name of my town is Guisquiliapa, pronounced Whiskey-lee-apa. It is a very small town outside of the slightly larger town of Jinotepe. It is very easy to travel between the two towns in either the two microbuses or two taxis that go between them throughout the day. It is extremely cheap, and both the taxi drivers and bus drivers recognize us and honk when they see us in either town and ask if we need a ride. Needless to say, we stand out.

Overall, I am loving my time down here. I currently have a bit of a cold (el gripe), but I don´t think it is anything very serious. My host mother believes it is because I take showers at night (which is really 6:00 but for them that´s night). My family is also able to hear everything I do at night, as our house is somewhat like one giant room with partitions, as none of the walls reach the ceilings, so my mother already knew I had el gripe by the time I woke up. They also know that I sleep talk quite frequently and ask me in the mornings about my dreams. There is very little privacy here. Oh well.

Also, if anyone is looking to adopt an animal, come to Nica. They are all very skinny and in need. The kitten living in my home is supposed to get her food by eating mice, but she is too tiny, so I feed her almonds I brought with her. Somewhat of a problem as she now follows me around and I´m afraid my family will find out. I also plan to bring a dog home with me eventually. They are all so loving down here and just need to be fed. Think about it!!

Ok, I will try to update sooner next time, and with more flow to my thoughts. Hasta Luego!

Boat Trip on Lake Nicaragua

So, back in the day a (still active) volcano exploded to form islands throughout Lake Granada. The Peace Corps was kind enough to send us on an awesome boat tour around these islands, most of which are the vacation compounds for very wealthy Nicaraguans.

A gorgeous flower the boat driver picked that smelled a lot like a gardenia and was the length of my arm...he revealed it like a magician with a cape, as it looks like a stick at first then bursts out like a bouquet.

The large mountain-looking thing in the way background is actually the volcano with clouds around the top...it's whole top is blown off, so it is flat on top.

Again, the peak in the distance is the volcano (COOL). Also, there are the only freshwater sharks in the world in this lake. According to our Environmental Tech. Trainer, this is because the lake was once connected to the ocean, and as the water from the ocean slowly (over thousands of years) drained from the lake, it was again very slowly replaced with water from the rivers. This gave the sharks time to adapt. I thought they were small sharks, but they are bull sharks, meaning I will never be swimming in this lake, ever.

Trouble. Monkey, monkey Island.

Very friendly monkeys who were not afraid to climb into laps and search pockets.

Beautiful homes along the lake.

Calor o Caliente?

Orientation has been a whirlwind!

It all started in Washington, DC where we were given a one day intensive overview of the Peace Corps expectations, our expected behavior and protocol, and other safety/heath issues. To be honest, we participated in so many activities and reviewed such a wide range of concepts it is hard to remember back to everything that took place. What I do remember is that by the end of the day I had met and talked with just about every other trainee and felt completely comfortable with a group of people who, only hours before, had been complete strangers.

A complete surprise during our first orientation day is that there is another Providence College graduate in my group!! Not only is she from PC, but she was also an Elementary/Special Edu. major...What a small world. Although Megan is a 2009 grad, it is still surprising that we had never met before, and didn't know about one another until our first meeting in DC.

Thankfully, I am not the only Education major/teacher who has never taught Environmental Science before. In fact, the majority of the trainees here are elementary school teachers who have no experience with Environmental Science, so at least we are all in this together. It has become more and more clear that although this will be no walk in the park, our training will be incredible and we can do this.

So far we have been completely spoiled in Nicaragua. We have been staying in a gorgeous hotel in the town of Granada (also a beautiful city), where the staff has been feeding us 3 delicious meals a day and there is an awesome swimming pool. This will definitely not be the Peace Corps lifestyle we should come to expect, but it is a nice environment for us to get to know one another in and not be completely overwhelmed in quite yet. Training each day has definitely been exhausting, but the information is crucial and we have been dying to hear it. It seems that each day we learn a little bit more about exactly what the job will entail, where we will be living, and what our lives will be like. The trainers have no qualms in telling us exactly how difficult our jobs will be, the challenges we will face, and the possibility that we may not be hired at the end of training. Awesome.

That said, I took my first language exam yesterday, as well as a practice class (for three hours) today. They placed me in what seems to be an intermediate level (I am definitely not the worst one here, but no where near the fluent speakers that are kicking butt). I made the common mistake today in my class of saying that it was "muy caliente" outside instead of "muy calor" only to have my teachers giggle and look politely aside...I had a feeling this wasn't quite the right way of saying that it is very hot outside, but figured I got the message across, until a fellow trainee whispered that I had just told the class I was "very horny." A good way to get to know my new teachers. Well done, Katie. Luckily, it was a good opportunity to demonstrate my ability to laugh at myself and move on. I think this will happen quite a bit when I move in with my host family.

On that note, we were FINALLY told who are host families would be today, after many questions about preferences, allergies, etc. I am in a family with a 34 year old mama, a 43 year old papa, a 3 year old son and their 18 year old nephew. I am very excited to be in one of the smaller families, as some of the homes housed up to three generations and seemed fairly crowded. At the same time, I am glad to have host siblings in the house to practice my Spanish with. I can not wait to meet them tomorrow morning.

The next three months are going to be very intense, as we will have Spanish lessons five days a week for six hours each day (broken into 4 hours in the morning of lessons and 2 hours in the afternoon of application in the community). We also have to undertake projects in the community; such as, creating a youth group, planting a garden/composting, and teaching lessons in the local school (ALL when I am still working with limited Spanish...yikes). I am hoping that this is all currently intimidating much like getting all of your syllabi on the first day of classes, but then when you actually get going it flies by...let's hope.

For now, my biggest concerns are picking up the language and getting to know my host family. Hopefully by my next post I can report that I have a lovely host family and that loads of high school Spanish have suddenly come flooding back into my brain (that has yet to happen). Oh well.

Adios!

Heading Out

I am almost all packed up and ready to go. I don't think the reality of two years away has quite set in yet, but that is probably a good thing. At this point, I'm just saying goodbye to old friends and double checking that I've brought enough socks. I am guaranteed to forget something, but that's just the way it goes. Not much more until I arrive in Nicaragua (although orientation may be eventful enough to write about). Until then, ciao!