This year feels like it went by so fast—I can easily picture what I was doing last New Years’ eve. I was in Disneyworld with my family and my aunt, uncle, and cousin from Tampa. So much has happened this year: I traveled to Boston with classmates to present at the national TESOL conference, completed my first year of grad school at Gonzaga, taught a Spanish camp for kids, left the country for Peace Corps, completed my training, and survived 4 months in Nicaragua experiencing new and extraordinary things. This year was full of things I will remember forever. I had to say goodbye to my family and friends, but I’ve met so many great people here to share my adventures. I’m thankful for the many opportunities I have had to share what I’m doing here with family and friends back home. Technology is great and I’m very fortunate to have access to the internet, especially being able to contact my parents, other family, and friends.
Praise God for the many blessings we all have received!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Teaching/Learning Opportunities
Since my family is at the finca (their farm) and my host brother and I are stuck at home, we’ve been learning some things about each other. I’m very clean and like to keep things that way. I’ve been trying to help him learn some things about that too haha He can’t really cook either. I’m not saying I’m a great cook, but I can manage. I think my host mom was worried about him not eating or being able to cook anything while she was gone. There are several bags of cooked beans in the freezer and a lot of leftover food in the fridge. Also, apparently my host aunt keeps telling Yasser that if we’re bored or hungry, we can visit her haha
Today, Yasser was going to make something and asked me if I knew how to make refried beans. I said, yeah and joined him in the kitchen. He had one of the bags of beans out and had chopped a little bit of onion and pepper. I got out the blender and poured the beans in and a little bit of water. He was going to put the pepper and onion in the blender too, but I thought it would probably be better after. After blending the beans, I told him we needed to heat them in a pan with the pepper and onion. I started looking at the onion and he hadn’t peeled it or cut off the end part. I started laughing and said, you don’t eat the skin. I asked for more onion and then showed him how to peel it. Then I got the pepper out again and he had cut off a piece from the tip. So, I showed him that you should cut the top part off and then remove the seeds before cutting the pepper. This was really funny because I’m not used to teaching in the kitchen—I’m usually taking instruction there.
Anyway, Yasser did make something. He took the corn tortillas we had and make tortilla chips and he boiled some platanos. After the beans were done cooking with the peppers and onions, we ate our homemade tortilla chips with them. He had to add cuajada (type of cheese) to the beans. I teased him last night about having to eat something without tortillas and cuajada sometime because I had made fried rice and he put cuajada on it and ate it with a tortilla. Someday I’ll get him to eat something a little out of his “food box”. I was pretty proud of myself for making the fried rice though—it was delicious and we’re kind of taking turns making food because we wanted to try out some new things and it’s entertaining.
After we ate lunch today, Yasser asked me how he can lose weight besides exercise. I laughed and asked him if he didn’t want to exercise, and he didn’t seem very interested in that. Then, I said that you should eat foods with less oil and less fried foods, to which he gasped. Oil is a staple here and Nicas use way too much of it! Then, he asked me what he should eat and I told him vegetables and fruits. He said he didn’t like soup. I thought this was kinda funny so I said that he could eat vegetables outside of the soup. He didn’t know how he would do this. I told him he could eat raw vegetables or cooked, but raw is better. He was a little surprised by this and asked about raw potatoes. Well, I said you wouldn’t eat potatoes raw, but carrots, etc. And, I made sure to say that potatoes aren’t really a vegetable—he should look for something else with vitamins. When I mentioned carrots, he said, oh in a fresco? They make frescos here with carrots, which I recently discovered, but I’m sure there’s lots of sugar added because if he doesn’t like vegetables, he wouldn’t be drinking carrot juice. This was a very funny conversation, but it made me realize that a lot of people here don’t understand nutrition very well and it’s a good thing that a new group of health volunteers are coming down here in a few weeks. They certainly have their work cut out for them.
After the whole food situation was done, Yasser asked me if I knew how to clean the blender because he didn’t know how. I said yes and that he had to watch me so he could learn how to do it. I know a lot of people “clean” their blenders without taking the pieces apart (here and in the States) and that grosses me out because it leaves food particles. So, I showed him how to take it all apart and clean it out. He had washed some dishes earlier and I saw two plates staked on top of each other face down. I asked him how he thought they were going to dry as they were stuck together… It cracked me up. It’s a good thing we can joke around like this, but hopefully he picks up some of these things. Last night I was washing dishes and he had gotten a glass of water and then poured out the last bit in the sink and put the glass on the dish drainer. Um, yuck. I wonder how many glasses I’ve used that he hasn’t cleaned. I took it and cleaned it.
Later we visited Yasser’s aunt (Ruth) and Yasser told her about the fried rice that I had made and she said it sounded really good. So, after we left, Yasser wanted me to teach him how to make it so we could give her some. We bought the ingredients and I pretty much did everything—he was a little distracted wanting to get ready for New Years. I kept calling him into the kitchen to show him each step. I finished cooking and then we took the food over to Ruth, who lives with her mom and dad. They all said it smelt great and I guess they had already eaten. Ruth ate some and was asking how I made it. Then, the grandma asked to try some. Ruth gave her some and she ate it all, even though she already ate dinner. They were so surprised that I could cook, and that the food was good. Not sure if that’s a complement or not haha They teased Yasser and told him that he needs to learn to cook from me. It was pretty cute—makes me feel like part of the family :)
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Taste of Mexican
Yesterday 5 other volunteers from Boaco came into town for lunch and to check mail, shopping, etc. We were going to go to the pizza place, but they don’t open until 3pm…kinda weird. Anyway, I had spotted this Mexican place the week before and so we decided to try that. It was basically plastic tables and chairs set up in the family’s living room, which is pretty common here. Most pulperias (little shops with anything from candy to toilet paper to super glue) are the front part of people’s homes because they don’t have to pay extra rent for another building. Anyway, we talked to the lady and she usually doesn’t open until 5pm, but she said we were welcome to come in and she’d make us whatever.
We checked out the menu and everything was 40 cords—very nice! One of the volunteers with us had lived in Mexico for a year and so he described all the different foods to us, as there were only names, and ones that most of us hadn’t heard of. We were all excited and put in our order. The lady went to work and offered us a little cup of soup for a free appetizer. We got our food and chowed down quickly, mostly because we were really hungry, but also because it was really good. It’s nice to have a little break from Nica food. Everybody ordered more food after that to share and try new things. One plate was good enough for me though.
Then, we decided dessert was in the plan so I showed everyone where the panaderia is and we purchased some fresh baked goods—they pump out new stuff at 2pm, and we arrived around 3pm and a lot of things were already gone. This place empties quickly and it’s obvious why.
I love having visitors here in Boaco because I love being able to show people around and point out my favorite places. Hope to see you soon!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Poolside
I made a trip over to the aguas termales (hot springs) near Boaco with my host brother yesterday and we had a pretty good time. We called before to make sure it was open, but we didn't find out until we got there that only 1 of their 6 or so pools were actually open (or filled). The way this place works is that they take the natural hot spring water and pump it into pools. There are covered areas around the pools with tables, chairs, and hammocks. But, if you use a hammock, they'll charge you. they won't tell you before, but as you leave, they'll call you over and tell you owe them money. That's what happened to us. Gosh, one thing I love about the U.S. is good signage.
Anyway, we had a great time and enjoyed the hot water. I know it sounds weird because it's already hot here, but it was actually nice and relaxing. Part of the pool was in the shade and it had an island atmosphere with the palms and hammocks. I instantly felt like I was in a completely different place. They were only missing the sand. Oh, and the fruit smoothies. They had food and drinks, just way overpriced. Glad we brought snacks!
Anyway, we had a great time and enjoyed the hot water. I know it sounds weird because it's already hot here, but it was actually nice and relaxing. Part of the pool was in the shade and it had an island atmosphere with the palms and hammocks. I instantly felt like I was in a completely different place. They were only missing the sand. Oh, and the fruit smoothies. They had food and drinks, just way overpriced. Glad we brought snacks!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmastime is here!
So I recently found out that Christmas is celebrated on the 24th here, which is interesting. Apparently there is a tradition to have dinner at midnight and set off a lot of fireworks. This is how my Christmas in Nicaragua played out…
I left Boaco early and went to Nindiri to meet up with Kellie and check out her place and then we met up with some other volunteers in Masaya. It was so great to see everybody after almost a month. Then, Kellie and I went to San Juan de Oriente to celebrate Christmas with our training town families.
The little girls were so excited to see me—they saw me a block away and ran down the street with open arms. Then we walked to the house holding hands. It was precious.
I found out that pretty much nothing goes on here on the 25th so after eating breakfast (a nacatamal and more garlic rolls :) So I’ll be way full the whole day) Kellie and I visited Jess’ family again because her mom was gone yesterday. It was nice hanging out with them—they’re a fun family and so welcoming. Her mom gave us some torta (cake) that she had made last night, which is a traditional cake for Christmas. It was pretty good—had some honey and liquor in it and reminded me of tres leches cake.
Today we’re planning on just hanging out and watching some movies, including A Christmas Story, a classic :) Kellie hasn’t seen it, but it’s a tradition in my family. There are some other volunteers close by, so we might hang out with them. Sounds like it will be a pretty chill day.
Here's a link to my Facebook album:
I left Boaco early and went to Nindiri to meet up with Kellie and check out her place and then we met up with some other volunteers in Masaya. It was so great to see everybody after almost a month. Then, Kellie and I went to San Juan de Oriente to celebrate Christmas with our training town families.
The little girls were so excited to see me—they saw me a block away and ran down the street with open arms. Then we walked to the house holding hands. It was precious.
I hung out and unpacked a little—the little girls stayed right by my side as I made my bed and we played a little. They thought my mosquitero was so fun so we laid on the bed for awhile and giggled. Then they wanted to paint my nails, so Maria Eduarda got out her nail polish and painted them. Now she’s 3, so it was messy, but pretty funny. She wanted to paint them all pink and then put sparkles. After two of my fingers were painted, fingers not just nails, I decided that maybe she should just paint the rest with the clear glittery polish. She went along with it :)
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| Maria Eduarda and Giselle |
Kellie and I walked around the town like old times, without Jess though, and we made sure to visit Jess’ family. They were very happy to see us, but of course sad that Jess wasn’t there. It’s weird being back here, but it feels nice at the same time. I had a little de sha vous yesterday as I was eating lunch and my host mom’s sister walked into the kitchen from the back patio and greeted me as she usually did when I was eating lunch back in training. I had a weird feeling and thought, woah, what if I was back in training again? It makes me feel like I haven’t been gone that long, but still training feels so long ago. It has been a month I guess. Wow, time does really go by quickly!
So the evening, I would say, was a little anti-climatic. My family told me that we would have dinner earlier because it’s weird to wait so long, but they were baking bread for later so I was very excited about that—I love their bread! My host mom gave me gallo pinto, fried cheese, and platanos fritos for dinner (the typical Nica dish here) around 7:30pm, and I thought it was weird that there wasn’t a special dinner, but lunch was really good so I just went with it. We hung out around the house for awhile and they started getting kind of dressy so I thought we were going to do something. I took some pics of my host sister with her daughter by the Christmas tree.
My host mom and her sis were getting ready to leave for mass and then she asked me to make garlic bread, because I had introduced it to them before. So, Kellie and I took over the kitchen and made some garlic butter and added it to their dough to make some garlic rolls. Then we watched a movie until her family was going to start eating…around 11pm. I was so tired because I had stayed up late the night before, so I almost went to bed, but then the bread was ready to eat so I had some delish garlic rolls with more garlic butter on top. I wasn’t even hungry, but who can turn down fresh, hot bread? I watched a show on my computer and then it was midnight and I heard all kinds of fireworks in the streets. My host mom and her sis came to my door and wished me Merry Christmas and then they brought out a bottle of sparkling apple cider. They couldn’t open it, so my host mom said, ask Megan, she’s strong. Haha Well, I was able to open it and we enjoyed some and then watched fireworks outside. We retreated back inside the house because it was really cold out and then sat on the couches watching TV. It felt kind of like New Years: hanging out til midnight, watching fireworks, and then everything is over. Some friends came over and chatted for a little and then I had to say goodnight because it was 2am!I found out that pretty much nothing goes on here on the 25th so after eating breakfast (a nacatamal and more garlic rolls :) So I’ll be way full the whole day) Kellie and I visited Jess’ family again because her mom was gone yesterday. It was nice hanging out with them—they’re a fun family and so welcoming. Her mom gave us some torta (cake) that she had made last night, which is a traditional cake for Christmas. It was pretty good—had some honey and liquor in it and reminded me of tres leches cake.
Today we’re planning on just hanging out and watching some movies, including A Christmas Story, a classic :) Kellie hasn’t seen it, but it’s a tradition in my family. There are some other volunteers close by, so we might hang out with them. Sounds like it will be a pretty chill day.
Here's a link to my Facebook album:
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Karie's Visit
After not having much on the agenda for quite awhile, my weekend was suddenly full of adventure. One of my professors from Western Oregon was visiting Nicaragua and she invited me to join her to show her around my digs. She is fluent in Spanish and has made it her goal to travel to all of the Spanish-speaking countries, and Nicaragua was next on her list.
I left early to meet Karie in Managua where she was staying and then we headed down to Masaya. We met up with Kellie and took Karie to all of the local attractions, including the Nica market and the cleaner tourist market. Kellie showed us the mirador in Masaya, the one I hadn’t seen before, and it was beautiful. The lake is bigger than the one in Catarina and the view was breathtaking. Thanks Kellie! We hung out in the park for a little and enjoyed the tranquility and people watched. Later, I took Karie to Catarina to see the mirador there, where you can see Granada (Karie will be going there later) and Lake Nicaragua, and then we checked out some shops. I promised that the pottery is best in San Juan de Oriente (my training town) and she agreed once we arrived. We both bargained and bought some pieces. We also went to a workshop and the local artisans showed us everything in their shop and the process of making the pottery. They were very eager to share their work with us and this was a very neat experience for both of us. After a long, hot day, we headed back up to Managua to catch the bus to Boaco.
We finally arrived in Boaco in the evening, just in time to walk to Boaco arriba and find a restaurant for dinner. I invited my little sister to join us and we had a great time and good conversation. It was fun because we spoke Spanish—usually when I’m around other Americans we speak English, but it made more sense to speak Spanish since my host sister was there. I enjoyed this and I feel like I was able to learn some things from Karie too. After dinner we hung out at my house and relaxed because we were very exhausted from the travel.
The next morning, I cooked breakfast for us—oatmeal, eggs, tajadas (platanos fritos), and fresh pineapple. Delicious :) After breakfast, Karie did the dishes while I heated water for bucket baths. The water in my house is freezing, so I figured bucket baths wouldn’t be terrible as long as we could have hot water. I think this was Karie’s first bucket bath, so she got to enjoy a little bit of the Peace Corps experience.
Fresh and clean, we headed out to explore Boaco. I took Karie to Boaco arriba, now in the light, to see the park, church, the lighthouse, and then to the panaderia for a snack. We sat in the park and enjoyed the scenery and the gentle breeze. Then, we walked to Boaco abajo to see the market and take pictures. It was such a fun experience because I haven’t taken pictures of the market yet mainly because I live here and I usually don’t take pictures when I’m walking around by myself. Karie inspired me and we got a lot of great pictures, played with the kids in the market, and talked to some locals. I made sure to direct Karie to some shops with sacos (strong Nica bags made from plastic) so that she could carry her pottery easier on the way back to Managua. We then headed back to the house and Karie packed up her things. It was then time to say goodbye. We took pictures with each other and then with my host sis and mom. They seemed to enjoy having a visitor. I then took a taxi to the bus terminal to help Karie with her things and made sure she got a seat on the bus. It was so good having a visitor and playing tour guide and I was sure sad to see her go. She has plans to visit Granada, the Isla de Ometepe, and a place near San Juan del Sur. Sounds like some fun Christmas plans :)
Although I was just in San Juan was a short visit, I’m still planning on going back for Christmas to spend time with my old host family. I’m really excited to see my family there and hang out with friends, including Kellie who’s going back too. It should be fun!
I’m posting pictures on Facebook so make sure to check them out!
I left early to meet Karie in Managua where she was staying and then we headed down to Masaya. We met up with Kellie and took Karie to all of the local attractions, including the Nica market and the cleaner tourist market. Kellie showed us the mirador in Masaya, the one I hadn’t seen before, and it was beautiful. The lake is bigger than the one in Catarina and the view was breathtaking. Thanks Kellie! We hung out in the park for a little and enjoyed the tranquility and people watched. Later, I took Karie to Catarina to see the mirador there, where you can see Granada (Karie will be going there later) and Lake Nicaragua, and then we checked out some shops. I promised that the pottery is best in San Juan de Oriente (my training town) and she agreed once we arrived. We both bargained and bought some pieces. We also went to a workshop and the local artisans showed us everything in their shop and the process of making the pottery. They were very eager to share their work with us and this was a very neat experience for both of us. After a long, hot day, we headed back up to Managua to catch the bus to Boaco.
We finally arrived in Boaco in the evening, just in time to walk to Boaco arriba and find a restaurant for dinner. I invited my little sister to join us and we had a great time and good conversation. It was fun because we spoke Spanish—usually when I’m around other Americans we speak English, but it made more sense to speak Spanish since my host sister was there. I enjoyed this and I feel like I was able to learn some things from Karie too. After dinner we hung out at my house and relaxed because we were very exhausted from the travel.
The next morning, I cooked breakfast for us—oatmeal, eggs, tajadas (platanos fritos), and fresh pineapple. Delicious :) After breakfast, Karie did the dishes while I heated water for bucket baths. The water in my house is freezing, so I figured bucket baths wouldn’t be terrible as long as we could have hot water. I think this was Karie’s first bucket bath, so she got to enjoy a little bit of the Peace Corps experience.
Fresh and clean, we headed out to explore Boaco. I took Karie to Boaco arriba, now in the light, to see the park, church, the lighthouse, and then to the panaderia for a snack. We sat in the park and enjoyed the scenery and the gentle breeze. Then, we walked to Boaco abajo to see the market and take pictures. It was such a fun experience because I haven’t taken pictures of the market yet mainly because I live here and I usually don’t take pictures when I’m walking around by myself. Karie inspired me and we got a lot of great pictures, played with the kids in the market, and talked to some locals. I made sure to direct Karie to some shops with sacos (strong Nica bags made from plastic) so that she could carry her pottery easier on the way back to Managua. We then headed back to the house and Karie packed up her things. It was then time to say goodbye. We took pictures with each other and then with my host sis and mom. They seemed to enjoy having a visitor. I then took a taxi to the bus terminal to help Karie with her things and made sure she got a seat on the bus. It was so good having a visitor and playing tour guide and I was sure sad to see her go. She has plans to visit Granada, the Isla de Ometepe, and a place near San Juan del Sur. Sounds like some fun Christmas plans :)
Although I was just in San Juan was a short visit, I’m still planning on going back for Christmas to spend time with my old host family. I’m really excited to see my family there and hang out with friends, including Kellie who’s going back too. It should be fun!
I’m posting pictures on Facebook so make sure to check them out!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Christmas is coming!
So we finally started putting up Christmas decorations which was very exciting because I LOVE Christmas :) We put Christmas music on and started decorating. My host brother totally gets into decorating for holidays—it’s really cute. He spent so much time making a Christmas tree out of lights for the front window.
Then he had me dust off the Christmas ornaments and sort them into different sizes for him to put them on the tree—gosh I thought I was super organized! He did a great job with the ornaments and then started putting on the lights, to which I told him you are always supposed to put the lights on first, but he said then the ornaments hide the lights. Who is to win this fight? He let me help with the lights and I’d say our combined work made the tree look beautiful.
Yesterday I borrowed movies from Steve (my sitemate who is a small business PCV) because I had been wanting to watch a movie and my host brother and I couldn’t find any. So, I bought ice cream and we watched a movie with the sparkle of the Christmas tree in behind us. It was so wonderful. Did I say I love Christmas? :)
For now the Christmas decorating continues as Jasser sets up a full nativity display including Bethlehem. It should be interesting—he always works so hard on these things.
This is the beginning of what I'm sure will be quite a display!
Yesterday I borrowed movies from Steve (my sitemate who is a small business PCV) because I had been wanting to watch a movie and my host brother and I couldn’t find any. So, I bought ice cream and we watched a movie with the sparkle of the Christmas tree in behind us. It was so wonderful. Did I say I love Christmas? :)
Today I decided I was going to reorganize some things in my room, which also meant moving out some things that the family had left in my room. My host bro said it would be ok—I did ask first! So, I rearranged things and I feel so much better, not so crammed. As my parents know, I love to rearrange things and organize. It just makes me feel better about the space I’m living in, and if I’m gonna be here for 2 years, I might as well feel comfortable. Speaking of living here for 2 years, I had lunch at home the other day with an aunt, my host sis, and host mom. I’m not sure how we got onto this topic, but the aunt started teasing that I was going to marry Jasser, because apparently there was a rumor going around that we were married. Then, my host mom pretty much said that she wanted me to stay there (even after the 2 years) and marry Jasser. This is not the first time she’s mentioned this. Usually it’s kind of awkward, but this time it was fuinny with the aunt. She started saying that Jasser is too small for me (he’s a little shorter than me and pretty flaco—thin). They were joking around and I was laughing and then they asked me, what I think. I said (in Spanish), “I need a big man for security”. The aunt was laughing hysterically and then they all started saying poor Jasser. I think I cleared up the “marrying Jasser” situation though.
For now the Christmas decorating continues as Jasser sets up a full nativity display including Bethlehem. It should be interesting—he always works so hard on these things.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Better
I survived the bacteria. I just have to do another test tomorrow to make sure that it’s completely gone, but I feel tons better, besides feeling full to the brim from my host mom’s food. So, I told her last week (conveniently right before I happened to get sick) that it would be better if I bought and cooked my own food because I felt bad wasting her food because I didn’t eat that much and I didn’t want her to worry about what to buy me, because often I don’t know what I want to eat. I gave her the money for the last week and told her from then on I would buy and make my own food and she doesn’t need to worry about my food—I also told her I didn’t want to offend her, but it’s just easier for me to take care of the food situation. Anyway, for the past week, I’ve been making my own food which hasn’t been too hard because I was getting over my sickness so I wasn’t eating much. However, I think my host mom is worried that I’m not eating enough because she keeps making food and telling me to eat it and watching me make my food and making weird looks like I’m eating some strange, foreign material (you know, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches). I feel kind of awkward though because I’m not paying her but she keeps giving me food. I know our conversation was clear last week because she repeated back to me what I had told her and she saw me bring groceries home from the market and she watched me make my own meals. I’m not quite sure what to do because I want to keep buying my own food so I can eat what I want, but I don’t want her to expect me to pay her later because I can’t afford to be buying my own food and then paying her as well. Weird. Things here are weird is all I can say. But, it’s just another weird thing to get over and I have to make it unweird and deal with it :) That’s what we get when cultures clash…
For now, I’ll just keep on keeping on and find something else to worry about, like my parents and brother being in Hawaii right now. Hope they’re having fun, but not too much haha I do have some fun plans coming up. One of my professors from Western Oregon is coming to Nicaragua, not quite sure why she planned to come here, but I’m excited to hang out with her. I’m going to go into Managua and then show her around Masaya and where I used to live and then hopefully bring her back to Boaco for the night to check things out here. By the way, I went around yesterday to the hotels here comparing the services, rooms, etc. so I’m prepared for visitors :) Of course, we have an extra room at our house, but if you want your own space, there are cheap (and clean) hotels here, although the rooms are very small. But do you really need a lot of room when you just sleep there? Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing some friends in Masaya too and hopefully we’ll take lots of fun pictures so stay tuned.
For now, I’ll just keep on keeping on and find something else to worry about, like my parents and brother being in Hawaii right now. Hope they’re having fun, but not too much haha I do have some fun plans coming up. One of my professors from Western Oregon is coming to Nicaragua, not quite sure why she planned to come here, but I’m excited to hang out with her. I’m going to go into Managua and then show her around Masaya and where I used to live and then hopefully bring her back to Boaco for the night to check things out here. By the way, I went around yesterday to the hotels here comparing the services, rooms, etc. so I’m prepared for visitors :) Of course, we have an extra room at our house, but if you want your own space, there are cheap (and clean) hotels here, although the rooms are very small. But do you really need a lot of room when you just sleep there? Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing some friends in Masaya too and hopefully we’ll take lots of fun pictures so stay tuned.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Bacteria
I’ve kept a low profile this past week mainly because I’ve been sick and I wasn’t able to be up and about. Unfortunately, I ate some food that wasn’t stored well (not from my host family) and I ended up getting an intestinal bacterial infection. I’ve gotten stomach bacteria within the first month of being here in Nicaragua, but this is much worse. I ate the food, which seemed to be just fine, around 5:30pm on Monday and I felt fine. A little later I felt like I kind of had an upset stomach so I ate some soda crackers. I was feeling really tired so I went to bed around 8:30pm. This wasn’t too unusual because I was getting over a cold so I didn’t have much energy. I woke up around 10:30pm and my stomach felt a little weird but I laid in bed for a little while longer. I then decided that it felt like I might throw up so I grabbed my water bottle and flashlight, put my hair up just in case, and planted myself on the bathroom floor next to the open toilet. Well, to say the least, I was right in my prediction and I did feel a little better after that so I went back to bed. However, about an hour later I felt the very same way so I headed back to the bathroom to take care of things. I was feeling a little weak by this point because I had thrown up quite a few times and things were coming out the other end too. So, I didn’t have much of anything in my stomach. I stayed in the bathroom because I felt this wouldn’t be the end of it. I draped my bath towel around me as I found a semi-comfortable position on the floor and camped out until my stomach decided to get rid of whatever else was left in there.
I did end up going back to my bed, but after the 5th trip to the bathroom, intense stomach cramps, and crawling to my bed, I decided to call the PC medical officer on duty. I explained my situation and she instructed me to take Dramamine to hopefully stop the vomiting. She said if I could hold that down for at least an hour, then I could start drinking rehydration salts. Fortunately, my stomach accepted it and I began drinking suero (my new best friend) to rehydrate. She also told me that in the morning I would need to go to the lab and do a test to see I for sure had bacteria. I didn’t know how I was going to make it there in the morning, but I didn’t have enough energy to worry about that right then. My body allowed me to sleep for a little with a few trips to the bathroom to take care of business.
In the morning around 8:30am, I pulled together as much strength as I could, which meant putting on a zip-up jacket and walking out of my bedroom. I woke up my host brother and asked if he would go to the lab with me, and apparently he didn’t realize the urgency of this request as he got ready, fixed his hair, etc. I felt like death and could barely walk so I told him that we needed to take a taxi. Usually it only takes about 8minutes to walk to the lab which is in Boaco arriba, but there was no way I was going to make it on foot. I sat on our porch as we waited for a taxi and then we hopped in.
As we walked to the lab, my bro put his arm around me to help me walk. There was road construction so the taxi had dropped us off about a half a block away and as we were walking, my flip-flop caught a cobblestone and broke. So, I then had to walk with only one flip-flop the rest of the way, and up the narrow stair case to the lab. I got some weird looks with only one flip-flop, in pajamas, and I probably looked like I was going to throw up or pass out. I managed to tell the lady that I needed a test which she shouted back to the doctor—no need for privacy anymore :) I was too sick to be embarrassed, fortunately. She then told me to come back at 11am, but I asked if they could do it earlier as I was clearly in pain and I needed test results to tell me what kind of medicine I could get. They said 10am would be fine. Ok, so I returned to my house and laid on the couch in pain. My host mom came home and then found out what was going on and got upset that I didn’t tell them last night while I was sick. Well, when your head is in the toilet and you have only enough energy to crawl back and forth from your bed and the bathroom, going to wake up your host family to explain in Spanish that you’re not feeling well is not exactly the number one priority. I told the PC doctor that I dropped off the specimen and I had to wait to get the results, and she told me to call her back after that.
The next thing I knew, the living room was filled with my host mom’s side of the family—he mom, two sisters, and two nieces all with their own opinions of what should be done. As I laid in pain, they asked me about diarrhea, vomiting, what I ate that caused this—of course all things that I did not want to be thinking about, nor discussing with the whole family. They all suggested their secrets to cure what I had—lemonade, alka-seltzer, etc. I told them several times that I spoke with the PC doctor and I had to wait for my test results, but they kept talking. Finally, 10am came and my host bro went to the lab for me to pick up my results, and sure enough I had bacteria. I had to wait a half an hour for the PC doctor to get back to me and then she told me what medicine I could take. I took a taxi with my host bro to the pharmacy and got the goods and then was on my way home, but the taxi had to take others to Boaco arriba first. I was just so anxious to get home and lay down.
The doctor instructed me to not eat anything dairy or fried, but I could eat fruits, veggies, or bread. I actually had no appetite so I went straight to my room and hoped the meds would kick in soon. Unfortunately, the doctor told me that the diarrhea would continue through the next day, but I needed to keep myself hydrated with the suero, which tastes disgusting (salty, sugar water). I continued to take Dramamine and took Tylenol as well. I got a little sleep, but felt absolutely miserable. That day was pretty much a blur as people came in and out of my room and my host mom tried to get me to eat, but my body just couldn’t do it. I did eat 3 bananos that day and drank some oatmeal drink, which actually turned out to help because it had some substance and tasted good.
That night (Tuesday) was the main celebrations for Purisima, so the streets were filled with music and people running around setting off fireworks. I could only hear what was going on, but others came in and told me. My counterpart came over worried as ever and wanted me to go to the hospital, but I told him things were under control and I had talked to the doctor. He then wanted to call my PC boss, but I told him no, that I had already talked to the doctor and there was nothing my boss could do. About a half an hour later I got a text from my boss telling me that he called her, but she assumed I already talked to the doctor. After all the craziness wore off (inside and outside of the house), I finally got to sleep.
I felt a little better Wednesday, but still couldn’t eat much—I had a banano, crackers, some cooked potatoes, and lots of suero. I had a little more energy, but realized that it wasn’t much as I got tired very easily after walking around the house. My host mom heated up water and I took a bucket bath, which made me feel a lot better too.
Thursday I felt much better, but still had some stomach pain. I poached an egg in the microwave and ate in on top of soda crackers—one of my favorites that mom always made (poached eggs on crackers). This was some comfort food and I knew it would get some good substance in me. I rested in my room and then later had a pb & j sandwich. I ate very slowly as I still wasn’t feeling able to eat much even though I was hungry and knew I needed food.
I lounged on the couch and watched tv and was bored as ever. Then, I decided that I needed to get out of the house to check the mail. The post office is only a half block away and I was short of breath by the time I got there, even though I walked slow, not Nica pace, but pretty slow. There was nothing in the box, but the lady at the desk informed me that I had a package. What a surprise! I got a package from my aunt and uncle in Arizona. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any money to the post office with me because I wasn’t expecting a package, so I had to go back home, get 5 cords, and then go back to pay for the package. I walked back home, excitedly with my package. I struggled to open it—a mixture of a very good tape job and my own weakness from being sick. After opening it, an overflowing stocking with individually wrapped presents came pouring out. I almost started crying because of this wonderful surprise. I had felt a little sad the past few days being sick and without friends or family, so this was just what I needed. Thank you :)
I did end up going back to my bed, but after the 5th trip to the bathroom, intense stomach cramps, and crawling to my bed, I decided to call the PC medical officer on duty. I explained my situation and she instructed me to take Dramamine to hopefully stop the vomiting. She said if I could hold that down for at least an hour, then I could start drinking rehydration salts. Fortunately, my stomach accepted it and I began drinking suero (my new best friend) to rehydrate. She also told me that in the morning I would need to go to the lab and do a test to see I for sure had bacteria. I didn’t know how I was going to make it there in the morning, but I didn’t have enough energy to worry about that right then. My body allowed me to sleep for a little with a few trips to the bathroom to take care of business.
In the morning around 8:30am, I pulled together as much strength as I could, which meant putting on a zip-up jacket and walking out of my bedroom. I woke up my host brother and asked if he would go to the lab with me, and apparently he didn’t realize the urgency of this request as he got ready, fixed his hair, etc. I felt like death and could barely walk so I told him that we needed to take a taxi. Usually it only takes about 8minutes to walk to the lab which is in Boaco arriba, but there was no way I was going to make it on foot. I sat on our porch as we waited for a taxi and then we hopped in.
As we walked to the lab, my bro put his arm around me to help me walk. There was road construction so the taxi had dropped us off about a half a block away and as we were walking, my flip-flop caught a cobblestone and broke. So, I then had to walk with only one flip-flop the rest of the way, and up the narrow stair case to the lab. I got some weird looks with only one flip-flop, in pajamas, and I probably looked like I was going to throw up or pass out. I managed to tell the lady that I needed a test which she shouted back to the doctor—no need for privacy anymore :) I was too sick to be embarrassed, fortunately. She then told me to come back at 11am, but I asked if they could do it earlier as I was clearly in pain and I needed test results to tell me what kind of medicine I could get. They said 10am would be fine. Ok, so I returned to my house and laid on the couch in pain. My host mom came home and then found out what was going on and got upset that I didn’t tell them last night while I was sick. Well, when your head is in the toilet and you have only enough energy to crawl back and forth from your bed and the bathroom, going to wake up your host family to explain in Spanish that you’re not feeling well is not exactly the number one priority. I told the PC doctor that I dropped off the specimen and I had to wait to get the results, and she told me to call her back after that.
The next thing I knew, the living room was filled with my host mom’s side of the family—he mom, two sisters, and two nieces all with their own opinions of what should be done. As I laid in pain, they asked me about diarrhea, vomiting, what I ate that caused this—of course all things that I did not want to be thinking about, nor discussing with the whole family. They all suggested their secrets to cure what I had—lemonade, alka-seltzer, etc. I told them several times that I spoke with the PC doctor and I had to wait for my test results, but they kept talking. Finally, 10am came and my host bro went to the lab for me to pick up my results, and sure enough I had bacteria. I had to wait a half an hour for the PC doctor to get back to me and then she told me what medicine I could take. I took a taxi with my host bro to the pharmacy and got the goods and then was on my way home, but the taxi had to take others to Boaco arriba first. I was just so anxious to get home and lay down.
The doctor instructed me to not eat anything dairy or fried, but I could eat fruits, veggies, or bread. I actually had no appetite so I went straight to my room and hoped the meds would kick in soon. Unfortunately, the doctor told me that the diarrhea would continue through the next day, but I needed to keep myself hydrated with the suero, which tastes disgusting (salty, sugar water). I continued to take Dramamine and took Tylenol as well. I got a little sleep, but felt absolutely miserable. That day was pretty much a blur as people came in and out of my room and my host mom tried to get me to eat, but my body just couldn’t do it. I did eat 3 bananos that day and drank some oatmeal drink, which actually turned out to help because it had some substance and tasted good.
That night (Tuesday) was the main celebrations for Purisima, so the streets were filled with music and people running around setting off fireworks. I could only hear what was going on, but others came in and told me. My counterpart came over worried as ever and wanted me to go to the hospital, but I told him things were under control and I had talked to the doctor. He then wanted to call my PC boss, but I told him no, that I had already talked to the doctor and there was nothing my boss could do. About a half an hour later I got a text from my boss telling me that he called her, but she assumed I already talked to the doctor. After all the craziness wore off (inside and outside of the house), I finally got to sleep.
I felt a little better Wednesday, but still couldn’t eat much—I had a banano, crackers, some cooked potatoes, and lots of suero. I had a little more energy, but realized that it wasn’t much as I got tired very easily after walking around the house. My host mom heated up water and I took a bucket bath, which made me feel a lot better too.
Thursday I felt much better, but still had some stomach pain. I poached an egg in the microwave and ate in on top of soda crackers—one of my favorites that mom always made (poached eggs on crackers). This was some comfort food and I knew it would get some good substance in me. I rested in my room and then later had a pb & j sandwich. I ate very slowly as I still wasn’t feeling able to eat much even though I was hungry and knew I needed food.
I lounged on the couch and watched tv and was bored as ever. Then, I decided that I needed to get out of the house to check the mail. The post office is only a half block away and I was short of breath by the time I got there, even though I walked slow, not Nica pace, but pretty slow. There was nothing in the box, but the lady at the desk informed me that I had a package. What a surprise! I got a package from my aunt and uncle in Arizona. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any money to the post office with me because I wasn’t expecting a package, so I had to go back home, get 5 cords, and then go back to pay for the package. I walked back home, excitedly with my package. I struggled to open it—a mixture of a very good tape job and my own weakness from being sick. After opening it, an overflowing stocking with individually wrapped presents came pouring out. I almost started crying because of this wonderful surprise. I had felt a little sad the past few days being sick and without friends or family, so this was just what I needed. Thank you :)
I’m feeling a lot better and have eaten more today. I hope to be ready to eat ice cream again by next week ;)
 |
| My host bro's Purisima's display--he worked so hard on it and I thought it was pretty cute. |
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Sickness
So sickness hit me after riding in a truck with high winds and cool air for about 2 1/2 hours and I've been laying low for the past few days. It's a head cold so I haven't had much energy, but I hate being cooped up in the house all day so I didn't rest as much as I should have. I lost my appetite in the middle of the day the past two days and I could tell my host mom was worried about me, but I just wasn't feeling like myself. I got some medicine and it's getting a little better. What started out with a headache, sneezes, and sinus pressure, has moved down to my throat and lots of coughs. My voice was scratchy last night and I thought it was as good as gone, but it came back today. My ears were plugged and my nose has been a little stuffy, but as the day progresses, the symptoms lessen, thankfully :) I hope I'll be back to my normal self soon because I have been wanting to get back into my workout routine.
Today was pretty fun because we had a little get together with the Boaco PCV's. We all met here in Boaco and went to Steve's (small business volunteer) house and then disbursed to explore the town a little for those who haven't been here before. It was neat because I got to play tour guide :) I like being the leader, but it was a little hard with my scratchy voice and plugged ears haha Anyway, we ended up going back to Boaco arriba to La Pizzeria which is owned by a gringo. We had to wait awhile, but it was great pizza--well worth the wait and it wasn't that expensive. I certainly can't eat there everyday on a PCV's budget, but if anybody wants to visit, we are going!
So, there's not much else going on right now...there are some more Catholic holidays coming up--I can't keep up with all of them! We'll probably go around and visit houses and eat lots of food--that's an international rule for holidays :)
I found out that my host mom's mom (my abuela--grandma) has wireless internet in her house, what?! Yeah, and she only lives a few blocks away so I'm thinking I'll be visiting grandma more often ;) Her daughter and her kids live there too so that's why they have internet, but I was definitely excited to find that out. My friend who worked at one of the cybers here in Boaco did let me use the internet there for free, but he doesn't work there anymore--not because he got fired for not charging me haha He's doing something else, but I can't remember right now.
Well, that's all the news for now; make sure you add me to your list for Christmas cards! (The Boaco address)
Today was pretty fun because we had a little get together with the Boaco PCV's. We all met here in Boaco and went to Steve's (small business volunteer) house and then disbursed to explore the town a little for those who haven't been here before. It was neat because I got to play tour guide :) I like being the leader, but it was a little hard with my scratchy voice and plugged ears haha Anyway, we ended up going back to Boaco arriba to La Pizzeria which is owned by a gringo. We had to wait awhile, but it was great pizza--well worth the wait and it wasn't that expensive. I certainly can't eat there everyday on a PCV's budget, but if anybody wants to visit, we are going!
So, there's not much else going on right now...there are some more Catholic holidays coming up--I can't keep up with all of them! We'll probably go around and visit houses and eat lots of food--that's an international rule for holidays :)
I found out that my host mom's mom (my abuela--grandma) has wireless internet in her house, what?! Yeah, and she only lives a few blocks away so I'm thinking I'll be visiting grandma more often ;) Her daughter and her kids live there too so that's why they have internet, but I was definitely excited to find that out. My friend who worked at one of the cybers here in Boaco did let me use the internet there for free, but he doesn't work there anymore--not because he got fired for not charging me haha He's doing something else, but I can't remember right now.
Well, that's all the news for now; make sure you add me to your list for Christmas cards! (The Boaco address)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
3 Months!
Today marks my 3 month anniversary of being here in Nicaragua! Can't believe it and I know the next 24 months will fly by as well. Thanks for following my adventures and supporting me in my service. Feel free to write :)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
What’s been going on (brace yourselves; it’s a long ride ahead)
So it’s been almost a week since I’ve been in Boaco and not too much has been going on around here. I did get the money thing resolved with my host mom, although I’m still paying more than the other PCVs. After the 6 weeks, I’m going to make my own food though.
After leaving Managua on Tuesday, I found out that one of my best friends here, Jess, decided that she wanted to leave Nicaragua. I was heartbroken to hear that, but I know that she’s gone through a lot being sick and not feeling the same after having Dengue. Fortunately though, Peace Corps does a good job supporting their volunteers, especially in these situations, and the medical team decided that it would be best to have Kellie and me go back to Managua on Thanksgiving so we could all be together for emotional support.
I left Thursday morning and got on the bus in Boaco to see Steve, my site mate (small business) getting on the bus too. I waved him over and he said I was lucky because he was getting off at the empalme (20 minutes down the road) and then getting a ride with an ex-volunteer in his car into Managua. So we caught up with Scott, who was a TEFL PCV on the island of Ometepe, where my friend Andrew is now. Scott works for an NGO now in Boaco and he drove us in to Managua, which was nice.
I made it over to the hotel and met up with Kellie and Jess. It was good being together for the day and being able to say goodbye in person instead of over the phone, but it was still sad. I’m really going to miss my friend and I’m bummed that we can’t continue to share stories about our interesting lives in Nicaragua. She can always make me laugh. I know that it’s best for her to go back to the U.S. and take of herself though. I hope we can meet up again later in life :)
Because I was leaving Managua on Friday to return to Boaco, this coincided with my host brother going home to Boaco (he studies in Managua during the week). This was nice because I then had someone to ride the bus with. Taking a taxi over to the bus terminal to meet him was absolutely crazy though. Kellie and I waited for the taxi to arrive at the PC office, which it came a little late… The plan was for him to drop her off at one bus terminal and then me after at another terminal, since our buses go in different directions. Well, there was an accident or something that held up traffic for awhile. I was supposed to meet my host bro at the terminal to catch a 3:30pm bus but I had to call to let him know I wouldn’t make that one, but we could take the 4pm. After we dropped off Kellie, we headed out and were stopped again in traffic—this time there was a minor accident with a bus and a car. The front bumper/light of the car was a little crunched, but both vehicles were taking up the whole road and not being moved—there weren’t any people in them either. So, my taxi driver did what only seemed natural in this situation; he drove up the curb, drove down the sidewalk a little to pass the bus, and then entered back onto the road. We weren’t in a jeep or anything, just a little beat up car. I love how this was totally acceptable to do; well there weren’t any police around…
We finally got to the bus terminal right at 4pm, and with this culture usually being late or on “Nica time”, the buses are unusually timely to leave the station. The 4pm bus was just pulling away as I entered the terminal and it was crammed pack with people so I wasn’t going to attempt to run after it. I found my host brother and I apologized because he had to wait so long, but he’s pretty chill and wasn’t upset. So, we had a half an hour to hang out before the next bus so we chatted.
The 4:30pm bus pulled up and we got on quickly in order to get a seat as it filled up. As we pulled away from the terminal and drove out of Managua, the bus made some weird noises which worried me as we began our 2 hour trek out into the campo. Many buses make weird noises here though, so I was optimistic. Our ride was okay, but we drove pretty slow at times. It wasn’t until it was dark and we were still quite a ways from Boaco that our bus started grumbling and jerking. Hmmm…I definitely felt comforted with my host bro sitting next to me instead of some random Nicas, but I was still worried whether or not we would have to sleep overnight in the bus if it broke down. I wasn’t the only worried one as other gasped around me when the driver attempted to change gears and the bus did not agree. The country hills are very hard on these buses. Eventually, we made it in to Boaco, just 2 ½ hours later. I was just thankful to be on stable ground and off of that bus. I’ve had so many crazy bus experiences here that I could probably write a book about them. Anyway, we made it home and ate dinner with Hazzel and my host mom (Carmen).
Saturday, was a very Catholic filled day. My host brother told me that he was going to speak at the mass so I said I would go with him and take pictures. It was a day to celebrate the Virgin Mary—I’m not exactly sure what exactly it all was about, like why this day and what specifically they were celebrating, but it was about Mary. Yasser and I went to the church but we were a little late getting there so he said that he probably wouldn’t be speaking. The church was overflowing with people so we weeded our way through the sea of people to go up near the front. I got all kinds of stares. Then, if we hadn’t brought enough attention to ourselves pushing our way to the front during mass, Yasser wanted to go across to the other side in the very front of the church. I asked him if he was serious because it seemed like this wouldn’t be respectful, and I knew that in the Catholic church, when people cross the middle or go into the middle of the church, they make the cross motion (Ok, I’m not Catholic so I don’t know the terminology) and sort of half kneel. Well, I’m not Catholic so I was also worried that if I crossed the church in front of all these people and didn’t do the kneel cross motion I would disrespect a lot of people. I had to put all those worries aside because we crossed anyway. I then stood awkwardly while Yasser talked to the other youth group members.
Yasser decided that he was going to speak and discussed his lines with the group members, but then realized he had forgotten his camera battery. I had mine, but he was determined to go home and get his. So, again we pushed our way through the mass, but this time we were going to the back of the church so I could see everyone’s faces as I was asking them to move aside so I could exit the church. What a day filled with pena (embarrassment). I hung out with Hazzel in the church for awhile and then she sensed my boredom and we went to the park to get ice cream. It was a really hot day too, so being pressed up against people in a overcrowded church was not pleasant. The ice cream was refreshing and Yasser met up with us afterward. Needless to say, he did not speak at church. After mass finished, they had a procession which resembled a parade with mini floats representing all of the different barrios and their designs to celebrate Mary. Each “float” they carried had a figure of Mary (of varying sizes) with flowers and other adornments. It was interesting. We stood on a street corner to view the entire procession. Something that’s even more interesting (in some people’s opinion) about these processions is that you don’t just watch it go by once and go home, you then race to another corner to watch the very same procession, walk with the procession for awhile, cut down some other streets and watch it again from another corner. At one corner a taxi tried to drive through a small break in the procession which upset a lot of people. One lady shouted “Que vulgaridad”. Although I kind of chuckled at the reaction and her statement, it was pretty disrespectful, but taxis try to get through everything any way they can (just like my curb driver).
We headed home after the procession returned back to the church and I was sure my face and scalp were sunburned. After eating lunch and hanging out for a bit, Yasser said we were invited to a house for more celebrations, so I went with him and Hazzel. The house was filled with plastic chairs, a band was outside, and there was a grand altar with a figure of the Virgin Mary with flashing blue Christmas lights, candles, and burning incense. This was interesting. We sat down and I asked Hazzel what we were going to do, and she said “pray”. So, a lady began and then they passed around the rosary praying the specific prayers bead by bead and then singing songs in between. At the end, they brought out food to everyone and little baskets for us to carry our food home. I’ve never experience anything like this so it was a good cultural experience to say the least. After going home, Yasser informed me that they had a youth group get together, so we went over to what I guess was a convent. We chatted with others for awhile and then a nun came out and asked the students to share about the group, etc. She then put some pendants of Mary on an altar and asked the group to go up one by one to get a pendant to wear. I didn’t go up there, but she approached me after and said I could get one, but I explained, respectfully, that I wasn’t Catholic. A girl in the youth group asked me what religion I was—Nicas are very direct with this question! I told her I am a Christian. The next question Nicas ask after that is “You’re Evangelical?” Evangelical is very different here and I feel like the Catholics and Evangelicals don’t quite get along. I tried to explain that I don’t belong to a certain denomination, but I believe in God and the trinity. She then asked “But you don’t believe in the Virgin Mary?” I felt so uncomfortable because I was amidst this group of Catholics on the day they were having a large celebration of the Virgin Mary and staring at a figure of her and had to explain that I don’t celebrate her sanctity. It was very complicated, but I don’t think she was offended. I’m just surprised at how direct Nicas are regarding religion. The rest of the night was fine, but I kept thinking about how quite a few PCVs have been bothered by their host families or community members trying to force religion on them or trying to scare them into believing something. It’s frustrating how some people can be a little too extreme and push people away from faith with their “good intentions”.
Following this, my host mom asked me the next day if I was going to become Catholic. I told her no and Yasser started laughing. I’m assuming my response wasn’t rude then. It was quite a Catholic weekend.
Highlight: yesterday I got a package from my grandparents filled with great supplies for my classroom and peanut M&M’s :) I forgot to take a picture of the stash and then I didn’t want to put it all back in box after I had organized it all and put it away. Anyway, shout out to Grandpa Al and Grandma Milly for sending me treasures! Thanks! Love you :)
After leaving Managua on Tuesday, I found out that one of my best friends here, Jess, decided that she wanted to leave Nicaragua. I was heartbroken to hear that, but I know that she’s gone through a lot being sick and not feeling the same after having Dengue. Fortunately though, Peace Corps does a good job supporting their volunteers, especially in these situations, and the medical team decided that it would be best to have Kellie and me go back to Managua on Thanksgiving so we could all be together for emotional support.
I left Thursday morning and got on the bus in Boaco to see Steve, my site mate (small business) getting on the bus too. I waved him over and he said I was lucky because he was getting off at the empalme (20 minutes down the road) and then getting a ride with an ex-volunteer in his car into Managua. So we caught up with Scott, who was a TEFL PCV on the island of Ometepe, where my friend Andrew is now. Scott works for an NGO now in Boaco and he drove us in to Managua, which was nice.
I made it over to the hotel and met up with Kellie and Jess. It was good being together for the day and being able to say goodbye in person instead of over the phone, but it was still sad. I’m really going to miss my friend and I’m bummed that we can’t continue to share stories about our interesting lives in Nicaragua. She can always make me laugh. I know that it’s best for her to go back to the U.S. and take of herself though. I hope we can meet up again later in life :)
Because I was leaving Managua on Friday to return to Boaco, this coincided with my host brother going home to Boaco (he studies in Managua during the week). This was nice because I then had someone to ride the bus with. Taking a taxi over to the bus terminal to meet him was absolutely crazy though. Kellie and I waited for the taxi to arrive at the PC office, which it came a little late… The plan was for him to drop her off at one bus terminal and then me after at another terminal, since our buses go in different directions. Well, there was an accident or something that held up traffic for awhile. I was supposed to meet my host bro at the terminal to catch a 3:30pm bus but I had to call to let him know I wouldn’t make that one, but we could take the 4pm. After we dropped off Kellie, we headed out and were stopped again in traffic—this time there was a minor accident with a bus and a car. The front bumper/light of the car was a little crunched, but both vehicles were taking up the whole road and not being moved—there weren’t any people in them either. So, my taxi driver did what only seemed natural in this situation; he drove up the curb, drove down the sidewalk a little to pass the bus, and then entered back onto the road. We weren’t in a jeep or anything, just a little beat up car. I love how this was totally acceptable to do; well there weren’t any police around…
We finally got to the bus terminal right at 4pm, and with this culture usually being late or on “Nica time”, the buses are unusually timely to leave the station. The 4pm bus was just pulling away as I entered the terminal and it was crammed pack with people so I wasn’t going to attempt to run after it. I found my host brother and I apologized because he had to wait so long, but he’s pretty chill and wasn’t upset. So, we had a half an hour to hang out before the next bus so we chatted.
The 4:30pm bus pulled up and we got on quickly in order to get a seat as it filled up. As we pulled away from the terminal and drove out of Managua, the bus made some weird noises which worried me as we began our 2 hour trek out into the campo. Many buses make weird noises here though, so I was optimistic. Our ride was okay, but we drove pretty slow at times. It wasn’t until it was dark and we were still quite a ways from Boaco that our bus started grumbling and jerking. Hmmm…I definitely felt comforted with my host bro sitting next to me instead of some random Nicas, but I was still worried whether or not we would have to sleep overnight in the bus if it broke down. I wasn’t the only worried one as other gasped around me when the driver attempted to change gears and the bus did not agree. The country hills are very hard on these buses. Eventually, we made it in to Boaco, just 2 ½ hours later. I was just thankful to be on stable ground and off of that bus. I’ve had so many crazy bus experiences here that I could probably write a book about them. Anyway, we made it home and ate dinner with Hazzel and my host mom (Carmen).
Saturday, was a very Catholic filled day. My host brother told me that he was going to speak at the mass so I said I would go with him and take pictures. It was a day to celebrate the Virgin Mary—I’m not exactly sure what exactly it all was about, like why this day and what specifically they were celebrating, but it was about Mary. Yasser and I went to the church but we were a little late getting there so he said that he probably wouldn’t be speaking. The church was overflowing with people so we weeded our way through the sea of people to go up near the front. I got all kinds of stares. Then, if we hadn’t brought enough attention to ourselves pushing our way to the front during mass, Yasser wanted to go across to the other side in the very front of the church. I asked him if he was serious because it seemed like this wouldn’t be respectful, and I knew that in the Catholic church, when people cross the middle or go into the middle of the church, they make the cross motion (Ok, I’m not Catholic so I don’t know the terminology) and sort of half kneel. Well, I’m not Catholic so I was also worried that if I crossed the church in front of all these people and didn’t do the kneel cross motion I would disrespect a lot of people. I had to put all those worries aside because we crossed anyway. I then stood awkwardly while Yasser talked to the other youth group members.
Yasser decided that he was going to speak and discussed his lines with the group members, but then realized he had forgotten his camera battery. I had mine, but he was determined to go home and get his. So, again we pushed our way through the mass, but this time we were going to the back of the church so I could see everyone’s faces as I was asking them to move aside so I could exit the church. What a day filled with pena (embarrassment). I hung out with Hazzel in the church for awhile and then she sensed my boredom and we went to the park to get ice cream. It was a really hot day too, so being pressed up against people in a overcrowded church was not pleasant. The ice cream was refreshing and Yasser met up with us afterward. Needless to say, he did not speak at church. After mass finished, they had a procession which resembled a parade with mini floats representing all of the different barrios and their designs to celebrate Mary. Each “float” they carried had a figure of Mary (of varying sizes) with flowers and other adornments. It was interesting. We stood on a street corner to view the entire procession. Something that’s even more interesting (in some people’s opinion) about these processions is that you don’t just watch it go by once and go home, you then race to another corner to watch the very same procession, walk with the procession for awhile, cut down some other streets and watch it again from another corner. At one corner a taxi tried to drive through a small break in the procession which upset a lot of people. One lady shouted “Que vulgaridad”. Although I kind of chuckled at the reaction and her statement, it was pretty disrespectful, but taxis try to get through everything any way they can (just like my curb driver).
We headed home after the procession returned back to the church and I was sure my face and scalp were sunburned. After eating lunch and hanging out for a bit, Yasser said we were invited to a house for more celebrations, so I went with him and Hazzel. The house was filled with plastic chairs, a band was outside, and there was a grand altar with a figure of the Virgin Mary with flashing blue Christmas lights, candles, and burning incense. This was interesting. We sat down and I asked Hazzel what we were going to do, and she said “pray”. So, a lady began and then they passed around the rosary praying the specific prayers bead by bead and then singing songs in between. At the end, they brought out food to everyone and little baskets for us to carry our food home. I’ve never experience anything like this so it was a good cultural experience to say the least. After going home, Yasser informed me that they had a youth group get together, so we went over to what I guess was a convent. We chatted with others for awhile and then a nun came out and asked the students to share about the group, etc. She then put some pendants of Mary on an altar and asked the group to go up one by one to get a pendant to wear. I didn’t go up there, but she approached me after and said I could get one, but I explained, respectfully, that I wasn’t Catholic. A girl in the youth group asked me what religion I was—Nicas are very direct with this question! I told her I am a Christian. The next question Nicas ask after that is “You’re Evangelical?” Evangelical is very different here and I feel like the Catholics and Evangelicals don’t quite get along. I tried to explain that I don’t belong to a certain denomination, but I believe in God and the trinity. She then asked “But you don’t believe in the Virgin Mary?” I felt so uncomfortable because I was amidst this group of Catholics on the day they were having a large celebration of the Virgin Mary and staring at a figure of her and had to explain that I don’t celebrate her sanctity. It was very complicated, but I don’t think she was offended. I’m just surprised at how direct Nicas are regarding religion. The rest of the night was fine, but I kept thinking about how quite a few PCVs have been bothered by their host families or community members trying to force religion on them or trying to scare them into believing something. It’s frustrating how some people can be a little too extreme and push people away from faith with their “good intentions”.
Following this, my host mom asked me the next day if I was going to become Catholic. I told her no and Yasser started laughing. I’m assuming my response wasn’t rude then. It was quite a Catholic weekend.
Highlight: yesterday I got a package from my grandparents filled with great supplies for my classroom and peanut M&M’s :) I forgot to take a picture of the stash and then I didn’t want to put it all back in box after I had organized it all and put it away. Anyway, shout out to Grandpa Al and Grandma Milly for sending me treasures! Thanks! Love you :)
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Money issues...
So, I tried talking to my host mom last night about how much I should pay her each month for my room and food. I arranged a price based on what I had paid for the site visit, which included a room and meals, so I figured this would be a good price, especially because it fit in the window of what PC said was the average amount to pay. I talked to my host mom and she agreed on the price and it seemed like everything was set.
Well...this morning, she asked me if we could talk about the prices again because she was a little confused about our conversation last night, which was weird because it seemed clear. Anyway, she told me that the contract from PC said that I should pay a certain amount for the room for the 6 weeks. PC sets up rooms with families for the 1st six weeks so we have a secure place to live while we try to find another place if we want to move out. I just thought it would be easier to pay monthly instead of the 6 weeks. Ok, whatever, that's fine to pay the 6 weeks. Then, she told me that she knew prices for the meals and told me how much breakfast, lunch, and dinner should cost (which were way more than the correct prices) and calculated everything out to tell me how much I should pay. Volunteers in department capitals get paid a little more than other volunteers because things are a little more expensive, but this was ridiculous. First of all, I hate talking about money issues, but this was even worse because she was asking me to pay pretty much my whole monthly "salary". I obviously can not afford the price she offered and I was kind of upset about the issue because I felt she was asking too much. So, I decided to drop the issue because I had to leave the house soon and I would talk to her later.
After thinking about it and worrying a little about how much money I'm going to have and if I'll be able to stay with them, etc. I decided that I will just tell them that I will pay for the meals they have given me so far, but after that, I'm going to make all of my own meals. Again, I don't like talking to people about money because it's always awkward, especially in this type of situation, but I guess I just have to let her know that I don't get paid that much as a volunteer, go figure haha This should be a fun conversation--wish me luck!
Well...this morning, she asked me if we could talk about the prices again because she was a little confused about our conversation last night, which was weird because it seemed clear. Anyway, she told me that the contract from PC said that I should pay a certain amount for the room for the 6 weeks. PC sets up rooms with families for the 1st six weeks so we have a secure place to live while we try to find another place if we want to move out. I just thought it would be easier to pay monthly instead of the 6 weeks. Ok, whatever, that's fine to pay the 6 weeks. Then, she told me that she knew prices for the meals and told me how much breakfast, lunch, and dinner should cost (which were way more than the correct prices) and calculated everything out to tell me how much I should pay. Volunteers in department capitals get paid a little more than other volunteers because things are a little more expensive, but this was ridiculous. First of all, I hate talking about money issues, but this was even worse because she was asking me to pay pretty much my whole monthly "salary". I obviously can not afford the price she offered and I was kind of upset about the issue because I felt she was asking too much. So, I decided to drop the issue because I had to leave the house soon and I would talk to her later.
After thinking about it and worrying a little about how much money I'm going to have and if I'll be able to stay with them, etc. I decided that I will just tell them that I will pay for the meals they have given me so far, but after that, I'm going to make all of my own meals. Again, I don't like talking to people about money because it's always awkward, especially in this type of situation, but I guess I just have to let her know that I don't get paid that much as a volunteer, go figure haha This should be a fun conversation--wish me luck!
Estoy en Boaco
I arrived in Boaco and took a taxi to my house, but my sister was still at school. There was a lady taking care of the house and one of their cousins eating lunch. The lady made me lunch and I talked to the cousin, Darwin. He seemed really nice. I unpacked all of my stuff…way too much stuff! Then, I eagerly waited for my sister to come home because I was pretty bored. Now that we have our new Claro chips I was able to text Kellie and Jess for free…it’s so nice not having to buy saldo anymore. I will have to buy some to call the U.S. or my counterparts, but now I have free text messages to anyone and free calls to other volunteers woo!
My sister finally got home from school around 6pm and I heard her opening the door so I went out in the living room to say hi. She was pretty excited to see me and I was excited to see her as well—we pretty much ran to each other and shared a big hug :) This was very special and made me feel welcome. What a nice treat—she really is a sweet girl and I look forward to getting to know her more. Hazzel told me that she wasn’t sure if her mom was coming back from the farm that night or the next day—she was still there from when I had visited 2 weeks ago! She ended up coming home that night, but her husband stayed at the farm. Apparently they go to the farm a lot and stay there for a long time. My counterpart told me I was going to go to the farm with them soon, but I reminded him of a TESL conference December 3 that we both should attend so my family is going to wait a bit. I do want to go to the farm, but my boss for PC told me that I can’t go for that long…it’s hard to tell my family that because I know they have to work there and their kids like to go. I told my host mom that I can’t go for more than 2 weeks. I kinda feel bad making them come back before they would like to, but I guess that’s just the way it has to be.
Yesterday was a pretty boring day since there wasn’t much going on. I ate breakfast with Hazzel and Dona Carmen, and then hung out and talked to Kellie and Jess. I looked through my scrapbook that my friends & family made me which was fun because it’s been 3 (or 4) months since I’ve seen everybody and it was a nice reminder of the friendships and love I have back home :) Thanks for contributing!
Lunch came quickly, even though I was bored. I didn’t feel like eating that much since I had been lazy all day, but they insisted on giving me lots of food. I told them I don’t eat much haha I decided to wash my clothes because I had a lot of laundry and guess what, my family has a washing machine. I lucked out again with this one! I bought a small bag of laundry detergent which was 10 cords. I can use it for about 2 loads of laundry, which is pretty good (50 cents for 2 loads). After that I was hanging out around the house, just watching TV and my Carmen suggested that we go over to Argelio’s house so I wouldn’t be bored. I thought Argelio was coming over to the house in the afternoon, because he told me he was, but I guess he forgot… So, Carmen, Hazzel, and I went to Argelio’s and chatted a little. I then ended up sitting on the couch with Hazzel watching an old show that was already on. So, I was doing the same thing I was at home, but watching a show I didn’t want to watch. Argelio left after awhile because he had to do something. His sister made me coffee and served me cookies as well—they are so generous when I visit. I chatted with his sister for awhile, which I enjoyed. She is a very nice lady and likes talking to me. It’s good practice for my Spanish :)
We came home later and had dinner together. Hazzel made ham sandwiches with the grill (kinda like a George Foreman). She gave me 3 sandwiches. Really?! Ok, they weren’t huge because they only had one slice of ham, but still. I only ate 2 of them. I told them that in the U.S. a “traditional meal” is grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. I hope we can make that sometime! I miss my dad’s creamy tomato basil soup!
We then watched some telenovelas (soap operas) which are oh so popular here and pretty funny. They are also good practice for Spanish :) I met Argelio’s son, whom he also told to practice English with me. He is 17 and a nice kid. He speaks pretty good English too. I told him that we can get together to practice English this weekend and he seemed excited about that—he kept saying that he didn’t want to bother me though. I think Argelio requested me to come to Boaco so I could be a private English tutor for his kids hahaha I would get paid big bucks for that outside of Peace Corps—shoot! Haha It’s a good thing that I love teaching and helping others. The Lord has equipped me well for this job!
My sister finally got home from school around 6pm and I heard her opening the door so I went out in the living room to say hi. She was pretty excited to see me and I was excited to see her as well—we pretty much ran to each other and shared a big hug :) This was very special and made me feel welcome. What a nice treat—she really is a sweet girl and I look forward to getting to know her more. Hazzel told me that she wasn’t sure if her mom was coming back from the farm that night or the next day—she was still there from when I had visited 2 weeks ago! She ended up coming home that night, but her husband stayed at the farm. Apparently they go to the farm a lot and stay there for a long time. My counterpart told me I was going to go to the farm with them soon, but I reminded him of a TESL conference December 3 that we both should attend so my family is going to wait a bit. I do want to go to the farm, but my boss for PC told me that I can’t go for that long…it’s hard to tell my family that because I know they have to work there and their kids like to go. I told my host mom that I can’t go for more than 2 weeks. I kinda feel bad making them come back before they would like to, but I guess that’s just the way it has to be.
Yesterday was a pretty boring day since there wasn’t much going on. I ate breakfast with Hazzel and Dona Carmen, and then hung out and talked to Kellie and Jess. I looked through my scrapbook that my friends & family made me which was fun because it’s been 3 (or 4) months since I’ve seen everybody and it was a nice reminder of the friendships and love I have back home :) Thanks for contributing!
Lunch came quickly, even though I was bored. I didn’t feel like eating that much since I had been lazy all day, but they insisted on giving me lots of food. I told them I don’t eat much haha I decided to wash my clothes because I had a lot of laundry and guess what, my family has a washing machine. I lucked out again with this one! I bought a small bag of laundry detergent which was 10 cords. I can use it for about 2 loads of laundry, which is pretty good (50 cents for 2 loads). After that I was hanging out around the house, just watching TV and my Carmen suggested that we go over to Argelio’s house so I wouldn’t be bored. I thought Argelio was coming over to the house in the afternoon, because he told me he was, but I guess he forgot… So, Carmen, Hazzel, and I went to Argelio’s and chatted a little. I then ended up sitting on the couch with Hazzel watching an old show that was already on. So, I was doing the same thing I was at home, but watching a show I didn’t want to watch. Argelio left after awhile because he had to do something. His sister made me coffee and served me cookies as well—they are so generous when I visit. I chatted with his sister for awhile, which I enjoyed. She is a very nice lady and likes talking to me. It’s good practice for my Spanish :)
We came home later and had dinner together. Hazzel made ham sandwiches with the grill (kinda like a George Foreman). She gave me 3 sandwiches. Really?! Ok, they weren’t huge because they only had one slice of ham, but still. I only ate 2 of them. I told them that in the U.S. a “traditional meal” is grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. I hope we can make that sometime! I miss my dad’s creamy tomato basil soup!
We then watched some telenovelas (soap operas) which are oh so popular here and pretty funny. They are also good practice for Spanish :) I met Argelio’s son, whom he also told to practice English with me. He is 17 and a nice kid. He speaks pretty good English too. I told him that we can get together to practice English this weekend and he seemed excited about that—he kept saying that he didn’t want to bother me though. I think Argelio requested me to come to Boaco so I could be a private English tutor for his kids hahaha I would get paid big bucks for that outside of Peace Corps—shoot! Haha It’s a good thing that I love teaching and helping others. The Lord has equipped me well for this job!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
I'm an official PCV!
The day has finally come (well yesterday) that I got to swear-in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). No more being called a trainee! :)
So, we got to all hang out at the hotel here in Managua for the last couple of days which has been really fun. We had our ceremony yesterday. We all got dressed up, ate breakfast, and then PC shuttled us over to the really nice hotel for the ceremony. As they were setting up, we took tons of pictures together and our families started arriving so more pictures were taken. The first part of the ceremony consisted of thanking the families for all they have done for us the past 2 1/2 months. We presented certificates to the host mom's and took pictures. Then we had some snacks while they changed things up inside. The second part of the ceremony consisted of speeches from a volunteer from each group, kind of like a valedictorian speech. Then, the U.S. Ambassador gave a speech, which included us swearing-in, and then our country director gave a speech. We then were called up one by one to shake hands with our country director, the U.S. Ambassador, and our APCDs. Then we signed our life away on a paper that was whisked away quickly and we were handed a PC pin.
The whole day was pretty exciting and we got McFlurry’s to celebrate, of course. We then came back to the hotel to change and hang out. Our country director invited us all over to her house to celebrate Thanksgiving since our host families would obviously not be celebrating. This was very nice. We were shuttled over to her house and we scarfed up as many appetizers as we could and then eagerly waited for the Thanksgiving dishes. We were pleasantly surprised to see and eat such great food: mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, cranberries, turkey, sweet potatoes…and then pie!
Many of us were wearing our PC polos so we had to take pictures in those since they are so cool and we are pretty excited to finally have them.
After eating all of that food and spending about 3 ½ hours there, we were all getting pretty sleepy so we had out trainers take us back to the hotel. It was a nice night to relax and hang out with everybody before leaving today. It feels weird that we’re actually leaving for our sites and leaving our friends, but hopefully we’ll see each other for Christmas or New Year’s. But for now, I’ll be heading back over to Boaco…not sure when that family farm trip will be, but I’ll keep you posted!
So, we got to all hang out at the hotel here in Managua for the last couple of days which has been really fun. We had our ceremony yesterday. We all got dressed up, ate breakfast, and then PC shuttled us over to the really nice hotel for the ceremony. As they were setting up, we took tons of pictures together and our families started arriving so more pictures were taken. The first part of the ceremony consisted of thanking the families for all they have done for us the past 2 1/2 months. We presented certificates to the host mom's and took pictures. Then we had some snacks while they changed things up inside. The second part of the ceremony consisted of speeches from a volunteer from each group, kind of like a valedictorian speech. Then, the U.S. Ambassador gave a speech, which included us swearing-in, and then our country director gave a speech. We then were called up one by one to shake hands with our country director, the U.S. Ambassador, and our APCDs. Then we signed our life away on a paper that was whisked away quickly and we were handed a PC pin.
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| Kellie, Julia Elena, Jess, & Me |
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| Host mom, me, host aunt |
The whole day was pretty exciting and we got McFlurry’s to celebrate, of course. We then came back to the hotel to change and hang out. Our country director invited us all over to her house to celebrate Thanksgiving since our host families would obviously not be celebrating. This was very nice. We were shuttled over to her house and we scarfed up as many appetizers as we could and then eagerly waited for the Thanksgiving dishes. We were pleasantly surprised to see and eat such great food: mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, cranberries, turkey, sweet potatoes…and then pie!
Many of us were wearing our PC polos so we had to take pictures in those since they are so cool and we are pretty excited to finally have them.
After eating all of that food and spending about 3 ½ hours there, we were all getting pretty sleepy so we had out trainers take us back to the hotel. It was a nice night to relax and hang out with everybody before leaving today. It feels weird that we’re actually leaving for our sites and leaving our friends, but hopefully we’ll see each other for Christmas or New Year’s. But for now, I’ll be heading back over to Boaco…not sure when that family farm trip will be, but I’ll keep you posted!
Check out more of my pictures in my Facebook album:
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Last days in San Juan
This weekend has been a little sad because it was my last weekend in San Juan de Oriente. Of course I plan on visiting, but it’s still sad. Friday we had meetings in Managua and then headed back to our training towns for the last couple days before leaving. Our youth group decided to throw us a despedida (going away party). It was really sweet because our youth group was kinda falling apart, but they were so kind to do that for us. They played music, did some dances for us (they have a dance group), and then shared kind words of appreciation. We then gave them “diplomas” for their participation in the group—they really liked the diplomas so that was cute. We took a picture together as well. Then they served us a traditional Nicaraguan meal—gallo pinto, tostones, and cheese. I had already eaten dinner, but I couldn’t pass this up :)
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| (Back) Pablo, Yahoska, Me, WAlter, Catalina, Paola, Alvin, Kellie, (front) Gerson, Eddie, Emir |
Saturday was a full day as well. In the morning, Kellie and I went to Masaya to run some errands and pick up some last minute things. I bought some rice, beans, and sugar (in bulk) for my family as a gift. Beans are really expensive nowadays so I thought that would be a good gift. These three things are staples here. I also got a new phone because Peace Corps gave us new Claro chips which allow us to call and text all PC volunteers and staff for FREE! Yay :) This is nice because I had been spending a lot of money trying to keep my saldo from running out. No more of that!
We got back from Masaya around 12:30pm and after lunch, Caridad and I went to Masatepe because some PCVs were hosting a taller (workshop) on call centers. Caridad had expressed interest in working in a call center and I was so excited when I found out that some of my friends were doing a taller on this. They had two people who work at call centers share about their experiences, the benefits, and requirements for working there. It was really interesting and I felt that I learned a lot of stuff too, especially with the whole taller being in Spanish :) Caridad seemed excited and we found out that there are free English classes available in Masatepe, which is only about a 15 minute bus ride from San Juan. I hope she pursues this.
We got back a little late, but I had some time to do a little packing. I ate dinner and took a shower because we had water haha Then, something terrible happened! I was walking through the kitchen and oh my gosh there was a tarantula heading right toward my room. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First of all, I HATE spiders! Second of all, this was a tarantula! Are you kidding me!?!?!? All I could do was squeal and I couldn’t even say spider. My host mom kinda giggled and came over. She told me that they don’t hurt and they aren’t poisonous and I told her I was scared haha She through her flip flop on it which stopped it, but it’s legs were still quivering. Ugh :( Gross! Gross! Gross! It started moving again, but then she brought the broom and dust pan and took it outside. Oh, gross! I’m so glad this happened on my last night here, and not the first! Phew! As you can imagine, this was a very traumatic experience for me.
As I was still a little shaky, my friend came over to say goodbye and gave me my “favorite things”: fresco de cacao and chocolates :) So sweet! Fresco de cacao is chocolate milk made from grounded cocoa beans, so it is awesome! And, it’s cold, so that’s why it’s “fresco”. This made me feel better :)
I then gave out some small gifts to the kids because as they came home—my mom had sent some little packs of Disney playing cards and they loved them. Of course the little girls fought a little about which Disney princess cards they would get, but it all worked out in the end.
Since pretty much everybody was home, we decided to take our family picture—yay! Rene, my host brother who lives next door, didn’t want to be in the picture and his wife was working. Anyway, my friend took the picture and it was so fun being with everybody. We all hung out in the family room after that for awhile—it was crazy and loud because of all the kids and there was a jump rope in the mix, but I loved it and it was so nice to spend time with everybody.
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| (Back row) Sara, Caridad, Jennie, Dolores, Sara, (Front row) Luis Angel, Wendy Sofia, Me with Alice, Maria Eduarda, Giselle |
Today I hung out with my family in the morning and then had to say goodbye to everyone. It was really sad saying goodbye because all of the little kids were hugging me and I got a little teary-eyed. Then as I walked down the street I got a little more teary and had to put on my sunglasses haha
I met up with Kellie and Jess and we walked to the empalme to meet up with the Catarina peeps. We caught a bus to Managua and then realized it was going the very long way to get there…bummer! It took about 2 hours to get there and then we had to take a taxi over to our hotel. After checking into our rooms and then getting some food, we got our PC polo shirts that we ordered. We are pretty excited about these—tip to future PCV’s—ask about shirts early (talk to Roger) and get the color palette to make the order with your group. It’s up to the volunteers to put the order in, not the PC staff. Anyway, we got the shirts and everything if good now :)
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| Me, Julia Elena, Janelle |
Our swearing-in ceremony is tomorrow so I’m really excited about that!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Meetings...
So, this week has been one full of meetings. We had our last Spanish class on Monday which was kinda sad, but then it's been meetings the rest of the week. It has pretty mush been getting up really early, taking a crammed pack bus to our destination, sitting in meetings, eating lunch, sitting through more meetings, riding a crammed pack bus home in the late afternoon/evening, eating dinner, going to sleep...then the same thing the next day. This week has been exhausting! That's an understatement.
We were supposed to visit the U.S. Embassy today but they had to rearrange things because the Ambassador had a last minute meeting. We talked to another guy from the Embassy who was interesting. We had more security meetings after that and then preparation for swearing-in. I'm so excited for Monday because then we'll officially be volunteers--woo! We had to practice the Nicaraguan national anthem and our promise to service in Spanish. Fortunately, during the ceremony we will have a little cheat sheet for the national anthem, but the promise to service is something we repeat line by line.
Tomorrow we have more meetings all day and then we will go back to our training towns. I'm trying to organize a family picture before I leave so I can show everybody what my host family looks like :) We'll see how that goes!
We were supposed to visit the U.S. Embassy today but they had to rearrange things because the Ambassador had a last minute meeting. We talked to another guy from the Embassy who was interesting. We had more security meetings after that and then preparation for swearing-in. I'm so excited for Monday because then we'll officially be volunteers--woo! We had to practice the Nicaraguan national anthem and our promise to service in Spanish. Fortunately, during the ceremony we will have a little cheat sheet for the national anthem, but the promise to service is something we repeat line by line.
Tomorrow we have more meetings all day and then we will go back to our training towns. I'm trying to organize a family picture before I leave so I can show everybody what my host family looks like :) We'll see how that goes!
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