It was quite a week in Boaco, a little long if you ask me, but it was a good experience nonetheless. I had a good time exploring and meeting new people, but I was definitely happy to see my friends when I arrived in Managua :) I met up with Jessica, Julia Elena, and Melissa at the bus terminal and then we headed over to the other bus terminal so Melissa and Julia Elena could go back to Catarina, but Jess and I went to the PC office for doctor check-ups. We hung out at the office while we waited for our appointments—checked emails, chatted, etc. We finally got in to our appointments and had to run some errands and then decided that we should get some food before heading back because we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. So, we walked over to the McDonald’s and we were trying to be a little more aware of our surroundings this time because apparently some PCVs got robbed in that area a couple nights ago. It’s not the safest place for gringos (Managua in general). Anyway, we got some lunch and of course McFlurry’s. We headed back to the PC office and talked to some of our trainers and found out I had gotten mail! I finally got the package my parents sent me about 4 weeks ago…not sure why it took so long. This was so exciting, and even though I had my big backpack and I was going to be riding a bus back to Managua, I decided to take the package with me.
Jess and I had the guards call us a taxi and then we had to wait for about 20 minutes for the guy to arrive. He helped us with our bags at the bus terminal and told us to be careful as it was already getting dark (5:45pm). We found a bus and it wasn’t leaving until 6pm, so again we waited. It took forever to drive through Managua because this apparently is the prime time for bus travel out of Managua. Our bus filled up and kept filling as we traveled. It was ridiculous how many people were squished on there and then if someone was getting off, it was almost impossible for them to squeeze through people to get to the front. The bus ride took about an hour and a half and when we tried to get off the bus in San Juan, we had our bags and couldn’t get through the people, and we were in the front seat! It was absolutely ridiculous because the bus was stopped, everybody was watching us, but nobody would move out of the way, or step off the bus to make room. So, we pushed our way through with our bags and finally got off with the bus assistant pulling us off the bus to help.
It felt so good being back in San Juan, our quaint little town. Jess took a moto and I walked over to Kellie’s to tell her we were home. We saw one of our little neighbor friends with a popsicle (like a freeze pop) and asked her where she bought it. We went to buy them and found out that they were actually double the size because she had split hers with her friend. Kellie and I each got one and they were only 1 cord (5 cents). I should have taken a picture because they were like giant freeze pops.
I then headed home and greeted my family—it was nice to see them after being gone for so long. I opened the package while I was eating dinner and was pleasantly surprised by all of the goodies that came spilling out. I shared some with my family and I can’t wait to eat my peanut butter M&Ms!
Yesterday, we had class and there was no electricity all day. This didn’t affect our class though because there is sufficient sunlight, but I really wanted to go to the cyber…then I ran out of saldo for my phone and I couldn’t call/text. I was falling apart haha I took a moto over to Catarina and was able to find a cyber, although the internet was rather slow. I couldn’t do much, but I was able to talk to my parents and my friend Erin from Gonzaga. We had to cancel our youth group meeting because it was too dark and just told them we would have it the next day.
I came home and it was pretty dark already. I ate dinner by candlelight and then put on my headlamp to organize things in my room. I didn’t want to go to bed because it was too early, so I decided to pack some things and put things together because I’ll be leaving soon. Our language professor gave us our schedule for the next few weeks and it’s gonna be crazy! We have a lot of meetings, next week we’re visiting the US Embassy, we leave San Juan on Sunday, 21st, we swear-in on Monday, 22nd, and then we leave for our sites Tuesday, 23rd. It’s coming up so fast and I’m really excited, but also sad to leave my friends.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
New address in Boaco
I talked to the small business volunteer in Boaco and he already has a P.O. Box, which has been passed down by past volunteers, so I get access to it too! Here is my new address and you can start sending things now if you'd like because I'll be back in 2 weeks :)
Megan McCann
Apartado Postal 23
Boaco, Boaco
Nicaragua
Central America
Megan McCann
Apartado Postal 23
Boaco, Boaco
Nicaragua
Central America
Gringa in Boaco
Saturday night I hung out with my host brother and sister on our front porch with one of their friends and then Veronica came over too. I had mentioned to my host brother about the piropos (catcalls) I had gotten before in San Juan, because we encountered some on our walk around town and this came up in our conversation. They were all joking around making the hissing noises, and I was too. It was pretty funny and we were joking about the gringa, or blanquita as a lot of men say too. I was telling them what guys usually say and we were having some good laughs and making our own piropos. We had some good bonding moments :) We listened to music on the porch and sang a little and of course did a little dancing because they wanted to see the gringa dance—that’s exactly what they said “gringa baila!” It was endearing haha Everybody had nicknames for each other so I know they weren’t just making fun of me :)
Because we stayed up late Saturday night hanging out, Sunday morning we all slept in. I got up around 9:30am which is way late here! My sister made breakfast for us—what a sweetheart :) After breakfast, my host brother asked if I wanted to go on a walk again, this time to see where the hospital is because that’s one of the places I need to find for Peace Corps stuff. He had told me that it was a pretty far walk, but I was up for it. So, my host brother, sister, one of their friends (Bismarc), and I left the house a little before 11am and headed out on a long journey. They decided to take the trip through the country instead of on the carretera. We walked quite a long time and heard some piropos, which we all started laughing after we heard what people said (oh, mi amor…gringa, muy hermosa, and lots of whistling/hissing).
We arrived to their Bismarc’s house around noon and we took a little rest and had some “enchiladas”. I never know what I’m gonna get when people say enchiladas here because it’s always different. These were good though, so I didn’t mind. We then walked over to another friend’s place and sat and chatted for awhile. Bismarc went back over to his house and his mom insisted on giving us lunch, so of course we stayed. Before leaving, I wanted to use the bathroom and his mom led me into a bedroom that had a back room that was open to the rest of the bedroom, so they shut the bathroom door. I looked around and saw no toilet and I was so confused. There was a large bucket that was pretty full with some liquid, but I didn’t know if that’s what I was supposed to use. This was bizarre. I looked around again trying to decide what to do—should I fake that I went pee or go out and ask them what I’m supposed to do? I decided to pee in the bucket, and then his mom came in to give me toilet paper and scared me. I thought she was going to freak out when she saw me on the bucket, but she said “tranquila” (calm/cool). It was a pretty interesting experience and I’m glad I’m done with that.
We then continued our journey and finally arrived at the hospital. They asked me if I wanted to go inside, but I said no because it had a large gate and guards so I didn’t really feel like dealing with all that—I just needed to know where it was. So then we walked back home, but this time on the carretera, which is pretty dangerous, but fortunately there wasn’t that much traffic. We ended up by my instituto, so that was cool to see where exactly it was in relation to other places. We still had about 20 more minutes so we powered through the hills and hot sun and made it back, but stopped at the Eskimo before going home. We got home just before 4pm…our trip was almost 5 hours! Crazy! Bismarc kept saying he was going to die during our trip, so I told him we need to go walking everyday haha
I thought I would be exhausted for the rest of the day, but we decided to go up to the park and hang out after dinner. Then we were walking around looking for a place to dance and we found a friend of Bismarc’s who was driving around, so we got in his land cruiser and cruised around the town. At first I thought we were going somewhere, but no, we were just circling around the town playing loud music. It was hilarious, but I was having fun with my host bro & sis and my new friends. Finally, they guys decided that we would go to a disco that’s popular here, right outside of the town on the carretera. It was pretty fun and I learned some new Nica dances—they are a lot harder to do than dances in U.S. clubs because they actually have steps for things and I feel like a dork because I’m the only one who doesn’t know what to do. As if I don’t stand out already…Anyway, I had a great time and it made for another late night. I feel comfortable with my host bro and sis though, so that’s good—we definitely bonded in this short time and I’m looking forward to staying with them :) Let’s hope their parents love me too!
Because we stayed up late Saturday night hanging out, Sunday morning we all slept in. I got up around 9:30am which is way late here! My sister made breakfast for us—what a sweetheart :) After breakfast, my host brother asked if I wanted to go on a walk again, this time to see where the hospital is because that’s one of the places I need to find for Peace Corps stuff. He had told me that it was a pretty far walk, but I was up for it. So, my host brother, sister, one of their friends (Bismarc), and I left the house a little before 11am and headed out on a long journey. They decided to take the trip through the country instead of on the carretera. We walked quite a long time and heard some piropos, which we all started laughing after we heard what people said (oh, mi amor…gringa, muy hermosa, and lots of whistling/hissing).
We arrived to their Bismarc’s house around noon and we took a little rest and had some “enchiladas”. I never know what I’m gonna get when people say enchiladas here because it’s always different. These were good though, so I didn’t mind. We then walked over to another friend’s place and sat and chatted for awhile. Bismarc went back over to his house and his mom insisted on giving us lunch, so of course we stayed. Before leaving, I wanted to use the bathroom and his mom led me into a bedroom that had a back room that was open to the rest of the bedroom, so they shut the bathroom door. I looked around and saw no toilet and I was so confused. There was a large bucket that was pretty full with some liquid, but I didn’t know if that’s what I was supposed to use. This was bizarre. I looked around again trying to decide what to do—should I fake that I went pee or go out and ask them what I’m supposed to do? I decided to pee in the bucket, and then his mom came in to give me toilet paper and scared me. I thought she was going to freak out when she saw me on the bucket, but she said “tranquila” (calm/cool). It was a pretty interesting experience and I’m glad I’m done with that.
We then continued our journey and finally arrived at the hospital. They asked me if I wanted to go inside, but I said no because it had a large gate and guards so I didn’t really feel like dealing with all that—I just needed to know where it was. So then we walked back home, but this time on the carretera, which is pretty dangerous, but fortunately there wasn’t that much traffic. We ended up by my instituto, so that was cool to see where exactly it was in relation to other places. We still had about 20 more minutes so we powered through the hills and hot sun and made it back, but stopped at the Eskimo before going home. We got home just before 4pm…our trip was almost 5 hours! Crazy! Bismarc kept saying he was going to die during our trip, so I told him we need to go walking everyday haha
I thought I would be exhausted for the rest of the day, but we decided to go up to the park and hang out after dinner. Then we were walking around looking for a place to dance and we found a friend of Bismarc’s who was driving around, so we got in his land cruiser and cruised around the town. At first I thought we were going somewhere, but no, we were just circling around the town playing loud music. It was hilarious, but I was having fun with my host bro & sis and my new friends. Finally, they guys decided that we would go to a disco that’s popular here, right outside of the town on the carretera. It was pretty fun and I learned some new Nica dances—they are a lot harder to do than dances in U.S. clubs because they actually have steps for things and I feel like a dork because I’m the only one who doesn’t know what to do. As if I don’t stand out already…Anyway, I had a great time and it made for another late night. I feel comfortable with my host bro and sis though, so that’s good—we definitely bonded in this short time and I’m looking forward to staying with them :) Let’s hope their parents love me too!
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| Me with my host bro, Yasser. |
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| Me with my host sis, Hazzel. |
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Bored in Boaco
So I’ve been feeling pretty bored lately because it’s hard being in new place but no friends to explore with. I’ve been texting with other trainees and there’s boredom across the country… Fortunately though, the small business volunteer here called me last night and invited me over to his place to have cake with him and his girlfriend, who is an environment volunteer who just finished her service. I walked up to Boaco arriba and met Steve in the park, and then walked over to his house. We ate chocolate fudge cake—amazing! I haven’t had something that wonderful since being here in Nicaragua. I usually don’t like chocolate cake because it’s usually dry, but this was fudgy and awesome! Loved it! This was a great time because I got to talk in English and talk with people who I had something in common with (Peace Corps). It was a good hang out time that I really needed because I felt kind of lonely and overwhelmed here.
We then walked back toward town and went to Boaco abajo toward the bank, because I needed to add it to my map and I had forgotten where it was—this place is a lot bigger than San Juan and there are tons of hills and windy roads so it gets confusing! It will be nice to have a complete map :) We then walked over the street with the markets—this was cool to see. There were tons of little markets lining the street with clothing, fruits and vegetables, etc. I bought bath & hand towels and then my host brother carried my bag, of course. Then, we headed home. I was so excited that I got out—I certainly had cabin fever and was dying to get out and walk around but I didn’t want to walk alone and get lost. It was also really good exercise, which I mentioned to my host bro. He kept asking if I was tired, but I wasn’t—it felt refreshing. He told me that his sister said that I walk bien rapido (very fast) and I laughed at this comment, because I think Nicas walk really slow haha Who’s right? We’ll never know :)
Saturday seemed like it was going to be pretty darn boring too. After my hiking plans with my counterpart got canceled, I decided to get my host sister to show me a few places because I needed to buy credit for my phone and withdraw money from the bank. I picked up some more water—never realized how much water I drink, but I guess that’s a good thing :) I still think I need to drink more though. Anyway, after the water, I saw Eskimo and thought this would be a good chance to hang out a little more with my host sis, so I offered to buy Eskimo. We got ice cream and chatted there for awhile and then walked home. P.S. Anytime I buy something with my host sister (or my counterpart’s daughter) they carry my purchases for me; they insist on carrying them for me. It’s really cute, but then I feel kind of bad, like I’m having them carry my stuff for me, but I guess it makes them feel good. It’s definitely a change because I’ve walked with guys in the states before that haven’t offered to carry my grocery bags, etc.
Anyway, so I ate lunch after that and hung out around the house. I was so incredibly bored and didn’t know what to do as my host brother and his friend were watching TV in the living room. I watched some shows on my computer and then got a pep talk from my mom and decided to ask my host brother to show me around. I was worried that I would be a burden to him, but he was actually super nice and took me all around. We went to Boaco arriba and he took me to the lighthouse, which is really random because we are nowhere near a large body of water. But, it’s a cool lookout with great views of the surrounding area.
We also walked down a long road past the baseball field, along the river, to the dam. I definitely noticed a gradual change in housing the more we traveled outside of the “urban” area. It was vastly different by the time we got down by the river and dam.
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| Heading out toward the country. |
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| Baseball stadium |
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| Washing clothes in the river |
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| Beautiful sunlight on the river |
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| The dam |
We then walked back toward town and went to Boaco abajo toward the bank, because I needed to add it to my map and I had forgotten where it was—this place is a lot bigger than San Juan and there are tons of hills and windy roads so it gets confusing! It will be nice to have a complete map :) We then walked over the street with the markets—this was cool to see. There were tons of little markets lining the street with clothing, fruits and vegetables, etc. I bought bath & hand towels and then my host brother carried my bag, of course. Then, we headed home. I was so excited that I got out—I certainly had cabin fever and was dying to get out and walk around but I didn’t want to walk alone and get lost. It was also really good exercise, which I mentioned to my host bro. He kept asking if I was tired, but I wasn’t—it felt refreshing. He told me that his sister said that I walk bien rapido (very fast) and I laughed at this comment, because I think Nicas walk really slow haha Who’s right? We’ll never know :)
Friday, November 5, 2010
Discovering Boaco
So my host parents left for their farm on Thursday morning, and my host mom was worried because they would be leaving me, but her friends came and stayed with my host sister and me and made us meals and cleaned the house. This was fine, but they´re not coming back until Tuesday or Wednesday, and I leave Tuesday morning. I was hoping to get to know them a little during the visit, but I guess I will have plenty of time later for that. I like this place, but I´m really starting to miss my other PC friends, especially Jess and Kellie. I´m getting a little sad thinking about how we only have 2 ½ more weeks in San Juan before we go off to our sites for the 2 years! It’s hard because I feel like I have to start all over again, when I was comfortable in San Juan and getting used to the transportation and everything. It’s going to be sad to leave the familiar, but I guess I did that 2 months ago.
Anyway, on to happier things…my counterpart, Argelio, came and got me Thursday afternoon with his daughter, Veronica (20), and we walked around Boaco arriba again. He introduced me to the police and told them that I was a new volunteer and I would be there for 2 years—it’s part of Peace Corps rules that we introduce ourselves to the police and other leaders in our community. It’s a good idea and it makes me feel a little safer. Argelio seems to know everyone in town, including the police, and somehow we ended up in the Chief of Police’s office and chatted with him. I wasn’t expecting this so I was a little intimidated, but it was nice to meet him and find out he is a kind man. He also has an air-conditioned office. I told Argelio that I needed to familiarize myself with the town because we have to draw a map of our site, so he took me over to a building with human resources and asked them for a map. This cracked me up, but I went along with it. They had to talk to other people and told me to come back on Monday to get it. I started drawing a map, but Argelio told me to just wait until I get the map on Monday. I hope they actually give me a map because that would be very helpful.
We then went over to the park and sat on bench to relax. Argelio insisted on his daughter practicing her English with me and was embarrassing her, as she was pretty shy. I would be too if I was learning a language and told to practice with native speaker, oh wait, that’s what I’m doing now! She said a few things and we had a conversation between the three of us. Then, I wanted to buy some things at Pali so Veronica went with me and Argelio stayed in the park. I found out that she knows a pretty good amount of English and she got more comfortable when she wasn’t being told by her dad to practice :) She is very sweet and I’m glad she came with me. It started to rain really hard so we waited inside the store, along with everyone else until the rain stopped. We then walked back to the park and found Argelio, who said he needed to go to the church, but Veronica could walk me home. I’m glad this was his daughter and not his son, otherwise this would sound like he was trying to fix me up haha He just really wants his daughter to learn English. She walked back with me to the house, which she’s comfortable being there because it’s her aunt and uncle’s house. We hung out for awhile and chatted. She is such a sweet girl and I hope that we can become friends—I really enjoy talking to her in Spanglish :) I’m not sure how often she’ll be around because she goes to a university in Managua, but maybe we’ll get to hang out over summer break (December and January). Oh, now that I think of that, we probably will because Argelio already asked me when I can start working with her to practice English. This was pretty funny. He kept asking me what days I could work with her and I finally had to tell him that I wasn’t sure what my schedule would be. He also really wants me to go to my family’s farm too, so he’s pretty eager for me to do things here. I’m glad that he is trying to find things for me to do though.
Today, so far, has been the day of waiting. I decided not to go to the high school in the morning because I was planning on going to the afternoon session to meet my other counterpart, Antonio, and observe his classes. I was so tired last night so I went to bed a little early, but then this morning I couldn’t sleep in that late. The senora made me breakfast which was a giant helping of gallo pinto (just like yesterday). This was a lot of food and I’m hoping that maybe I can change it up a little so it’s not that much gallo pinto every morning, maybe some eggs and toast? I do love gallo pinto, but I usually don’t eat it that often haha I read through my PC papers and made a list of places to find in my town. Argelio’s daughter was going to meet me at noon and walk to the high school with me, but she had to go into Managua for something, so I decided that I would just take a taxi at 12:30pm. I was so bored with not much of anything to do. I sat around, watched some TV, read the newspaper… I was going to walk around outside a little, but I felt weird going by myself. I think I’ll get Argelio or Veronica to go with me this weekend, or maybe my host sister. She seems really nice and she has gone with me to a few places already.
I finally left for the high school and got there a little after 12:30 hoping to meet with my counterpart before classes began at 1pm. I sat around and enjoyed the breeze. At 1pm, students started arriving and sitting outside of the classrooms, but no teachers were around. I thought that maybe classes actually start at 1:15pm. At 1:10, I asked the janitor when the classes were going to start (in future tense) and she said 1pm. Well, since it was 1:10pm already, I don’t think that was going to happen. Oh, Nica time… The bell finally rang at 1:18pm and then my counterpart showed up and introduced himself. I asked if I could observe his class and he told me that they were just checking work today and it wasn’t going to be a real class, but I sat in anyway because I was there. Another 45 minutes of waiting…
After the class, I got to talk to him about his schedule and we chatted about when I would be returning to Boaco and what my plans were. He seems really nice and he speaks very good English. He said that he actually was in LA for 3 years of high school in the ESL program and then came back here. It should be interesting figuring out a schedule with Argelio and Antonio, but I’m sure I’ll make it work. It’s kind of a bummer because Argelio works in the morning and Antonio in the afternoon, but maybe I can split it up where some days I work in the morning and some in the afternoon, so I don’t have to work all day (7am-6pm).
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| My new site: Boaco, Boaco. |
Anyway, on to happier things…my counterpart, Argelio, came and got me Thursday afternoon with his daughter, Veronica (20), and we walked around Boaco arriba again. He introduced me to the police and told them that I was a new volunteer and I would be there for 2 years—it’s part of Peace Corps rules that we introduce ourselves to the police and other leaders in our community. It’s a good idea and it makes me feel a little safer. Argelio seems to know everyone in town, including the police, and somehow we ended up in the Chief of Police’s office and chatted with him. I wasn’t expecting this so I was a little intimidated, but it was nice to meet him and find out he is a kind man. He also has an air-conditioned office. I told Argelio that I needed to familiarize myself with the town because we have to draw a map of our site, so he took me over to a building with human resources and asked them for a map. This cracked me up, but I went along with it. They had to talk to other people and told me to come back on Monday to get it. I started drawing a map, but Argelio told me to just wait until I get the map on Monday. I hope they actually give me a map because that would be very helpful.
We then went over to the park and sat on bench to relax. Argelio insisted on his daughter practicing her English with me and was embarrassing her, as she was pretty shy. I would be too if I was learning a language and told to practice with native speaker, oh wait, that’s what I’m doing now! She said a few things and we had a conversation between the three of us. Then, I wanted to buy some things at Pali so Veronica went with me and Argelio stayed in the park. I found out that she knows a pretty good amount of English and she got more comfortable when she wasn’t being told by her dad to practice :) She is very sweet and I’m glad she came with me. It started to rain really hard so we waited inside the store, along with everyone else until the rain stopped. We then walked back to the park and found Argelio, who said he needed to go to the church, but Veronica could walk me home. I’m glad this was his daughter and not his son, otherwise this would sound like he was trying to fix me up haha He just really wants his daughter to learn English. She walked back with me to the house, which she’s comfortable being there because it’s her aunt and uncle’s house. We hung out for awhile and chatted. She is such a sweet girl and I hope that we can become friends—I really enjoy talking to her in Spanglish :) I’m not sure how often she’ll be around because she goes to a university in Managua, but maybe we’ll get to hang out over summer break (December and January). Oh, now that I think of that, we probably will because Argelio already asked me when I can start working with her to practice English. This was pretty funny. He kept asking me what days I could work with her and I finally had to tell him that I wasn’t sure what my schedule would be. He also really wants me to go to my family’s farm too, so he’s pretty eager for me to do things here. I’m glad that he is trying to find things for me to do though.
Today, so far, has been the day of waiting. I decided not to go to the high school in the morning because I was planning on going to the afternoon session to meet my other counterpart, Antonio, and observe his classes. I was so tired last night so I went to bed a little early, but then this morning I couldn’t sleep in that late. The senora made me breakfast which was a giant helping of gallo pinto (just like yesterday). This was a lot of food and I’m hoping that maybe I can change it up a little so it’s not that much gallo pinto every morning, maybe some eggs and toast? I do love gallo pinto, but I usually don’t eat it that often haha I read through my PC papers and made a list of places to find in my town. Argelio’s daughter was going to meet me at noon and walk to the high school with me, but she had to go into Managua for something, so I decided that I would just take a taxi at 12:30pm. I was so bored with not much of anything to do. I sat around, watched some TV, read the newspaper… I was going to walk around outside a little, but I felt weird going by myself. I think I’ll get Argelio or Veronica to go with me this weekend, or maybe my host sister. She seems really nice and she has gone with me to a few places already.
I finally left for the high school and got there a little after 12:30 hoping to meet with my counterpart before classes began at 1pm. I sat around and enjoyed the breeze. At 1pm, students started arriving and sitting outside of the classrooms, but no teachers were around. I thought that maybe classes actually start at 1:15pm. At 1:10, I asked the janitor when the classes were going to start (in future tense) and she said 1pm. Well, since it was 1:10pm already, I don’t think that was going to happen. Oh, Nica time… The bell finally rang at 1:18pm and then my counterpart showed up and introduced himself. I asked if I could observe his class and he told me that they were just checking work today and it wasn’t going to be a real class, but I sat in anyway because I was there. Another 45 minutes of waiting…
After the class, I got to talk to him about his schedule and we chatted about when I would be returning to Boaco and what my plans were. He seems really nice and he speaks very good English. He said that he actually was in LA for 3 years of high school in the ESL program and then came back here. It should be interesting figuring out a schedule with Argelio and Antonio, but I’m sure I’ll make it work. It’s kind of a bummer because Argelio works in the morning and Antonio in the afternoon, but maybe I can split it up where some days I work in the morning and some in the afternoon, so I don’t have to work all day (7am-6pm).
Spoiled in Boaco
Ok, so I was kinda nervous about my site, especially hearing that it’s cattle country and very hilly. The bus ride here was not bad, although there was a small hole in the floor of the bus where I could see the street below. It took about 2 hours to get to Boaco from el Mayoreo in Managua and my counterpart, Argelio (early 40’s?), was kind enough to come to the bus terminal in Boaco and pick me up in a taxi to help me with my bags. That was a relief considering we were supposed to catch a taxi by ourselves and take all of our bags with us to our instituto to meet our counterparts. Well, Argelio said he would take me to my host family’s house first, but I said the address was in my bag. He said that didn’t matter, and then I remembered that our counterparts set up the host families, but I guess it could have been my other counterpart who did the arrangements. Anyway, we arrived and I met my new host mom Carmen (Andrea Carmen) and my host sister Hazzel, and my host dad Alfonso, which was not on my paperwork so this was a surprise, but a good one. I found out that my host dad is actually my counterpart’s brother. Keeping it in the family. This was nice though because then I knew that I was in a good place, besides seeing that the house was really nice.
They let me choose my room out of two rooms and I chose the second one just because they said it was a little cooler, but then I changed because I realized that it was extremely small and didn’t have room for a dresser or bookshelf. I kind of felt bad moving because they had to take some stuff out of the room, but of course, my counterpart and my host parents told me it was no problem at all. So I didn’t notice how great this room was at first and how spoiled I am right now. My room has an attached bathroom (flushing toilet, sink with water, and a shower with showerhead), a ceiling fan, a bright light (so I’m not left in the dark), a full length mirror (I only have a small hand mirror in San Juan which I use in a poorly lit room so it basically doesn’t work), and this is something I almost don’t want to say…a TV. I’m not sure if it’s staying in my room, and quite frankly I don’t really need a TV in my room and it seems just a little too luxurious for a Peace Corps life. So, I might take it out of the room, unless there isn’t sufficient room for it anywhere else, then I guess I will just have to watch TV in my room :)
So after I moved my stuff in my room, Argelio wanted to take me to the Instituto to check things out and meet the directora. The school there is in pretty good shape and there are about 900 students. It doesn’t seem that large though, and the classrooms looked fairly small, so I’m not sure exactly how many students are in each class. We looked around for the directora but she wasn’t there—this seems pretty common with schools that I have visited. Anyway, we walked around a little and I peeked into the computer lab, which is huge! Then I met the small business volunteer that’s here in Boaco, Steven. Peace Corps told me he was going to be here until next July, but my counterpart said he has already been here for 2 years, so I’ll have to clarify with him. I was hoping to be able to work with another volunteer and thought it might be fun. We’ll see!
So, we finally saw the directora and Argelio begged her for a couple minutes. I said thank you for the opportunity to be there and I was kind of tongue tied as I had not prepared what to say. I was a little frazzled from the travel and the whirlwind of meeting a new family. Anyway, she started saying that she hadn’t received information about when I was coming or something and she sounded a little irritated so I didn’t like how that sounded. Argelio said a few things and I think everything is clear now. Oh well. There was a funny thing though: the directora asked me name and I said Megan, which Argelio repeated a couple times to himself to practice. Then, Argelio asked to tell her my last name, so I said McCann. He then repeated, asking for my last name. So I said it again. Then he asked me the same thing in Spanish (tu apellido?), which I’m not quite sure why I would need a translation, but maybe he thought he was saying the wrong word in English. I then repeated my last name for the first time and he said, “oh it’s said the same.” I repeated it again very slowly, and he said “oh, parece similar” (it sounds very similar). I chuckled and then he asked me to write it on a paper. He then read my name out loud a couple times and told the directora to practice too. This was hilarious. I guess I didn’t realize how much my first and last names sounded alike. P.S. I found out later that the directora is Argelio´s ex-sister-in-law. She is his ex-wife's sister. One of the representatives from MINED (the ministry of education) has the same name as Argelio, so I'll have to check if they're also related haha
After the school visit, we took the school bus back into town and we ate lunch at my house. I had some rice and beef, which I believe I will be having fairly often here in cattle country. I’m not a big meat eater, so that should be interesting.
Argelio left for awhile so I could get settled in, and then he returned to show me around the town a little. We walked to Boaco arriba (upper Boaco) which has quite a staircase. There is a road that you can take that doesn’t have stairs, but it’s still at a large incline. We made it up to the top and it had a beautiful view.
We walked over to the church and he showed me around, and then we went to the park which was right in front of the church. He offered to buy me ice cream, so of course I said yes. We sat on the patio for awhile and chatted. He speaks pretty good English and loves to ask questions. He then took me over to the Pali (supermarket chain here) because I wanted to check out what they had. He bought some plantain chips and we shared those in the park. I felt so spoiled yet again. It started to sprinkle so we headed home.
My family is so kind and I’m excited to be living with them. I hope they don’t mind me staying for 2 years… I guess we’ll see! They helped me put up my mosquitero and told me several times if there is anything that I need, just to ask them. I’m excited to get to know them more :)
They let me choose my room out of two rooms and I chose the second one just because they said it was a little cooler, but then I changed because I realized that it was extremely small and didn’t have room for a dresser or bookshelf. I kind of felt bad moving because they had to take some stuff out of the room, but of course, my counterpart and my host parents told me it was no problem at all. So I didn’t notice how great this room was at first and how spoiled I am right now. My room has an attached bathroom (flushing toilet, sink with water, and a shower with showerhead), a ceiling fan, a bright light (so I’m not left in the dark), a full length mirror (I only have a small hand mirror in San Juan which I use in a poorly lit room so it basically doesn’t work), and this is something I almost don’t want to say…a TV. I’m not sure if it’s staying in my room, and quite frankly I don’t really need a TV in my room and it seems just a little too luxurious for a Peace Corps life. So, I might take it out of the room, unless there isn’t sufficient room for it anywhere else, then I guess I will just have to watch TV in my room :)
So after I moved my stuff in my room, Argelio wanted to take me to the Instituto to check things out and meet the directora. The school there is in pretty good shape and there are about 900 students. It doesn’t seem that large though, and the classrooms looked fairly small, so I’m not sure exactly how many students are in each class. We looked around for the directora but she wasn’t there—this seems pretty common with schools that I have visited. Anyway, we walked around a little and I peeked into the computer lab, which is huge! Then I met the small business volunteer that’s here in Boaco, Steven. Peace Corps told me he was going to be here until next July, but my counterpart said he has already been here for 2 years, so I’ll have to clarify with him. I was hoping to be able to work with another volunteer and thought it might be fun. We’ll see!
So, we finally saw the directora and Argelio begged her for a couple minutes. I said thank you for the opportunity to be there and I was kind of tongue tied as I had not prepared what to say. I was a little frazzled from the travel and the whirlwind of meeting a new family. Anyway, she started saying that she hadn’t received information about when I was coming or something and she sounded a little irritated so I didn’t like how that sounded. Argelio said a few things and I think everything is clear now. Oh well. There was a funny thing though: the directora asked me name and I said Megan, which Argelio repeated a couple times to himself to practice. Then, Argelio asked to tell her my last name, so I said McCann. He then repeated, asking for my last name. So I said it again. Then he asked me the same thing in Spanish (tu apellido?), which I’m not quite sure why I would need a translation, but maybe he thought he was saying the wrong word in English. I then repeated my last name for the first time and he said, “oh it’s said the same.” I repeated it again very slowly, and he said “oh, parece similar” (it sounds very similar). I chuckled and then he asked me to write it on a paper. He then read my name out loud a couple times and told the directora to practice too. This was hilarious. I guess I didn’t realize how much my first and last names sounded alike. P.S. I found out later that the directora is Argelio´s ex-sister-in-law. She is his ex-wife's sister. One of the representatives from MINED (the ministry of education) has the same name as Argelio, so I'll have to check if they're also related haha
After the school visit, we took the school bus back into town and we ate lunch at my house. I had some rice and beef, which I believe I will be having fairly often here in cattle country. I’m not a big meat eater, so that should be interesting.
Argelio left for awhile so I could get settled in, and then he returned to show me around the town a little. We walked to Boaco arriba (upper Boaco) which has quite a staircase. There is a road that you can take that doesn’t have stairs, but it’s still at a large incline. We made it up to the top and it had a beautiful view.
We walked over to the church and he showed me around, and then we went to the park which was right in front of the church. He offered to buy me ice cream, so of course I said yes. We sat on the patio for awhile and chatted. He speaks pretty good English and loves to ask questions. He then took me over to the Pali (supermarket chain here) because I wanted to check out what they had. He bought some plantain chips and we shared those in the park. I felt so spoiled yet again. It started to sprinkle so we headed home.
My family is so kind and I’m excited to be living with them. I hope they don’t mind me staying for 2 years… I guess we’ll see! They helped me put up my mosquitero and told me several times if there is anything that I need, just to ask them. I’m excited to get to know them more :)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Celebrations!
I have officially been in Nicaragua for 2 months now. Time has flown by and I only have 3 weeks left of training! This past weekend was one for many celebrations: we found out our sites on Friday, which was also the fiesta de los aguizotes. This is a night where people dress up like witches and scary people from the famous legends of Nicaragua. It is similar to Halloween in the way that people wear scary costumes and roam the streets, but they don’t go trick-or-treating. They form parades in the streets to show off their costumes and then buy various food and drinks to celebrate with others until the wee hours of the morning. I went to see what this was all about and it was pretty interesting to see. Most people wear black clothing and masks or paint their faces. We went to a bar after because we wanted to go dancing. There was karaoke there and I was really excited to begin my Nicaraguan karaoke career, but their binder of songs that contained so many English songs was a lie. They actually did not have any English songs, so unfortunately I have to wait until I find another place, or I need to learn some Spanish songs :)
Saturday was the day that Nicaraguans celebrate Halloween, well some of them. There were actually protestors in Managua on Friday holding signs against Halloween. This was kind of odd considering they are okay with la fiesta de aguizotes, which is very similar to Halloween.
We went out again Saturday in Masaya and there were actually a lot of gringos at the club, which was pretty funny. I now know how silly we appear to Nicas. We had a good time though and danced a lot.
Sunday was actually Halloween, and I believe there might have been parties somewhere in Masaya or Catarina, but two nights in a row of going out was more than enough. I did celebrate by eating some chocolates at my house :)
This week I’ll be in Boaco visiting my site and I’m really excited to see everything!
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