Getting Started

I have been in my site since April 3rd, feeling out what the next two years of my life will entail.  Per request, I will be living with an assigned Nica family for at least 8 weeks before seeking a new, more permanent home.  Eight people live in the house, including myself.  It is not as over-crowded as it sounds and I very rarely feel that I lack privacy.

There is running water only one or two days out of the week, which for me means bucket showers every morning!  I have found that it takes a certain level of courage to willingly dump a bowl of cold water over your head.  When the water does come it is collected and stored in barrels or garbage cans, or basically any large container that can hold liquid.  It is then rationed out over the next few days until the water comes again.  When will that be?  No one knows.

I eat gallo pinto (a mix of rice and beans), cuajada (a type of cheese), corn tortillas, and coffee every morning and night.  Only the lunch menu changes from day to day.  The family is very pleased that I eat "like a soldier", which means I will consume almost anything that is placed in front of me.  I usually supplement my daily meals with a banana and a bag of pre-cut mango that I buy from street vendors at 1 córdoba (5 cents) and 5 córdobas (23 cents) respectively.  I also take multivitamins and calcium for good measure.

There are two other volunteers in my site.  Megan is from Oregon and started her service 3 months ago.  She teaches English.  Steve is from California and teaches small business.  He will be replaced by another business volunteer in July.  They are both awesome.

With much more free time on my hands than I had during training I have been finding myself at the internet café daily.  This is a terrible habit as it costs almost $1 every time I go, which is quickly chipping away at my monthly allowance.  At the moment it is a difficult habit to break being that I have not made enough friends to occupy my time and my host family´s preferred pastime is sitting and looking out...

Yesterday I went to the library to check out The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho in Spanish.  This turned out to be more of an adventure than expected (because I didn´t expect it to be an adventure at all).  Apparently one needs to build trust at the public library before being given the privilege of borrowing a book.  I was required to leave my identification as collateral for the tattered novel until I am able to prove myself as a capable book-returner.  It could take months, but I believe that I am up to the challenge!  Little do they know that I have had years of experience in the book-returning business.

Stay tuned this week as I discuss what my job is like and post pictures of my town!


Types of stores in my site:

office supplies
pharmacy
piñatas
photocopies
ice cream (Eskimo)
jewelers
used American clothes
convenience
random collection of things
cell phones

There is also a huge market that mainly sells clothes and produce.

Swearing In Nica 55

Forty-four trainees began our pre-service training in January and 43 of us (in formal attire) swore in on April 1st.  The Nicaraguan Ambassador Robert Callahan spoke eloquently of JFK, Sargent Shriver, and the 50 years of service US volunteers have dedicated to developing countries.  He called us the "pride of the nation".  The Nicaraguan director of the Ministry of Health praised us for our future service and we graciously thanked our training families for putting us up (and putting up with us) for three months.  Then we ate cake!

El Rosario looking sharp!

Me and Rita

Me and Mr. Ambassador Robert Callahan

All 20 Maternal and Child Health Volunteers, plus Donald, Don Eduardo, and Ximena.

 The ceremony was bittersweet.  Now begins our two years of service, each of us scattered about the country.  Strong, newly-developed friendships and family ties will have to be celebrated at a distance.

My new address is:

PCV Elizabeth Malenk

Apartado Postal 23

Boaco, Boaco

Nicaragua, América Central

Summary of my Training

Over a period of 3 months I gave 3 charlas at the health center, 2 charlas to a group of pregnant women, conduceted a survery about nutrition and presented the information to my fellow trainees.  All in broken spanish of course.  The days were packed with Spanish classes, technical lectures, and integration into the community.  I have almost experienced the whole gamut of special events including a baptism, a wedding, multiple birthdays, a baby shower, and I once politely declined an invitation to a wake.  I have had to say goodbye to two aunts and a cousin who sought work in Panama because there is none here.  It is heartbreaking to see them leave.  Though it is still difficult to communicate, I feel very close to my Nica family because they remind me so much of my family back home.  They are fun, easy-going, caring, sociable, generous, and adorable!  See for yourself:

Wilma, Gabby, Baby Matias, and Nuvia

Christian, Pilar, and José Alberto

Stephanie Nicole and Bosco Alexander

Osman and Matias

Matias and big brother Icker

Mama Chayo and Pilar

Mama Tita and Soraya

Matias and Josseling

Tito

Gabriel

In class, in addition to learning Spanish, we learned how to make buñuelos (like a donut made of yuca root), and sopa de albondigas (vegetable soup with dumplings).  The food here is getting more and more appealing and I´m starting to crave certain Nicaraguan dishes.  Lenka´s Nica brother Gerall was nice enough to guide us to a baseball game in Jinotepe, the artesan market in Masaya, and the lookout in Caterina.  Only a handful of memories summed up in this post.  I hope to write more frequently in the future,  As a goodbye present to my family I gave them a photo album filled with pictures to remind them how beautiful they are.  It was hard to say goodbye.  Now begins my service.

Things I sometimes forget that I miss:

hot showers
Starbucks
grass
hulu.com
bagels with cream cheese
book stores
personal space