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

Volcán Masaya, San Ramón, and La Boquita

I have learned how to wash my delicates by hand.  My family makes fun of me because I take so long (2 hours or so), but I am told that I am good at it.  Mama Tita washes everything else and my whites have never been whiter!  Who needs bleach when you have a stone washboard and the hot Nicaraguan sun? 

I go to church twice a week here, which makes me a better Catholic than I was in the states, but it is mainly to spend time with my Mama Rosario.  I still don´t understand a word and I find that I get distracted by the birds who shoulder their way through the gap between the wall and the roof and perch on the rafters above. 

A couple of weeks ago we traveled to Volcán Masaya for a lecture and day trip.  It was known by Spaniards to be the "gate to hell", so a cross rests high above the smoking crater.  This will probably be one of the more daring adventures I will have in Nicaragua because there is risk of getting killed by boiling lava, explosive rocks, or at the very least passing out from the inhalation of the toxic sulfurous gases.  The fumes were definitely getting to me by the time we left.

We spent "practicum week" in San Ramón, a tranquil little town in the mountains of Matagalpa, giving charlas to the pregnant ladies, playing guitar, and eating fabulous food.  It was more retreat-like than anything else.  I hope that my service will be similar. . .

Making bracelets at the Casa Materna

Sarah McD in a hammock chair

The hotel in San Ramón

I was told it would be very cold in Matagalpa, but I have come to discover that the Nicaraguan version of "cold" is slightly different than mine.  I wish I had known this when packing my long-sleeved shirts and pants for practicum week.  Jill and Lucas were the volunteers who oversaw our work and they were able to relate a few stories about service that PC staff has yet to divulge.  Jill has three months left of service in a small town in Río San Juan.  She travels by boat from Granada and usually spends the 15-hour voyage sleeping in her hammock.  Lucas is stationed in Matagalpa and has experienced more of a city life.  He is looking forward to another year of service.

This weekend I convinced my cousin Osman to accompany me and nine other trainees (all ladies) to the beach La Boquita.  This may sound like heaven to a 20-year old young man, but it turns out that Nicaraguans are afraid of both the sun and the ocean, which is why the beach looks so deserted.  Osman was nice enough to gather some coconuts earlier that morning and he cut them open for us during lunch.  I came home with a terrible sunburn and very few pictures.

La Boquita

La Boquita

Rita´s towel and coconuts

 

Amy and Ana relaxing at the restaurant

A big THANK YOU to all of those have written (the old-fashioned way):

Katie

Dad

Phill

Melissa

Juddy

Ladonna

Bread and Sandinistas.

My family makes bread completely by hand every few weeks.  I help them fill the rolls with cheese before it is thrown into the oven outside, but I have yet to learn the ancient art of making the dough.  I took pictures of the bread-making yesterday, but I could not stay for the whole process because my fellow trainees and I had to go door-to-door to meet all of the pregnant women in the town.  There are 13.  We invited them to a charla (short lecture) this upcoming week about nutrition during pregnancy.  Some were very excited and a few were too shy to even respond.

We stumbled upon a Sandinista rally in the park and decided to sit and watch for a little while.  For those of you who do not know, Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega is running for a second term in November.  The upcoming election will prove to be very lively to say the least.

Things I am getting used to in my town:

trash burning in the streets

saying "adios" to people walking by instead of "hola"

pipe bombs any time of day or night

going to bed early

waking up early

speaking Spanish

Tía Blanca making the dough by hand

Doña Rosario (mamá) and Tía Blanca

Rosario, Joseling, and Blanca shaping and cutting the dough

The dough before cheese is added

Wilma enjoying the finished product fresh from the oven.

My bed and mosquito net.

My desk.

My closet.

At the Sandinista rally.

Sandinista rally.

Sandinista rally.

Sandanista rally.

My cousin´s son, Icker.

My other cousin´s son, Christopher.

Dar una Charla

No pictures this time, but good news:  I gave my first charla at the health center on Tuesday!  Charla literally translates to ¨chat¨, but it is actually a short lecture.  I spoke for 10 or 15 minutes about the importance of fruits and vegetables ALL IN SPANISH to the handful of people in the waiting room.  I hope to put pictures up soon, but they are on Renee´s camera.  The charla went well in general, but I was told afterwards that fruits and vegetables are too expensive.  Next time (Thursday) I will have to be more culturally sensitive. 

List of gifts from home that I have used so far:

soccer ball
travel alarm
ipod dock
skirts and tank tops
stationary
collapsible water bottle
playing cards
photo album
watch
calendar
toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner
Spanish fan
Spanish dictionary

Thanks for the gifts!  I use them all the time!

Pictures!

Baptism of Matias

From left: Priest, Icker, Wayner, Matias, Gabriela, Melissa.

Cake at the party after the baptism.  My host mom made it!

My cousin Valesca.

Gabriela´s son Icker and my cousin Nuvia.

La Ipica.

Icker on a horse at La Ipica.

My cousin Wilma.

La Ipica.

La Ipica.

My new guitar, playing in Rita´s backyard.

Fellow trainee Lenka.

Fellow trainee Rita.

My trainee group.  Lenka, Renee, myself, and Rita.

Rita with her Nica nieces.

Renees new camera.

Our teacher for the first 3 weeks.  We said goodbye to Nelson today.

Creatures I have seen so far:
        
     a rat that ran into my room - my host mom later told me she killed it with her shoe

     stray dogs everywhere

     cows, bulls, and horses

     an incredibly large spider  -  I seemed to be the only one frightened by because it "eats mosquitos", but
     it was the size of my hand

     geckos



Food I have eaten so far:

     beans, rice, beans & rice mixed together, bean soup with rice

     chicken, beef, pork, pork rinds    

     cheese, cheese soup

     nacatamal

     oatmeal

     pineapple, banana, plantain, melon

Adjusting

It is getting more and more difficult to find time to write.  I am very busy with Spanish homework, and the entire Nica 55 group has been meeting in different locations (Diriamba, Managua, Masaya) for technical classes. 

The clearest version of a map of Nicaragua I could find online.

The classes take all day and by the time I get back to my training town in Carazo, the sun has vanished and so too has the opportunity to walk to the “other side of town” to post on my blog.

I purchased a guitar last week in Diriamba.  It cost 2,085 cόrdobas ($100) for a nylon-string Suzuki and a red canvas case.  I had been hording a $100 bill for this very reason, but with the romantic notion that I might find a hand-crafted Nicaraguan guitar.  No such luck.  My cousin Valeska accompanied me to the bank and guitar shop.  When I have a free moment during the day I fill it with music.  My sobrinos love to listen.

 

One of the girls in my training group (Lenka) became very ill last week.  We predict food poisoning.  The symptoms only lasted one day, but she was sent to Managua as a precaution.  She has vowed to reject any beef offered by her host family in the future.

I went to the baptism of my Nica cousin´s son and the last trainee was the godmother!  I have some big shoes to fill.  At the beginning of her training Melissa was at the same Spanish level as I am, and now she is as fluent as the next Nica!  There is hope for me yet.  She works in environmental health and was assigned a very small pueblo in Boaco for her two year service.

I have had the opportunity to attend two Ipicas, one in Diriamba and other in Santa Theresa.  An Ipica is basically a parade of horses and an excuse to party.  Lots of people, loud rhythmic music, and beer.  It is a rather dangerous event, to be honest, because most of the people riding have put back a few and the horses look a bit dehydrated.  In any event, I am pleased that I was able to sample a taste of the Nicaraguan culture.

Pictures to come, this computer did not detect my camera...