In Spanish, the word "confianza" means trust, and during our first three months in-country, also known as Peace Corps training, we are taught incessantly about the importance of gaining confianza and building relationships within the community before diving right in and attempting to start a project. In the U.S., diving right in with a business associate may roll, but in a developing nation where you may not share the same political, religious, cultural, educational, and/or socioeconomic background as those with whom you work, if you have no confianza, you'll have limited success.
Now that I have over a year and a half in my site, I feel I've developed enough confianza with certain people to make our work together worthwhile. With some people, it came easily because of their relationships with the previous environmental education volunteer, or because of an inherent openness or fondness towards Americans and American culture. However, this was certainly not the case with everybody.
People generally view all "gringos" the same - rich, right-wing, and basically there to give away hand-outs. To try to teach people the reality in that not all Americans are alike, just as not all Nicas are alike, and that we are working voluntarily for only a modest living stipend, is very difficult.
However, one thing that certainly helps level the playing field is our living allowance, or better said, stipend. In the U.S., we are considered volunteers, but here, we make just about the same amount of money as any teacher, which is not considered a salary for us but rather a stipend for basic living expenses. As much as this can frustrate any volunteer who's used to going out on a weekly basis, traveling, and saving up money back home, it can actually be a blessing.
Why? It puts us more on the same playing field with our counterparts who are making about the same amount of money as we are. We live in similarly-sized houses under the same living conditions and are therefore no longer seen as "rich gringos" (well, at least that is the goal). It gives two people raised under entirely different circumstances more things to share in common.
The rest of the confianza-building process depends on how much you're willing to put yourself out there and step out of your comfort zone during your first few months of service to visit people you hardly even know at their houses and try to carry on a conversation in a language which you barely dominate. As awkward as this was, I now realize how much closer I am with these teachers than with the teachers with whom I started working mid-service because we've gotten to know each other personally rather than on just a professional basis. We cook together, they invite me to family and school functions, they come to my house with their kids, and they paint my toenails (I'm telling you, pedicure-quality toenail paintings).
But not only are we close personally, I have much more success with them work-wise because they show more interest in my projects. They truly understand what it is I'm doing in Nicaragua for two years. So is it really worth having all that free time in your first two months of service and sitting through all those awkward silences when you're first getting to know each other? Absolutely.
It may not have been apparent when I first got here why I had so much time off, why I wasn't just placed in-site right at the beginning of the school year instead of at the very end, or why "confianza" is so important and why we are forced to live on such small means. It's made me get to know and understand better the people with whom I work on a regular basis. I'm more respected. And I often feel more like a part of the community than a complete outsider. So even though my work can often frustrate me, I can at least feel some sense of accomplishment because of the relationships I've built along the way.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Un Dia Tipico
Thank you for those of you who made suggestions for my next blog entry. I will be writing several to try to take into account all of them, since I know there's still a lot you'd like to know. This entry is about a typical day in Nicaragua...
I wake up between 5:30 and 6:30 to the sun rising brightly, illuminating the starfruit tree I have outside of my window. I take a refreshing, or sometimes less refreshing and more frigid, cold water shower, and if there's no water, a bucket bath from the water I have saved in my pila (large water storage area). I'll usually prepare myself a cold oatmeal drink of oatmeal, sugar, and water, but if it's a weekend and I have rice and beans on hand, I'll make gallo pinto (fried rice and beans) with a warm corn tortilla from one of the tortilla ladies down the street and a fresh avocado. To die for.
After I've gotten myself ready, I'll leave for school, umbrella in hand (for both sun and rain), and wait for the bus. The ride is between 20 and 40 minutes on either a paved or dirt road, depending on the school, and if reggaeton is blasting, the ride usually seems quicker. At the school, I'll co-teach the class to 3rd-6th grade collectively (multigrade) on a science-related topic that the teacher and I have already planned earlier that week using lots of fun, hands-on activities.
After spending a few hours at the school, I'll take the bus back into the "city" (sometimes standing), go home to relax, and heat up my lunch on the gas stove. This is usually something that I've already prepared a day or two before and continually heat up throughout the day so it doesn't spoil (since I have no refrigerator...I like to try to stay within the living allowance that PC gives us and since I was never able to save up enough to buy a mini-fridge, well, I don't have one).
The food I'll prepare is usually one of the following: rice and beans with malanga, quequisque (both in the potato family), or chayote (a type of squash) and fried green plantains; curried lentil stew with potatoes, chayote, and carrots served over rice; pasta with homemade tomato sauce, soymeat, and chayote; soymeat prepared with potatoes, carrots, and chayote served over rice; chickpeas cooked with Indian spices, carrots, and tomatoes served over rice; and if I'm lucky enough to be in Managua or another big city that day, I'll bring back some fresh eggplant, broccoli, or spinach to cook with garlic and oil over pasta.
Although this may (or may not) sound appetizing, it gets tiring eating the same things all the time, especially after almost two years. So if you have any simple recipes using any of the ingredients mentioned above, please, send them my way!!!
My afternoons are usually spent napping/relaxing, at the Mayor's Office planning, carrying out an environmental activity or eco-group session, and/or co-planning with one of my six teachers. The teachers with whom I've developed more "confianza" (trust) will usually have me over for a while longer to chat, offering me a drink or sometimes a meal. I feel like I've had much more success working with those teachers (more on that in a later blog).
I mostly get around by bicycle, but if it's raining or looks like it's about to rain, I'll walk. On the days that I go to my afternoon school in town, I'll spend the mornings sleeping in a little bit, hand-washing clothes for about two hours, sweeping and mopping the floors, and cooking one of the above-mentioned recipes. After lunch, I'll walk 25 minutes or ride my bike to the poorest neighborhood in town and spend my afternoon in class there. One night a week I give science classes there to enrolled adults, too.
Upon returning home at night, I'll eat dinner and relax, preparing materials for the next day's class, or watch DVDs of "Sex and the City" or the "Office" until I go to bed around 9 (I know, lame). My days of nightly English classes are over now that we have a new TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) volunteer in town, Jocelyn!
On weekends or days that I don't have class, I'll visit friends, have eco-group meetings, travel to a community to plant trees, catch up on household duties and chores, travel two hours to the closest city to get my mail and do some grocery shopping for some difficult-to-find items, watch local soccer games, use the internet, or just relax.
Really, no day is ever the same here because my schedule pretty much varies on a week-to-week, season-to-season basis, but now you've got the gist of what I generally do. If it seems like teaching for only half the day, three to four days a week is nothing, take into account all the wasted time spent making numerous trips to co-plan, meet with someone at the Mayor's Office or an NGO, or even school when I find that they are not there or are in a meeting, which makes planning things really fun for me. But what's great is that I always have the flexibility to move things around if I need to take an afternoon or day off, which is not so easy with a 9-5 job.
Overall, I try to keep myself fairly busy and avoid spending too much time alone in my house to prevent boredom and loneliness. I also want to be able to look back at my two years here and feel like I really did something positive for the community. I've got less than five months left, and time is moving quickly. Hello, U-S-A!
I wake up between 5:30 and 6:30 to the sun rising brightly, illuminating the starfruit tree I have outside of my window. I take a refreshing, or sometimes less refreshing and more frigid, cold water shower, and if there's no water, a bucket bath from the water I have saved in my pila (large water storage area). I'll usually prepare myself a cold oatmeal drink of oatmeal, sugar, and water, but if it's a weekend and I have rice and beans on hand, I'll make gallo pinto (fried rice and beans) with a warm corn tortilla from one of the tortilla ladies down the street and a fresh avocado. To die for.
After I've gotten myself ready, I'll leave for school, umbrella in hand (for both sun and rain), and wait for the bus. The ride is between 20 and 40 minutes on either a paved or dirt road, depending on the school, and if reggaeton is blasting, the ride usually seems quicker. At the school, I'll co-teach the class to 3rd-6th grade collectively (multigrade) on a science-related topic that the teacher and I have already planned earlier that week using lots of fun, hands-on activities.
After spending a few hours at the school, I'll take the bus back into the "city" (sometimes standing), go home to relax, and heat up my lunch on the gas stove. This is usually something that I've already prepared a day or two before and continually heat up throughout the day so it doesn't spoil (since I have no refrigerator...I like to try to stay within the living allowance that PC gives us and since I was never able to save up enough to buy a mini-fridge, well, I don't have one).
The food I'll prepare is usually one of the following: rice and beans with malanga, quequisque (both in the potato family), or chayote (a type of squash) and fried green plantains; curried lentil stew with potatoes, chayote, and carrots served over rice; pasta with homemade tomato sauce, soymeat, and chayote; soymeat prepared with potatoes, carrots, and chayote served over rice; chickpeas cooked with Indian spices, carrots, and tomatoes served over rice; and if I'm lucky enough to be in Managua or another big city that day, I'll bring back some fresh eggplant, broccoli, or spinach to cook with garlic and oil over pasta.
Although this may (or may not) sound appetizing, it gets tiring eating the same things all the time, especially after almost two years. So if you have any simple recipes using any of the ingredients mentioned above, please, send them my way!!!
My afternoons are usually spent napping/relaxing, at the Mayor's Office planning, carrying out an environmental activity or eco-group session, and/or co-planning with one of my six teachers. The teachers with whom I've developed more "confianza" (trust) will usually have me over for a while longer to chat, offering me a drink or sometimes a meal. I feel like I've had much more success working with those teachers (more on that in a later blog).
I mostly get around by bicycle, but if it's raining or looks like it's about to rain, I'll walk. On the days that I go to my afternoon school in town, I'll spend the mornings sleeping in a little bit, hand-washing clothes for about two hours, sweeping and mopping the floors, and cooking one of the above-mentioned recipes. After lunch, I'll walk 25 minutes or ride my bike to the poorest neighborhood in town and spend my afternoon in class there. One night a week I give science classes there to enrolled adults, too.
Upon returning home at night, I'll eat dinner and relax, preparing materials for the next day's class, or watch DVDs of "Sex and the City" or the "Office" until I go to bed around 9 (I know, lame). My days of nightly English classes are over now that we have a new TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) volunteer in town, Jocelyn!
On weekends or days that I don't have class, I'll visit friends, have eco-group meetings, travel to a community to plant trees, catch up on household duties and chores, travel two hours to the closest city to get my mail and do some grocery shopping for some difficult-to-find items, watch local soccer games, use the internet, or just relax.
Really, no day is ever the same here because my schedule pretty much varies on a week-to-week, season-to-season basis, but now you've got the gist of what I generally do. If it seems like teaching for only half the day, three to four days a week is nothing, take into account all the wasted time spent making numerous trips to co-plan, meet with someone at the Mayor's Office or an NGO, or even school when I find that they are not there or are in a meeting, which makes planning things really fun for me. But what's great is that I always have the flexibility to move things around if I need to take an afternoon or day off, which is not so easy with a 9-5 job.
Overall, I try to keep myself fairly busy and avoid spending too much time alone in my house to prevent boredom and loneliness. I also want to be able to look back at my two years here and feel like I really did something positive for the community. I've got less than five months left, and time is moving quickly. Hello, U-S-A!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Suggestions?
Hi everyone, I'd like to leave my next blog post open to suggestions. Is there anything I haven't written about or that you'd like to hear more about? Nica culture, a typical day, food, Peace Corps, etc? Please, leave a comment or send me an email...I'm looking for suggestions!!!! Thanks!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Rainy Season - I Hate You
You know the saying, "April showers bring May flowers"? Of course you do. Well in Nicaragua, the saying should be, "April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and (if you live in the northern regions) December showers bring mangoes and avocadoes." Yes, I love mangoes and avocadoes. I think they are some of the most delicious things that could be produced on this earth. However, I would be willing to sacrifice them if I didn't have to deal with 8-9 months of daily rain.
Does my job depend on the rain? Yes. Without it, we wouldn't be able to have school gardens and plant trees, since two out of three of my schools don't even have running water. But I absolutely cannot stand the rain, and the rainy season's only just beginning. Sure, I wouldn't mind the rain every once in a while, but when it's every day for 8 months and you have to walk/ride your bike everywhere on dirt, or better said, mud roads, and wash by hand the resultant filthy clothing (that will never dry) in an area where every five seconds your feet are bitten by fire ants, you start to abhore the rain.
The rain here as it relates to my life in Nicaragua means constantly dirty floors and mounds of dirty laundry. Why don't I just wash them, you might ask? Well, all chores and manual labor are pretty much left to the mornings. If you decide to so much as life a pencil in the afternoon, you have so much sweat pouring out of you you're practically swimming in it. So that cuts out half my day. Then, factor in that I spend most mornings at school, in meetings, or cooking, and that limits me to about 1-2 free mornings a week. Now, understand that in the rainy season, the water schedule is very unpredictable. Water can go out for days at a time (for some areas, weeks) due to flooded rivers, and that means the chances of having running water on those one or two free mornings I have are slim to none. Therefore, in my mind, I am living in a constant world of filth.
Another problem that I am facing which has been 100x worse this year because last year was a fairly dry year, is ants. Billions upon billions of them living in and under my house. And these ants aren't the gentle, lovable ants that you get to know in the movie Antz, these ants have attitude. They will bite you any second they get and it stings and itches for days. I look like I have some kind of disease on my feet. So, I being the environmentalist and all have tried all sorts of natural remedies to get rid of them - chili powder, soapy water - you name it, but nothing has resulted. I've really reached my tolerance level, and at this point, Raid or any other kind of fast-acting poison is looking like an excellent solution.
I could go on and on about how much I hate the rain, but really I don't think it's something you want to read about. Besides, there were many farmers who got hit really hard last year because it was so dry and farming is their only source of income. So who am I to complain? I've only got less than six months left here. Maybe I'll just buy a pair of rubber boots in the meantime and move to Arizona when I get back?
Does my job depend on the rain? Yes. Without it, we wouldn't be able to have school gardens and plant trees, since two out of three of my schools don't even have running water. But I absolutely cannot stand the rain, and the rainy season's only just beginning. Sure, I wouldn't mind the rain every once in a while, but when it's every day for 8 months and you have to walk/ride your bike everywhere on dirt, or better said, mud roads, and wash by hand the resultant filthy clothing (that will never dry) in an area where every five seconds your feet are bitten by fire ants, you start to abhore the rain.
The rain here as it relates to my life in Nicaragua means constantly dirty floors and mounds of dirty laundry. Why don't I just wash them, you might ask? Well, all chores and manual labor are pretty much left to the mornings. If you decide to so much as life a pencil in the afternoon, you have so much sweat pouring out of you you're practically swimming in it. So that cuts out half my day. Then, factor in that I spend most mornings at school, in meetings, or cooking, and that limits me to about 1-2 free mornings a week. Now, understand that in the rainy season, the water schedule is very unpredictable. Water can go out for days at a time (for some areas, weeks) due to flooded rivers, and that means the chances of having running water on those one or two free mornings I have are slim to none. Therefore, in my mind, I am living in a constant world of filth.
Another problem that I am facing which has been 100x worse this year because last year was a fairly dry year, is ants. Billions upon billions of them living in and under my house. And these ants aren't the gentle, lovable ants that you get to know in the movie Antz, these ants have attitude. They will bite you any second they get and it stings and itches for days. I look like I have some kind of disease on my feet. So, I being the environmentalist and all have tried all sorts of natural remedies to get rid of them - chili powder, soapy water - you name it, but nothing has resulted. I've really reached my tolerance level, and at this point, Raid or any other kind of fast-acting poison is looking like an excellent solution.
I could go on and on about how much I hate the rain, but really I don't think it's something you want to read about. Besides, there were many farmers who got hit really hard last year because it was so dry and farming is their only source of income. So who am I to complain? I've only got less than six months left here. Maybe I'll just buy a pair of rubber boots in the meantime and move to Arizona when I get back?
Saturday, April 24, 2010
The Top 20 Things I Can't Wait to Go Home To
As my time in Nicaragua has wound down to about seven months left of service and I'm seeing off those volunteers in the groups before me, I've been getting into the mindset of life back home. So I decided to make a list of the top 20 things I can't wait to go home to, you know, just for fun ;). Yes, feel free to call me a dork, but these are the things I daydream about. The further down the list you get, the more excited I am about going back to it...
20. Going to the movies.
19. 24/7 internet access
18. Weddings
17. Waking up to find the NY Times in my inbox.
16. Driving
15. A clean, unlittered environment and an environmentally conscious public.
14. Bravo Reality TV, The Daily Show, WB11 late night tv, Travel Channel's "No Reservations"
13. Live music
12. Going shopping for an entirely new wardrobe (and I used to hate shopping!)
11. Spending the holidays with family
10. Inexpensive monthly phone plans
9. Snowboarding
8. No mosquitoes or sleeping with a mosquito net
7. Using a machine to wash clothes
6. Grocery stores and food shopping
5. Always having running water
4. Hot showers and soft towels
3. Dinners at nice restaurants with close friends
2. FOOD! Veggie burgers, Thai food, Chinese takeout, mesclun salads, bagels with tofu cream cheese or Earth Balance margarine, fresh berries, bok choy and other leafy greens, vegan grilled cheese, vegan waffles, Tropicana orange juice (some pulp), Silk Soymilk, Green Cactus mexican food, sandwiches and toast with multigrain bread, and a REFRIGERATOR to keep it all in!
And the #1 thing I can't wait to go home to...
1. Sitting on the couch in sweatpants eating soy ice cream and watching Oprah.
20. Going to the movies.
19. 24/7 internet access
18. Weddings
17. Waking up to find the NY Times in my inbox.
16. Driving
15. A clean, unlittered environment and an environmentally conscious public.
14. Bravo Reality TV, The Daily Show, WB11 late night tv, Travel Channel's "No Reservations"
13. Live music
12. Going shopping for an entirely new wardrobe (and I used to hate shopping!)
11. Spending the holidays with family
10. Inexpensive monthly phone plans
9. Snowboarding
8. No mosquitoes or sleeping with a mosquito net
7. Using a machine to wash clothes
6. Grocery stores and food shopping
5. Always having running water
4. Hot showers and soft towels
3. Dinners at nice restaurants with close friends
2. FOOD! Veggie burgers, Thai food, Chinese takeout, mesclun salads, bagels with tofu cream cheese or Earth Balance margarine, fresh berries, bok choy and other leafy greens, vegan grilled cheese, vegan waffles, Tropicana orange juice (some pulp), Silk Soymilk, Green Cactus mexican food, sandwiches and toast with multigrain bread, and a REFRIGERATOR to keep it all in!
And the #1 thing I can't wait to go home to...
1. Sitting on the couch in sweatpants eating soy ice cream and watching Oprah.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
School, Billiards Tournaments, and Eco Groups
Since it's been a while, I figured I'd give an update on what I've been up to the past few months...
February marked the official start of the new school year. At this time I still had plans to work with most of the same teachers from the previous year. However, over the past month, many changes have taken place. Already weeks into the new school year, one of my multi-grade teachers got switched from teaching 1st and 3rd grade, to 1st and 2nd, leaving me to work with only one teacher in that school. I am also only working with one teacher in my other multigrade school, with grades 3-6. So that leaves me with having to work with four teachers in my not-so-favorite urban school.
At the beginning of the year, I was solidly working with one of my teachers from all of last year and two with whom I began at the end of the year. One of the new teachers worked out, while the other, after countless visits to his house, finally admitted that he didn't want to work with me. Many teachers, despite constant discussions about the point of my work and how we need to work together, co-planning and co-teaching for our work to be sustainable, still seem to miss that memo and think that my sole purpose here is to give their science classes for them so that they can leave the classroom and hang out. So when this teacher finally realized that this was not the way I roll, he suddenly didn't want to work with me anymore. Go figure.
Then one of my teachers with whom I worked all of last year got moved to teaching adult elementary classes at night, leaving all 50 (or is it 60? I lose track) of her 4th graders with a teacher who's just getting back from sick-leave. This, please note, was already a month into the new school year. So I may or may not be working with this 4th grade teacher, with whom I worked last year and didn't have too much success. Luckily, though, I will start giving night classes for adults which I'm really excited about. It'll be quite a change to teaching kids and I'm looking forward to being able to do more disciplined activities that some of my kids can't handle.
So that leaves me with four to five teachers, and as we're required to work with six, I need to pick up two brand new ones from my urban school (the only two with whom I haven't worked) and start from scratch. This is incredibly frustrating because I spent all of last year developing "confianza", or trust, with these teachers, so that this year would be a breeze. But now starting all over again with two new teachers and rushing the two-year process into one will be a challenge. I'm going to explain really well what my work is all about and my expectations to avoid some of the confusion I most recently dealt with.
Besides teacher frustrations and getting backtracked with my work in the schools, I've had some notable successes or hopefully soon-to-be successes that are still in progress. In March, my sitemate and I held a billiards tournament to promote HIV/AIDS education and prevention. Since men who frequent the billiards halls are considered high-risk individuals, this is the perfect place to hold this type of event. I'd like to take credit for thinking of such a brilliant idea, but these tournaments are actually pretty popular among health volunteers not only in Nicaragua, but in other parts of Latin America too. Neither one of us is a health volunteer, but Peace Corps encourages any kind of work we do in the HIV/AIDS field, and this seemed like a pretty cool event. Although only eight people participated in the tournament, we had about 60 people in attendance who heard the info sessions and received the information. We had some PC Health Volunteers, a representative from the mayor's office, and doctors from the Health Center come to the event to give info sessions and do free HIV testing. Condoms were distributed and the top two players in the tournament received a monetary prize. Overall, I think the tournament went well, especially as it was the first tournament of its kind that was held in town and that my sitemate and I really worked on involving local community members so that it can be done again once we're gone.
Lastly, luck must be on my side because the environmental representative in the mayor's office, Yaquelin, was able to stay and we've got a number of things we've been working on. First, the formation of ecological groups in each school who will eventually receive info sessions from us and will decide among themselves what kind of environmental projects they'd like to independently take on. Also, the anti-trash burning campaign continues, and now that it's been banned in the schools, we'd like to incorporate the eco-groups and get a community awareness campaign going. Yaquelin and I will also be attending a 4-day workshop together (which just so happens to be at the beach) for learning about project design and management so that we can hopefully get a trash management project going at least before I leave in November.
Seven and a half months until the end of service and I can really feel the clock ticking. I hope to have at least one main accomplishment that I can always look back on and really feel like my service was worthwhile.
February marked the official start of the new school year. At this time I still had plans to work with most of the same teachers from the previous year. However, over the past month, many changes have taken place. Already weeks into the new school year, one of my multi-grade teachers got switched from teaching 1st and 3rd grade, to 1st and 2nd, leaving me to work with only one teacher in that school. I am also only working with one teacher in my other multigrade school, with grades 3-6. So that leaves me with having to work with four teachers in my not-so-favorite urban school.
At the beginning of the year, I was solidly working with one of my teachers from all of last year and two with whom I began at the end of the year. One of the new teachers worked out, while the other, after countless visits to his house, finally admitted that he didn't want to work with me. Many teachers, despite constant discussions about the point of my work and how we need to work together, co-planning and co-teaching for our work to be sustainable, still seem to miss that memo and think that my sole purpose here is to give their science classes for them so that they can leave the classroom and hang out. So when this teacher finally realized that this was not the way I roll, he suddenly didn't want to work with me anymore. Go figure.
Then one of my teachers with whom I worked all of last year got moved to teaching adult elementary classes at night, leaving all 50 (or is it 60? I lose track) of her 4th graders with a teacher who's just getting back from sick-leave. This, please note, was already a month into the new school year. So I may or may not be working with this 4th grade teacher, with whom I worked last year and didn't have too much success. Luckily, though, I will start giving night classes for adults which I'm really excited about. It'll be quite a change to teaching kids and I'm looking forward to being able to do more disciplined activities that some of my kids can't handle.
So that leaves me with four to five teachers, and as we're required to work with six, I need to pick up two brand new ones from my urban school (the only two with whom I haven't worked) and start from scratch. This is incredibly frustrating because I spent all of last year developing "confianza", or trust, with these teachers, so that this year would be a breeze. But now starting all over again with two new teachers and rushing the two-year process into one will be a challenge. I'm going to explain really well what my work is all about and my expectations to avoid some of the confusion I most recently dealt with.
Besides teacher frustrations and getting backtracked with my work in the schools, I've had some notable successes or hopefully soon-to-be successes that are still in progress. In March, my sitemate and I held a billiards tournament to promote HIV/AIDS education and prevention. Since men who frequent the billiards halls are considered high-risk individuals, this is the perfect place to hold this type of event. I'd like to take credit for thinking of such a brilliant idea, but these tournaments are actually pretty popular among health volunteers not only in Nicaragua, but in other parts of Latin America too. Neither one of us is a health volunteer, but Peace Corps encourages any kind of work we do in the HIV/AIDS field, and this seemed like a pretty cool event. Although only eight people participated in the tournament, we had about 60 people in attendance who heard the info sessions and received the information. We had some PC Health Volunteers, a representative from the mayor's office, and doctors from the Health Center come to the event to give info sessions and do free HIV testing. Condoms were distributed and the top two players in the tournament received a monetary prize. Overall, I think the tournament went well, especially as it was the first tournament of its kind that was held in town and that my sitemate and I really worked on involving local community members so that it can be done again once we're gone.
Lastly, luck must be on my side because the environmental representative in the mayor's office, Yaquelin, was able to stay and we've got a number of things we've been working on. First, the formation of ecological groups in each school who will eventually receive info sessions from us and will decide among themselves what kind of environmental projects they'd like to independently take on. Also, the anti-trash burning campaign continues, and now that it's been banned in the schools, we'd like to incorporate the eco-groups and get a community awareness campaign going. Yaquelin and I will also be attending a 4-day workshop together (which just so happens to be at the beach) for learning about project design and management so that we can hopefully get a trash management project going at least before I leave in November.
Seven and a half months until the end of service and I can really feel the clock ticking. I hope to have at least one main accomplishment that I can always look back on and really feel like my service was worthwhile.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Gallo Pinto, by Sonia
This is a guest entry by my friend, Sonia, visiting from New York.
Kipling once said “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it” …It is March and I am in Nicaragua, the first thing I remember smelling is burning garbage. But this smell is not the “first condition” to understanding Nicaragua. The first condition is to go in with an open mind. Nicaragua is a poor, polluted and developing country but also a very interesting one. Aside from reading up on its political history, I tried to go in without any expectations and only had my brief trip to Costa Rica several years ago for any Central American travel context. I wanted the experience to just wash over me and let Carolyn lead the way. She is a great navigator of the country so if you are planning to visit, please go.
Transitioning so quickly from 45 degrees Fahrenheit in late winter NY to a steamy 95 in Managua was almost unbearable for me. Why am I wearing jeans? Why did I bring a small rolling suitcase instead of my backpack (more on that later)? Will I ever feel clean on this trip (no)? These were my initial thoughts...but getting too caught up on the heat, the bumpy roads, the dirt and grime of traveling cheaply in Nica etc. will only detract from what was ultimately a worthwhile travel experience.
After a night in the capitol, Managua, Carolyn and I took a questionable old schoolbus to her site, Matiguas. We spent a little over two days and I got to see how she lives and the work she does. The highlights of my time in her town were:
-Norvin’s mother's very tasty veg lunch she cooked for us, old-school over a wooden fire
-Getting to meet Carolyn’s friends, boyfriend and colleagues
-Visiting a pretty waterfall with Spanish moss and monkeys
-Observing Carolyn teaching at one of her schools
The heat, the insects, my watch being stolen, the stares I got from locals, and my lack of Spanish were not exactly pleasant but I think if you do visit Carolyn, it is important to see her site and see how she lives. I am so impressed by the comforts she willingly lives without. She has no water and power during the day, no hot water, nosy neighbors, no internet, a small stipend she has to stretch for the whole month etc. I am also very impressed by Carolyn’s amazing Spanish and by the work she does; micro-change and micro-development is so important and she is part of that process, right in the thick of it.
Another miserable bus ride to the capitol and then a micro-bus ride, and we are in Carolyn’s training town, Masatepe. I was able to meet her very hospitable host family and a very different region of the country. It is a larger, greener and more bustling town than Matiguas. The following day, more buses and dirt, we went to the artisan market in Masaya. The market was nice and I bought a few woven scarves, local chocolate, coffee etc. My rolling bag couldn’t make it to the less touristy, cheaper market but I was trying to do a favor and take a Gautemalan blanket back to the states for Carolyn ;) Note to self and other future visitors to Nica: bring a backpack, these roads are not made for rolling! I did appreciate that the men always helped me with my bag so there is at least one positive thing to be said for the machismo culture in Nica.
After Masaya, we made it to San Juan del Sur. It is a beachy party town, with some higher prices, expat community, surfers and so on but it was the off-season so it actually did not feel too touristy. The first night we stayed at a $5 hostel and the next night at a slightly more upscale hotel/hostel. At this point in the trip, I was a getting a little sick. In general, the trip took a real toll on my body and I recommend you spend a little money on cabs, avoid wearing jeans, slather on the sunscreen and bug spray, and definitely watch what water/food you consume to avoid feeling like I did at the end. I was able to make it to the beach at least and to a villa of Peace Corps Volunteers; the group started before Carolyn’s and was having its end of service party. San Juan del Sur is worth visiting and is a good place to relax if you need to.
On the way back to the capitol, Carolyn and I visited Volcan Masaya. You can’t see the lava but there are some great views to be had here. Also, the cave tour is great! Then, it was time to fly home after one last plate of gallo pinto and plantains. Nicaraguans might stare, invade personal space and the men might harass you, but in general the people are very warm, welcoming and kind. The food is heavy and oily but a vegetarian can get by. The country is polluted at parts but very beautiful in others. Yes it can feel unsafe to walk around alone and yes you might get something stolen, but it is seriously worth visiting. With Carolyn as your guide, you will get to see the real Nicaragua. Also, for a traveler on a budget, it is a great place to visit. Go without too many expectations, and you will not be disappointed.
Kipling once said “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it” …It is March and I am in Nicaragua, the first thing I remember smelling is burning garbage. But this smell is not the “first condition” to understanding Nicaragua. The first condition is to go in with an open mind. Nicaragua is a poor, polluted and developing country but also a very interesting one. Aside from reading up on its political history, I tried to go in without any expectations and only had my brief trip to Costa Rica several years ago for any Central American travel context. I wanted the experience to just wash over me and let Carolyn lead the way. She is a great navigator of the country so if you are planning to visit, please go.
Transitioning so quickly from 45 degrees Fahrenheit in late winter NY to a steamy 95 in Managua was almost unbearable for me. Why am I wearing jeans? Why did I bring a small rolling suitcase instead of my backpack (more on that later)? Will I ever feel clean on this trip (no)? These were my initial thoughts...but getting too caught up on the heat, the bumpy roads, the dirt and grime of traveling cheaply in Nica etc. will only detract from what was ultimately a worthwhile travel experience.
After a night in the capitol, Managua, Carolyn and I took a questionable old schoolbus to her site, Matiguas. We spent a little over two days and I got to see how she lives and the work she does. The highlights of my time in her town were:
-Norvin’s mother's very tasty veg lunch she cooked for us, old-school over a wooden fire
-Getting to meet Carolyn’s friends, boyfriend and colleagues
-Visiting a pretty waterfall with Spanish moss and monkeys
-Observing Carolyn teaching at one of her schools
The heat, the insects, my watch being stolen, the stares I got from locals, and my lack of Spanish were not exactly pleasant but I think if you do visit Carolyn, it is important to see her site and see how she lives. I am so impressed by the comforts she willingly lives without. She has no water and power during the day, no hot water, nosy neighbors, no internet, a small stipend she has to stretch for the whole month etc. I am also very impressed by Carolyn’s amazing Spanish and by the work she does; micro-change and micro-development is so important and she is part of that process, right in the thick of it.
Another miserable bus ride to the capitol and then a micro-bus ride, and we are in Carolyn’s training town, Masatepe. I was able to meet her very hospitable host family and a very different region of the country. It is a larger, greener and more bustling town than Matiguas. The following day, more buses and dirt, we went to the artisan market in Masaya. The market was nice and I bought a few woven scarves, local chocolate, coffee etc. My rolling bag couldn’t make it to the less touristy, cheaper market but I was trying to do a favor and take a Gautemalan blanket back to the states for Carolyn ;) Note to self and other future visitors to Nica: bring a backpack, these roads are not made for rolling! I did appreciate that the men always helped me with my bag so there is at least one positive thing to be said for the machismo culture in Nica.
After Masaya, we made it to San Juan del Sur. It is a beachy party town, with some higher prices, expat community, surfers and so on but it was the off-season so it actually did not feel too touristy. The first night we stayed at a $5 hostel and the next night at a slightly more upscale hotel/hostel. At this point in the trip, I was a getting a little sick. In general, the trip took a real toll on my body and I recommend you spend a little money on cabs, avoid wearing jeans, slather on the sunscreen and bug spray, and definitely watch what water/food you consume to avoid feeling like I did at the end. I was able to make it to the beach at least and to a villa of Peace Corps Volunteers; the group started before Carolyn’s and was having its end of service party. San Juan del Sur is worth visiting and is a good place to relax if you need to.
On the way back to the capitol, Carolyn and I visited Volcan Masaya. You can’t see the lava but there are some great views to be had here. Also, the cave tour is great! Then, it was time to fly home after one last plate of gallo pinto and plantains. Nicaraguans might stare, invade personal space and the men might harass you, but in general the people are very warm, welcoming and kind. The food is heavy and oily but a vegetarian can get by. The country is polluted at parts but very beautiful in others. Yes it can feel unsafe to walk around alone and yes you might get something stolen, but it is seriously worth visiting. With Carolyn as your guide, you will get to see the real Nicaragua. Also, for a traveler on a budget, it is a great place to visit. Go without too many expectations, and you will not be disappointed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
