A double shot nonfat latte sounds so good right now.

Nothing ridiculously new besides lots of work. The girls and I have been kept busy planning our meetings with our youth, and conducting these little soirée. In fact, we had our first meeting this past Friday! Everything seemed to go well. We had eight kids show up and enthusiastically draw community maps for us. I had been prepared for a group of kids that would be more or less silent. Instead we had a couple of girls who really dived into the participation (I am psyched). Now all we have to do is keep it up.

Along with youth group work I’ve been working like mad the past few days studying Malaria and Dengue. I am giving my first talk, charla, at the health center on Tuesday. Although a simple topic I am terrified of questions. My Spanish is coming along and I am relatively confident I will be able to get the idea across. But, understanding anyone who pipes up about Dengue? I could easy have no idea what they are asking. Here in Nicaragua everyone cuts off the ends of words, specifically the S’s. It can make it difficult when someone mumbles something to you. The ‘I don’t understand’ really works for my family, but it may not have the same result for patients . . . I’ll report back . . . maybe even with a little movie of my charla? Baha.

As for the rest of my life in Nicaragua it has been interesting. Food is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Vegetables are far and few between. For the families with a little more money fruit is pretty common. My family serves fruit two or three times a week. I have been feeling a little malnourished on simply rice, beans, and plantains. Although, I recently found out that you can write to the health center in PC Managua asking for vitamins. Fabulous.

The weather is not bad. It is warms and humid, but it is paradise compared to Managua. Managua is like walking into a sauna. Here in Jinotepe it’s more like walking into an indoor pool. Very manageable. I know I questioned it, but wearing skirts and sandals, like Ecco sandals, can really make all the difference. A little breeze now and then, ooo! That being said, I only work out early in the morning. If I don’t leave my house by 5:55 am to run . . . well it just won’t happen.

I’ve attached pictures of my house through out just to give you an idea of what the rest of my house looks like. You can see our little kitchen, fully stocked with an oven and fridge over on the right. The sink station is where I do my laundry, where Maria does the family laundry, where Maria washes dishes, where Rosalia brushes her teeth, and I think occasionally where Pedro showers. There is a picture of the courtyard. All of the rooms open up into it. You may even be able to see my laundry! Delightful. All in all, this house is quite functional and a comfortable place to live. Although, I can not help but think about the possibility of living on my own in a few of months. Cooking for myself will be amazing!

Love from Nica 52.

Nica Time

I think I may have been vaccinated for almost every disease one can be vaccinated for. Hep A, Hep B, MMR, Tetanus, Rabies . . . It just gets better and better. That being said I don’t want any of those so I am relatively happy it’s happening. This week in Managua there was an outbreak of Dengue. Thousands of people are sick. It has shut down entire portions of Managua and prompted NicaSalud, a group of health organizations in Nicaragua, to do a city wide fumigation. All I can say is PC has prepared me. Yeah mosquito net.

Last Friday I went to Peace Corps Headquarters in Managua for the first time, (no mosquito bites so it looks like I’ll be dengue free for the time being). Oddly enough the best part about headquarters was the parking lot full of white jeeps with PC emblems. They looked like UN vehicles you would see racing through the Sudan. It was pretty awesome. If only each PCV was issued one, we would be so cool.

In Managua we were briefed on our responsibilities as health sector trainees. In our language groups we are to organize a local youth group. With this group we will give charlas (30 min presentations) on health, lead group dinamicas (ice breaks but way more fun), and provide our kiddos with the tools to continue educating their local community on health after we have left. Individually each volunteer will begin giving charlas at the local elementary schools and health centers each week. And lastly, each group of trainees will be conducting a city wide survey about a prominent health issue. And I thought training was just about learning the language!

Speaking of language, my Jinotepe group is pretty fabulous. We are all incredibly driven and have strengths in different areas. Already we have identified a group of youth we hope to work with, written our survey, and observed a charla at the Centro de Salud. Of all of these I’m pretty excited about our youth group. We hopefully will be working with a group of young women who are local brigadistas. They are between the ages of 15-20, not attending school, and may or may not be literate. But, they are all interested in being community leaders in health. We meet with their leader tonight. Hopefully all will go well. Because Nicaragua is still developing and less than 30% of the population has a permanent job time is abundant. If we make a meeting for 5 pm, people usually will turn up around 6 pm, 7 pm, 7:30 pm . . . or the next day. Nica time is not USA time. Like I said, hopefully all will go well.



As for my mental state after two weeks in Nicaragua there is a lot to be said. I have moments when all I can do is sit down, listen to Gloria speak to us in Spanish, and hope that I don’t start crying. But, I also have moments when I am sitting with my host mother at lunch, explaining to her how VIH/SIDA (HIV/AIDS) spreads, and I realize two hours have gone by and I’m late for my afternoon class. It’s hard but I know it is worth it. In the second poorest developing country on this side of the globe, help is needed. I realize I will not change the world or Nicaragua. But, I hope that sometime in the next few years I may be able to give a little something to a local community in need of care.

Running water, a room with doors . . . overrated.

One week later and I do not even know where to begin.

I guess I will start with the basics. I have placed into Intermediate-Low Spanish. Out of 24 volunteers only six of us made it to Intermediate-Low and two have made it to Intermediate-High. Oh yeah! I have moved to Jinotepe, the capital of Carazo, a district of Nicaragua, with three of the Intermediate-Low volunteers. Let me tell you, this has been quite the adventure.

My host family, La Familia de Doña Maria Auxiliadora, is just really nice. I am their first volunteer and they are working hard to take care of me. In fact yesterday they put up doors on my room, and finally gave me keys to the house! I have a little sister named Rosalia (10), a teenage brother Pedro (19), and an older sister Amanda (24). Rosalia is learning English in school and the first to step in and help me with Spanish in hopes that I will return the favor. She is a vivacious little creature that likes to hold hands and stare at you. Haha, I can not wait to introduce her to my fellow trainee’s. Amanda is an English teacher at a local private high school. I’m hoping that her and I will become good friends. Really. Right now she likes to drag me around and introduce me to her friends. I love it! And Pedro, well I don’t see much of him. When I do I don’t really understand what he’s saying! Oh to be in a foreign country.

But, I know what you all are really interested in, do I have running water and electricity? I’m going to answer that with a yes-ish.. I do have water, but only from the hours of 4 am to 8 am. This is when I can flush the toilet and use the sink. Nicaragua is having a huge water shortage these days. Every household is limited in water consumption based on their income, social standing, and city location. Showers are an entirely different entity. I use a shower stall, but the showering consists of me pouring bowls of water over my head. While this isn’t a hard method, I have gone to class a few times and realized that my hair still feels a little soapy. Electricity does exist but only in the living room. There is only one outlet. It sustains the TV and cords that extend out to all rooms of the house with light bulbs on the end. In fact, I didn’t realize until this morning but the refrigerator in the kitchen isn’t plugged in to anything.

I have been pretty happy with the food so far. Nicaraguans love their rice and beans. I eat a variation of rice and beans for every meal. Rice and beans for breakfast, rice and beans for lunch and rice and beans for dinner. But, the two provide a complete set of proteins so I’m relatively satisfied. Even better, the other trainees and I found a smoothie joint a few days ago and they have vegetable smoothies! This and with my rice and beans and I’m good! Que bien.

I know this all sounds a little dry but to me this is what I think of as my first week in Nicaragua. What is all spells out is a seriously tough beginning with fabulous trainees, wonderful PC Staff, and a family that is working very hard to help their first Gringa. This is going to be quite the adventure.

POST – Fried cheese taco for dinner . . . questionable

Seven hours ago I finally arrived to post, Nicaragua. I’m sure this seems completely obvious, but I just can not believe that I am finally here. It has been quite the journey.

Two days ago I flew to Washington D.C. to embark on what may be the biggest adventure of my life. There, I met up with 23 other Peace Corps hopefuls: five men, 19 women, (statistically a little under 60% of PCV’s are women though). We all arrived to Managua in one piece and are slowing getting to know one another. Wonderfully, we are on the same page. Isolation is our biggest fear, community and inclusion our biggest aspirations. And truthfully it is great to find myself surrounded by people who understand and feel everything I’m going through.

Tomorrow we will all take our Spanish Language Aptitude Test. I can not wait to find out what level I will fall into. It turns out we will be put into groups of four based on our ability. In a few days each group will move to a small community within 20 minutes of Managua and settle into a hefty immersion program. Like I said, I can not wait. On the flight over from Miami I sat next a fabulous Nicaraguan woman. She spoke no English. Turns out after not having taken a Spanish class for a year, I’m not that bad. I’m not great, but not bad. She was pretty great though. She lives for the majority of the year in northern Nicaragua and is a host parent for Habitat for Humanity volunteers. No wonder she was so easy to talk to. She is used to speaking to foreigners who mangle her language! But, because of this tiny interaction I have become incredibly pumped for my PCT (Peace Corps Trainee) future. I can do this.