While my first weeks in Nicaragua lasted forever, they are now flying by. I can see the end of training and I am excited. But, what I´m really ready for is getting a permanent site assigned to me. It is going to be amazing knowing where I will be living for the next two years. Training has been fun, don´t get me wrong but, I am ready to start work. I´m ready to move into a city, maybe be the only gringo in town, and get going. Surely this is the response Peace Corps is trying to solicite. They make training a never ending labyrinth of activities and responsabilities. It pretty much guaruntees that the 9 out of 10 of us who make it to swearing in will be itching to get to our sites. Now if they would just tell me where I will be going . . .
A mural created by a HPCV in La Dalia´s Casa Materna.
Like I said, life has been crazy busy here. My week consisted of class, HIV/AIDS presentations, condom demos, and more 5th graders. Those kiddos are monsters. Their redeeming qualitiy though, the minute I ask for a volunteer every little hand shoots up into the air. I am constantly amazed by this. Every single one of them is fascinated by helping out in class.
This is what happens when Lucas, Robyn and Jenny steal my camera. Love it.
This upcoming week I will be heading north back to Chinandega with the other 23 trainees. We are paticipating in an HIV/AIDS workshop. The department of Chinandega boarders Honduras and the ocean. These two factors have created a very high population of HIV/AIDS. Thus, HIV/AIDS week is in Chinandega. I am stoked. Although Chinandega is ridiculously hot it is also full of energy and really an amazing city. Life seems so vibrant there.
Well in off to work on a charla . . . water saftey!
Wrap tortilla around other ingredients; eat on yellow school bus passing through La Paz Centro. Stay in close proximity to toilet or latrine following night.
Training has become increasingly more hectic. The past two weeks have included multiple 6 hour Spanish classes, a visit to MINSA (Nicaragua Ministry of Health), 4 days visiting a PCV in Chinandega, traveling almost to Honduras alone to reach the PCV in Chinandega, a day in Masaya discussing future sites (basically where I will be living for the next two years) and hiking Volcán Masaya.
Luckily, I am still in the ‘Honeymoon’ phase of training.
On Sunday I left for Chinandega to visit a PCV, you know to see the life of a volunteer who works in the health sector. Thayer and I boarded a fun little microbus (really an abductor van with 20 seats squished in) to Managua. I convinced the cobradór to drive into Managua’s Market, Israel, and drop our price by 3 cords. That’s like $ 0.20, still I’m impressed with myself. Ha. In Israel we boarded a yellow school bus to Chinandega, Chinandega. They say these yellow school buses are sent from the U.S. to Honduras to die. When they die in Honduras they are sent to Nicaragua. Lovely! Fortunately Thayer and I had no problems. In fact we had a pretty eventful bus ride north. In La Paz Centro a sweat drenched Nicaraguan woman got on the bus. She was wearing an apron spilling with coca-cola bottles full of some white cream, and she was carrying a blue bucket of food on her head. Turned out she was making Quesillos, which are a Nica delicacy. Thayer and I thought we would try our first ‘street vendor.’ It was good. Really good. So good in fact, that the following evening I sat on the toilet ALL NIGHT.
Thayer, the quesillo and I.
The PCV I visited actually lived a couple hours north of Chinandega, Chinandega, in a small rural town that cools off to 95˚ F at night. Visiting her was a crazy eye opening experience. I learned that the smaller town you live in the more gossip becomes an integral part of life. I arrived to site a few hours before the PCV and thus was promptly sat down by the Doña of the local pulperia* and fed. In the next two hours she reported to me the entire history of the previous three PCV’s that lived in their town, who they married and or dated, their Spanish levels, and how fat they were. It was hilarious. It’s hard to remember that here in Nicaragua gossip many times is the only thing that exists outside of the hard campo lifestyle.
After the site visit I returned to Carazo for more Spanish classes, PC tech training, and a diversity workshop. Fortunately some of this occurred in Masaya. Masaya is a beautiful little tourist destination on the west coast of Nicaragua. Here the markets are flooded with bright colors, the scents of handmade hammocks, and old Catholic churches on every corner. I plan on visiting Masaya again. It is gorgeous.
Sonia and I getting ready to hike the volcano!
Lucas, Jenny and Neil also getting ready to hike the volano?
And, we hiked up to the top of Volcán Masaya. It was fun. Seriously.
Although I have been crazy busy I’m just happy that I am still in training. I feel like I have so much to learn about everything Nicaragua has to offer and the more I know the more effective I will be in the future. If only in my ability to partake in the local chisme*!
*Pupleria- A small convenience store of sorts many Nicaraguans have in the front of their house. This is usually more of less in their living room. Pulperia’s are generally a center for junk food, friendly gatherings, and town gossip. All towns have at least one. The bigger towns usually have a pulperia on every block.
*Chisme- Gossip
P.S. We received the list of site options for Nica-52. That is the cities PC will be placing us in for the next two years. I’m fairly interested in San Carlos Rio San Juan, San Ramón Matagalpa, and Jinotega Jinotega. They are all relatively larger sites in or close to large cities. I’ll just have to wait and see what happens though! Ahh.
The local drunks know me now. I see them every morning on my run to Diriamba or Dolores and recently they started saying, ‘Good afternoon,’ to me, in English! It’s pretty great.
Nicaraguans use gestures for everything. They point with their lips. This they can do while talking. They slap their left elbow when someone is being cheap. And best of all, they have a lovely gesture they use when someone has diarrhea. Bahaha.
Andar por los aguacates, which literally means, ‘walking for the avocados,’ is a popular expression here that means you have your head in the clouds.
My little sister found me working on a contraception poster for the local health center yesterday. She pointed to a penis, looked at me with these huge brown eyes and asked me what it was. It said PENIS in Spanish directly underneath. What and endearing little monster. She knew exactly what she was pointing to.
I taught my first Nica 5th grade class and survived.
Gallo Pinto, a Nicaraguan dish consisting of only rice and beans, has been a part of or the entirety of my last 9 meals.
Nicaraguans use the term fatty as in the most blasé way. If anyone is every curvy or slightly overweight they will be known as the ‘Gordita’ forever.
When passing someone on the street here is common to say Adios. This means goodbye, but in Nicaragua it is used as a passing hello. Odd but so satisfying to say to someone. Sometimes I even feel like a local.
Peace Corps training has turned everyone into the biggest gossips ever, even if they were totally anti-gossip their entire lives before coming here. It is our new favorite pastime and it is incredible. Don’t judge. (Stolen from Kate Spangler’s top ten, and wonderfully true).
I’ve almost been a month in country! Less then 3 days to go.
A mural created by a HPCV in La Dalia´s Casa Materna. 
This is what happens when Lucas, Robyn and Jenny steal my camera. Love it.
