The first, annual Ometepe University Fair 2012.

Event planning is stressful in the United States, now remember folks that I live in Nicaragua. And, we can just say things run a little bit differently here. This is a culture that when you ask someone to confirm their presence they respond with “si Dios quiere” or “Dios primero” which means if God wants it, it will happen. Or telling someone to arrive at 8:00 am means within the hour of eight o’clock if they show up at all. These aren’t exactly the circumstances you hope for when trying put on an event of some caliber.

After hearing “si Dios quiere” a few too many times, it obviously meant that, in fact, God did not want to donate to my university fair. So, I headed out as a gringa (white girl) to ask Nicaraguans for money. Now based on the blank stares I received, I am pretty sure they were wondering why I as the white girl was asking them for money. Humiliating. 

To put the past two months of work into perspective, some days were kind of hellish. For example, I tried for a three weeks every other day to talk to someone in the Mayor’s office about supporting the project. Well it just so happens that on this particular day, I decided if I needed to sit there all day long and wait, I would. I really needed a response. I was the first to arrive at 7:30 and soon a large group filtered in to support a local woman.  As I sat in the rocking chair next to the woman for two hours, wailing her heart out like I have never in my life heard and holding her dead baby in her arms, I began to question what I was doing. 

Two days later, exhausted and feeling pretty fragile, I was challenged by a nasty business owner (who is in fact an ex-patriot himself) as a young North American pretending to understand my terrain and coming here just to impose my ideas on others. He not only was speaking very poorly of my culture but then went on to say very cruel things about the motivation of locals to better their lives. The poor, old bitter man in fact doesn’t realize that 1. he is profiting off of this island from the North Americans tourists he speaks so poorly of 2. I still can’t believe that for as long as he has lived here and tried to claim this island as home, how could he be so out of touch? Excuse me for trying. I’ve always been a little bit hard headed, so noone is going to tell me that I am not going to be able to do something. This unnamed gentleman went further to complain to the Peace Corps Nicaragua office about a review that went on a travel website after someone heard the conversation. At this point, buddy, there is no way I would even have the time or energy to write such a review.

Disenchanted, this same day, I went home my plan being to try and and sleep it off. Stepping into my latrine I heard a crack. As I felt myself falling farther and farther down on an already broken tailbone, I couldn’t believe that things had gotten to this point. When I tried to climb up the sides of the wall, the dirt broke, I was too far down to pull myself out, noone heard my yells, and I was scared to death of what kinds of creatures were down there. Eventually I found a way finding a way to shimmy my way out. Pardon my french but talk about a day of literally being shit on.

Before I knew it, it was fair day. And kids were showing up.. all 100 of them.

The 10 best students from each of the 10 high schools on the island were invited to attend the first University Fair on the island. The event was held at the local university. At the fair, we started with a review of a vocational exam, and then brought in representatives from 10 universities around the country, organizations to talk about available scholarships, and 5 professionals from the island to speak as role models to the kids. 

After two months of being a crazy workaholic, I can say that I have honestly never done anything like that. I have never fully put myself out there like that and been the sole one responsible for an event of that scale. I continued to think, crap, if I screwed up.. I will have ruined my reputation on the entire island. It’s not like I can pick up and leave to work in another community. Everyone would know. Also, the community had invested their money hoping to see something come from it. I can say it was almost entirely community supported which I am, in fact, very proud of. This means that mean Mr. Unnamed business owner is completely wrong. This is something that members of the community wanted and because they are “the owners” of the project more or less in their funding it is more likely to be continued.

At the beginning of the day when the mass of students started to arrive, I swore that I would never plan an event in Nicaragua again.  This was going to be a disaster. However, as the day wound down and everyone began to leave, I found overcome my emotion as four students approached me to tell me how thankful they were for the opportunity to attend and how the event had opened doors that they’d never known existed.

There are few memorable times in my life that I have truly felt tears of absolute joy. Something happened to me following the event. I discovered a new feeling, a sense of love almost, coming from a place I had never known before. This job can be so hard sometimes when their are breakdowns in communication between cultures, an overwhelming sense of vulnerability, and sometimes you might even get trapped in the bottom of a latrine. But, it is absolutely worth it and I can honestly say that I love my job. It has brought a sense of meaning and purpose to my life that I have never known. Many days that I am here and question what I am doing here at all. However, if I can walk away from this experience having inspired 100 kids from around this island and ask them for the first time ever what they really want to be when they grow up, I think I can walk away content. I may not do everything, but I have at least done something.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

This New Year’s Eve I realized just how much happened in 2011 and how drastically different it was from the previous year. December 31, 2010 was an odd night to say the least. Seven days previously I received my invitation to come to Nicaragua. I panicked as I slowly began to realize that while the idea of joining to Peace Corps seemed sweet, the reality was that I hadn’t really processed (at all) what I was getting myself into. The following months were spent packing my allowed 80 lb. bag and imagining what Nicaraguan life would bring.

This year during the holidays I was fortunate to have my family (minus Lima Bean) visit, and I was able to see them for the first time in almost eight months. It means a lot that they took the time to come to Nicaragua and more than anything try to understand what Nica life is like. It is quite a bit different here- in good ways and sometimes bad. But, it was comforting to be around any sort of familiarity for the holidays.

What didn’t we see and where didn’t we go during their trip? My parents and Jamie were able to visit the island and meet the host family and community. Christmas day was spent sipping coffee and looking at the volcanoes followed by bull fighting, a lovely fish dinner and perhaps a little too much rum mixed with a long game of UNO under the stars. We packed up and headed down to Costa Rica visiting the Guanacaste coast complete with scuba diving and then we were able to witness my mother’s amazing form while zip lining through Monteverde. New Year’s eve was filled with homemade entertainment and the celebrations went well into the early morning complements of the hotel casino. And then the dream was over. They had to go home and I had to start readjusting back to real life.

Oh 2011. I learned a whole bunch last year. Much of which I am sure I have yet to process. I do know that I am pretty damn flexible and can adapt to almost anything. I’ve witnessed some very sad and scary situations as well as over joyous moments in Nicaragua. In the past year, I have become fluent in Spanish, am now called “professora” around town, and moved to a tropical island. I am now accustomed to showering with a five gallon bucket of water and when I can’t get water I ride a bike to the lake to “bathe”. I now love to sleep under my mosquito net and realize how many of life’s little luxuries I can do without. I’ve killed my first tarantulas of many to come, had to adapt personally and professionally to a machismo (male dominated) culture, and battled my first case of Giardia. I have slowly started believing Nicaraguan myths and like a true Nica don’t even walk around the house without shoes on. My usually casually late timing has gotten even worse, and I sometimes now show up after the Nicaraguans. I have learned the importance of community and hate the town gossip. And yeah, it is really “real” here.

This year brought me more challenges that I could have imagined. I left friends, family and a significant other to embark on the unknown. And as tough as it has been at times, I know poco a poco (slowly but surely) I am becoming the person that I hope to be because of taking this leap.

I hope 2012 will bring more blogs and skype dates (sorry Mom), exciting and meaningful work, new friendships, time to reflect, and of course adventures. Happy New Year todos y todas. I wish for only the best to come.

A new update- I am moving into my own house complete with my very own latrine and an outdoor shower..just like the beach, right? I even have my own creative room that can easily host my next visitor ;)

Pictures from the past few months are on their way soon.

Nicaraguan Classroom

 

View from the Port

Taking a Spin

Just a Jot

Realizing that I’ve almost been in Nicaragua now for five months has been kind of weird. Around this time, I was starting to pack up and head home from Argentina. That experience felt like a long time, but I have about a year and a half left in my service. Que barbaro that here I am just starting to get around to getting in touch with some of you..  I am really sorry for that.

Some of those mind blowing daily occurrences in Nicaragua are starting to become normal as I notice that my jaw drops are starting to turn into shoulder shrugs. Although, I wish I could have written down some of those first reactions to laugh at later.. I will never forget the horror of seeing a 250 pound pig tied to the top of a school bus and dismounted by rope beside my window.. But I am sure I’ll recollect some of those memories over time which will allow me to randomly laugh in an inappropriate situation.

Before I become completely accustomed to everything, I thought I would share a “top ten” list I jotted down the other day of things I have decided that I have been enjoying about Nicaragua over the last five months.

10. Machetes serve a purpose for everything. Locked out of your room? Need to open that coconut? Want to kill that snake that just fell from the roof into the house? No worries, just grab the machete. The best part is that they are cheap. You can land yourself a fancy one for 85 cordobas.. About $4.00.

9. The platano tree. I still haven’t figured out my attachment to this one. But, they are just so damn beautiful. You can forget you are on the island sometimes especially when the kids in your classes forget their isleño, tranquilo attitudes. Remember that thing Leo used in Deception to remind himself that he is in a dream?  For some reason, the platano tree seems to remind me that I am pretty lucky to wake up everyday and call this place home.

8. My mode of transport here are old school buses that have been retrofitted. It seems that Barcelona futbol club stickers and some kind of saying about the Virgin de Guadaloupe are a requirement. Can we call these things flair?  The buses usually blast reggaeton or if you are lucky, they have somehow affixed a TV to the ceiling that plays all too exaggerated music videos for love songs in Spanish.

7. If I miss my normal mode of transport (which happens a lot) I have a back-up. Hitchhiking or asking for what Nicas call a “ride” is perfectly acceptable. Who knows, you might even be offered a ride on the back of your Vice Principal’s motorcycle after he slyly sprayed on cologne.
 
6. Everyone knows everyone.. And everything about everyone.
This could also be called town “chisme” or rumors, and yes sometimes it is really annoying. But, they don’t have addresses or street names here. So, getting directions usually translates into “por alla” or “over there.” Because everyone knows where everyone lives, you never have to. You just ask.

5. They love fiestas even more than I do. I will never forget the first time I met one of my principals. He had three questions for me. How old are you? Are you Catholic? And most importantly.. Do you like to dance? There are usually fiestas held in my town on Saturdays for the beauty pageants with seven year olds or any other excuse that comes to mind. Starting in November I hear there are marching bands in the streets starting at 4 am every single morning. Early right? Still haven’t figured this one out. As a side note, you can also get a custom piñata designed as literally anything you could ever think of.

4. Pulperias. These are little corner stores run out of people’s houses that sell your basic necessities like eggs, laundry soap, powdered milk, rice, beans, etc. They usually all sell the same things and sometimes there are four of them lining one block. As a small business volunteer, this is probably what I am trying to change and technically shouldn’t make the list..Besides the point, they are extremely convenient.

3. Front Stoop Service. Even more convenient than a Pulperia. You can literally sit in your house all day long and have everything you would even need without ever to get out of your rocking chair.. or hammock. A woman comes by every morning with fresh milk, a man can come shine your shoes,  and a cart carried by bulls comes by to sell watermelons. The list goes on.

2. Rocking chairs. Everyone has got beautiful, handmade, wooden furniture. Too bad the shipping is pricey.. My host family right now  literally has ten of them in their living room. I haven’t purchased one yet, but I’d at least like to come back off the plane to the States with a hammock in one hand and a rocking chair in the other.

1. Hammocks are everywhere. My first big Peace Corps purchase figuring it would play a large part in the experience. Unfortunately, I do work here, so I haven’t been able to spend as much time in the hammock as I’d hoped so far.

Ten Years Later

Sunday was the 10^th anniversary of September 11^th, and I still remember sitting in my 8^th grade composition class in what we called the “dungeon” room in the locker pit. We were presenting our writing portfolios and I think I was doing a report on St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Someone from the office ran to the door and told us to turn on the television quickly. The next thing I remember was a boy in my class yelling “boom” as a plane crashed into the second building of the World Trade Center. This boy was 13 years old, what was he supposed to know about what this would mean for our country and our stance in the world? Over the next couple of days I remember being worried about the significance of the event. Everything seems to be exaggerated and rumor spreads like fire in a middle school, so I remember overhearing talks of wars and a draft. I had nightmares that my brother or dad would be headed off to war. The following New Years my family visited New York City as it was still trying to cope with the shock three months later. An eerie feeling surrounded Ground Zero as the flowers placed after the tragedy started to droop. However, everywhere you looked American flags adorned the fence that separated the outside world, us, from the rubble.

Thirteen years old is an influential time, you tend to observe and soak up pretty much everything. While some tended to take the victim stance which is understandable, I just wanted to understand why someone would do something so horrible.  As a 13 year old, I can promise you that I was not able to articulate US foreign policy. But, I do think this event is what began to shape my perception of my country in relation to the rest of the world that wasn’t always the most forgiving.

Looking over the last four months here in Nicaragua, I have developed a stronger sense of identity in and for the States. I guess you could call this patriotism. For instance, I have really learned to appreciate the diversity of our people and amount of access to other cultures. I think we forget how unique that makes us sometimes. Nicaraguans love to talk about food. They talk very endearingly about the rice and beans that they eat three times a day...  but I love that I can’t easily answer what food is most typical to the US. We have choices and access that I will never be able to justly explain in this culture.

While I might have thought of the United States at one time as the buff big brother, I now believe that we actually do have a lot to offer communities in the developing world as well as a responsibility to do so. Right before leaving for Nicaragua, I visited a physician that had returned from Iraq as a doctor on the front lines with the Marine Corps. I remember her emphasizing to me, “Serving your country really is like nothing else. You’ll see.” Standing with my hand on my heart and singing the national anthem during our swearing in ceremony to become volunteers, I genuinely felt proud to be a part of the Peace Corps and a representative of the United States. Months earlier when we were invited to the Peace Corps there was an letter included in our packets from President Obama in which he said, “serving abroad will allow you to be a unique ambassador of the American Spirit, reinforce our ties with other countries, and recognize our current destiny.” I really do think the initiatives of the Peace Corps embody the best things about us as Americans, and I have come to believe that by creating a sense of understanding  through cross-cultural exchange we can hopefully help to restore the image of the United States around the world.

Happenings

When I got to site, a volunteer friend of mine told me that in the last year he had done a tally of classes missed or canceled for some reason. Apparently, in his case class is held about 75-80% of the time. This is often due to teachers meeting with parents, “trimming” the trees around the schools, village parties, the list goes on. While it might sound nice to have the day off, usually you find out after traveling about an hour by bus to get there.. or better yet by bike. Luckily, this time I was informed that there would be no class.

With my day off, I decided to go ahead and check off one of the places on my list to visit- Finca Magdelena. This coffee cooperative is made up of 24 families and located about a 1.5 kilometer hike up from the town of Balgue. From the property you can take off to hike Volcan Maderas, a nearby waterfall or go on to see the petroglyphs.

One of the views from Finca Magdelena

I’ve often caught myself thinking that I am in a whole different world on this island. On top of this mountain, even more so.  I realize Peace Corps service can be a pretty challenging experience at times. It has the tendency to tug on every thread you have got left. We are faced with so much poverty, unwanted attention, and awkward situations tend to fill the majority of our days. Sitting in an old farmhouse drinking a cup of strong Nicaraguan coffee grown in the land behind me and looking at a volcano, lake and butterfly farm simultaneously, I can’t help but look around myself and realize I am a pretty lucky girl.

For instance, the hospitality of the people continues to surprise me. Coming from South Carolina, we brag of the hospitality of our people and pineapples (the symbol of hospitality) adorn everything. However, the warmness of this community is something else. Every single person that you meet tells you their name and where they live. Then, they invite you over for coffee or lunch whenever you want. The thing is, you better go or else you will probably offend them. For example, a couple of weekends ago, we were in Rivas. We stopped by a house to ask about a good and cheap place to eat breakfast. (I love how in Nicaragua you can add -cito to the end of any word to add an endearing “little” to any word.) In this case she asked if we wanted gallo pincito, pancito, huevito, quesito, y cafecito... rice and beans, bread, eggs, and coffee (a typical Nica breakfast). We told her, sure that sounds great, where do we go? She said, adelante.. or come on in and proceeded to make us breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, this is a picture of my amigos “helping” me to make pancakes. After talking them up all day.. I failed. And I failed miserably. I am still trying to figure out how I got into the Peace Corps if I can’t even follow directions from a box. We’ll blame it on the fact that they don’t use non-stick pans here. Anyways, I fed the leftovers to the pig in the back yard. By the sound of his grunts, I think he at least enjoyed them.

Most of you probably know Bunny or Buns, just to let you know he's doing all right in Nicaragua and has made some good friends. Also, he sleeps under the mosquito net at night so he's not too itchy.

Here are also some links to photos that I have posted on Facebook. You should be able to access them even if you don’t have an account, but please let me know if you have any problems.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.856243244724.2323828.21312865&l=578c69e6c4&type=1

 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.843145048614.2318807.21312865&l=93141e4852&type=1

 

I´m Here

I arrived on the island Sunday late afternoon without a phone and without a place to live. Looking back over the last four days, I can’t believe how much has happened. I am so fortunate that I am here even though I am a little overwhelmed for the amount of work that has to be done. As of today, I successfully made it through my first week of class. Also, don’t you worry I am no longer homeless. I am still working on getting my phone back from Managua though..

While on the island, I’ll be working in the local, public high schools training teachers in the Entrepreneurship course. It is pretty exciting that the business course started by the Peace Corps under the name “La Empresa Creativa” was adopted last year as part of the national curriculum by the Ministry of Education. Arriving in Nicaragua, I was hesitant about the job description considering that I’d never even taken an Entrepreneurship class, and I was suddenly considered a “Professora” to the community. Not to mention.. I am apparently the “Economista” that has come to help the pueblo.

In Nicaragua, I’ve realized how different the concept of business is here in comparison to the United States. For example, a week or two ago I was reading the newspaper here, La Prensa. In the business section, there was an article about Bimbo, the snack food company, who is coming out with two new snacks.. one is a cake filled with pineapple filling and dipped with chocolate. I mean, really think about it. What if Little Debbie’s new Zebra snack made it to the top of the business headlines in the States? There are really only a handful of large companies in Nicaragua. In my curriculum, the example of Tang is used as a successful business. Almost all of the businesses are run out of a spare room in people’s homes (micro businesses). Pulperias are little variety stores selling things like rice, beans, and soap and they are what you hear of most when talking of Nicaraguan businesses. It is common for neighbors to both have Pulperias and sell the exact same things.

This semester I am working with three different high schools. In my town I have 6 classes at the Instituto Chawlbinsky, 1 in the community of Urbaite, and 3 in the rural community of Balgüe. Balgüe turns out to be absolutely beautiful even though it is an uncomfortable hour bus ride each way down an unpaved, rocky road. I make the trek twice a week which I don’t mind in that the trip passes through the coast of Santo Domingo and past a stretch where you can see both volcanoes, one on each side. However, the bus often decides not to run or show up two hours late since many roads turn into rivers during the rainy season. On Tuesday I made the hour walk home from Urbaite and was thankful I had a touch of luck when after walking an hour and a half (also half way) on the way back from Balgüe the bus showed up.

I’m glad to have some structure to my schedule but am at the same time sad to be turning down interesting opportunities left and right simply due to a lack of time. Right now I’m just trying to meet as many people as possible including the woman that sells amazing cornbread on the school bus, the fritanga owner that has ceviche twice a week, and the women that wash clothes down by the shore of the beach that I’ve been running to in the mornings. While I know it is not Usher’s “Yeah”, I did dance the Zampopo the other night. It is the dance of the ant. You walk around lifting a branch into the air to symbolize a pack of ants. The town is very Catholic and so they were celebrating that years ago during an earthquake (and I think volcanic eruption) Saint San Diego appeared in the clouds. During fiestas patronales and during the months of October and November, the dance is done around the entire town every single night and often have a parade of drums at 4 o’clock in the morning. I think I’ll start saving up my sleep now. I have also tried my first guayaba and pitaya and have started to get used to the fact that we haven’t had water in the mornings since I’ve gotten here.