Hey everyone sorry its been so long since my last post but I have been crazy busy for the last 2 weeks. Our schedule has kicked in full force and I am now giving charlas and meeting with my youth group on a fairly regular basis.
I spent this past week visiting Rio Blanco, Matagalpa which is about as far east as you can go without entering the autonomous northern region of RAAN. Despite what it may look like on a map (pretty much directly in the middle of central america) it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I left my training town on Sunday morning to take a crowded bus to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. This was my first time traveling alone and since my Spanish is still far from perfect I was a little nervous about my trip. I traveled to the capital with a lot of the other trainees but from there I was on my own for the 5 hour journey into the mountianous region of Nicaragua. Luckily, I happened upon some Belgiun exchange students who were headed in the same direction to a rural community to do a survey on water quality. They, along with their very accomidating teacher, made sure I got on the correct bus and did not end up heading south instead of north.
When nearing my destination, a blond haired blue eyed American approached me and asked if my name was Jen and I was in the Peace Corps. Startled that she knew who I was, yet happy to speak to someone in English, I told her that yes I was a PCV. She explained to me that she lived in Rio Blanco and was friends with the volunteer I was headed to visit. She said she would get me safely to his house (which made me feel good) however then proceeded to tell me all about the dangers of Nicaragua all of which I am already acutely aware (which made me feel bad). Needless to say this girl had me scared to death by the time I got off the bus. She eventually led me to my volunteer (Mike's) house where she left me to ask about 54,000 questions. He had a sweet living situation which I hope is similar to what I will have in my site. He lived in a larger house which was separate from that of his host family, providing him privacy but still being part of the family. The city was gorgeous. It was situated in the mountains, giving some amazing views but causing some problems for us walking around in the 100 degree heat. The trip was meant for me to see what its like to be a volunteer. The main thing I noticed was the lack of structure you have as a Health PCV. Right now my life is very rigidly structured by classes, charlas, and studying, so it was nice to see that volunteers are not restricted to this kind of schedule.
The best part of the trip was hiking up to this waterfall. The fall dropped into a lagoon so if you were willing to climb up the rocks you could jump into a small lake. I decided to brave it but definately fell a couple times and have some not so attractive bruises to show for my clumsiness. I put the pics up from the trip on facebook so check them out.
Now Im waiting to hear about my placement. Its a really stressful time and the whole group is buzzing about where they hope their site will be. Ill keep you all updated on whats going on in the next few weeks! Miss you all every day!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Fiesta
Hi everyone! This past week has been by far the most entertaining one I have had while in Nicaragua (not that I have been here for that long). Last weekend my town of Santa Teresa had a "fiesta patronales" which is a big Catholic festival which included a rodeo, beauty pagent, horse parade, and 4 am Meriachi band wake up call.
Everyone in town has been talking about this fiesta since my arrival. It is one of two very large events Santa Teresa holds every year and the people of this town are very proud of it. It started off Thursday night with a performance of native dances. I liked the Carribean dances the best because there were basically a competition on who could shake it the best. The costumes were amazing and again you could tell how much pride the town took in representing themselves and their culture. Friday night the dances continued acting as intermissions for the Miss Santa Teresa pagent (ok, thats not what it was actually called but you get the idea). A representative from each neighborhood took the stage in 3 categories: sportswear, costumes, and formalwear. The sportswear section had the girls in booty shorts and tanktops dancing around to the roaring approval of the crowd. The costume round consisted of the girls in flashy but beautiful vegas style outfits with each peice representing a part of their culture. The each neighborhood fanbase was very invested in their girl and a fight even broke out among the crowd. My Spanish is still pretty shakey but this was my interpretation of the confrontation.
Drunk man 1: man that chick is ugly
Drunk man 2: you better not be talkin about my neighborhood girl like that
Drunk man 1: Uhh.. I think I just did
And fight erupts...
Saturday I attended a rodeo, and to actually call it a rodeo is to use the term loosely. Bulls were let loose in a ring filled with extremely drunk men who decided that it was a great idea to taunt the bulls for sport. Their only means of safety from the raging beasts was to dart under a wood fence seconds before the bull completed its attack. The rodeo occured again on Sunday and some of those "barachos" (drunks) were not so lucky. Word around town is that 2 men were too slow and fell victim to the extremely pissed-off bull. They were speared in the gut and despite the best efforts of the medics that were standing by, they could not be saved. Thankfully I was not in attendance for this massacre and rather, was watching the Hipica, or horse parade. Cowboys paraded though town for over an hour making their horses dance for the crowd. People from all the surrounding towns came in for this event, bringing with them tons of street food and trinkets for sale. With lack of better judgement and an intense longing for my favorite foods of home I indulged in a hot dog and slice of pizza from a street vendor. The pizza tasted as if it had ketchup in place of marrinara sauce and the hot dog wasnt so much of a hot dog as it was a skinny peice of unidentifiable mean smothered in what I think were onions. How I didn't wake up vomitting or have some crazy uncurable parasite the next day I will never know.
Since the fiesta, my life has been pretty low key. Taking lots of classes and try to break this stubborn talking in English habit! Ill update again soon
Oh! here is my address (i like mail):
Jennifer Luiz, PCT
Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz
Aparto Postal 3256
Managua, Nicaragua
Central America
Everyone in town has been talking about this fiesta since my arrival. It is one of two very large events Santa Teresa holds every year and the people of this town are very proud of it. It started off Thursday night with a performance of native dances. I liked the Carribean dances the best because there were basically a competition on who could shake it the best. The costumes were amazing and again you could tell how much pride the town took in representing themselves and their culture. Friday night the dances continued acting as intermissions for the Miss Santa Teresa pagent (ok, thats not what it was actually called but you get the idea). A representative from each neighborhood took the stage in 3 categories: sportswear, costumes, and formalwear. The sportswear section had the girls in booty shorts and tanktops dancing around to the roaring approval of the crowd. The costume round consisted of the girls in flashy but beautiful vegas style outfits with each peice representing a part of their culture. The each neighborhood fanbase was very invested in their girl and a fight even broke out among the crowd. My Spanish is still pretty shakey but this was my interpretation of the confrontation.
Drunk man 1: man that chick is ugly
Drunk man 2: you better not be talkin about my neighborhood girl like that
Drunk man 1: Uhh.. I think I just did
And fight erupts...
Saturday I attended a rodeo, and to actually call it a rodeo is to use the term loosely. Bulls were let loose in a ring filled with extremely drunk men who decided that it was a great idea to taunt the bulls for sport. Their only means of safety from the raging beasts was to dart under a wood fence seconds before the bull completed its attack. The rodeo occured again on Sunday and some of those "barachos" (drunks) were not so lucky. Word around town is that 2 men were too slow and fell victim to the extremely pissed-off bull. They were speared in the gut and despite the best efforts of the medics that were standing by, they could not be saved. Thankfully I was not in attendance for this massacre and rather, was watching the Hipica, or horse parade. Cowboys paraded though town for over an hour making their horses dance for the crowd. People from all the surrounding towns came in for this event, bringing with them tons of street food and trinkets for sale. With lack of better judgement and an intense longing for my favorite foods of home I indulged in a hot dog and slice of pizza from a street vendor. The pizza tasted as if it had ketchup in place of marrinara sauce and the hot dog wasnt so much of a hot dog as it was a skinny peice of unidentifiable mean smothered in what I think were onions. How I didn't wake up vomitting or have some crazy uncurable parasite the next day I will never know.
Since the fiesta, my life has been pretty low key. Taking lots of classes and try to break this stubborn talking in English habit! Ill update again soon
Oh! here is my address (i like mail):
Jennifer Luiz, PCT
Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz
Aparto Postal 3256
Managua, Nicaragua
Central America
Saturday, January 30, 2010
My First Tarantula
I have now been living with my host family for 6 days in a small town called Santa Teresa. I have been having mixed emotions while living here. While excited to see new things and meet new people, I have found that I can not communicate with anyone. My Spanish is worse than I even thought and that is not good haha. I arrived here on Saturday and was greeted by a large Nicaraguan family who speak absolutely no English. Let me tell you, it was very awkward sitting with them and not understanding a single word they were saying to me. My family owns 2 houses and an ice cream shop which is right next to my casa. I'm still not exactly sure who lives where as my mama, papa, brother, sister, their spouses, cousins, neices and nephews are constantly between the two homes. Nicas don't seem to have boundries when it comes to this. Doors are always open and people walk into other families homes without a second thought.
I have now taken a week of Spanish classes, each day consisting of 6 hours of classes. This whole immersion thing actually does work because I do see a big difference in myself in only this short period. On my first day here I had no idea what anyone was saying and I can now survive in a very basic conversation (with many mas despacios, por favor or slow down please). The food here is actually very good. Everything is fresh and cooked in the home. They even fresh squeeze the juice each morning that we have with every meal.
On Sunday I attended a large festival in the nearby city of Diriamba with my sister-in-law which I would compare to the feast for all you New Bedfordites. There was a huge parade of horses and everyone in the crowd was wearing cowboy hats, which I found very odd. All the people in Nicaragua wear clothes made my American brands. I see people walking around everywhere with Hollister, Nike, and Polo shirts that they have bought at second hand stores. People buy this clothing, which is apparently very expensive here, and most don't even know what their shirt is saying. I saw a girl a couple of days ago walking around with a shirt that said "I'm F***ing awesome!" and I'm sure she had no idea what she was broadcasting across her chest.
There is a large festival in Santa Teresa this weekend which the whole community is very excited about. Everyone is abuzz about the upcoming "fiesta". My house is in the center of the party as it is directly accross the street from the park. Our street is filled with small ferris wheels and carnival games. Needless to say, I doubt I'll be getting much sleep this weekend, but I'm excited to experience this type of event as a member of the community.
Oh, and about the spider.. I went into my bathroom last night to brush my teeth and next to the sink was the largest spider I have ever seen. Larger than a doorknob. When I gasped loudly my sister-in-law came rushing in, smacked it with her shoe, and walked out unscathed. I, on the other hand, was traumatized.
I have now taken a week of Spanish classes, each day consisting of 6 hours of classes. This whole immersion thing actually does work because I do see a big difference in myself in only this short period. On my first day here I had no idea what anyone was saying and I can now survive in a very basic conversation (with many mas despacios, por favor or slow down please). The food here is actually very good. Everything is fresh and cooked in the home. They even fresh squeeze the juice each morning that we have with every meal.
On Sunday I attended a large festival in the nearby city of Diriamba with my sister-in-law which I would compare to the feast for all you New Bedfordites. There was a huge parade of horses and everyone in the crowd was wearing cowboy hats, which I found very odd. All the people in Nicaragua wear clothes made my American brands. I see people walking around everywhere with Hollister, Nike, and Polo shirts that they have bought at second hand stores. People buy this clothing, which is apparently very expensive here, and most don't even know what their shirt is saying. I saw a girl a couple of days ago walking around with a shirt that said "I'm F***ing awesome!" and I'm sure she had no idea what she was broadcasting across her chest.
There is a large festival in Santa Teresa this weekend which the whole community is very excited about. Everyone is abuzz about the upcoming "fiesta". My house is in the center of the party as it is directly accross the street from the park. Our street is filled with small ferris wheels and carnival games. Needless to say, I doubt I'll be getting much sleep this weekend, but I'm excited to experience this type of event as a member of the community.
Oh, and about the spider.. I went into my bathroom last night to brush my teeth and next to the sink was the largest spider I have ever seen. Larger than a doorknob. When I gasped loudly my sister-in-law came rushing in, smacked it with her shoe, and walked out unscathed. I, on the other hand, was traumatized.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Orientation Retreat aka Freshman Orientation
Hola! The last few days have been a complete whirlwind. I arrived in Managua on Wednesday afternoon and was greeted at the airport by a bunch of the PC staff and a few current volunteers. Surprisingly going through customs was no big deal and they didnt even open our bags. We were then brought to a NGO headquarters where we have been staying in dorm style rooms with a common bathroom. I am actually rooming with one of the volunteers and she has been super helpful in explaining how things actually work. During the days we have been having sessions basically just giving us an overview of what our lives are going to be like for the next 2 years and the training period in particular. We have also had to do tons of icebreakers which makes me feel bad for all the times I made the kids in my orientation groups do these.
I took a Spanish placement test and obviously placed into the bottom level. For the next three months I will be taking Spanish classes all day on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and Wednesday mornings. The rest of my time will be filled with studying and doing technical training on the specific health info we need to pass on. Within the first 6 weeks I need to form a youth group and be able to present a "charla" which is basically a talk on some health issue in Spanish. The language classes are cool because the teachers do not speak English and there really is no book learning. All the language learning comes from talking to them, your host family, and people in the community.
Today we took a tour of Managua. Despite its large size and number of people, there really isn't that much to see here. The historic center of the city was destroyed by an earthquake and never rebuilt after they found it lay on some major fault lines. We did go up to a observance point that overlooked the city and had some fantastic views. The landscape here is absolutely gorgeous with lush greenery, blue lake water, and huge volcanoes on the horizon. I can not wait to take a trip to the volcanoes where I've heard you can do an activity called volcano boarding which involves sliding down all the black lava rocks on a sled.
Tomorrow we move in with our host families which I am super excited but very nervous about. My family is huge! The parents have 2 children who are both married and still live in the house with their children. This is apparently very common here. Including me there will be 9 people living in my house! Thankfully, Peace Corps makes sure that you have your own room. The families have been trained so they know what to expect when we come but I'm still nervous that its going to be kind of awkward. They live in a town calle d Santa Teresa which is a smaller community outside the larger city of Jinotepe. There will be 3 other trainees with me in this town and we will be taking all of our language classes together. Thats pretty much all I know right now! Miss everyone and send me some emails!
I took a Spanish placement test and obviously placed into the bottom level. For the next three months I will be taking Spanish classes all day on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and Wednesday mornings. The rest of my time will be filled with studying and doing technical training on the specific health info we need to pass on. Within the first 6 weeks I need to form a youth group and be able to present a "charla" which is basically a talk on some health issue in Spanish. The language classes are cool because the teachers do not speak English and there really is no book learning. All the language learning comes from talking to them, your host family, and people in the community.
Today we took a tour of Managua. Despite its large size and number of people, there really isn't that much to see here. The historic center of the city was destroyed by an earthquake and never rebuilt after they found it lay on some major fault lines. We did go up to a observance point that overlooked the city and had some fantastic views. The landscape here is absolutely gorgeous with lush greenery, blue lake water, and huge volcanoes on the horizon. I can not wait to take a trip to the volcanoes where I've heard you can do an activity called volcano boarding which involves sliding down all the black lava rocks on a sled.
Tomorrow we move in with our host families which I am super excited but very nervous about. My family is huge! The parents have 2 children who are both married and still live in the house with their children. This is apparently very common here. Including me there will be 9 people living in my house! Thankfully, Peace Corps makes sure that you have your own room. The families have been trained so they know what to expect when we come but I'm still nervous that its going to be kind of awkward. They live in a town calle d Santa Teresa which is a smaller community outside the larger city of Jinotepe. There will be 3 other trainees with me in this town and we will be taking all of our language classes together. Thats pretty much all I know right now! Miss everyone and send me some emails!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Staging
I am officially a Peace Corps Trainee! I arrived in Washington DC today for my staging event, which is basically just an orientation complete with lots of icebreakers. There are 24 people in my group and only 5 boys.. very similar to a class at CofC. Everyone seems really positive and excited about our trip tomorrow morning. I was originally really nervous about how much luggage I'm taking and how terrible my Spanish is but being here with everyone has reassured me that everyone is having these doubts and that we will be able to make it through our training together. I cant wait to fly out tomorrow and see this country I have been talking about for so long in person. I miss all of you at home already!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Hi everyone! I’m gearing up to head out to Nicaragua in a little over a week. My packing is pretty much done and I think I have packed just about everything on the list. I’m sure I will be quite the spectacle and a source of laughter for many of the locals while trying to drag my giant suitcases around the city and on what I’m sure will be very cramped buses. I will be spending my first three months outside the Managua, the capital, where I will do my pre-service training. I’ve heard training is a pretty intense experience. We will be taking language classes every day and learning how to perform our job as health volunteers effectively. I will be spending a lot of time at Peace Corps headquarters so my internet availability should be good for at least these first few months. I’m very excited and a little nervous about this new stage in my life. I will keep you all updated throughout my trip!
I’ll post my address as soon as I know it!
I’ll post my address as soon as I know it!
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