One Year Down

Wow. 15 months later. 2 weeks away from a USA visit and still really wanting it. I must say, time has been flying by lately, except for waiting for the arrival of my new baby niece!!!

A friend recently posted this article on facebook and it explains how I feel a lot of the time here in regards to sometimes feeling like a failure
What The Peace Corp Taught Me About Failure
www.huffingtonpost.com

So elections went off with no disruption in our town, except we lost a few days-week of class....currently the kids are still in school for another week, though the teachers are all gathered in the office, adding the grades which are due soon....so the kids just run around free and keep asking if they can leave, and no one seems to know the answer....eerily similar to the beginning of the school year.

I am off in a few short days to do a tech exchange and meet the volunteer who made her house out of bottles and is currently working on another project using the same method. I am struggling to cope with the fact that I have to let go of control and depend on many different people here for this project to work....and I am scared out of my mind at times it won´t. But then in other moments feel so sure that it will....only time will tell.

I am still tired. But busy. And generally happy. Matt is currently in Managua working at a camp for University English Teachers through the US Embassy, so I am experiencey the Q as a solo girl volunteer would....so far so good though it is only day 2 (-:

Really thinking about lots of people at home etc lately....Probably bc that is where we are headed so soon for a little break....

Much love to everyone!

Truth be Told

I am tired, and a little burnt out. October went by really fast. We colloborated with our sitemate on his big health project---teaching people that work for various coop´s/farms about HIV/AID´s...then giving them a pre-made mini-charla, or mini-presentation- that they in turn promise to take out to their fincas and give to all their workers....pretty cool.
Then we had a big fancy dinner at a fancy hotel in Managua in order to fundraise money for the small business volunteers who are working with kids here to start their own small businesses.
Then we had a wedding in our old host town of Catarina, it was really beautiful and fun....except we got robbed on the bus on the way home...nothing crazy...lost the computer and the camera...on an almost empty very nice bus...very strange indeed...

I have been playing catch up on the small grant proposal we had started and had saved on that computer, also lost my memory stick, and it is going ok.

we WERE hoping to present the project to the committee that has final say over the project in December before we go home, but our boss just recently came to visit us, and readjusted my expectations...which is a good thing because i was running around like a crazy insane woman trying to get done QUICK, which in this culture, can be pretty close to impossible.....we are thinking now we will be presenting the project proposal closer to my birthday in March of next year....

I´m not gonna lie, pretty much all i can think about right now, besides the project, is going home for a break, and taking a real break...and seeing all our family and friends and especially my new little niece!!!!!!!

I am mentally and physically exhausted.....but i hope you guys are all great!!! oh yeah, small detail, presidential elections are here this wknd....could be pretty interesting....but no worries, we are all safe!

Random Bits and Pieces, half way there...almost

Patience in the Peace Corps….
Takes on a whole new level of meaning…
WAITING. I don’t think I have ever spent as much time WAITING in my life as I have here…
WAITING for the school year to start…which it eventually did 2 weeks late…
WAITING for people to show up to meetings…typically 30-45 minutes late…sometimes an hour or two…
WAITING for class to begin—which meetings often cut into or completely cancel without any notice…
WAITING for someone to schedule your big meeting so you can work on a big project/great opportunity for the community….currently still WAITING…been waiting 3 weeks….
WAITING for one person to sign a form for a friend’s project…I have been every day this week—sometimes twice a day--- to pick up a piece of paper for another volunteer…every day I am told it is not there but to come back tomorrow at a different time..WAITING now for 4 days…
WAITING WAITING WAITING….let’s just say, I read a lot. And am slowly learning to not get so frustrated about these things, but it’s hard. I would like to plan other activities, DO things with my time, but how can you make new plans when you already have plans even though you know the plans you already have probably aren’t really going to happen? Welcome to the life of a PCV!
MY 5 DOLLAR PILLOW
So, we recently had our MID SERVICE—that’s right! MID SERVICE Medical appointment. It went smoothly, no big issues, no cavities etc. I told the nurse that my neck has been bothering me for a couple months on one side. She felt it for a few seconds and declared it safe—suggested I buy a real pillow from the fancy grocery store near the office. For those of you who don’t live here, pillows are pretty dang hard to come by—especially out in our little town. If they exist, they are usually pillow cases stuffed with balls of sorts etc. So, I followed her advice. I bought my close to five dollar pillow in Managua—and I AM SO ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH MY PILLOW. I can’t believe I haven’t done this sooner…We’ll see if it helps the neck joint or not, but man oh man, I have never loved a pillow so much!
The Maternity Ward
As many of you know, our host sister here just had her little baby girl, Nicole or Nicolita. Well, before she arrived, I spent a Saturday night in the maternity ward at the hospital here in our little town. It was a small room with about 6 or 7 cots in it. A few little fans…which when the power goes out here, of course, they don’t work. There were about 7 women in there, all looking ready to pop. And it was so hot! But, I don’t know how to explain it, there was just this overwhelming feeling of happiness in that room despite what many of us at home would consider “tough conditions”. Despite the fact that the women were discussing whether or not the doctor would actually arrive to deliver because there was a holiday that week----so maybe they have to wait a few more days---no one knew…. But as we sat around and chatted and shared food and coffee, I got that awesome feeling again…the feeling that this is something special…that my being welcomed into such a personal part of these women’s lives so openly and warmly is pretty incredible. And the smile spreads wide across my face, and I think, yes, this is what life is all about.
WORK
Haven’t had much of it lately…No class for a variety of reasons…sort of makes me crazy…and lazy…and out of practice with having good practices. Now I am a little nervous about our next “site visit” or when one of our bosses comes allllll the way out here to watch our classes and see how we’re doing.
On the plus, Matt got a gig working a camp at the US Embassy in December. He will be teaching Nicaraguans who are studying to be English teachers. Pretty cool.
RAIN
Still not as rainy as I expected rainy season to be…but we hear October is the worst. Recently it has started raining HARDER. So hard that the gutters on our tin roof can’t handle the flow and our house pretty much floods. Well, just the hallway so it’s all good. We almost have enough buckets to catch it—and then we just sweep the few inches left over on out to the street.

Things You Don´t Write Home to Mom about...

Hmmm let’s start this one with a small disclaimer. Moms—don’t worry, we are in good health and good spirits and all is well!
Of course, illness is something that virtually every Peace Corps Volunteer eventually experiences..or maybe experiences constantly. The most common illness, at least it seems to me so far, is that of the tummy bug type. This means cramps and diarrhea--occasionally accompanied by vomiting. This is usually caused by a bacterial infection or a parasite, OR maybe the glorious combination of both. What happens? You poop in a cup or plastic jar or bag or whatever appropriate item you have handy…carry it to a lab or nearest hospital and have it tested. You call the Peace Corps medical office and read them your results once you have them (usually within an hour or two). They tell you what medicine to buy…usually a strong dose of antibiotics….you’re then laid up for a few days…exhausted and dehydrated—typically in a hot hot place with no AC, and sometimes no fan if there happens to be no power that day…it’s awesome!
Other illnesses include but aren’t limited to…all kinds of strange itchy rashes and bug bites…the glorious Dengue Fever which 3 out of 21 of us came down with during training…(they call it the Bone Breaking disease or something like that because your bones supposedly literally feel like they are breaking….), staff infections…etc.
All that being said, oddly enough, overall-- I think I have been healthier in Nicaragua than in the US of A…weird huh? And I think I am going to knock on some wood now….I can’t say the same for many other volunteers I happen to know….who encounter stomach infections what seems like once a month or more….
THE OTHER THING—WOW, the buses. Especially as of late. With the rainy season—the roads have become monstrous. At least, all the dirt roads…and to get out of and into our town, the road is dirt…for an hour and a half..or longer…Twice now the bus we’ve been on has not made it up one of the last hills to our town the first try..or the 7th…The tires start spinning and then comes the smell and the smoke…usually a few guys hop off and find some branches around and place them in the deep, muddy ruts that keep us from moving forward—then the bus backs up and we gun it and make it up over the hill. Recently though, after the 6th or so attempt, allll the men were ordered off the bus to help patch up the deeeeeep muddy ruts and then push from the back of the bus….Matt and our site mate included. I had the good fortune to be on the bus and be recognized by some students of mine—so we watched the guys do their thing as we flew over the ruts and bounced up on down on our school bus…I think after the 2nd or 3rd time we made it….then my student gave us some tamales and corn on the cob….oddly, it was kind of fun….
Last week, on my way to my high school in a nearby community, the bus hit one of these so called muddy ruts and leaned pretty dang hard to the left….so that the tires on the right were almost off the ground…Yup, I thought we were going to fall on our side…of course, there were about 30 people standing in the aisle and myself and my counterpart were part of this bunch….someone screamed “SALIMOS!” or “let’s get out of here”! Basically, and people started shoving and running to get off the bus….good times! We made it off the bus, which the driver had shut off, but not without almost toppling a few 3 year olds on the way out….we passengers walked probably about half a mile down the road and waited for the bus to catch up…they had to take a lot of the stuff off the top of the bus and re-load further on down the road…we were simply over-loaded with people on the inside and stuff on the top….Unfortunately, materials my counterpart and I had spent some time making for class the day before, got dropped and trampled on during the mad rush to exit the bus….and we arrived late to school so didn’t have the chance to re-make said materials…..ummmm I was pretty happy just to be in class that day though…..materials or no….
Sometimes, the buses are now running with tire chains on them---I think it should be a must this time of year….but who knows?
Anyways, that’s just some little stuff that happens from time to time. Are you ready to sign up!?
On the super plus, the bats have left our house. One of the girls that works in the store that connects with our house says that she killed one with a broom and then left it around for a day for the other bats to see….more power to her…I haven’t seen a bat in about 4 or 5 days…weird…\----------------------------------------

For soon to be Volunteers or anyone interested...

Take note this might bore you if you aren´t that interested in the questions posed below....it´s kind of long...But possibly more interesting are the random tid bits posted in the blog just before this one (-:

Well, the first week of August did fly….Happy Birthday Mom! And grandmother, Sister, aunt, and multiple friends—popular Birthday month (-:
This little tidbit is for all those considering the Peace Corps that scour the internet blog stalking these entries, especially when they find out their assignment…and are looking for information on subjects such as Teaching in Nicaragua, Being a TEFL Volunteer in Nicaragua, typical day of a volunteer in Nicaragua, being a married couple in the Peace Corps, etc. Ummm because maybe I did this? And am inspired to write this because the new group of volunteers is arriving in less than 2 weeks….which means in less than 2 weeks, we will have been in Nicaragua for a year! (future perfect continuous! Check that out!)
So in that order,
Teaching in Nicaragua….I’m not gonna lie, in my opinion, it’s hard! It depends on many factors though, such as your counterpart, your particular school’s atmosphere, location of the school and class size etc. Considering the students don’t have books, supplies can be limited, and sometimes there aren’t enough chairs for students, being creative and dedicated really pays off. You also shouldn’t be surprised to find 16 or 17 year olds in seventh grade---I have a 26 year old in 10th grade….For me, personally, discipline is a pretty tough area. Especially because Spanish isn’t my first language and when several kids are screaming stuff at the same time, I often cannot understand them---I am not sure if they are just trying to participate in the class, or if they are yelling obscenities…..ahhh I could get into the school system at large, but you future volunteers will find out about that soon enough (-: Let’s just say that classes are cancelled and cancelled often for a variety of reasons….and that school started 2 weeks late this year….Students are not accustomed to many communicative activities either…their main form of learning has been copying and memorizing over and over and over…..so they are excited to do new things---but sometimes they don’t view it seriously and get out of control easily because we aren’t copying….
TEFL volunteer in Nicaragua—I guess the above covers many of the same themes. Again, so much just depends on where you end up and who you end up working with…and course, it depends on you! Many volunteers like being part of TEFL because we have an automatic sense of identity in our communities—ie. professors, and a set schedule in the schools. On the other hand, some folks don’t like having such a set, routine schedule…

Typical Day of a TEFL volunteer-- who knows exactly?? Let’s just say that during training, you will be BUSY every second of every day…exhausted, and soaking up soooo much you may feel like your head will explode….then everything changes when you swear in. In my case, now, I don’t really have any typical day….I only teach 16 classroom hours a week…have one community class…play basketball with little kids, and read story time to first graders at my elementary school. The biggest part of my week is co-planning with 2 different counterparts. Co-planning takes HOURS and I am pretty sure any TEFL volunteer will tell you it is the most exhausting part of our jobs, and maybe the most important….So my typical week: Monday, teach from 7-9:30am at my main high school, hop on a bus to my other high school out in a community at 10:15, teach 1230-500, get back to my house at 5:30-6. Yes, Mondays are looonnnnggg. Tuesday: 9:30-10:30 meet with counterpart1, practice English in her free hour or she practices using the computer. Teach 12:30-2. Maybe meet with counterpart2 to plan extra. Wednesday: Teach 10:30-1:15, Offer extra tutoring to English students from 1:15-2:15, Maybe plan with Matt for our adult community class. Thursday: 8-8:45 meet with counterpart1, teach 840-10:30. Friday: 9:20-10:30 story time at elementary school with first graders to encourage reading for fun. Co-plan with counterpart1 12-4pm. Saturday: 10-12 basketball with kids in nearby barrio, or neighborhood. Generally a good day for the market and/or laundry Sunday: Coplan with counterpart2,1-4 or 5-9pm. Or help with community class that just switched to Sunday 6-8 pm.
Sometimes it doesn’t sound/look like much, but throw in functioning every day in a foreign language, buying all your food from the market, finding time to visit Nicaraguan friends/host family, washing all your clothes by hand etc….and your week can fill up pretty fast!
Being a married couple serving in the Peace Corps, is, for the most part, WONDERFUL, and I highly recommend it. Though not as strong as in other countries, gender stereotypes DEFINITELY exist here and do get on my nerves from time to time….I think maybe in the bigger cities it is different, but in our medium sized agricultural town up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, it is somewhat shocking that my husband cooks and cleans. I think we are so lucky to be going through all this together, even though it can be challenging at times…especially when one of you is going through a rough time and the other is pretty happy.
I could go on and on and on….but this probably isn’t that interesting for those of you that read this that aren’t coming to Nicaragua any time soon….for anyone blog stalking that wants more information, feel free to email me at jcwesterman@yahoo.com
PEACE.

August Tid Bits

Yesterday I felt somewhat Nica-nized. At least, my wardrobe if nothing else….
I was sitting in the yard at my host family’s house, just “platicando” or chatting, and my host mom asked me if my shoes were from the USA. (A common question for me). I said, “Actually no, I bought them here in Nicaragua but in another town.” She said “Oh, well they are pretty. Your blouse is really pretty too.” I smiled and said thank you, then looked down at my blouse---and realized it was bought in Nicaragua too….then my eyes traveled down to my plain black skirt and I realized this too came from a second hand shop in Nicaragua….then I realized the purse I had in my lap was a gift from my host mom and host sister….and to top it off, as I played with one of the yellow butterfly earrings I had on that day, I realized these too were a gift from one of my Nicaraguan counterparts…..I have been Nica-nized!
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DIFFERENCES…
Some of ‘em smack you across the face….others are more subtle….
Anyhow, I was just thinking about my last conversation with my counterpart…she asked if my mom and dad and little brother were the only ones that lived in their house---“yes” I said. Then she asked if my sister and her husband were the only ones that lived in their house---“yes” again….Then she asked if my other brother and his girlfriend lived alone in their house too---“Yes” again….I watched her as she thought this over, her eyebrows raising a little with every “yes”. It seemed shocking, I think, to her that so few people could occupy one house---if she only knew how big these houses were compared to any that I have seen here her eyebrows would probably fly right off her face….It made me realize that folks here probably think it is pretty luxurious that Matt and I share a place with 2 rooms AND a tiny kitchen AND a garage-type area….Just the concept of space has been occupying my mind all morning…I have yet to meet a Nica here that sleeps alone in their own bed----no matter their age….I think the norm is more 3-4 people in a bed….
At the end of the conversation with her, which included lots of discussion about boyfriends and girlfriends, how much college costs and how you can pay etc, all I could say was, “Yeah, it’s different.” I don’t know if I could ever accurately explain just HOW different….
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UP and Down and Up and Down…Randoms….
That is vida, or life, in the peace corps, for sure! Still sweating bullets here in The Q, as I now refer to my town….IT IS SO HOT!!! STILL!!! Even though some days it does POUR rain…last week they had to stop my bus that goes to my school out on the mountain to put tire chains on it to combat the dirt road that had turned to mud and small ponds….I also found out one of my favorite students out there (though I don’t have favorites (: ) is 26 years old and in the 10th grade….Now I know why she is so mature! I admire her so much for going back to school after a 9 year gap---for as much as I whine and moan at times about this or that (which is probably too much), it’s moments like those when I have to stop, and remember where I am….and just sort of, revel in gratitude for so many things….I also found out that my school out there didn’t offer high school until 4 years ago….Many of my students already walk an hour or so just to get to the road where our school is…..so this means before they offered high school there, my kids would have had to walk an hour on trails on mountainous terrain to get to the road and then get on a bus for another hour or so just to get to class…..wow. Perhaps I can always have more patience and understanding…
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I wonder if I will find it odd that not almost EVERY business is operated out of someone’s living room….or that no one just walks by the house yelling that they are selling anything from ice cream, beans, corn, remote controls, guitars, shoes etc….I have to admit, it is pretty convenient.
Our new boss says one of the things that struck him the most when he returned from his previous peace corps service was that in the US, you put toilet paper in the toilet….something I haven’t done in almost a year!
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Happy Moment: at all teacher conference, taught English teachers how to make a type of material I have already been using with my counterparts, the glorious “mini-board”…anndddd Matt reported the next day that he and his counterpart used the material in their class and the kids loved it! Something accomplished….

JULY breaks, bats and cockroaches

July July….What happened in and to July??
Well, let’s see…there was my counterpart’s birthday—happy birthday Melbita! And she came to our house and cooked US lunch…seems to be pretty norm that if it is YOUR party or event YOU do everything for everyone else---a little different than at home eh? I gave her a watch and a Snickers Bar. It was a really nice day. Then we had a week of school as normal, then it was off to a training conference in Esteli which included some of our counterparts. It was pretty intense but great to see everyone and hopefully my counterpart and I will start to apply some of the things we learned back in our site. We also got to meet our new boss and he seems wonderful, but it was sad to say goodbye to our old boss. Really it was great to see all the other volunteers---many many of whom we haven’t seen since January….but we didn’t sign up to hang out with each other all the time (-:
We then had the pleasure of a quick visit with some friends from the USA that happened to be in Granada, Nicaragua with their film project “Actuality Media” for about a month. They take students or anyone interested really, to different parts of the world and they learn how to shoot and edit and create a documentary of sorts---they tell the story of people working towards change in their site location. I am sure their website explains it better! You should check it out! It was pretty strange to hang out with a group of gringos for a bit and just sort of, well, hang out…it was actually a sort of culture shock experience in and of itself….it was almost like going home for a quick visit….i cant imagine what actually going home will be like….
Upon returning to the Q, as I now like to refer to Quilali, we found a few surprises in our house. Our pila, or our source of water for laundry, bathing, dishes, and flushing the toilet, was full of 30 plus dead, floating cockroaches…well a few were still sort of alive…and the one or two bats we had living with us have multiplied to about 20…So….matt emptied our tank and scrubbed it clean with just a touch of bleach…It’s quite a process and I can’t tell you how much I love him for doing it---Look for a pic of process on facebook soon. And the bats, well the bats, are still hanging around, pun intended…I am slightly embarrassed to say we tried garlic and then a Nica friend suggested we hang a red cloth up in our entry way….again look for pics of hanging bats and our attempt to combat the on facebook. Also fun times, was the search for bread…and how there was none….I forgot that often times in the Q, simply “no hay” or there is none of what you so desperately had your heart set on, you know, like bread. I suppose I had gotten used to having options for bread on our mini out of the Q adventure in July….but I remember now….and the good news, the bread man made it to the Q a couple days later (-:
We haven’t had class since our return to the Q, but start up again on Monday. We did have an all teacher meeting—Matt and I prepared a small workshop to give, but it never happened…I still couldn’t tell you the point of the 5 hour meeting…but it was good to reconnect with the other teachers and practice Spanish. I spent many hours lesson planning—one hour which was spent explaining how stoplights at intersections work (ie. when pedestrians can cross the street etc). Needless to say, there are no stoplights or intersections in the Q, in fact, I don’t think there are even any traffic signs of any sort----makes it awesome to teach a class on traffic and warning signs(-; But the best thing has been reconnecting with our adult English class---we couldn’t have class at our normal spot because our friend had an event in his house where we normally have it—so I decided to invite everyone to our house—though it is smaller and has less space and classroom amenities. I was so excited to see most of our group! And we had the opportunity to chat for a bit with the principal of one of my school’s (she is in our class) about a project idea we have. We are thinking about constructing a classroom out of bottles out there for the seventh graders who have a classroom with wood boards and dirt floors at the moment. I think I mentioned this before so I won’t repeat. It is still just an idea, and we have to see how the community feels about it etc. before we can even begin with the process of writing a proposal etc….So I am trying not to get to excited until we see what the actual interest level is….if you are interested in this crazy concept of bottle buildings I encourage you to google something like “bottle classrooms” or “bottle houses”—there are quite a few projects going on all over the world of a similar nature.
I feel tired but motivated. We have almost been in Nicaragua for one year now and that surprises me. I think it still surprises me more that we have over a year to go…
Ready to get back in the swing of things, but I would be a huge liar if I didn’t mention how excited we are to be making a visit home in December!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pigeons, Power Outages, Fun stuff and not so fun stuff....

Pigeons Power Outages and more fun stuff…
Always hard to remember where I left off…
Anyways, most recently there was a giant pigeon in my house…the space between the walls and the roof make it easy access and in our garage/house, there is the corrugated tin roof then a large space and then a layer of cardboard-like tiles. We have discovered the space makes a great home for all sorts of critters….like the pigeon. So my young, cute tiny counterpart is over working with me—and I am screaming about the pigeon and calling matt to come and get it out of the house….she laughs at me like I am the most ridiculous person on the planet and starts chasing the thing all over our house…in our bedroom, down the hall, there are feathers everywhere, before she finally catches it with her hands. She strokes it for awhile and talks to it, and enjoys shoving it in my face before I convince her to put it outside, where I firmly believe it belongs (-: So I didn’t exactly grow up on the farm…but I am SUPER grateful my counterpart, as all other Nicas I know, is so down to earth and comfortable with all things we like to classify as critters. Did I mention that while I was pointing my finger at the pigeon perched on our ‘fridge 2 small bats came flying out of the same space into my face!? It was a fun moment. Really, I am actually serious here; it was really fun and funny!
On another note, the power has been out SUPER SUPER frequently this month. Pretty much every other day for hours at a time. Now, I feel like a big brat of a PC Volunteer, because there are plenty of peace corps volunteers living in the world that NEVER have the good ‘ol “luz” or light (electricity)…but I am sort of accustomed to life here with it. Maybe I should try just never using it for a whole week to get some additional perspective? It really only bothers me when it goes out in the middle of the night and it is like 90 something degrees out still….and you wake up…sweating…thinking…why am I awake? Oh….then you hear the whir of your fan as it goes out….Usually I go throw some cold water from our bucket bath on me and try to go back to sleep in one of the hammocks when this happens….I mean, it is rainy season, sort of, and it is cooler, sort of. Meaning that it rains SOMETIMES but not always…and as soon as it STOPS raining I think it is actually HOTTER than it was before! In any case, the rain is welcome and needed to produce everything we depend on around here….
So work! The workshop, or “taller”, we gave at our last teacher conference went pretty well. That isn’t to say it didn’t start an hour late, teachers didn’t talk or text on cell phones during, and no one came and went from the room (hmmmm the students are oddly similar….), but we felt super happy with it at the end. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to do everything we had planned (recall we started an hour late) but the written, anonymous feedback we got from the English teachers was awesome…we heard things like “I didn’t even feel the time. I wasn’t bored and I actually learned something!” Yeah, so that might give you a picture of what these monthly or so teacher days are like…Everyone seems excited at the prospect of us giving more workshops during every conference=more work for us, but we are SOOO happy to do it…and ultimately, of course, we want to include our counterparts in the presentations and have them doing it on their own before we leave…..moments like these 2 years almost doesn’t seem long enough (;

Things at my high schools are sort of the same…I still struggle with the unpredictability of whether or not there will actually BE class every day….and it kills me that when my students ask me “Hey teacher, when is our exam?” I know I can’t really answer because that is subject to change on a whim too….makes it sort of easy to see why some kids lose faith in the system and simply stop showing up…Also, out in my community (means outside of city limits in Nica terms), the 7th graders are losing TONS of class time because of the rain—all the other grades have the normal classrooms made out of bricks —but the 7th graders (the youngest in the high school), have a classroom made out of wooden boards, the corrugated tin roof, and a dirt floor. When it pours, which it does a lot out there, their floor turns to mud….so they usually just go home instead of getting dirty---which if I haven’t mentioned before is pretty much a crime here. I constantly have students out there patting dust and chalk off me and fixing my shirt collar etc. I just got wind that a group called Builders without Borders is going to be working with Peace Corps in Nicaragua the next two years---they build things such as CLASSROOMS, letrines, etc. I was super excited thinking I might be able to work with them to get my 7th graders a classroom of their own out there….BUT one of their requirements is to be 4 hours from Managua on a direct bus……so yea…have I mentioned we live kind of far out there? Like 7 and half hours minimum from the capital of Managua---IF you catch all the right busses? Sigh, I can certainly understand their desire to be near good medical facilities etc. And they sound like a really neat organization if anyone cares to check them out---they are based in Connecticut. I will just have to look elsewhere to get the kids a room….if they really want one! (Peace Corps always warns, and it is good to think about, NOT to start projects WE think people need/want, but first find out what THEY NEED/WANT). There are zillions of examples of people just barging into a place, taking a look around, and deciding what people need for them---and then as soon as the project is complete, it fails. Because the idea wasn’t homegrown. (-:
Ok, lots of rambling! I know! Excited about training that is coming up in a few weeks…also have a friend from the States who is IN Nica-land already and we might get to see here in July too! I have been in site for a very long time without a break and it will be a few more weeks before I get one….let’s hope I don’t get the Q La Li Crazies. (That’s what I call it anyways…)
Love you guys….Miss you guys….SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!! XOXOX
THE VERY NEXT DAY
On a personal level, a good friend of ours’ lost her dad this morning—well she is the wife of one of my principal’s..and she is in our adult English class. I still cant get over how quickly people form friendships with us here, well some of them, and how you are immediately considered family. I spent my hour break between classes at her house sitting with the rest of the community, and then sitting on her bed holding her hand and just talking. She insisted on feeding me and making me coffee before allowing me to go back to work…..matt and I refer to her as our fairy godmother, because she really is like the fairy godmothers from Cinderella. We talked about how when someone dies, we have similar traditions in the States, ie. the whole family usually comes together etc., but of course, how some things are different. I talked about my grandparents---living and deceased--- and what it was like when they passed away and about various friends and family members whom have suffered losses recently and in the past….It was kind of a sad moment, but one of those human moments, where you know that people feel the same things no matter where you are in the world….It really made me miss my family…..and friends….I really can’t wait to hug all of you.

JUNE!

JUNE!!!
Ok, so everyone says time flies by in the Peace Corps, despite the slower pace of life in most PC countries. For me, this hasn’t been true until recently. I think it is a good sign. I cannot believe it is already a week into June! We now have a little less than a year and a half left of service…and in September we will have been in Nicaragua for one whole year!
So what’s going on? Well first, I’d like to give a shout out to my little brother Jake who just turned 8 years old!!! And also to my older brother John, who’s age I shall protect, though he isn’t old! And happy Father’s Day to my Papa Bear. ANNNND good luck MAV’s! We are trying desperately to keep up with the NBA Finals here….oddly enough someone can change the channel on the TV’s here while you are watching, so we got the first 5 minutes of the game last night, then the channels magically started changing….finally settling on a friendly soccer match that no one cared about! I don’t have to tell you guys how this made Matt feel…..oh well, I mean I guess it is pretty amazing that we have internet and phone service up here in the mountains!
2 weeks ago, our friends from our TEFL group of volunteers came to visit us in Quilali! It was sooo amazing that 3 people made it to our site! (have I mentioned that we sort of live in the middle of nowhere???) Unfortunately, it rained almost the whole wknd., but it didn’t matter---we talked A LOT, shared classroom battle stories, cooked food, shared some drinks, toured the town a little bit, and got to make dinner by flashlight the last night and make shadow puppets for hours because the power was out most of the night (something we are noticing happens a lot more during rainy season)…..
We recently went back to our training town for a wknd. Because Matt’s host dad passed away not too long ago. Sadly, his host mom lost her mom 3 weeks before her husband died, so she was pretty depressed---it was pretty heartbreaking to see one of the sweetest people in the whole world so upset….but like all Nicas, she has TONS of family around allllll the time…granddaughters, and sons, kids, sisters and brothers…..it really is amazing the emphasis placed on family here and how tight they are in every situation. We watched the funeral on DVD as is the custom and there were lots of hugs and coffee and chatting. It was sort of a sad trip, but REALLY good to see them. And to be out of town for just a bit (we don’t get out a lot and find it makes a HUGE difference in our general attitudes).
Work is going alright….Matt and are planning on presenting at our monthly teacher’s conference this month, so that is exciting. Usually there is not much planned or organized for the English teachers….and we have sort of been waiting to offer a training session until we had a bit more credibility with the teachers…..trust me, it really is a delicate process. I don’t know how to explain it, but this is hard in a way I never imagined…..and like I said, I don’t have the words to explain it quite yet…..maybe someday….
In July we have our second In Service Training---all the volunteers in our group and one of our counterparts get together for about a week and work work work! Somewhat unfortunately, it is planned for the one week we have vacation from school…..a vacation we could really use! But ni modo, or oh well…..then before you know it, it will be August….September marks our one year anniversary of being in country=our mid service doctor check up…and also the big Independence Day celebrations=lots of missed class because of parades and band practice, then October, and then November and the elections….a lot of people are saying that school will end in October instead of December this year because of the elections (I guess they use the schools for casting votes). But this could all be just talk, it is a given, however, that we will miss at least a week or two in November….I won’t comment too much on the elections, but they are pretty controversial this year---I encourage you to read up on it if you have any interest.
Ok, that’s pretty much it for now. Hangin in there and watching the months on the calendar start to fly by, hoping we are making an impact and trying to stay dry in the beautiful rainy season!

Randoms

You know you are in the PC when you hear sentences/questions like this:
My counterpart’s monkey died today.
I wish that bat would come back to our house and eat all the new flying bug thingies that have started coming out of the ceiling….
How many parasites have you had? Any bacteria parasite combos? How many poop samples have you had to turn in?
You made out with your brother!? (referring to host brother here people …)
They are going to kill a pig for my family when they come to visit. Trust me, it’s kind of a big deal.
I had to kill a snake last month---it was in my pila (concrete water tank) and I couldn’t leave the house to get help because I was afraid the snake would get out and I wouldn’t know where it was.
Person A: Do you know if they have a bathroom here?
Person B: Yeah, it’s over there and it’s even got a toilet!
Person A: Wow!!!—I haven’t used a toilet in a really long time!

ALSO INTERESTING: ACCORDING TO A HANDOUT WE RECEIVE THESE ARE THE EMOTIONS WE WILL EXPERIENCE DURING OUR 2 YEAR AND 3 MONTH ROLLERCOASTER RIDE:

ANXIETY, LONELINESS, FEELING INCOMPETENT, NERVOUS, MORE ANXIETY, RESTLESSNESS, IRRITABILITY, LOW TOLERANCE FOR FRUSTRATION, FRIGHT, FRUSTRATION WITH SELF, LONELINESS AGAIN, WEIGHT AND HEALTH CHANGES, HOMESICKNESS, USELESSNESS, COMPARISON WITH OTHERS, MORE HOMESICKNESS, INTOLERANCE WITH HOST CULTURE,

IN OUR SECOND YEAR WHAT WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
IMPATIENCE WITH PROGRAM, SELF AND SYSTEM, CONSTANT COMPLAINING, LETHARGY, HAUGTINESS WITH NEW VOLUNTEERS, PROCRASTINATION, SELF RECRIMINATION, DISAPPOINTMENT, DOWNGRADE ACHIEVEMENTS, PANIC, MORE FRUSTRATION WITH SELF, MOODINESS, FRIGHT AGAIN, CONFUSION, MORE ANXIETY, ALIENATION, GIDDINESS, IMPATIENCE, …..

Well, I would have to put a check mark next to most of those already! I can see why they don’t hand this out prior to your departure! But it does sort of help to know that the feelings are normal (-:

And indeed, there ARE moments of positive feelings too---I have felt proud, loved, optimistic, motivated, joyous, and inspired some of the feelings among them. It just seems that you really have to hold out for these whereas the others just sort of smack you in the face all the time………but maybe that’s life no matter where you are or what you are doing, eh?

singin in the sunshine, laughin in the rain....

Isn’t it something when Mother Nature just seems to be in tune with your emotions? (I think I will make this entry a shout out to LW, u know who you are, though probably don’t read this blog (-: )
It REALLY started raining in Quilali tonight, like 10 minutes ago…I can’t even hear myself think, but the sound of rain IS SO refreshing….there is lightning on the mountaintops and echoes of thunder in the valley---and the very best part----the temperature dropped around 10 degrees and there is WIND! Granted, with 6 months of rainy season to go---I may not feel this way too much longer (-:
Anyhow, I have felt pretty down since vacation—after saying bye to the family, missing stuff from our house, student killing themselves and just recently Matt’s old host dad passed away too---on top of work not going so well= one sad little Julie. However, this past week was really good. I keep trying to examine why, so I can repeat it….and I think it was because I was super busy! And while work/class doesn’t usually go how I imagine it in my head, I am learning to adjust my expectations and really appreciate the small successes (and the random, crazy, beautiful parts of each day—whatever they may be). Also, I spent a few chunks of time with the host family here in Quilali---this always helps!!!! ANNNND today, we woke up at 430am to take a 2 hour dirt road bus ride in order to help with an allll day workshop…..and it was really successful I would say! Not everyone that signed up made it out, but I would say there were about 40 Nicaraguan English teachers---and now they all have books!!!! And have been exposed to new ideas about lesson planning, communicative activities, and designing durable materials for class!!! What they choose to do with it, we shall see. The volunteer leading the taller scheduled a follow up visit/observation day with 3 of the teachers to check in on the results of the day. Matt, Megan (a volunteer from our group ), and I only gave about an hour and a half of the 9-2:30 taller—but it was great to participate and even though we ended the day sweating profusely and starving and running to catch the 2 hours bus ride home, I feel oddly elated. Today, just maybe, today the PC Slogan of “The toughest job you’ll ever love” rings true. Though don’t get me wrong, on my bad days I have created other rated pg13 and sometimes R versions of this same slogan (-:
So back to the whole rain thing---I feel like my bad week or two has been wiped clean---and with the lovely rain and new, fresh air---I don’t know exactly what I am trying to say (exhausted) but it just all feels right today. I have the “ganas” or the will, to work and work harder.
Love to all ya’ll and I hope you all have a wonderful day and if you are having a bad day---may the rainstorm arrive to wipe it clean (-:

MAY UPDATE

Mother’s Day and Beyond…
Happy belated Mother’s Day to all in the USA! Nicas celebrate Dia del Madre on May 30th…To all the mommas out there---you ladies are allllll INCREDIBLE!
Little update from Nica-land-- We recently went to Jalapa, nearby town, (3 .5 hours on bus) to use bank, hook up with other veteran TEFL volunteer there, and then went together to the town of Santa Clara to check out the facility where our teacher taller we are giving will be on this coming Friday. We spent a few hours over coffee, beans, tortillas, cuejada etc. hashing out the details/deciding who will present what etc. Just to give you an idea, one of the things on our list to bring on the bus is 50 bananas (-: fun times! I am looking forward to the taller, but at the same time, it will be a brutally long day---the teachers that live in Quilali have to leave at 530am due the bus schedule……this means we will be in the little town almost 2 hours early…..but the next bus we could take would get us there an hour late……fun times again! Also due to the bus schedule, we will all probably have an extra hour AFTER the taller…..putting us back in Quilali around 6pm. Just in time to give our adult community class…… It seems in Peace Corps those random days you find yourself with very little to do, you make up for it somewhere down the road (-:
I will say that some of the moments I enjoy the most in PC thus far have actually been during these long periods of waiting…..waiting for the bus….or the next bus…..or on the bus….or waiting for someone to show up……sounds sort of frustrating, and it can be, but most of the time, I meet really interesting people and have really random strange conversations…..or play with gorgeous little kids or a family shares their mangos with me etc.
This week I have survived my Monday, which for me is the toughest---on my feet from 7 until about 530…includes a sort of grueling 2 hour r/t bus ride…..but it’s getting easier. I have about 33 million thousand things I would like to work on with my counterparts, and like many other volunteers, I sometimes feel overwhelmed and just don’t know where to start…..but I guess that’s why this is a 2 year and 3 month commitment….
The next couple mths should be fairly busy, lots of reports are due to the Ministry of Education…class as normal….the teacher taller….and coming up soon another Peace Corps training week….
Not much else to report—rainy season is supposedly around the corner. People are saying that the TV and paper in the states show RAIN RAIN RAIN already in Nicaragua—however, it really has yet to begin here in Quilali….though folks are saying it’s going to be a rough season—we’ll see. For now, it’s just HOT. In hot, I mean that by 930 or 10 am we are in the upper 90’s or low 100’s….sigh, I can’t wait for the rain! Though I may regret that statement later (-: esp. because it seems it will be raining INSIDE our house a good bit….
As always, I miss home. A lot. Especially the people. We love you guys…..stay in touch POR FAVOR!!!!

Post Vacation

Wow, I cannot even begin to express how absolutely amazing it was to see family last week!!!!! I sort of feel like I dreamt it all now that we are back to our regular lives…..We saw some amazing sites, swam in the ocean, went to a Mass, ate all kinds of yummy food, went zip lining and had some run ins with the law (-: All in all, it was awesome. Thank you family. Indeed, it was heartbreaking to say goodbye….lots of tears….that part, well, it just sucked.
So re-entry into life in our site has been a little rough, though I am sort of back into the swing of things now. One of my students committed suicide on Monday….I went to her burial on Tuesday….we had some things go missing from our house while we were out of town…..I am having some stressful issues with some folks I “work” with….all these things on top of just saying Good Bye to our families made the beginning of the week a little tough…..but I am feeling surprisingly more optimistic today.
It was awesome to give our host family and counterparts presents from our real families----they loved everything!!!! Our host family here, even though we don’t live with them anymore, really knows how to make us feel good (-: Their house is one of the places I go when I am feeling down, and I am sure to feel better after a visit.
Our adult community class is going well—every time we have to miss a Friday class, they insist we have a makeup class on Weds AND regular class on Friday=More work for us but it is SO AWESOME how motivated they are…..we gave them a list of the 300 most frequently used words in English, and over the holiday one student looked up every single word! We are thinking of adding some more Community Classes since they seem to be one of the things that make us happier (-:
We have a workshop coming up in a few weeks in a nearby (2.5 hour bus ride) town. Really Matt and I are just giving an hour and a half presentation with another volunteer about communicative activities. A volunteer who has been here a year longer than us is really leading the event. All of our counterparts plus all the other English professors from our municipality say they are going to attend. Supposedly, about 40 Nicaraguan teachers have signed up. It is super exciting because they will all be receiving a Teaching English Manual----complete with activity ideas etc. Right now, most English teachers here have no books….they are given a topic to teach, such as Human Rights etc….and they just have to decide what to teach! I also think it will be great for all the teachers to have the same book. They are paying a fraction of the price, thanks to US AID and PC. I am excited about this, even though it means lots more bus time )-:
Ok, sending the biggest hugs you guys can imagine….I really can’t wait to give them in person….please keep the updates, cards, phone calls, emails etc. coming!!!

gettin somewhere

This title makes me laugh. Mainly because it is actually physically quite difficult for us to “get” anywhere but where we live. Thanks to a dirt road that winds through the mountains kickin up more dust than you can imagine and full of holes and rocks…..Matt likes to say the bus ride is like being on a boat…..and it kind of is….
It feels good though to look back on the past 7 and then some months and see a little progress in SOME areas.
Living situation is great still—in the garage and super happy about it—though it has recently become a stale kind of hot….and living in a garage with a tin roof doesn’t help much-----
We got a new sitemate! Welcome new friend! He is young and full of energy and optimism—it is pretty refreshing (-: He lives with our old host family and must be 6 foot something----but since he is from India originally he blends in a bit more here than us pasty white chelas.
We had a site visit—meaning a supervisor of sorts (an old volunteer who has climbed the chain a bit) came allllllll the way to Quilali to spend some quality time with us and observe some classes. This was really great and gave me a fresh perspective on some things. The class she saw me teach with one of my counterparts went REALLY REALLY well, so that was a definite bonus, although, sadly, it is sort of more the exception than the norm. But at least I know how possible it is to have a class like that now! Work is…..still pretty frustrating at times, but baby steps are being made. Having a great class makes the whole week sort of shine. Despite all other difficulties or frustrations.
We are really REALLY looking forward to vacation with our families in a week!!!! Cannot believe it! Only worry it will make it hard to get back into the swing of things after, but well worth whatever may come!

adelante

So, among schedule changes and general chaos being part of the first month of school, our community suffered a loss yesterday. We had a professor lose his younger brother---twenty something--in a bicycle accident. I was pulled out of class to visit the house, view the body, and see the mother crying for her lost child. Intense. Yes. Surreal. Yes. All the kids from the high school eventually made their way over to view the body and show support for the family. Is this strange? I am not sure anymore....(i feel this way a lot lately)....I just know it was heartbreaking and it feels odd to be part of something this intimate.

Other news, we moved into our own place, well sort of our own place. I lovingly refer to it as the garage....see pics on FB. My mom says it looks like living in a strip mall...we share it with a little store that is connected, so there are other people about during the day...our giant garage door opens right up to the street, so if we want air we keep it open and the entire world is pretty much at our house...it is also on the same street as one of our high schools, so alllll the kids pass by. but we love it. there is some uncertainty whether or not we will be able to keep it, but we hope so. we are lucky enough to get running water 2xs a day, an hour in the early early morning and an hour in the afternoon. my best day is when i catch the water and i get a cold shower with running water!!!

also, we will be returning to masaya, where we had our training, for a week of intense Spanish classes and an exam at the end, well, an oral interview, to see how our language ability is coming along. I am very excited to take a little break from our site, but at the same time, sad because establishing a school routine and getting to know the kids will be further hindered.

I am tired. and full of thoughts. happy mostly and busy mostly. Miss you guys as always ALLWAYS. please keep the emails, comments, cards, letters, phone calls comin´. every one means more than you know!!!

LOVE

aiy senor

The beginning of an era blog…aka beginning of the school year….
Rendida! Or worn out! Even though we don’t put in nearly as many teaching hours as our counterparts, I find myself well worn by the end of most days. Even though school has been “in session” for 2 weeks, the schedule is still changing and classes are still added and dropped….mainly because kids can still enroll until April……it’s fun (-: I have given up on everything making sense or ever staying the same, and am trying to focus on making myself consistent. (The one thing I can control).
In other news, there is a group of students visiting here from the states as part of a church group and tomorrow I will accompany them to a nearby community to look at a latrine project they have out there. Supposedly, I will also get to help translate some. The group is small but fantastic—and they have done a few things here already like paint the Casa Materna, hand out food bags, and play with the neighborhood kids.
My schedule for now is something like this
Monday- take a bus at 10am—arrive in nearby community to teach at 11am…wait an hour for class to start ( unfortunately there is no other bus I can take…) Teach from 12-415 or 445, this is uncertain still. Take bus back at 430 or 5---I am home by around 530. I had my first go at this today and I am super tired.
Tuesday—my one free day!!!! For now….except tomorrow I will be with the church group from 1-530 or so….and maybe will be starting up another English community group in the afternoon…..LAUNDRY day!
Weds—I teach from 7-12 at my other school that is actually in my town. I try to plan for our adult community English class on Weds. afternoon.
Thursday—something like teach from 7-10 30 in town, then I meet and co-plan with a professor for a couple hours for the University class I co-teach
Friday—teach 8-10:30, often there are teacher meetings that take up the last couple hours of class and I go to those to until 12. Then I co-plan with a different professor for 2-4 hours. THEN Matt and I have our adult community English class from 6-8pm. Usually when Friday night rolls around I am beat.
Saturday- Mornings I have free for now! I try to go to the market/stock up on household things we may need/check my email. Then in the afternoon I spend a couple hours co=planning with my third counterpart.
Sunday- Co-teach in the University from 10-12ish….matt has a class from 12-2, sometimes I stay to observe.
So that, for now, is sort of what my week looks like. I try to do my laundry every other day, since things just take a little longer by hand etc (-: and maybe cook some meals in advance when I have a gap in time, since cooking takes awhile too. (the danger there is that the power will go out and all that food will go bad!!!)
Our sitemate leaves soon, and we will miss her dearly!!!! They are going to send a new person in her place, but we won’t meet them until they arrive in the end of March.

I feel like I could go on quite a bit but my mind is already wandering…..feel free to shoot us any questions

SCRATCH THE ABOVE SCHEDULE!!! Today is 2 days later, and EVERYTHING has changed again—ie. classes eliminated, new classes formed, new schedules for everyone---me at school 4 hours early….taking buses places and sitting for hours, not being able to teach etc. I am learning to be more flexible than I ever thought was possible for a human being!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Que Paso? a tiempo??

Hi All!
It's been a bit since a post--i am afraid this will be a little short too! Look for a longer post to come soon--and pics of our soon to be new home on FB.

School "started" a couple weeks ago, my classes have already been changed once (one completely removed) and I have been told this will happen at least two more times....but all in all, I feel it's going pretty well. There were a lot of changes BEFORE the school year even began, I am now working in 2 different high schools and the University on Sundays and we still have our adult group on Fridays. I plan with 3 different professors--and this is really what takes the most time and leaves my head dizzy and mind exhausted.
We are also approached every day still by new people looking for English class--all willing to pay and us not being able to accept! I invite them to our already existing group and always advise them about the organization here that already offers free classes......we are thinkingn of adding one or two more community classes but want to get a handle on our current "schedules" before we do that....
Soon I will post a copy of my weekly schedule---it's fun!
We are going to our 2nd Nica wedding tonight--the owners of the place we are moving into are getting married--should be fun but nothing like our host sister's wedding in which we were the official witnesses!
Be on the look out for more to come, and family who is visiting soon---I Cant wait to see you all~

LOVE LOVE LOVE
Julie & Matt

Bat Man

A ver…
I feel like we have gone from 0 to 60 in about 2 seconds. But this is good because school is about to start and then we will be even busier!
What we have going on right now: We are co-teaching some summer school classes M-F for the students that failed their English class last year. This has been great because it is giving us a chance to see how our counterparts function and to practice some ideas with small class sizes. (Before we start teaching rooms of 45-50 kids….)
We are each co-teaching one University level English class on Sundays. This has also been really good, though Matt has had some tough lessons---ie. the future perfect and the future perfect progressive----I will have eaten gallo pinto every day for 5 months by next week./ I will have been studying Spanish for 4 years by 2012. Now, explain that to a class of non-native speakers (-: Matt did a great job.
We gave a couple free community classes to the kiddos in our community---in an abandoned Casino----the sign is still up—it says “Casino Atlantic City” but really it is now just an abandoned building. The owner lets us use it for free. These classes were really fun, and the kids took it pretty seriously---they left during a break on the second day to buy notebooks (we were not going to make them take notes). And it was fun to see the shocked look on people’s faces when we told them it was free and all they had to do was show up. One of my counterparts helped out with this and that is great, because maybe she will continue the class next summer and the summer after even after we are gone (ie. SUSTAINABLE).
Annnnd tonight we are meeting with a group of adults that already speak some English who are interested in forming a possible conversation group. But we still do not know exactly what levels they all have or where or when we will meet…..
****Ok so it is later and that meeting was SUPER!!! Matt and I show up not knowing what to expect and the guy who organized it has chairs set up out back on his patio—about 8 people are there in the chairs quiet and waiting for us---there were all there BEFORE 6pm. (This is sort of insane for a Nica function). He had a whiteboard already set up facing the class and whiteboard markers. He also had a jug of water, some coca cola and crackers for everyone. Ummm wow! We introduced ourselves and then met the group---most of whom are related somehow---mostly adults between 29-40 years old. The guy who organized the group lived in the States for over a year and took an English course there---he speaks really well already---the others don’t have the same experience but they are all SUPER motivated. They seemed sort of disappointed that we don’t have any books or anything to like that to guide the course, but we told them we would come up with a program based on their specific interests=some more work!
Annnnd Matt’s counterpart has started his community English classes on Tues and Thurs nights from 5-8pm again---we are thinking of supporting these groups too.
I admit, I am a little overwhelmed at the thought of keeping all this up when actual school starts next week, but we’ll just have to see what happens and take it a day at a time. We may have to make some choices and say no to a few things….
STORY OF THE MONTH time
NIGHT OF THE BATS
We recently spent the night out in a communidad—more like out on the farm—with my counterpart and one of her friends/family. It takes us about an hour to get there. Their house sits off the road and right on the river, making it an ideal place to go for a swim (- : Plus the family is super kind hearted and easy to talk to---We had a normal day of eating rice and beans and tortillas and coffee, swimming in the river, eating more rice and beans and tortillas and coffee, and then we watched a baseball game on TV—It is the championship series. Ok, nothing too out of the ordinary---we go to bed and about 20 minutes after laying down this sound starts----I am thinking “what in the world is that?” It sounded like a wind turbine or an industrial fan. I could feel movements of air over my face and see shadows dancing all over the room. Finally it hits—the house is full of bats! Ohhhhh. I spent most of the night thinking how I needed to get up and use the latrine but was too afraid of crashing with the bats!
Funny thing is, no one else seemed to think this was the slightest bit abnormal and no one mentioned it to us before we went to bed. But when I later asked my counterpart if she heard the bats at night, she said “well yeah, of course”. (silly gringos).
I will leave it there. For now, we are waiting for the electricity to come back on and thinking of going down to the river to do our laundry…..
Sending lots of love to everyone!

The Peace Corps Difference

Hola a todo. I have been reflecting on the PC Difference lately, and it is really something special.
I am referring to the following types of situations:
You are on the infamous “chicken bus” mentioned in all the travel guidebooks—but whereas it would be a novelty during vacation to ride one and check out the locals carrying their livestock onboard, this is a normal occurrence for you. And you may also find yourself personally holding the chicken in your lap.
Passerby’s may look down from their shuttle bus at the kids washing their clothes or dishes in the river---we are swimming with them after playing soccer or basketball in their neighborhood---we know many of their names and they all know us.
People again may look from a window at the gorgeous mountain ranges and the occasional uniquely formed tree or other object—we are starting to be able to tell beginnings and endings of towns by these landmarks.
You find yourself agreeing with your Nicaraguan Counterpart while you are at a professional conference that, “Yes, a dollar for that souvenir bracelet or trinket is WAY too much”.
While one may fear for the life of the man hanging off the side of the bus, hopping on top between stops to load and unload cargo---we share the sugar cane branches with him that were gifted to us at the family’s house we just visited.
The invitations to personal events are obvious---that invite to The Sweet 15, graduations, weddings, birthday parties, farms, religious festivals and parties in general.
Instead of being in town to watch a famous Fiestas Patronales from the balcony of a hotel or restaurant, you are in the middle of the parade—dancing amid fireworks with your host family.
Recently when the electricity was a bit iffy for a few days, we also cooked and shared dinner by candlelight with our host family—really enjoying the ambience.
I don’t flinch when people call out “Eh gringa or “Chela” as I am walking down the street—I understand it as a greeting not an insult. And sometimes I hear “Adios Julia” or “Adios Profe” instead.

So, for as many times as I crave some of the little things for home---or to walk with some anonymity every once in awhile, I have to say that these are just a few of the things that make me appreciate my life on a different level.
Feeling thankful.

2011 woo hoo!

Soooo MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR’S! 2011 is finally here! I am not sure where I left off, so I apologize if I repeat some stuff.
A QUICK RUN DOWN OF HOLIDAY EVENTS
We had the honor of being witnesses in our host sister’s wedding a few days before Christmas. It was a small ceremony in her house. Lots of eating and merry making. Matt danced with all the ladies.
Christmas was super tranquila—all we did was eat and cook and make ourselves stay awake until midnight to say Merry Christmas. Santa definitely did not visit our house, but everyone seemed happy nonetheless. We g ave our family a picture frame and it sits in the kitchen. They put pictures of family they have in the States in it.
We then made a New Year’s trip to go see our prior host families in Masaya. We stopped off for a quick second in a different town on the way called Jalapa to visit with an English professor we know there. Her family was amazing and kind and showered us with food and coffee and earrings and other small treasures before we left. I also got to visit my counterpart who doesn’t live in my site---and I needed the help of this professor to be able to find where she lived…needless to say, there is no direct bus there. Her family also insisted on feeding us bread and coffee and then cooking us a big lunch. It was then off to Masaya, to return to the beginning so to speak. It was great to see our old host families. We really celebrated the day before NY EVE more than the 31st—it was San Sebastian Day? or something of the sort….it was sort of like Mardi Gras but more dangerous (-: what with all the burning bulls (made of wood and paper) and live fireworks in the streets—we danced with Matt’s host family in the street until 2am. We also had the chance to see some of the other volunteers and it was great to catch up with them. We made a quick trip down to the Laguna before heading back to our site—worn out but happy. It feels really good to be back in Quilali, though the bus ride to and from is still something….well, something.
We have been hanging out with our family and counterparts and went out to a different community yesterday with my counterpart to meet some of her other friends and swim in the river. Today we re-visited our friends down at the basketball court in the campo and it was great to see them again too. We have had lots of inquiries about English classes from adults and kids of all ages, so it should be interesting to see what groups we end up forming.
We leave again in just a few days to go to a training with our counterparts in Managua. I am excited to see everyone and have an official work function with my counterparts, but I don’t really feel ready to leave Quilali again yet! Guess that is a good thing!
We have been having lots of fun lately and I am constantly surprised at how welcome we are into every house we visit. The pace of life is certainly different in our site but we like it. I think every person we meet invites us to their farm! I start going to meetings for faculty etc. on January 17th, so the days of playing, meeting people, getting acquainted with my site, and studying Spanish are few and far between!
Hope everyone at home had a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S! GO TCU!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

Sometimes all you want is a blueberry muffin.

Or a wheat bagel with cream cheese. I don’t know why I am torturing myself with these thoughts this morning, Christmas Eve, but there you go and there you are.
So far, Christmas here is the same but different. The same in that people do put out Christmas Trees and decorate them. I am not sure if presents are something that will come later or not. People go to church. Families get together and cook a ton of food and drink and are merry. The differences are more like what they cook---nacatamales etc. and drink---compuesto (fruity drink with liquor in it). Also, even though people here will all say it is “helado” or freezing out, it is probably about 65 or 70 degrees F outside.
I am missing friends and family a lot during this time—especially after looking at pictures of some of the newest members of my friends’ families—congrats to all the new babies!!! But realize how lucky Matt and I are to have each other and to have such an amazing host family here. While I go a little nuts for a variety of reasons some days---mainly because in my pre-PC life I was accustomed to a life of privacy and independence-and now sometimes I can’t use the bathroom, wash my face, wash my clothes, or eat exactly when (or what) I want to (we were so spoiled I now!)---our family here is composed of some of the most caring folks I have ever met---like our real family and friends back home.
Our host sister got married 2 days ago and made us her official witnesses. It was a civil ceremony and she had it in the living room of her house. Matt and I sat at a table with the soon to be married couple and the judge? And we swore to tell the truth and nothing but, or something to that effect (-: and at the end signed this big, official looking book. It was really neat and super touching that we were included in that way. Then we ate tons of food in her backyard with a handful of family and friends. Then there was a grand dance party in the living room, and for some reason, it is the highlight of the party if the gringos dance. Matt danced with all the ladies and a million pictures and memories were made. We stayed out until midnight (a first for me here) and marched home with our host mom, aunt, cousins, nephews and nieces….it really sort of reminded me of home and family events there….
So tonight, Christmas Eve, I think we are celebrating again but in our house. I am sure a dance party and nacatamales are on the list of things to do—dancing to ranchera and reggaeton may never get old….
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone at home. Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Missing you tons and sending big HUGE HUGS and smiles to all of you.