Saturday, May 28, 2011

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?

Sunday, May 15, 2011

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 (-:

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

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!!!!