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!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
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!!!!!
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.
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.
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