School? Projects, madness and more

Ok, so February 2012 is FLYING BY! The second year really is going to fly by-- I believe it now...I was suspicious about this rumor at first, you know, back when we had 27 months to go...

School "started" this week, but there is still no class schedule at either of my schools..hmmm Well, I can most certainly say at any job interview a skill I have is FLEXIBILITY and give 19 million plus examples from my time as a high school English Teacher here....The teachers look for a room with no teacher in it, and they just go in to teach class....and no one really seemed to be dismissing students at the same time...it's an interesting plan of sorts...I am hoping to have a schedule during week 2 of school, but am fully aware this year that even if I do--it is probably going to change again in week 3. As a person who secretly needs routine, this is making me a little crazy, but not like year one.

In other news--one of my high school principals and I turned in our small grant proposal to build a classroom out of plastic bottles (google pura vida from Guatemala)--and we are headed to Managua on March 2nd to present it to a commitee of people who will decide whether or not to hand over the money to carry out the project. I think it may just actually happen....NOW, just to get those 3 thousand bottles stuffed with plastic....Let's just say there has been (literally) blood, sweat, and a whole lot of tears involved in the process---and we haven't even been officially approved or started construction! Besides writing the darn proposal, making the budget which required 2 quotes for everything (walking long distances to find the guy who makes the concrete blocks or the guy that makes rebar for the windows here), there were a MOUNTAIN of letters to get signed--by the mayor, principals, teachers, the minister of education, etc. Hours and hours and hours and hours spent WAITING (surprise) along with hours and hours and hours of meeting with a construction foreman to come up with the budget and make a tentative work plan/contract...Along with planning and coordinating a 5 school-wide recycling contest to get our hands on *GULP* 3 thousand plastic bottles of a specific size--and speaking with all the teachers/principals from all those schools about the contest...which happens to start this week...

Let's just say....it's been a strange sort of madness...I don't think I would have ever had this experience if it wasn't for PC...

In other random news: still no running water/water at all coming to our house, matt and I have been riding bikes to or from our schools out in the country sides, and I am tired of pasta and rice and beans...and would really like to hold my baby neice again soon (-:

No hay Agua--There is no water and More

Welllll! It is January of 2012! I remember thinking at this time last year how super FAR AWAY this felt and now it's here! YES!

Ok, so I have been back to the USA, met my AMAZING new baby niece, Amelia, spent lots of time with family, enjoyed hot showers and good food and drink and am now back in Nicaragua and have been for about a month (guess I got pretty lazy in regards to my blog as of late...) The trip home was more amazing than I even thought it would be and while it was super hard to leave and indeed more tears were shed, it has been pretty good being back in Nicaragua.

Our host family has been spoiling us rotten, as usual, and school is still out for break. So what have we been up to if school isnt in session? Well matt taught another week long English camp--a tough one this time with high school kids in Managua--one of those start at 7 am dont finish til 10pm kind of camps....but they did some cool things like take the kids to an actual movie theater---a first for many of them in their lives...We taught a one week summer camp of Basic English to the kids in our town, and I have been running around like an insane person working on the classroom project that still may or may not happen....talking to construction workers and going to hardware stores, creating budgets and recycling contests... etc. Then we just had an IST or inservice training event in a cloudforest called Selva Negra. It was great to see the other volunteers and staff--and was jam packed as always with sessions but we had a little down time to stroll the forest and check out the place which is almost completely self sustainable....

We just got back to our town a couple days ago to discover that there has been no water for the past week and a half or so and it may be off for another month or two....no one seems to know...
So we hauled all our laundry down to the river today---luckily we got a ride with a truck because it is actually a pretty decent hike and then we washed all our clothes and took our "showers" in the river. It;s too bad this is so bad for the water/river because i actually really enjoyed it---we made some new friends and saw lots of our other ones at the river (everyone is down there!) However after a few more weeks of it, and especially when school starts, I may not like it as much (-:

We have also been enjoying catching up with our sitemate, Nishant, who Matt hasnt seen in almost 2 months due to vacation and different work related events! que loco!

I am still missing my friends and family so very much especially Amelia Bug, but we only have 10 months to go! And lots to do/accomplish!

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.