1st real post to get you all up to date!

Greetings my loved ones!!! I hope you all are well…I miss you all terribly – but I truly am enjoying every second of this great adventure. It has only been a little over a week, but it feels like so, so, so much longer. It has been jam-packed with charlas (meetings), vaccinations, classes and much more. But this first blog is my attempt at catching you all up on my new life here in Nicaragua. I wish I had time to call and write all of you – but it is just very difficult. Entonces…(There will be a lot of ‘Spanglish’ in my blog) I thought this would be a great way for you all to keep up with what is going on with me. I am going to attempt to go in the ‘Cyber’ or Internet café once every week or so to keep you all posted.
(side note: My Spanish has improved immensely over the past eight days. Unfortunately, my English skills have seriously taken a blow. So people (ahem..mamma) do not bash me for serious grammer/spelling issues).
Where to start? I guess from the beginning. After all the partying, dining and packing was finished…the enormity of what I was about to do hit me. I cried myself to sleep (for two hours) after Desmond and Megan left my house around 1:30 in the morning. After a quick little siesta, I woke up at 3:30 to shower and finished tidying up my parents ‘guest room’ (which served as my room for the last three months). My parents and Westy took me to the airport and we arrived around 5:00am. As my mother walked me into the check-in counter I began to shake. Was it nerves? Was it just flipping freezing? Probably both. I somehow get by check-in with my enormous amount of luggage (which surely was overweight despite everyone’s effort) likely because I was crying..haha. Saying goodbye to my parents was just as hard as I expected maybe even more so. As I stood in an insane line for security, I wore my sunglasses as I continued to cry. As soon as I saw this insane line my first instinct was to text message my parents to tell them about it. Cue the withdrawal from communication systems.
My flight to Miami was fine. Cried a little. Slept a little. Then realized there was a dog in the person’s bag next to me. Normal. Upon arriving in Miami, I received both of my bags quickly (which for anyone that knows of my past travels, knows this is miracle). My taxi driver was named Jose and he had the Titanic soundtrack playing when I entered the taxi. For some odd reason this comforted me. I began speaking with him in Spanish because … never too early to start practicing, right? The DoubleTree Hotel we stayed in was beautiful. Better than beautiful, it was delicious! After checking in (500 hours early) they gave me a warm chocolate chip cookie. It was as if they knew me all my life. Despite the lack of appetite, I ate the cookie in less than 60 seconds. Next, I called my parents, Liz and my grandmother and cried a little more. Then it was time for a very serious siesta. After sleeping approximately three hours I met my roommate, Danielle, from Austin, Texas. Again. Fate. We chatted for awhile and then went to our Peace Corps (from here on out PC will be Peace Corps) orientation. I will save you from the details of the next six hours. In a nutshell, we talked a lot about policies, anxieties and aspirations of our PC experience, policies and…rules. Ha. Cicely, a former PC volunteer in Nicaragua, was phenomenal. She spoke a little about how amazing it is that on the first day of Barack Obama’s administration, we were doing exactly what he asks of all of us… to serve others. The inauguration definitely made everything a little more emotional. The PC Mission Statement mentions the term “international peace” – something that seems so far away, so foreign after enduring these past eight years. Yet I remain hopeful, that our efforts individually and collectively, will help to take one small step towards this amazing concept. International Peace. At first I was definitely sad to leave the United States at such an exciting time, but I now see it in a completely different light. I think the timing is perfect. I have never been prouder to be an American than right now – what better time is there to go to another country and represent America?
Holy hell, I am writing a LOT. I haven’t even gotten you up to date with me landing in Nicaragua. DIOS MIO. Okay. I wanted to tell you a little about my group. There are twenty-one of us from all over America. Seriously…all over. Maine, Connecticut, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Minnesota, Utah, Washington, California, Alaska!!!, Ohio and of course… DELAWARE. Represent the first state (p.s. no one knows this fun fact). One girl from Florida went to school in Pennsylvania and was born in Christiana Hospital – (go ahead… ‘it’s a small world after all – Nicole! Cheapest vacay everrrr).The group is full of funny, intelligent, passionate people – who all are coming together for a common purpose: to improve the health situation in Nicaragua. Ages range from 22 to 31. Most people are between 22-25. That night in Miami we went to a restaurant called Los Rancheros and our server was from.. Nicaragua. He actually gave us his mother’s address in Nicaragua, in case we want to go visit her. The plane ride to Nicaragua was delayed over an hour – but it wasn’t noticed that much due to everyone talking and getting to know one another.
Okay. So the next three days were kind of like summer camp. We were separated between boys and girls and I am pretty sure I took the coldest shower of life. I screamed when I got in and woke up everyone else in the ‘compound’. It was kind of like baby-steps when we got to Nicaragua. The first three days we were not permitted to leave the campus besides one short fieldtrip to downtown Managua. During this short field trip we were able to see the beautiful lake Managua. And by beautiful I mean biologically considered dead (meaning that there is no living organism in the Lake because of all of the garbage). People literally just throw their trash anywhere. And apparently there was a hospital at the top of this hill that put all of their waste into this lake. Yummy. Cannot wait to go….water-skiing? Entonces, there were a lot of meetings and overviews of the next three months of our lives. We also had a language interview in which I forgot the word for church (iglesia – in case you were wondering). Somehow I tested into the “intermediate-low” group, which is pretty damn good. We are all very similar in levels of Spanish. They require that we test-out at the end of training at the intermediate-middle level. No hay problema. Getting dropped off at our host families was definitely intimidating. We had spent three straight days with all of the other volunteers and had been speaking English. As we were about to be dropped off to a family that was picked because they knew no English – it was …intimidating, to say the least.
As the van full of people dropped me off to my host family, my eyes filled with tears. As I somehow held back the feeling in my stomach, I proceeded to my room. It is very modest – and actually a lot better accommodations than I expected. I have a full-size bed and a small mesa (table) with two chairs. I also have a sort of cubby-like dresser for my things (which fit everything). I have a three year old little Nica-sister named Ruby, who is the cutest thing of life, a pistol, but so cute. I also have a brother, Randall, who is 12 years old. My mother, Karla, speaks incredibly fast but is so cute and sweet and only 34 years old. They all sleep in one of the other bedrooms and the abueltio (grandfather) sleep in the other (apparently it is his house .. I am still trying to figure out the dynamics of my familia). My only real complaint about my room is the paper-thin mattress. But we do have running water during the day and electricity in the early morning and evening hours – so I cannot complain really.
After sleeping pretty well Saturday evening, I wake up around 9:00am on Sunday. I pretty much spent all day unpacking and spending time with my family. My brother is fascinated with me – and we have spent a lot of time together. He took me to the park during the day and we also played X-Box. Seriously. Even though we sometimes do not have electricity, this little guy has a business. He sells time for kids in the pueblo (neighborhood) to play his Playstation, X-Box, etc. It’s all about the Benjamins Baby. Orrrr cordobas (the local currency here. It is 20 cordobas to one American dollar). Either one. *FYI: I will be making 35 cordobas a day here, which is equivalent to $1.75 US. Ballinnn. I have not had any trouble though and mostly go through the days without spending any money. To get to the town over that has internet, it is only 5 cordobas and then 12 cordobas per hour to use the internet. So round trip and one hour of internet is equivalent to about $1 U.S. dollar a.k.a. a days work.
Monday we began our language lessons bright and early at 8:00am. In my group is Evan (from Connecticut), Hana (CT), and Braden (Georgia). Braden is muy muy serio (serious), but I think I balance him out. He has moments of greatness. Evan is…always late, and wears timberlands and pajama pants to class. I really am gonna pass on commenting on this one. I am sure you can all gather how I feel about it. I get along really well with Hana and I am glad that she is in my group. We update each other daily on our bathroom activities (she is acting as a substitute since I cannot talk with you Kimmy!). For the record, I know you care, I am so not ‘regular’ while using the bathroom. Three times. Since I have been here. For me = not normal. I am eating a lot less, but seriously? Three times. Okay I will stop, but I could go on.
Which brings me to my food. Is there a name of an anti-atkins diet? Because I am on it. A few examples for you: rice and beans… with EVERY meal. For breakfast one morning I was served two slices of white bread, a slice of bologna, tomato, mayonnaise and ketchup. No joke. The other day for lunch I had five different types of carbs on my plate (potato, rice, spaghetti, bread and beans). My family thinks that I don’t eat, because I only eat three of the carbs they give me. Although I really do love living with a family, I cannot wait to cook my own food and try and be nutritious. Because Lord knows I was not healthy before I left for Nicaragua. Still savoring that taste of ice cream cake and nachos in my mouth. Variety is not necessarily Nicaragua’s forte. Their idea of variety is having two types of rice with a tortilla. En serio..just ate it.
Class is going well and I think I will just continue to improve in Spanish. I have had to let go some of my perfectionist tendencies and concentrate more on maintaining energy while talking, even if it is all wrong. Ha. One of our projects while we are here is to form a youth group in our town. Sounds great, but it is very difficult. There are plennnnty of young people (60 percent of Nicaragua’s population is youth), but it is difficult to form a group so quickly. We walked around on Tuesday and handed out 40 invitations to the youth of this small pueblo. I felt confident in how it went..and was excited to see the turn out. My brother has been a huge help with this project and invited all of his cousins (which is everyone I meet. My madre has 11 brothers and sisters). So when the big day came on Thursday, there were…(drum roll please) three people, including my brother. Haha. But you know me, I was determined to find more people. I walked the streets with my brother and his friends searching for more people for our group. Braden did the same and we ended up with 10 youth for our first meeting. It took a lot of walking, persuading, candy and time – but we did it! It went really well . My part of the presentation was about PC (el Cuerpo de Paz) and one of the little boys knew JFK began the PC..I was very impressed.
We just had our second meeting (Saturday) and only five of people showed up – but it was beyond inspiring. We are responsible for choosing a mini-project within the community (el Rosario is the name of my town). The amount of trash is very concerning and apparently it is one of the most advanced towns in trash-disposal. It is truly shocking. Anyway, these girls were between the ages of 12 and 18 and are so incredibly insightful and intelligent. We asked them to discuss what one thing they could change about el Rosario and it turned into a beautiful conversation. They talked about the problem of trash everywhere, the lack of activities for young people, the condition of the only park in town, ‘gangs’, drugs, domestic violence, teen pregnancy and sex education. I actually got chills at one point and swelled up with tears. I somehow explained to these kids in my limited Spanish capacity, that they are the future and that they are where change is going to start. Isn’t it true everywhere in the world? Young people have the capacity to observe what is given to them and instead of just accepting it – making positive changes. It is so inspiring. I cannot wait to start working with them. We are meeting twice a week to complete this project over the next two and a half months. This is sort of a ‘trial run’ for when we are placed in our site for two years. Right now we are working with a teacher and each other to conduct surveys, give charlas, and form youth groups. But when we are placed in our site – we will be doing all of these things and more on our own. Basically these three months are a mini-preview of what our next two years will be like. It has been and will continue to be very intense – but I know it will be worth it.
This coming Tuesday is our first charla. It will be given to people at the Centro de Salud (the health center where we will be working) who are waiting to have an HIV test. We will be giving information on prevention, doing a condom demonstration (get excited), types of contraceptives and much much more. It is exciting and scary at the same time. Our first charla will be about a very serious topic, with very minimal Spanish skills. I do feel a bit more confident because I have had experience in working with HIV education – but I will let you know how it goes!
Went to the pool today and now I am going to be that crazy ‘red’ cringa. I am burnt to a crisp. Only went for two hours – and even my legs burnt. My legs never get sun. Guess I am kinda on the …Ecuador. Weird. Was just letting my little sister listen to my i-tunes, she really liked ‘So What’ by Pink. Taught her the rockstar sign (love you Jillian <3). She is a natural.
So I found out yesterday that there is already someone going home from our group. And it is honestly the last person I would have thought, his name is Tim. He apparently had a very difficult time adjusting to the culture. A lot of people have a hard time with identity, because it is very difficult to stay true to yourself and express yourself when you are learning another language. He also has a serious girlfriend who is studying in Mexico – I am sure that is difficult as well. Undoubtedly more people will go home from our group, I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. I know I will face barriers and times of difficulty, but I am still feeling very confident in my decision to take-on this experience. I think it helps tremendously that I have so much support from you all, especially my parents – don’t know what I would do without you. Also, this family here has taken me in as one of their own – and I feel very fortunate. It is the first time they have hosted a PC volunteer – which definitely could have gone either way.
I have not had any problems with bugs/bees (knock on wood). I haven’t even put up my mosquito net in my room that the PC gave me, because I have not been bit once. I hope it stays this way. Also, I have decided to buy a cell phone here. They are only about $20 American dollars and it will be worth it. They suggest waiting until you get your site location to make sure it has service. But “claro” is very popular and is available throughout Nicaragua. It will just be better for having my parents call me on that and keeping in contact with Karla, my Nica madre. If you all want to call me on that number, I will have my parents post it on this blog site or facebook. You dial (011)+(505)+ 847-1380. I know my parents are getting a pretty decent plan with Verizon and also calling from skype is very cheap as well.
Okay, one funny story for you before I end this incredibly long blog. I like to call it the ‘Coca-Cola’ fiasco. There is not a lot of light near the bathroom and I was very tired a few nights ago when I went to go brush my teeth. My family prepares for no water in the evening, by filling empty Coca-Cola bottles with water during the day. I grabbed one of the coca-cola bottles and commenced a very invigorating tooth-brushing session. After finishing, I tasted a very serious ill taste in my mouth. As I placed the Coca-Cola bottle back to where I got it… I caught a flash of blue-tint from the bottle’s contents. Oh wait, I just brushed my teeth with a cleaning supply. Turns out, it with ‘chloro’ or what they use to clean the incredibly dirty floors. Needless to say, my teeth are a little whiter – and I will be a little more careful when using our multi-purpose coca-cola bottles.
I truly hope all of you are doing well. And I would love to hear updates on what is going on in your lives. I know it is an exciting time for many of you (Kimmy – are you so excited for Florida? Megan – how is ING? Tell your family hellooo – I miss you muchooo. Paul – harass any babies lately?).
I miss you all so much. You enrich my life more than you could imagine. And even though we cannot talk as often or see each other – you continue to enrich my life and affect everything I do.