Boys II Men is Back!

Hellloooo United States! Maybe boys to men isn´t back, but they finally made it big here in Nicaragua. 10 years later!
The swearing-in ceremony was very exciting and I took some videos that I will be posting shortly. It was a great honor to be there representing the U.S. and even more so… Dela…where! I am one week into my service here in Posoltega and it has been a doozy. I hope that everyone is well in body, mind and spirit. I miss you all terribly, but I can already tell that two years here is going to fllllyyy by. This blog I am going to divide into days, because that is how I took notes this week. But first I will tell you a little about the swearing-in ceremony.
Por Paz
Ironically, as the days got closer to swearing-in I got closer to certain girls in the group. We definitely enjoyed the last few days together before we were all spread out around the country (my closest in proximity good friend is about 3.5 hours away and the furthest 16 hours). I did cry once during the course of the day when I was saying goodbye to my gordita (little chubby girl). I knew I would miss that comfort of seeing her after a long day and nearly breaking my back to pick her up. Ha. I know I will definitely return to see them soon (possibly when my parents come to visit!). For the remainder of the day I enjoyed air conditioning and good company until happy hour. It was definitely a great time, but I was incredibly exhausted after a long week of saying goodbye to Hana. We spent an insaaane amount of time together and definitely enjoyed some Flor de Caña (the rum they make here… and it is amazing) the last few days in El Rosario. I am going to miss her incredibly, but I am glad that we were in the same training towns and we’re able to become so close.
Day One –
Prior to leaving for Posoltega, I went to the PC office with my fellow Chinandegaens. I was surprisingly not nervous, and more just ready to start the two years. I arrived around 2:00pm to my new home and immediately went to the comedor, or the semi-restaurant to eat. I then promptly took a nap/slept in my sweat for about an hour and a half. I then decided to walk around for a little and perfectly planned I ran into Hilda (the 18 year old girl I had become friends with during my site visit) and her aunt. We went for a short walk and then I ended up at a bible study. Do not ask me how this happened, but basically they are all Evangelical, which is a very strict and popular religion here, and she was having a bible study at her house. I thought, ‘whatever…I will probably learn some new words in the book of God.’ It was pretty interesting and tranquila (chill) until they asked me, “Have you accepted God into your heart?” I was confused and pressured by talk of heaven and hell and ultimately all of these hands ended up on my head and people were praying for my sins. I did drink a decent amount of Flor de Caña a few days before, but Jesus. It was awkward for sure and I may or may not now be…Evangelical. I returned home pondering how religion is going to affect my service here and also my personal life considering they had already planned out my Thursday night and Friday night activities. It is a fine line to get to know people’s culture or religion without offending them by refusing it. You will hear a few more examples of this throughout this blog.
After returning to my home for the first two weeks, I entered my room and saw something out of the corner of my eye. As I got a closer look at this large crab-looking creature on my wall (about 4 inches long), I decided to ask one of the little girls what it was. She entered my room and then screamed something like ‘alacran’ and started running for her mother. I then realized I should probably be worried. The mom/my colleague came into the room and killed the creature with the pole that is used as my security system at night to secure the door. As I looked across the room I saw another, but this one was about 6 inches long. As liquid substances stained my brick wall from the dead animals, she then explained to me what the world in English, scorpions. Fab-u-loso. I never thought this would ever be a decision that would enter my life, but if faced with the choice of rats or scorpions – I would chose rats. Apparently here in Nicaragua scorpions are very large and scary – but not deadly. Occasionally people have allergic reactions to the stings (yea, I know) and if someone is pregnant it supposedly makes them have a miscarriage. Just because a doctor told me that here in Nicaragua does not mean that it is true – there are plenty of mitos here, or myths. So even though I had been saved by God that night, I did not sleep very well. I do have a mosquitera, which is a mosquito net that goes around my bed – but it was left in El Rosario by accident (don’t worry it is being brought to me). I woke up constantly throughout the night checking for my little spider/crab friends. Welcome back to Posoltga! Ha.
Day Two – Jornada
This was officially my first day of work and currently we are doing a Vaccination Campaign (nation-wide, or Jornada de Vacunaciones. Basically the point of this campaign is to vaccinate, provide vitamins and anti-parasite medication to all children in the entire municipality. Directly in the casco urbano or main part of town there are about 3000 people, but in the entire municipality there are over 17,000. So each day for over two weeks, teams go out to different communities and walk house-to-house. I was definitely not prepared for this on my first day, as my perception was that we would go to one place and everyone in the community would come to get vaccinated (this is how it is in 95% of the country). Due to this mal-perception I brought one pequanita (very small) bottle of water. We were out in the community until around 3:00pm. Needless to say I ended up drinking some tap water and a large quantity of Pepsi due to lack of resources.
It overall was a very good day and I learned a lot about the difference between where I will be living and the more rural communities. Several of the houses were made out of trash bags or other plastic material and held up by nailing in the tops of beer bottle tops. I also began to understand why they go house to house to vaccinate. One of the families told us there was a pregnant teenager a few houses down (and by a few houses I mean about a half mile, they are all so spread out!). When we arrived the girl would not come out of her house and said that there were no children in the house and no one was pregnant. Somehow my counterpart hoaxed her into coming out, and sure enough the 15 year old girl was about four months pregnant. I do not know whether it is fear of the injection or fear of judgment, but she did not want anyone to know. We returned around 4:00pm to the health center and I walked the mile and a half back to my host-house, exhaaausted. Still, I somehow ended up at bible study again – and I sat there made at myself for not being able to effectively communicate that this was not what I wanted to be doing. Ha. Language level or just me? Who knows.
After I returned home to go to sleep, I went to use the latrine quickly – and as I opened the door I saw at least 5 cockroaches on or in the latrine. I jumped back and closed the door. These four weeks in this house are going to teach me to hold my bladder like I never have.
Day Three – Meeting
My Program Manager, Pilar, scheduled a meeting this day with my counterparts, the director of the health center and also encouraged them to invite other key people in the community. Due to this meeting, I did not go out on the jornada and was able to wash some of my clothes. This is such a physical activity, I cannot even explain it – but I kind of enjoy it. Needless to say I took two showers before 9:30am due to the amount of sweating I did during my clothes washing session. Normal.
I went to the high school before the meeting to talk with the director of the school to see if he could come to the meeting, but he wasn’t there. I waited for almost an hour while I was hit on a guy that I thought was a student. He is at least 4 inches shorter than me – and I opened the conversation by asking him what grade he was in. His reply was, “I am a teacher here.” Smooth Amanda, real smooth. He proceeded to recite poems about my eyes and told me I look like Angelina Jolie as I waited for the director. I finally gave up/wasn’t entertained by my short friend – so I returned for some lunch prior to my meeting with Pilar. The meeting was jam packed with people interested in working with me…and by jam-packed I mean it was the director of the health center, Pilar and me. I definitely did not feel like the health center director made any effort to have anyone else come – but I also understood that it was bad timing with the joranda going on and everything. The health center director kind of reminds me of Ursula from the Little Mermaid. Anyway, I guess it went well – it is still very vague what my role will be in the health center. My main counterpart is the community educator – but it appears that she is bogged down with working with TB clients in other communities. There is no presence in the schools and I have yet to see one charla given. The good thing about this – is that it does give me a wide-open opportunity to do anything.
So my first few days in town, I was doing a very sub-par job at feeding myself. But I quickly learned that this town is going to take care of me. There are already two families who will feed me at the drop of a hat – unprovoked. I just show up to say hello and they invite me in and immediately start feeding me. This is such a comfort and I am so thankful for both families. One family is that of the driver of the Health Center vehicle, Will. It all started by them asking me if I was getting fed by my host-mom and I explained that it was not part of our deal. Then they started realizing how often I was buying eggs – and became concerned. That is all I have cooked so far here – Ha. This night they gave me gallo pinto, cheese, tortilla and tomato. This is something I would have cringed at in my training town to see for dinner; I literally had to stop myself to breathe a little while eating because it was so amazing. Just like my mom says, it’s all relative.
I got to talk to Paula, the volunteer closest to me, and she invited me to Chinandega the next day. I was super excited to go to Chinandega and spend some time with her. I ended the night by going to a ‘cult’ or an Evangelical service/celebration. It was one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. I went because I had been watching the little kids practicing their dance for it all week and wanted to support them (this is their only opportunity to dance – as it is forbidden in this religion). It was almost two hours long and the kids dance was less than 5 minutes. The majority of the service was a pastor yelling into a microphone which was followed by asking anyone to come forward who would like to accept God into their heart. I felt like he and everyone else was staring at me during this ‘call’ for a new disciple. Needless to say I had already made up my mind that this would be my first and last Evangelical service. After no one was willing to go to the front to accept God for the first time – they had anyone come forward who needed God at this time. There were about eight people of the church who would put their hands on the people and rock them back and forth, until eventually they fell to the ground. This was supposed to represent that God had entered his/her heart. People were crying and falling. It was madness. I am surprised no one got hurt. Somehow I stuck it out and waited for the service to be over – mainly because the guy playing the keyboard and singing was the hottest Nicaraguan I have seen to date.
Day Four – the Dega
Off to Chinandega! I traveled by myself the 45 minute bus ride there and it was fabulous after traveling in a group of twenty for three full months. The guy who thought I was Angelina Jolie ended up sitting with me until the first stop, Chichigalpa. Shortly after, a young woman moved back one seat to sit with me. She immediately started asking me questions about where I was from, what I was doing in Posoltega, the usual. She is a 28 year old, essentially single mom of a 11 year old boy because her husband is in the U.S. She was super excited about me being in Posoltega and immediately invited me to her home and pointed out her favorite discoteca that we should go to. I love meeting new people! Ha. She wrote down her address and phone number prior to getting off the bus. I met Paula and another volunteer at the Gas Station right near the bus stop. The Gas Station is ‘On the Run’ there are only five in the entire country – one in Chinandega and four in Managua. Gas stations here are … golden. It is so opposite of our culture. The bathrooms are amazing – it is air conditioned, has great food. I could have stayed in there forever. Ha. Both of these girls are Environment volunteers – Paula is from Virginia and Olenka from California. I found out that Olenka was actually going to my training town house to stay during a language taller this week! Small world. I told her to give my fam a hug for me in El Rosario. We spent all day walking all through the town and they were showing me the important places (bank, post office, grocery stores, etc.). It was really helpful to have someone show me all of these places for the first time. Both of them have only been into service four months – but already were very familiar with the city of Chinandega. My new mailing address is:
Amanda Levering
A.P. 115
Chinandega, Chinandega
Nicaragua, Central America

It will be so much easier to get mail and packages now – I am super excited. Three volunteers from my group ended up being in Chinandega too and we hung out for a little as well. It became really clear to me how key my location is in Posoltega. I am so close to two of the biggest cities in Nicaragua and Chinandega has the most volunteers as well. The ease of transportation is something that I will definitely continue to appreciate throughout these two years. I spoke with one of my friends in Quiali aka the mountains – and she is having the opposite experience with transportation and isolation. We all will have our own barriers and obstacles throughout this experience, for sure. But I am already thankful for these two things.
After returning to Posoltega, I showered and got ready for the Hilda’s little sister’s birthday party. En route to the party, I was stopped by a guy who kindly asked in Spanish, “Are you with Peace Corps?”We ended up chatting for nearly a half hour on the street (it was mainly him talking frantically) about how he had worked with a previous PCV and what a great experience it was. He also went into some detail about a project he is working on to get funding to better the water in Posoltega (apparently a great number of people have died due to kidney failure). I briefly told him that I was currently looking for a house and where I was living for the next three weeks. We exchanged numbers and he promised to start looking for a house for me.
I finally arrived at the birthday party and it was…bumpin. Ha. The father of Hilda was visiting from Leon and he and some other men were drinking heavily some Flor de Caña in the backyard. I played a serious game of freeze tag with the kids – and ended up covered in sweat. Apparently this meant that I needed a drink…a real drink. Ha. One of the men (whose house I was at) kept insisting that I have just one drink. I eventually accepted and sipped on it for about an hour. It was essentially rum on the rocks. It was incredibly awkward as I sipped this drink and a dozen kids and my evangelical women friends were watching. I am probably not shunned from the bible study group. No – they love me, but it was my first weird drinking experience. They tried to give me more drinks and I declined – insisting that I didn’t really like to drink (lies). I just will probably never be comfortable drinking here – because I need to be seen as a professional. Plus – my location permits me to drink in neighboring towns if need be. Ha.
I returned home, slightly buzzed from my small cocktail – expecting to have a fabulous sleep. To my dismay, I woke up around 2:00am to evenly paced scratching sound above my bed. I ran and turned on the lights, and through my still sleeping eyes, I am pretty sure I saw two rats ‘haciendo amor’ or making love. Ha. I made a lot of noise and broke up their love fest (I think they were teenagers), if for no other reason than I do not want any more rats. I am strangely getting used to things like this and went back to bed quite easily.
April 19th – Corinto
I met Craig and Paula at the ‘On the Run’ in Chinandega to head off to Corinto a.k.a. the beach. I was super excited to have a relaxing day on the beach. We got there around 11am and packed some peanut butter and jelly and cucumber and tomato sandwiches. I had been in Corinto once before during HIV/AIDS week, but the heat was nothing like it was this day. You literally could not walk on the sand; you had to run as fast as you could. I literally thought my feet were going to blister up on the bottom. I took a little walk by myself and checked out some of Corinto and took some photos. I am hoping more and more that I will be able to take more photos. If I haven’t used my good camera by the time my parents get here in July, I decided I will have them take it home. In the mean time I am just trying to be as creative as I can be with my little camera. We did not get back home late from Corinto – around 4:30-5:00pm.
I went to Kenya’s house immediately (the family and 24 year old girl I met on my site visit a month ago) because I heard that she was back for the weekend. We both yelped a little when we saw each other and I spent the rest of the night at her house. She wanted to file my nails and toes – so I gladly let her as I am going through pedicure withdrawal. She told me that she was now going to be living in Leon during the week because there are more opportunities for her there and she is provided with housing by her grandmother. Although I was disappointed she would not be in Posoltega, I also was happy for her that she had this opportunity to study and find work in Leon. It is so interesting to think about how she is choosing to leave this place and I am choosing to live here. It is much different to accept it as two years of your life – and actually living it. I still hope to maintain this relationship with Kenya and we made plans for Saturday that I would come to Leon with her little sister, Amanda.
Quickly before going home – Kenya accompanied me to talk to the owner of the room for rent that I had fallen in love with at first site. When I had first gone – the rest of the family was talking as if I was already living there saying, “This patio is your patio too,” etc. But when I talked to the Doña, or mother of the house, this night she said that the room was not available for rent because she and her husband were sleeping there currently. It was a very bizarre ending to the situation – but I had hope that something better was to come and my parents reassured me that it was not meant to be. After returning home slightly disappointed, I changed into my pajamas when the little girl told me two people were looking for me. I went to the door and it was Kenya and her little brother. We walked to the side of the house and they said they had talked to their mom and that I should not be worried about housing because I can stay with them. Kenya went on to say that I could sleep in her bed and use her things – because she has other things in Leon. She shares a room with her sister and brother. I was almost brought to tears when I thought about how this family – who is not rich by any means – is so willing to take me and take care of me. Whatever they have – they are willing to share it with me. It is moments like this, that I am reminded that humanity can be so beautiful. I went to sleep that night without a care in the world.

4/20
My sinuses have not bothered me at all here in Nicaragua – that is until I moved to the desert. It has not been too bad, but I have been sneezing and having sinus headaches. It is just so dry and SO dusty. The jornada was pretty boring this day and we went to one of the pre-schools. It was a lot less physically tiring and shorter as well. We got back to the health center around 12:30pm and I walked back to the house. I think this day was the hottest since I arrived here in Posoltega, and the walk was nearly unbearable. When I finally arrived at the house, Abel (the guy I met on the street who is in love with PC) was waiting for me. He invited me to go to Chinandega and also said that he had found a potential house for me. I was overwhelmed/dehydrated and all I wanted to do was shower. I told him to come back in about an hour and I would let him know if I could go. After taking a refreshing shower, within ten minutes I could not tell whether I was wet from my shower or soaked again in sweat. I decided I should go because I should be ‘integrating’ into my culture and also I felt like he could potentially be a project partner in the future. I got myself together after calling my sister and headed off to Chinandega with Abel. He has a base knowledge of English and is really excited to use it. This is borderline annoying for me – as much as I don’t want to admit it. I should be flattered that people want to learn my language, but… I’m not. It is really difficult to be switching back and forth from English to Spanish when I am trying very hard to improve my Spanish.
We went to his godfather or padrino’s house in Chinandega. His godfather had wireless internet and within five minutes of getting there he asked me if I wanted to call anyone in the United States. What a silly question – umm yes, please. Apparently he has a landline that is listed to Florida and he can call the US for free. Weird. So I called my parents and talked for a little while for free, which was beautiful. His godfather then made me some fabulously strong black coffee and told me to come by whenever I was in Chinandega. Yes and yes. Abel and I headed back around 5:00pm and went on to look at the house he had found for me.
Her name is Alba (they like A names in the family apparently) and she lives by herself right near the Catholic Church (I know…my evangelical friends will not like this). The outside of her house is quite attractive and has beautiful mahogany like doors. The inside has a huge sala or living room area. The room that I would be renting is a decent size and has two doors, one to the sala and the other to the patio area. Which brings me to my favorite part – her patio is … zen-like. It is so gorgeous an filled with every type of tree you can imagine. There was avocado, mango and many other fruits/veggies unique to Nicaragua. She also has a little garden with tomatoes and onions. She is a very chill woman and I immediately could tell I would like her. She has a lot of things that are not that common to Nicaragua homes, such as: a microwave, a toilet, and a fridge. Oh. And a washing machine. What is that. Although a washing machine saves a lot of time- I really do enjoy washing by hand – it is just more gratifying. Needless to say, I was very happy with the house. I asked questions about when I have friends visit from the states and she said “I will stay in my room – we can put up hammocks here in the sala and you guys can have your privacy.” Love. Her. My only concerns were that the roof in my ceiling was very old and possibly may leak and also that there were not electrical outlets in my room. She immediately said that she would get two outlets in there. I also asked about rats and she said that she fumigates every 6 months or so. Loving her more. She also has a bed that I will be able to use. I would just have to buy a mattress and something for my clothes. The rent is 1000 cordobas a month, which sounds like a LOT but it is only 50 dollars, and it includes water and electric. I also am sure that she will share the veggies and fruit with me – as she gave me some gifts before I left that night. The amount of money it would save me to not to buy a stove or a fridge is unbelievable – and this was beginning to look like a great option for me.
I returned back to my side of town and went over to my pulperia or store to grab some eggs to cook for dinner –but when I got there, the little girl said, “Come in!” So I went on through and ended up having the most fabulous meal I have had since I have been in Posoltega and watched my favorite telenovela. I know you are going to judge me – and its okay – because I am judging myself about watching it. It is all about drugs and sex and it is the worst television show I have ever seen. I find myself laughing at times when someone dies. These prostitutes smuggle drugs into other countries through their fake breasts. Ha. Go ahead, laugh. After spending a few hours with the fam, I headed back to my house. ]
The way that people are so welcoming and giving here reminds me a lot of my parents – and how they were always willing to take someone in and help them. I am so lucky to have grown up in a house like that.
Shortly after, the guy I had been communicating with about another house came over to invite me to talk to the owner of the house (I had already seen the house earlier in the week). It is two large rooms, completely private and my own bathroom and shower. She said that the price would be 1000 cordobas as well, but not including water and electric. Also, she would throw in a bed, a dresser, a desk and two rocking chairs.
That night I made a list of positives and negatives between the two houses (blame my parents for this nerdy trait).

Hump-Day
I was exhausted after such a long day on Tuesday, but headed off to walk to work at 7:30am. We went to a community called Santa Maria for the jornada and it turned out to be an even longer day. We did not return back to the health center until around 6:00pm. Did I mention we were walking the entire day? I did make it clear to my counterpart that I needed a responsibility during the jornada as opposed to just observing like I had on the previous outings. I was assigned giving out the pills for parasites – it was invigorating. No really, it was nice to have an actual role instead of just standing there; I was glad that I spoke up. At the end of the day I ended up speaking with a bunch of the nursing students who had previously just stared and laughed at me. They were really sweet and interested in what I was doing there. One thing I am having a difficult time with in this culture is that they hate silence. They will continually ask you if you are bored, sad, tired, etc. if you are not chatting it up with them. This is difficult when sometimes all I want is a break from speaking/thinking in Spanish. Needless to say, I made another friend, Bia (Kimmy you know I thought of you when she told me this), and she invited me to come to her house on Sunday and also to live with her and her family. Ha.
I called my parents that night for some advice about making a decision about the house. In the end, I came to decision that the house with Alba is definitely a better option for me, even if it is less privacy, etc. I will be able to make my little room ‘my own’ and spend a lot less money on things for the house.

22nd April
This day we went to a school and it was generally pretty easy besides restraining some kids so they could take their shots. Reminded me of how my parents met – at the Terry Center restraining juvenile delinquents. I started walking back from the health center, when one of the drivers of another health center truck asked if I wanted a ride. It was much appreciated on another particularly hot day. We both were going to the same comedor and ate lunch with each other. I had a difficult time getting it down – because it was more oil than I could stomach. When I went to go pay – the nice older gentleman actually paid for me and offered to drive me the following two blocks back to my house. I declined because I had recently seen a pulperia that sold ‘Coca-Cola Lite’ and wanted to treat myself to my first one in Posoltega. Kindness is such a good feeling – whether it is being received or given.
I decided I needed to wash some clothes because I wear at least two outfits per day (14 outfits per week!!). It was an intense session of washing clothes and I was out there for over two hours. One of the little girls came to tell me that one of the disgusting men across the street was watching me. When I looked over he was blowing me a kiss, while sitting shirtless on the curb. I yelled ‘ew’ and quickly finished my laundry.
That night I went over to talk to Hilda and it happened to be the time of another ‘cult’. I had already made up my mind and quite explicitly explained that I would not be attending. They were disappointed but I knew it was time…to break away from the church. I had a nice talk with Hilda that night about Peace Corps and what exactly I would be doing for the two years. She talked a lot about how she wished she had an opportunity to do something like this and go be a lawyer in another area. I have made a decision to not ever feel guilty or sorry for where I come from or the opportunities I have. I have decided to only be thankful and also sensitive to the fact that these opportunities are far and few between for people in this country.

23rd – broke as a joke
Oops. So I had budgeted the week pretty well – but then the host mom that I am living with me told me that she could not feed her kids and that she needed the rent immediately. Therefore, I was broke by Thursday. I had about 20 cordobas to my name- which would have gotten me one bottle of water for the day and no money. I decided that I would not be going to work this day and that I had to go to Chinandega to go to the bank. It is a weird feeling to not have immediate access to the money that you have – and to plan well in advance since the nearest bank is about an hour away (some people in northern Chinandega are more than 4 hours from the closest bank).
I took the morning to do some reading and headed to Chinandega around 10am. The taxi driver that was my first driver when I got into town last week has been giving me free rides whenever he sees me walking. Which is nice except that he is a creepy, old, fat man. He gave me a ride to the front of town to catch a bus on the main road. En route he asked if he could kiss my hand and take me to his finca or farm. I decided this was the last free ride I would be taking.
Roaming around Chinandega by myself was a lot of fun, the best way to get to know a place is to get lost in it. I bought a market bag to put all of my fruits and veggie in and more importantly I bought…a FAN!!!! My first big purchase was very worth it. Putting it together was a different story…it took over an hour and I was drenched in sweat. In the end there is still something not quite right with it and if you knock into it – it will fall. But I am sleeping so fabulously now and it works! That’s all that matters.
I returned back around 2:00pm to Posoltega, put together the fan and read in front of it for the remainder of the day. I finished my first book – A Long Way Gone – Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. I finished it in less than 36 hours and it was excellent. I also attempted to straighten my room, aka but everything back into suitcases. Also, up until this point I thought it was very strange when I saw people sweeping their dirt floors. But after living in a dirt floor environment, I understand why they do it! Dirt floors really can get dirty. Ha.
Yesterday I went to a community that was very affected by Hurricaine Mitch and even went to the park that former President Clinton and former first lady Hilary Clinton funded, there is one tree for each person lost in the landslide. I will write more about that in the next blog because this is way too long!

But in closing – I have decieded to go with the house with the older woman, Alba. The security officer should be coming out next week to check it out and make sure it is suitable and passes all the regulations and what not. Wish me luck!
Also, I organized superlatives for the group and was voted Group Mom. Ha.
I hope everyone is well… I miss you all so much! I am headed off to Leon for the day.
LOVE YOU ALL <3
p.s. there are tornado´s here... of dirt. what.

En mis ojos son Estrellas.

Hello everyone and Happy Easter/vacation! It is hard to believe that it has been three months since I have been here in Nicaragua. It feels like just yesterday I was drinking that fabulous champagne with Robin, packing with the girls and Des and watching our President be inaugurated. I hope that everyone is doing well and is holding those memories I was fortunate enough to share with you as close to your heart as I am. This will be my last blog as a Peace Corps trainee…because I will attending our swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday the 14th and officially be a Peace Corps Volunteer!

Pulgas.
So. Pulgas are … fleas. Seriously. Who has fleas? Oh wait…me. I discovered them last week and like any other illness here – it is difficult to tell where I got them from. The countless number of stray dogs here in Nicaragua carry them and they can easily be transferred to humans. I am not the first person in our group to get them – which somehow made me feel a little better. They look similar to the ‘allergic reaction’ I had after my volunteer visit to the mountains, but far, far less in numbers. The problem with this – is after you get them, they are very difficult to get rid of. They can live in clothes and especially in mattresses. It is sort of a snowball effect. My family here has helped a lot and put my mattress in the sun twice and also all of my clothes in effort to kill these little guys.
I had a little bit of a difficult time dealing with this ailment for the sole reason that I am sick of dealing with one after another. It is incredibly emotionally draining. You would think physically it would be the most challenging to deal with illness after illness, but it truly is the emotional aspect. The lack of control that I have over all of it – is very frustrating. I am just going to have to find ways to deal with this during my service – because it is clearly not an isolated incident.

Mail
I got a package each from Aunt Linda and Aunt Gail! Thank you so much! Funny story about that – in the package from Aunt Gail there was a trail mix which included Pistachios. I got a fair warning via e-mail to not eat the pistachios from the mix. I told my host-mom about it, salmonella and all, but she quickly said ‘Well they are bad for you Americans … but we have stronger stomachs. I am sure we will be fine!’ So throughout the week, my entire host family was eating these pistachios. Yesterday, everyone – including the three year old girl had serious stomach issues. I tried to warn them! Ha. Guess their stomachs aren’t that strong.
I also got a letter from Cathy Drew! That was so sweet and a lovely surprise! Number one mailers… Kimmy for her ridiculous cards and of course my parents! We are still missing one package that was sent in February, but I have faith that it is going to get here within the next week. I have to admit that the Girl Scout cookies that you sent are almost gone Mom. Ha. They almost lasted two days. All of the clothes and materials for my posters are perfect! Thank you again <3 you are the bestest.

Grupo de jovenes
Forming and running a youth group with three other leaders was definitely an interesting experience. In the end I learned a LOT both in general and on a more personal level. There were times throughout the experience when I dreaded going to our meetings (twice a week). More than anything I recognized things that I would different with my own group, such as; make rules in the beginning about respecting each other. Ultimately, we ended up completing two mini-projects within the community (we were required to do one). Our group of six gave charlas in the high school on HIV, STDs and Adolescent pregnancy. Then we got funds from the mayor (alcade) to paint a mural on the dirtiest building known to man. This building, glorietta, is in the middle of the park, in the center of town. Until this point, it had solely been used for any man to urinate in and draw obscene pictures on the outside (please see pictures posted on facebook to get image). The smell is only describable to those who had the misfortune to witness it.
Cleaning it was without a doubt the worst part of the process. It ended up only being a three day process, in total. And we completed a beautiful mural about… contraceptive methods. My life here is hilarious. Ha. I had huge doubts about how long this would last, but so far so good – people have urinated in the building – but other than that, no one has defaced the mural. We felt a great sense of accomplishment after finishing these two projects and the six teenagers came and presented to the rest of the group what they had done. I am not going to lie, I am glad it is over! But I do feel optimistic about forming my own youth group in Posoltega.

Español
So I received the same level of Spanish as my second interview in country (about one month ago). I think that is complete…BS, but oh well. We had the interviews Monday and received the results on Tuesday – which I thought was incredibly shady. The feedback did not consist of any specific examples of my errors and I feel that this level may have been determined by our teacher prior to the interview (which stinks because my interview was pretty fabulous). Well that is just all the more room to improve during these next two years. Also, without a doubt I feel confident in my ability to communicate in my community, which I did not feel when I walked off that plane January 22nd. I guess that is all I can ask for!

Ambassador
This past Wednesday we had the honor of meeting the U.S. Ambassador of Nicaragua, Robert Callahan. He was …amazing, fascinating and even more so…inspiring! As training has continued on, I feel that our group has become more and more negative. I have tried to separate myself from it – because I recognize it accomplishes nothing, but it has been difficult. Meeting Ambassador Callahan was so refreshing. He had such an incredible story and has lived an incredible life, traveling from country to country. In reality, we, as Peace Corps volunteers, are United States Ambassadors (on the grassroots level). He said that in the first paragraph of any letter from the President, is the reminder that the first job of a U.S. Ambassador is to get to know the community and culture of that you are living in.
He spoke quite frankly about the last eight years, regarding the United States, including: the government’s reaction to 9/11. His honesty and frankness was much appreciated when talking about his previous ‘boss’ and president of our country. He also spoke about the current political situation between Nicaragua and the United States. I am going to refrain from talking about this in a public forum, but it is getting very interesting. If you would like to hear more about what he said regarding this – just shoot me an e-mail and I would be happy to explain more.

Alcoholismo
When I first read that the alcoholism rate in Nicaragua was higher than in the United States, I had my doubts. Well… this has proved to be truer than I ever imagined. I never thought that walking by a man completely passed out in the road, with a bottle of the cheapest rum available in his hand, would be normal. There have been many times that I thought the man was actually not breathing that I passed by. I have seen pre-teen boys move a passed out 50+man out of the sun so that he does not burn to death in the park. Beyond upsetting. Hana’s host-uncle was a ‘recovering alcoholic’ for the first two months that we were here, and is now one of the men that I walk by, pondering if he is alive. She often finds him passed out on her porch as she walks into her house. He has been wearing the same shirt for over three weeks. Once a deep navy color, his shirt is now the palest of blues.
I have not decided if the rate of alcoholism truly is higher here, or whether it is just more visible. There is technically a law about drinking in public here, just as there is in the U.S. The difference is that it is not enforced. What good is a law if it is not enforced? This is a common theme here in Nicaragua. But just because America is able to send many alcoholics to jail and/or treatment, does it mean there is less of an incidence? This has caused me to think a lot about my job at Brandywine Counseling and I have talked about it many times with Hana and people of this community. What is more bothering here than anything is that it is an accepted part of their culture. It does not really affect anyone to pass someone barely breathing on the street. This is more foreign to me than the language.

taxing
I just wanted to make a quick mention of the neighbor of Brad (my fellow PCV). He is a very well-traveled man, I consider him incredibly worldly having lived in Israel, Africa and many other countries. While talking to Brad, he mentioned that he had visited Posoltega, and said to Brad, “I hope that Amanda is able to adapt there… it is one of the poorest towns I have seen and it will be very difficult.” Instead of bursting into tears, this actually comforted me. I thought maybe just the sheltered girl from Delaware was being too sensitive and dramatic – and that this site was not that bad. His statement was confirmation that this indeed is a very poor site, even for Nicaraguan standards. I had begun to question whether it was just me, but his comments actually comforted me and validated my feelings.
These two years are going to be difficult, but I am feeling more and more optimistic as the day approaches that I begin my two years of service in Posoltega. There is so much work to be done… and I am so ready to start! I don’t think I mentioned in the last blog that ten years ago, in 1998, Posoltega fell victim to a landslide provoked by the torrential downpours of Hurricane Mitch. Somewhere between 2,000 and 4,000 people died during this event (they were never really able to get an exact number, some predict more than 5,000). Members of the community have described it as ‘the world ending’ as this natural disaster swallowed two entire towns of my municipality. Needless to say, ten years later in the impoverished country – they are still very much affected by this event. At one of the NGOs in town, there are pictures of former president Bill Clinton directly after this event visiting the sites of destruction. This is the greatest natural disaster to occur in Nicaragua and is undoubtedly still affecting my community greatly.
Just a side note: we received a charla from US AID, and I found out that more than 75 percent of the birth control and condoms provided to Nicaraguans are through US AID aka… our tax money. So you all are actually helping fight the problems I am facing here in my work, HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancy. So assuming that you pay your taxes, thank you!

I’m not a playa…
No that is not a quote from a Notorious B.I.G. song; playa is beach in Spanish. Which is where everyone goes during this week before Easter, otherwise known as Semana Santa here. Essentially the entire country shuts down and people flock to the beach. Ironically, it is also the most dangerous week to swim in a body of water in Nicaragua. Apparently, every year hundreds of people die of drowning during this week’s festivities. Other interesting facts about this week: for weeks now, people have been carrying around a somewhat Disco-Jesus. They call it ‘the procession’ of which they carry around Jesus and there is usually a fabulous band to accompany the procession. And by fabulous I mean... on the same level as Mr. Byerly’s intermediate band in 6th grade. This could actually be cute, minus the fact that they do it at all hours of the night. The first was literally at 4:00 in the morning. AM. En serio? There is one going on right now outside of my window, which is quite impressive considering they were up until 1:00am last night carrying disco-Jesus around.
I somehow convinced my host-mom (who hates the beach) to go to the beach for the day on Thursday. I was allowed to invite Hana and also the ama de casa or ‘maid’ came along with her two children. This woman, Almpuro, has proved to be my favorite person here in El Rosario. The conversations that she and I had when no one else was around – were my favorites throughout training. Also, whenever I was ill – she was incredibly more caring than my host-mom.
Anyway, this ‘playa’ was about 3 miles off the main road. After making it through all of the dust from the road, we made it to the playa. We then parked in someone’s yard (which oddly reminded me of the Delaware State Fair) and headed to the beach. Well I ran…because the amount of gnats and bugs was disgusting. Down by the beach, the bugs were far and few between. My entire family sat up in the shade and Hana and I baked down by the water. The water was not particularly clean and it was difficult not to run into a piece of trash while entering the water. It was way too hot to be concerned with that and I swam anyway. This ‘beach’ was actually on Lake Nicaragua. Nicaraguans don’t really differentiate between bodies of water.
Hana and I decided to go for a walk down to the more happening part of the beach. The true picture of Samana Santa was about to be viewed. A lot of drunk people (I think this observation combined with the fact that most Nicaraguans I have met cannot swim may something to do with the amount of drownings that occur). We went into one of the little cabana bars and it was quite entertaining. Only the drunkest people were dancing to the DJ music, which clearly was my favorite part. Hana and I were harassed, per usual, by all of the men. I think one actually got down on his knee begging me to dance with him. Normal. Right outside of the bar, there was a man passed out – and his friends were trying to perform drunken CPR on him. I did see that he was breathing, which made me feel a little bit better. Later, they would throw him into the water to wake him up. Fabulous. After a few beers (oh my GOD I miss good beer and ANY wine), Hana and I went to another bar. Within five seconds of entering, at least 7 guys swarmed our table like hungry bees and were asking us to dance. Within ten seconds of entering the bar….we left. Ha.
I knew that I was getting sun throughout the day and applied lotion several times throughout the day. Apparently…not enough. I think I technically could have been diagnosed with 1st degree burns. My lips are burnt, which is by far the worst part. Ouch! Hana and I have gone through an entire bottle of lotion (that we have been putting in the freezer), to help ease the pain. Hopefully it will fade by Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony or I will look like a tomato!

Next phase..
So now the real work begins. Or at least the real part of my experience. These past three months have been amazing, but the reality is that these next two years are going to be very, very different. Everything is so micro-managed and scheduled during training and the volunteer experience is the complete opposite. I do not think I will have any problem keeping myself busy in my site. If you know me well, it will be more difficult to allow myself not to do anything. I do not know whether this is something I inherited from my parents or whether it is a cultural thing – but I am going to have to work on just letting myself sit and talk – because that is work here. I know the hardest part will be being far away from the people I have become closest to, particularly Hana.
So as I prepare to leave El Rosario, I have a strange mix of emotions. I am excited to be more independent, but I know I will miss my host-family here in some aspects. I am ready to start working and having more freedom, but I know I will miss some of the structure and support of being a trainee. I am anxious about living in Posoltega (the living conditions) but excited to start developing relationships within my community. I am SO ready to cook my own (more nutritious) food, but I know after a long day – I will miss someone having a plate ready for me. It is all so exciting and unknown – this experience really is about to start now! And I feel even more prepared than when I arrived in country about 90 days ago. When I am able to step back for a moment, I remember how incredibly lucky I am to be having this experience. Not only because getting into the Peace Corps is a ridiculous application process, but in other countries – many people do not get this opportunity. I am so lucky to live in a country that believes in serving humanity not just themselves. If I were to have gone with a different program or just gone abroad by myself, there is no way I could have possibly afforded it or really had been successful in giving anything sustainable to a community. I do have that opportunity here, within this organization. I am so blessed to have this opportunity – and with all my power, will try not to ever forget that.
In closing, I wanted to share with you the Promesa de Servicio, or Promise of Service, that I will be reciting during my swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday (in English).
In the name of God and for the understanding and friendship among people and Nations, I solemnly promise to work with dedication and enthusiasm in the tasks that are assigned to me, during two years, or during the time that I may stay in the country.
I promise to strive to secure bonds of affection and solidarity with the Nicaraguan people through mutual respect and sincere vocation of service.
For God, for Country, for Peace.
I am here representing all of YOU with honor…because you all are a part of me.
Happy Easter everyone. Love you all so much <3
I will leave you with this fun fact: I brought these amazing vacuum-sealed bags for my clothes to pack and save space. Obstacle I did not foresee: there are no carpets here… and therefore also an absence of vacuums. I just packed all of my things to move to my site and had to get creative. I sucked all of the air out of the bag with my… mouth. Still feeling a little lightheaded. Ha. So resourceful.

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'...

Greetings loves of my life. I hope all is well and that everyone had a good St. Patrick’s Day. I received my site assignment and I will be living in Posoltega, Chinandega for the next two years. This site was definitely one of my top choices and I was elated to receive the news of this site assignment. It is the only site of our group that is brand new – and part of my interest in this site was the opportunity to develop my own projects and introduce the Peace Corps to a new community. Everyone went immediately on a site visit with their colegas (counterparts) and I just returned from my visit to Posoltega and after a long week I have a LOT to tell you all.
Counterpart Day
Friday the 20th we had a ‘Dia de Colegas’ in Managua to meet our ‘counterparts’ that we will be working with for the next two years. As I looked through the crowd of people for the name tag(s) that said ‘Posoltega’, I eventually found the two women that would become my colleagues. It was a very exciting moment and we had about four group hugs to start our union. The rest of the day was filled with group work and explanations of Peace Corps, etc. My two counterparts were very funny and it seemed to be a great start to a professional relationship.
After a full day we all parted for the bus station with the other four volunteers that will be serving in the department of Chinandega. One of the colegas from the city of Chinandega was smitten and decided to practically lick my face and told me I had to visit Chinandega. Fab. Anyway, I have two volunteers from my group fairly close to me – one in the city of Chinandega and the other in Corinto. Craig and Evan. They are both about an hour or so away. Posoltega happens to be the closest site to Managua (where any of my fabulous visitors will be flying into!!!). It takes approximately 3.5 hours (others, such as; a few of my favorite people in the group in Rio San Juan, are 12-15 hours away) to get to from Managua. It is also close to the large cities of Leon and Chinandega (30 minutes each). Anyway, I arrived in Posoltega about 8:00pm on Friday evening.
While entering the town, it appeared pretty similar to my training town in the dim light that was available at the late hour. Roads were pretty horrible right around my house, but the taxi made it finally to the destination, a.k.a. my home for the first 6 weeks in my site (and also the home of my colega). My program director had already told me that the ‘psychologist’ that I would be living with was ‘very nice..but lived in a very humble home.’ With this sentence echoing in my mind, I entered the house. It was a generally nice living room area, with a television and a stereo. As we continued through the living room, we exited the house to the part with the rooms (it is actually separate from the house). Upon entering my room the host mom/colega told me that the only thing the room didn’t have was ….a floor. As I looked at my floor of dirt/mud I tried to keep a straight face. I vaguely remembered reading in the Peace Corps Handbook that we were not allowed to have a dirt floor – and for that reason among others, it was a little shocking. There were two twin size wooden beds in the room and… nothing else. I placed my things in the room and immediately returned to the living room area. We ate a modest dinner of platanos and rice at their table as the family asked me questions about my life in the States.
The family has a pair of twin girls, Guadalupe and Marisela and a fifteen year old boy, Jesus. The family was very welcoming and incredibly sweet. The two 9 year old girls and I ended up having a little dance party for my welcoming. I have discovered here that dancing really is without limits of language, culture, etc. Dance is a culture in its own and it is… universal. I love it. Just dance… my philosophy on life (no credit to Lady GaGa). After an intense dance sesh, I went to my room to grab my bottle of water. As I entered and turned on the light, I saw the largest rodent I have ever seen in my life. Literally. A rat or ‘raton’ was crawling right along the top part of the walls of my room. I somehow contained myself not to scream or make any dramatic responses to this finding. I simply grabbed my bottle of water and returned to my dance session. Not long after, I went to bed on the mattress thinner than a good sandwich. My parents called me quite late this night, and I have to say that it was the highlight of my day. Even if I was upset about rats and dirt floor – getting a drunk dial from my mother made everything okay. Due to this phone call and exhaustion I did not have that difficult of a time sleeping this night (for the record, I just saw a mouse in my room here in El Rosario – and simply let it out the door like a guest. Funny how perceptions change).
Hot in Herrr
So. I awoke around 7am, which apparently is considered late in this household. Everyone else was up at 6am. On a Saturday. Seriously? Anyway, I made it a productive morning and ended up cooking. I expressed that I needed to learn to cook since I will be living by myself for the majority of the two years. Guadalupe, the mother/colega, took me to the ‘meat shop’ to purchase ‘rez’ or cow. It was beyond disgusting and I saw parts of a cow that I never wanted to see in my life. Beyond that, the amount of flies and bugs surrounded all of this exposed meat, blood and bones was astonishing. Yummy. Anyway, I cooked sopa de rez (soup with cow meat) and it turned out pretty nice. I am confident in my ability to figure out cooking for myself when I move out. Everything just might be vegetarian.
My host family asked if I wanted to go to the pool and I was all for it because it is blazing hot there. After our hot, meat filled soup for breakfast we suited up for the ‘pool’. They told me we would be going by bike and I was all for it. Something about riding a bike really makes me feel like a kid again. That is, until you are walking awkwardly the next day because your backside hurts so badly. Why doesn’t that happen when you are a kid? Anyway, we went on this fabulous ‘path’ to the ‘pool’, during which I screamed a few times due to feeling like I was on X-games. We finally made it to the ‘pool’ a.k.a….a river. A cement foundation had been put in at the bottom of this river to contain the water and create a pool like atmosphere. As we were walking down these cement stairs to the river/pool, my flip-flop got stuck on one of the steps and I…fell. Got some pretty sweet scrapes on both of my feet and one of my shins and quickly learned that gnats/bugs like blood. Luckily, the river kind of helped that healing process along pretty quickly. Other than the fall, the river was great – not all that dirty, and very refreshing. There were approximately 10 boys there drinking and smoking, but I tried to ignore them and fascinated my family with my handstand abilities. After about three hours in the pool (straight.. I didn’t get out once), we headed back to the house. They asked me if I wanted to take the longer way back, to get to know a different path. After getting over the fact that, a) they called that a path and b) there was a longer path, I told them that I would prefer to take the shorter one back. Ha.
After showering in our fabulous outside shower (with warm water, ironically) I attempted to do some reading, but quickly found myself passed out in the face of this overwhelming heat. I took a little nap and then went to the Internet café that strangely exists in this town. It has about 6 computers and decent speed. I then returned to eat dinner, which consisted of…rice. I was actually craving frijoles/beans by the end of this trip. After dinner, my host mom decided to tell me her love-life story. I will save you the details, but basically – she admitted that she was bulimic, alcoholic and depressed about a year ago when one of her boyfriends left her. She is currently ‘better’ and seriously dating a…married man. It was at that moment I wished I knew less Spanish and could have pretended I didn’t understand what she was saying. She also went on to warm me about various neighbors in the community. Sweet dreams. I went to bed incredibly early almost every night in Posoltega because of sheer exhaustion. As I snuggled into my crispy thin mattress on my wooden bench-like bed frame, I saw some more ‘friends’. This time though…they were ratas or mice. Smaller, yet almost equally as upsetting because they were crawling up the wall right near my head. I slept on and off this night randomly using the flash light on my cell phone to search for mice in the middle of the night. I actually felt a little crazy.
Thank GOD it’s Sunday…literally.
So it quickly was apparent to me that this town is quite religious. Whenever anyone asks ‘how are you’ the response is, ‘I am good thank the lord.’ Furthermore, anything good that happens is given the same response. The majority of my town is Evangelical, which is more strict that Catholicism here. Gracias a Dios. I was already invited to church and will probably go just for the experience, but it will be interesting to see how this plays a role in my service.
My family invited me to go to a neighboring town to see ‘abuelita’ or their grandmother. We went by taxi, but then had to walk over 2 miles to get to her house because the roads are not passable by car. This town was equally as humble and impoverished, but much smaller. The family business of my host family is a candy they make from the sugar canes that grow on their farms. So for the next five hours I watched them make this candy. The process of making this candy was very similar to that of making fudge. If anyone has ever been to that fudge place in Baltimore where they make it right in front of you – it was a 3rd world country version of it. Meaning that they were using large wooden planks to pour the hot caramel-like substance on to and sticks to stir it while it was heating. Oh, and also – there were hundreds of flies all over the candy. Vom-it. It looked so good, but it was impossible to ignore the amount of bacteria that was more than likely on each piece. None the less it was a nice experience in terms of observing how it is made (it is literally the major/ sole source of economy for this community). We were there for far, far too long. I ended up taking a nap on a hammock mid-day (this is going to be a common theme for me).
We eventually left and started the two mile walk back to the main road. On the way there, my counterpart told me that a Peace Corps volunteer lived in this community. We found out where and I was able to stop and talk to her for a while. Her name is Paula and she is an environmental volunteer from the state of Virginia. She has a cute little house in one of the rural communities of Posoltega. Basically my town has about 3,500 people in the urban center and then another 22 communities surrounding it. In total in the municipality there are about 17,000 people. Paula has a sweet little garden in her yard and I am definitely looking forward to some mentoring in eventually starting my own garden. We also talked about possibly working together on potential projects, because she has a lot of interest in HIV/AIDS education/prevention as well. After my host mom/colega asked her to borrow her deodorant I thought it was time to leave. It was definitely nice to speak to someone in English, even if for a few minutes and I definitely look forward to getting to know her better and working together.
I cannot say for sure how I was feeling on Sunday. Lack of independence. ‘Stuck’. Slightly disappointed about my living conditions. Scared of rats. Exhausted from only speaking Spanish. Mal-nourished. Not working. Well the combination of factors started to pile up throughout the day and I started speaking less and less to my host family. As I got ready for bed around 9:00pm, I looked at my phone and realized I had a missed call from my parents. I called them back immediately and we got to speak for about 20 minutes or so. Within minutes of starting the conversation with them, I saw a mouse crawl up the wall near the head of my bed. I was so overwhelmed with feelings that I burst into tears, trying to explain to my parents how I felt. It was the first time in this experience the thought ran through my head ‘What the hell am I doing here??’ It’s not as though I had incredibly high expectations of Posoltega, I just had no idea what I was getting myself into. Our training towns, although very different from the United States, are catered to aiding us through the ‘transition period’ and it became more and more clear to me that our training towns do not represent what the reality of life is here in Nicaragua. After speaking to my parents, I cried myself to sleep…but still holding on the hope that tomorrow would be better when I started work.
Walk it out…
Monday morning I went to a comedor (basically this is someone’s house that serves as restaurant as well) for breakfast and had the best food I had gotten since I had been there. More than anything, it was just nice to be by myself for a few minutes, eat and read the newspaper. Something so simple, yet sacred. My host mom/counterpart and I arrive at the Health Center around 7:45am. (I will primarily be working with MINSA (the ministry of health) here in Nicaragua). My primary counterpart is the one that I am not going to be living with,Sozima, who is the Community Educator in the health center. There was an awkward moment when Guadalupe (host mom) wanted Sozima (primary counterpart) to introduce me to everyone, and she…wouldn’t. Ha. Guadalupe went on to tell me that Sozima is apparently very lazy. Fabulous. Still trying to stay positive. The Director of the health center ended up calling a ‘staff meeting’ to introduce me. About 25 nurses and doctors crowded into their auditorium (I must say, that their health center is gorgeous). Before starting, my host mother led everyone in a prayer (did I mention it was religious here?). Each person introduced themselves, and I pretended to write down some names (names are really difficult here). They then asked me if I wanted to say anything, somehow I whip something up and sounded pretty damn good. Just that I was excited to work with all of them and to serve Posoltega.
The morning went better than expected, and then Sozima asked me to come along to salida (to a rural community) to visit one of her patients. Nurses and Doctors piled into the MINSA truck and we began to set out to the more rural communities. These roads looked like scenes out of an Indiana Jones movie. It was incredible that these were the only paths reaching some of these communities. We went to various communities to drop off the medical staff at the health posts (smaller health centers in more rural communities). Eventually, we made it to the patient that my counterpart was going to check on. Apparently TB is a really big problem here and a lot of her work is working with these patients. My counterpart was incredibly confused at times, forgetting what Peace Corps was, and introducing me as a nurse to everyone we met. Licensing here is quite funny. If you have a degree in psychology, you are a psychologist. If you worked as tutor, you are a teacher. Needless to say, I am qualified for many things here – criminologist, nurse, lawyer, teacher. The most interesting side trip we took was to ‘Radio Emanuel’ the only local radio station in Posoltega. It is..religious, of course. But it was incredibly interesting; it is run by an American and his Nica-wife. This American Emanuel, was apparently in a plane accident and is now confined to a wheelchair. His wife was incredibly sweet, and her beauty reminded me of Frida Kahlo. I will definitely be returning to this house and it could potentially be part of a future project.
So I quickly learned that everyone works at the health center from 8-11:30ish. That’s it. I figured we would go home from lunch and … return. Nope. That’s it. I ate lunch at the comedor again and happened to be sitting next to a meeting going on about a ‘taller’ or workshop happening tomorrow. As I sat their eating my chicken and listening I heard random works of interest. Eventually I got into their conversation and they asked me what I would be doing here in Posoltega and for how long, etc. They explained to me they were part of a NGO called ‘Programma Amor’ which worked to improve the development of children and women’s rights. They invited me to the workshop the next day and even asked me for ideas for games or ‘dynamicas’ to use during the taller. It was very exciting – and I was looking forward to attending the workshop. After lunch, I went home and changed my clothes to walk around by myself and try to get to know the community. Also, Peace Corps has us fill out several forms (emergency form locater, etc.) and one of them included a map of our community. It was really nice to walk alone and say hi to everyone that walked by me. I attempted to make a map of the community and eventually ran into two people I had met at the pool on Saturday. A boy and his older sister, Kenya, who is the same age as me. They invited me into their home I spoke with their entire family. They gave me a beverage and some bread as they asked me questions about my job and the United States. We then walked around the community for another hour or so and they helped me correct some errors on my map. They were incredibly sweet. Kenya taught herself English and loves trying to speak it to me. My only request was that she can speak English to me, but I can only speak Spanish to her. She got a degree in ‘Computacion’ at a University in Leon, but has not been able to find a job. We made plans to cook the next day after the workshop/taller and I returned to my host house feeling worlds better than the night before. To top it off, I got the opportunity to watch the epic film of… Daddy Yankee. It was sad how much I enjoyed this movie, seriously. If this isn’t an example of the limited entertainment I have been exposed to here, I don’t know what is.
Integrating…
I went to the workshop at 8am by myself, because my counterpart said she wasn’t able to go. As soon as I got there, the three people I had met the day before came up to me and asked me to start the workshop off with a dynamica. As I stood there like a deer in headlights, I decided I did not feel comfortable in doing this. There were going to be approximately 75 women of Posoltega and surrounding communities in this workshop – I wanted to first observe before I dove into something far over my head. As the workshop was getting started, Jonathon, the guy in charge, came up to me to tell me that my counterpart/host-mom was on the phone for me. She told me to go to the health center because the director wanted me to go out to a very rural community to get to know it. I was incredibly pissed off, because I had already talked to my host-mom and she made it seem that it was fine that I was going to the workshop. I walked about a half mile to the health center only to see my other counterpart, who told me to go back to the workshop and that it was important that I get that experience. En serio? (this is my favorite Spanish saying which means..seriously). I walked back to the workshop and stayed for the remainder of the day.
Did I mention I thought a ‘taller’ was about three hours or a half day? It was 8 hours. The bulk of the day was about child development and an hour or less was on family planning methods. Whether the whole day was relevant or not to my future work – I think it was relevant to my integration into the community. I participated in the group work with the educators and volunteers. During the lunch hour, I walked back to the health center to talk to the director. Due to frustration, I felt it necessary to explain to her that I would not be in the health center every day (especially if there is no work), and that my job the first three months was to integrate into the community and get to know all parts of the community. She seemed to respond well and I followed it up by asking what role she saw me filling at the Health Center. She said that it was up to me, but that forming youth groups and pregnancy groups were a goal of hers as well. I felt better after speaking to the director about the miscommunication (lesson #8 observed on this trip).
The women in the taller were simply amazing and inspiring. After returning from lunch hour (which consisted of Ritz crackers), several women started asking me questions and they happened to be the women of the urban center of Posoltega. After the taller, we walked back together into town. An 18 year old girl, Hilda, offered to walk me around later to get to know the town better. I said later was perfect, because it was already after the time I said I would be at Kenya’s house to cook! I practically ran to her house and apologized for my tardiness. I explained my misunderstanding of how long a taller was and that I did not intend to keep her waiting. It was a non-issue for them and their main concern was whether I was hungry or not. I figured they were asking because we were about to cook, but no – she ran down the street to buy me taquitos and a little salad (which here consists of coleslaw and ketchup). I inhaled the taquitos and gave the salad to the little brother. It is amazing how much people love cream, mayo, salt, sugar and oil here. We ended up scratching the cooking idea, and just sat and talked for about two hours. Kenya, her sister Amanda and I talked about politics, my job at Brandywine counseling, drug problems in Posoltega, Amanda shared that she has a tumor in her head and had to stop going to school (she is only 16 years old), Kenya talked about feeling different than everyone else her age because she is not married nor does she have children, and much much more. It was the best conversation I have had in Nicaragua. I learned so much throughout the conversation, about Posoltega, and even more so about Kenya and Amanda. During such a difficult time economically in the United States, it is difficult to think about the suffering of other countries. As poor as our economy is in the United States right now, as high as unemployment is – we will never be on the same level of disparity as other countries. The U.S. economy affects the entire world’s economy. Just because other countries don’t have as far to fall – doesn’t mean they aren’t hurting equally or more as us. The pure lack of opportunities here is astonishing. Something I never fathomed before. I left this conversation feeling both inspired and humbled. Also, when I left they gave me two packets of delisoya (aka the only source of milk I will drink here), bread and raisons from their pulperia. I tried to offer them money for their kindness, but they refused. Their welcoming was so comforting at a time when nothing was familiar.
I went on a walk with Hilda right afterwards and we walked the entire community several times (I am going to get in shape quickly here). Although younger, she carries very similar characteristics of Kenya. She is in her second year of studying law in Leon, is not married nor does she have children. Her dream is to go to the United States. She and I talked for hours during our walk – and she is very sweet and intelligent. She introduced me to some of her friends and made sure I knew which each building was in town. She also shared with me that she feels ‘different’ from everyone else her age and in the community because she is not married with children. She talked about how she identified these as obstacles to achieving her goal of being a lawyer. It was incredibly inspiring to hear from another young woman in the community who dared to take a different path than the majority of her peers. I can definitely already see beautiful friendships forming with both Hilda and Kenya.
I already have made it a point to express my interest in finding my own house after the first six weeks in my community (it is a requirement of Peace Corps). I feel that even though I have returned to my training town, there are several people in my town helping me find more comfortable housing. Oh yea, because I also made it very clear that I need to have some type of floor in my room/living area.
I ended the day with a 46 cordoba (over two dollars!!) conversation with Nico, my friend from Minnesota. He and I talked about the already identified obstacles in our communities and with our counterparts. It was nice to be able to talk to someone going through the same experience. I told him of my mice and rat friends, and right before my minutes ran out on my cell phone – the last thing he said to me was ‘mice are very mobile.’ Night night. Having minutes on my phone will definitely be essential to my service and sanity throughout these two years. It is bizarre how their cell phone system works – it works out to be more expensive to call within Nicaragua than the United States.
Yo Soy…
Wednesday was dedicated to introducing me to the important people of the community. Sozima went around with me this day and the first stop was the high school to speak to the director. I spoke with Sozima prior to leaving that it was important that she not introduce me as a nurse or a lawyer anymore. The first stop was … less than perfect. The school itself was incredibly beautiful and clean. As we entered the director/principal’s office, the radio was blaring. I wrongfully assumed that the radio would be turned down during this conversation. Despite the immense background noise, the director seemed excited and welcomed me into the school to help with health education. Then it got a little messy. He went on to explain the foundation of the buildings and the lack of activities for the kids to do on the campus and several ideas he had for projects with my ‘american money’. Ha. Rewind. Apparently Sozima’s explanation of what Peace Corps is was not sufficient for him. I explained a little further that we were not an organization of money and that I certainly did not have mula. I guess I can’t blame him for trying. Another lesson learned. The remaining introductions were all prefaced with a detailed explanation of what Peace Corps is, human and technical assistance – not financial. The remainder of the introductions went very, very well. So many of the woman hugged me so tightly and clearly incredibly excited to have another person on their team – trying to better their children’s future. My favorite organization was definitely movimiento de las mujeres, a women’s rights organization. They gave me a substantial amount of information about their organization and were more than ready to let me be part of it. They do workshops on Domestic Violence, Family Planning and many more things that are right up my alley. There are countless opportunities for project partners in Posoltega and I am very excited to see how they all develop.
The remainder of the afternoon was used to wash (by hand!) all of my clothes. I worked very hard to wring out my sopping wet clothes – reopening blisters from my bike outing; only to see that in less than one hour even my heaviest clothes were bone-dry. That is how hot it is there. I took my second shower of the day and decided to go to the Internet Café. I was so fortunate to get to speak with John, Kimmy, Liz, Megan and several more of my favorites via g-chat or facebook chat. It was exactly what I needed. Hilda and I went on another walk, even further outside of the main part of town. As I told her I would be leaving the next day to return to my training town – she told me that she could not wait until I would be returning. I assured her that I was and that there would be two years for countless walks. That night we had a random, heavy rainstorm. On a tin roof this sounded… less than soothing. I was up for the majority of that hour or so.
Thursday I went to the health center only to do… nothing. So I decided to head back to my training town a little earlier than planned. I was told that I could get a bus to Leon right in town on every hour. This proved to be very false – as I waiting from 9:45-12:00pm for a bus. At noon it finally arrived and I went on to Leon. Leon has been talked about as a very touristy place, but I did not get that feeling as I wandered the streets. It takes about 45 minutes or less to get there, and it has all the fruits and veggies I could ever want. Now I just have to buy a fridge at some point to keep these fruits and veggies. After wandering around for a while, I got on a bus to Managua and then from Managua to Jinotepe. I was incredibly excited to return to something somewhat familiar and to my little three year old host-sister. Missed all fifty pounds of her.
Random thoughts…
After returning and being able to reflect both within myself and with others in my group – it is clear to me that everyone is going to have challenges in their sites. I am the only person in our group that has a dirt floor in their room. This will prove to be a challenge – if for nothing else than staying clean. It is not possible. I would get out of the shower and then immediately end up dirty just from trying to get dressed in my room. I did speak with my Program Manager about this and she said that she and a PC Doctor went out to the house to make sure it was okay – and they found it fit to live in. I told her that she probably didn’t see the rats and mice. Nonetheless, it is something that I am going to have to deal with – and I did not sign up for the Peace Corps expecting to live in a high-class apartment. She did tell me that she is going to talk to the Program Director to see if I can move out after four weeks in my host family, as opposed to the rule of six weeks.
So, one of the biggest ‘culture shock’ moments during the trip wasn’t even the dirt floor. In actuality, it was viewing one of the neighbor’s children. There was a little boy about a year and a half, maybe two years old. 75 percent of the time I saw him, he was completely naked. He is also a paraplegic and only has the use of his arms. Therefore he used his arms to hoist himself around the dirt floor and roads, completely naked. No one was watching this child – no one was looking out for his safety. Needless to say, there are not many cars in my town – but just the lack of concern for this poor child made me so, so sad.
So three things that will be essential to my two years in Posoltega will be: a fan, a bike, and a … cloth. Due to the amount of dust and random things flying through the air – everyone carries a cloth around. To brush off their seats, cover their face, wipe their sweat. Multi-purpose cloth. I am debating on whether to buy a new or used bike. There is only about a 200 cordoba difference – we’ll see. Fan. Beyond essential. Kinda want one of those water sprayer pumps that my parents used at the beach. I would use it every day. Make-up will likely not be used once during these two years. Ha.
For some reason everyone in the town thinks that I am from Spain when they meet me. I guess I will take that as a compliment since it can't be a bad thing about my spanish skills! :)
Latrines are going to take a little bit of time to get used to (my impression is that there are not toilets in any homes in Posoltega). The smell is just … indescribable. I try and hold my nose, but you don’t want to taste what’s going on in there either.
Probably my favorite thing about my host family’s house is the shower. It is three walls, with no ceiling. But there is something empowering and exciting about showering outside. Ha. Looking up and seeing the sky, maybe even getting a tan during your shower. Eureka! Why didn’t I think about this?
Sick Girl…
So today is Sunday the 28th and I have been violently ill all weekend. Fever, vomiting and diarrhea…again. Vomiting was the worst part of this one. I kinda just diagnosed myself and started taking an antibiotic Friday night before I even started vomming. I feel incredibly weak right now, but other than that I am much, much better. It is beyond annoying to be that ‘sick girl’ and my host-mom here is so less than supportive. An example of this would be her saying to Hana last night, “Can you imagine Amanda living by herself in her site?” Thanks for that. The ironic part is – that I am likely getting sick from her cooking. Oh well, I just feel bad for my stomach – it is going to be a long two years if this continues at a once a month rate. Just keep on truckin... I know I can!
Well I love you all! I am getting two packages on Wednesday!!! Can’t wait to see what they are. I Am praying they are my girl scout cookies!

Estoy viviendo

Hola loved ones. It is 2:15pm on Wednesday. I just wanted to write and let you all know that I am doing okay after a couple rough days in the beginning of my visit to Posoltega. Nothing major, just a dirt floor and some rats (all of this is about my room). I will definitely go into more detail when I get back to my training town, but I just wanted to update you and let you know that I am okay and I am feeling very optomistic about my life here in Posoltega for the next two years. I have already established two friendships with girls in the community, made a community map, introduced myself to every important person in the town and much much more. This town is incredibly poor and there definitely is a lot of work to be done - and I am looking forward to getting started!
I hope everyone is well and that you had a fabuloso birthday kimmy. wish i could have been with you!
will post a longer blog about my visit this weekend.
lots and lots of love,
amanda

Get 'Er Done

It is very difficult to believe that it has been over one month since I have seen you all. In some ways it feels light-years longer, and in others-like it was just yesterday. I miss you all so much… and I hope you know how often I think of you. This has been a very exciting week and I have a lot to share with you regarding my visit to Cusmapa…sooo let’s get started!
Transportation
Wow. What an experience this was. On Sunday morning, I and five other volunteers boarded a mini-bus to Managua (the capital city) around 7:00am. It took a little bit longer than anticipated and stopped frequently throughout the 1.5 hour ride. Right before our stop, the micro-bus pulled to the side. At first, I thought that someone had dropped something in the front seat – because they were all leaning down towards the floor. Turns out - they had retrieved a screwdriver and were trying to fix some type of mechanical dysfunction. Needless to say, we got out – and got into a taxi for the bus station. All six of us fit into the taxi, which was quite impressive. Within minutes of the bus station – our taxi was… pulled over. Didn’t even know they had ‘radar’ or any type of traffic police in Nicaragua – it was shocking. Apparently the policeman saw he had more than the ‘allowed capacity’ in the taxi and solely wanted to pull the poor guy over to solicit a pay-off. 40 cordobas – or 2 dollars…not too bad for corrupt police action.
We finally made it to the bus station – and ended up making the 8:45am bus to Somoto. The bus ride was generally smooth – only a few moments of terror during the three hours. I was actually able to sleep most of the ride and was sitting with Nico (one of the other volunteers) the whole ride up. After arriving in Somoto – I broke off from the rest of the group and waited about an hour and a half for the next bus up the mountain to Cusmapa. Words of advice from current Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) included: being very aggressive when getting on the bus. Boy, were they right. At 1:15pm the colorful school bus from the 80’s pulled up with a significant amount of people already on it. Before the bus was even in park, people were climbing in the emergency exit, shoving people out of their way, frantically trying to get on the bus. I may or may not have elbowed an old man and a little kid to get on the bus.
None the less, I made it on – but there was already standing room only. There was a teenager ‘saving a seat’ for someone – or just not trying to sit with anyone right next to me, and he eventually allowed me to sit down next to him. It was so crammed that I could barely reach into my purse – because of the lack of elbow room. Before heading up the mountain we stopped in various spots to pick up more people and more cargo. To fully explain what that bus ride is like – is impossible to anyone who has not experienced it. Blazing hot. Zero personal space (a woman (who was holding her child) had her butt leaning on my shoulder two out of the three hours). Animals were on board. Approximately 15-20 people on top of the bus. A LOT of bags/cargo. People that live up this mountain, especially in Cusmapa, are completely isolated from stores, food, etc. and therefore come to Somoto for all of these needs. Completely unpaved roads. And straight up that mountain.
The scenery was unbelievable and it was impossible to be bored during this right. Also, impossible to sleep. Bump. City. I made small talk with my seat buddy until his stop – and then spoke with a really nice guy my age that lives in Cusmapa and is studying Anthropolopy. Before I knew it – I had arrived in Cusmapa. I somehow got off the right bus stop in Cusmapa and Ian was there waiting for me! (They blow the horn for about 60 seconds straight to signify its arrival in town). The next part of my transportation began the next morning (Monday), but I feel that it needs its own section.
Save a Horse…
So. For the remainder of Sunday evening – Ian and I chatted about Peace Corps, his experience (challenges, etc.), and he attempted to prepare me for our adventure in the morning. He said that he, I, one doctor and two nurses would be venturing out to two rural communities. By horseback. I shared with him that I had never ridden a horse and that my resume consisted of Newark Labor Day and riding a mechanical bull in Orlando, Florida. He definitely seemed concerned and told me that the trails were very rough and that every time he had gone out to these communities, someone had fallen off their horse. Fabulous pep talk. I am not going to lie – I was scared as all hell and excited at the same time. Well we packed up the medicine – and I headed off into the unknown. Just getting on the horse was intimidating – but apparently watching ‘Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” dozens of times throughout my life really prepared me for this moment of my life. I mounted perfectly. Ha.
My first real event of horse riding would be winding through the mountains of Nicaragua – on paths that are impassible by anything but horse or walking, crossing a river, and staring over cliffs with nothing standing between me, my burro and the bottomless pits. I quickly bonded with my ‘burro’ (I am pretty sure it was a mule – hard to say for sure though) and he became my best friend for the next 36 hours. I am pretty positive that I had full-out conversations with him – encouraging him, thanking him for not killing me, the norm. He was incredibly sturdy – and enjoyed going at a slower pace. Match made in heaven. They put a lot of weight on my horse – to weigh him down of sorts. Believe it or not – my experience riding a mechanical bull in Orlando, Florida – proved to be very, very useful. It was sort of a crash course in horse-back riding. It’s all in the hips. So, thanks for making me do that Nicole. May have saved my life. Ha.
The paths were treacherous. Several times, we had to get off and walk the horses because it was so steep and dangerous. In total on Monday, I rode a horse for about 8 hours to get to Los Limones. Seriously – 8 hours. Just imagine for a moment how that feels on your tracero (bum). I would have to say that the scariest moment occurred when I looked behind me, to see one of the nurse’s horse fall. She fell off the horse and then the horse fell and landed on her leg. At first, they thought that the horse’s leg was broken – but he was able to get up and keep on truckin’. These trails were not legit by any means. In total between Monday and Tuesday, I rode my burro for over 13 hours. I am almost positive that is more time than I slept during those three days, combined. It is amazing how you find ways to adjust your body to alleviate the pressure on your backside. Nonetheless, I made it to our destination without any major incidents. I was actually quite impressed with myself considering the conditions of these paths. These ‘paths’ including passing over the Rio Negro (Black River), which was actually more rocks than water (it is the dry season here). During the rainy season (winter) this river is completely impassable and various towns are cut off from all resources for 5-6 months. Resources include any medical attention, at all. It was so difficult for me to fathom the fact that these towns had access to medical attention/medicine only three, maybe four times per year. Can you imagine? They live with parasites and diseases; use their own methods to heal cuts and scrapes.
The main reason for going out to these communities is to provide consults and weigh babies. The idea is that there are volunteers or “brigadistias” within the community that keep up with the baby weighing monthly – but this does not always prove to be effective. The point of weighing the babies is obviously to monitor their growth and provide information to the mothers about how to improve the nutrition of their children (most of them are underweight and breastfeeding is sometimes forgone for coffee). It is unbelievable the need for ‘basic’ knowledge about growth/nutrition in these communities. A lot has to do with how isolated they are and just cut off from all resources and a lot of knowledge. They have been living like this for generations and more importantly, they are seemingly very happy/content.
Los Limones
Los Limones is one of those isolated communities that I don’t think us as American’s can really even imagine. In total, there were 18 families living in this isolated, rural, rural community. No stores. No banks. No running water. No electricity. No school. Nada. Upon arriving in Los Limones – I was overwhelmed with pain in my backside and nervousness in speaking with a lot of people with my ‘intermediate-low’ Spanish skills. For the first half hour or so I quietly observed my second viewing of baby-weighing and smiled when people were obviously staring. I sat down next to a girl that looked about 16 years old and eventually introduced myself. Within minutes I was surrounded by at least 25 children. It was as though I was a fresh flower filled with nectar – and was being swarmed by bees. They asked me dozens of questions, including: what is your mom’s name, what is your dad’s name and where are you from? After playing twenty questions – it was then time for a talent show apparently. They asked me to sing, dance, and say really difficult words in Spanish so they could laugh at me. I don’t think they had ever seen a camera or photographs before, and therefore we took countless photos. They invited me to play kickball – and of course I jumped right in. The background to the game was a mountain range in Honduras. The view was unbelievable…I could have stared out there forever.
I forgot for a while that there was no electricity, no water, and that I had not eaten in hours. It was one of those moments in your life when you are completely carefree. I suppose it was a taste of the innocence that childhood beholds. So sweet. I eventually ate a few bites of a freshly made tortilla and utilized my flashlight (thanks Aunt Linda and Uncle Joe!), fire and the most beautiful stars I have ever seen for guides in the blackest of nights. In general, Nicaragua has the clearest, most beautiful skies I have observed in my twenty-four years. Essentially, I had formed a youth group in Los Limones within 45 minutes of arriving. It became very clear to me that to segue into any community is going to be through the youth. Prior to this trip I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to work with youth – but it is very evident that I have to work with youth. Even the volunteer that I went to go see mentioned something about it. I feel lucky to have that capacity to connect to children and will definitely utilize this when I get to my community in April.
I slept in one of the ‘beds’ in this adobe building that Ian, one nurse and I were offered to sleep in. The boys both slept in hammocks and graciously I was given the ‘bed’. It was the frame of a typical bed – but only had roped intertwined between each the boards to hold me up. I slept with three shirts, a fleece and a sleeping bag due to the temperature. As people go to bed as the sun goes down when there is an absence of electricity – they also awake as the sun rises. Also, the adobe that I was sleeping in also served as the school for all of the children of the community. So as I awoke, children were entering for ‘class.’ For breakfast, I was served frijoles, tortillas and some sort of meat. I later discovered that it was chopped up pig. Skin, bones – everything. Oh, and hair. Apparently when they kill the pig they are supposed to singe off all of the hair – but essentially I ate hairy pig (while a live pig was less than 5 feet from me staring at me eat his sister). Bon Appétit! Shortly after, I decided I had been waiting too long – it was time to use the bathroom. Did I mention there are no bathrooms in Los Limones? Yea. So basically for the first time I found an arbole (tree) somewhat hidden in the forest and ‘bonded.’ Thankfully I had brought tissues – but it was an experience nonetheless.
After eating, I helped the children with some of their math work and then played one more game of kickball. Upon taking the last sip of one of the liter size bottles of water I had brought – a few of the girls were staring at me (or so I thought). Upon inquiring what they were looking at – I realized they were admiring the empty plastic bottle. One of the girls told me that it was incredibly beautiful – and I asked her if she would like to have it? She acted as though it was too nice of a gift, but I insisted and she eventually accepted. As she held onto it tightly and all of the other children gathered around to look at this recyclable– I had to take a moment to really take it all in. What different worlds we had been given – and yet we were so alike; the beauty of humanity. This to me is why I did the Peace Corps. It is quite different to read about these kinds of communities in Time magazine or view specials on Oprah – than to actually experience it firsthand. To sum it up in one word – humbling.
As I began to pack up my belongings and load up our horses – I started to fill with emotions regarding leaving these children, this town. It was hard to differentiate whether these feelings were due to saying goodbye or getting back on a horse. Probably both. The children all asked if I would ever return – and all I was able to say was maybe. In my heart – I would love to, but I did not want to make an empty promise. Several of them hugged me and then it was mount time again. The ride back was very hot – but I decided that I might as well get a tan while I was riding a horse for 5-6 hours. So while everyone else covered every inch of their skin and wore hats – I rolled up my sleeves and baked. Oh. Also – one way to prove to you all that I am still the Amanda you know and love: I took several pictures of myself while riding through these mountains (just like I would while driving/using the bathroom at a bar, etc.). As we got closer and closer to returning to Cusmapa , I became more and more proud of myself. This trip was so incredibly physically draining – but also emotionally draining. I imagine it is a lot like a marathon run – moments when you don’t feel your body at all, moments when you don’t think you can go any further, and a moment of triumph when completing something so much bigger than yourself.
After paying the renter’s fee for the horses – I took my first shower of the trip, and by far 10 times colder than my host family’s shower. The remainder of the night, Ian and I just talked about Peace Corps, past jobs, and life in general. I feel very fortunate to have been sent to him. For several reasons, including that he is genuinely a really good person, passionate and had a lot of advice for me regarding service. I definitely hope to keep in contact with him.
Now I must point out that what Ian and I did, was not a typical day in a volunteer’s life. Some people go their entire two years without riding a horse – much less for 8 hours in one day. This was only the 4th time that Ian had gone out to this community – but it is the site for his primary project. His project was focused on bettering their water system. Just a quick description: a very, very small trickle of water that goes into a natural trough. This is the only source of water for the entire community. As a result, they use it for everything. To bathe, to wash clothes, to cook, for the animals, etc. His project includes bettering this system to reduce contamination. I think his project is very ambitious (in terms of funding, etc.) but that he will get it done! It was very interesting to see how each volunteer will create and develop his/her own project. When he got to Los Limones he immediately saw the need for a water infiltration system. I immediately saw an opportunity to educate those children. This is such a great example of the different skills and knowledge that each volunteer has to offer a community.
After all was said and done, and we made it back to Cusmapa, I would have jumped right back on that horse the next day to see those children. This experience was one of the most challenging and rewarding ‘field trips’ of my life. On my way back home to El Rosario, I held back tears as I reflected on the enormity of this experience. I was overcome with almost a feeling of guilty, because of how much I have taken for granted in my life.
The next day Ian and I met up with a few other volunteers in Somoto (the capital of Madriz). We went to the cutest little brunch place with whole wheat bread, hummus, Swiss cheese, brie cheese, yoghurt and REAL coffee. That black coffee was heavenly. Here in Nicaragua, even if it is real coffee – they do equal parts sugar and coffee. It actually makes my teeth hurt. The food here was amazing and so cheap. It was a great way to end the entire trip. When we made it back to Managua – I actually had to go to the medical office, so I separated from the rest of the group; hence, the title of the next section.
Don’t let the bed bugs bite…
So I woke up in the middle of the night Tuesday to feel a few bumps on my stomach. I thought they were just random bug bites – and tried to go back to sleep. When I awoke at 4:30am the next morning to catch the bus with Ian, I soon realized many more than just a few bites/bumps on my body. They were now all over my stomach, forearms and back. I put some hydro-cortisone cream on it and tried to stay calm knowing I had a day of at least 7-10 hours of traveling ahead of me. Upon arriving in Esetli, I called the medical office in Managua to tell them what was going on. They suggested coming in for an appointment once I got to Managua. I really did not want to go, but figured this was not…normal. Got to the office around 3pm, meanwhile my rash had spread to my lower legs, neck and butt. More than one doctor came in to look at my Dalmatian looking body and they eventually said they didn’t know what it was and sent me to the hospital. Fabulous. I was well taken care of though- and ‘Don-Douglas’ aka the guy that does everything for the Peace Corps took me to the hospital where I saw a dermatologist. She said that it was allergic reaction to flea/insect bites. I determined that it was Ian’s bed – but it is a possibility that it was from the ‘bed’ in Los Limones also. I was very skeptical of this ‘allergy’ diagnosis, because they all looked like bites. PC booked me a hotel in Managua and told me to stay overnight. I said, “No.” I was out of clean clothes and all I wanted to do was shower and get back to my host-house. Anyway, I got two pills to take and one cream. I did feel well taken care of and I think that the medical care here is amazing. Anyway, today is Wednesday March 4th, 2009 and I am definitely a lot better. There are still a decent amount of bumps on my arms and hands. I am going to give it until Monday and if it is not completely better, I am going to return to the dermatologist. I think rashes are pretty difficult to diagnosis – and it really could have been anything. I guess I just want to make sure that there aren’t any bugs under my skin. Ha. I will keep you all up to date on that. I have been dealing pretty well with just accepting that medical conditions are just going to happen while I am here in Nicaragua.
Please see photos posted on facebook to get a visual of this ‘rash’. Ha
It is very difficult to believe that it has been over one month since I have seen you all. In some ways it feels light-years longer, and in others-like it was just yesterday. I miss you all so much… and I hope you know how often I think of you. This has been a very exciting week and I have a lot to share with you regarding my visit to Cusmapa…sooo let’s get started!
Transportation
Wow. What an experience this was. On Sunday morning, I and five other volunteers boarded a mini-bus to Managua (the capital city) around 7:00am. It took a little bit longer than anticipated and stopped frequently throughout the 1.5 hour ride. Right before our stop, the micro-bus pulled to the side. At first, I thought that someone had dropped something in the front seat – because they were all leaning down towards the floor. Turns out - they had retrieved a screwdriver and were trying to fix some type of mechanical dysfunction. Needless to say, we got out – and got into a taxi for the bus station. All six of us fit into the taxi, which was quite impressive. Within minutes of the bus station – our taxi was… pulled over. Didn’t even know they had ‘radar’ or any type of traffic police in Nicaragua – it was shocking. Apparently the policeman saw he had more than the ‘allowed capacity’ in the taxi and solely wanted to pull the poor guy over to solicit a pay-off. 40 cordobas – or 2 dollars…not too bad for corrupt police action.
We finally made it to the bus station – and ended up making the 8:45am bus to Somoto. The bus ride was generally smooth – only a few moments of terror during the three hours. I was actually able to sleep most of the ride and was sitting with Nico (one of the other volunteers) the whole ride up. After arriving in Somoto – I broke off from the rest of the group and waited about an hour and a half for the next bus up the mountain to Cusmapa. Words of advice from current Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) included: being very aggressive when getting on the bus. Boy, were they right. At 1:15pm the colorful school bus from the 80’s pulled up with a significant amount of people already on it. Before the bus was even in park, people were climbing in the emergency exit, shoving people out of their way, frantically trying to get on the bus. I may or may not have elbowed an old man and a little kid to get on the bus.
None the less, I made it on – but there was already standing room only. There was a teenager ‘saving a seat’ for someone – or just not trying to sit with anyone right next to me, and he eventually allowed me to sit down next to him. It was so crammed that I could barely reach into my purse – because of the lack of elbow room. Before heading up the mountain we stopped in various spots to pick up more people and more cargo. To fully explain what that bus ride is like – is impossible to anyone who has not experienced it. Blazing hot. Zero personal space (a woman (who was holding her child) had her butt leaning on my shoulder two out of the three hours). Animals were on board. Approximately 15-20 people on top of the bus. A LOT of bags/cargo. People that live up this mountain, especially in Cusmapa, are completely isolated from stores, food, etc. and therefore come to Somoto for all of these needs. Completely unpaved roads. And straight up that mountain.
The scenery was unbelievable and it was impossible to be bored during this right. Also, impossible to sleep. Bump. City. I made small talk with my seat buddy until his stop – and then spoke with a really nice guy my age that lives in Cusmapa and is studying Anthropolopy. Before I knew it – I had arrived in Cusmapa. I somehow got off the right bus stop in Cusmapa and Ian was there waiting for me! (They blow the horn for about 60 seconds straight to signify its arrival in town). The next part of my transportation began the next morning (Monday), but I feel that it needs its own section.
Save a Horse…
So. For the remainder of Sunday evening – Ian and I chatted about Peace Corps, his experience (challenges, etc.), and he attempted to prepare me for our adventure in the morning. He said that he, I, one doctor and two nurses would be venturing out to two rural communities. By horseback. I shared with him that I had never ridden a horse and that my resume consisted of Newark Labor Day and riding a mechanical bull in Orlando, Florida. He definitely seemed concerned and told me that the trails were very rough and that every time he had gone out to these communities, someone had fallen off their horse. Fabulous pep talk. I am not going to lie – I was scared as all hell and excited at the same time. Well we packed up the medicine – and I headed off into the unknown. Just getting on the horse was intimidating – but apparently watching ‘Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” dozens of times throughout my life really prepared me for this moment of my life. I mounted perfectly. Ha.
My first real event of horse riding would be winding through the mountains of Nicaragua – on paths that are impassible by anything but horse or walking, crossing a river, and staring over cliffs with nothing standing between me, my burro and the bottomless pits. I quickly bonded with my ‘burro’ (I am pretty sure it was a mule – hard to say for sure though) and he became my best friend for the next 36 hours. I am pretty positive that I had full-out conversations with him – encouraging him, thanking him for not killing me, the norm. He was incredibly sturdy – and enjoyed going at a slower pace. Match made in heaven. They put a lot of weight on my horse – to weigh him down of sorts. Believe it or not – my experience riding a mechanical bull in Orlando, Florida – proved to be very, very useful. It was sort of a crash course in horse-back riding. It’s all in the hips. So, thanks for making me do that Nicole. May have saved my life. Ha.
The paths were treacherous. Several times, we had to get off and walk the horses because it was so steep and dangerous. In total on Monday, I rode a horse for about 8 hours to get to Los Limones. Seriously – 8 hours. Just imagine for a moment how that feels on your tracero (bum). I would have to say that the scariest moment occurred when I looked behind me, to see one of the nurse’s horse fall. She fell off the horse and then the horse fell and landed on her leg. At first, they thought that the horse’s leg was broken – but he was able to get up and keep on truckin’. These trails were not legit by any means. In total between Monday and Tuesday, I rode my burro for over 13 hours. I am almost positive that is more time than I slept during those three days, combined. It is amazing how you find ways to adjust your body to alleviate the pressure on your backside. Nonetheless, I made it to our destination without any major incidents. I was actually quite impressed with myself considering the conditions of these paths. These ‘paths’ including passing over the Rio Negro (Black River), which was actually more rocks than water (it is the dry season here). During the rainy season (winter) this river is completely impassable and various towns are cut off from all resources for 5-6 months. Resources include any medical attention, at all. It was so difficult for me to fathom the fact that these towns had access to medical attention/medicine only three, maybe four times per year. Can you imagine? They live with parasites and diseases; use their own methods to heal cuts and scrapes.
The main reason for going out to these communities is to provide consults and weigh babies. The idea is that there are volunteers or “brigadistias” within the community that keep up with the baby weighing monthly – but this does not always prove to be effective. The point of weighing the babies is obviously to monitor their growth and provide information to the mothers about how to improve the nutrition of their children (most of them are underweight and breastfeeding is sometimes forgone for coffee). It is unbelievable the need for ‘basic’ knowledge about growth/nutrition in these communities. A lot has to do with how isolated they are and just cut off from all resources and a lot of knowledge. They have been living like this for generations and more importantly, they are seemingly very happy/content.
Los Limones
Los Limones is one of those isolated communities that I don’t think us as American’s can really even imagine. In total, there were 18 families living in this isolated, rural, rural community. No stores. No banks. No running water. No electricity. No school. Nada. Upon arriving in Los Limones – I was overwhelmed with pain in my backside and nervousness in speaking with a lot of people with my ‘intermediate-low’ Spanish skills. For the first half hour or so I quietly observed my second viewing of baby-weighing and smiled when people were obviously staring. I sat down next to a girl that looked about 16 years old and eventually introduced myself. Within minutes I was surrounded by at least 25 children. It was as though I was a fresh flower filled with nectar – and was being swarmed by bees. They asked me dozens of questions, including: what is your mom’s name, what is your dad’s name and where are you from? After playing twenty questions – it was then time for a talent show apparently. They asked me to sing, dance, and say really difficult words in Spanish so they could laugh at me. I don’t think they had ever seen a camera or photographs before, and therefore we took countless photos. They invited me to play kickball – and of course I jumped right in. The background to the game was a mountain range in Honduras. The view was unbelievable…I could have stared out there forever.
I forgot for a while that there was no electricity, no water, and that I had not eaten in hours. It was one of those moments in your life when you are completely carefree. I suppose it was a taste of the innocence that childhood beholds. So sweet. I eventually ate a few bites of a freshly made tortilla and utilized my flashlight (thanks Aunt Linda and Uncle Joe!), fire and the most beautiful stars I have ever seen for guides in the blackest of nights. In general, Nicaragua has the clearest, most beautiful skies I have observed in my twenty-four years. Essentially, I had formed a youth group in Los Limones within 45 minutes of arriving. It became very clear to me that to segue into any community is going to be through the youth. Prior to this trip I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to work with youth – but it is very evident that I have to work with youth. Even the volunteer that I went to go see mentioned something about it. I feel lucky to have that capacity to connect to children and will definitely utilize this when I get to my community in April.
I slept in one of the ‘beds’ in this adobe building that Ian, one nurse and I were offered to sleep in. The boys both slept in hammocks and graciously I was given the ‘bed’. It was the frame of a typical bed – but only had roped intertwined between each the boards to hold me up. I slept with three shirts, a fleece and a sleeping bag due to the temperature. As people go to bed as the sun goes down when there is an absence of electricity – they also awake as the sun rises. Also, the adobe that I was sleeping in also served as the school for all of the children of the community. So as I awoke, children were entering for ‘class.’ For breakfast, I was served frijoles, tortillas and some sort of meat. I later discovered that it was chopped up pig. Skin, bones – everything. Oh, and hair. Apparently when they kill the pig they are supposed to singe off all of the hair – but essentially I ate hairy pig (while a live pig was less than 5 feet from me staring at me eat his sister). Bon Appétit! Shortly after, I decided I had been waiting too long – it was time to use the bathroom. Did I mention there are no bathrooms in Los Limones? Yea. So basically for the first time I found an arbole (tree) somewhat hidden in the forest and ‘bonded.’ Thankfully I had brought tissues – but it was an experience nonetheless.
After eating, I helped the children with some of their math work and then played one more game of kickball. Upon taking the last sip of one of the liter size bottles of water I had brought – a few of the girls were staring at me (or so I thought). Upon inquiring what they were looking at – I realized they were admiring the empty plastic bottle. One of the girls told me that it was incredibly beautiful – and I asked her if she would like to have it? She acted as though it was too nice of a gift, but I insisted and she eventually accepted. As she held onto it tightly and all of the other children gathered around to look at this recyclable– I had to take a moment to really take it all in. What different worlds we had been given – and yet we were so alike; the beauty of humanity. This to me is why I did the Peace Corps. It is quite different to read about these kinds of communities in Time magazine or view specials on Oprah – than to actually experience it firsthand. To sum it up in one word – humbling.
As I began to pack up my belongings and load up our horses – I started to fill with emotions regarding leaving these children, this town. It was hard to differentiate whether these feelings were due to saying goodbye or getting back on a horse. Probably both. The children all asked if I would ever return – and all I was able to say was maybe. In my heart – I would love to, but I did not want to make an empty promise. Several of them hugged me and then it was mount time again. The ride back was very hot – but I decided that I might as well get a tan while I was riding a horse for 5-6 hours. So while everyone else covered every inch of their skin and wore hats – I rolled up my sleeves and baked. Oh. Also – one way to prove to you all that I am still the Amanda you know and love: I took several pictures of myself while riding through these mountains (just like I would while driving/using the bathroom at a bar, etc.). As we got closer and closer to returning to Cusmapa , I became more and more proud of myself. This trip was so incredibly physically draining – but also emotionally draining. I imagine it is a lot like a marathon run – moments when you don’t feel your body at all, moments when you don’t think you can go any further, and a moment of triumph when completing something so much bigger than yourself.
After paying the renter’s fee for the horses – I took my first shower of the trip, and by far 10 times colder than my host family’s shower. The remainder of the night, Ian and I just talked about Peace Corps, past jobs, and life in general. I feel very fortunate to have been sent to him. For several reasons, including that he is genuinely a really good person, passionate and had a lot of advice for me regarding service. I definitely hope to keep in contact with him.
Now I must point out that what Ian and I did, was not a typical day in a volunteer’s life. Some people go their entire two years without riding a horse – much less for 8 hours in one day. This was only the 4th time that Ian had gone out to this community – but it is the site for his primary project. His project was focused on bettering their water system. Just a quick description: a very, very small trickle of water that goes into a natural trough. This is the only source of water for the entire community. As a result, they use it for everything. To bathe, to wash clothes, to cook, for the animals, etc. His project includes bettering this system to reduce contamination. I think his project is very ambitious (in terms of funding, etc.) but that he will get it done! It was very interesting to see how each volunteer will create and develop his/her own project. When he got to Los Limones he immediately saw the need for a water infiltration system. I immediately saw an opportunity to educate those children. This is such a great example of the different skills and knowledge that each volunteer has to offer a community.
After all was said and done, and we made it back to Cusmapa, I would have jumped right back on that horse the next day to see those children. This experience was one of the most challenging and rewarding ‘field trips’ of my life. On my way back home to El Rosario, I held back tears as I reflected on the enormity of this experience. I was overcome with almost a feeling of guilty, because of how much I have taken for granted in my life.
The next day Ian and I met up with a few other volunteers in Somoto (the capital of Madriz). We went to the cutest little brunch place with whole wheat bread, hummus, Swiss cheese, brie cheese, yoghurt and REAL coffee. That black coffee was heavenly. Here in Nicaragua, even if it is real coffee – they do equal parts sugar and coffee. It actually makes my teeth hurt. The food here was amazing and so cheap. It was a great way to end the entire trip. When we made it back to Managua – I actually had to go to the medical office, so I separated from the rest of the group; hence, the title of the next section.
Don’t let the bed bugs bite…
So I woke up in the middle of the night Tuesday to feel a few bumps on my stomach. I thought they were just random bug bites – and tried to go back to sleep. When I awoke at 4:30am the next morning to catch the bus with Ian, I soon realized many more than just a few bites/bumps on my body. They were now all over my stomach, forearms and back. I put some hydro-cortisone cream on it and tried to stay calm knowing I had a day of at least 7-10 hours of traveling ahead of me. Upon arriving in Esetli, I called the medical office in Managua to tell them what was going on. They suggested coming in for an appointment once I got to Managua. I really did not want to go, but figured this was not…normal. Got to the office around 3pm, meanwhile my rash had spread to my lower legs, neck and butt. More than one doctor came in to look at my Dalmatian looking body and they eventually said they didn’t know what it was and sent me to the hospital. Fabulous. I was well taken care of though- and ‘Don-Douglas’ aka the guy that does everything for the Peace Corps took me to the hospital where I saw a dermatologist. She said that it was allergic reaction to flea/insect bites. I determined that it was Ian’s bed – but it is a possibility that it was from the ‘bed’ in Los Limones also. I was very skeptical of this ‘allergy’ diagnosis, because they all looked like bites. PC booked me a hotel in Managua and told me to stay overnight. I said, “No.” I was out of clean clothes and all I wanted to do was shower and get back to my host-house. Anyway, I got two pills to take and one cream. I did feel well taken care of and I think that the medical care here is amazing. Anyway, today is Wednesday March 4th, 2009 and I am definitely a lot better. There are still a decent amount of bumps on my arms and hands. I am going to give it until Monday and if it is not completely better, I am going to return to the dermatologist. I think rashes are pretty difficult to diagnosis – and it really could have been anything. I guess I just want to make sure that there aren’t any bugs under my skin. Ha. I will keep you all up to date on that. I have been dealing pretty well with just accepting that medical conditions are just going to happen while I am here in Nicaragua.
Please see photos posted on facebook to get a visual of this ‘rash’. Ha
And much more
I have a lot more to tell you all, but I want to finish this blog up so I can post something new for you all today. In 12 days we will be receiving our site placements!!! I am so, so very excited to find out where I will be living for the next two years. I decided my ‘ideal’ site is a medium to small sized town, with access to rural communities, focus on HIV/Youth, in the mountains and access to fruits and veggies. Ha. I could get the total opposite – but we shall see! I am feeling pretty flexible and open regarding my site – with the only exception being that I do not want a huge site (one site has over 300,000 people)! Tomorrow I have my last interview with the woman, Pilar, who decides which site we go to and also my language interview so determine if I have improved at all. Here’s hoping…
To say that I miss my parents is the biggest understatement possible. I MISS YOU SO MUCH!!! I feel so lucky that I was able to spend so much time with you before I left, but at the same time – it makes it a little harder now without you. You two truly are my motivation, my strength…my heroes. Your selfless acts throughout my life have been the best examples I will ever witness of service, commitment and kindness. You embody the Peace Corps values and raised me to accept everyone in this world as a human, a person before any race, religion or ethnicity. I am so lucky and so thankful to have you behind me during these two years – I hope you know how much I appreciate you.
Thank you to everyone who has continued to support me during this transition time into my new life here in Nicaragua. Your e-mails, letters and messages mean 100 times more than you can even imagine!
I will write more about the possible sites in my next blog! I love you all so much <3