Livin da Life

Ahhh... time is flying by. It has already been three weeks and I am already looking at the end of training. I guess that is a little premature since I still have 7 more weeks, but I only have one more week in my training site until I get to go live with a volunteer for a week and then it will be the beginning of week 6. I know I am getting ahead of myself, but that is what keeps me sane. Either way I struggle with the concept everyday that I feel like so much time has passed and I dont know if that means time is moving or staying still. It literally feels like I have been here for months and I sure hope that is a positive thing.

Other than worrying about time, I have been getting into a steady grove. I taught my first class this week to a 5th grade of 45 students. I have never had such a large class and it was pretty intimidating. It is ridiculous when the room is packed to the brim with kids, there is no room to move, and I have to teach in Spanish. Basically I had to teach the kids about the similarities and differences of plant and animal cells. Luckily for me it was a very basic lesson, but I think it was sucessful with my two elegant drawings and a dinamica of papa caliente.

Hmm... my youth group is still going very well. We met this week on Monday and Tuesday and the kids are still very eager to come. If anything I learned never to have a meeting on Friday evening. Not because of the kids, but it is always after one of our charlas and it is usually when we all go out. So, I had to cut short my drinking at the Catarina Mirador to head back and conduct my youth group. It was a lot of fun, and probably better than me sitting around and talking english all night. We played capture the flag in the central park and it was hilarious to see all the local reactions to a bunch of gringos sprinting around.

So this weekend I have to plan my next class with my maestra and other than that I am free. I am excited because even though this is a free weekend I am actually busy. My mom's mother died six months ago and we have to go to a mass for her and later I got invited to a cousins 15th birthday in a nearby city. it doesnt end there, on Sunday I am going to Masaya, the regions capital for La Ipica. It is basically a huge parade where horses dance and supposed to be pretty ridiculous. I am also pumped because I am hopefully going to the beach in Catarina with the family in the morning.

The big news I have is that I bought a phone. You can call whenever you want and my number is 011+505+8382-8336

Masatepino

So it is official, I am a Masatepino. I feel like I am really a part of the community here. Sure I am just a gringo, but I can now walk down the street and recognize familiar faces, stop on people´s porches to talk, and have a normal routine of going to the gym or going for a run. It is weird to think that I am starting to live a normal life in a different country, a third world country at that.

As a Peace Corps trainee my life has been revolving around our weekly charlas ¨talks¨and class. My usual schedule is that I wake up around 5 o´clock thanks to the crying of my dog and the annoying honking of the buses that like to announce they are passing. I go to the gym where my trainer gives me some unheard of training schedule and I work out until about 710. After that it is a sprint back to the house, bucket shower, eat some beans and rice, then rush out the door at 745 to meet my other Peace Corps trainee and we are off to pick up the third. We have to travel in a pack because our class is of course in the most dangerous part of town and they dont want to girl walking down alone. Well back to the schedule, we are in class from 8-12 and then it is back home for an hour lunch which is more beans and rice. From there we have a technical session in the afternoon which usually involves trying to find jovenes to join our youth group or teaching a class from 1-3. Finally around the end of the day we are left with either our youth group meetings on Monday and Thursday or just left to relax when I usually go over to my sister´s Panderia to work and just talk with the customers. It is a nice schedule that is broken up on Wednesday when we have technical charlas in Managua or other cities and security briefings. And on Friday and Saturday when we of course have more charlas and get shot up by the doctors.

It is a good life that doesn´t always make sense. I complain during the week that I am often stressed out, but it is then followed by periods at night or on the weekends when I have absolutely nothing to do. I was originally stressed out about the sucess of my youth group and our joint venture to construct a garden, but the results have been unbelievable. We have a steady group of 13 jovenes everytime and our garden is a full 5x8 meters on a corner of farm land that a local let us use. I will try and post pictures, but each joven worked so hard and it is amazing what you can do with some sacos ¨large bags¨and manual labor.

Other than that I am about to start week 3 of training and that means I start teaching. I met with my coteacher today and it was not as intimidating as I expected. After observing a class the previous week I expected to be berated and under appreciated. However, the teacher welcomed me into her house and was very eager to participate in helping me prepare the lesson. So this Tuesday I will be teaching my first class in Spanish to a group of 28 5th graders about the difference and similarities of plant and animal cells. It should be fun and I have already begun planning a lesson that involves a game of hot potato, building puzzles, and learning new vocab.

Also on the plate is that we are going to introduce ourselves to the Alcadia this week and try and form some relationships with the government. As most of you would expect this is not likely to go anywhere. As with most countries local governments drag their feet and are likely to be less than impressed with some gringos showing up.

I will do my best to keep you posted on what is happening here and hopefully I will have some more exciting stories than me just doing my normal workload. I am starting to meet some friends and they have plans to take me all around Nicaragua, but who knows if that will ever go anywhere.

Living it up in Masatepe

So this blog business is much harder than I thought it was going to be. I promised to update it like a journal and to let you all know about what has been happening. Well, it has been a week and I have not written anything since before I left. So much has gone on and I would swear that I have already been here for months. Another disclaimer, I am using a smaller keyboard that has a different setup so dont be surprised for the many typos and lack of punctuation.

Where to start, it has only been 11 days, but each one is so packed with its own amount of craziness and odd happenings. For one thing, before we even arrived in Nicaragua we ran into our fair share of problems. We had to wake up at the god awful hour of 2 in the morning to catch our flight from DC to Miami. Well, we did wake up and got to the airport before it even opened. We ended up waiting 3 hours to catch our 630 flight. To make matters even worse, we were all pumped to be meeting the new Peace Corps director, Aaron Williams, but instead we were treated with a 4 hour delay at the Miami airport. So finally we touched down in Managua about 5 hours behind schedule, but we were met by the country director and a sworm of current volunteers. It felt like I was being welcomed into a brotherhood where we all care and look out for each other. We were shuttled out to our compound, but without one vital detail... our luggage.

What trip is complete without a dose of trouble. Not only were we stuck in an airport for hours, but the airline lost our luggage. I immediately had flashbacks to Barcelona, but we were all in high spirits and didnt seem to matter.

For the next few days we were locked down in a compound outside of Managua. It was a smooth tranisition and we were put through our share of government hoops. We were tested in our Spanish, given shots, interviewed, filled out paperwork, sat through lectures, and did group activities. It however was not without its rewards, we eventually did get to meet Aaron Williams and it was an hour. He was very nice and supportive towards the Peace Corps. He promised that President Obama was aware of our service and commitment and that we were doing something great for the country. I was proud to be in his company and it helped me feel more secure of what I was embarking on.

I know that I am skipping over many crucial parts, but I have already written several emails and in my journal and it is difficult to keep repeating all that is happening. Even harder is that I am doing so much in each day I cant keep track of it.

One thing I wont forget was leaving the compound on Friday. The environment group all left in a small caravan of 3 Range Rovers. We were cruising south towards Masatepe and dropping off other volunteers along the way. The simple task that was supposed to take about 2 hours quickly turned into an all day ordeal and I finally got to my town around 8pm. I was nervous to meet my family, but right as I stepped out of the truck my mom was outside to greet me. -she was very warm and friendly and I got to meet my new 6year old brother, Andres, my older sister Hilda and my little puppy Nena. My house is right on the corner near the entrance to town and my other sister has a clothing shop right in our front room. Another interesting fact is that Hilda is a teacher at the high school but also works at the bakery across the street with her brother Gonzalo.

So my normal schedule during the week is that I wake up around 6 and meet up with my two other trainees to go for a morning run. We have time to shower and get ready for our 8 oclock class at one of their houses and we are there each day until noon. I have an hour to eat lunch back at my familys house and then I head back to either the school or around town for technical training from 1 to 3. It is a busy day and current volunteers say that training is the most difficult part of their service. I definitely feel stressed trying to assimilate to the culture here and meanwhile trying to organize a youth group, build a garden, teach a class, and improve my Spanish.

Some fun things that I have already done here is that I went to the circus with my family on Tuesday night. It was exciting because it was a big attraction for the circus to come to town and i have never been to one before. The tent was packed with a large line waiting outside. Somehow we were able to force our way inside and not only avoid being cramped with everyone else, but be able to sit in the inner circle for the show. The only problem was the circus was kind of sad. It was pretty boring with some lame clowns, sad looking animals, and a boring host. It was big for its experience, but I know I wouldnt go again.

What else? I joined a gym and I am going each evening with my cousin down the street. It really isnt much of gym but it is cheap, about 2 dollars a week. Imagine someones front room stripped of all the furniture and some old rusty weights put in its place. Now, imagine the walls painted crazy neon colors with some poorly drawn pictures to boot. Okay, to compliment all that there are holes in the wall where weights were obviously thrown and the tiled floors are broken from dropped weights. It really is a funny setting but a great way to meet new people. Also I am determined to not put on weight like most volunteers do.

Now I know that this is getting long, but there has been so much happening here in my life. I will try and update this a little more frequently so they are not this drawn out but who knwos how much I will be able to get to a computer. I hope all is well in the states and I know these next two years will fly by.

As I have now gone through the process I would recommend observing the packing limit. I definitely had the most stuff out of the guys and a lot of it isnt necessary. All you really need are about a week or two worth of clothes and a flashlight. I am glad I have most of my things, but you really can get whatever you want here in Nicaragua. As for traveling around the country, it is going to take a while and isnt what I imagined. The Peace Corps especially during training is a lot of work and I doubt I will be going anywhere anytime soon.