I can hardly believe it, but here I am again at the beginning of a new school year here in Nicaragua. Only this time, I know the people I’m working with, where the schools are, and what Peace Corps expects of me. I know the students’ names (most of them) and I have a fairly [...]
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It’s kind of overwhelming, but all I can think about lately is what other kinds of projects I want to do in my community in the next year. It’s difficult to believe that I only have a year left. In most ways it feels so short. I can’t believe that I of all people would [...]
So the school year is winding down. Officially, it’s supposed to last until the end of the November, but it’s clear that the teachers are wrapping things up and preparing for review and final exams. We celebrated the national Independence Day the 14th and 15th, which meant that the whole week was slotted as vacation [...]
September 2nd marked one year in country for me and the 17 other volunteers that remain in my group. We had lost two people from our original 20, one in training and one during service. To celebrate completing a year, we decided to go to the Sunday brunch at the Intercontinental hotel in Managua, and let me [...]
It’s taken me this entire week, but I think I am finally getting back into the swing of things here in Nicaragua. It really helps to be around other focused volunteers, because who wants to be known as the slacker? I have a ton of things to look forward to as well, which I will [...]
This has been a fairly hard week, what with adjusting myself back into Nicaraguan life – a life without maids to come and make your bed, without air conditioning, without all you can eat buffets with homemade bread and REAL butter. I’ve been doing so much traveling this month and attending so many different conferences [...]
Well, it has once again been far too long since I updated the blog, but here I am finally sitting down to do it. I’ll give a little run down of what’s happened since I wrote last: I had dengue fever; Alex (my cousin) and his girlfriend Caitlin came to Nicaragua, my wallet was stolen [...]
There has been a lot going on so I don’t even know where to begin! Life has just been trucking along week to week. I visit each of my schools once a week, where I’m still observing and getting to know the teachers. Only a few act like they really trust me and want to [...]
I don’t even know where to begin, I feel like so much has happened. It’s been a long time since I’ve written so I’m going to try to sum up life a little bit without writing a novel. We’ll see how it goes!
First, I’ve started working in my schools. Just as a reminder, the schools [...]
So, as you all can tell by my lack of entries, there hasn’t been a whole lot going on. This is how my day usually goes: I drag myself out of bed around 9, knowing that I have nothing to do all day thereby making it hard to get out of bed. I do a [...]
I moved into my new house for good on Sunday, and so far everything has been great. My host mom’s cousin brought the horse and cart from the farm to help me move my stuff, which was really nice because it only took two trips instead of a thousand. It’s amazing that I only came [...]
Christmas passed fairly uneventfully here. Nicaraguans technically celebrate on the 24th, although both the 24th and 25th were feriado (federal holiday). I went to the farm with my host family on the 24th and we cooked all day over the campfire-type stove they had set up. What they have for every special occasion is called [...]
I’m not really sure what to write about, since not too much has been going on. Since I arrived at my site 3 weeks ago, I have rested, sat around, watched movies, taken naps, had some 3-hour long conversations (which takes some skill because normally I run out of small talk in Spanish after about [...]
It feels like forever since I have written, and that a lot had happened, but really it’s not too much. I moved into my new host family’s house in Villa Dolores, and now I am sweating ALL the time. It’s kind of gross and I still need to buy a fan! It’s so weird when [...]
So, I realized that there are many things here in Nicaragua that I have observed and thought were strange, but have since moved on and accepted as facts of life. However, upon further reflection I came to the conclusion that I should share these with my family and friends as well, so that you all [...]
I hardly know where to begin. The past 5 days have probably been the most nerve-wracking of my life, and I know I need to get it all down on paper before I forget anything. So here it goes…the site visit chronicle begins.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
I got up at 5:30am to make the trek to [...]
So. The big one. Without further ado, I would like to announce that I will be serving my 2 years innnnnn…..
VILLA DOLORES, CHINANDEGA!
I found out on Wednesday, and needless to say I was a little shocked. Chinandega and Leon are the hottest departments (states) in Nicaragua, so in my interview when I said, “Absolutely do [...]
A week from today we will be finding out our sites, or in other words, where we will be living and working for the next 2 years. There are 4 departments (states) that are available: Chinandega, Leon, Matagalpa and Boaco. My favorite sites, and where I think I will be going, are in Matagalpa. Today [...]
One thing I have been thinking about a lot the past few days is the lack of people here that are like me. I mean, we all have decided to give 2 years of our life to the Peace Corps. We all are in Nicaragua, learning Spanish and working toward technical, job-related goals. But in [...]
Wow. There is so much to talk about regarding the volunteer visit that I just returned from, so I will try to keep it short but I don’t make any promises. I’ll start at the beginning: 6 of the trainees were headed to Chinandega, so we all met in Masatepe at 7am to begin our [...]
Life has actually been quiet here, believe it or not. I have fallen into a routine of getting up early, going going going all day long, and collapsing to sleep at 8 or 9pm. All that is about to change tomorrow, though, as we embark on our volunteer visits! We will finally get to see [...]
So I broke down and bought a Nicaraguan cell phone. It works like a TracPhone, so I’m not locked into minutes like a plan in the US. I can reload it when I need to and let it go when I don’t. So anyways, feel free to call me if you don’t mind the charge! [...]
So yesterday (Monday) I taught for the first time ever. The only experience I have with teaching personally is observing and helping out in classrooms, but even that is really minimal. The charla we had on Friday was on lesson planning, and I really liked the girl that taught it. She’s getting ready for COS [...]
SO much has happened in the last week or so since I updated that I don’t know how much I will be able to write before my battery dies, but I’m going to do my best! Last Thursday, we observed classes at the elementary school where we will be teaching during training. Our school is [...]
Since I am just today (9/9/09) getting the chance to upload these to my blog, I put the date I wrote them in the title so not to confuse anyone. I’ll probably keep doing it this way because then I can type at night when I have time, rather than sitting in a cyber (internet [...]
Wow! So much has happened over the last few days. Sunday was a very relaxing day, and we just hung out around the house most of the time. I did some of my homework (which was nothing compared to what we have coming up) we ate and sat around and talked. I took a rest [...]
So I guess I’ll start at the beginning. We had staging in DC at the Washington Plaza hotel, a very nice place might I add. It’s kind of ironic because here we are, about to embark on a 2-year stint of poverty, with minimal electricity and running water, and they put us up in a [...]
i just received my staging info, and had a minor freak out. apparently i don’t have to be there until 1pm on tuesday, september 1st, which is nice. that gives me an extra day for packing, buying last minute things, & generally getting my life together. here’s the schedule:
NICARAGUA Staging Event
Washington Plaza,
10 Thomas Circle, NW, [...]
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