I had good intentions to post, it has been on my to-do list for several months now…but, no excuses. Here’s a recap of what I’ve been up to, in no particular order… 1. Pizza making: I’ve been cooking a lot more, making pizza, mango pie, samoas and curries among other things. Finally got a gas [...]

I forget that my site gets hot, I suppose it was like this when I first got here last year. Semana Santa is approaching and people are heading to the beach. I like spring, things finally start to dry out. PLUS we are that much closer to being a year into service. The health group [...]

In Managua, on my out of town for trivia night! Just gave a training session to the new Health group that arrived at the end of January. It was fun meeting everyone and being one of the ‘big kids.’ Last weekend Danielle and I went back to our training town for the fiestas. Bonded with the [...]

We had the first meeting of the year with our community health leaders. They are responsible for referring pregnant women to the Casa Materna, weight monitoring for young children, giving talks on preventative health measures and basically serving as the Ministry of Health liaison to the rural communities. If there is a pregnant woman whose [...]

I’m back in San Juan, missing vacation already, the cold weather front seems to have dipped all the way down here. Missing the beach and scuba, can’t wait to go again (although that might have to be after I marry a Rockefeller). It was great to see Angela and have our ‘bonding time.’ We didn’t [...]

December has been nothing but pura Purisima. Like most Nicaraguan celebrations it has an official start and end day but continues to linger on weeks after that. First off, let me say that I love Purisima, otherwise known as the celebration of the immaculate conception of Christ. It is only celebrated in Nicaragua and from [...]

If we didn’t get a chance to talk to over Thanksgiving, Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I missed you all. After 24 years, I can finally definitively declare that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. An abundance of food, family, lots of thanks-giving and purely American – what’s not to love? Although, I missed the family (and the football) [...]

AVC is exactly what it states, a conferences for all the volunteers and it was easily the best Peace Corps event I have been too. The theme was food security (clearly an important topic in a draught year), there was a strong cross sectoral focus, networking opportunities with NGOs, and professional development sessions. In short, [...]

Here’s your Spanish lesson for the day (and a lengthy anecdotal explanation of my favorite Nica expression): Barbaridad – Literally translated to English it means ‘barbarity’   1. Savage brutality or cruelty in actions or conduct.2. A cruel or savage act.3.  Crudity; coarseness. See barbarism. But in Spanish it often just denotes  ’surprize or  rejection’: Que barbaridad!  What barbarity! Eggs went [...]

Students firebomb Assembly, Protests this weekend NY Times article about the ruling Tica Times A dollar a day - how the global economic crisis is affecting Nicaragua

October – very good month. very productive. very happy. November – less good month. not very productive. happiness TBD. I am always amazed about how quickly things can turn here. One day everything is great, the next day… Lets focus on the positive… San Juan hosted its first annual coffee cooperative fair. I spent most of last week decorating [...]

I was laying in my hammock reading a Nicaraguan paper the other day when I came across an article about another town in my department – Starvation Eminent – the headline read. El Nino is back and there is widespread drought in the rest of the country. The harvest is starting and crops are failing. [...]

Nicaraguan’s love their holidays. Every week it seems like there is another parade, street fair, king and queen of X festival. It’s not that we don’t have these same holidays in the States, it’s just that we don’t really celebrate them. Imagine if every Transportation Workers Recognition day, Tuberculosis Awareness Week, and the anniversary of [...]

It’s taken me a week to scounge up 5$ to make photo copies. First I asked the Casa de Adolecente, then the health center. They told me they couldn’t fund this at the local level, so I would have to ask the departmental administrator. I waited for a couple days for a response from the [...]

I started reading a good book – What is the What by David Eggers. It’s a memoir from one of the lost boys of Sudan and as one would assume a very intense book. The book gets its title from a Dinka creation story (the Dinka are a Sudanese tribe). In the story, after God [...]

Summer in Minnesota, Winter in Nicaragua. It’s cold and rainy and I miss you all. But overall, things are good. Here are my updates: I have been working more with the youth group in the community of San Lucas. They are one of our only self sustaining youth clubs, but they still could use [...]

I am taking a break from grading exams to write this blog. I got through 6 and I couldn’t take it anymore. My poor little 5 grade guinea pigs are so confused, and I don’t blame them. On one hand these are fairly advanced themes for elementary school students – self esteem, communication, sexuality. On [...]

I have been in site for almost 3 months and things are slowly and inconsistently feeling more comfortable. I am making friends, it’s a very hospitable culture and most people spend a significant portion of their days just passing the time with their neighbors, family and friends. I still feel like there is so much [...]

Just in time for the New Year, I have a new direction! Peace Corps, take two. For those of you out of the loop, this will be my second attempt. I first left for Nicaragua in September 2008, only to break my leg within the first few weeks of training and be sent home (Note [...]