Not really sure why I am choosing this moment in time to start to write again but I am. I realized how much I missed writing and having a platform to be able to share my thoughts and stories. I … Continue reading →

While I was home visiting my family, I played basketball with my little brother only to lose to him for the first time EVER. In the midst of this loss, I also hurt my knee, dont know how it happened, but it began to hurt and has continued to hurt for the past two weeks. [...]

I got back to Nicaragua after visiting my family for Passover and after a tiring 4 hour sleep, I got up to go visit my Nica family in Masatepe for the annual Good Friday “Running of the Jews”. Note…there is no proper translation in Spanish. My family had already told me about this event and [...]

I officially have six months left of my Peace Corps service. I have enjoyed almost every minute of it and have grown a lot as a person during these past two and a half years in Central America. I owe much of that development to the people of Guatemala and Nicaragua. I now have a [...]

What exactly is the ultimate goal of Peace Corps? Is the gran meta (as they say it español) world peace as the name Peace Corps implies? Is it improving relationships between the people of the United States and other countries? Is it actually to help others to meet their own personal and societal goals? Or [...]

Over one month has passed since I have last written or posted anything to this blog. 2009, one of the more interesting years in my short life, has left us making way for a new decade. 2010 surely has already made its mark, effectively destroying the most impoverished country on this side of the hemisphere. [...]

It is Christmas season and I am sitting in the middle of capitalism hell. That’s right folks… I am in the United States of America, state of Florida, city of Ft. Lauderdale, and sitting down in a mall food court surrounded by the heavenly stores of Super Target, TJ Maxx, and Old Navy. Most that [...]

So what else have I been doing? This past Friday, November 20, school officially ended. The official end of school was supposed to be November 27 but in typical Nicaraguan beauracracy, it was decided on November 10 to cut the last week of school. In reality I am in favor of this decision as I was [...]

Blanca Melissa Saenz is an intelligent, hard working, humble 15-year-old student from a rural community in between the Nicaraguan cities of Granada and Masaya. She, along with many of her classmates, sometimes walks over an hour in the midday heat just to get to and from Bertha Pacheco high school where I teach. Most of [...]

Long delay….I know. I am going to update you first on my sad current situation and then go backwards. Stay tuned this week as there should be a lot of posts. October 28, 2009, 3pm. I felt at peace, I felt proud, I just plain felt good. Earlier that morning, the ten best student businesses from [...]

Just wanted to wish all the Jews out there a lshana tovah, happy new year. I had a good Rosh Hashana weekend that started and finished with lots of food and had a UF-UT football game sandwiched in between. I also took the plunge and decided to get cable for my house! So now I [...]

If you add together a siblings reunion in Nicaragua, a cleanup of Lake Cocibolca (or Lake Nicaragua), lots of basketball, bulls running wild through Granada’s streets, lots of homework, and the start of two new business consults, you would equal what was my last few weeks here. And I believe it is a very worthy [...]

The rain has definitely picked up over the last few weeks and it seems that hardly a day goes by where there isn’t a quick downpour. It actually reminds me quite a bit of Jacksonville, Florida during the summer months. However, when it rains here, almost all activity stops as daily life is practiced [...]

Get a rebound. Get back on defense. Hands up. You can’t run with the ball. Pass it, pass it, pass it…pleeease. For those of you who have ever coached or played basketball before, these commands should sound very familiar. In the past few weeks, I have been able to learn all of these expressions in [...]

Due to some ongoing maintenance and recurring issues within avirichman.com you will have noticed a lack of information recently flowing from these pages of milk and honey. All I can say is please disculparme and carryon with previously scheduled daily activities. I know that avirichman.com may be an adventurous escape from the daily boredom of [...]

A few weeks back, a relatively common day, I think a Wednesday, came and went, nothing unusual happened. However, this seemingly regular ole’ Wednesday was anything but; it was actually the halfway point of my 27 months of service in Nicaragua. Writing to you today, I have now spent 14 and one-half months in Nicaragua! [...]