Chaguite is the community that I frequent the most and that I know the best. It´s the only community with a health post in it, run my Marisabel, a nurse(actually, I think she´s still in training).

Here are a few photos from Chaguite... -the health post-Katty, one of the girls I´m hoping to make a youth promotor, and another girl standing on top of the Sirena or waterfall-view from the poza or swimming well of the waterfall-a pozo or well where people also wash their clothes and even shower sometimes. Most wells in the communities use a pump, but there are some that use a pail.-the boys are Andy, Kenneth, and Jefferson, the nephews and son of Marisabel standing in front of part of the primary school

After a week of Dengue, a week of fabulous vacationing with my family, I am finally back in Yalagüina. Dad pointed out to me there are things here that are so different from the US, but I haven´t written about them because I´m so acustumbrada or used to them.

1. Chickens EVERYWHERE. People just let their chickens and roosters roam the streets. I´m guessing they eventually get home.

2. Also, other animals are all along the side of the road. On my walk to work, I pass this lonely donkey tied up to a tree off the side of the highway, then I´ll see a horse, and finally a bunch of cows. All in a 15 min walk from the center of town to my health center.

3. Multiple people on one bike. Fairly come to see a mom, dad, and one or two kids all on the same bike. Or two men. I mean, what are you going to do when you have 1 bike, no money for the bus, and need to get the family in to see the doctor? And Yalagüina is not a flat area. Major props to the pedaler.

4. People with no teeth. My favorite Nica colleague, a brigadista or community health worker in Chaguite, has one front tooth and some molars. And that´s it. It´s not as common as you think, but definitely more common than in the states.

5. Not sure if I´ve mentioned the poropos or catcalls yet. Even in Yalgüina, where most people know me, at least by face, I still get them. Adiosssssss, mi amor, chelita(white girl), preciosa, muñeca(doll), guapa(beautiful), and the hissing noise they also use with cattle. Normally I can offset it by saying "Adios" first(what you say in passing another person), but then the "men" will just say it to my back. Real strong guys.

·Pictures Pending·

Well, I now know what it's like to have a tropical disease. Yes, I have Dengue. For those that don't know, Dengue is a viral disease passed by mosquitoes. Unlike malaria mosquitoes, Dengue mosquitoes bite during the day, so even though I sleep every night under a mosquito net, still got it.

I got a fever a week ago and on the fifth day of the fever, a huge rash appeared on my whole body. That was the biggest clue that it wasn't just a normal fever. After some random skin tests and an official blood test, I was officially diagnosed with Dengue. Honestly, it hasn't been that bad. The first weekend was HORRIBLE, but I also had parasites at the same time, making it difficult to sleep because the first half of the night I'd be up because my body was too hot from the fever, and the second half my stomach was in pain. After suffering for 5 days in Yalaguina, my fever went away and I came to Managua. Even though I felt mostly fine(just pretty weak), the Peace Corps doctors wanted to monitor me while my platelet count went down and then back up. I got medically cleared yesterday with a good level of platelets, so I'm all ready to welcome my parents.... TOMORROW!

Since my language level wasn't as high as it should be, I had to go back to language training for a week(along with all but 2 of my whole group). Training took place in the department of Masaya, where we lived with host families in the different municipalities. Along with the same girls with whom I had classes in Jinotepe, I was in San Juan del Oriente, famous for its ceramics. Masaya as a department in general is famous for its artisan works. From July 12-July 15, we had class 8-12, 1-4, just like training, except this time I only had class with my friend Kate. Our favorite instructor from training, Rossy, was our teacher this week, which was amazing. Learned all about the imperative of subjunctive and its many uses.

During the week, we took advantage of our location to explore Masaya a bit. I'd already been to the city, so we got to know the other areas. As part of our afternoon classes, Kate and I interviewed different artisans in town and observed them doing their work. Kate's host family did intricate painting on their ceramic pieces and mine did more commercialized work that they then took to Costa Rica to sell. But our favorite San Juan artisan was Jose Ortiz, an artist who has had exhibits all over the world. In San Juan, he revolutionized the ceramics industry by diverging from the universal and classic style. He explored new figure styles and color schemes. His work was really beauitful and we were really lucky he shared all his experiences with us.

With my host family and Kate, I went to the Laguna de Apoyo, a lagoon that is in the inside of a volcano crater. Rather than paying lots of money to go stay at a hostel or eat at a tourist restaurant, we drove down to the water in my host uncle's pickup truck and sat on the edge. The Laguna is shallow around the edges with a sharply dropping deep center. Definitely a to-go-to place in Nicaragua.

The next day, I walked to the Mirador or Lookout in Catarina, the municipality next to San Juan. From the Mirador, we looked out onto the Laguna, with Granada behind it and Lake Nicaragua behind that. To our right was a volcano called Mombacho, that I think is still active.

Pictures: A painting in Jose Ortiz's style showing the Fiestas Patronales of San Juan del Oriente. It shows the fruit banner on the right and the fighting in the streets with a device made of bull hide and dried bull penis. San Juan's patron saint is San Juan el Bautista(Saint John the Baptist) and they celebrate it June 23-29.

The view from the Mirador looking at the Laguna de Apoyo and Granada in the back right and my San Juan host family playing in the waters of the Laguna.

I got my first visitor! Danielle came in on Tues. March 6th and left Nicaragua March 11. What did we do?

March 6: hung out in Yalaguina, Danielle and I had a very Nicaraguan dinner at my host family's house(rice, beans, maduros, avocado, and tortillas). Chatted while watching some telenovelas.March 7: I went into work for an hour or 2 and then we headed to Ocotal to watch the Spain v Germany game at a bar/restaurant called La Yunta with my friend Jen. After the game, headed to Somoto and had dinner with my friends Sam and Katie there.March 8: Showed Danielle around Yalaguina, introduced her to personnel at the health center, and then we headed to Esteli. Walked around Esteli and went out to dinner with my friend Lauren and another Peace Corps volunteer. Our hostel in Esteli was super cute and definitely a backpacker-friendly place, with an English menu in its cafe(where I've eaten before... the eggplant dish, the veggie burger, and also the poached egg breakfast) and tons of information. At night, we went out to Cigarzone, a fachenta discoteca.March 9: Amazing lunch at a restaurant called La Casita. Food you can't find anywhere else in Nicaragua: Brie cheese, grainy whole wheat bread, house made yogurt, Indian chai tea, etc. Deliciousssssss. After, headed to Leon for the night. Met up with my friend Tucker in Leon and had a very relaxing night, observing Nicaraguan karaoke- cannot sing on key and they sit from their seats and sing the song. Not quite the same.March 10: Danielle and I went volcano boarding. Only place you can do it in the world is Leon, Nicaragua. You could either sit down and sled down the volcano or stand on a board, similar to snowboarding. We chose to stand, and I definitely later regretted that. We got in a microbus at 7am with a bunch of other tourists to drive an hour to the volcano, called Cerro Negro. It's still an active volcano and the outside is all black. We took our boards and backpacks, filled with our protective gear. Hiked up the side, through the big crater past fuming rocks and breathing sulfur, up the inside of the crater to the other top edge. Cerro Negro erupted ever 10 or so years during the 20th century and it's last eruption was 1997. Inside the big crater, there is a smaller crater near the top, too. After watching most of our group sled down the hill, Danielle and I started boarding down(after a brief instructional from our guide). While Danielle flew down smoothly(she's a snowboarder), I fell down about every 30 yards or so. Having no experience skiing or snowboarding, I'm thinking the sensation of heading down the hill scared me. Unlike snowboarding, your body faces the hill as you go down and to turn, you put your hand into the gravel/sand and turn the board the opposite direction. I would get some momentum going and then freak out and stop. Finally reached the bottom. Danielle said her experience wasn't the best either, however even though the boarding wasn't great, the view from the top was beautiful. Cerro Negro is part of a range of active and extinct volcanos and from its peak, you can see San Cristobal, the tallest active volcano in Nicaragua. After boarding, we got some lunch and watched the second half of the Germany/Uruguay game. and then walked to Leon's famous cathedral. Although the outside of the cathedral looked similar to other Nicaraguan churches, the inside was spectacular. It was similar to European cathedrals.... but it was in Nicargua. Had to give Nicaragua a big pat on the back for creating something so beautiful. Then we headed to Managua so Danielle could catch her 4am bus up to Guatemala. Thanks Danielle for coming! She said it was the cheapest trip she's ever taken, so you all should be inspired to buy a ticket down and spend $5 on meals :)

Last weekend I went to Matagalpa, Matagalpa. Population: 490,000. Biggest city to which I've been in Nicaragua, not including Managua. A few friends from my group had birthdays in the same week so we all met up in Matagalpa. Besides seeing friends, FOOD was the highlight for me. Bigger city= more food options. The first night, Friday night, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant. Mmm veggie pizza.

The next day, Saturday, I had a delicious omelet with toasted wheat bread and a hot chocolate. Saturday we walked around a bit and walked through the coffee museum. Even as a non-coffee drinker, it was fascinating to read about the process. However, I didn't really understand the importance of the harvest and how it relates to flavor, but still interesting. Matagalpa is the coffee capital of Nicaragua. I don't know the statistic, but Nicaragua produces X% of the world's coffee. The percentage is pretty high for a tiny country of 6million people.

Lunch was at a cute bar/restaurant called Artesano's so we could watch the US lose to Ghana. Good chicken fingers and cheap beer. Saturday afternoon a few friends and I tried walking up to the mirador or lookout but the path was really slippery because of the rain, so we couldn't. Saturday night I had a roast beef sandwich with mozzarella and onions and a mustard sauce. Plus a salad. Saturday night we went out to two bars. Bastante or good dance space so I danced a lot Saturday night.

Sunday morning, a nutella crepe at the cafe across the street from my friend's place. All in all, great weekend. Anytime I can eat food that is not gallo pinto, cuajada, beans, and tortilla, I'm thrilled. Don't get me wrong, I like Nica food. But diversity is the best part of life and Yalaguina doesn't offer much.

Pictures: Friends at the Italian restaurant. Above: Diego who lives in Tola, Rivas Below: Lucas, the birthday boy who lives in Matagalpa and John with creepy stache who lives on the island in Lake Nicaragua.

My telenovela, Bella Calamidades, ended on Wed. I´ve been watching it since my second or thrid week in Nicaragua, so about 5 months now. And what happened in those 5 months? Well, let me just give you a little picture of the magic that is a Latin soap opera... Lola, the main character, is an orphan who was a maid at the R house(everyone´s names began with R). The four sons were in in love with her and because of this she left to work at other places, like an abusive household, the local strip club(only as a maid), the church, and for the crazy old guy who turned out to be her grandpa. Grandpa died and left her tons of money. Several people fell in love with her along the way, but her heart was set on Marcelo. Marcelo was in and out of the little pueblo they lived, going to school, looking for Lola, writing his book, and looking for Lola some more. At one point they were engaged, but when he went to go tell his mom, Lorenza, his crazy cousin Priscilla accidently shot him whil trying to kill herself. Priscilla and her mom(whose name I never learned) were schemers the whole time. Priscilla(or prima as we called her, which means cousin) fell in love with Marcelo and one night, they hooked up(yeah gross) so the cuñada(mother in law, Priscilla´s mom) insisted they get married. Never did. In the last 3 episodes, everything we(my friends who followed it and I) wanted to happen did: Marcelo and Lola finally got together, Marcelo told the prima he didn´t want to marry her, and Lorenza kicked out thecuñada and the prima out. I left out a lot of other drama- Nicolasa the other R maid got preggers by Lorenza´s field hand Nacho, Regina(R Mom) thought one of her sons had impregnated her new maid but it wasn´t true, etc. Now I´m free at 5pm. No more rushing home to watch it. What will I do with myself? I won´t have the added drama of Bellas in my life. Above: Priscilla and the cuñada(the evil ones) and Marcelo and Lola.

-Seeing my first tarantula. It was raining, so naturally the tarantula escaped to the bathroom where I found it, barely able to crawl.

-Doing yoga with three girls from my youth group. They loved it so much that we´re doing it again next week.

-My Heart Will Go On in Spanish

-Hearing American Economist Dr. James Riordan(see photo) talk about small business and getting awesome free refrigerios. And then I saw him on the news on TV!

-I have a Backstreet Boys poster cerca 1997. Found it in my host family´s house and they weren´t using it so they let me put it in my room

To make this easier, let me explain the system in Nicaragua for volunteers. My group is Nica 52 or HE(health education) 52. We are the 52nd group to come into Nicaragua. So the group that just came in is Nica 53 and they are small business and agriculture, so SB53 and AG53. ¿Me explico?

Some Madriz volunteers: Penny HE 49(she´s from the other health group in the country), Dr. Riordan, Kristen SB 50, Sam HE52, Katie 47(extending to the Atlantic Coast in July), me, and Carolyn HE 46, my "site mate" who´s leaving at the end of July.

Sorry followers for not updating in a long time. Went to Esteli this weekend for the second time. It's a bigger city about 45min via car/1.5-2hours via bus south of me. It's a really cool city and I'm really happy it's so close. It's very gringo friendly, so lots of hostels, backpacker friendly spots, and cafes with American novelties. When I was there this last time I had a tasty smoothie and split poached eggs with bacon(really ham) over lettuce with balsamic. Definitely not a usual meal at Dona Dora's. The other time I split a veggie burger and an eggplant dish. Tasty rarities. Esteli has the best grocery stores too. I haven't been to the best- La Segovia- but the other ones put Somoto's to shame[side note: Pali, the big, cheap grocery store chain here, the one in Somoto, is owned by WALMART! how horrible is that???]. Next time I go to Esteli, I want to go to La Casita. It's a farm/restaurant that has good cheeses, yogurts, whole wheat bread, etc. All made there.

As for a work update, yesterday I gave two charlas. One in the health center about parasites and one in the school about the environment. Both are repeats from training. I guess at some point I'll have to start writing some more, but I've been able to reuse my charlas from before, so that's been nice. Other plans for this week: talk to some NGOs about getting funds for gardens I want to put in at the rural primary schools, attending a talk on Food Security in Somoto, teaching yoga to my youth group in Chaguite, a rural community, and a charla on hygiene to community members in Chaguite.

1. Eat meat. Of all kinds. Since coming here, I´ve eaten steak, chicken, beef, pork, pork rind, hot dog, and liver.2. Not wear a seat belt3. Ride in the back of pick up trucks4. Throw trash in the street or out a bus window. There aren´t that many trash cans here and everyone else does it. I know, horrible.5. Get parasites. I`m on my third batch, actually I´ve only had parasites(specifically amoebas) twice and a bacteria infection once.6. Wake up before 6am7. Be in bed at 9:30pm8. Addicted to a soap opera9. Sweep my room daily. All the floors here are hard floors because it gets so hot, so dust and dead bugs really collect.10. Eat Oreos. There aren´t American style cookies here. There are Oreos and (if it´s possible) even more processed versions of Oreos, so Oreos are the best sweets option

Last week I did one of my first Peace Corps volunteer activities. I co-facilitated a capacitacion, or workshop/training. And I had less than a day to prepare for it. It was a training through this NGO(non-government organization) called Plan Nicaragua. They were sponsoring this training of teen leaders. They were receiving a charla series of 12 topics specifically for adolescents and then are going to go replicate the charla in their communities. There were 15 teens, aged 12-18.

Over two days, I gave 5 charlas sola. The head nurse helped me a bit occasionally, but I was pretty much on my own. The topics were:Deberes: your duties as an adolescentLey 392: There's a law that talks about the rights, duties, and values of adolescence(very dry)Prevencion del Embarazo en la adolescencia: Preventing teen pregancy(big issue in Nicaragua)Violencia Intrafamiliar: Domestic violenceDrogas: Drugs

The lesson plan was all set up by Plan Nicaragua, I just had to make some posters, cut out paper, and prepare a few dinamicas or ice breakers. I felt like it went really well. My Spanish was definitely tested because I had to think on my feet a lot and explain some different topics. All in all, an exciting first experience.

Most of the things I do as a fachenta volunteer are very similar to things back in the US, so I don't feel like I'm living that differently. I use a shower head to shower(except when there's no water, then I bucket shower), the toilet works, I have electricity regularly(except when se fue la luz,). However, I do hand wash my clothes, which I definitely never did in the US. My mom thought I should explain how I do that since it's such a foreign concept for estadounidodenses, people from the US. Can't call them Americans because Nicaraguans are Americans too.

How to Wash Clothes Nica Style:-Soak clothes by color with powder detergent in a bucket for several hours. Sometimes I do it up to a day.-Empty the water and then take the article of clothing. Lay it out on the washboard.-Take the roll-bar of soap and rub it on one side of the clothes. Then rub it on the other.-Put some water on the clothing, then start scrubbing. Keep scrubbing, add more water, scrubb some more until all the soap is out.-Hang it up to dry. When you take it off the line, make sure to shake off the ants!

My diet with my new family is pretty limited. Very traditional and typical Nicaraguan. Always corn tortillas at every meal, and most meals consist of rice, beans, cuajada- a soft, salty cheese, and occasionally eggs and meat. I do have Avena daily, which is awesome. I´m not tired of rice, beans, and tortillas yet, but I have realized how the lack of fruits and veggies affects me.

Realized I haven´t talked about some of the exciting foods I´ve tried in the last few months.

Nacatamal: Corn masa wrapped in a banana/platano husk STUFFED with meat, either chicken or pork, potatoes, and other veggies. It´s kind of like a Mexican tamale, but more filling and it`s made with WAY more lard. Hence, way more delicious.

Tamal: Very similar to Mexican tamales, but smaller and made with less masa and the masa is a lot more moist. The flavors I´ve tried are pollo, frijoles, and dulce, which is made with Dulce, or cane sugar.

Cacao: Pretty much like chocolate milk, but more crudo and bitter. LOVE it. When you buy it in the store, you constantly have to shake it because the cacao always goes to the bottom.

Cocotes: A small fruit that can be eaten maduro or not. Maduros are better(as with everything) and are pink in color. When they are crudo or not matured, they kind of taste like tart apples. Maduro, they are much sweeter and softer.

Mariñon: The Cashew Fruit. It was a really cool seed on the top. They are orange in color and have a similar consistency and taste to mature cocotes. However, they make your tongue feel weird and a lot of volunteers apparently have allergic reactions to them... I fortunately did not.

And obviously everyone knows what mangoes are. They are in season now, or just starting to be in season, and are EVERYWHERE. I´ve already eaten 3 today. There are 2 types of mangoes in Nicaragua. The bigs ones are probably better but you can´t pick them off a tree everywhere(at least not in Yalagüina). The small ones taste just the same, but they you get all the flesh stuck in your teeth. I´m realizing I should probably start carrying around floss. Actually, there is a third type of mango, too. You eat them crudo and they are more like apples.

I`ve officially vaccinated children! No injections, though. I gave a bunch of kids anti-polio drops, in addition to Vitamin A drops, and the parasite pill. I did make 5 of them cry. Some babies just have a perpetual fear of doctors, nurses, and the people associated with them-me. Today I just finished my fifth day on the Jornada, or Campaign. Still got a few days more. I´ve been to some big communties, and some very, very small communities. I visited one community, called Quebrada Arriba, that only has about 100ish inhabitants. We vaccinated at the schools in the smaller communities which only had 2 classrooms, one for preschoolers and the other for everyone else ages 6-12. Quite different. And some of these places are a good 20min drive from the highway on bumpy, windy dirt roads. Tuesday when we vaccinated in Quebrada Arriba, the school was practically empty because it rained or rather POURED the night before. It´s pretty lucky for me because the rain seems to happen here during the nights and evenings, so I usually(with the exception of last weekend) seem to escape it.

Just finished up my first week as a Peace Corps volunteer. Seemed very typical- one day of sitting around, one day handing out soy oil to pregnant women, one day of meeting with the school principals and observing some trainings, one day seeking out pregnant women in the community, and one day handing out parasite pills to little kids. The Jornada de Vacunación just started on Friday. It´s a campaign to vaccinate all the kids, so the health center nurses go around to the outlying communities and vaccinate the kids. It´s a great opportunity for me because I get to know the outlying communities. This upcoming week I´ll be working through the weekend too.

And I´m officially living off $200 a month, paying $75 a month for housing and food(a great deal). Yalagüina continues to be cute, quaint, and tranquilo. I´m living the fachenta life, which I can´t really describe. But having a nice toilet, nice bed, nice shower, and overall nice facilities make me a fachenta volunteer.

Shaking hands with the ambassador as an official volunteer.

Robert Callahan, the ambassador, and me

Robyn, George the country director, my friend Katie, and me

I swore in as a volunteer. No longer a trainee, I'm a real Peace Corps volunteer now. We had our swearing in ceremony in a really nice hotel in Managua. One of the directors at MINSA, the Ministry of Health(Ministerio de Salud= MINSA), spoke, in addition to my new friend Ambassador Callahan, and the Nicaraguan Country Director. Most of the ceremony was in Spanish and all the host families were invited to come to the ceremony too.

All 24 trainees in my group swore in as volunteers, a feat that hasn't happened in the health groups for a few years. Go Nica 52!

The Monjarrez Mojica family: Papa Carlos, Maria Sandra/Mari, Mama Sandra, Horacio and Shakira

Jinotepe 1 Forever- Backstreet Boys pose

Less than 24 hours from becoming an official volunteer. Tuesday was my last full day in Jinotepe, so I walked around saying goodbye and taking pictures of my favorite sites- the cafe all the gringos frequented, the Eskimo(ice cream store), the park, the church, the statue of Santiago the patron saint, and more.

Today we went to the US Embassy! Got a tour of the Embassy building and the USAID building. Robert Callahan, the US Ambassador, talked to us about the US's policies in Nicaragua, but it was a very casual encounter and fascinating to hear him talk about his experience in Nicaragua. We also heard about USAID and their work in Health and Education here, which is also really interesting. Got invited to July 4th celebration, but can't go since Peace Corps won't let me travel until the middle of July.

Yalagüina, Madriz is where I´ll be for the next 2 years. Urban population is about 2,000, with a total population of 8-10,000. Madriz is a department in the northern part of Nicaragua. My town is set in the hills, 15km from the department capital, Somoto and 20km from the department capital of the northern department(Nueva Segovia), Ocotal. I´m about 10min by bus from the nearest volunteers.

The two parks in town have recently been renovated and are beautiful. The main park is one block from my house. I´m living with another host family. My host mom, Doña Dora is a prominent member of Yalagüina´s community.

The health center is really new, only 2 years old. It´s open 24/7, which I haven´t heard of before in a health center, so that´s exciting.

Introduced myself to the director at the elementary school and we have an appointment to discuss the charlas I´m going to give. I think he´s going to put me in this very undisciplined class because he thought my self-esteem charla would be good for them. Woot.

Through the previous volunteer, Carolyn(a retired UNC Nutrition professor), I´ve met various people in the community. Her friend Karen is a teacher at the high school and is studying English, so I´m going to help her with her English and she´s going to help me with my Spanish.

So that´s a tiny little hint on what Yalagüina is like. Hopefully I´ll be able to capture a better picture when I´m there.

Just spent the last 4 days learning all about HIV/AIDS in Nicaragua. Lots and lots of charlas all about the projects and approaches here and particularly in Chinandega(where we went for the week). Heard some testimonies(in Spanish), which were really interesting. We also heard about a bunch of NGOs that work with HIV/AIDS here. I gave 2 charlas on HIV. One was in a high school and I gave it with 2 other people. That was really funa nd went really well. The other charla a group of 8 of us did at a fire station to a group of all men. There is a higher prevalence of HIV in men, but the percentage in women, especially in amas de casa or stay at home moms, is increasing because infidelity is common here. I learned all about this one volunteer´s work in Chinandega with sex workers, how he contacts them, educating them on HIV, etc. Very interesting.

In addition to lots of HIV information, the trip was really fun. Had amazing tacos-Mexican style, with cilantro (not common here) and lime. And we went to the beach! It was beautiful. We were on the Pacific Ocean side of Nicaragua(Chinandega is the most northwestern department). It was a small beach and from the water you looked back and saw trees along the sand, plus Volcán Cristobal in the horizon. Also a huge highlight was throwing around on the beach with some trainees. All in all, a great trip!

Jinotepe group number 1, my training town group, gave our cumulative presentation on Friday. We created a survey and interviewed 41 people total. The subject was respiratory disease prevalence and its cause in people in Jinotepe. We literally walked door to door to interview strangers. Then we analyzed the data and had to present the results to all the other trainees and our tech trainer. Since my group is awesome, we decided to present our material as the very popular game show Sabado Gigante. It plays every Saturday from 5pm-8pm and includes all kinds of things. Our presentation consisted of Kate dressed up as Don Francisco, our host. First she interviewed stereotypical Peace Corps volunteer Robyn who talked about how we decided to do the survey, how we did it, etc. Then, I played the role of an annoying audience member(based on a TV character called Cuatro who always annoys Don Francisco). We demonstrated all the questions asked in the survey and the general answers we received. Then DF interviewed Lauren, an investigator, and they showed all our qualitative results. To show future follow up, Robyn dressed as Sarah Palin and did "Más Adelante" as a preview of what´s next. It was a hit with the rest of the group, I think/hope. If anything, we definitely had a loot of fun doing it.

Yesterday, I spent about 4 hours traveling to La Dalia, Matagalpa to visit a Casa Materna where two Peace Corps volunteers have been working. Matagalpa is beautiful, green, mountainous. La Dalia is probably a medium sized town, and the Casa Materna was amazing. They are what we call "Super Volunteers" and have accomplished some amazing things in their 2 years of service(they leave in a few weeks). They´ve created a series of posters that provide information pregnant women should know that have been approved nationally to go into all of the Casa Maternas in the country. Pretty cool.

Here´s a picture of a mural they created at the CM. They also organized this area into a garden- they received outside funding for both. In the back you can see an oven that they also installed in this CM. The agriculture volunteers help build these as part of their projects, so they had help with that too. Plus, behind the oven, there is a spectacular view of the mountains. Reminded me of being the the Bay Area, being surrounded by mountains again.

The other picture is of my friends Lucus and Robyn. We took it before our 3.5 hour bus ride to La Dalia on our friend Lauren´s camera.

Went to visit a volunteer in Somotillo, Chinandega the last few days. Really good learning experience about the lives of volunteers. However, in addition to observing charlas, youth groups, and a HIV desensitization, here are my highlights:

1. On the way there, I heard a Spanish version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart," and it was a duet. Totally rad.

2. The buses here are horrible. The saying is that when buses in the US die, they go to El Salvador. And then when the buses in El Salvador die, they come to Nicaragua. Just imagine. The bus I took to Somotillo on Sunday was quemando or burning every time we slowed down or accelerated, which made it difficult to breathe. Dad, I think these are probably the exact same buses you sold back in Annapolis, barely resurrected from the dead.

3. I saw my first active volcano!!!! Smoke coming out of the top and everything. I was so stoked that while I was on the bus(it´s a 5hour bus ride to Somotillo, so I had a lot of bus time in 4 days), I took out my disposale camera to take a picture. The woman in front of me turned around and smiled and the guy behind me was really sweet and held the curtain away from the window so I could take a picture. Everyone around me was smiling at me for being a huge gringa.

4. In Nicaragua, they drink beverages out of bags. Either after the earthquake in ´72 or the revolution in the 80s, Nicaraguans had nothing to drink out of because it was all ruined, so they started using plastic bags. I´ve seen it one the streets a lot. They sell bags of water for 1cord, refrescos for 3. I had some water out of a bag and some Fanta Red too. Just chew a whole in the corner and drink. A little scary while drinking Fanta, but my bag didn´t leak.

5. I saw Honduras! Somotillo is 12km from the border and Monday night, we went for a walk and ended up walking all the way to the border.

6. Used a latrine for the first time. I thought it was totally fine, until the subject of cockroaches came up. The girl whose house I was staying at bought some powder stuff that you put in the letrina to kill the insects inside. So we poured a bunch in, spraying Raid around the edges as we did, and then put the lid on. We checked on it a few hours later and the cucarachas poured out of the latrine, so I participated in some cockroach genocide.

Yesterday, I got to go to MINSA(Ministerio de Salud) Central in Managua. A director of one of the divisions gave us an overview of how the current health system works.

The current health model started in 2007, when Ortega came (back) into office. The system focuses on prevention, which I find very impressive. So, there is MINSA, which then has a division in each department called SILAIS. SILAIS then coordinates all the health centers(which are also divided into the small health posts). In addition to these health centers-which offer services like vaccines, consultations, prescribe meds, minor treatment, and are also places women dan la luz- there is a system that goes out into the campo to people´s houses to check on them, because a lot of these people can´t even afford the transportation to go to the Centro de Salud. There are also different health groups like health promotors, brigadistas, and Casas Maternas.

Brigadistas are volunteers, of all ages, that help in health promotion. For example, during Spanish class this week at Lauren´s house, some brigadistas stopped by to abatizar the water- put these abate tablets, which kill off larva of the mosquitoes that kill Dengue(which is a huge disease here, bigger than Malaria. Dengue mosq like clean water, Malaria mosq like dirty water. Dengue mosq bite during the day, Malaria mosq at night. Hence, Denque is harder to prevent). They also perforate any topless plastic bottles sitting outside so water doesn´t collect there(hello breeding grounds).

The Casas Maternas are places where women go about 2 weeks before they are supposed to give birth. It´s to make sure the women have conventional births, in clean, safe environments. Child and maternal mortality is really high here, so Casas Maternas seek to help this.

Friday night I tried this Granada specialty called vigorón. It consists of cabbage, tomatoes, onions, yucca, more veggies, and chicarrón, aka pork rind. Yep, I ate pork rind. For the first time in my life. And I actually kind of liked it. I knew what it was too, and figured I´d try it since it´s a big specialty here. Don´t think I´ll ever eat it when I´m living on my own, but it´s alwyas nice to try new platos.

Also, one of my new favorite things is avena or oatmeal. The way they eat it here is as a beverage. One tablespoon of avena in water with some sugar. Mmm. I have it with breakfast now. And they have these avena ice cream bars that are only 4 córdobas, so I´ve bought 2 in the last 2 days. Basically oatmeal ice cream.

This is a picture of my training town group. From left there´s Gloria, our instructor for the first 3 weeks. Then me, Lauren, Robyn, and Kate. We´re a pretty cool bunch and completely into ourselves. It´s awesome. Jinotepe Group #2

Something I´m beginning to experience and will definitely experience in the future is the concept of white privilege. The Nicaraguans will listen and respect white people just because. I have an advantage when giving my charlas because I´m white and am different from the Nicaraguan nurses and doctors who give the charlas. And because I´m white, they assume that I know things.

This will be a challenge in the future when I try to train other people in giving charlas and presentations. People will listen to me and respect me a lot of the time just because. It´ll be difficult to create something sustainable when I carry so much power myself. Right now, it´s encouraging. My host mom keeps telling me how everyone at the health center will listen to what I say when I give my charlas because I´m the new white girl. But this isn´t going to be helpful when Í want to establish a group of health promoters and people won´t listen to the Nicaraguans I train in the future. It´s just an interesting topic that came up at our cultural adaptation talk last week. Something to keep in mind.

Some of my favorite Nica expressions so far:

1. Andar por los aguacates which literally means "walking for the avocados." It refers to when you zone out, don´t pay attention, have your head in the clouds, etc.

2. Dar la luz which literally means "give the light." It means to give birth. How beautiful.

3. Hand expressions: people point with their lips, have a gesture for diarrhea, and some really difficult hand snap that I can´t do.

Other interesting Nica hechos...

-A surprising amount of Nicaraguans have the last name “Nicaragua”

-There´s a town right by us called “El Dulce Nombre de Dios.” Literally: the Sweet Name of Jesus.

And Nica history is FASCINATING. The more I learn about Nicaragua politics, the more I think I may be evacuated or have my service terminated early. Presidential elections in 2011= could get ugly. Once I find a way to elegantly, and not to biasly, present Nicaragua´s 20th century history, I´ll talk about it. US or rather, Reagan, really messed up Nicaragua. BAD.

Gave my first charla on Monday morning at the Health Post about the Importance of Vaccines. It was a pretty small audience, and I actually didn´t do a good job of engaging them. But, I was the first trainee to give a Charla solo. So, that´s pretty cool.

My host mom also gave me the earrings I´m wearing, which are from this town called Masaya that´s known for its handicrafts, particularly wood.

My friend Lauren also recorded me on her camera, so there´s a poor quality video of it.

I´ve tried a few beers here and had the worst one yet: Victoria Frost. Don´t know what made the Frost different from the regular Victoria. But it was not enjoyable at all drinking my 20cord can of Victoria Frost. It tastes a bit worse or maybe on par with Nattie Ice or Keystone Light. It´s been awhile since I´ve had beer this bad.

Toña is about the same as Bud Light, which is enjoyable sure. But I tend to like other beers a bit more (Uncle Ken and Dad, sorry to disappoint you).

Realized I haven´t really talked about Nicaragua food yet. It´s good. Lots of black beans and lots of white rice. The main dish here is gallo pinto, which is rice and beans, more rice than beans. it´s a good staple, a little dry in my opinion, but compliments other goods. It´s only served at breakfast and dinner, not lunch. You´ll still get rice and beans at lunch, but not together as gallo pinto

I´m pretty lucky with the food I´ve had in my house. My host mom gives me a variety of foods and usually pretty balanced meals.

For breakfast, I normally have eggs, fried or scrambled, beans, rice, or bread(basically the only bread we have here is white bread rolls). Some mornings I´ll have fruit and bread. The main fruits I have are watermelon and amazing cantaloupe(reminds me of New Jersey cantaloupe, it´s so sweet). Sometimes oranges, mandarins, or bananas for snacks.

Lunch is usually something like rice, chicken with veggies, and a plantain. The plantains I normally get are not that exciting. they´re like a starchy, heartier, flavorless banana. I tried the sweet ones recently, madura(so they´re ¨mature¨which means they are yellow skinned instead of green). They´re much better, sweet like the ones you get in the US.

Dinner is normally similar to lunch-rice, beans, and veggies. The veggies I´ve eaten are tomato, cucumber, beets, carrots, and a squash like veggie called chayote. Some highlights from my dinners have been: torta de espinaca or a spinach omelete, fried yucca= potato chips out of yucca, quesilla a thick tortilla with melted cheese on top, and popusas, small thick homemade tortillas with beans and cheese.

Other people drinks lots of refrescos but we don´t have them in our house. I have had homemade OJ and watermelon juice. My host mom made them simple or without sugar, which I liked better than with sugar.

Outside of my home, I´ve really only tried smoothies and pizza. One of our favorite places to go is this little cafe that serves batidos or smootheis. I´ve tried cantaloup & strawberry, but my favorite is zapote. Zapote is a kind of fruit with a pink/orange inside and a big pit. Looks kind of like a small coconut on the outside-rough skin. Tastes like a chocolatey, cinnamony strawberry smoothie.

Last weekend I went to the 2 popular piza places in Jinotepe. One, Pizzeria Coliseo, was really good and pretty expensive. Lonely Planet actually recommends it. We really enjoyed it. It probably wasn´t that expensive in US $, but I think in terms of cordobas now. And a large pizza with 2 toppings cost 180cords... so what, is that like $9? I only get like 300cords a week, so blowing a lot of money on pizza wasn´t the best idea. I also went to Togo, which has cheaper, gooey pizza. Still good, but I´m not a pizza elitist. But nothing will ever be as good as Cheeseboard or Zachary´s in my mind.

Had my first big Nicaraguan culture experience this weekend. The saints from Diriambas, San Marcos, and Jinotepe reunited to walk from Diriambas to Jinotepe so that they could separate. Forget who San Marcos´saint is, but Diriambas´s saint is San Sebastian and Jinotepe´s is Santiago. The procession included the carrying of the saints(all 3 next to each other) and different dances before the saints came by. The dances were:

-la vieja y el viejo(old woman and old man)

-toro guaco

-el güegüense(a dance that makes fun of the Spanish and when they settled Nicaragua)

-el gigante

-las inditas

-los diablos

Definitely different than prade experiences in the US. People who are in the parade stop to take off their masks when they´re hot, other people join in, the horses aren´t that well trained... We joined the procession as it made its way to the Church and then fireworks went off and everyone dispersed. Pretty cool.

Parks: pretty much only for the men and children. My training group(Kate, Lauren, Robyn, and I) went to the Parque Central on Monday to hang out. And after a little bit we were approached by two guys, one with eyes rojos. He was super creepy, so we left. We later found out that when women go to parks, they are considered prostitutes, so that´s the last time I´ll ever be in a park here.

Police: got to meet the chief of police. We went and introduced ourselves as Peace Corps trainees to him so that he knows there are some gringas here and where we live. He offered some advice about not walking alone in certain areas, not walking alone after certain hours, and not going to the parks. This was when we found out that women in parks=whores.

Cheap: super cheap to eat and travel around here. Bus ride to Diriambas, about a 10-15 min ride costs 10 cordobas, there and back, or 50cents. I had this amazing, huge smoothie today that cost 25 cords, or a little over $1, The exchange rate is 20 cordobas to $1. Sweet!

-Regularity of water: in our house, and much of the houses in Jinotepe, we only have running water from 5am to 9am. Only then. Which leads to...

-Bucket Showers: exactly as it sounds. Large bucket full of water(cold, of course) and a small bowl to pour water on your self. Felt great after a hot run.

-Refilling the toilet: without runnig water, after going to the bathroom(or before), you need to fill the tank with agua.

-Laundry: haven´t experienced this yet, but I´ve heard it involves a brick of large rock on which you rub your wet clothes.

-Waste: We don´t create nearly as much waste here as we do in the US. It´s not hidden like in the US. You are always aware of what you´re throwing away and what you use or use up(like water). There are only 1 or 2 trashcans in the house and it takes awhile for them to fill up.

And it is hot here. HOT. And it´s supposed to get worse in March and April. Woot.

Finally an exciting day to chat about. Got my training town assignnment, where I'll be living for the next three months. Jinotepe, or Hee-no-teh-pay. It's close to Managua, a little southeast of there. Language classes four days a week for four hours, then using the language so that we can create lessons, surveys, and interviews in Spanish. I'll have to present charlas or mini-lessons to some youth groups in the community.

Also got a picture of my host family today. I have a mom, dad, brother(24), and sister(20). AND A DOG NAMED SHAKIRA!! I am so excited I'll have a dog. Probably some of the most exciting news of the day. Tomorrow will be my first night with them... Que emocionado!

I'm in my final hours of staging on the hotel computer. Met the 23 other Trainees(we're officially Trainees, not yet Volunteers and no longer Invitees), only 4 of whom are dudes. But everyone seems really cool and it's really a great bonding experience that we're all headed into the same thing. Actually found another ultimate player within the first hour, so that is pretty exciting. Leaving the hotel at 3am tomorrow for a 7am and will be in Managua at this time tomorrow. Adios los Estados Unidos!

Leaving for the airport in thirty minutes. And it still hasn't hit me. As I've been packing and saying my goodbyes, I feel like everything is happening around me, but not to me. I think it'll be like that for the first few weeks until I really accept that I'll be living in a different country for the next two years.

Goodbye friends, family, and California! I'll miss you all dearly.

Packing up my room and sorting my life into bags and boxes is both entertaining and surreal. Since I'm going to be gone for a couple of years, it's bizarre thinking about what is worth keeping for when I get back, what I should take, and what can be donated. Forces me to think about my future a little more than I usually do. Although going through my room has allowed me to reminisce too... high school yearbooks are always entertaining, as are all the movie stubs, birthday cards, pictures, and knickknacks I seem to keep in my possession years later.