This week is election week in Nicaragua. Presidential elections. Who knows what’s going to happen. Honestly, I don’t care too much about politics, but here in Nicaragua it’s hard to escape all the talk and political rallies. What I’ve heard: “This election will make Nicaraguan history, regardless of the outcome.” “Ortega shouldn’t be allowed to [...]
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Wow… it’s been a really long time since I’ve written in here. Mostly because I’ve been engulfed in phonetics. My world has become phonetics. I’m like the “Phonetics Queen!” I don’t really know how it happened. The word got out on the street and now I’m traveling to teach phonetics. Yep, I’ve given talleres (workshops) [...]
I hope everyone had a Happy 4th of July!!! Despite being in Nicaragua, I had a super American 4th of July at the US Embassy! We barbequed… enough said. lol. But seriously, the food was amazing – hamburgers, hotdogs, fried chicken, potato /pasta salad, bbq beans, cake, cookies, soda, + cold beer. The only thing [...]
Misty Fergusen (an ELF volunteer here in Nicaragua) told me during Pre-Service Training: “One of the best things about working in the university is that you’ll be asked to teach something you know nothing about, you’ll study up on it, and in the end you’ll find you really like it” (not an exact quote, but [...]
April ) When I first arrived in Nicaragua there was so much that I still didn’t know. What PC training would be like, if I would get along well with my host families, where I would be sent to work, what I would be doing, and whether I’d get the chance to return to the [...]
My Nicaraguan “husband” = a giant lizard, according to my host sister. Here´s the story: So a few weeks ago I went to Masatepe (my training town) for the weekend to visit the family there. When I came home from the long weekend, I was surprised to find that a bunch of my things that [...]
It’s March and it’s hot!!! Honestly I don’t feel as suffocated as I used to feel though. I feel my body is finally starting to accommodate. And to be honest, just a cold breeze feels slightly chilly. I’m becoming a wuss when it comes to cold! I’m going to freeze when I go back to [...]
It’s crazy to think how much technology / the internet has advanced in the past decade. I can’t even imagine what it would be like teaching without the aid of the internet. Whenever I need some information on a topic, I go to the internet and search the topic. When I need examples for my [...]
“Ready or not here we go!” The school year has begun – both at my high school and the university (kinda). At INO (my high school) classes began last Tuesday. However, the bulk of teaching hasn’t quite started yet. They say next week. Last week was the “Welcome to the New School Year 2011!” presentation, [...]
It´s official… I am a university teacher (catedratica in Spanish)! I have my first class, Teaching Techniques, tomorrow morning at 9:40am. I´m a little nervous but I know it´ll be fine. Not to mention it´s the intro day, which means I´ll spend a good part of the day just getting to know the students, gauging [...]
Wow – it’s been forever since I’ve posted on this blog… sorry! I guess it kind of tells you a little about how things are going here –> busy! Work hasn’t officially started but I have had plenty to do. Let’s see… I spent 4 days in Pochomil, Nicaragua at a hotel on the beach [...]
I’m back in Leon after an awesome weekend in Masatepe! I absolutely love being in Masatepe. My host family there is so great + the town feeling is peaceful. However, I must admit after being in the scorching hot temperatures of Leon for 1 month, I was cold! I felt like such a wuss. I’m [...]
So Christmas (Navidad) is just around the corner! However, it doesn’t quite feel like Christmas time here quite yet. Why? 1) It’s soooo hot! Where’s the snow? 2) The house doesn’t smell like fresh pine needles. I guess the box doesn’t have a Christmas tree scented air freshener in it… 3) There are no Christmas [...]
So yesterday was the Purisima = the Catholic celebration of the immaculate conception of the Virgen Mary. Since Nicaragua is a predominately Catholic country, it was obviously a big deal. My family started preparing weeks before, buying little toys, candies, and supplies. The night before they built their alter to put their Virgen Mary statue [...]
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle The “3 Rs” was our theme for summer English camp 2010. We paired up with a few of the environmental Peace Corps volunteers and taught mini lessons on protecting the environment in a fun and dynamic way completely in English. The students learned vocabulary related to the environment, picked up trash around [...]
23- nov – 2010 First Day in Leon I’m officially in site now – León, León. However, it hasn’t quite sunk in yet. It just feels like I’m away from my home in Masatepe. So I got into town around 11:30am and I had my first Peace Corps meeting at 1pm. Way to get started [...]
I´m back from Leon! Overall I had a great time! I have to describe my experience this past week as “I´m lost!” Why? 1) the city is HUGE, 2) I literally got lost on the bus multiple times looking for the church by my house (they didn´t tell me there are 17 churches in Leon!), [...]
Site Placement 29 octubre 2010 I’m going to León, León! Smack dab in the middle of one of the largest cities in Nicaragua, one of Nicaragua´s greatest tourist locations. I have been told it’ll be more like “posh corps” than the “peace corps” in that I’ll have in close proximity everything I need – I’ll [...]
29 octubre 2010 We started early today – 6:40am. We all piled into the Peace Corps’ van and off we went to Managua for a “cultural visit.” Well it wasn’t Managua really… they took us to San Jacinto, a name which sounded so familiar. I had heard about San Jacinto, I was right. It was [...]
New Pictures are up…. Enjoy! Volcan Masaya - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2419209&id=20902016&l=5e20c5e828 Practicum Week (Matagalpa / Jinotega) - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2419226&id=20902016&l=940d494aef
24 oct. 2010 This last week I was in Jinotega, Nicaragua which is on the Nicaragua/Honduras border. It’s a medium sized town in a mountainous region and with a cooler climate. We went for practicum week, or intense teaching time. I was in the schools all day Tues-Thurs (12-5:30p) and taught 5 different classes (7th-10th [...]
Hey everyone… I’ve finally gotten the opportunity to upload some pictures. Still a little atrasado (behind) though. Enjoy! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2411981&id=20902016&l=15c5f6bdef
This coming week I will not be in Masatepe… we have out Practicum week which means we are going to either Matagalpa or Jinotega (up north) to shadow a teacher for the week and practice teaching. We´ll be separated from our training groups and will be teaching solo. I´m excited and slightly nervous. We´ve never [...]
13 october So recently we have been having lessons on specific teaching skills (teaching listening, teachin vocabulary, teaching grammar, etc.) and they sprung it on us last session that we´re going to have to teach mini-lessons in front of our peers for practice. Basically how it works is that you have 30 mins to plan [...]
11 October So cute… I came home today and my 3-yr old nextdoor neighber who absolutely loves me told me that she had a surprise for me, but I had to wait and she finished setting it up. Playing along, I waited in the living room as she did her thing. When permitted, I went [...]
9 Oct. Today was fun. We went to Volcan Masaya as a Peace Corps group (pics to come!). It wasn´t what I expected though. They told us to come dressed for the “occasion,” so for the first time in a month, I busted out my shorts and a t-shirt. But there really wasn´t any hiking. We [...]
Oct. 1st So… a few weeks have passed now since the Nicaraguan´s mysterious death. Unfortunately I have not heard any additional information on the crime (such as who did it, why they did it, if it was affliated with anything, etc.) which most likely means that nothing new has been found in regards to the [...]
Let’s say… Tuesday’s block went well but Monday’s class not so much. Why? Planning! Sunday, Martin and I went to San Marcos where our profe lives to get to know his city and his family, but also to plan for Monday’s class. Lunch was great and his family is super nice, but planning didn’t really [...]
25/9/2010 The headlines read: “Hurricán Matthew nos perdonó” (Rough translation: Hurricane Matthew was forgiving to us). The hurricane went north of us hitting just one Nicaraguan town in on the Northeast coast of Nicaragua and then it headed towards Honduras. This doesn’t mean we haven’t seen any affects of it, though. The rain has been [...]
24/9/2010 Has anyone seen the news story about the Nicaraguan diplomat killed in New York this past week??? It so happens that he is somewhat related to my host family – the cousin of my sister-in-law. So it’s been interesting here. Constantly watching the news to find out if any additional information about the case [...]
My First Classes! I co-taught my first classes this week at Colegio Calixto Moya. I was really nervous at first because when I met with my counterpart teacher for the first time he didn’t seem too interested in planning. He just wanted to chat and speak in English. I guess it’s a good thing that [...]
PAN! TOTRILLA! Those words, shouted in the streets, is typically how I wake up here in Nicaragua. Who needs an alarm when you have these people?!?! Luckily it’s normally around 6:30am in the morning and I have to get up at 7am to get ready for class. But these venders are not to blame because [...]
Hey everyone! I will be posting pictures on facebook instead of here since it is a lot easier to upload. To see these pictures… go to the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2391250&id=20902016&l=709085a91c
I will try to post the link anytime I upload pictures. Enjoy!
… downpour + party! I cannot even describe the rain here. It’s nuts. Sometimes I feel like the power of the rain in and of itself could bring the roof of our house down. I can’t even hear myself talk it’s so loud. And it comes so randomly, out of nowhere. I have never seen [...]
I´m in my training town – Masatepe, Masaya, Nicaragua – finally! My host family is great… they treat me like one of their own kids. My brother is always helping me out with new vocabulary and teaching me the cultural ins+outs. My sister took me out to Laguna Apoya the other day and we hung [...]
My first post from Nicaragua!!! Estoy en Nicaragua! I still can’t believe it… we left for Washington DC on Tuesday, Aug 31st for a day full of basic information about Nicaragua, team building activities, and talks about how we felt prior to leaving / what we anticipate feeling once we’re there. Then on Wed, Sept. [...]
The countdown is down to 1 hand… I leave in 5 days! )
So, everyone has been asking me the same question “Are you excited?” My initial + automatic response is “Oh yes!” but honestly when I stop and think about it, what I’m feeling at this moment is a lot more than just pure [...]
I was talking to my old roommate, Stephanie, on the phone yesterday…
Stephanie: Have you done your PC homework yet?
Me: No. I’ve looked at it, read about 10 pgs, and took some notes, but it’s like 50 pgs. And I don’t have to do it until the 22nd. That’s… 13 days… woah that’s not a lot [...]
I finally started thinking about packing for Nicaragua today. Yes, 25 days early… a miracle I know! Sara, a girl who is going to Nicaragua with me, graciously sent me her current packing list as I thought that would be a good place to start. It’s basically a conglomeration of what the Peace Corps tells [...]
Today is July 31st… exactly 1 month until I leave for Nicaragua… well “Staging.” “Staging” is a mini-orientation where all Peace Corps volunteers going to Nicaragua meet, get to know one another, sign-in, and get acquainted with the Peace Corps before we head out. Should be fun! We leave for Nicaragua the following day… hotel [...]
I found a Facebook group for Peace Corps volunteers leaving in August 2010 for Nicaragua!
So far there are 8 other members + they’re all very nice. I hope to get to know them better before heading to Washington DC for staging. It’ll be nice to have a “familiar face” upon arriving!
Anyways, I asked if anyone [...]
Bienvenidos a mi Blog!
This is probably the best way for everyone to follow me throughout my 2 years of service in Nicaragua with the Peace Corps. I will update this blog as frequently as possible depending on my schedule + internet access. Here you’ll find updates about what I’m doing in [...]
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