holiday festivities

I wish I could say I’ve been bogged down with things to do which is why I haven’t written in a while but that would be a gigantic lie.  A week and a half ago the library closed until after the new year so I haven’t had youth group meetings.  But, the last meeting of 2010 was a huge success.  We read the Spanish version of “A Bear for Maddie” and the kids drew pictures of Santa and pasted cotton on his beard, hat, and coat.  They loved it. 

My one-on-one English lessons have been pretty consistent, meeting twice a week.  I’ll admit it’s pretty exhausting teaching English so I’m glad I’ve started out with just one student.  I’m going to try to arrange to borrow a classroom in the elementary school to hold bi-weekly night class starting in a couple weeks.  There’s definitely a lot of interest so I’m sure I won’t be lacking students.

Spending Christmas in Nicaragua was really nice, but I did miss acting out the 12 Days of Christmas at home.  Santa came to Nicaragua at midnight and brought two gifts (well 3, thanks to mom and dad) to each of the two little boys in the family.  The basketball sent from NJ to the 6 year old was a big hit as well as the PJs sent to the 1 year old.  He’s worn them every night since and has even adopted the new name of “Raya McQueen” due to the Cars theme on one set.  Neighbors came by to set off lots of mini fireworks and play the makeshift band out of tin cans, plastic containers, and a hose (serving the function of a tuba).  Let me tell you, creativity is at its max here.  Oh, and you might be jealous, but the 6 year old got a “Fun Station”… similar to Nintendo but I’d argue better because it has old-school Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt on the same disk, along with 44 other games.  My host brother and I were in charge of installing it because the gringa knows all about technology apparently.  I gained some serious credibility after explaining all the ins and outs of Mario… the mushroom makes you big, the shiny mushroom gives you powers, the tunnels lead you to cool places… all the good stuff.  I also think I impressed them a little with my Duck Hunt skills.  Thanks, Al, for the practice.

Slightly off topic, but well worth mentioning--  I was on the bus going to visit a friend in Santa Lucia.  The 20 km ride from the city of Boaco takes about 1 hour due to the unpaved, hilly roads.  After two attempts to get up a hill, people started unloading to get rid of some weight.  Another try, more people got off.  One more try, more people off.  Finally, on the sixth attempt, we made it up the hill.  I didn’t get off because, quite frankly, I had no idea if I’d get picked up again.  The woman in front of me, however, had another reason for staying on the bus.  The rest of her family (who was standing) unloaded but she didn’t because she had a garbage bag full of baby chicks.  Later on during the ride, some escaped so her 5 or 6 year old son went fishing around the bus driver’s ankles to recollect them all.  I think they all made it safely back into the bag and we made it safely to Santa Lucia.

On the subject of chickens, my host brother rode up to the house the other day on his bike with a bag which I assumed had groceries or food.  But nope.  He pulled out a rooster he just picked up from the man who lives close to the highway.  Supposedly he’ll be a fighter in the ring. 

I won’t bore you anymore with the bird talk but I just might warn my host family that they shouldn’t be surprised if their parrots get sick.  I don’t think I can take too much more of the squalling at 4:00 in the morning.  No need to worry, though.  I’ll be moving to my own place as soon as we ring in 2011!  I’m really excited about it and now need to scrounge some furniture for the living room/kitchen.  

Happy New Year!!

activities and terms of endearment

I’m writing this blog in the internet café, waiting for the internet to come back.  In the past two weeks, I had a few youth group meetings and we collected hundreds of chip bags off the street, cleaned them, then started making change purses and folders.  The kids, ages 9-14, absolutely love working with the trash, especially the boys.  I think a hidden incentive for them, though, is that they know I’ll play basketball with them after our meetings.  The first day, we played a game similar to knockout called sacarin and the next day they wanted to play a game.  I quickly realized it’s tough to teach 16 kids how to play organized basketball without knowing how to say “foul”, “guard your man”, and “you can’t punch another kid in the face when he’s shooting or dribbling” in Spanish.  Phrases to look up and memorize tomorrow… 

I went to the last graduation this week for the sixth graders in Aguas Calientes (the school about 5 km away).  I walked there with the vice principal and we arrived at about 10:00.  The mass started at 10:45 and because there were only 9 students graduating, everything was over at 12:00.  Of course we were fed afterwards so at about 12:30, I thought we’d be heading home but no, I didn’t get home until 5:30.  With the vice principal and one of the sixth grade teachers, we stopped at 5 houses on the way which meant a 30 minute pit stop at each.  Remember how I talked about Nicas being hospitable?  Well, at 3 of the 5 houses, we were each given a huge plate of food, sitting on plastic chairs or wooden benches in houses with dirt floors and tin walls.  They may not have much but they sure know how to warmly welcome guests.

This past week was the celebration of the Virgin Mary, called the Purisima.  It’s best described as trick-o-treating and Christmas caroling during summer.  Different houses put altars of the Virgin Mary in front of or in their house and after either a mass or a few songs, the house hands out candies, fruit, tupperware, etc.  Just like Halloween, there are the good houses and the not so good houses.  The good houses get swarms of people… pushing, shoving, flailing hands… while the not so good houses get civilized groups of people singing church songs then calmly walking to the front door to get their small gift.  In all seriousness, it’s a wonderful tradition because the kids from the small communities receive food they normally wouldn’t get in their homes.  As my neighbor so beautifully put it… Nicaragua es pobre pero bonito. 

A few days ago, I brought a touch of home to Teustepe when my two gringo friends came to visit and we made oatmeal raisin cookies.  Despite the burnt bottom (due to cooking them on a wood fire with help from my host sister), they were delicious and are requested for Christmas.  The highlight of these 2 weeks, though, was when my host nephew called me Meghancita.  There’s a good chance I’ll be mistaken for a true Nica after these two years.

PC perks

Whoever spread the rumor that all of Boaco is cool and breezy was completely wrong.  It’s been a week in Teustepe and I am loving it, but it definitely does not feel like Christmas is coming!  I’ve spent the week getting to know the town with my host family and teachers I’ll be working with.  I arrived on Tuesday and that afternoon I took the 10 minute walk to the river with my host sister and nephew.  The same river I’ll be crossing in a couple months to get to one of my schools was about waist-high and perfect for a six year old to have the time of his life.  Let’s hope the water level goes down really quickly.  There were boys playing soccer on the sand, other swimming, and others washing clothes.  It was a beautiful day.

Later on in the week, I revisited the mayor and the delegate of the Ministry of Education   who said he’ll help me get paint to begin an environmental mural.  I went back to two of my schools to sit in on end-of-the-year evaluations that were interesting.  It helped me understand why students talk while the teacher is talking during class… the director of the school was talking while teachers were carrying on conversations on cell phones and speak louder so maybe some people will hear.  I also went to the high school graduation on Saturday and sat on the stage, front and center.  Who knows how that happened but it would be pretty accurate to say that I was in the background of all the pictures of the graduate receiving his diploma.  There was a mass that started at 1:00 pm which of course didn’t start until 1:45 then there was the ceremony in a large VFW-type room that lasted from about 3:00-6:30.  The music (typical graduation instrumental) was so loud my chair was vibrating.  If I knew how to play the trumpet, I would have had the song memorized within the first hour… that’s how many times it was repeated.  There was a fiesta Saturday night that I went to for a few hours with two of my host sisters and learned to dance bachata.  On Sunday, I went to the graduation of the sixth graders in the elementary school in Teustepe, which was a little quicker, starting at 2 and ending at 6.  Again, the loud music muffled the little boys laughter as they played on the stage (yes, during the ceremony) and a teacher talking on his phone while on stage.  In Nica graduations, a family member accompanies each student.  The get-ups ranged from baseball caps and skinny jeans to silver stilettos, red sparkly ball gowns, and see-through shirts.  Yikes.  Finally, on Monday, I went to the pre-school graduation and for the third time, I sat at the front table.  Let me tell you... the perks of being a Peace Corps volunteer are endless. 

As for my living accommodations, I’m enjoying the small room and should have never made fun of Alison’s tiny bedroom.  My suitcase is a great seat for my host nephew when we have drawing sessions (he glued one of his pictures to the front of my bedroom door) and I’ve only killed one semi-big bug.  The other night, I saw a snake on the patio so told my host mom who then called to her husband who then grabbed his 3 foot machete and gave it a  few good smacks.  The only thing that’s worrying me a little is the huge spider, I’ll go ahead and say tarantula, that was in the latrine a couple nights ago.  I couldn’t kill it because I was wearing sandals that weren’t big or strong enough to do the job.  I tried flicking a big leaf at it but it didn’t feel like moving.  Of course I left without going to the bathroom and returned about half and hour later.  It had left, which is great, but now the problem is that now I’m a little scared to go to the bathroom when it’s dark.

This week, I’m going to have my first youth group meeting and will also be working with the town librarian at her after-school program on Thursday.  In a couple weeks, I’ll be giving some English lessons to two boys who already speak pretty well and want more practice.  I can’t wait to get this juicy package that my parents sent me so I can play some basketball and softball and paint some Flor de Caña bottles.  (Another perk: parents would only send you extravagant packages if you were in Peace Corps.  College?  Forget about it.)

 I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

it's official

This morning we were sworn in as Nica 54 volunteers which means tomorrow I'm off to Teustepe for the next two years.  We sang the anthems of Nicaragua and the USA and the ambassador made a really wonderful speech.  Our host families came to the ceremony in Managua which was great but definitely caused a few tears officially saying goodbye.  My training town is planning on coming back to Santa Teresa to ring in 2011 so it was really only a "see ya soon".

To be honest, I'm a little nervous about moving to my site because until the beginning of February, I won't really have a set schedule of things to do because that's when school starts.  In December and January, I'll have to start a garden and tree nursery and form a youth group... I'll have work, but informally.  I've been so used to having jam-packed days in the last 3 months so the next 2 will be a huge change of pace.  I'm sure I'll get a lot of reading in and in the beginning of January, I'll move into my own house and want to paint fun murals on the walls.

Tonight we are going to the director of Peace Corps Nicaragua's house for an early Thanksgiving dinner... yum.  Thursday I'll be in site (so not celebrating Thanksgiving) but my host nephew is turning 1 so there will be some sort of Nica party.  Piñatas are a sure thing.  I gotta say, though, mom's stuffing and mashed will be sorely missed, as well as Aunt Joan's ice box cake and most importantly, the football game.  We already have a Skype date set up so I'll probably be shown all the delicious food through the computer screen and will realize that gallo pinto (although delish) has nothing on homemade Thanksgiving dinner.

I really can't tell you how much I appreciate all the support and constant words of encouragement you give through my blog, facebook, phone, letters, e-mail, you name it.  Love and miss all you dedicated readers!

go environment

Just a quick note to show you our final youth group project.  We had our ceremony this afternoon with the other 5 training towns to present what we have been working on for the past few months.  We hammered holes in all of the bottle caps and sewed them one by one onto the rice/coffee bags using thick string... pretty time consuming but well worth it!

Not All Trash Is Trash

I guess I'm a little biased, but I think our project was the best of everyone's.  Other groups made bracelets out of plastic bags, piñatas, change purses out of chip bags and zippers, and a small "house" out of 3 liter soda bottles.  We're hoping to hang it in the park in Santa Teresa on Wednesday.

fun news

I know this is long overdue but it’s been a busy couple of weeks.  Last Friday I found out where I’ll be living for the next 2 years – Teustepe, Boaco!  (I’ll explain more in a bit..)  On Saturday, I went to La Boquita, a beach in Carazo, with the others in my training town.  It took about 1 hour to get there and it was absolutely beautiful.  There were horses and hammocks and other foreigners.  Pictures below…

While waiting for the bus to go back to Carazo, I saw the most shocking/disgusting thing so far here in Nicaragua.  We heard terrible squealing sounds in the distance for about 10 minutes so of course we knew a pig was being slaughtered.  What we weren’t prepared for was the small car that drove down from the campo to the main road with the dead (huge) pig in the bag, taking up the entire floor and going #2 at the same time.  And yes, he was already dead.  Pobrecito cerdo (translation: poor pig).

Saturday night I went to a quince anos for the cousin of a guy who lives in Santa Teresa.  Talk about Nica hospitality—we just met the guy that day at the beach and he immediately called up his cousin so see it was okay if we came to the party.  It was a great time with tons of loud music and delicious food.

Sunday was the Hipica in Santa Teresa so another eventful day.  Each town in Nicaragua has an Hipica once a year.  It’s when hundreds of people come to ride/watch horses and of course, listen to live music all day long.  Below is a picture of the queen of the Hipica.

At night, I went to a fiesta with my host sister and cousins at a club in town.  The Nica goup, Fusion 4, played for 5 hours which meant a ton of dancing and realling sore thighs the next day.

Ok, now to the exciting info… Tuesday my entire Nica 54 group, Environmental and TEFL, left for Managua and stayed there for the night at a hotel close to the Peace Corps office.  I went to the mall and ate a delicious turkey sandwich from Quiznos then saw a movie in a really nice theater.  That quick snap back to “American life” was a little bit of a shock.  At 6:30 Wednesday morning, I headed to one of the bus stops in Managua via taxi to take the 1 ½ hour bus ride to Teustepe for a 6 day site visit, soon to be my new home!!

My new host family is wonderful and welcomed me that night with a pinata even though they thought I wouldn’t be there until the next day.  

I can’t wait to live with them for 6 weeks.  (I’ll officially be moving in on November 23)  My host mom, Rosibel, is 64 and my host dad, Umberto, is 72 and they have 6 kids, ages 21-42  One daughter, Soreida, has a 6 year old boy who is adorable and loves telling my scary stories and playing soccer.  One son, Norman, also has a boy, Hector, who will be 1 yr old on Thanksgiving.  Norman asked me my religion and after saying Catholic, he said, “Oh, so you like the fiestas.”  Apprently Catholics are much more fun than Evangelicals, the other promiment religion in Nicaragua.  I knew I was confirmed for a reason.  Soreida, her son, Norman, his wife and their son all live in a house a half block from my host mom and also own a pulperia.  The 30 year old daugher, Noehlia, works at the pulperia and is a great conversationalist which means it will  be a great place to go to in my free afternoons.  The 21 year old, Danuyzca, will graduate this year with a degree in business administration.  The 42 year old daughter, Fatima, is a teacher at the high school and there other son lives next door and works at the health center in town.  It’s super fun having so many people around all the time because they are constantly talking and listening to music at full volume. 

To top it off, Teustepe is gorgeous.  Below is a pic from my tiny bedroom’s window.

Their backyard has coconut, banana, mango, lemon, and orange trees, and avocado trees were recently planted.  There are 5 parrots, 3 turtles, a rabbit, 6 or 7 chickens, a dog (Jerry), and a goat.  There’s also a frog, “Principe”, who isn’t exactly a pet but presents himself nicely in the house and zaps all the mosquitoes.  There’s an amazing hammock underneath one of the coconut trees which I layed in for 1 hour writing this post.

In Teustepe, there’s a beautiful park with a basketball court, an AC-ed internet café (!), four or five restaurants, and a baseball stadium.  

I already met with the mayor, the delegate of the Ministry of Education, my counterparts, and a ton of teachers.  One school I’ll be working in is one block from my host family’s house and it has about 300 students with 11 teachers.  There’s another basketball court at the school.  I’ll be working with 2 teachers there, one of whom I already met.  The other two schools are in 2 of the 60 communities surrounding Teustepe.  One is in El Crucero, about 2 km from town, called Hermandad Finladia.  There are 3 teachers and I’ll be working in one class of 3^rd and 4^th graders, and another of 5^th and 6^th graders.  To get to the school using the shortest route, I have to cross a river but because it’s the end of rainy season, the river is too high so I took a taxi (50 cents) to visit it.  The other school is in Aguas Calientes and is about a 5 km walk from Teustepe and a little trickier to get to.  I walked there with the sub-director and it took about 40 minutes from El Crucero.  We crossed 3 rivers which meant I was knee deep in water a few times to get to school.  Thank God for Chacos.  If the oxen in Oregon Trail can forge the river, so can I.  The great part is that the teachers and students are fantastic!  There are only 2 classes, one of 1^st-3^rd graders, and the other of 4^th-6^th graders, with about 20 kids in each.  I’ll only be going there one time per week so that 10 km walk won’t be too brutal.

I’m sure you can tell (if you’re still reading at this point.. sorry the post is incredibly long), that I’m so, so happy with my site placement.  The volunteer before me sold me all her things so I won’t have to go bed and stove searching.  She said there’s a strong interest in sports so I’m hoping to do a lot with that.  There’s also a small library in town and the librarian already has reading/writing/craft sessions every Tuesday and Thursday.

Here’s my new address:

Meghan Wischusen

Apartado Postal 23, Boaco

Boaco, Nicaragua

Central America

The post office is in the city of Boaco which is know as the city of two floors and is only 30 minutes away.  I visited on Monday with my host sister and nephw.  I’ve gotta say, it’s a real close competition between Italy and Boaco when it comes to beauty.  The streets are just like San Fran… very, very steep.  There are 5 other Environmental volunteers in the region of Boaco as well as two TEFLers and a couple Small Business.  So, if I need an English break, I’m only a bus ride away!

What I’m basically trying to say with all this rambling is that I’m living in a perfect location for visitors come February  J  I’m 1 ½ hours from Managua and about 2 from Masaya, Leon, and Granada.  Start booking your tickets!!  I can’t talk off from school but the beauty of being a teacher is holidays and weekends.

Can you even believe it’s already been 2 ½ months??

cell phone

Quick post but I got a cell phone.  If calling/texting from the US, 011-505-8836-3765.

It's pretty expensive to call and text but I wanted to pass along the info :)

Busy Busy

It’s been a very fulfilling week and a half!  This past Friday, we found out our potential sites for the next two years so everyone is now thinking about where they’d like to go.  We were given one page of very vague, and I mean vague, information about each site.  For example, basically all sites have water “most of the time” and electricity “almost always”… hmm.  Anyway, we don’t get to actually choose where we want to go but we do have a say in the region and types of things we are looking for that would work best with our strengths.  I’m hoping to get to go somewhere with sports fields!  The five regions I could go to are Leon, Chinandega, Matagalpa, Boaco, and Rivas in case you’re bored one day at work and feel like doing a little research.  If you do get that desperate for something do to, please pass the info along.

On Saturday, we went to Volcan Masaya with everyone in Nica 54.  It was a gorgeous day so we were able to take a lot of pictures.  Supposedly, at night, you can see the lava glowing at the bottom of the crater but all we saw was a ton of sulfur… still a pretty cool.

Sunday was another busy day.  We gardened in the morning and finally have our cucumber bed set up and seeds planted and we also planted the squash seeds.  The tomatoes are growing in their seed bed which is super exciting and was a “wow” moment for us who never thought we’d be able to grow anything.  In about a week, we’ll have to transplant the tomato and pepper plants into the ground so that will be a whole other task to take on.  We had help from a friend of my host family who is studying agriculture at university right now.  He came over last week to stop in and say hi and little did he know, he’d get ambushed to help us keep our garden alive.  I’ve perfected the question “Can you please help us?” and use it very frequently.  We are having a little trouble getting students to work and are hoping for more participation next weekend.  Sunday afternoon was another youth group meeting and we’ve started on our project.. finally!!  We sewed rice/coffee/bean bags together using thick string and a nail and hammered holes in hundreds of soda/beer bottle caps.  This weekend, we’re going to begin sewing the caps on the bags to write our message.

Tuesday really made my week because I taught my first class in 6^th grade.  Okay, so it’s extremely difficult teaching in a language that you don’t really know, but I think I pulled it off.  I taught an hour lesson on simple machines and the kids were pretty into it.  I also realized that as a gringa, I have a huge leg up on Nica teachers because the students absolutely love when we’re in the classroom.  I didn’t have time to finish my lesson but I’m going to pick up where I left off next week.

More thrilling news… Greg, Sara, and I made rice krispie treats for Natalie because it was her birthday on Tuesday.  My host family was fascinated by the complicated procedure of melting the marshmallows and mixing in Coco Krispies.  My host mom teaches me how to make gallo pinto and carne asada and I bring a little bit of the American culture to her.  It’s a win-win.

This past Thursday to Sunday was a big celebration in my community to celebrate Santa Teresa.  A big event were los toros which I went to with some member of most host family and it was pretty interesting.  There were about 30 men inside a "stadium" that was constructed for this weekend, some with red flags, while one man rode the bull.  It basically was mayhem while people climbed up the side of the stadium fence to get out of the way or ran for their lives.  We watched 5 or 6 bull rides and only two guys fell off.  Three men died last year so thank goodness I didn’t have to witness that... no blood at all.  A Nica singer came to the town to have a mini concert at the club which was completely packed with people.  The “bombas” (firecrackers that could easily pass for gun shots) went off on Thursday and Friday starting at 4:00 AM along with the marching bands that think it’s acceptable to begin playing at 4:00 AM as well.  But, there was also a really great show of actual fireworks on Thursday night.

Oh, the chivalry!

Last Saturday, we had our garden setup at La Escuela de Ruben Dario and had a fabulous turnout of about 40 fifth and sixth graders.  It was a little hectic for many reasons.  One, the other aspirantes and I don’t really have the Spanish skills to control a group of that size.  (Thankfully we had a current volunteer there to facilitate.)  Two, we didn’t know anyone’s names because we had only met the kids two days before.  Three, none of us have any gardening experience except for the 2 hour training we received three weeks ago and therefore had a difficult time passing along knowledge.  Let alone the fact that it wasn’t in English…  Four, we were in the midst of a hurricane. 

We got to the school at 8:00 AM and it poured on and off until 11:00 when we called it quits.  In those 3 hours, a few 11 year old boys totally kicked butt using machetes to tackle the 2 feet of grass we had to clear.  Nope, no John Deere here.  Another memorable aspect of that day was the 45 minute hike I went on with 15 Nica kids.  We were sent by the volunteer to fill large bags (sacos) with sand so we could later mix it with the soil.  Of course these kids knew where to look so off we went…. First, I was taken to a trail that was completely covered in about a foot of mud, probably half of it cow dung, and extremely downhill so I convinced the kids to find another spot.  Then, one student suggested we go to the place across the river.  I definitely nixed that decision as well after there was hesitation when I asked, “Will I be swimming?”.  Finally, “Yes, yes.  There’s another place” they said.  Perfect, I thought… I definitely just got out of getting completely covered in mud.  Well, no.  I was wrong.  Instead, they took me behind the school and up another path about 15 minutes away that was just as muddy, maybe more.  In the meantime, it started raining pretty hard but we were roughin’ it.  Girls’ flip flops were breaking and kids were falling all over the place.  As we walked, we started filling the sacos with the sand.  All was fun and dandy expect the sacos were VERY heavy so we heaved and pushed and used teamwork to hoist 30 pound bags on 10 year old boys’ backs who probably weighed double that.  I was carrying a pretty hefty bag on the way back to the school as we passed a group of boys playing soccer.  One boy, about 12 years old, stopped playing and ran right over to me and insisted on carrying my saco the 15 minutes back to school.  So, friends, chivalry is, in fact, not dead.

On a lighter note, we changed language facilitators this week and now my teacher is Rosibel and she’s fabulous.  I also am only in class with one of the other aspirantes so the two-on-one instruction is great.  I just know the next three weeks are going to bring miracles in my speaking ability.  There are some set backs here and there, like when I thought my family asked me about the oatmeal (“avena”) I eat in the morning but they actually were talking about going to a wake (“a vela”) that night.  Soo I told them, sure!  I’d love to have “a vela” in the morning.  I won’t mix up those words again.

On Wednesday, we gave our first of two life-skills presentations to our youth group.  We talked about healthy relationships and it went really well.  I need to give a shout out to 7^th and 8^th grade PEER for teaching me the icebreaker, Shuffle Your Buns.  We totally made a Spanish version and it was a huge hit.  Our group also finalized our idea for our recycled materials project and decided not to use wood to make our environmental awareness sign… for obvious reasons.  Instead we’re going to ask neighbors for old sacos and sew on bottle caps to write our message.  We’re also planning on braiding plastic bags to weave into the sacos for more décor.  Next meeting is Sunday so we’re hoping for some serious work.

Keep your fingers crossed that the next two storms coming don’t flood my house like the last one!  It literally was raining inside the house this past week.  A crack in the window send large amounts gushing in and there was, no kidding, pools of water coming underneath the front door.  The 8 buckets lined up in the living room did their best to catch the water coming in from the roof but weren’t that effective.  Tomorrow is Saturday and we’re supposed to get much more rain.  Hopefully it holds off until 3:00 because we’re working on our “garden” in the afternoon.  With any luck, the quotations around ‘garden’ will be gone by next post because it will actually be legitimate.

Firsts

Yesterday was the day for “firsts”.  There was no water so it was the first time I took a bucket bath.  It was the first time I used the latrine.  It was the first time I used the latrine in the middle of the night with my headlamp while paying extra close attention to not shining the light in the hole because I definitely never want to find out what’s down there.  It was the first time I saw a cockroach in Nicaragua (while using the latrine in the middle of the night… I never picked up my foot so quickly).  It was the first time I realized why, in the morning, there are feathers on the floor of our living room—there’s a bird’s nest in the rafters.  It was the first time I talked to my mom on the phone!  It was the first time I began reading a book in Spanish, El Principito, with much needed assistance from the dictionary of course. 

It’s Monday and I just found out we won’t have water until Thursday.  Thank goodness we have a latrine because otherwise, we’d be up a creek.  Showering won’t be a problem because that’s what rain’s for… good thing it’s the rainy season.  Cooking and drinking, however, is going to be a concern because all the water has to be boiled before doing anything.  It’s really rare for there to be no water for this long of a period, so many people aren’t really prepared.  In el campo, supposedly everyone has buckets and buckets of water saved for times like this.  Not in Santa Teresa.

On a better note, we had a really successful youth group meeting yesterday.  We now have two boys in our group who are going to be a huge help.  We’ve decided to make an environmental awareness sign out of plastic and metal bottle caps by nailing them on a big wooden board.  We have to go to the mayor to ask for money to buy the wood and we’re hoping he’ll give us a decent amount so we can follow through with the project.  We also finally completed our community map and have all the hot spots in Santa Teresa on it.  To top off the day, my family and I watched “The Hot Chick” at night.

how many gringas does it take to hang a poster?

This past Saturday, we had our first hands-on tech training and I built a huerto (vegetable garden) with my group.  We tore up the ground, made seed beds, built a trellis for cucumber plants, and presented it to the rest of the group.  This will definitely be the most difficult part of the next two years because I have ZERO experience gardening except for planting the 10 plants I bought from the PTA at Orange Ave.  Thanks, Mom.  Now we need to start clearing ground at the elementary school where we are going to build a 5 x 5 m. garden with our fifth and sixth graders.  We're going to be planting tomato, cucumber, pepper, squash, and pipian seeds so if you have any advice, we are all ears!

On Sunday, we made invitations for our youth group and hung the signs at the internet cafe (Cyber), the libreria and at the Instituto which is the secondary school.  As the title of this post suggests, it took 4 of us to do this difficult task and even after the hard work, we only had 6 people come to the meeting on Wednesday.  It was kind of discouraging but are hoping for more on Sunday.  We did come up with some really good ideas for our recycled materials project... signs out of bottle caps promoting environmental awareness, mosaics out of glass, pinatas out of newpaper and chip bags, pencil holders out of soda bottles.  We really want to ask the mayor for money to buy materials to have garbage cans made but know we will not get nearly enough money and it will be really difficult to raise enough money in only 3 months.  Also, garbage cans are NEVER used here as my host-mom pointed out numerous times and from what I've seen on the street.  Someone could be standing right next to one and still throw their trash on the ground which we've come to realize is just cultural.  As much as we'd like to promote the importance of throwing trash in the garbage can, it's not something we can take on with such little time.  There is plenty more to do and the youth are enthusiastic.

Tuesday, September 14 was the celebration of Nicaraguan Independence Day so that meant no Spanish class!  It was a nice break but a huge part of me wishes we did have it because lord knows I need to improve.  Anyway, it was a really fun day.  There was a huge parade in Santa Teresa for all the students from the elementary public and private schools and the secondary school to march.  I basically walked in the parade with my 18 year old sister because her younger sister was in the parade so we needed to make sure she stayed hydrated.  It started at 8:00 AM and ended at about 11:30.  After, the secondary school band played for awhile and should seriously consider being featured in Drumline because they are incredible.  It brought me back to Italy because they played Waka Waka.  At night, I went to a club with my sister, cousin, some of her friends, and the other aspirantes.  It was ridiculously hot and the DJ was terrible but it was a good time because the entire community goes out and has a late night and by late night, I was in bed sleeping by 12.  Mom, you'd love the sleep cycle.

Today we had more tech training in Masaya and talked about lesson planning so today has been a great day!!  It was a huge relief realizing that I'm here to teach and that I feel really comfortable doing it.  Teaching in Spanish is a whole other issue but I'm not thinking about that right now.  It was much more encouraging coming out of today's tech training than Saturday's!

Ohh and I really feel part of my family now (not that I didn't before).  A teacher in town walked into my house with me yesterday while my mom was cooking in the kitchen.  I introduced myself to the teacher and as we walked in, she told my mom that her daughter was home.  My mom still hadn't seen us because she was in another room so she said who?  The teacher responded, your daughter.  Again, who?  Finally, the teacher said, your daughter, the gringa.  "Gringa" put the icing on the cake and I couldn't have felt more special.

como se dice...

everything!!  I've arrived in Santa Teresa and absolutely love my host family!  My host-mom works at the Health Center in town and my host-dad works in Managua so is only home on the weekends.  I have two sisters, 18 and 11, and both are extremely nice and very patient with me.  I've been super busy with Spanish class this week but it's good because there isn't much to do here... a lot of sitting outside and saying Adios! to everyone who walks by.  My host-mom's favorite show is Law and Order, though, so Sarah, if you want to come hang, you're more than welcome.  It's in English and subtitled in Spanish so I've been reading everything and picking up on some phrases here and there.  And we have running water and electricity  WAHOO!!  It will be a pretty big adjustment when I move to el campo and won't have either of those on a daily basis.  

Okay, so my group doesn't exactly know Spanish yet but we are getting there (we hope)!  This past week we've had 8 hours of Spanish class every day-- usually 5 hours in the "classroom" which is one of the aspirantes' houses, then we go out into the community and practice our newly acquired skills.  My three other groups members are fabulous and we're all really enthusiastic to learn and to eventually be able to give "charlas" (talks/lessons) in Spanish.  Today we didn't have class because we went to Managua to have technical training and to learn about our four projects during pre-service training-

One is creating a survey pertaining to one of the major problems in Santa Teresa.  We need to interview at least 20 community members to gain inside on how they feel about a major problem we see in the community.  We are thinking about surveying them on water conservation, green space, or trash.  There is SO much garbage in the street, along with a ton of dog/horse/cow poop.  Don't worry, I'm always watching my step.

The second project is to form a youth group, around ages 16-22.  With the group, we need to make some sort of recycled material project (any suggestions??!!), give 2 charlas on life skills we think are appropriate to the group, and basically just get to know the teenagers and have fun!  At the end of the 3 months, we're going to present our project to the rest of the Environmental aspirantes.

Third, is teaching in an elementary school for grades 4-6.  During weeks 6-8, I will have to teach 3 lessons (in Spanish, duh, but-- ahhh!) on natural science.  I'll be collaborating with the classroom teacher to know the topics I'll be doing lessons on and I'm really looking forward to it!  It'll be nice getting back into the classroom :)

Finally, with my group, we're going to build a garden at the elementary school we'll be teaching at.  I have zero experience doing anything related to gardening but I'm going to be a pro soon.  I just know it.   Tomorrow we need to be in Jinotepe at 7:15 to learn how to start a garden!  Also on a side note, I'm pretty sure I'm the only non-outdoorsy person here.  Not totally shocking but everyone talks about their camping/rock climbing/travel experiences and I can proudly say I've been camping once with the Berkowitz's (thanks Jill and Glo!) and we had lovely running water.  I'm going to learn how to rough it.

It's been a jam packed week and I've never felt so many ups and downs in one day.  I've definitely questioned my decision once or twice but there are so many more positives than negatives so I know it's going to be fantastic.  Already I feel like my perspective has been changed on a lot of things.  For example, I probably would never look at a house made of aluminum in the US and say, wow, that's pretty nice.  Or, I'd never get up at 5:30 in the morning to run because I ate a ton of fried food the day before.  Or, I'd never think 20 cordobas was expensive because it's really $1.  

I have to get up early tomorrow to build that garden!  Hopefully the fire ants don't get to me and I am capable of using a Swiss Army Knife.  We'll see...

ps.  thanks for the comments!!  

baby steps

It's been three days in Granada and I'm loving it.  It is a beautiful city and the hotel we are staying at is a 5 minute walk from Lake Nicaragua, a fresh water later with 365 islands and fresh water sharks.  I can see the Mombacho Volcano from the balcony of our hotel room.

Today our group, Nica 54, was given a surprise which was a boat ride on the lake for about 2 hours.  One of the islands is owned by the richest man in Nicaragua who makes Flor de Cana, the most well known rum in Nicaragua.  Another island had monkeys on it who jumped on a couple of our boats (not mine unfortunately) but they were adorable and eating lollipops people gave them.  Sooo.. we are all kind of curious what the Peace Corps is actually about because we've been having a pretty upscale lifestyle for the past few days.  To acclimate to the culture, we definitely are taking teeny tiny baby steps but I'm not complaining!

We've also been having training on literally everything-- safety, culture, language... you know, our job for the next two years.  We were placed in our Spanish groups today after an oral interview and then a mini class this morning with others who were on a similar level.  For the next three months I'll be living in Santa Teresa, a town in the region of Carazo, with my host family!!  Along with my host mom and day, I have two host sisters but word on the street says there are usually a lot more people living in the house.  I'm really excited to meet them tomorrow morning.  The next 3 months consist of intense Spanish training for 4 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon Monday through Thursday.  Fridays are usually for situating other things like meds and more training on culture and safety.  On occasional Saturdays, we have technical training which means I'll learn how to start a garden, make compost, and other things relating to the environment and how to teach it in the schools.  There are three other volunteers in my town and I'll be with them everyday learning Spanish with our Nica facilitator.  Needless to say, it's an exhausting 3 months but completely necessary for me whose Spanish is certainly not up to par.

I'm off to go downstairs to our hotel pool and outside dining area where we're having a huge dance party and probably getting some salsa, cha cha cha, and merengue lessons.  You know my dancing skills are unfortunate so I've got a lot to learn.

Another post will be coming soon to tell you all about my family!

prep work

Surprisingly, packing was pretty much done at the beginning of this week.  Usually I wait until the last minute, but I wanted to make sure I made the 80 lb limit and rearrange accordingly.  You might not believe it, but I'm more than 10 lbs under!  (A small difference from unloading 6 lbs pre-check in for Italy which meant giving my dad all toiletries and putting jeans, books, and sweaters in my backpack.)  I guess it's pretty easy when you know it's always hot and/or rainy, shorts are not typical attire, and jeans are considered dressy so tank tops, light-weight pants, and long skirts were the way to go.  Goodbye dresses and jackets!

I've been testing out all my new "equipment".  First of all, Chaco's are AMAZING.  They're not the most attractive shoe which I was reminded of often in Disney World, but they helped me through the flood in MGM and are super comfy.  My backpack is also pretty awesome with lots of secret compartments, a rain coat- yes, for the backpack, and about 50 clips for all sorts of fun things.  Not so fun was when I cut open the packaging on my Swiss Army Knife today.  You know, I was pretty excited to see all of its uses- scissors, cork screw, tweezers, nail file, you name it.  I pulled the first piece out which was the blade but when I pulled the next piece, which was the bottle opener, I got a nice big cut on my index finger.  A few BandAids did the trick and at least I know the blade is sharp enough.  I've yet to figure out how to get the batteries in my headlamp... yes, a headlamp.

Well... I wrote the first two paragraphs a few days ago and today was my going away party so the whole "I'm 10 pounds under" goes right down the drain.  I'll definitely be taking out some unnecessary clothes to fit in much appreciated books, journals, flashlights, photos, and juicy art supplies - Augustines, you rock.  I think the emergency blanket and underwater pen will be a nice addition to my carry-on, Jeanine.  I am so so lucky to have such unbelievable family and friends.  I couldn't have asked for a better second to last day home!  "Good luck" and "you're crazy" seemed to go hand in hand along with an occasional "holy shit".  I got an offer from my cousin Bob to live in his backyard for the next year and teach his 5 kids English, ages 1 through 8... I'd live in a tent of course to keep the experience.  My uncle asked me why I wasn't doing Peace Corps in Paris or Vienna.  My friend told me he'd be living a few doors down from me in Nicaragua but with the Fun Corps.  I discovered O'Hara is actually a poet and my year's salary is my sister's one month rent check.

But in all seriousness, a huge GRACIAS to everyone who bid me farewell.  I wouldn't have been as psyched for this experience without your support and encouragement.

Enough of this blogging from NJ... next post will be from Nica and is sure to be more exciting!

10 days!

Who knew I'd be a "blogger"?  It's a little comical but when communication is scarce, you have to do whatever it takes.  I felt it would be appropriate to make my first post ten days before departure... why?  I'm not really sure.   Everyone has been asking me how I'm feeling about leaving NJ for 27 months and the first word I use is always excitement!!  I can't wait to learn about an entirely different culture and live in a completely unknown environment.  Of course I throw in "anxious", too, because it wouldn't be normal not to have a few nerves.  This entire process of applying to and being accepted to serve in the Peace Corps has been a whirlwind.  I'll give you a brief synopsis of how it went..

I decided to apply for the Peace Corps when I wasn't sure of my job security after all the budget cuts in NJ.  Three amazing people wrote recommendations for me (thanks!) while I filled in the online application and wrote a few essays.  I, then, had my interview in NYC and was asked for my top two choices of region which I said would be Central/South America then Africa.  About a week later, I received an e-mail giving me two possible assignments - one in Central/South America and one in the Pacific Islands.  Yeaa, the Pacific Islands would be absolutely gorgeous but literally on the other side of the world thus kinda far from home.  I immediately responded that I would love to volunteer as an Environmental Educator in the Central/South America region.  I certainly didn't think my projected departure date of August 31 would become a reality.  After getting my medical clearance (well most of it) before leaving for Italy, I still didn't believe I might be leaving at the end of August.  But sure enough, halfway through my incredible stay in Lucca, I received my invitation via e-mail saying I would be serving in Nicaragua!  Daniela, my Italian host mom, was the first person I could share the news with and she was nothing but supportive.. and a little shocked because if you are born in Lucca, you live in Lucca, and you die in Lucca :)  Needless to say, I skyped my parents almost everyday the last two weeks in Italy trying to get everything situated from overseas.  It was a little difficult considering my cell phone wasn't the most reliable but I was able to get all the loose ends tied with a tremendous amount of help from my family and the Peace Corps.  I also had to call my boss and tell him I would not be returning as a fourth grade teacher for the upcoming school year.  It definitely was bittersweet.  I couldn't have asked to work in a more supportive and comfortable environment but I knew I couldn't pass this opportunity up.  RG, you'll be missed.

After 20 hours of travel from Lucca to Pisa to Rome to Amsterdam to NY, I made it safe and sound to NJ.  I met a few friends the following night to share the news... I really wanted to wait to tell them in person because in the grand scheme of things, one more week wouldn't make too much of a difference.  Of course, they were amazing and couldn't wait to hear more about what I would be doing.  I got a few laughs after describing the environmental aspect of the assignment... we all know I'm not that in touch with nature but hey, that's what training is for, right?  (I have a lot of learn, including major brushing up on my Spanish skills.  Thank god for Podcasts, Senora Budd, and the Bertocchini family - I keep reassuring myself that Italian and Spanish are very similar...)

I just started "Blood of Brothers" which is a novel about life and war in Nicaragua written by a journalist who spent much of his life there.  It was recommended by a former Peace Corps Nica volunteer and because politics is a huge part of the everyday conversation, I thought it would be worth the read.  It's extremely interesting but taking a while because I keep stumbling across a great website either on Nicaraguan culture or environmental issues, Peace Corps blogs, or Old Navy sales (I've heard tank tops are a must), and lose focus on my book.  Oh well... I still have 10 days!


Here's my address for the first 11 weeks if you have that strong desire to send me mail..

Meghan Wischusen, PCT
Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 3256
Managua, Nicaragua
Central America