Round 2

Now that I have been here for a year, I am seeing things again for the second time. I must say that the same things I saw this time last year seem quite different this time around. I feel like I have a better grasp of what’s going on and why people do what they do and say what they say. I feel a lot more comfortable. I think that my second year here will be a lot less overwhelming. I am going to try to have fun and continue to do my best to help my counterparts and students.

Also I am finally starting to make friends! After 10 months in my site, I have to say that I have some friends. Which is nice. Even though our activities include hanging out at their store or pharmacy, talking and people watching. It’s a different kind of life style and I am getting use to it. My neighbor made food for me the other night! She just came over and asked me if I like pork. I said yes and next thing you know I am eating a delish meal. Sometimes she tries to speak English. As she is leaving she say “I wait to hope that you like”. Doesn’t make sense but I understand what she meant! I am sure that’s what I sound like sometimes in Spanish. I had a leak in my roof from a strong gust of wind. The water began to come inside. Now the “floors” of my house are pure concrete so a little water inside isn’t a big deal, but it started to rain really hard and the water was starting to rise. So I had to rig a little mechanism to keep it from coming in. I was proud of myself. My creation is pictured here as well.


I am trying to make an actual meal at least once a week. Often times I just eat a sandwich or something quick for lunch. In my opinion it’s way too hot to be cooking mid-day. I usually sweat to death from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. But I think I can manage to cook at least once a week. I have a few pictures of my creations.

That’s all for now. Year two is starting off great and I am sure there will be more stories and adventures to come.


Pictures

Food creations
My anti-leak mechanism
Pictures of a trip to Leon with some friends

My How Time Flies

I have been in Nicaragua for one full year now! I can´t believe it. So much has happened in the past year and also there is so much that could happen in the coming year. One year in Nicaragua means I still have 1 year and 3 months left because it´s 27 months of service. So when I get to November, it will be a real celebration because it´s exactly one more year until I come home.

I have things to look forward to. I am going to plan a trip with my friends to celebrate our one year of service in November. We are planning on renting a house on the beach for a few days. Also in December I will be coming home for two weeks! I am so excited. I can´t wait to see my family and my dog and sleep in my bed! I am also excited about buying some new clothes because my clothes are starting to get really torn! I must admit that I am also a little nervous about coming home. I know things will be different and I am little different so I am sure it will be strange. More importantly I am going to freeze to death! I will have to tell my mom to bring me a big coat or sweater to the airport. I have no warm clothes with me!

Overall I am really proud of myself! I was nervous that I wouldn't make it though this experience and here I am one year into it! I am confident that I will be able to do the last 15 months of service. OK well Below are some pictures of me and friends that i never posted and also some of my favorite quotes from past blogs...

Quotes:
"At the end of the day I feel really tired and mentally exhausted from speaking so much Spanish."

"At the lagoon, two of the boys were using four 2 liter coke bottles as floating devices"
"
I have realized that feel the most out of place here when I am at a social event."

"Then there is cake, which here in Nicaragua, they usually eat in napkins with their hands."

"I must say that teaching is hard! I give all the teachers that I had in the past a lot of credit because it’s not easy!"

"Today was my first time going to the gym with my host mom and her friends. It was really funny, because a lot of the Nicaraguans are really short, so here I am considered tall. There were several machines that I literally couldn’t use because they were made for people who were 5’3 and below. Well maybe I could have changed the height on them but I didn’t know how!"

"I am very excited because my mom and sister are coming in about 6 weeks! I can’t wait to seem them."

“Oh didn’t hear that man driving around in that truck with that megaphone announcing that it’s time to pay your energy bill.” Apparently I have to pay some man that drives around in a van."

Out on my Own

So moving out on my own has been quite an adventure. Let me start by saying that I am loving my independence with the new house. There have been some adjustments that I have had to make. One being getting use to the "nature” coming inside. I have had some scares with the spiders, lizards, mice and cockroaches. But I know by the end of this I will be fearless when it comes to little critters! I am already starting to have a thicker skin when it comes to that stuff. I am cooking for myself now! But I am finding myself having to be creative with what I am cooking. I have made some good/strange meals so far. I am finding myself eating soy meat, which I always hated (but never tried) in the states. Sometimes I feel like I am a vegetarian here. Which isn’t a bad thing.
I paid my first month's rent the other day. Everything went smoothly except for when I asked my landlord how much the electricity bill was. She said something like “oh didn’t hear that man driving around in that truck with that megaphone announcing that it’s time to pay your energy bill.” Apparently I have to pay some man that drives around in a van. I have to present my receipt, which I also didn’t have and pay my bill. Otherwise I have to go to the main office, which is a pricey cab ride. But on another note, the plantain tree in my front yard is now “bearing fruit” My neighbor cute them down and gave half to me and she took the rest. So I will be frying up some of those up soon. Those are just a few of my many adventures as a renter in Nicaragua. I bet there are many more stories to come! Almost a year in Nicaragua! I must say I am proud of myself!

Pictures:

1. I found that painting in my little backyard. It was pretty nice so I put it up on the wall
2. Some of the plantains from the tree. I am going to eat them
3. Two Gatorade bottles I filled with dirt and made into weights for when I exercise

Moving Out

Hello all!

So my big news is that I moved out into my own little casita about a week ago. For the past couple of months I had been thinking about moving out into a place of my own. Since I am a volunteer, I don’t get that much money a month. It took me awhile to find a place that I could afford! After asking a lot of people and a little searching I found a cute little palce. It’s pretty basic there is only one small room where my bed is and the rest is open. The walls and the floors are made of concrete the bathroom is outside. There is a small patio in the back where I wash dishes and wash my clothes. I don’t have all the comforts of home, but it’s my own little space and I like it a lot. I live on the same property as another family but the two houses are completely separate. I am still trying to set things up. Poco a poco, I will find things to add to the house. I still need something to hang my clothes on. I live really close to my host family, so I can visit them anytime. I do miss spending time with the kids but I plan on going to hang out with them often. I am excited to have my own space and have my own schedule. It's really great because a lot people here in my community let me borrow furniture from them. Someone let me borrow a bed and two tables. My school let me borrow a table and four plastic chairs! It was a big help, because it can add up.

As far as cooking goes I have a two-burner gas stove. Cooking if definitely different. I am so use to my host family making all my meals. But I plan on getting really creative and trying to make some different meals. My first meal I made on the stove was fried plantains with cheese and avocado. It was pretty good. I will definitely be eating more like a vegetarian while I am here haha. There are two banana trees in my yard also. The owner said I can eat them; I just have to cute the banana tree down with a machete so it will grow again. He said it like it was no big deal. I don’t really know how to use a machete so I am not sure if I will be eating those bananas! Well that’s all for now.


The picture is of my first meal and then there are also a few pictures of the house.

Bluefields and Palo de Mayo

This past weekend I went with a group of friends/ volunteers to Bluefields for Palo de Mayo. Bluefields is located on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. The people that live there speak English, Spanish and Creole. A lot of their ancestors came to Nicaragua as slaves from Africa for the British. The trip was so much fun! When I was there, it felt like I was in a different country. Since a lot of the people there are of African decent a lot of people mistook me for a Nicaraguan. A few times people came up to me and started speaking Creole. I had no idea what they were saying. While I was there I wasn’t sure if I should speak English or Spanish, it was confusing!

Getting there was an adventure in it’s self! We left Managua at 8:30 pm and arrived in a city called Rama at 2:30 in the morning. We waited in Rama until 5:30 am. and then took a little boat (panga) to Bluefields. That’s the primary way the people from Bluefields go back and forth to the capital. There is an airport in Bluefields but of course that is more expensive. On our way back to Managua it was raining and there was no roof on the boat so they covered us up with a tarp like luggage haha. It was very interesting. I stayed at another volunteer's house during the trip. His name is William. He lives in Bluefields with a family. His family is so nice; they have a really nice house and a huge family.

There was a parade to celebrate Palo de Mayo while we were there. Palo de Mayo means may pole in Spanish. Which is adopted from the May Pole that is celebrated in England. In Nicaragua, they are celebrating fertility. They dance around an actual tree with fruits tied to it. I didn’t get to see a May Pole dance, but I saw the decorated tree. At the parade there were people from the coast dancing traditional dances; it was really fun to watch and the little kids were so cute! I also ate seafood and sat by the water. I didn’t realize how much I miss living near water. It was very relaxing. I heard reggae music nonstop while I was there. It was a nice change from the music I hear normally in my site. There were a few bumpy moments during trip, which is inevitable when traveling, but overall a good trip! I want to go back and see all the beaches there, especially corn island and pearl lagoon!

Pictures: From Bottom to top
The Dock in Rama before we left for Bluefields
On the boat about to dock in Bluefields
A May Pole
A view if the parade from up above
Me with my friend Stephanie and Megan at a resturant by the water

I will put up the rest of the pictures on facebook.

Central Park Inauguration

This past weekend was the inauguration of the central park in my town. When I first got here in November it was under construction. I was told by many people that the park was really beautiful before. So I was really curious to see what they would do. The finished product is really great! There are beautiful trees and a little gazebo and benches and a basketball court and a stage. Last night they had a free concert for everyone. They had tradional folklore dances and some hip hop dances which was fun to see.

I also saw a band called the Nuvevo Panzers. One of the first songs they started singing was one of my favorite songs I hear on the radio here in Nica. At first I thought omg this is the same group that sings this song, yay! Then I heard another song I knew and that’s when I put it all together. Last night I heard my first Nicaraguan cover band. They played all the popular songs that are on the radio and it was a big dance party. It was fun to watch all the people dancing, and doing salsa, merengue, and bachata. All the dances I can’t do, but want to learn. It was a nice event, to get everything in the town together to celebrate. Because of this big dance party, we don’t have school today. The mayor decided that people will need some rest today after the bacanal aka big fiesta. I took some pictures but they aren’t very good. There is also a picture of the park during the daytime(also not very good_). There is also picture of my host brother with his project. He worked really hard on it and I was impressed. It’s all the rivers in Central America.

Adios Amigos

Mom and Britt Visit Nicaragua!

Hola a Todos!

I just had a wonderful week of fun with my mom and sister in Nicaragua. I knew it was going to be a good trip when I picked them up from the airport and my mom told me that she accidentally put the house phone in her purse and brought it to Nicaragua. If that isn't a sign for a good trip I don't know what is!

So the first day they arrived. We went to the hotel to drop our stuff off. We stayed in the city of Granada. We took a short nap and then we decided to go in the city to walk around and eat dinner. In many ways Nicaragua is my mom's shopping dream come true. There are so many booths with crafts and such. My mom's favorite. Even though I had to explain the Nicaraguan/American money conversion to her every time she bought something... haha The city of Granada has a lot of cool restaurants and places to walk around. It was fun for Mom and Britt to walk around.

The next two days we spend visiting my old host family and my new host family. On Monday along with another friend of mine, we took my first host mom and host sister out to lunch in Catarina. At the restaurant we could look out and see Laguna de Apoyo, it was really pretty. Then Tuesday we went to the Market in the city of Masaya to do more shopping. We ate some delicious fresh fruit drinks before going to my town to see my current host family and to walk around the city. My mom brought gifts for the family and they really seemed to like them. Later on a few of my students from my community English class came over to meet my mom and sister. They were supposed to introduce themselves in English but they ended up doing nothing more than giggling. They were cute though.

The next day we decided to go to Mombacho volcano. We went in a truck up a steep hill to go part of the way up the mountain. Then after that we went on about an hour long hike to see the different look out points on the volcano. It was really pretty. Although not what my mom and sis were looking for. I think they wanted to see some smoke and lava haha. We plan on going to an active volcano next time. After this trip to the volcano we re-named mom MOM-bacho after the volcano. She can erupt just like a volcano haha. (Not really but it was funny to us at the time) We felt very active and adventurous that day because we went on a hike!

On Thursday we went to visit the Isletas of Granada. They are little islands that were formed when the volcano erupted and the rock from the volcano formed hundreds of little islands. We took a boat out to the islands and we had a tour guide show us all the flowers and birds and beautiful houses on the islands. If you are interested in buying an island, they start at about $300,000. We also went to Monkey Island. We tried to feed them Mangos but they weren't having it.

The trip went by really fast. It was so much fun to spend time with my mom and sister. I didn't want them to leave. I think they had a really great time in Nicaragua. The trip brought out their adventurous sides. At he end of the trip they already told me that they wanted to come back! If anyone wants to come and visit me between now and Christmas time, let me know!!!

I had a really great time with my mom and sister. I just wanted to make sure they had a good time and I think I accomplished that!

I have one or two pictures from everyday of the trip. The rest of my pictures will be on facebook.

Hasta Luego