A Slice of Nica Life

so this is totally random but here goes a lot of thoughts!
- Life here is loud! Besides all the barking dogs and roosters, there are many types of noises. people mplay loud music and since houses are fairly open, it´s easy to hear other people´s radios or tvs....which most people have - they watch terrible soap operas and the news. also, i live by the catholic church - lots of bells and all the doors and windows are open during mass so i hear a lot of that. i also live by the park - basically the hang out in town. cars blare music. also, trucks drive by with loud speakers announcing random things. everything on wheels honks constantly - even buses at 4 am. and of sourse wherever people are, it is loud. oh and the rain on the tin roof is also quite loud...but at least it drowns out everything else!
- the most visible thing is all the trash on the streets. there aren´t publc trash cans and people throw everything on the streets. they also burn trash frequently and most cook over a fire so there is a constant smell of bonfire - which i dont really even notice anymore.
- some poeple here are artisans, like my family. others have small stores that sell flour, sugar, oil, bananas, etc. there is an elementary school and a secondary school so some people are teachers. and the rest of the people...honestly i have no idea what the do. some do walk around selling chips, baked goods, frescos, etc and they do this on buses as well...even little kids.
- clothes: plastic sandals in a variety of colors, kids wear either the whole uniform or half of it (white button down shirt and navy pants or skirt) to school, jeans, tight shirts, t shirts. girls wear shorts more that guys. lots of skirts.
- people sometimes go to school...if they want and its not raining. rain is an excuse to not do things. which is odd considering it rains all the time! education isn´t really valued here. it really doesn´t help you get a job or anything if you go to high school or just elementary school. also parents need their kids to work or help out around the house.
- my family has a dog and last week she had 5 puppies...so cute!!!!! they are a mix of a doberman and german shepherd. love them!
- houses: most are made of concrete with tin or zinc roofs. others are made of wood and use plastic. these are poorer houses. part of the floors are dirt and other parts are tile. also part of the house is outside with a few walls around. our bathroom shower and kitchen are outside.
- who needs power tools when you have a machete!!! we started our garden at the secondary school - about 30 students showed up which was fantastic although with that many people it was hard to keep them all busy. those kids are rockstars with their machetes. they cleared an area for the garden in a snap and they cut all the sticks we used for our fence. so talented. i have a new goal while i´m here...become a machete expert. so the garden is planted - let´s hope our tomoates, green peppers and squash actually grow!
- the weather has been a little strange. two days this week i wore jeans and long sleeve t shirt - it was chilly! then it got really hot and humid. and then it rained for 2 days.
- activities for kids are definitely lacking. boys play soccer and baseball...on teams or just for fun. i´ve never seen any girls participate in an organized sport. little kids entertain themselves easily. a bottle cap or stick can entertain them for hours. the other trainees and i got a group of elem kids together to play games every week. so far we´ve played freeze tag, red light green light, sharks and minnows, and duck duck goose. they´ve had a blast as have we.
- nicas have amazing balance. the women carry huge sacks or baskets on their heads. they can put 2 or 3 people on a bike and not tip over. 1 sits in front on the corssbar and the other stands behin the person on the seat. people put stuff on the top of busses and climb back in while the bus is moving. it´s ridiculous.
-travel: most people walk or ride bikes around town. also public buses are very common - and incredibly packed! then there are vans that can pack in about 20 people. there are normally 4 rows of seats and then people sit right behind the driver facing the rest of the van and you have to alternate legs with the people across from you. i rode like that to managua - pretty exciting. and the guy that takes the money stands bent over by the door. also they have regular taxis but not many unless you are in bigger towns. around smaller areas there are motitos...i wish i knew a good way to describe them. kind oflike a golf cart with a vinal roof. no doors, one little area for the driver and a back seat for riders. and they can pack people in those too. with some standing with their whole body outside. some people have motorycycles and a few have cars - althought trucks are more connon - plus you can fit tons of people in the back. main roads are paved - the roads in my town are either dirt or cement blocks- not cobblestone . they are fairly flat but they don´t totally come together.
- probably due to the heat and sun, people get up very early (4 or 5) and go to bed early (8-10). its is pitch black by 6:05 pm so thats an adjustment. meal times are failry similar. i eat breakrast a little before 7, lunch at noon, and dinner at 6.
- my family has had other trainees and they really like learning about americans. and i´m sure the money is also nice. but they are fantastic and so much fun.
- i definitely feel a little out of it as far as news goes. we pick up newsweeks at pc office but thats about it. i don´t really watch tv so i don´t see the news and i haven´t had much luck finding newspapers here. so if anything big happens in the states someone should let me know!
- dental hygiene is lacking and no one wears glasses so i stick out...as if i didn´t already...gringa! and im not used to wearing glasses at all and they drive me nuts! always sliding down because im always sweaty...nice i know!
- money: we get 37 cords a day roughly. i dont buy a lot right now...mainly internet and bus rides. for some perspective...a trip to managua is 18 each way, 12 for an hour of internet, 10 to send a letter to the states, 18 for a bottle of coke. i dont really know what food costs since i dont buy any although i did get an apple in managua...very rare here and it was 19...but so tasty!
- funeral procession...someone in my town died and we saw them walk from the church to the cemetary. a few people carried the coffin and the rest walked with flowers. the procession stopped traffic and no one wore black and no one was crying.
- soccer game! we watched a soccer game which was so much fun. gorgeous location...surrounded by forest with mountains in the background. the best part of the game ...when the horse and cart went trotting diagonally through the entire field. play stopped, no one cared...we asked the coach if that was normal and he said it happens. second best part of the game...when the horse and cart went back across the field! hahaha so fantastic.
- baseball game! we also watched a baseball game...one of my little buddies plays so we went to watch him...it was great...although lots of drunk older men at 10am on a sunday trying to tell me that i was spanish and how to get rid of my sniffles!

ok so there ya go...lots of stuff going on...we teach at the high school 2 times a week, at the elementary school once and at a multigrade classroom once. so lots going on...lots of classes and discussions...but i love that we get to teach! and i´m excited to see how our garden works out and we start our tree nursery soon.

miss you all..thanks again for all the email...i love reading them...sorry i can´t respond very often but i do appreciate them very much!! LOVE YOU!

hello rice and beans

so yeah...the whole rice and beans thing...totally not kidding...lots and lots of rice and beans here! So far I´ve been liking the food...but my family gives me so much it´s ridiculous...and I think I´ve actually finished 2 meals since I´ve been here. My training town is a super cute little town...there are 2 other volunteers with me. My family is awesome. They are artisans and make fruit out of wood. My 18 year old sister takes me everywhere with her and my 13 year old brother is a riot ... he´s so entertaining. The other sisters don´t live at home but one comes over everyday to cook and she brings her 2 sons who are adorable...although sometimes hard to understand! But they are good to practice with. We have spanish class Monday thru Thursday from 8 till noon and then applied practice from 1 to 3. Wednesday afternoon and Fridays we have technical sessions or medical chats...our first will be on gardening and common illnesses. also some Saturdays we have stuff as well.

How to describe the experience...as one of the other volunteers said...imagine any possible uncomfortable situation and that´s what we are doing. Today we walked to the police station to introduce ourselves...so much fun. Yesterday we walked around to all the house asking if youth lived there and then invited them to join our youth group. We meet with them twice a week and will be doing a garden and at least one other mini environment project with them as well as games and life skills chats and who knows what else. We were going to have our first meeting today but it poured and poured so no one came. So tonight we will walk around with more invitations for Thursday. Today we also went to the elementary school where we will be teaching lessons every week. I will be working with the 6th graders. I´m really looking forward to it! Talking to police...not really my thing...teaching kids...totally my thing! So I´m pumped about that.

Independence day is coming up here so every afternoon the kids have been practicing for the parade...I´ve never heard so many drums play the same thing over and over again! Oh and the parade starts at 7:30 am and ends around 11 so that should be quite interesting. There is a really beautiful lagoon here and a sweet volcano not far away either.

Weather...so it´s really hot and humid here. I´m not sure I really ever stop sweating except for in the shower..although tonight has been cooler since it rained. It gets dark at exactly 6 pm which is very odd for me. The other volunteers and I have started walking at night when it´s not so hot for some exercise because I really don´t feel like we are getting any, although we do walk around town a lot...everyone walks really slow here so it´s not really exercise. The mosquitos are terrible! I never see them yet somehow my legs are covered in bites. Not fun. Sleeping under a net is also interesting. Not really a huge deal at all...my only complaint would be when I get into bed I just want to go to sleep...not tuck my net in for 5 minutes...slight exagerration :)

Oh also about my family...we have a shower outside which is just water coming out of a pipe and the cold water feels really really good. And we have our little outhouse but it has a toliet in it so that´s nice...still spoiled haha. The water goes off every afternoon and night so you have to fill the tank. No big deal. And I did take a bucket shower the other day since the water was off...also no big deal although getting the shampoo out of my hair was a little difficult...but I´ll get better at it.

This is totally random and not in order but I keep remembering things. The first night I got to my town, my sisters took me to a quince años party (15 years old) which is a huge deal here. So we went to this other town ... to a big hall ... everyone was dressed up. It was a lot of fun...everyone out dancing and enjoying themselves...although cultural difference : dancing with 15 year old boys totally normal here...umm SUPER uncomfortable for me! The music was great...they played a lot of different stuff. and the occasional song in English: got low, a random mix of older stuff, Elvis, who let the dogs out techno version, and others that I don´t remember. So great.

Training in Mangua was lots of fun. We were busy most of the time but we did take advantage of the pool at night. There were current volunteers who told us lots of valuable info. I kinda feel like we just keep getting bombarded with information - all very important but a little overwhelming. Also, all the volunteers in my group are amazing! The only sad thing was we got to hang out for a few days and now we are all separated by language ability. Sad. And I don´t think we will see everyone from both sectors until swearing in. (there are 2 sectors here training now: environment and agriculture).

Well that´s all I can think of now...oh and my town has a little internet cafe and a post office so that´s fun. but that´s about it.

I miss everyone!!! BESOS!

ADIOS!

wow...so staging is over and we are leaving in the morning. This is great - I'm so excited for Nicaragua and all the wonderful experiences I will have. I have met 39 of the most amazing people ever and I can't wait to get to know them even more. sooooooooo I'm off to get everything ready for the morning - next time I write I will be in Nicaragua!!!! I miss and love all my friends and family....Hasta pronto (see you soon)!!!