Two burning volcanoes in the background
you cant see the crater, but I am on top of the ridge
Lake in the background
My friend Kate and I
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Volcan Masaya
Katie and I on the bus on the way to the Volcano: Masaya
Jenny, Katie and I
Volcan Masaya!
The waterfall I visited on my Volunteer Visit
The waterfall has a nice cave (right above my head) which is a great camping spot.
Training in Dolores
I think it’s about time that I talk about training and what it is that I am actually doing out here in Dolores.
Peace Corps training was revolutionized by PC Nica. I know that sounds ridiculous, but the “Community Based” training model was made, adapted, and disseminated from Nicaragua. I’m not sure of exactly how many countries implement this type of training but it is certainly different than I expected. As I understand it, most trainees are in a compound where they have intensive language and technical training, but generally, everyone lives together. In our training here we live with a host family, there are only 4 of us in our training towns, and our language classes and technical training are integrated into our everyday routine.
What I mean by that is this:
-We have a youth group. This is a main priority for all Peace Corps projects in Nicaragua because more than 25% of all pregnancies are in girls under the age of 19. I see regularly girls between the ages of 13-16 walking the streets of Dolores 6, 7 and 8 months pregnant. It is unbelievably sad and could have large implications on future HIV rates.
We have a solid 10 kids in our “Club de Jovenes” (Youth Group) that meets two times a week and so far, so good. It got off to a rocky start, but slowly it is becoming easier, and we have given them two charlas (interactive lectures); one on skills to build a healthy life and the other on self-esteem. Next week is a big week because we are doing sexual health, etc. They have a final project at the end where they have to give a charla to another group of people (we are being trained in training the trainers- a tongue twister for sure), but haven’t talked about this final project very much because most of our kids are shy and we don’t want to scare them away, ha. Many kids here have “pena” or embarrassment, especially the girls. Anyway, we are trying to ease them into it slowly; we’ll see how it goes.
-I also give charlas in the Centro de Salud (Health Center). Healthcare is free in Nica but cost is not the only barrier in providing effective healthcare, especially here. (A post for another time: “Socialist Values in Healthcare”, “Republicans, beware! Healthcare in Nica”, etc). Patients come to the health center, and as they wait to see a doctor, I give them a 15-25 minute charla on some topic of health- yes in Spanish. Last week I talked about STDs and this week I hope to give 2 or 3 charlas, possibly on malaria, dengue and general hygiene.
-Right now we are also preparing our Survey of the community. We decided to complete our survey on alcoholism in Dolores and the effects on the Community. There is plenty of public drinking, public passing-out, etc. Results to follow.
Also in my training here in Dolores I will give charlas in the schools to youth between the ages of 9-13 during one of their school periods. The children in Dolores attend school either in the morning or in the afternoon, not both. In the campo (rural areas), kids attend school only on Saturday. I thought that was because they needed to help their parents during the week but the truth is that school is only once a week because there is a lack of resources aka buildings and teachers.
So basically we are doing a lot of what we will also be doing in our sites, but here we are doing it together, struggling with Spanish, and we have support from the training coordinators and our language facilitators. I can’t imagine how other Peace Corps countries do it, training is so hard and we are constantly tired, but we are lucky that we get a test run before jumping into site.
My schedule this week looks like this:
Monday:
8AM-3PM- Language class
3PM-5PM- Club de Jovenes (and charla on STIs, teen pregnancy and birth control methods)
6-7- Dinner
7-8- The family all watches “our” favorite telenovela. It’s about a two girls that were in a horrible car crash. One dies but the doctors put the face of the dead girl on the body of the live one. She now works undercover trying to take out the huge drug lord who is in love with “her” (but remember, she is really the other girl). Oh, and they were married to the same man at some point, but I can’t figure out when that happened. It’s a Latin American soap opera and it’s amazing. It’s also on EVERY night during the week…. My parents (mostly my papa surprisingly) watch novelas from 7-11PM.
8-10PM- Homework: preparing charlas for the next day, reading technical books for the week etc.
Tuesday:
730AM- Charla in the Health Center and then the same as Monday.
Weds:
Same morning routine.
Group technical session in the afternoon: All trainees attend.
Weds afternoon technical test
Thursday:
730AM Chalra in Health Center then same as Monday.
Second meeting with Club de Jovenes.
Language proficiency test
Friday:
Technical training all day in Managua: 7AM-5PM
Saturday:
“Field visit”: We are traveling 4 ours north to 2 volunteers who work primarily in the Casas Maternas (The ministry of health is implementing institutionalized births and so these “houses” keep women who are 8 1/2 months pregnant, until they give birth in a hospital or a centro de salud.)
Peace Corps training was revolutionized by PC Nica. I know that sounds ridiculous, but the “Community Based” training model was made, adapted, and disseminated from Nicaragua. I’m not sure of exactly how many countries implement this type of training but it is certainly different than I expected. As I understand it, most trainees are in a compound where they have intensive language and technical training, but generally, everyone lives together. In our training here we live with a host family, there are only 4 of us in our training towns, and our language classes and technical training are integrated into our everyday routine.
What I mean by that is this:
-We have a youth group. This is a main priority for all Peace Corps projects in Nicaragua because more than 25% of all pregnancies are in girls under the age of 19. I see regularly girls between the ages of 13-16 walking the streets of Dolores 6, 7 and 8 months pregnant. It is unbelievably sad and could have large implications on future HIV rates.
We have a solid 10 kids in our “Club de Jovenes” (Youth Group) that meets two times a week and so far, so good. It got off to a rocky start, but slowly it is becoming easier, and we have given them two charlas (interactive lectures); one on skills to build a healthy life and the other on self-esteem. Next week is a big week because we are doing sexual health, etc. They have a final project at the end where they have to give a charla to another group of people (we are being trained in training the trainers- a tongue twister for sure), but haven’t talked about this final project very much because most of our kids are shy and we don’t want to scare them away, ha. Many kids here have “pena” or embarrassment, especially the girls. Anyway, we are trying to ease them into it slowly; we’ll see how it goes.
-I also give charlas in the Centro de Salud (Health Center). Healthcare is free in Nica but cost is not the only barrier in providing effective healthcare, especially here. (A post for another time: “Socialist Values in Healthcare”, “Republicans, beware! Healthcare in Nica”, etc). Patients come to the health center, and as they wait to see a doctor, I give them a 15-25 minute charla on some topic of health- yes in Spanish. Last week I talked about STDs and this week I hope to give 2 or 3 charlas, possibly on malaria, dengue and general hygiene.
-Right now we are also preparing our Survey of the community. We decided to complete our survey on alcoholism in Dolores and the effects on the Community. There is plenty of public drinking, public passing-out, etc. Results to follow.
Also in my training here in Dolores I will give charlas in the schools to youth between the ages of 9-13 during one of their school periods. The children in Dolores attend school either in the morning or in the afternoon, not both. In the campo (rural areas), kids attend school only on Saturday. I thought that was because they needed to help their parents during the week but the truth is that school is only once a week because there is a lack of resources aka buildings and teachers.
So basically we are doing a lot of what we will also be doing in our sites, but here we are doing it together, struggling with Spanish, and we have support from the training coordinators and our language facilitators. I can’t imagine how other Peace Corps countries do it, training is so hard and we are constantly tired, but we are lucky that we get a test run before jumping into site.
My schedule this week looks like this:
Monday:
8AM-3PM- Language class
3PM-5PM- Club de Jovenes (and charla on STIs, teen pregnancy and birth control methods)
6-7- Dinner
7-8- The family all watches “our” favorite telenovela. It’s about a two girls that were in a horrible car crash. One dies but the doctors put the face of the dead girl on the body of the live one. She now works undercover trying to take out the huge drug lord who is in love with “her” (but remember, she is really the other girl). Oh, and they were married to the same man at some point, but I can’t figure out when that happened. It’s a Latin American soap opera and it’s amazing. It’s also on EVERY night during the week…. My parents (mostly my papa surprisingly) watch novelas from 7-11PM.
8-10PM- Homework: preparing charlas for the next day, reading technical books for the week etc.
Tuesday:
730AM- Charla in the Health Center and then the same as Monday.
Weds:
Same morning routine.
Group technical session in the afternoon: All trainees attend.
Weds afternoon technical test
Thursday:
730AM Chalra in Health Center then same as Monday.
Second meeting with Club de Jovenes.
Language proficiency test
Friday:
Technical training all day in Managua: 7AM-5PM
Saturday:
“Field visit”: We are traveling 4 ours north to 2 volunteers who work primarily in the Casas Maternas (The ministry of health is implementing institutionalized births and so these “houses” keep women who are 8 1/2 months pregnant, until they give birth in a hospital or a centro de salud.)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Pictures from the Procession
The Pan American Highway, shut down, before the Procession
Saint Sebastian
The Three Saints
What nightmares are made of....
Pictures of where I live
Gaurd Dog and playmate Chanel
Sunday Breakfast
The Jungle, where I live!
My House! I live in the back
Another pic of my house, the hammocks and the jungle
Laying on the Hammock Reading
Laying on the Hammock Reading
At least that was what I was doing when my papa came over and told me to get up and go out to the Carretera and “wait for the procession,” whatever that meant. So I went outside of my house to the main road. This road happens to be the Pan American Highway (PAH). The road you would take if you needed to drive from the US to….Im not sure, but at least Costa Rica. I consider it the 95 of Latin America. Of course that’s not really true because I cross it 5 times a day going and coming from class and Dolores. But yeah, there are huge trucks (like 95) and yeah they are going fast (30, not 70) but there are also cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians sharing the road.
When I got outside to the road I realized that things weren’t normal- first off there were no big trucks, or cars, or any other sort of motorized vehicle. Instead there were hundreds of “peddle taxis” and people in the PAH! Groups started forming on the side of the road and after about an hour of waiting (the urgency my papa expressed when I was in the hammock was pretty unnecessary, but also very Nicaraguan) the procession arrived! At first there were hundreds of people walking (some in costumes) then came the dancers.
The dancers are men and women with elaborate outfits on and large headdresses, interestingly much like the Gambay dancers in Bermuda- peacock plumes and all. And they wear white masks with bright blue eyes. They dance in a line, following a man with a huge shield who is supposed to represent a bull. I know this because I was attacked by the bull. He came up to me and hit me in the leg a couple of times with his huge shield, and the line of dancers (shield-less) followed suit, coming up to me but not hitting me. I still do now know if this happened because I am white or if I was just a random girl looking for a fight with a bull.
After the dancers (there were four groups of these dancers), came the saints! Three saints were carried from Diriamba to Jinotepe, through Dolores. The only saint I knew was Saint Sebastian- the patron saint of Diriamba. My mama explained the others, but I am not well-versed on my saints and found it hard to follow. Saint Seb is easy to identify because he has arrows coming out of his body with colorful strings attached to the ends. He also shares a birthday with my mama and so he is the patron saint of our household.
This story is really interesting because the PAH was shut down for hours. Approximately 5 hours! What, I asked, were the cars and trucks and supplies etc. doing while Carazo had our little fiesta in the streets? The answer: waiting. Today I realized I no longer live in the United States, and I think I like it.
At least that was what I was doing when my papa came over and told me to get up and go out to the Carretera and “wait for the procession,” whatever that meant. So I went outside of my house to the main road. This road happens to be the Pan American Highway (PAH). The road you would take if you needed to drive from the US to….Im not sure, but at least Costa Rica. I consider it the 95 of Latin America. Of course that’s not really true because I cross it 5 times a day going and coming from class and Dolores. But yeah, there are huge trucks (like 95) and yeah they are going fast (30, not 70) but there are also cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians sharing the road.
When I got outside to the road I realized that things weren’t normal- first off there were no big trucks, or cars, or any other sort of motorized vehicle. Instead there were hundreds of “peddle taxis” and people in the PAH! Groups started forming on the side of the road and after about an hour of waiting (the urgency my papa expressed when I was in the hammock was pretty unnecessary, but also very Nicaraguan) the procession arrived! At first there were hundreds of people walking (some in costumes) then came the dancers.
The dancers are men and women with elaborate outfits on and large headdresses, interestingly much like the Gambay dancers in Bermuda- peacock plumes and all. And they wear white masks with bright blue eyes. They dance in a line, following a man with a huge shield who is supposed to represent a bull. I know this because I was attacked by the bull. He came up to me and hit me in the leg a couple of times with his huge shield, and the line of dancers (shield-less) followed suit, coming up to me but not hitting me. I still do now know if this happened because I am white or if I was just a random girl looking for a fight with a bull.
After the dancers (there were four groups of these dancers), came the saints! Three saints were carried from Diriamba to Jinotepe, through Dolores. The only saint I knew was Saint Sebastian- the patron saint of Diriamba. My mama explained the others, but I am not well-versed on my saints and found it hard to follow. Saint Seb is easy to identify because he has arrows coming out of his body with colorful strings attached to the ends. He also shares a birthday with my mama and so he is the patron saint of our household.
This story is really interesting because the PAH was shut down for hours. Approximately 5 hours! What, I asked, were the cars and trucks and supplies etc. doing while Carazo had our little fiesta in the streets? The answer: waiting. Today I realized I no longer live in the United States, and I think I like it.
Nica Food
I learned while working for Broadreach that writing about food is boring, no one really cares what you ate today. But I also think that it is impossible to talk about Nicaragua without talking about what I eat daily. Its interesting because it’s a major topic of discussion within the Peace Corps, between trainees and with our families. Not surprisingly, food is in the spot-light in this Latin American country.
I am lucky, my mama has had 8 other trainees and so she is used to picky eating. I am not a picky eater but am glad she’s had worse because I feel comfortable asking her to “please please please, put less rice on the plate!” or that I don’t need to drink fresh fruit juice (think: oranges, water and tons of sugar) three meals out of the day.
The Bad
Yes, I eat tons of rice (which is fried in oil before boiled) and beans a day. I used to love plantains…now, if I am lucky, I only eat them once a day. Everything is fried and veggies are difficult to come by.
The Good:
I am learning a ton. Because of my inability to relax around my family I prefer to be cooking with my mama than just sitting around and watching her cook. So I am making tortillas from scratch, empanadas and the occasional gallo pinto (fried rice and beans).
My breakfasts are amazing. I get fresh fruit salad of melon, watermelon, oranges, papaya, pineapples and bananas. My parents here have a small farm where they grow mandarins, oranges, bananas (at least 3 types that I can figure out), and plantains. So there is always fruit in the house for everyone in the family (and the various neighbors) to eat at will. They also have avocado trees which means fresh avocado at a majority of the meals.
Sunday Breakfast:
As I said before, every morning I have an amazing fresh fruit salad. This Sunday I woke up a little bit disoriented and sad. I immediately thought of my amazing fruit salad I was about to have, got out of bed unwillingly and made it to the kitchen. Much to my surprise, breakfasts are different on Sundays.
Disclaimer to Brandon- please stop reading.
My parents just sold 13 pigs (don’t be sad- we still have five. They sing me to sleep- and by sing I mean screech, wail and generally sound like they are being slaughtered all night) and we were lucky enough to receive a present from the buyer- some of our pigs in food form! I can safely say that Darla from Market Street Grill really has nothing on a traditional Nica breakfast.
Not only was breakfast from the very same pig I talked to the day before (also wished death upon the night before) but it was made with all different types of pig parts. We started with fried pig meat and fried pig fat. The meet was pretty good and I will just let you use your imagination regarding fried pig fat. The next course consisted of fried pig skin. This is something I’ve had before in Mexico and can confirm I am still not a huge fan of any type of fried skin. The third course is one for the books, and really embodies the idea of a grand finale! This particular type of sausage is black and is made with the blood of the piglet- I think it is called Modunga. My parents told me that its really good for women who’ve just given birth because there is tons of iron in the sausage (duh, its blood). Quite honestly I think I would have been ok with the sausage had I not known about the blood. That being said, I tried everything and even said that I liked everything except the fried skin (I just couldn’t bring myself to say that I prefer fruit salad over this elaborate affair).
I miss Darla.
I am lucky, my mama has had 8 other trainees and so she is used to picky eating. I am not a picky eater but am glad she’s had worse because I feel comfortable asking her to “please please please, put less rice on the plate!” or that I don’t need to drink fresh fruit juice (think: oranges, water and tons of sugar) three meals out of the day.
The Bad
Yes, I eat tons of rice (which is fried in oil before boiled) and beans a day. I used to love plantains…now, if I am lucky, I only eat them once a day. Everything is fried and veggies are difficult to come by.
The Good:
I am learning a ton. Because of my inability to relax around my family I prefer to be cooking with my mama than just sitting around and watching her cook. So I am making tortillas from scratch, empanadas and the occasional gallo pinto (fried rice and beans).
My breakfasts are amazing. I get fresh fruit salad of melon, watermelon, oranges, papaya, pineapples and bananas. My parents here have a small farm where they grow mandarins, oranges, bananas (at least 3 types that I can figure out), and plantains. So there is always fruit in the house for everyone in the family (and the various neighbors) to eat at will. They also have avocado trees which means fresh avocado at a majority of the meals.
Sunday Breakfast:
As I said before, every morning I have an amazing fresh fruit salad. This Sunday I woke up a little bit disoriented and sad. I immediately thought of my amazing fruit salad I was about to have, got out of bed unwillingly and made it to the kitchen. Much to my surprise, breakfasts are different on Sundays.
Disclaimer to Brandon- please stop reading.
My parents just sold 13 pigs (don’t be sad- we still have five. They sing me to sleep- and by sing I mean screech, wail and generally sound like they are being slaughtered all night) and we were lucky enough to receive a present from the buyer- some of our pigs in food form! I can safely say that Darla from Market Street Grill really has nothing on a traditional Nica breakfast.
Not only was breakfast from the very same pig I talked to the day before (also wished death upon the night before) but it was made with all different types of pig parts. We started with fried pig meat and fried pig fat. The meet was pretty good and I will just let you use your imagination regarding fried pig fat. The next course consisted of fried pig skin. This is something I’ve had before in Mexico and can confirm I am still not a huge fan of any type of fried skin. The third course is one for the books, and really embodies the idea of a grand finale! This particular type of sausage is black and is made with the blood of the piglet- I think it is called Modunga. My parents told me that its really good for women who’ve just given birth because there is tons of iron in the sausage (duh, its blood). Quite honestly I think I would have been ok with the sausage had I not known about the blood. That being said, I tried everything and even said that I liked everything except the fried skin (I just couldn’t bring myself to say that I prefer fruit salad over this elaborate affair).
I miss Darla.
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