Week 3 update!

Week three in Chinandega flew by as my work is really getting off the ground!  I’ve partnered with Microfinance Institution Fundacion Leon 2001.  I spent my day yesterday in the neighboring city of Leon judging local entrepreneurs as they presented their business plans in hope of scoring a micro loan.  Down the road, I will be following up with the loan recipients to make sure that they are keeping their finances together and running their small business successfully.  The idea of entrepreneurship is so different here with the lack of education and creative thinking.  I was so disappointed when a young lady presented her business plan to open a clothing store even though she would be finishing her law degree next year.  People just don’t know how to take their future and careers to the next level.  Society has grasped that the rare opportunity for a college degree is in fact a great thing, but they never seem to utilize it to its full potential.  Culture here also stands in the way.  I watched a young 20 something present her business plan to open a small convenient store while her 3-year-old ran around the room.  This is very common here, a young mother trying to save her future with a little one to look after and a father who was never in the picture. 

Occasionally a young person with a great idea will come forward and set an example, but its interesting here how people aren’t looking to be the hero or the free thinker.  People would rather do something safe and riskless to mesh in easily with the rest of society instead of challenging its boundaries.  It’s rather frustrating from my end.  I ask such questions as “how are you going to gain clients over you competition?” and the common answer would be to offer discounts, but they just don’t get that offering discounts doesn’t make their business any better than their competition who does the same thing.  I get really worked up because that’s my goal over the next 2 years is to try to get the youth and women that I work with to think outside the box.

A more relaxing topic is my Sunday by the beach.  I think I may have already mentioned that it’s only a 15 min bus ride to a beach scattered with ranchos that play music, serve cold beer and a whole fried fish platter.  It’s a perfect day after a long night of dancing at the local discotecas.  Sundays are the big day to go as all the locals are taking advantage of their one real day off.  A fun Nica fact is that bathing suits aren't worn.  Instead people hit the water fully dressed.  No joke, I'm talking women in skin tight jeans and collared shirts with a full face of make-up just run straight in to the ocean.  I cant imagine how uncomfortable all that wet clothing would be!  Anyways, I joined a few volunteers to eat, swim and relax this past Sunday.  Although I have Sundays off too, it seems that I constantly need to be on my best behavior as several of my students frequent the same beach with their families.  Peace Corps will preach how volunteers work 24/7 because people are always watching us and we need to set a good example for the U.S.  This is 100% true.  I realized just how true as I was walking along the beach in my bikini back to my friends with a plate of fish and a beer in my hand when a young man shouted “Hola Profe!” which is short for profesora or teacher in english.  Whoops!

On another exciting note, I found a new place to live!  I ran in to another American the other day here in Chinandega who has lived here for 8 years.  Her in-laws are Nicaraguan and have a very nice house, which is much more centrally located and in a much nicer neighborhood than where I am now.  The house has actual sofas(very rare here) and a full kitchen!  I’ve been cooking on a simple gas burner so imagine my excitement to see a microwave and oven!  I will have my own bed and bath and brace yourself because they have, a washing machine and dryer!  No more hand washing laundry, well for the most part.  I think the thing I’m most excited about is free Internet!  I’m really lucky to have found a welcoming family who is well off and is happy to have me live with them.  I’m looking forward to the change.

But I’m even more looking forward to Jamie’s visit this weekend!  She should be here in about 2 days!  I can’t wait to see her face!

I’ll leave you with a quote I thoroughly enjoyed from one of my tea bags because I think it accurately describes how I am viewing my work here in Nicaragua.

“Your life is based on the capacity of energy in you, not outside of you”- Yogi Tea Bag

Making Chinandega Home

I’ve been in Chinandega for a whole two weeks now and life has changed so much now that I’ve gotten to my site.  My first weeks have been jammed packed, challenging, and exciting all at the same time.  Some highlights have been getting to know my students and teachers in my institutes via class and a 50^th Anniversary Dance Performance Celebration at one of my schools last Friday night.  I attended one of my counterparts son’s 1^st Birthday party.  Got some surfing in as well as a narly sunburn.  I’ve met new volunteer friends, Nicaraguan locals, attended salsa dance class from a well-known local, and identified my future guitar teacher.  I’ve really enjoyed discovering the local eateries, using public transportation and investigating the city grid via my new bike. 

This last Saturday was my region’s Peace Corps Anniversary Celebration for 50 years of service around the world(Are you seeing the 50 yr theme?).  It was great to meet all 32 volunteers in my region and put faces with names.  Many of us decided to celebrate that evening with a reggae concert at a beach side club, which was a real treat.

I’ve also encountered some challenges like another parasite and a head cold.  Living with in my budget is not only going to be a challenge, but down right near impossible in a city.  Cooking for yourself in a foreign country is quite a challenge as well as when you’re starting from scratch.   I’m lucky that there are grocery stores with packaged goods, but it’s cheaper to trudge through the packed open-air markets for fruits, beans, tortillas and vegetables.  My biggest cooking accomplishment was fish tacos this last week.  When I don’t feel like cooking after a long day I’ve also identified a great pupusa joint as well as American fixes for hamburgers, chicken wraps, subways and paninis, but that’s about it for American food so hope that lasts me for 2 years!  I have actually found myself craving Nicaraguan Fritanga food, which is fried street side fair!  My favorite place serves grilled chicken, rice, beans, cabbage salad and fried plantains.  Yea that’s right I actually think about wanting to eat Nicaraguan food, its really good up here in Chinandega! There are other expensive Nicaraguan restaurants that my budget would only allow every great once in awhile.  Can you tell that a majority of my day is spent thinking about food?  I think it has something to do with the fact that I have such limited access that we constantly obsess over food as volunteers and fantasize about things we miss ha ha.  For me its asparagus, salmon, scallops, spinach, red peppers, hummus, good cheese, wine and really good deserts!  Oh god I have to stop!

I’ve been meaning to take my camera around the city to take pictures of all the cathedrals and points of interest.  Chinandega is by no means a touristy city and this rubia sticks out like a soar thumb.  I think I’m probably the only blonde girl in town besides another blonde woman who I met at the bank this weekend who owns a hotel out on the coast.  I’m told daily that I’m beautiful and quotes such as “ahh mommy”, “I love you”, and “Guerra Bonita” are all too common.  Self-esteem booster right?  Not! Usually these comments are accompanied with some other atrocious comments that I ignore.  Even though I’m in a big city I cannot avoid the machismo culture that plagues this country.  Women are a piece of meat on the street and men behave as such.  I guess the positive is people will get to know me really quick if I look like such an outsider it’ll be hard to forget me!

Work wise I’m really enjoying the different institutes where I’m assisting my teachers in teaching the Entrepreneurship coarse.   I’ll also be working with the mayor and local school system to organize a regional competition for all the business plans that come out of my course.  I’ve met with several nonprofits these past weeks to identify where I can add value in areas of microfinance, business training, and consulting.  I’ve already agreed to assist a fellow HIV/Health volunteer with a group of sex workers that he works with to identify ways they could start a business instead of surviving off of selling their bodies for a living.

I feel very fortunate to have some really great site mates here in the city of Chinandega.  I give major props to the volunteers out there that are going through this whole process in a really rural community and with out other volunteers to show them the ropes or support them.  I have to say having the Peace Corps network has made the transition to life in a foreign country that much more manageable.

No major concerns accept for skin cancer.  The sun is hot and strong and I’m doing a ton of walking and biking.  Oh and did I mention its ridiculously hot!  I find myself escaping to bars or the bank for AC!  Holy cow I sweat so much here! Ok kids stay cool for me!

"Swearing-in" and meeting President Ortega

I’m at my new home in Chinandega laying on my queen mattress staring up at my mosquito net realizing that I’m definitely not in training anymore.  I think this past weekend’s events of transitioning from a trainee to a volunteer will prove to be my favorite memories of my time here in Nica. Thursday was spent at the US Embassy learning about their various government roles here in Nicaragua.  Friday morning we “swore in” at the very luxurious Holiday Inn in Managua.  We took an oath to serve the people of Nicaragua and simultaneously the United States Government for the next two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Since 2011 marks the Peace Corps 50^th Anniversary our swearing-in ceremony was done up rather large and we even invited President Daniel Ortega.  Unfortunately he was unable to make the ceremony, which was accompanied by the Ambassador and VP of International Affairs.  President Ortega wanted to recognize the 50 years of service that Peace Corps has provided and supported his country so he decided to invite us to his house that evening!  All 43 of us volunteers who swore in, plus several Peace Corps staff joined Ortega in his press conference room for what turned in to a three-hour ordeal.  Ortega had a list of all of our names which he called one by one so we could stand with a mic and answer his questions…..in Spanish…..broadcasting live on TV, can we say nerve racking?!  It was quite an experience that will stick with me through out my service.  He asked me personally where I was from, what I studied in college, if I had work experience, and what I would be doing in Chinandega.  He also threw in a last minute question asking me if I liked the food I had tried here in NIca, random right?  We all left the President’s house dumbfounded by what had just happened.  I think we all figured that our invitation was for a quick chat and speech and then be sent on our way.  No one expected to be singled out and interviewed over a 3 hour time period!  It was truly an unforgettable experience.  Even though President Ortega is a socialist, I did appreciate him taking the time to make each and every one of us feel special.  It really says a lot in his efforts to work jointly with the US Government to better Nicaragua.

I think the best part about this weekend was that our hotel had a pool, which I was physically in the majority of our stay.  We played frisbee in the pool, drank in the pool, chicken fought and just plain chilled.  And when I say drink, I mean we drank, everything from champagne and wine to rum and bloody marys.  It was awesome to have everyone in the same spot enjoying each others company just chillen with a guitar making its rounds.  Our last night we all(40+) went out to an outdoor club(ranchito) which is basically a dance floor covered by a hut where we ended up drenched in sweat as we danced the night away.  It was hard to say good-bye the next morning as we departed for our different sites all over the country.  We won’t all be together again for another three months until we have another week of language training in October.

I can’t believe that I made it through the 3 months of training!  My host mom attended the swearing-in ceremony and then that was that, not a whole lot of emotion there ha ha.  I swore in at Intermediate-high level Spanish, which is higher than required so I felt good about that. I definitely treated myself for making it through that rough patch with good food in Managua and a mani/pedi in Nandasmo before I left.  Kelli’s host brother is a hairstylist and paints nails.  He did a very nice French manicure for the equivalent of $4.

Another treat coming my way is Jamie!  My girl is visiting me the last week in August and I can’t wait to see her face.  Miss and love you all!