My kitchen
slash living room, furnished with hammock and plastic chairs
Bedroom
and makeshift closet
Saturday, December 27, 2008
House Pics
What better way to explain than to show with pics. Finally some of my new abode...or shall I say adobe (house).
and makeshift closet
and makeshift closet 
Friday, November 28, 2008
Some pics of everyday Nica things
Typical Nica Cow
and Goat House
A Rancho Ebenezer Lab
(the lines of people are due to the health brigade)
Preparing for surgery :)
Removing the tumor
And the patient made it back up
And the patient made it back up and headed home
Happy Trails..
Happy Trails..
Monday, November 17, 2008
17 de Noviembre, 2008
I now write post Nicaraguan election day. Although they were only departmental elections for mayor, these elections have brought about a lot of turmoil and fighting, with at least 2 dead in Managua, including one child. With election day, November 9th, almost 2 weeks past, the winner for Managua's new mayor is still undecided, with daily "protests" occuring in the streets, stopping traffic and creating violence.
Today, in fact, my medical visit was cancelled as it was determined unsafe to travel a certain highway here in Managua. And as I sat in the Peace Corps volunteer lounge chatting with fellow volunteers, I could hear the sounds of some kind of ammunition being fired on the streets. Luckily, these paid protesters have gone home by this hour and I should have no problems travelling to the airport for my late night flight to the states.
Although Jacksonville, Florida is relatively close to Nicaragua, I left my house at 6:30am to arrive tomorrow at noon! Gottta love Spirit air.
It's the eve before my christmas as I head back to the states to enjoy all those luxuries that I so miss, or maybe didn't know that I missed. I cant wait to be able to sit on the couch at the end of the day, watching a sitcom and eating ice cream. I cant to have really clean clothes that only required me to throw them in a machine with some soap. I cant wait to drink a good beer and have some good mexican food. And at a close tie to the food I miss (which I REALLY miss), I look forward to anonymity. It will be nice to have a short reprive from the constant attention I draw as a gringa in my small community. Yes, it is nice to say hi to everyone I pass on my morning run and have little children excitedly wait to join me running, but it will also be so nice to not have anyone watching, judging, or calling out "mi amor" or "gringasita" names as I ride by on my bike.
That said, I am leaving on a good note, after a productive week. I formed my committee to start my water project and have plans in progress even while I'm away. My women's group successfully made delicously creamy homeade peanut butter. I've joined in on the community bank started by my fellow PCV in the neighboring town and I celebrated my departure with a fajita dinner despidida and a pineapple updside down cake with my gringa girls.
Adios!
Today, in fact, my medical visit was cancelled as it was determined unsafe to travel a certain highway here in Managua. And as I sat in the Peace Corps volunteer lounge chatting with fellow volunteers, I could hear the sounds of some kind of ammunition being fired on the streets. Luckily, these paid protesters have gone home by this hour and I should have no problems travelling to the airport for my late night flight to the states.
Although Jacksonville, Florida is relatively close to Nicaragua, I left my house at 6:30am to arrive tomorrow at noon! Gottta love Spirit air.
It's the eve before my christmas as I head back to the states to enjoy all those luxuries that I so miss, or maybe didn't know that I missed. I cant wait to be able to sit on the couch at the end of the day, watching a sitcom and eating ice cream. I cant to have really clean clothes that only required me to throw them in a machine with some soap. I cant wait to drink a good beer and have some good mexican food. And at a close tie to the food I miss (which I REALLY miss), I look forward to anonymity. It will be nice to have a short reprive from the constant attention I draw as a gringa in my small community. Yes, it is nice to say hi to everyone I pass on my morning run and have little children excitedly wait to join me running, but it will also be so nice to not have anyone watching, judging, or calling out "mi amor" or "gringasita" names as I ride by on my bike.
That said, I am leaving on a good note, after a productive week. I formed my committee to start my water project and have plans in progress even while I'm away. My women's group successfully made delicously creamy homeade peanut butter. I've joined in on the community bank started by my fellow PCV in the neighboring town and I celebrated my departure with a fajita dinner despidida and a pineapple updside down cake with my gringa girls.
Adios!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
05 de Noviembre, 2008
Its post-election day and we have a lot to celebrate!!!! A bunch of us peace corps volunteers got together last night in Esteli and watched the elections live in a hostel. All of us 30 volunteers there were Obama supporters and overcome with joy with the results. My faith in the american people has been restored after the last disappointing presidential elections.
This Sunday is Nicaraguas election day and the local municipality where I live has been campaining hard over the last month. Campaining here involves tons of people driving through communities on their motos and in pickups, screaming and cheering and waving their flags. There´s a lot of passion associated with the 2 parties, Liberals and Sandinistas, but not a lot of talk and reasoning behind their political choices. Most people are ¨born¨into their political party and don´t really ask why they are a part of it, they just are.
However, I live in the north of the country where there was a lot of fighting during the war, so there are strong emotions attached to their choice, as many people fled to Hondurus during the war or had brothers, sons, and fathers killed. And others had their land stolen by the Sandinistas.
I, being a US govt employee, am not allowed to take part in Nicaraguan politics and have had to watch everything on the sidelines, but its been interesting.
After our dog surgery, Evelio (the guy in the photos), Elizabeth (a peace corps volunteer in the community of the surgery), Mancho (my community counterpart) and I headed down to the Rancho Ebenezer ranch to attend some vet training. I was lucky enough to learn quite a bit and help my counterpart develop his skills. The suturing practice and goat castrations were my favorite part but helping Mancho learn how to do medicine dosage calculations, starting with how to use a calculator, was the most worthwhile part of the training.
Since returning from the training, Mancho and I have started a womens group to develop small business´catered to the new tourism route they are developing through our community. I will be working with the women showing them new skills and ideas to develop business´. Im also starting a small community bank with these women to teach savings, which is a nonexistent idea here, and provide a source of small loans at a low interest rate, which is also a difficult thing to obtain here.
And most of all, Im looking forward to my trip to the States on the 17th to spend Thanksgiving with my mom. Although I enjoyed a pumpkin-like pie I made last week (made out of a local squash, ayote, and the first pie made in my community), Im looking forward to enjoying turkey, good beer, and carpet in the company of my mom! And Im really looking forward to ¨testing¨out my yearning to go home and see if I truly miss the states and want to go back or if its a passing feeling that will make me wish to be back here in Nicaragua. And given that I fly out the day of my 1 year in service anniversary, it will be a good recharge for the next year of service.
In the next year, I hope to really give to the people of my community and Nicaragua and complete projects with a purpose. I feel I´ve turned a point in my service and its no longer so much about my experience and what Im getting out of it, but about what I can give. That said, Im signing off and thinking about how lucky I am to be an American and looking forward to the change our country is about to undergoe with the new president.
This Sunday is Nicaraguas election day and the local municipality where I live has been campaining hard over the last month. Campaining here involves tons of people driving through communities on their motos and in pickups, screaming and cheering and waving their flags. There´s a lot of passion associated with the 2 parties, Liberals and Sandinistas, but not a lot of talk and reasoning behind their political choices. Most people are ¨born¨into their political party and don´t really ask why they are a part of it, they just are.
However, I live in the north of the country where there was a lot of fighting during the war, so there are strong emotions attached to their choice, as many people fled to Hondurus during the war or had brothers, sons, and fathers killed. And others had their land stolen by the Sandinistas.
I, being a US govt employee, am not allowed to take part in Nicaraguan politics and have had to watch everything on the sidelines, but its been interesting.
After our dog surgery, Evelio (the guy in the photos), Elizabeth (a peace corps volunteer in the community of the surgery), Mancho (my community counterpart) and I headed down to the Rancho Ebenezer ranch to attend some vet training. I was lucky enough to learn quite a bit and help my counterpart develop his skills. The suturing practice and goat castrations were my favorite part but helping Mancho learn how to do medicine dosage calculations, starting with how to use a calculator, was the most worthwhile part of the training.
Since returning from the training, Mancho and I have started a womens group to develop small business´catered to the new tourism route they are developing through our community. I will be working with the women showing them new skills and ideas to develop business´. Im also starting a small community bank with these women to teach savings, which is a nonexistent idea here, and provide a source of small loans at a low interest rate, which is also a difficult thing to obtain here.
And most of all, Im looking forward to my trip to the States on the 17th to spend Thanksgiving with my mom. Although I enjoyed a pumpkin-like pie I made last week (made out of a local squash, ayote, and the first pie made in my community), Im looking forward to enjoying turkey, good beer, and carpet in the company of my mom! And Im really looking forward to ¨testing¨out my yearning to go home and see if I truly miss the states and want to go back or if its a passing feeling that will make me wish to be back here in Nicaragua. And given that I fly out the day of my 1 year in service anniversary, it will be a good recharge for the next year of service.
In the next year, I hope to really give to the people of my community and Nicaragua and complete projects with a purpose. I feel I´ve turned a point in my service and its no longer so much about my experience and what Im getting out of it, but about what I can give. That said, Im signing off and thinking about how lucky I am to be an American and looking forward to the change our country is about to undergoe with the new president.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
17 de Septiembre, 2008
Wow, has it been nearly 2 months since I last wrote? I´ve been travelling a lot with rancho ebenezer brigades, peace corps trainings, and now helping out training the new group of volunteers.
My group celebrated 1 year in country the first of the month and its hard to believe. With the new group here and training underway, it feels like yesterday that I was in their shoes, but also so long ago. And all I can say, is thank god I´m not there anymore. Although time goes by faster now its still slow and at times I feel like I´ve done all I came here for and am ready to go home. But most of the time, it just feels like I still have sooo much left to accomplish and with the SLOW movement of work here, so little time to accomplish it all. Did I mention how slow it is to get anything accomplished here? Hard to get projects accomplished when people dont show up for meetings that have taken a week to prepare for. And can I say how much spanish I still have yet to learn?
Seems like life here has been filled with baking and cooking. In fact, cheers to Elizabeth´s mom, whom I met today in Casa Viejas where we celebrated her arrival with a goat and a day of baking all sorts of goodies. She seemed to fit right in and loved all of Nicaragua.
I´ve been getting accustomed to my house and trying to make it more homey. Since fumigating last week, the lack of cockroaches has really helped me feel more at home. Im pretty much always back at my host families house anyways, back to eating frijoles, arroz, and tortilla, which I love, and baking lots.
Have started some more family gardens and done some animal management training, with chicken vaccinations to come. Also doing some more nutrition training and demonstrations and upkeeping the school garden and english classes.
The rest of this month is taken up with medical visits, tech training of the new volunteers (supposedly I´m the animal expert and am scheduled to give all the animal mgt charlas), and a trip to Leon and the beach with the girls.
Thats all folks. Take care.
Oh did I mention that I´m now a ripe old age of 30!!
My group celebrated 1 year in country the first of the month and its hard to believe. With the new group here and training underway, it feels like yesterday that I was in their shoes, but also so long ago. And all I can say, is thank god I´m not there anymore. Although time goes by faster now its still slow and at times I feel like I´ve done all I came here for and am ready to go home. But most of the time, it just feels like I still have sooo much left to accomplish and with the SLOW movement of work here, so little time to accomplish it all. Did I mention how slow it is to get anything accomplished here? Hard to get projects accomplished when people dont show up for meetings that have taken a week to prepare for. And can I say how much spanish I still have yet to learn?
Seems like life here has been filled with baking and cooking. In fact, cheers to Elizabeth´s mom, whom I met today in Casa Viejas where we celebrated her arrival with a goat and a day of baking all sorts of goodies. She seemed to fit right in and loved all of Nicaragua.
I´ve been getting accustomed to my house and trying to make it more homey. Since fumigating last week, the lack of cockroaches has really helped me feel more at home. Im pretty much always back at my host families house anyways, back to eating frijoles, arroz, and tortilla, which I love, and baking lots.
Have started some more family gardens and done some animal management training, with chicken vaccinations to come. Also doing some more nutrition training and demonstrations and upkeeping the school garden and english classes.
The rest of this month is taken up with medical visits, tech training of the new volunteers (supposedly I´m the animal expert and am scheduled to give all the animal mgt charlas), and a trip to Leon and the beach with the girls.
Thats all folks. Take care.
Oh did I mention that I´m now a ripe old age of 30!!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
20 de Julio, 2008
Times been roaring by but I feel like I get nothing accomplished. Life in Nicaragua is just like that I guess.
I was kicked out of my house a few weeks ago because I had a yoga book, so the neighbors say. But the dueno says it was because he is moving back. Either way, I had to rush and find a new house and organize all the logistics.
Although the house is not as nice, adobe walls, leaky roof, faulty light, no bano, pila thats broken, a falling down latrine, and a front door on the highway, I'm back by my host family and all the people I love, so that makes all the difference. The whole week moving in, all the kids and adults were over to help me clean, sweep, plant my garden, etc. And my host dad and all the chinguines came to help me move. And the kids were so enthusiastic with helping me that Im going to start a communal garden with the neighborhood kids in my backyard and let them manage it and take home all the veggies.
Although Ive moved in, I haven't spent one night there yet. I moved in last Wednesday, stayed with my host family and then left the next morning for a trip to the mountains of Matagalpa with some health workers from my area. We met up with the "Rancho" (one of the NGOs I work with) veterinarian and a brigade that came down from the states. We did a human and animal health clinic and I helped translate and do whatever else was needed. It was a really great experience, I learned a bunch about medicine, learned some spanish, got myself wormed and tested for malaria, and had a lot of fun hanging out with the Nicas from Managua and the Americans. And today, riding in the back of a pickup on the 4 hour ride through the green lush, waterfall filled mountains of Matagalpa, I really couldn't believe how lucky I was. Same yesterday tramping through the mountains to go work some cows.
I'm being very "vaga" and not doing much work in my community, but at least the trips are work related and I really feel like Im helping on these brigades. I feel like I can really relate to the people that are telling me their problems because I live their life most of the time. I never would have been able to do that if I hadn't lived in the campo for the last 7 months. And a recent comment by a Nicaraguan that I seem to be a Nica with a gringo face was complementary. And last week when my host mom casually said that "I'm family", I felt like all this time spent just getting to know people here is worth it. There are lots of down days and hard times to get through and many times when the cultural differences are just too much, but those good times remind me of what I'm doing here and why it's important. My spanish still has a long way to go, but it makes such a difference to be able to communicate and really know people, to develop relationships that can only come with time.
Work related, all us Peace Corps girls in my area and the affiliated organizations are starting our local farmers market in a few weeks. Unfortunately, I don't think its going to go that well because I dont really have any productores, just a few people with a few products. But we´ll see.
Im heading back to my site tomorrow, to only stay for a night or two and then off to a friends site and a day trip to a local womens coop where they make baskets out of pine needles. We're hoping to teach this skill to a few women in our communities as a way for them to start a business and make some money (since we live in pine forests).
Next week I´m heading to Managua for a 3 day hog cholera conferece by USDA and a visit to the ranch of the NGO I work with. And hopefully another brigade trip to do a horse clinic. And in between all that is my 30th birthday! Being here is helping me feel young!
Hasta luego!
I was kicked out of my house a few weeks ago because I had a yoga book, so the neighbors say. But the dueno says it was because he is moving back. Either way, I had to rush and find a new house and organize all the logistics.
Although the house is not as nice, adobe walls, leaky roof, faulty light, no bano, pila thats broken, a falling down latrine, and a front door on the highway, I'm back by my host family and all the people I love, so that makes all the difference. The whole week moving in, all the kids and adults were over to help me clean, sweep, plant my garden, etc. And my host dad and all the chinguines came to help me move. And the kids were so enthusiastic with helping me that Im going to start a communal garden with the neighborhood kids in my backyard and let them manage it and take home all the veggies.
Although Ive moved in, I haven't spent one night there yet. I moved in last Wednesday, stayed with my host family and then left the next morning for a trip to the mountains of Matagalpa with some health workers from my area. We met up with the "Rancho" (one of the NGOs I work with) veterinarian and a brigade that came down from the states. We did a human and animal health clinic and I helped translate and do whatever else was needed. It was a really great experience, I learned a bunch about medicine, learned some spanish, got myself wormed and tested for malaria, and had a lot of fun hanging out with the Nicas from Managua and the Americans. And today, riding in the back of a pickup on the 4 hour ride through the green lush, waterfall filled mountains of Matagalpa, I really couldn't believe how lucky I was. Same yesterday tramping through the mountains to go work some cows.
I'm being very "vaga" and not doing much work in my community, but at least the trips are work related and I really feel like Im helping on these brigades. I feel like I can really relate to the people that are telling me their problems because I live their life most of the time. I never would have been able to do that if I hadn't lived in the campo for the last 7 months. And a recent comment by a Nicaraguan that I seem to be a Nica with a gringo face was complementary. And last week when my host mom casually said that "I'm family", I felt like all this time spent just getting to know people here is worth it. There are lots of down days and hard times to get through and many times when the cultural differences are just too much, but those good times remind me of what I'm doing here and why it's important. My spanish still has a long way to go, but it makes such a difference to be able to communicate and really know people, to develop relationships that can only come with time.
Work related, all us Peace Corps girls in my area and the affiliated organizations are starting our local farmers market in a few weeks. Unfortunately, I don't think its going to go that well because I dont really have any productores, just a few people with a few products. But we´ll see.
Im heading back to my site tomorrow, to only stay for a night or two and then off to a friends site and a day trip to a local womens coop where they make baskets out of pine needles. We're hoping to teach this skill to a few women in our communities as a way for them to start a business and make some money (since we live in pine forests).
Next week I´m heading to Managua for a 3 day hog cholera conferece by USDA and a visit to the ranch of the NGO I work with. And hopefully another brigade trip to do a horse clinic. And in between all that is my 30th birthday! Being here is helping me feel young!
Hasta luego!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
10 de Junio, 2008
The rainy season has come and the afternoon rains and cool mornings have brought a welcome change to the hot dry months of April and May. And what a difference 2 weeks of rain has made. Nicaragua has changed from a dry desert to a land of beautiful, green, lush mountains.
With the rains, I have planted my own vegetable garden. Two-square meters and raised from the ground with banana trunks that I hauled up from the road, the garden is protected from the pesky chickens by four adobe walls that were to be the kitchen of my house before the dueño left. My papa de aire (potato of the air plant) is growing fast, my ginger has sprouted, and the new rose transplants are taking. In the evenings I lay in my hammock on the porch and look out at the cows and caña fields across from my house.
The best part about the rains is that we now have water, which became such a scarce resource that someone stole all the water out of my pila while I was sleeping one night. But with the rains comes dirty, brown, murky water that just doesn´t satisfy my thirst. And I´m always battling to keep my water tank (pila) clean from the falling debris of the trees overhead or mosquito larvae that swim around or the new guest that came last week-tadpoles. My washing stone has also started molding, so as I scrubbed my clothes last week on a fungus-covered stone and rinsed them in murky tadpole infested water, I questioned how clean those clothes were getting. My next project is making a water filter!
I´ve also accompliesd the art of making Nica coffee by sewing my own coffee bolsa with an old-fashioned Singer sewing machine.
On the work front, the balls are rolling for our organic market and we´ve now had 2 meetings with the mayor and more planned. A meeting this week with the Nica government ag agency will leave me with more vegetable seeds to gift to producers to start gardens for the market and to re-start the school garden that failed a few months ago without water.
Two weeks ago, a vet med brigade came from the states, bringing 4 vet students, 2 vets, and a vet and nurse couple that recently moved to Nicaragua to serve for Christian Vet Mission. I was more than excited to work and learn with and from the vets. It´s always refreshing to be with other Americans, but to be doing vet work too, was more than fantastic. I was supposed to be there to translate, but with translators brought, I really learned more than helped. A kind vet tought me to do general exams for horses, let me help with the goats, and showed me the various bacteria and parasites in the blood and stool exams taken from the animals.
I´ve also been spending quite a bit of time with the other volunteers in my area nad the newest volunteer here, as she´s just moved into her own place and we celebrated her birthday last weekend with a homemade thai peanut spaghetti, pineapple upside down cake, and rich red wine. So wonderful for Nicaragua!
My cat, Fiona, has left me again, but has been replaced by new unwelcome visitors-a mouse, a bat, and many, many beetles and lightning bugs at night! The mouse made his way into a closed bag and chewed through 2 layers of bubble wrap to get to my precious peanut butter M&Ms. His diet is now being replaced with rat venom.
Celebrated Mothers day here with my host mom and her family, making nacatamales (actually helping this time) and baking lots of cakes. I have become the town baker, between my baking group, baking with my peace corps friends, and my host moms constant desire to bake everytime I visit. Not that I´m complaining!
Off to visit a friend this next week for a little vacation and then back home to get some projects going.
With the rains, I have planted my own vegetable garden. Two-square meters and raised from the ground with banana trunks that I hauled up from the road, the garden is protected from the pesky chickens by four adobe walls that were to be the kitchen of my house before the dueño left. My papa de aire (potato of the air plant) is growing fast, my ginger has sprouted, and the new rose transplants are taking. In the evenings I lay in my hammock on the porch and look out at the cows and caña fields across from my house.
The best part about the rains is that we now have water, which became such a scarce resource that someone stole all the water out of my pila while I was sleeping one night. But with the rains comes dirty, brown, murky water that just doesn´t satisfy my thirst. And I´m always battling to keep my water tank (pila) clean from the falling debris of the trees overhead or mosquito larvae that swim around or the new guest that came last week-tadpoles. My washing stone has also started molding, so as I scrubbed my clothes last week on a fungus-covered stone and rinsed them in murky tadpole infested water, I questioned how clean those clothes were getting. My next project is making a water filter!
I´ve also accompliesd the art of making Nica coffee by sewing my own coffee bolsa with an old-fashioned Singer sewing machine.
On the work front, the balls are rolling for our organic market and we´ve now had 2 meetings with the mayor and more planned. A meeting this week with the Nica government ag agency will leave me with more vegetable seeds to gift to producers to start gardens for the market and to re-start the school garden that failed a few months ago without water.
Two weeks ago, a vet med brigade came from the states, bringing 4 vet students, 2 vets, and a vet and nurse couple that recently moved to Nicaragua to serve for Christian Vet Mission. I was more than excited to work and learn with and from the vets. It´s always refreshing to be with other Americans, but to be doing vet work too, was more than fantastic. I was supposed to be there to translate, but with translators brought, I really learned more than helped. A kind vet tought me to do general exams for horses, let me help with the goats, and showed me the various bacteria and parasites in the blood and stool exams taken from the animals.
I´ve also been spending quite a bit of time with the other volunteers in my area nad the newest volunteer here, as she´s just moved into her own place and we celebrated her birthday last weekend with a homemade thai peanut spaghetti, pineapple upside down cake, and rich red wine. So wonderful for Nicaragua!
My cat, Fiona, has left me again, but has been replaced by new unwelcome visitors-a mouse, a bat, and many, many beetles and lightning bugs at night! The mouse made his way into a closed bag and chewed through 2 layers of bubble wrap to get to my precious peanut butter M&Ms. His diet is now being replaced with rat venom.
Celebrated Mothers day here with my host mom and her family, making nacatamales (actually helping this time) and baking lots of cakes. I have become the town baker, between my baking group, baking with my peace corps friends, and my host moms constant desire to bake everytime I visit. Not that I´m complaining!
Off to visit a friend this next week for a little vacation and then back home to get some projects going.
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