I
know that a lot of time has passed since I last wrote, but no worries… I’m
still alive and well. In the past month I had my volunteer visit, where I went
north to Nueva Segovia. This was a great experience, and I got to stay with a
great volunteer, Jamie, but it definitely did open my eyes to a lot of things.
As much I say I can be flexible, I sure do have preferences. We had to travel
at least an hour to whatever school we went. And at these schools, there were
no restrooms available. This meant no water!! Because if you gotta go, you are
S.O.L., stuck! This isn’t so bad except it had to have been 100 degrees that
week. Yeah so preference #1: water/ bathroom within distance. Here you can
always expect the unexpected, like a coworker’s baby being sick, or someone
missing the bus and having to wait another hour for the next. Whatever the
reason is, things happen and plans don’t always go as smoothly, or sometimes
there’s no way to get home for hours. So you wait on the side of the road,
while a runaway bull passes by, with his owner chasing him down. Anyways
flexibility is key, but I would prefer to be located relatively close to where
I work if at all possible, bulls passing are optional.
I
returned from this site visit, with a new friend and family up north incase I
ever want to visit to other side of the country again. Everyone was great and I
really did enjoy the experience. One step close to the beginning of my own
experience. I was able to talk to my bosses about my experiences and
observations while on my volunteer visit. 3 weeks later I found out my site.
San Jorge, Rivas. I had never heard of this place before but I did see there
was a beach nearby! San Jorge is a little port town next to Lago Nicaragua. I
have 3 schools that I will be working in. One is a bit of a trip, one is less
than 10 min by taxi and my main campus is less than two blocks away. I really
couldn’t have asked for more.
So
now I’m officially living in my new site and starting fresh again. The kids
have a LOT of energy, a LOT! (now gotta
try and channel that energy into productivity). I’m living with a family here,
which is great. There are 6 people in the house: grandpa, mom, 2 sisters (ages
23 and 9), husband of sister and their 2-year-old daughter. It’s a full house
but it never quite feels like it. I love the mixture of ages, there’s one of
everything, and I really feel like it’s a good fit for me. So now its time to readjust to my new town,
try and make friends, and find work. The hardest part, after 11 weeks of
chaotic busy training, is it is Wednesday morning and I have no class today.
Tomorrow is an assembly for Mother’s Days, so no class then. And Friday is
Mother’s Day … so once again no class. As lovely as it sounds, they’re really
long days when you’re in a new site. Guess its time to withstand the heat and
go make friends with a pulperia owner.
* I wanted to reach out to all of my fellow
Gauchos. I heard about the tragic incident this weekend, and could not believe
it. I thank God that my sister and UCSB family were not physically harmed that
day. But my heart goes out to all the families, friends and the campus
affected. I hope that you all come together as a family and support each other.
You have my support and from many others here in Nicaragua.
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