Almost a month in Nicaragua....

This is going go be a very short blog because I dont have much time...

1. Cooking Nica Style- this weekend I started to learn how to cook like a Nica. Sounds easy, its mostly rice and beans but the tough part is cooking over wood. You must control the heat of the fire while at the same time keeping the smoke out of your eyes. It can be quite intertaining watching a gringo (foreigner) attempt this. Anyways, I learned how to cool tortillas and rice. I also learned to cook some other stuff but those I had already known how to cook.

2. Testiculos- Yes the word is very similar is spanish and english. My Nica Mom wants me to try Testiculos as the rumor down here is that they make you stronger. Well I gracefully denied and informed my Nica Mom that I believe I am strong enough already. Haha it was quite the interesting conversation, she even got her aunt who was visiting to try to convince me as well. Anyways I have put my foot down, no testiculos or tomates. I did try Rinon (cow kidneys) and Titiles (Chicken Stomach, I think). They actually weren´t too bad although I dont plan on eating them again. Oh a quick side note, no this is not typical Nica food, however I think my family wants me to try it all before I leave so why not.

3. Tarantula- I had a big ole spider in my room the other day so I asked my Nica Bro what it was...yup it was a small little tarantula. I found out that yes they do bite but not bad, but luckily my bro killed it anyways before I had to ask him to get rid of it.

4. Medical superstitions- there are a lot of interesting medical superstitions down here. I will get into more later but two really surprised me this week that deal with my baby sister. First, my sister wears a red wristband. I asked my other sister why the red wrist band and I was informed that a red wristband, yes it has to be red, on babies helps keep them healthy and avoid illnesses. I guess we will have to see if it works.

The second one is that fathers who work a lot are not supposed to hold their babies. This is because when the father leaves the baby will miss them. If they dont listen the father will get sick. I actually was told this tale when the other day when I saw my Nica father hold his daughter for the first time since I have been here. It was the only time I saw him hold her, and then that night my father got terribly sick and was vomiting and what not. Well he traced it back to holding his baby daughter earlier that day. Amazing!!!

Anyway more next time as I have to run, and remember these are not stories of all Nicas but stories of my experiences.

A Typical Day in Nicaragua?

So I got a couple responses asking what a typical day is. Well the easiest answer is there is no typical day down here. But there are some common occurences so I will try to give you what I look forward to each day.

A typical Monday through Friday...

Wake up at 630am...yeah I know everyone is laughing here but the days are completely different here and for some reason I cant sleep much past 630, maybe its the going to bed at 830pm that helps.

I start off my day with a trip to the latrine and follow it up with a cold bucket shower I talked about last blog. They have not improved at all, I am tempted to break out my solar shower to have nice warm showers however I dont want to be that rich american coming to visit so I have not broke out the solar shower, computer nor camera(s).

I then usually have breakfast waiting for me around 715 where I eat and talk to my Nica Mom and and baby sister. The conversations are starting to get better as I learn more spanish. Today we talked about jobs, both here and in the US, and yesterday we talked about dating and marriages in Nicaragua.

Then I head to spanish class from 800 am until 1200. I have spanish class with 3 other aspirantes (not a volunteer during the first 3 months)

Sorry but I have to run...out of internet.

Next time I will talk about after lunch and also the weekends...

Made it to Nicaragua!!!

So I have now lived in Nicaragua for 10 days and a quite exciting 10 days if I may say so. First off there is no way for me to explain this experience in words or pictures but I will try my best. I apologize for any wandering thoughts, haha.

Im sure most of you are worried about the hurricane so I will start off with that. I am totally fine and the city that I live in barely even noticed a hurricane was anywhere near us. We had a good rain for one night but that was it, and since we are in the rainy season it was not that out of the ordinary. I only have one channel on TV down here and it is mostly in spanish so I am pretty unaware of how bad (how many people died?) the hurricane was. I know it wreaked havoc on the east coast but that coast is pretty scarcely populated so that is a small blessing. But anyway all is fine here and we were not affected. PC did consolidate the volunteers across Nicaragua but the trainees are all together in one city so all was fine.

The first three days were in probably the nicest or one of the nicest hotels in Nicaragua. It was a guarded compound in the heart of Nicaragua and was absolutely beautiful. We got to meet all the volunteers and have 3 days of meetings in Nicaragua.

We then moved to our training site, I moved in with a family of 5. I have one brother that is 20, one sister that is 14, and one sister that is 19 days old today. It has been absolutely great. The dad and brother work ALL the time and I almost never see them. I have learned much of my spanish from my sister who eats lunch and dinner with me and sometimes my mom. My mom owns a pulperia which is kind of like a corner store that has the basic necessities. They are quite popular around here as the city that I live in has about 200 people and we have like 4 pulperias. Anyways from what I see our family is pretty well off as we have a fridge, microwave and 12 inch tv. We also have a seperate house which has bedrooms for my brother and myself and a large living room. The tough parts are the outdoor latrine and bucket showers (which I will talk more about below). For security we have two LARGE dogs, one german shepard and one doberman. As I am the new guy they havent taken a liking to me yet but are starting to not bark as much or as often as at first. They are both caged in a small pen that is between my house and my parents house, and because the food, brushing my teeth, bathroom and exit to the community are all in my parents house i have to pass them quite often.

Through the first eight days of living at my sight I have learned quite a few things, this list is quite negative but is more hilarious then anything else. I truly am enjoying my time here and have adjusted quite well, and sometimes it takes humor to get through some of this stuff. So here is a little list...

1. If it is raining and you have to pee you are shit out of luck. Bathrooms are latrines here and you must walk out side to them. Rains here are not sprinkles they are downpours.

2. The warm refreshing shower in the morning comes from cold buckets of water. The showers here are not warm and not refreshing, haha. Instead what we do is take a 10 gallon bucket of water and do the old fashion take a bowl and rinse off and then soap up and rinse off. One interesting thing about the Nica culture is that they believe that night time showers are colder then morning showers and thus strongly encourage you to take a shower in the morning. We are living near Esteli in the North, mountainous part of the country. I can literally see the heat coming off my body when I am taking a shower.

3. Drinks down here are extremely thick. I have had many drink they use blenders for and throw in either rice or cereal. The taste good but are not much for the traditional USA refreshing drink. Not to mention I havent even seen a beer here since I have moved to my training site.

Overall it is quite interesting and has been a lot of fun meeting everyone. Hope all is well wherever you are...

Welcome to Nicaragua!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I made it safe and sound to Managua, Nicaragua! We have already gone through a day of training and will continue here for two more days before heading to Esteli. I woke up this morning and had no clue where I was, it was quite startling. Anyway this post is going to be short as I have to head to my language interview so PC can assess what my skill level is currently. The interview is set to last twenty minutes and I will be amazed if I know more then five minutes of Spanish. Hope all is well in the states and I will be able to check my email fairly consistently for the next 2 days while I am in Managua.

Quick note... My brother pointed out that I had my email address incorrect in the last post. I have since corrected it but just in case the correct email is jhollins@gmail.com.

One last night in the USA..

So tomorrow I will arrive in Managua, Nicaragua. The last month has been a blast: from going to baseball games with my brother to boating with my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins. Then, I finished up the month with visiting my mom and relatives in Illinois and down to Charlotte, NC to watch some dirt track races with my dad and say good bye to my step-mom and brother. It has been a great trip seeing everyone and got a chance to do a lot of fun things. But, all that will now come to an end as I head to a whole new world in Nicaragua.

I have now gone through two days of training here in Washington DC. Each day I see new challenges that I never thought of, however, I stay steadfast in my excitement to arrive in Nicaragua and take in the new challenge. I will arrive in Managua tomorrow around 11:00 am with 38 of the most amazing people I have ever met. The kindness and warmness shows through with every volunteer I have met.

After arriving in Managua, Nicaragua tomorrow we will have a three day retreat. During this time we will receive training on survival Spanish, vaccinations and knowledge on safety and security. We will also be tested on our Spanish knowledge and placed accordingly in our home stays. After the retreat the Agriculture volunteers, around 20 of us, will head to Esteli where we begin our home stays with 11 weeks of intensive training on language, job training, safety and security. During this time we will be staying with a local family and training with 3-4 other volunteers for 8-10 hrs per day. After we complete this training we will be sworn in as PC Volunteers and will receive a site all to our own. Wish me luck and feel free to send me any questions or comments that you have, you can do this by email (hollinsj@gmail.com) or post a comment below (thanks Sam and Bryan, although I'm guessing it was more Sam).

Why the Peace Corps?

So its less then two weeks until departing for Nicaragua and I wanted to take a chance to explain why I am joining the Peace Corps. As you can imagine I have been asked this question almost on a daily basis, and yet I have not been able to come up with a concise two sentence or less answer. That's because there are WAY too many positives that I will gain out of this experience. Learning Spanish, helping out people that truly need it, traveling a new country, testing my skill and determination. I could go on and on about all the things that intrigue me about this experience I am setting out on, however luckily at the end of our 80 page book on Nicaragua that the PC gave to us there were several welcome letters. One of these stood out to me as why I want to join so I will share that with you.

On a quick side note, I am not planning on running away and never coming back. I want to take this chance while I am young and unattached to try to make a small difference, try to help people out that truly need it while growing and challenging myself. I have plenty of time to settle down and climb that corporate latter, now just isn't the right time...

With out further ado here is the passage, and I do apologize to the author as I did cut out several sentences as to make it shorter and more relevant to my interests.

"The most important quality that a successful aspiring Peace Corps Volunteer should have is a willing attitude. One should be ready to adapt to another culture without a lot of resistance. You must maintain your thoughts and ideals, but have an openness to them maybe changing a bit and that being just fine.

Things are going to be awkward, uncomfortable, and just plain weird, but go with it. It will all mean something in the end. Maybe realize that you may not change the world, but you are going to make an impression. You will see poverty like you have never seen before, but those poverty-stricken people will become your neighbors and your friends. You will spend many days drinking coffee with them, sharing food with them, and talking. You will teach and you will learn. They will give you warm tea when you are sick. They will teach you how to wash your worn-in clothes on stones. They will take you to hidden rivers and waterfalls. Many will listen to your advice about planting trees, taking birth control, or not throwing their trash on the ground. They will correct your incorrect Spanish. They will smile at you when you have a bad day and toss you some inside joke that will make your struggles disappear for a moment.

In the midst of all of it, you will be a better and stronger person. Have a great time and savor all of it. This experience, your Peace Corps host country, and most of all, the people in it, will influence you in ways you can never imagine."

—Annie Burtch

You can find the full letter by following the link provided in the last post.

All about Nicaragua..

Nicaragua, where is it, what is there to eat, whats the weather like? I know many of you are asking these questions, I know I was when I received my invitation to serve in Nicaragua. Luckily we received an electronic book from the Peace Corps that is about 80 pages long, through my reading I have shortened this to 2 pages for you. So enjoy reading the struggles I get to look forward too including living on rice and beans, learning Spanish and the luggage requirements (yes, we are only allowed to check 80 lbs of luggage).

History of the Peace Corps in Nicaragua

Nicaragua probably derives its name from an Indian chief, Nicarao, who ruled part of the area at the time of the Spanish Conquest. The first Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in Nicaragua in 1969. Volunteers provide assistance in areas such as education, vocational training, rural nutrition, rural waterworks, agricultural extension, cooperatives, and municipal development.

Agriculture is the cornerstone of the Nicaraguan economy. The principal domestic crops are corn, beans, sorghum, and rice. Cotton, coffee, sugar, bananas, and tobacco are the principal export crops. Additional export products are beef and shrimp. The combination of unemployment and underemployment exceeds 50 percent. The U.S. Marines introduced baseball to Nicaragua in the early 1900s, and it is now the national sport. Most communities have baseball teams and weekend games.

Government

A 1989 accord permitted free elections in 1990, in which Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, known for her conciliatory nature, became president. Nicaragua has experienced relative peace since 1990, and the country has celebrated three successive free elections to date.

Nicaragua is an independent republic with a democratically elected president. Presidential elections are conducted every five years. In the most recent election (November 2001), more than 90 percent of eligible voters went to the polls in an unprecedented demonstration of hope and faith in democracy, electing Enrique Bolaños as president.

Environment

Nicaragua is the largest of the five Central American republics, with a land area of almost 50,000 square miles (slightly smaller than New York). It is the least densely populated of the Central American nations, with a population of 5.3 million (July 2004 estimate) and an average annual growth rate of 1.97 percent.

The climate varies with the region, but Nicaragua generally is hot and tropical, with cool, comfortable nights and a very short dry or cool season. Known as the land of lakes and volcanoes, Nicaragua has a diverse environment including highlands, lowlands, tropical forests, lakes, and two oceans. Lake Nicaragua is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world and contains such aquatic oddities as freshwater sharks.

Agriculture Volunteers generally live in small, remote communities (as few as 200 residents) concentrated in the northern region of the country. Most(but not all) Volunteer homes have electricity, and most have running water. However, both electric and water service may be intermittent.

Food and Diet

The staples of the Nicaraguan diet are beans, rice, eggs, dairy products, meats, and foods made with corn. A wide variety of fruits and vegetables are grown locally, from cabbages and carrots to pineapples and papayas. As a result of the endemic poverty in Nicaragua, most Nicaraguans’ daily diet consists of gallo pinto, a mixture of red beans and rice fried in vegetable oil, which might be accompanied by corn tortillas, cabbage salad, a small amount of meat or chicken, or locally made salty cheese.

Transportation

Most Volunteers travel in Nicaragua on commercial public buses, flatbed trucks, bicycle or foot. . For the vast majority of Volunteers, traveling to and from site entails a ride in an old school bus, which may be overcrowded, slow, and sometimes unreliable. At more rural sites, Volunteers may be required to travel in converted flatbed trucks, as the rough terrain makes bus passage impossible. Volunteers are not permitted to own, drive, or ride on motorcycles or to own or drive other motorized vehicles at any time during their service. In very few instances, Volunteers also own or rent horses to travel from home to isolated communities and farms.

Health Issues in Nicaragua

The most common health problems among Volunteers are upper respiratory infections and diarrhea. Some gastrointestinal problems can be avoided by boiling drinking water and thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables before eating them. Two additional major health concerns in Nicaragua are malaria and dengue fever.

How much luggage am I allowed to bring to Nicaragua?

The Peace Corps’ allowance is two checked pieces of luggage with combined dimensions of both pieces not to exceed 107 inches (length + width + height) and a carry-on bag with dimensions of no more than 45 inches. Checked baggage should not exceed 80 pounds total with a maximum weight of 50 pounds for any one bag.

People and Culture

The majority of Nicaraguans can best be classified as mestizo, a mix in which neither the European nor the Indian cultures predominate. The official and predominant language in Nicaragua is Spanish. More than 90 percent of the population belongs to Christian denominations. The traditional social structure of Nicaragua has been essentially colonial, with a small number of wealthy landowning families at the top and a broad peasant class at the bottom. Despite the country’s economic growth in the 1970s, the emergence of a middle class, and the decade of socialist rule, there are still stark inequalities in the distribution of wealth.

The country’s educational system, a major avenue for economic and social mobility, recently replaced the traditions of classicism and intellectualism with vocational training. Thus, the lower class now has a somewhat better chance for economic advancement. The literacy rate is estimated at 68 percent.

Nicaraguans are warm, generous, and friendly. Despite the tensions between the United States and Nicaraguan governments in the 1980s, the Nicaraguans are open to receiving Peace Corps Volunteers into their communities and homes. Their hospitality is humbling.

If you do want to read the entire book the website is http://www.peacecorps.gov/welcomebooks/niwb524.pdf.