Peace Corp - Nicaragua

2011-04-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

9/29/2010

2010-09-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hola

This week started off as quite boring but I ended up having a little adventure by the end of it.
Went to La Rica on Monday (2 hr bus ride each way) to find there was no class. I proceeded to get lunch at a little restaurant and enjoy the company of the bus drivers sitting at the other table. I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure they were talking about me and trying to figure out if I knew Spanish. Throughout my lunch I was waited for an opportunity to say something clever and funny to show I understood. That moment never came.

Had my regular planning lessons with the teachers which have been going well. I'm making a point to try to talk to them more about things outside of school to practice my Spanish and get to know them. One of them has taken very keenly to it and she seems to enjoy our little conversation each week outside of class, while the other not so much. Her name is Damaris and I get the feeling she really doesn't like me. It could just be who she is but she always seems to be a bit aggressive with me. She speaks very rapidly and sometimes I'll try to say something and I'll get cutoff. She also loves comparing me to the older Peace Corp member, Owen. But we taught together this week passed and she seemed to be very pleased. I'm making a point to teach a little in this class each week to improve my Spanish, our relationship, as well as the class. When I got up to teach last week I was horrified as usual but when I actually started teaching I relaxed and just went through it. Damaris answered the questions a few times I helped but all and all it went well. They told me I did a good job today, whether that was just what they felt they should say or the truth I'll never know but I'm excited for tomorrow.
A hurricane came over this way for the weekend. I got a call from PC saying it was going to miss us but there might be some rain. I decided to not go to Esteli as planned on Saturday but give it a day to pass. Here is the first of my horrible decisions that led to my adventure. Saturday was a nice day with some clouds and a little bit of rain.

Sunday I woke to some rain on my roof but decided I should go. The first 2 hours of the ride the rain didn't stop. I wasn't to worried as long as I got to Esteli, then we hit the bridge. There is a nice cement bridge about an hour outside of Esteli in the town of ?Chinondega? My bus was the first to arrive to about 100 people just standing and staring at the overflowing bridge. There was a pedestrian bridge to cross and search for a bus on the other side but I wasn't sure if I had enough money to take it (hence me going to Esteli, the banks there) A man decided it was about time for someone to walk across the bridge so he stripped down to his short and put on a little show on the bridge. It showed that it was about 2 feet of water on the bridge but raging. He came to the other side to coax the buses across. At this point there was 4 buses in line behind mine. The bus behind mine eventually started honking to sign hes going to cross it. A lot of people piled onto the bus, a few on the roof, to get across. I thought, crap, if this thing tips were all going on a rescue mission to get this bus. Thankfully it crossed with no apparent problems. I then gave a look to my bus driver as others are trying to coax him across, he was shaking his head with a pretty adamant no. A bus on the other side tempted it at this point and crossed with out a problem. Still the water very high and this bridge only has about a foot of room on either side to make it across. No rail to stop it and the edges are buried under the water. I could understand the dilemma but I wanted to go to Esteli. Finally he decided to go. I thought no way in hell I'm getting on that but I'll wait on the other side. He went slower than the other 2 buses and had a passenger lead him across but he we made it. I got back on the bus and as we drove the rest of the way the rain picked up and I realized I'm not going to make it back to Yali today, At this point I also realized I left the keys to the office in my room.
I stepped off the bus in Estali to harder rain than at any point during the journey. The roads were flooded and one that I crossed was about 6 inches deep walking at the shallow point. Got to the office to find some other people where consolidated there. (Whens there is problems we all get put somewhere together that's safe. Hung out for a while and talked to some other PCV that were staying the night and managed to get my name on the roster for a room. We stayed in a really nice hotel that had little cottages for rooms. I got to watch some TV catch up on the news and got a Seinfeld in and was pleased. That night I took what felt like an hour long HOT shower and felt really clean for the first time in months. I also had a good buffalo Chicken sandwich at a place called called Hamburgesa Americana. The next day the rain continued and 2 of the 3 people I stayed with at the hotel made it home so that left myself and my site mate Danielle. The whole day it rained nonstop and most of my day was spent at the office on the computer and reading. I had some pretty good food this day including a giant delicious burger for about $1.50. That night I slept in the Peace Corps Office. It wasn't that bad, with a blow up mattress and plenty of blankets. After a day of sleep in the office I was determined to get back to Yali. Danielle and I were planning to try to go to Yali the next day. ( I forgot to mention that the buses stopped running directly to Yali because of the rain.) Danielle was called into Managua for an appointment so I was on my own. I had to head a different route but I ended in Yali after about 5 hours of bus rides and waiting for buses. But luckily I'm back home safe and had a story to tell.

R.I.F.T

I made a friend. But hes been coming over every night for about 3 hours. We can't really talk so we just sit and listen to music. It's kinda awkward and I wish it wasn't every night but it's nice to have someone around. Last night he texted me asking where I was I told him I was back in Yali. Within 5 mintues I heard screeching bike tires outside my door and a knock we said hello and I explained I was going to bed. He said he'll be over tonight

I changed rooms. So all my space is gone and a pharmacy went in my old room. They told me though the day he was moving in. So I spend a considerable amount of time on Saturday moving all my stuff. Once again the whole family came out to watch the situation and made comments and jokes.

I was getting on the bus to go to Yali and a person says hey chelli (another word for gringo) I'm a bit skeptical with sitting near people when they do that but I wanted to practice Spanish. We talked for about 30 minutes about different things. Then he goes, 'I'm sorry chelli but I got a question' and I replied with 'sure what' 'Give me 10 dollars.' Just when you think someone wants to talk and get to know you they ask for money. I'm kinda use to it but it was funny.

A few times when I was teaching class I just said English words while I was speaking Spanish. I assumed they understood. I knew I should have substituted other words but it just kinda happened.

In this new room I'm in there’s a window opening into the living room. Once in a while a person will just walk up push the blinds aside and look at me. The other day one person did it and says this is where the gringo lives while showing his friend. Last night I was watching a movie and I saw a figure sneak up and spy on me. I was just sitting in my hammock and they stayed for about 2 minutes and left. They had no idea I could see them.

The little girl who lives in the house, who torments me, had a question for me the other morning. She knocked and I open the door. Give me 100 cordobas. I laughed and told her no. She said her mom refused to buy her a ring and she needed 100 cords for a ring. She asked me all morning. At one point she told me the mother told her to tell me to buy her a ring. Shes about 10 years old I assume.

While I was taking a taxi in Estali to the nice hotel I found myself being driven through the slums and was wondering where this guy is taking me. Eventually I'm dropped off at what I think is the right place and walked in to the court yard. There were rooms but no one was around. I also thought I was meeting the other PCV theres. I walked around for a while and found someone and simply asked 'are there gringas here.' They were there but I was still a bit scared.

The entire morning sleeping at the Esteli Office I was worried someone was going to come in early and see me sleeping in my boxers. So much of the morning was spent tossing and turning and listening. At one point someone must have hit the door and I freak out and got dressed and tried to act casual. It was just someone messing around.

2010-09-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

New Post below these images

9/16/10

2010-09-19T13:18:00.001-07:00

Greetings to you and yours.

I feel like I haven't been doing all that much lately so this entry may be a little bit short. I'm going to attempt to bring my laptop over to one of cyber so hopefully I can put up some pictures that I've been wanting to share for a while now.

This weekend I went to Managua cause I needed to get some work done for my student loans. It was nice to get a break from life here and also have some time to speak English with some friends. I had some Mcdonalds and went to a burrito place that I love called River City burrito (I think.) Whats really weird about this place is that the only other store they have is in Jacksonville FL.
I spent the night at my friend Jordan’s place in San Marco. We had some drinks and met another peace corp member at the bar. It's weird the things you find yourself talking about with other Peace Corp people.
The next day Jordan’s family decided they weren't happy with me staying there and we headed out to Granada to see another Peace Corp person. His place was great with his own kitchen and large rooms. I'm really envious of him living in Granada but with this place to I was really impressed. Went out again for drinks and met some Canadians volunteering at a hospital. It's interesting to to know there’s other people here doing the same type of activities. It's funny to when you ask them how long there staying and the response is usually a month to three. When we tell them were living here for 2 years their jaws drop.

This week I've been painting. Nicaraguan's independence day was Tuesday so schools have the whole week off. I painted my room and basically the rest of the house. I've noticed this activity amuses the whole community and they all come look at what I'm doing. I don’t know if its because I'm a American or just the painting. Each day I've had about 30 people in and out of my room and talking to me about it. One day it looked like there was a party in the street because I was painting.
Tomorrow doing the same. It's nice to do some hands on activity but they keep adding things for me to do and paint. Also as I was typing this found out I'm losing my room and my living room. They are giving me a new one which is a bit better than my room now but without the living room which is my prized possession right now. I’ve been planning what I'm going to do with it since I moved it and they didn't even warn me that soon I'll have a new room. So I'm a bit bitter now but it will be alright, Just a third of the space that I have now and I don't have a place to put my hammock. All because of ME painting everything.

R.I.F.T

I was a little bit sick the other day and believe I had a fever. Lunch rolled around and it was blistering outside. I went to my family and was talking about being sick and what I would be having for lunch. When my mother found out I was sick she insisted on soup. It was about 90 degrees in the middle of the afternoon with a fever. I tried to say no but she insisted. She made a banana type soup. They also made me sit in the kitchen while I ate, which is where the oven thing is which made it even hotter. So I'm sitting at the table sweating more than you could imagine with a fever eating hot soup. As I'm eating I see there’s meat which I'm excited about. As I pull it out I realize it's part of a pig.........with hair on it. I asked the family whether they eat this with the hair on it. “Of course its delicious” they responded. I picked through it looking for meat and probably found a nibble.

Today I was painting and my brother picked up the masking tape to use. I told him there was none left and he made an angry face and just threw it out the door. There was a trash can next to him.

The other day I was invited to a party by an older Peace Corp member who was visiting. We went to a large barn at the top of the hill where they store beans and corn. They decked it out with strobe lights and speakers. It was just a giant place packed full of food and music and dancers. The DJ was awful and played each song for like a minute and all the songs skipped. I can barely dance and to this music I just looked ridicules for about an hour.

During this dance party a woman came up to me and asked me for a dance or at least I think that’s what she said. I politely said no cause I was taking a break. About 10 second later a person I believe was her brother came up to me and started asking me why I didn't dance with her. Messy Spanish ensued for 5 minutes and I walked off feeling bad.

I put my shorts on inside out to paint during this week. I forgot and walked pretty far into town. I realized half way what I looked like. I started rushing really quick and hoped none of the professors saw me.

May Peace Be Onto You

9/6/10

2010-09-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

No electricity

Sitting around my room without much to do so I figured I'd give and update of whats going on.
Been living in Yali now for about a month and I'm still adjusting to my routine. I go to classes all week and also have some days were I'm planning with the different professors. It's not to difficult since the book is basically a step by step plan. I assist where I can and clear up any confusion they may have over the material. It sometimes can be interesting because Ill understand the material but I have a lot of difficulty trying to use the correct vocabulary. The teachers are very helpful though and they take the time to try and understand exactly what I'm talking about and are very patient. Its interesting to be on the flip side of school and get an impression of what the teachers lives are like.

The classes are a whole different story. It's usually very loud and kids are shouting and walking in and out of the class. The teacher doesn't use the blackboard very often so everything is copied directly from speech to notebooks. It's also very slowly with this method, the teacher usually needs to repeat everything a few times before they get it. I've been taking a lot of notes on this and am trying to find a good method to get the information across but not waste to much time writing every word on the board. This also means that I'm not teaching yet. I'm a bit nervous about the language problem which is still very prevalent. I'm very excited to get going and see what I can do with teaching but I want to make sure I step in with my A game so I can see what I can really do. This week I know I'll be teaching a little bit for a few minutes but its just to clear up some things with the kids.

Also haven't started any side projects yet. I got a lot of ideas flowing through my head but once again the language is a barrier. Here are my top 3 ideas for the next coming months.

1. Start teaching an English class with one of my professors. I think with her I could get more people to come out and help with any translation problems I might have.
2. I want to get a kids group together to play board games and draw and possibly go to the park some days and play some sport or fun games.
3. Get a regular video chat with a Elementary School in NH that my mom works at and the school here. I'm not sure exactly what we could discuss yet but I think it would be good to bridge the two worlds and have them experience a different culture. I still remember doing something similar as a kid in school and having a great time.

Other than that I'm spending a lot of my time reading and relaxing in my room. I have read about 5 books in the past month (I got that much free time.) I try to get out in the city but there’s not much to really do. Little by little I'm coming up with activities and getting my self out there. By this time next month I'll hopefully have a few more friends and more activities on a regular schedule. I also have a site mate named Danielle who I can hang out on weekends who's really cool and its nice to get a little break and speak English to feel normal.

Last weekend I went out to the family farm. It was a one hour horse ride which was my first real time riding. It was defiantly an adventure. We went through the mountains and across three rivers which scared me like who couldn't image.

When we got to the farm I could barely walk and was already dreading the ride home. It was one of family members sons birthday. So there was about 30 people packed into an area about the size of your room. They did some praying and some singing. When I arrived it was nice to get greeted with 60 eyes and no signs of stopping staring. I talked with some different people and shared some stories it was great. I also had some carne asada which was delicious I was the honorary guest or so it felt. In other words I was the only one that got a seat and table.
Everything hurt the way back. Any time the horse started galloping I nearly cried. Of course it rained while we were there so the rivers were twice as deep and more than once my horse and I had to be lead across. I got home and crept my way to my room. I hurt for the next 3 days.

R.I.F.T
These are mostly stories from the story above.

During the party and praying I witnesses the families and children speak it tongues which was interesting. There was also one lady who got possessed ( I don't know what to call it when you shake, cry out, flail about religiously.) I thought it was funny how I noticed everyone near her slowly inch away. One gentleman kept his eye on her and dodged some flying limbs.

After this some of the family told me they wanted to go swimming and I happened to bring my bathing suit ( I was warned) and we headed down to the river. On the way I noticed everyone else was wearing jeans I though this was interesting but Id seen weirder things while swimming here. We got to the water and apparently I was going swimming and everyone else was going to watch. One of the family members knew I had a camera and said he'll take pictures. So If the pictures work this time you'll see some awkward picture of just me in a river. They loved it though and cracked up a lot. I'll admit I put on a little bit of a show splashing around. About 5 minutes after I got out more rain came and the water turned basically to mud. They laughed and said how I would have been washed away. Yeah it was a bit funny and probably wouldn't have happened but still scared me a little bit.

I was on the bus zoning out and noticed a little girl holding some sort of toy. I stared at it thinking what part of what toy is this. It looked like 6 stalagmites all close together. They were all about the same color. My mind was scrambling for about 5 minutes thinking about it. Until I noticed it move. She was holding a chicken by the feet upside down in between her legs. I think I laughed out loud when I realized it.

On the bus again, I eat these delicious empanada things on the bus every other day about. I noticed he had some hot sauce the he offered to everyone but I never figured out how to use it since the empanda is sealed and I didn't want to get it all over myself. Then the big day came where I saw someone bite a corner off and fill it up. This particular day I was standing and thought I'm going for it. I had to let go of the railing above my head in order to properly do it. I bit the corner of the empanada, let go of the bar, grabbed the bottle in a fluid motion as the bus was slowing down. Right before I pour the sauce in the squeeze sport bottle we hit a bump and I shot the hot sauce all over the kid that was serving it to me. I apologized and proceeded to pour it all over my hands not getting any in the empanada. I'm now a bit weary of buying from that kid.

May peace be onto you

2010-08-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

8/24/2010
Back and at it again.
Hello all and welcome back to the strange story that is my life, currently I hope your finding this well and life is treating you fairly.
Doing good I guess, when I say this at the beginning of most of my blogs im just saying im not depressed. I really haven’t had that depressing of a day since ive been here, I realize I want to be here and its my choice, it helps keep me afloat and keep pushing myself on. As I write this I figure I might as well explain some things that have made me depressed since ive been here. Not to be depressing but to give you an idea through another eye of what its like to live in a 3rd world country.
Abuse to animals, This might get kinda graphic so for all the animal lovers out there please skip this part and head on to the next section. . There are stray dogs, cats (some I have no idea if there stray or just wondering away from home for the day.) that I see everyday in the street. They are sometimes kicked or painted ( Yea this is a weird phenomenon I see once in a while, a dog with pink,blue, red, green spray paint all over it.) When I see them get kicked, which is normal, it hurts me a lot, they are normally really skinny to begin with and the fact they are hurt, hurts a dog lover. One encounter my friend and I were petting a bull dog, boxer mix that was adorable and cracked me up cause it just looked awkward all the time, not 2 minutes after words my friend said a guy saw us and ran up and kicked the dog ( at the time he was also spray painted.) I’ve also seen a kitten thrown not that far but I felt horrible. Just to bring this into context though, animals here are known to carry disease and some strays are just not safe, so people abuse them to keep them at bay. Not making it right in any way but hopefully this will give you understanding if you ever reach a moment to see something this bad.
Trash, Trash, Trash. I think I explained this before but its absolutely ridiculous here. Buy a candy bar in a store when you open it outside throw the rapper on the street. Finished with your chips, street trash. Buy something on the bus, rapper out the window. (The other day I had my window open and a tiny child tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to greet him, he proceeded to hand me trash and point at the window. I gathered my strength and let it go out to the abyss. I know, im sorry but sometimes you flow with the crowd.) Minor goal is to install trash bins around the city but I’ve heard there more expensive than I think.
Society here, This ones a bit hard to explain but ill do my best to explain it in a few words so I don’t dig a hole and get confusing. It really revolves around the fact that we have too much in the US. The thing to do to me, as it seams, is to sit outside the house and watch people. Many days I’ve sat with families and just watched people. Even for me now there are not a lot of activities to do outside the house. They have bars, ice cream places and a few restaurants and everything else is an hour away. They don’t really pursue any type of education after school, or not that ive seen.(I think this is because the idea of leaving or moving away is just unheard of or impossible in the minds of people. Also very they are very family oriented which is a great thing and keeps them close to help the family.) They find it strange that I run and work out get I some looks and some laughs, physical upkeep isn’t that important or understood.
In the states, I feel, we are giving the idea that we can be whatever we want to and do whatever we want. I’m not talking about freedom but of hope ( I think) We have options to take loans/credit get a home, start a business, go on an adventure, go to school, get a car, do anything. This doesn’t exist here, or at least the options seemed very limited compared with what we have. This makes me sad and confused, I don’t understand it. The possibility exist to start good businesses and is probably greater than even in the United States right now but it is not seen or understood by the people. (I stopped here and sat for about ten minutes thinking about it, that’s how I feel about explaining it, so im going to stop.)
Its not that sad though, it gives me strength to see the love of the community when a person passes on and the community comes out to mourn. Also how newspapers aren’t needed, the community talks enough that word of mouth spreads all information. Or that you know your neighbor and not by occasion but you know them and you help them however you can. Or even its safe enough to let your chickens run around and know that people wont take them for their evening meal (Yea I think about that too.) All and all there amazing but this is why im here, to do what I can. For all the others who want to pursue some type of path to help those in need of something, it exist and is probably looking for someone like you too.

Ive never been a good writer, it was rambling from my mind and hopefully made some sense. On that note some R.I.F.T

R.I.F.T
I farted in class the other day and it smelled horrible. I didn't understand what the kids said but I thought some kids made jokes about it. Only to find out later that day the whole room stank and they were talking about that. (I had a cold that day and couldn't smell to great.)
Ive fallen in love with all pigs, I see them all the time and just want to play with them. There everywhere and they just make funny noises and look awkward, ill be happy one day if I own a pig.
A group of people moved in right next door to me. I was told they were going to sell frijos which is beans or that's what I thought. They make a lot of noise and play music all the time. Just recently I realized lately they might have said fijos which is to fix, they might have fixed it for people to live in. I’m still confused about what they do, live there or sell beans, either its strange and there are about 5 people involved.
The new substitute teacher told me I was going to teach today. I told here theres no way I can do it without having a lesson plan and with my language level. When the moment came to go up and teach I spoke to here in really poor Spanish that I couldn’t do it. I think she got the message and continued teaching the class.
I went to the school an hour away in Las Colinas to teach. That week they were having some type of meeting and there was no class, it was my first time there. They showed me a field with coffee and banana trees I explained I might be able to help with this. After about 30 minutes, said goodbye, I walked off to sit and wait for the bus for 2 hours laying in the grass, in the middle of nowhere. The next time we would meet was in 2 weeks. Good Friday?
I watched a really drunk guy ride a horse down the street. Incredibly horrifying and hilarious.
Went to my directors house to speak to her about some stuff. I was told to go around back. I walked around the back and on my way saw some guys drinking under a bridge and then (I think) had to head through a restaurant to get to her. ( I was told there was someplace I should never go in town its dangerous.) When I stepped to the door and peered in it looked like a saloon out of one of the western movies. Lots of cowboy hats and everyone stopped doing everything and looked at me. I proceeded to nod my head and walk in the other direction. Welcome to the scariest place I will never go.

May peace be onto you
(Side note - . May peace be onto you was said by a person a worked with everyday as he left the restaurant at Yucatan Taco Stand Jax Florida. Also he was a good person and I feel like I should give credit where its due, his name was Jesse.)

2010-08-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

8/11/2010
Here my address first off if you have any old good books send them my way its great to get anything in the mail. Sorry its been a while with the posts ive had trouble at the cyber figuring out how to get everything up.
Peter Mynsberge
Cuerpo de Paz – Nicaragua
Apartado postal # 3256
Managua, Nicaragua, Centro America

Over a month later and I'm back. Sorry I haven’t posted in a while been really busy trying to figure out odds and ends and before I knew it over a month past without a post. I had my last language interview and passed, went to Yali my new site (yeaaaa) and meet the Ambassador and got sworn in as a peace corp member. Meanwhile teaching classes, creating a product with some youth and selling it in San Juan de Oriente. Having a competition with the youth and selling more of the product, Also going out on the weekends, packing, living in Managua and going to embassy. That goes over abvout everything that I have doing and giving excuses of why I haven’t posted but thankfully I got some time now and ill go in to a little bit more detail about what was mentioned above.
First off language I know this is my main topic to start off blogs but I feel like I should let you know so that others out there can possible understand how difficult it is to learn a new language. Im technically intermediate low right now in Spanish but that might be pushing it. I still have a lot of difficulty understanding others. I also got to the point where I can tell when im messing up and I know there are better ways of saying the things im trying to say but you sometimes just let it go. I need a hire a professor to teach me while im in site (Yea im living in Yali now ill talk about it in a few.) So im trying to find someone that will be able to teach me well and that I get along with. Im also spending a lot of time reading in Spanish and making notecards. Its helping but I know I got a long way to go. Im hoping by Christmas Im strong enough to understand most situations and different people.
My site Yali, im in a relatively large town around 5,000 people I believe. Its in the north of Nicaragua and nestled in the mountains and when I want around it feels like im in a scene of a movie sometimes. Im about 6 hours from Managua so if I get sick I got a long way to go. Im assisting teaching in 4 schools, 2 our in my town and 1 is an hour away and the other 2 hours away. So each Monday im traveling 4 hours for work in a bus, into the mountains. On friday ill be working at the other school but I need to speak to the school about it. My family heres seems great but theres a lot of people in and around the families house. They own 4 homes, one of which I live in (see pics below for new room.) The brother Jarol has a video game business which is popular here. Kids cant afford PlayStation and Xboxs so they can use it for an hour for about 10 cords or 50 cents. I feel safe but it just a different life im getting use to.
I got sick really sick a few weeks ago. I had the Dengue, its a virus transferred by mosquito. I had a bad head ache, my body felt like I just did a whole body workout for a day, in other words hurt really bad, and all I wanted to do was sleep. So for about 4 days I laid in a hotel bed and ate some American food. It was pretty bad. Also just so you know there’s a Dengue epidemic here now it hasn’t been this bad for 10 years so they say.
We had some interesting talks in the embassy about 2 weeks ago 1 from the Ambassador and some from former peace corps people about life. It was really cool to be there and nice to hear from someone who got out. By the way the ambassador is a really nice guy I cant remember his name right now but hes really gave us some good advice and seemed to be happy about everything we were doing.
Swearing in was great. We all just hung out in Managua and went out drinking at night. It was really fun to have one last harra with everyone in the group. We ate Mcdonalds and some Pizza and the final day we had sushi (It was alright but id always be happy to go to that place in Boston Funguari?) The business people had a pool at their hotel so we swam a bit to. I was at the other hotel with the agriculture people and it was nice to hang out with them for a change. Also the director Carl had us all over to her house after we got sworn in for dinner it was a very nice thing to do and great for all of us. That night we partied and I looked like a person from the movie Reservoir Dogs (pic below.) I doubt anyone is reading this but I hope your all doing well at your sites.
Im sure I got more to say but it escapes me now so on to the RIFT

The R.I.F.T
While I was visiting my site I went out with the person I was replacing in Yali to meet the teachers and some people in the down. We ended up getting some drinks and hanging out pretty late since it was his last night and I got home around 12 and everyone was asleep. So I had a key for what I thought was too one of the doors of the 4 houses. Tried the key on all the doors and to no avail. I went over the the garage entrance where theres metal barsto keep people out and I was trying to find a way in. Meanwhile I was flickering my lighter so see. After about 3 minutes I flick my lighter and see someone on the other side about a foot from me just staring. It was straight out of a horror movie. I screamed and feel over and began to explain I lived there and if they could let me in. They just told me they didnt know over and over until the grandma of the house woke up and let me in. Not a good way to end my first night in sight.
I bought a ticket to go to Matagalpe this weekend to head to my site. I paid about 60 cords for a nice bus. When I bus pulled up going to Matagalpe I got on figuring I had the right bus. Nope had to pay again on the bus another 60 cords. Bad feeling.
I had my first day of work on monday headed into the Rica about 2 hours away. I finished work around 2 and waited for the bus for about an hour it was supposed to be there at 2:30. It never came. So for about 3 hours I thought I was going to be sleeping in the streets of the Rica. I now 2 people in the Rica and there is no hotel and no hostel. So ended up staying at the directors house for the night and woke up at 4 to catch a bus back to Yali. Welcome to working for the Peace Corp.
My friends family has a monkey as a pet. Definitely going to visit in the future. Ill post some picks.
Ive been eating crema in site that I can bear anymore. It tastes exactly like how the cows smell and is the texture of yogurt. Today was the deciding factor im going to have to talk to my family tonight.
I had to use the bathroom in the Rica and when I entered I stood up and found my face confronted with about 6 spiders webs. All with creepy spider about 8 inches from my face. I went really quick.

Thats it for now in my next post if I remember anything ill post it. Ill try to keep up with about 4 posts a month if I have time. I do have a ton of time now so im sure it wont be a problem

May Peace be onto you
Peter

2010-07-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hola
I don’t really remember what has been happening the past few weeks. Things have been mashing together. I ended buying a phone so heres my number if anyone wants to talk 844249Phones are pretty cheap here (24 american) and about 5 dollars for 25 minutes I think. I ended up getting one because apparently everyone has been doing activities and meeting up cause they have phones. So I caved. I really havent used it like at all except for a few texts. I was also kinda sick again last week but with what I thought was a rash. I ended up having to go into Managua to get a check up. Found out I have a fungus because of the heat. Its not bad though it doesnt really bother me. On the good side when I went into Managua I got to stay in a hotel and have a hot shower. Also they had some American channel so I got to watch Wipeout (Dave and Steve and possibly ricky) that was really awesome. I also headed into the local mall to get some food. I ended up getting Burger King. I thought this was going to be a religious moment. I sat down and stared at the food for a while I was so happy but then I took the first bite and all that happened was I remember what Burger King tastes like and I wasnt that impressed. I thought for some reason it would be incredible but no its just food. It has great to eat but I think id rather have something home made from the states. Possibly some burritos my mom makes. Also my birthday is coming up in less that a month so im pretty excited. Whats really interesting I find is I found out I was a nominee for the Peace Corp on my birthday last year. This year Ill officially be sworn in as a volunteer around my birthday which is really exciting. Another good thing is I get my site tomorrow. We all filled out our top 3 recommendations but we will be assigned out homes for the next 2 years of our lives. Whatever I get ill be happy and its a good feeling to know that training is coming to a close. Im excited also to see where everyone else ends up. For the past week or so we've been guessing where people will end up. We really have no idea though. So tomorrow around 2 keep your fingers crossed for me.
For the 4th I had a really great day. We went down to the local Laguana de Apolla. A beautiful crater lake. Its surrounded by mountains and is relativity clean water. It was nice being able to swim and get a break from everyday life her. (sorry I didnt bring my camera didnt want to get robed) One of my friends made a ghetto American flag and we waved that around a bunch and had some beers. It will defiantly be one of the 4ths ill never forget.
The R.I.F.T
I dont have many
I dont know if I mentioned this before but I can buy a monkey at one of the sites I could go. So im keeping my fingers crossed.
On the fourth we meet up with some Germans and it was interesting to look to my left and see some Peace Corp people and some Nicas talking then to my right was some Germans and more peace corps people speaking Spanish. (They still have a German accent when speaking Spanish its funny) Ohh and go Germany!!!!!
Found out my brother down here is having another kid. So his girlfriend down here has been sick a bit and I feel bad for her. But shes doing good and im really excited for them because they will be moving into a new home about the time they have the baby. On a more sad note I think he got a letter to go to court for his other son. Im not sure whats going on but I was reading a letter today about some court appearance and his son.
I lost my rain coat. But in the last week I managed to acquire 2 umbrellas and a rain coat. People keep leaving stuff after we hang out. Ill give it back but its awesome to have for now.
A golden lady bug yea no joke GOLDEN, landed on me today. I think that means im super lucky for the month/ year.
One site im hoping for (Ocotal, Nueva Segovia) is like 10 minutes from Handuras but I also heard its the 2nd most land mined place in the world and im planning on going hiking so there could be problems there. Or im going to bring home some cool landmines from the 60s.
Lastly I went to a really traditional fiesta in my peublo a few weeks ago. The music and dances were really great to see and I enjoyed everything except...................
At the very end Lady Gaga comes on and then some rap music and kids started breakdancing on stage. It was cool and all but just seemed so out of place. Im sure you have seen video of the traditional dances of Latin America there beautiful but then Lady Gaga really. Love you all

May Peace be onto you
Peter

6/22/10

2010-06-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

First off I had no idea it was the 22nd til right now and that’s pretty crazy. It seems like time has stopped since ive been down here. No one really has clocks and I use an alarm clock in the morning so I don’t have anything to carry around with me, I like it though. Im also not that sick anymore. People told me it sucks being sick down here but I never imagined it was that bad. Granted I was only sick for two days but its miserable you cant get comfortable, you don’t want to eat, its frustrating trying to explain whats wrong in Spanish and I cant just sit and do something like watch a movie because my dvd drive in my comp is not working (Ive had this computer for less than 2 months, im pissed, after this HP is getting a email.)
I haven’t posted in a while so ill explain as simply as a can what ive been doing so I don’t waste to much time blabbering. From Sunday to Wednesday I traveled to el Sauce (I find the name hilarious the sauce.) I visited Richard and Fran a wonderful couple who has a lot of years on me, they are around 60 I believe. It took me about 5 hours to get to El Sauce and it was a big adventure cause I did it alone and I think I described it before but buses and taxis here are scary, crowded, and you have no idea when its your stop. The trip was through a lot of beautiful scenery but I didn’t want to take out me camera because of fear of it being stolen. About el Sauce it has a population around 20,000 I think. It looks very similar to many of the other cities but its very hot. There house was basically everything I want in a home. It had a nice garden and plenty of space and most importantly it felt very safe. The first day we talked a bit and it was interested to hear that they are retiring and before they did they said they wanted to learn how to live simpler, that’s why they joined the Peace Corps. I thought it was so ironic because one reason im doing this is because before I enter my adult life I want to learn how to live simply, so we had some stories and ideas to share. The second day we went into the mountains ( hence the pics from last week) We were in the back of a truck literally driving into the mountains on a dirt road for 40 minutes. At some points I was terrified others in awe. Meanwhile I see people walking down and up the mountain jumping on the truck and just was amazed this was a part of some peoples lives. When we reached the top of the road we went to a little house (once again in the pics its a shot from the back and a chicken coop) They had a meeting with some coffee growers and since I knew I wasn’t going to understand I hiked the closest mountain, It was only a half hour climb. As you can see from the pics it was breathtaking and pretty inspiring to see where I was and know this is Nicaragua, my home for the next 2 years.
The next day we went to another camp out in the woods but not as mountainous. The drive was about an hour through fields and farms and it was pretty relaxing. The only problem is you cant sit down because the roads so bumpy it would hurt. They had planned a meeting with some people about solar ovens but not enough people showed so it was canceled. A regular problem here, Ive had to cancel about 3 so far. It was cool to see some Nica cowboys in the farms hats horses and all. They would be herding cows or other horses.

Relatively Interesting/funny things: I enjoy writing this section a lot I look for things I can put here so im going to rename it.

THE R.I.F.T.- I was in El Sauce walking down the street with Richard and Fran. We heard a lot noise and turned around. About 10 horses were sprinting down the road…..by themselves. I asked if that was common and they said it was the first for them. We then turned the corner and there they were in the church park eating grass.
I was on a bus to el Sauce and I didn’t have breakfast and I saw a guy get on selling chocolate donuts…………. bought 5……………………………….......they weren’t chocolate donuts……………they were hand made. ……………they had seeds.. Only god knows why.
On the bus I saw a truck driver on the side of the road taking a break by tying a hammock in between the wheels and sleeping. That man is a genius.
A lot of people buy rip off American Eagle, Abercrombie, Playboy, and Polo clothes. There not bad looking clothes but there just made in local stores with the logos replicated. Its interested because I guess people think it shows wealth, but then realistically it’s the same in the US, and probably some of those clothes are made here. it’s a strange world.
So this week is fiesta week in my pueblo (town) I am truly amazed at how much these people can find excuses for a fiesta. Half the time I ask what its for and they look at me as if it’s a weird question. This week they told me its for the saint of the town. But last time they told me it was the same thing. This also means there is not an inappropriate time for marching bands, fireworks, yelling, church singing, killing pigs, partying, and musical trucks in the streets all week. (Yes as I typed this I heard 3 of these things ill let you guess at which ones.)

May Peace Be Onto you
Peter

Pics in San Juan De Oriente. I dont know what that thing is for but there is a ceremony under it everyday. Its kinda just a place to gather and the festival is the bull penis whipping penis one I spoke about I dont know why they do it but ill post a video if I can.

2010-06-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

So im sick.
But here some pictures of my trip to el Sauce for a volunteer visit if I get some time next week ill write a post, really busy right now. Thats a mountain I climbed and a house the volunteer I visited built. Also some pics of the house a stayed in at the end.

6/10/2010

2010-06-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

Week 4
Watched lost finally, enjoyed it? Took me a month to download it.

Not much to really say this week. I taught my first class today at a local school. My professor helped us create a lesson plan and we taught about 14 students about entrepreneurship. They seemed to enjoy it. That’s what ill be teaching kids by the way for the next few years. Apparently in a lot of the schools they don’t really teach creative classes so we are trying to teach kids about starting their own business and how to do it in clever and creative ways. A lot of people will start businesses but they will literally do exactly what they see someone else doing to make some money so its bad for both parties. For example they sell a ton of different candy in plastic bags and today with our youth group they decided to make candies in plastic bags. I tried to push candies in a box that is also a holiday card too but I don’t think I did that good of a job explaining it. (I was thinking about Harry Potter a bunch when I came up with this idea and I made a box in class while I was bored.) Spanish is getting really frustrated still around the same level and im getting really tired of using the verbs gustar, piensar, necesitar, querer, trabajar, ir, comprehendar , saber, and bonarse. I use like one of these words per sentence. I would say what they are but im sure you can figure it out. Ive been getting nervous about not becoming a volunteer because of my language level but I think Ill be alright I need to keep working hard though.

Relatively Interesting/funny things: Right now I’m stuck in the house in the dark. I tree fell on the powerline and im thinking this is going to take like a week to fix but I guess well see.
I got to have Papa John last week which was incredible and made me think a bunch about business and wonder why Papa Johns was down here before some of the other contenders. I think they might be testing the market. Once in a while me and my friends talk about American food and it drives us all crazy. I don’t really think about it that often but when someone mentions something that sound really good, my mind will race. For example someone mentioned mac and cheese. Im craving it now and we decided we should go to the McDonalds tomorrow in Managua because were going to be close by so that’s my big adventure tomorrow.
I was in my friends house and a baby was crawling around on the floor I started puffing out my cheeks and holding my ears like a monkey. Immediately the baby started crying and had to be carried off.
I asked by family if I could borrow a English movie to watch. My sister gave me one called Psycho Ward. I was a bit nervous to watch it to be honest I thought I would get really freaked watching a scary movie by myself in my room. It turned out to be a movie that looked like it was made by some college kids. Horrible acting, Terrible story, strange camera angles, and so much fun to watch. I keep thinking how the hell did this movie make it down here and do these people have any idea someone is selling their movie in Nicaragua. I think later down the line im going to get some of my friends together like once a month and find these movies to watch just to be entertained. Maybe ill do some movie reviews if I run out of things to write about.
Stared at a strange looking cow today for about 15 minutes. I went for a walk and these cows were right near the road so I was watching them. They looked like cows but there ears hang down like an icecream cones and they have a lot of extra skin and horns on all of them. I was watching one and it stopped eating and just stared at me. So I stared back then it got intense after about 7 minutes because it started walking toward me. So me and a cow had a 15 minute staring contest. I gave up and started walking home and it just watched me. Ill go back soon and take pics.
Lastly Ive been watching a fair amount of Nica TV. They seem to enjoy soap operas. Also one thing that’s kinda been bugging me is everyone on the television show is white. I just find it interested being a marketing major and the idea of wanted to advertise closely to your target market. This doesn’t seem to be the case here. All the commercials and TV shows are white people. I wonder if there is an idea of social class with white people (that’s the best way I can put it I think.) Ill keep researching this and get back to you on it.

May peace be onto you
Peter

Thats a spider that was in my room and a restaurant were we learned some technical information. Very beautiful here.

5/30/2010

2010-05-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Beginning of week 3 in training: The past few weeks have been a bit difficult. Mostly language stuff. You advance at such a rapid pace the first week then it kinda levels off and you don’t feel like your getting anywhere. I was feeling really good near the end of this week because I was understanding the family and able to explain myself well. I realized after a few days of this they realized what words I know and mostly use those and they speak slow. When I go into the town to buy something or get a motor taxi I have no idea what’s going on and I read body signals and nod my head a lot. Very realized im from America so where targets for money where ever we go. I got jipped today on a motor taxi after buying 5 gallons of water. He told me it cost more to bring something larger but apparently it doesn’t as my mom said.
Ive been to quite a few places around so far (I go to different city almost every week.) The city of Masaya is the capital of the region I live in. I went there the other day to buy my mom a mothers day gift. This was one of my first experiences with a place that was like a charity commercial on tv. There was a ton of trash littered around and things appeared to be very disorganized. I was entered in through a empalme or bus stop which kinda looked like a garbage dump. We got off the buses people loaded in and there was shit going on everywhere. People are trying to sell you plastic bags of juice, deserts, things from containers on their heads, movies, and get you on a bus. As we started to walk toward the market Liz, a Peace Corps member who was showing us around Masaya, remarked I feel like I am entering Aladdin whenever I go into this market, I felt the same way. Anything and everything was being sold somewhere. We were only showed around a little bit and we probably passed around 300 shacks/stores. Once we got away from the bus stop it turned into a normal city and was like most other places in Nicaragua, relatively clean and organized. People also like to advertise with gaint speakers blasting sound that can be heard from 4 blocks away. Over all though it went really well. I had to keep an eye on my stuff because of pickpocketers and when we went through the fish market I thought I was going to throw up. Ohh I bought my mom which im about to give her later today its mothers week ( Yea it’s a full week not one day, well actually month but the celebrating and gifts are given today.)
Managua the capital of Nicaragua: I don’t have much to say about this place because I got of a bus got on a taxi and that’s about it there was one awesome thing about this though. I went to the US Peace Corps office in Managua. it’s the place where I get paid, receive mail, letters, and can get books from there library. That was one of the coolest places ive seen. Not that it was a cool building but I kept thing of zombie attacks and defense. They have these cars I don’t remember what kind they are but there all terrain vehicles and there was a little shop to fix stuff up and I just felt really safe and badass being there.

Relatively Funny/Interesting things: I went to a concert last weekend. Couldn’t understand anything. Sat for about 2 hours waiting for what I thought was going to be fireworks at the end, nothing happened. During it I saw a bunch of other Americans. Its strange cause whenever I see Americans or white people I think to myself, why are these white people here. I’m not so concerned about talking to them as I am finding out why they are here. So basically I sat for 2 hours analyzing people imagining why the white people were there and waiting for fireworks.
Went to a mother days event at a school, understood nothing, sat for about an hour. Kinda side note, People here don’t think it’s a big deal to stare when you walk by or really in any scenario. So when I got there like half the people (around 100) just started at me while others notified people I was there. I was the only white person there and im pretty sure the principle took a picture of me possibly to show culture diversity, it was strange.

May Peace be onto you
Peter

2010-05-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

2010-05-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

5/20/2010

I moved in with my family on Saturday last week. They are small business owners and Potters. It was a bit awkward the first few days we couldn’t communicate. Basically every sentence I responded with a No se ( I don’t know) They speak very fast and its difficult for me to figure out past and future tense. Overall though there great people. I eat 3 times a day which consists of usually of beans, rice, some type of meat or fish, and vegetables. Its nice being able to eat healthy everyday. The town I live in is famous for its pottery almost every home has a wheel and a kiln. The main mode of transportation is a motor taxi (motorcycle with seat things in the back fits about 3) I’m yet to ride in one but looks fun. The towns so close it takes me about 2 min to walk. Everyone is really friendly and usually great me with a smile. There are a few cyber cafes in the town with surprisingly up to date comps. Windows 7 and fast internet. From what ive seen everyone has a television and the more wealthy families have computers but a lot of kids use the cyber cafes. They cost 7 Cordoba and hour (about 40 cents.)

About my living situation- I live with a family of 5. My brother Miguel his girlfriend Ingrid, my mother Janete, sister Regina, and other sister Diana. The house has plenty of space though and don’t ever feel cramped. Most of my free time I play with their 5 dogs or sit and read on the patio. Its very relaxing and calming being here. I am a bit busy with school I start at 8 in the morning and it goes till 12 then I have a break to eat then class from 1 to 3. Afterwards I am usually reading, using my comp listening to music or doing homework. The days are pretty busy. I’ve been getting pretty fed up with class its annoying speaking and learning about Spanish all day. This weekend we get to head to some new towns and do some stuff so it should be nice. I’ve gotten a lot better with the language too. I can communicate and understand pretty well for only having 5 days or training. I thought it would take a lot longer to be at this stage.

Side note my yards filled with an absurd amount of mangos and advocates its pretty sick.

Relatively funny stuff- You don’t flush the toilet you have to pour a bucket of water into it. If you don’t do it correctly not everything goes down. I have no idea how to do it correctly so I just pour a bunch of water into the toilet. I practice the art of the pour everyday and its like a secret goal of mine everyday to get it done correctly.
Also every morning I take a bucket shower. The water is freezing and I have to pour it on myself. Its miserable but wakes me up better than any cup of coffee could. The first time I did it I remember vividly gasping for air while I poured the water on my head. I got it down now and tips to anyone in this situation the secret it doing it really quick covering yourself with the water then washing up and rinsing again makes it a lot less painful.

May peace be onto you
Peter

2010-05-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

Day 1

2010-05-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

So far everything has gone very well. Flew into Washington DC on Tuesday and meet some other peace corps members in the airport. We rode together over to the hotel and stayed in a very nice place somewhere in Washington. We turned in our Peace Corps registration forms and had some ice breakers and information sessions to get familiar with what was going on during the week. We had the session from about 12:30 to 7:00 and went to get dinner around Washington.
After that we got some beers and a few other Peace Corps members hung around the hotel and talked and got to know each other a little bit better. Our flight was early the next day and we had to be ready to go at 1:00am. I got a few hours of sleep but was still in a daze the next morning. We got to the airport around 2:00 and it was almost completely empty, there were a few people scattered sleeping but for the most part we took over the place.
Some people took the time to nap others playing cards and a few listened to music. I decided to hacky sack in the airport. Another member brought one and we played for about an hour in the empty airport. Eventually people began to show and we started loading and checking our bags. It took about another hour (its around 3:00) to get all our baggage settled. We flew down to Miami then into Nicaragua. The flights weren’t that bad. I was so excited to get a window seat on the way down but the other Peter in the group took my seat and I was stuck in the isle. With little more than 6 hours of sleep the past 2 day I was out pretty quick on the plane.

Flying into Nicaragua was very interesting. I got to see a few Volcanoes and some lakes from the plane. Then we landed in Managua. As we landed on the strip I could see animals and some lookout towers it was pretty interesting looking around cause everything was so green and lush. The second the doors opened it felt like 100 degrees. Since Ive been down here all Ive done is sweat. We got off the plane and the airport was generally normal. It just looked like a bit smaller and rundown compared to most in the us. I had no problem going through customs and baggage check the process was pretty rushed. As we got out of the airport we meet some Peace Corps members, the director of Nicaragua (David) and our trainer for the 3 days (Naomi). All very pleasant good people. During this time we all just hung out and went to meetings from about 8 in the morning to around 5. There was a pool and food was being served it was pretty cool. Ill stop here for now and give a post in a few days.

May peace be onto you
Peter

2010-05-15T07:15:00.000-07:00