This is just a quick post to let you all know that yes, i am still alive, well, and VERY happy.
I have a little bit of stomach pain with diarrhea right now that i like to call ¨mini-dengue¨ but if its anything like the last time i had it (my first week in site) it will be over by tomorrow and i won´t actually throw up. Don´t worry. It´s nothing serious just a very mild version of the same symptoms of dengue.
I´m here in San Carlos for the Rio San Juan Vac meeting and regional security meeting tomorrow. It´s nice becaus I actually get reimbursed for this trip.
Everything in my site is going great. I still haven´t really started working but i´m gradually easing into it. I feel very well integrated and practically everyone knows my name and greets me warmly when I walk by.
It´s sweltering hot right now. It rained for the first time in over a week last night so that helped a little, but not the same as the first few weeks of may. I had actually gotten used to taking my umbrella everywhere, wearing shoes that either dry fast or don´t get wet, and relying on the rain to get rid of the heat.
Anyway, I know I promised a better post, but I´d rather go down to the malecon and hang out with my other peace corps buddies. I´ll try to post some interesting anecdotes and stories from the campo (i.e. hiking over muddy hills, trudging across rivers, getting my boot stuck in the mud, fallng several times, sweating like crazy, riding back on a horse that could hardly walk faster than a human through the mud, and a small community full of smiling faces huddled under a small building waiting to be tested for hiv (among other things) including a little boy playing with his new toothbrush (probably his first ever)).
As always I love and miss you all so much.
Peace and Cheers,
Shona
23 May 2011
10 May 2011
over a month in site
Just to begin I´d like to say that things are MUCH better in every aspect for me.
I absolutely love my site even though it has started to rain every day and the cell service is worse than ever. (ps this post is going to be kind of short and really random). On the topic of cell phones, i have to charge mine twice a day and it still dies during the night. This is especially bad on days like today when the power goes out (or as nicas say ¨se fue la luz¨) during the night and i can´t charge it in the morning. I think it dies so fast for two reasons:
1. its an extremely cheap phone
2. it is constantly searching for service
However, I am extemely fortunate to have this luxury of a cell phone even though i don´t usually get text messages until several hours after the fact.
Another somewhat frustrating thing is the internet. I thought I´d be fine being far from a cyber, but this has proven to be very difficult since most of peace corps nicaragua uses it as a primary form of communication except for emergencies. If it weren´t so easy for everyone else to get to the cyber i´d be able to handle it better. Today I made the trip to San Carlos just to use the internet. I got on the bote at 7, arrived in S.C. at 9 and immediately bought my ticket to return at 12. I feel bad being out of site on a work-day. However, I did spend my weekend attending the Ferrias de Salud in Quezada and Buena Vista. They were muddy, rainy, and tiring, but packed full of people wanting medical attention. While it was a little sad that they hardly get this kind of assistance it was extremely encouraging to see how many people wanted it. I spent my time observing a little and writing down the information of each person getting tested for HIV. Honestly I didn´t mind the rain and mud (think torrential downpour) and got to sport my rubber boots fo all of both days. I felt very Nica as everyone else was wearing the exact same boots.
With respect to the rain, it now rains every day and is generally overcast and extremely humid. I don´t really feel the humidity because it is less hot than last week, but I can tell its there because everything is damp i.e. notebooks, towels that never dry, clothes that take a good day and a half to dry, my toms that took 4 days to dry because they kept getting rained on just when they were about dry, my hair, and gum. Gum and mints do not hold up well in this kind of weather. The second the package is opened they are gooey and if left on the table in my room are shortly covered with teeny-tiny ormigas (ants). These are the same ants that I often feel and see crawling on my arms or legs when sitting outside the casa materna (well actually anywhere). They don´t hurt, they are just annoying.
Community Integration-wise, things are going great. I am starting to make lots of friends, casi all of the children know my name and shout it when i walk by the school, i get along really well with the nurses and doctors at the health center (i usually get at least 3 or 4 hugs within 5 minutes of walking in), and I love living at Clarissa´s. I get asked several times a day when I´m going to start teaching english, and its getting really hard to say no to individuals. I do plan to have some classes in the future but only after i have a health work routine. I also can´t give lessons to each person who asks me ( i just don´t have the time), so right now i´m thinking hard about how to have a good balance.
I´ve only given a couple charlas so far, but will start giving more next week. I also want to start working in the schools next month giving at least 1 charla a week to each class. (its a small town so that wont be too hard). I also need to start working with the youth group, but i think that will take some time too.
Anyway, i´ve been on the internet for far too long, but i promise to write a more informative update next time i get to the cyber.
Peace and Cheers.
I absolutely love my site even though it has started to rain every day and the cell service is worse than ever. (ps this post is going to be kind of short and really random). On the topic of cell phones, i have to charge mine twice a day and it still dies during the night. This is especially bad on days like today when the power goes out (or as nicas say ¨se fue la luz¨) during the night and i can´t charge it in the morning. I think it dies so fast for two reasons:
1. its an extremely cheap phone
2. it is constantly searching for service
However, I am extemely fortunate to have this luxury of a cell phone even though i don´t usually get text messages until several hours after the fact.
Another somewhat frustrating thing is the internet. I thought I´d be fine being far from a cyber, but this has proven to be very difficult since most of peace corps nicaragua uses it as a primary form of communication except for emergencies. If it weren´t so easy for everyone else to get to the cyber i´d be able to handle it better. Today I made the trip to San Carlos just to use the internet. I got on the bote at 7, arrived in S.C. at 9 and immediately bought my ticket to return at 12. I feel bad being out of site on a work-day. However, I did spend my weekend attending the Ferrias de Salud in Quezada and Buena Vista. They were muddy, rainy, and tiring, but packed full of people wanting medical attention. While it was a little sad that they hardly get this kind of assistance it was extremely encouraging to see how many people wanted it. I spent my time observing a little and writing down the information of each person getting tested for HIV. Honestly I didn´t mind the rain and mud (think torrential downpour) and got to sport my rubber boots fo all of both days. I felt very Nica as everyone else was wearing the exact same boots.
With respect to the rain, it now rains every day and is generally overcast and extremely humid. I don´t really feel the humidity because it is less hot than last week, but I can tell its there because everything is damp i.e. notebooks, towels that never dry, clothes that take a good day and a half to dry, my toms that took 4 days to dry because they kept getting rained on just when they were about dry, my hair, and gum. Gum and mints do not hold up well in this kind of weather. The second the package is opened they are gooey and if left on the table in my room are shortly covered with teeny-tiny ormigas (ants). These are the same ants that I often feel and see crawling on my arms or legs when sitting outside the casa materna (well actually anywhere). They don´t hurt, they are just annoying.
Community Integration-wise, things are going great. I am starting to make lots of friends, casi all of the children know my name and shout it when i walk by the school, i get along really well with the nurses and doctors at the health center (i usually get at least 3 or 4 hugs within 5 minutes of walking in), and I love living at Clarissa´s. I get asked several times a day when I´m going to start teaching english, and its getting really hard to say no to individuals. I do plan to have some classes in the future but only after i have a health work routine. I also can´t give lessons to each person who asks me ( i just don´t have the time), so right now i´m thinking hard about how to have a good balance.
I´ve only given a couple charlas so far, but will start giving more next week. I also want to start working in the schools next month giving at least 1 charla a week to each class. (its a small town so that wont be too hard). I also need to start working with the youth group, but i think that will take some time too.
Anyway, i´ve been on the internet for far too long, but i promise to write a more informative update next time i get to the cyber.
Peace and Cheers.
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