36 days...

36 days… that’s how long it took me to get deathly ill here in Nicaragua.  It was only a matter of time.  Slowly one by one we were all ‘catching’ it… that dreaded stomach bacteria that seems all but inevitable here.  No matter how hard you try it will eventually catch up with you.  Well it did and it was really horrible.  I think it was the cabbage and veggie salsa in the fried plantains I ate from a street vender… it was so yummy!  But goodness I know better than to eat food from street vendors!    102 degree fever, aches and pains, all types of bodily functions gone wrong, but we all survive.  I named my killer bug Crazy Carlos…. Seemed appropriate.  Thank you antibiotics for being so wonderful!  My host mom took such great care of me.  I so wanted to express my gratitude but in Spanish about all I could say to her is “mucho gracias” which just doesn’t cut it for all that she did.  I would love to say “you are a life saver!  Thank you for your kindness, lemonade rehydration salt concoctions, hugs, and attention while I was sick.  Thank you for calling a mototaxi and taking me to the clinic to turn in my poo sample and for holding my hand while I got blood drawn and getting me a discount and I really appreciate it” but… “mucho gracias” will just have to do because I just don’t know how to express all that in espanol.  But I can tell all of you in my fine English just how thankful I am for my wonderful host mom.  She even climbed under my silly mosquito net to rub my legs and feet and put my socks on.  I was so incredibly thankful for her love.  Dona Melania you are the Greatest!    

Church in villanueva, chinandega

I had an awesome volunteer visit in Villa Nueva, Chinandega.  I stayed with a volunteer named Ronald and his host family.  We visited the schools, the local government and local business owners.  I assisted Ronald in his class in the high schools, we saw a local baseball game, biked to a beautiful lake connecting his town to the next town and I got my nails painted with an awesome volunteer who also lives in Villa Nueva named Ashley.  Ashley is a health volunteer and I was able to sit in on her women’s group where she taught local women about the importance of nutrition.  It was so cool!  I can’t wait to have secondary projects where I can teach women and youth nutrition and health charlas.    

River between Villanueva and Las Pilas

During the peak of rainy season the two towns are
completely cut off from each other

:-) Fancy nails

View leaving Villanueva, Volcan San Cristobal -
The highest and one of the most active volcanoes in Nicaragua.
Last eruption was in 2008

I learned so much about the realities of life as a volunteer.  Out there they have a lot more freedom than we have now in our training towns.  Freedom to do their work without a lot of oversight, freedom to create secondary projects that they feel will best suit their community and their own personal interests and they have the freedom of flexibility.  But thinking about being alone out there is also a bit scary.  During my visit I was introduced to the realities of down time… in training we are kept extremely busy but as a ‘real’ volunteer there will be days where we spend half the day figuring out what to do with the other half of the day… and no matter how many schools you’re teaching in, NGO’s you’re working with, women’s groups you’re running, youth group projects your involved in, community banks you’re overseeing, soccer clubs you’re starting, businesses you’re advising these days are just inevitable. So what do you do to entertain yourself, alone in a small town with very little to do for two whole years…?  And even on busy days where I am working from 7am to 6pm, I will 99% of the time be in my house for the night with the door locked before dark… what do I do when I get a burst of energy at 9pm?  Dance party alone…?  In my training town I have three other trainees just a few doors away.  They are close by if I need anything or if I get bored or I have a favor to ask.  Out there I might not have any other volunteers around.  Here Peace Corps staff is only a quick drive away… out there they could be hours away.   These are all new realities that I will have to embrace and adjust to in the next few months.  Basically I am going to be completely on my own which is exciting and a bit terrifying.

 

Homemade (American) oatmeal cookie and chocolate cake!

Training is going by So quickly.  This week we have our mid-service language interview and our site preference interview… both are Extremely important so this week is going to be slightly stressful.  I think I’ve narrowed the 14 sites down and picked my top three choices but it is so Hard to attempt to decide what sites will be the ‘best’ for me for the next two years of my life.  They are all so different and unique and who knows what really will be the best for me… but I’ve picked my top three choices and I am preparing to defend why my educational background and skills are best suited for those sites.  Then, they get to make the decision.  Sometimes I wonder if they let us ‘chose’ our top three sites just to appease us.  Do they have us all pinned to sites already?  Possibly.  Either way at the end of the day two people are deciding where I will be spending the next two years of my life and I don’t know if what I say to them will really make a difference… but I will still try!  I think I will be relatively happy with about 10 out of the 14 sites… a few of them are so rural I think I would lose my mind… ha so I am PRAYING I don’t get assigned to those ones.  We will know soon enough.  Site assignments are coming SO SOON.             

Enjoying some much needed down time at the Mirador

My training group

By the way!  My Sweet sister Rachel sent me a letter this week with baby Jack's adorable birth annoucement!  (Thanks sister!) It only took 14 days to arrive and only cost her ONE dollar!! So, feel free to send me love notes... it's really nice to get mail here :-)

Hannah Tarrien
Cuerpo de Paz ~ Nicaragua
Apartado Postal # 3256
Managua, Nicaragua, Centro América