hola, my llamo daina, soy una gringa

it's mango season in nicaragua! i'll have to choose my details for this blog carefully, since im on the computer at the cyber and am paying for time. once i find a place with wireless i will post something more thoughtful that i can work on on my own time.
my first 3 days were in managua for orientation. managua has such a sad story. a bustling hub of development and progress in central america that was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1972 and then war in 1979. it has not recovered. it is sprawling and incoherent. you wonder who's idea it was to put a capital city on a fault line.
the other people in my group and sweet and wonderful, the type of people you would expect to join the peace corps. most are in their 20s, but there are 4 older aspirantes, or trainees, who are really just amazing. the oldest guy is 73.
i moved into my training town on saturday. it is in the department of masaya, which is a lovely area specializing in artesania (pottery, handmade chachkas, etc.) they have a funny kind of ego here. what i consider to be a small pueblo, they think to be a fairly large and bustling city...the church is only a 5 minute walk, but somehow not convenient for most residents. i live with a nicaraguan family, a mother, father, 3 sisters, a niece, and several other family members and friends that seems to wander in and out throughout the day. the mom is sweet, the dad is a mechanic i believe, a real bro, always offering me a beer (mostly in jest). the two older sisters mostly keep to themselves, though i am trying desperately to get them to talk to me. the youngest, Vidalia, who is 10, is my savior here. we chat and play games, we visit her cousins who live in the house right behind us. there is a mango tree in our patio... along with about 10 chickens and roosters, 4 dogs, 2 parrots, and a rabbit. the sun is oppressive here and i wind up going to bed at around 830 every night and waking up at 6ish, though the roosters start crowing at around 3.
i had a dream last night that my entire training group was reassigned out of nicaragua into the Peace Corps' newly formed astronaut training program! i'll take it as a good omen, that we're all off on a wonderful adventure into new worlds, on our way up.
i have 6 hours of spanish class 3 or 4 days a week and 6 hours of technical training 2 or 3 days a week. their goal right now is to get us speaking spanish...to everyone...always...more specifically at the moment, to get us comfortable with the different forms of transportation here. its a little intimidating trying to get around because everyone is looking to make a buck off the gringo, but we just need to keep our wits and speak up.
i got SUUUUUPER sick saturday night and all day sunday. i wont go into details. and of course panicked with thoughts of parasites and everything else that could go wrong, i had mood swings and doubts of being here, but i just had to keep giving myself pep talks. now i'm 100% better. it must have just been stress, new food, my whole body went into a quick physical shock to catch up with the mental shock that has been the past week. all better. no worries.
im still working on formulating my first impression on nicaragua. it's different from anywhere i've been or imagined. it has a quaint tropical feel, seems both strained and relaxed (i might even say lazy), the people are both intimidating and welcoming, and it certainly doesnt feel like home yet, but the possibility is there.
will update with pictures and more details soon.
besos y un abrazo fuerte.