WOOOOOOOO It has been a rollercoaster ride indeed this whole Peace Corps thing. Been in Nicaragua over 3 months now. Uh-huhhhhhhhhhh. Miss me? Some days are certainly harder than others. And sometimes those tough days are strung together into weeks. And sometimes I am bored, or homesick, or anxious, or lonely, or all of the above. Fortunately, things have just taken off this past week, like, up-up-and-away style, and I must say it feels pretty good. In the matter of a few days, my schedule has done a complete turn-around, from mostly free time, to mostly booked. I have no one to thank more than Sarah, for sending me a moleskin day planner during my first few weeks in Nicaragua. It is turning into a lifesaver for sure.
So, what happened this week you may ask? Small things mostly. Miniscule really. I’ve been spending a lot of time with one of my students from the adult school and his family. His wife and kids are just precious. He wants to open a bakery and I will be working with him one-on-one writing a business plan. I’m so thankful for people like him who have reached out to me, brought me to their homes and made me feel like part of the community. I have also just arranged to tutor one of my other students from the adult school in English. Another one of the professors from this school has introduced me to his daughter who is studying to become an English teacher, so we are working out an intercambio of sorts, where she can practice her English and I can practice my Spanish. She is about my age and just hilarious (as is her dad, he wants me to teach him how to cuss in English). She has also promised to introduce me to her translator friend who she says is dying to befriend another native English speaker.
I’ve also been meeting more PC volunteers who live in the area, which has been a blast. I guess its hard not to be awesome if your doing Peace Corps. I feel pretty lucky to be in the city since most of the volunteers who live in the surrounding areas venture in relatively frequently. I also feel fortunate to have connected with several Americans who are down here doing volunteer work for shorter stints. I like introducing myself as the Peace Corps volunteer in Jinotega, though as of yet I couldn’t provide much assistance beyond what they already know.
What else? I put the word out that I am currently looking for a new place to live, and the response has been tremendous from my co-workers. They are dead set on finding me a good place to live at a good price. And I couldn’t be more thankful for their support and enthusiasm. I’ve been checking places out, and I think I’ve found one I really like.
I’ve adopted a new name as of late. Daina (as in Day-nuh) seems to escape many native spanish speakers, so I am now also responding to the name Diana (but Spanish style, like Dee-ah-nuh; the English Die-anna will never be my name). So that’s kinda fun…in a really broad definition of the word fun. Along with my new name, I’ve been drinking Nicaraguan tap water for almost a month now and no problems to speak of. I’ve been listening to reggaeton almost exclusively lately. And I wore an outfit the other day that eerily resembled something Lucrecia wore on an episode of Mi Pecado. I guess I’m adapting.
tour of jinotega
Labels:
pictures
get to know my new home:
moutains everywhere
this was about 2pm on a wednesday:
the most successful bake sale ive ever seen:
view of jinotega from la peña de la cruz
another PCV jeffrey at the top of the cross
my turn:
that hike was tough and on the way down it started to rain and the steep paths turned, well, to mud, slippery slippery mud. it was pretty hilarious though. a group from an evangelical church helped us down. i stumbled a few times, got my clothes pretty muddy, but it was a blast. overall great weekend. spent some time with one of my students and his family. feeling like im adapting, slowly but surely. feel like my spanish has taken a good step forward.
moutains everywhere
this was about 2pm on a wednesday:
the most successful bake sale ive ever seen:
view of jinotega from la peña de la cruz
another PCV jeffrey at the top of the cross
my turn:
that hike was tough and on the way down it started to rain and the steep paths turned, well, to mud, slippery slippery mud. it was pretty hilarious though. a group from an evangelical church helped us down. i stumbled a few times, got my clothes pretty muddy, but it was a blast. overall great weekend. spent some time with one of my students and his family. feeling like im adapting, slowly but surely. feel like my spanish has taken a good step forward.
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Monday, August 24, 2009
ch-ch-ch-changes ---->
if you've been too fully engrossed in my writing and haven't checked out the right hand side of your screen, i suggest you do so now. i have links to the blogs of my friends and family who are also doing amazing things in the world. i also recently added my address in jinotega, so you can experiment with sending me a letter directly (though i am most likely moving in a few weeks). i have also added a wish list, yes, the shameful begging of a poor peace corps volunteer for all-natural peanut butter.
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Saturday, August 22, 2009
Jewel, Teaching, and this American Life
I’ve taken to listening to pretty sappy music recently. Like, really sappy. Like, really bad sappy 90s classics. Topping the list has been Jewel’s Foolish Games. I didn’t even know I had it in my music library, but now that it’s been discovered, it’s climbing on the play count ranking (still has a ways to go before it tops my most played song, Shake It, by Metro Station). Celine has also risen to the top. I’ll omit reference to the select boy-band songs that have reentered my life. So I dug deep to see where this change in taste stems from. Well, not that deep. The answer is pretty superficial. I’m far away from friends and family and don’t have anyone to hug me here. And I kinda get that warm fuzzy feeling from sappy 90s songs. I’m meeting people and making friends (sort of, I’ve gone out drinking with co-workers), but how do you replace friends and family? You don’t, that’s how. You get used to it. Oh, and I’ll place partial blame for the music choices on the insomnia I’ve been suffering with as of late. Sleep deprivation make you do crazy things.
So here’s the call to action: Email me some new music! Just a few mp3 files will do the trick. Keep me hip. What’s on the radio these days? Or what do you think is an essential iTunes track. No reggaeton please.
I’ve been able to swipe some spotty wireless recently in house here in Jinotega, go figure. The following link is therefore brought to you by this recent development, your thoughts of “shouldn’t Daina be out practicing her Spanish,” and the letter F (for fierce): advancedstyle.blogspot.com (you’re welcome, trust me)
I taught my first class WITH a counterpart this week. Guess what? It went WAYYYYY better than the classes I gave on my own. DUH. My counterpart can give all of the cultural contexts and anecdotes that totally escape me. She also has the authority. They stay quiet for her. I’m just the silly gringa speaking broken Spanish. They compliment my outfit or earrings, ask me how to say a few things in English, and then pretty much disregard the rest. Also, the fact that I’m only a handful of years older than many of them doesn’t help. I have a 21 year old in my class of 3rd year students. Though he is probably my best student. There goes my argument out the window. I hope they learn to take this class seriously. Because it is new, less regimented, we build things out of straws, and do lots of riddles, many consider it a free period. I think if the teacher commits, they will follow suit, and it will be way easier to motivate her.
Speaking of encouraging and teaching youth, I just listened to an episode of This American Life that I found especially interesting. A brief summary of what was covered in the first act: among other things, what I want to focus on is that poor children in the United States hear something like 20 million less words in their first 3 years than middle to upper class children, and the majority of what they hear is discouraging diction. The amount of language, the pure quantity of words, that a child is exposed to in its first 3 years has a dramatic affect on its future success. I’ve heard about these studies elsewhere, but mostly in the context of standardized testing, and college acceptance, how certain kids are at a disadvantage. This podcast was about a man who was using it to break the cycle of poverty in Harlem through baby college (teaching parents in Harlem all the fancy baby things that parents in the suburbs know) and charter schools (teaching those babies when they’re no longer babies). His kids test at or above state levels. Go dude! (cant remember his name).
So here is another call to action, for myself, a goal I am setting for myself here: work with the casa materna, or casa de la mujer either getting the word out, or reading to kids. I toooooootally understand children’s books in Spanish. Maybe I’ll try to set something up with the Health volunteers here who do a lot of work with pregnant women. And hopefully, if something catches on, in 16 years or so the Peace Corps volunteers here in Nicaragua will have a MUCH easier time getting kids to pay attention in class, because during their formative years they got ahead of the game. And those volunteers will shower me with thanks, and I will nod and grin my 30-(or maybe 40)-something-year-old grin of wisdom, thinking back on my service and how insufferable the kids could be sometimes and say “no no, I just did what I thought was good at the time, you guys are the real difference makers” HAHA! I hope you’ve learned by now that I write most of these blogs in the weeeeeee hours of the night, and am prone to nonsensical outbursts. I encourage you all to track my mental state throughout the blog, and if you start to worry, please let me know, I don’t want to spiral. During training, the host sister of another PCV told us that everyone goes crazy after a few months in Nicaragua. I’ve taken heed of that warning. I do feel a tad schizophrenic here, considering I can have a full conversation in Spanish with one person, and then turn to my right and not understand a damn thing someone else is trying to say to me. Poco a poco.
So here’s the call to action: Email me some new music! Just a few mp3 files will do the trick. Keep me hip. What’s on the radio these days? Or what do you think is an essential iTunes track. No reggaeton please.
I’ve been able to swipe some spotty wireless recently in house here in Jinotega, go figure. The following link is therefore brought to you by this recent development, your thoughts of “shouldn’t Daina be out practicing her Spanish,” and the letter F (for fierce): advancedstyle.blogspot.com (you’re welcome, trust me)
I taught my first class WITH a counterpart this week. Guess what? It went WAYYYYY better than the classes I gave on my own. DUH. My counterpart can give all of the cultural contexts and anecdotes that totally escape me. She also has the authority. They stay quiet for her. I’m just the silly gringa speaking broken Spanish. They compliment my outfit or earrings, ask me how to say a few things in English, and then pretty much disregard the rest. Also, the fact that I’m only a handful of years older than many of them doesn’t help. I have a 21 year old in my class of 3rd year students. Though he is probably my best student. There goes my argument out the window. I hope they learn to take this class seriously. Because it is new, less regimented, we build things out of straws, and do lots of riddles, many consider it a free period. I think if the teacher commits, they will follow suit, and it will be way easier to motivate her.
Speaking of encouraging and teaching youth, I just listened to an episode of This American Life that I found especially interesting. A brief summary of what was covered in the first act: among other things, what I want to focus on is that poor children in the United States hear something like 20 million less words in their first 3 years than middle to upper class children, and the majority of what they hear is discouraging diction. The amount of language, the pure quantity of words, that a child is exposed to in its first 3 years has a dramatic affect on its future success. I’ve heard about these studies elsewhere, but mostly in the context of standardized testing, and college acceptance, how certain kids are at a disadvantage. This podcast was about a man who was using it to break the cycle of poverty in Harlem through baby college (teaching parents in Harlem all the fancy baby things that parents in the suburbs know) and charter schools (teaching those babies when they’re no longer babies). His kids test at or above state levels. Go dude! (cant remember his name).
So here is another call to action, for myself, a goal I am setting for myself here: work with the casa materna, or casa de la mujer either getting the word out, or reading to kids. I toooooootally understand children’s books in Spanish. Maybe I’ll try to set something up with the Health volunteers here who do a lot of work with pregnant women. And hopefully, if something catches on, in 16 years or so the Peace Corps volunteers here in Nicaragua will have a MUCH easier time getting kids to pay attention in class, because during their formative years they got ahead of the game. And those volunteers will shower me with thanks, and I will nod and grin my 30-(or maybe 40)-something-year-old grin of wisdom, thinking back on my service and how insufferable the kids could be sometimes and say “no no, I just did what I thought was good at the time, you guys are the real difference makers” HAHA! I hope you’ve learned by now that I write most of these blogs in the weeeeeee hours of the night, and am prone to nonsensical outbursts. I encourage you all to track my mental state throughout the blog, and if you start to worry, please let me know, I don’t want to spiral. During training, the host sister of another PCV told us that everyone goes crazy after a few months in Nicaragua. I’ve taken heed of that warning. I do feel a tad schizophrenic here, considering I can have a full conversation in Spanish with one person, and then turn to my right and not understand a damn thing someone else is trying to say to me. Poco a poco.
an open letter to jinotega
Jinotega:
I am grateful for the diversity you offer. Homogeneity is sometimes mundane, other times a stimulus for prejudice, many times a fact of life in Nicaragua. To clarify, i am not saying all Nicaraguans looks the same, because they dont, far from it; I am speaking of homogeneity in the sense of everyone looking similar from the back of their head (and I realize that statement may have convoluted as opposed to clarified). When I sat on buses in Masaya, I was witness to a sea of brown-black hair, framing faces with sharp features, sitting atop of miniature bodies, in similar dress, all at the same height. But Jinotega, you wouldn’t settle for such a monotony of gente. Your mountains, proximity to Honduras, cooler climate, (and american involvement with contra fighters, though i couldnt provide concrete evidence) have allowed diversity to flourish. Though quite startling at first, the site of Nicaraguan gingers (and they are the gingery-est gingers I have ever seen, even though they have pigment in their skin) is a pleasant change. There are short people, tall people, fat people, skinny people, different shades of brown hair (!!!), green eyes, brown eyes, light skin, dark skin. None is better or worse. It’s an exquisite mosaic of humanity. I found Boston’s lack of diversity insufferable…well, fully uninteresting to say the least. So I left. To come to a Latin American country where I really couldn’t have hoped for a change. So I thank you, Jinotega, for being a visual delight.
Faithfully Yours,
Daina
I am grateful for the diversity you offer. Homogeneity is sometimes mundane, other times a stimulus for prejudice, many times a fact of life in Nicaragua. To clarify, i am not saying all Nicaraguans looks the same, because they dont, far from it; I am speaking of homogeneity in the sense of everyone looking similar from the back of their head (and I realize that statement may have convoluted as opposed to clarified). When I sat on buses in Masaya, I was witness to a sea of brown-black hair, framing faces with sharp features, sitting atop of miniature bodies, in similar dress, all at the same height. But Jinotega, you wouldn’t settle for such a monotony of gente. Your mountains, proximity to Honduras, cooler climate, (and american involvement with contra fighters, though i couldnt provide concrete evidence) have allowed diversity to flourish. Though quite startling at first, the site of Nicaraguan gingers (and they are the gingery-est gingers I have ever seen, even though they have pigment in their skin) is a pleasant change. There are short people, tall people, fat people, skinny people, different shades of brown hair (!!!), green eyes, brown eyes, light skin, dark skin. None is better or worse. It’s an exquisite mosaic of humanity. I found Boston’s lack of diversity insufferable…well, fully uninteresting to say the least. So I left. To come to a Latin American country where I really couldn’t have hoped for a change. So I thank you, Jinotega, for being a visual delight.
Faithfully Yours,
Daina
despedida in niquinohomo
Labels:
pictures
mine and kristen's going away festivities in niquinohomo. guess i need to close that chapter before starting this new one in jinotega.
me and my niquinohomo family :)
kristen taking a swing at the piñata
doña ivonne, being as cute as ever
PIÑATA!!
PIIIÑÑÑÑAAAATTTAAA!! :P
me and vidalia
me and karlita, keepin it real
tiger puppy...notice the stripes
the moon was out during the sunset
it was quite magical
proud that i have brought the jumping picture to the children of nicaragua
me and my niquinohomo family :)
kristen taking a swing at the piñata
doña ivonne, being as cute as ever
PIÑATA!!
PIIIÑÑÑÑAAAATTTAAA!! :P
me and vidalia
me and karlita, keepin it real
tiger puppy...notice the stripes
the moon was out during the sunset
it was quite magical
proud that i have brought the jumping picture to the children of nicaragua
3
comments
Friday, August 14, 2009
week 1.5 in review: a string of mostly random thoughts
Another blog written on a weird Nicaraguan high. That sounds wrong. But I really think there is something in the air that makes me act strangely here. I kinda dance my way everywhere I go. I think staying in touch with everyone from home so often has helped keep me so…happy. I really cant express how much I love getting updates from people at home. I guess this is the biggest difference between Peace Corps circa 1960s and the present, we don’t just disappear. Hearing about your days, even if they weren’t so great, keeps me sane. Why else am I floating around in this giddiness? Great classes, mountains, I think it is also the confidence boost that is Nicaraguan men (and boys). I need to keep my ego in check if I am going to live here for 2 years. One of the funniest things I got this week was during my first class at the secondary school I am working at. I handed out a survey to my students so I could learn a little more about them and about Jinotega, leaving the last part open to any question they might have. Half of them asked me how I liked Jinotega, what kind of music I listen to, if I had a boyfriend (mostly girls asking), but the funniest question I got was “why are girls from New York so beautiful?” Let me tell you, they learn at a young age to be charmers here. I am so happy to be working at this school. The kids are sweet, though rowdy, and discipline aint my thing. Another tough part of this job is, though I’m working with 3rd year students in high school (about the equivalent 10th grade in the US), a bunch of my students are older, like 18-21, so when they invite me to go to a party, of course I want to go, cuz I’m desperate to make friends here, but I know its probably not the best idea to bacanalear (to party) with the kinder. Fortunately i also work in an adult school where i can interact with people my own age and older, and after only 1 class i have already been invited to dinners and to visit them at their homes and places of work, meet their families, etc, and i realize that this situation makes me even more nervous...i can plan and teach a class, but one on one communication still isnt my strong suit in spanish.
It’s weird, because I still don’t really consider myself teaching in the long run, yet I have the most fun when I’m at the head of a classroom. I may have to reconsider the life of travelling and waitressing and bumming that I have always dreamed of. Teaching might be where it’s at. Though I wont attempt that in the States for a while, I know from my dearest Laura that teaching gigs are few and far between.
Can I have a quick interlude right here and mention that all of my students have names that are IMPOSSIBLE to pronounce correctly. A few examples: Junielka, Lisbeyling, Jarithza, Jurguen. It is in these cases where my knowledge of the pronunciation of “G’s” and “J’s” dissolves into nothingness. I might have the students wear nametags for a bit so I have a slim chance of learning their names.
The woman who’s house I’m living in thinks I’m anorexic I’m pretty sure. Force feeding has started. I just cant stomach the same quantities of carbs as most I suppose.
I wake up at about 7 or 8am every morning here, which I consider impressive seeing as my earliest class begins at 1pm, and still I cant help but feel as if I’m being a total slacker, as my lovely force-feeding host dawns at 6 and begins making cheese immediately. I’m trying to do some math in my head, and I believe she must make a decent living selling cheese. If she sells 1LB for C$20, and sells about 12-20 lbs a day, that’s probably averaging C$300ish/day. And she doesn’t take any days off. I’d say she probably makes almost twice as much as I do as a PCV. And she collects rent for two rooms in her house. Make that money Rosario.
Gonna try to find a dance class here, dancing around my room isn’t cutting it anymore. Fingers crossed that it will be a ballet folklórico class. I don’t know if they do many adult dance classes, or if you missed it as a child your S.O.L.
Oh, speaking of dance, I know this is probably premature, but if anyone knows of any interesting dance scholarships floating about, let me know, I have a student that I want to work with.
I’m experimenting with Nicaraguan tap water. That is, drinking it. So far so good a little over one week in. This would be an incredible development, seeing as two full years of boiling, bleaching, or buying would have been a hassle. And I aint scared of no parasite. Bring it.
Topping my play count on iTunes as of late has been Wisin & Yandel, Georges Brassens, K’naan, and Girl Talk lately. I give myself credit for being a worldly music aficionada. I’m finally diving deep into my collection seeing as I cant download anything new.
I think the mosquitoes in Jinotega have supernatural powers. I cant for the life of me follow one flying by me for more than 1 second, it just disappears.
My peace corps provided bug repellent smells exactly like Camp Waubeeka, which is a nice throwback.
I may or may not have severely pulled a muscle and stubbed 3 toes just moments earlier “breakin it down” to some hip hop joint. This is why I think it might be safer to place myself in a dance class.
Please comment if stream-of-consciousness is NOT why you check my blog, I will adjust.
It’s weird, because I still don’t really consider myself teaching in the long run, yet I have the most fun when I’m at the head of a classroom. I may have to reconsider the life of travelling and waitressing and bumming that I have always dreamed of. Teaching might be where it’s at. Though I wont attempt that in the States for a while, I know from my dearest Laura that teaching gigs are few and far between.
Can I have a quick interlude right here and mention that all of my students have names that are IMPOSSIBLE to pronounce correctly. A few examples: Junielka, Lisbeyling, Jarithza, Jurguen. It is in these cases where my knowledge of the pronunciation of “G’s” and “J’s” dissolves into nothingness. I might have the students wear nametags for a bit so I have a slim chance of learning their names.
The woman who’s house I’m living in thinks I’m anorexic I’m pretty sure. Force feeding has started. I just cant stomach the same quantities of carbs as most I suppose.
I wake up at about 7 or 8am every morning here, which I consider impressive seeing as my earliest class begins at 1pm, and still I cant help but feel as if I’m being a total slacker, as my lovely force-feeding host dawns at 6 and begins making cheese immediately. I’m trying to do some math in my head, and I believe she must make a decent living selling cheese. If she sells 1LB for C$20, and sells about 12-20 lbs a day, that’s probably averaging C$300ish/day. And she doesn’t take any days off. I’d say she probably makes almost twice as much as I do as a PCV. And she collects rent for two rooms in her house. Make that money Rosario.
Gonna try to find a dance class here, dancing around my room isn’t cutting it anymore. Fingers crossed that it will be a ballet folklórico class. I don’t know if they do many adult dance classes, or if you missed it as a child your S.O.L.
Oh, speaking of dance, I know this is probably premature, but if anyone knows of any interesting dance scholarships floating about, let me know, I have a student that I want to work with.
I’m experimenting with Nicaraguan tap water. That is, drinking it. So far so good a little over one week in. This would be an incredible development, seeing as two full years of boiling, bleaching, or buying would have been a hassle. And I aint scared of no parasite. Bring it.
Topping my play count on iTunes as of late has been Wisin & Yandel, Georges Brassens, K’naan, and Girl Talk lately. I give myself credit for being a worldly music aficionada. I’m finally diving deep into my collection seeing as I cant download anything new.
I think the mosquitoes in Jinotega have supernatural powers. I cant for the life of me follow one flying by me for more than 1 second, it just disappears.
My peace corps provided bug repellent smells exactly like Camp Waubeeka, which is a nice throwback.
I may or may not have severely pulled a muscle and stubbed 3 toes just moments earlier “breakin it down” to some hip hop joint. This is why I think it might be safer to place myself in a dance class.
Please comment if stream-of-consciousness is NOT why you check my blog, I will adjust.
2
comments
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
some hippy nonsense
Labels:
feelings
I believe that since I have sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer, I have full authority to go on a hippy rant about humanity, no? First I will be perfectly honest with what I have been doing during my free time here in Nicaragua, and unfortunately it is not studying Spanish. I’ve been watching TED talks podcasts that I downloaded in Managua and reading lots of books (in English). I’ll also note that this is influenced by the fact that I dropped my laptop and now The Darjeeling Limited is desperately trying, yet failing repeatedly to escape from my CD drive, so movie watching is out of the question for now (any tips on how i can fix this would be greatly appreciated). I feel both enlightened and informed and hopeful and joyful after reading Norman Doidge´s The Brain that Changes Itself (I wasn’t kidding in my book review, I’m already passing it along to as many of my fellow PCVs as possible, go read it now. And then give Elyse a hug because she recommended it to me, and because I was also very proud of her after reading her analysis of the book. She continues to be one of the most influential people in my life. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who has things quite so together as my sister) because I am now certain beyond a doubt of the sheer awesomeness of people. Just people. Ordinary as can be, everyone has this brilliant force that, though untapped for the most part, can overcome and discover the most amazing things. And I don’t think we give each other enough credit. Or we give credit to something or someone bigger, better, higher, nebulous. But it’s there right in front of you. Or next to you. Or across the street. Wherever. I think maybe because I can’t necessarily understand everything people are saying to me, my other methods of reading people have become heightened. I have to look a little deeper to understand. I taught my little sisters and cousins here during my training a little yoga, and the good ol’ word namaste, which as difficult as it is to define in English, is even harder to explain in Spanish to a bunch of 10 year olds. But I tried, and I’m going to take some more authority to fully secularize namaste, so when you express that you are acknowledging and bowing to the light or life force or spirit in your fellow human, it is wholly human-made, hecho de mano. They created it. And the only reason there is hate and war is because we don’t realize the potential of each and every human, and we don’t take responsibility for our own actions. Blame and credit are too often externalized.
Oh, and did I mention that I LOVE where I am living, and am on kind of a giddy high from being very content. You might just have to ignore the nonsense above and chalk it up to a temporary mental collapse caused by an overdose of serotonin, or maybe the air is just thinner up here in the mountains. But why not go with it and list the reasons why Jinotega is special.
- It’s beautiful. In a valley. The backdrop to every vista is lush green mountains.
- There are countless second-hand clothing stores. I bought a shirt and a dress the other day for C$ 30 (that’s $1.50 USD)
- There’s real coffee
- The people are beautiful
- It’s fresco (“chilly” one might say)
- Strawberries grow up here (though I haven’t seen them being sold anywhere, I’m not sure when they are in season)
- There is a pretty well frequented karaoke bar
- There is a 24 hour convenience store
I also think I’m managing to win over the skeptics at my places of work. It’s really very difficult to show people you are competent and enthusiastic when you only have an intermediate level of Spanish. I was relatively convinced one of my counterpart teachers hated the idea of working with me, and she very well may have felt that way, but after our first planning session, I managed to put together a few questions asking about her family and work experience, and promising that when I can speak more Spanish I will speak more Spanish. At which point she extended on open invitation to visit her house for dinner. So I guess that worked. Hopefully I can win the students over too. Hopefully the novelty of having an American in the classroom will buy me some time to win them over.
I considered several times while writing this post just deleting the whole thing and waiting til I was in a more focused state of mind to write something coherent and perhaps less offensive, but for those of my dear friends and family willing to sift through the word vomit, I applaud your patience…or boredom…or procrastination from whatever else you should be doing right now.
Oh, and did I mention that I LOVE where I am living, and am on kind of a giddy high from being very content. You might just have to ignore the nonsense above and chalk it up to a temporary mental collapse caused by an overdose of serotonin, or maybe the air is just thinner up here in the mountains. But why not go with it and list the reasons why Jinotega is special.
- It’s beautiful. In a valley. The backdrop to every vista is lush green mountains.
- There are countless second-hand clothing stores. I bought a shirt and a dress the other day for C$ 30 (that’s $1.50 USD)
- There’s real coffee
- The people are beautiful
- It’s fresco (“chilly” one might say)
- Strawberries grow up here (though I haven’t seen them being sold anywhere, I’m not sure when they are in season)
- There is a pretty well frequented karaoke bar
- There is a 24 hour convenience store
I also think I’m managing to win over the skeptics at my places of work. It’s really very difficult to show people you are competent and enthusiastic when you only have an intermediate level of Spanish. I was relatively convinced one of my counterpart teachers hated the idea of working with me, and she very well may have felt that way, but after our first planning session, I managed to put together a few questions asking about her family and work experience, and promising that when I can speak more Spanish I will speak more Spanish. At which point she extended on open invitation to visit her house for dinner. So I guess that worked. Hopefully I can win the students over too. Hopefully the novelty of having an American in the classroom will buy me some time to win them over.
I considered several times while writing this post just deleting the whole thing and waiting til I was in a more focused state of mind to write something coherent and perhaps less offensive, but for those of my dear friends and family willing to sift through the word vomit, I applaud your patience…or boredom…or procrastination from whatever else you should be doing right now.
with assistance all the way from mali...
well billy budd has done me the favor of reminding me to post the fact that i am an official peace corps VOLUNTEER. swearing in was on july 31 at a swanky hotel in managua. we had to say some super official oath to the government and god i think, signed something and then we received a peace corps pin, and then we ate cake.
they did in fact try to hamper my pursuit of small business development in nicaragua when my name was "accidentally" omitted from the initial program, and then once again "accidentally" forgotten when they called everyone up to sign our lives away, but so goes the game of being last alphabetically, peace corps just cant seem to remember i exist. o well, i dont mind being able to disappear into jinotega for a bit.
some small updates that i must give about jinotega:
during my daily exploratory trips of the city i have found a kareoke bar and a 24 hour convenience store. wow. oh, and also a place with great espresso.
i taught my first class today at the adult technical school. it was mildly terrifying, but i think the students are excited about the class and about having me there.
the cyber i am at has web cams and very fast internet, so lets set up a skype date. use the claro website to send me a text. weekends early are probably best.
i have a more extensive review of the past week on my laptop, but felt like i should heed mr. budd's suggestion and post this immediately before i became totally outdated.
they did in fact try to hamper my pursuit of small business development in nicaragua when my name was "accidentally" omitted from the initial program, and then once again "accidentally" forgotten when they called everyone up to sign our lives away, but so goes the game of being last alphabetically, peace corps just cant seem to remember i exist. o well, i dont mind being able to disappear into jinotega for a bit.
some small updates that i must give about jinotega:
during my daily exploratory trips of the city i have found a kareoke bar and a 24 hour convenience store. wow. oh, and also a place with great espresso.
i taught my first class today at the adult technical school. it was mildly terrifying, but i think the students are excited about the class and about having me there.
the cyber i am at has web cams and very fast internet, so lets set up a skype date. use the claro website to send me a text. weekends early are probably best.
i have a more extensive review of the past week on my laptop, but felt like i should heed mr. budd's suggestion and post this immediately before i became totally outdated.
1 comments
Monday, August 10, 2009
twitter-ish book reviews
well, twitter wouldnt let me post any updates today, so ill blog them and take this newfound character freedom and only limit myself to 200 characters per review. sometimes when my brain gets totally overloaded with spanish, i find great respite in reading in english...heres where its taken me so far:
The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
Do yourself a favor and read this book. It will inspire and leave you in awe of humanity and your own capabilities . Engaging writing on brain science.
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
I dont enjoy MG’s writing style; I find it redundant & oversimplified. Liked the subject (what really can be deduced in the blink of an eye), had it been 150 pgs shorter it would have been great.
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Read this book in two days, shed many tears, moving story of a child soldier in Sierre Leone. Vivid and tragic. Definitely would recommend it.
The I Chong by Tommy Chong
Don’t waste your time, go talk about gov’t conspiracies and pot legalization with your favorite stoner friend. We’ve heard it all before. Only interesting or creative part is his view of salsa dancing as the antidrug.
Naked by David Sedaris
It usually takes me a while to get into Sedaris’ style, sometimes the stories just seem irrelevant and outrageous, but you can’t deny his sense of humor. Man is hilarious. Quick read, why not.
Tristessa by Jack Kerouac
Kerouac stumbles through Mexico, trying but never connecting with the life there. Beautiful, lyrical. Loved reading it while in Nica, could relate to the foreignness and the chickens.
What is the What by David Eggers
This book was glued to my hands every time I got the chance. It was brilliant, lovely, tragic, romantic, informative. I’m sad it is over. Has an undeniable impact.
The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
Do yourself a favor and read this book. It will inspire and leave you in awe of humanity and your own capabilities . Engaging writing on brain science.
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
I dont enjoy MG’s writing style; I find it redundant & oversimplified. Liked the subject (what really can be deduced in the blink of an eye), had it been 150 pgs shorter it would have been great.
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Read this book in two days, shed many tears, moving story of a child soldier in Sierre Leone. Vivid and tragic. Definitely would recommend it.
The I Chong by Tommy Chong
Don’t waste your time, go talk about gov’t conspiracies and pot legalization with your favorite stoner friend. We’ve heard it all before. Only interesting or creative part is his view of salsa dancing as the antidrug.
Naked by David Sedaris
It usually takes me a while to get into Sedaris’ style, sometimes the stories just seem irrelevant and outrageous, but you can’t deny his sense of humor. Man is hilarious. Quick read, why not.
Tristessa by Jack Kerouac
Kerouac stumbles through Mexico, trying but never connecting with the life there. Beautiful, lyrical. Loved reading it while in Nica, could relate to the foreignness and the chickens.
What is the What by David Eggers
This book was glued to my hands every time I got the chance. It was brilliant, lovely, tragic, romantic, informative. I’m sad it is over. Has an undeniable impact.
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Friday, August 7, 2009
something fun for everyone
so my cell phone provider in nicaragua, claro, has a free online text message service: http://www.ideasclaro.com.ni/sms2web/ put my number, 83574587, in the first line, your name in the second, write me a message in hit enviar. i look forward to hearing from you all :P LOVE
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Sunday, August 2, 2009
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