site assignment reflection (written July 8, 2009)

Site assignment day was today…and I now know that I will be living in Jinotega, Jinotega, a department capital in the north of nicaragua. I never would have imagined in joining the Peace Corps that I’d be living in a city…with a supermarket... and a bank... and a post office... and a coffee shop... and internet cafes. Is this what I signed up for? Is this what I wanted when I applied? And I think…it is. I will be working with one secondary school to implement the entrepreneurship course La Empresa Creativa (the creative business) and with an adult education technical school to teach an intro to microenterprise class. I don’t think I’ve described exactly how the Small Business Development program for Peace Corps Nicaragua works (or at least our main project): Peace Corps has been working with the Ministry of Education in Nicaragua to development this entrepreneurship course, La Empresa Creativa. It is divided into Pre-LEC, LEC, and Economics for 3rd year, 4th year, and 5th year secondary school students respectively. The Nicaraguan school system is under a system of “transformation” right now, and after all schools have completed the transformation process, they should have a required 4th year course of productivity in which the LEC will be taught. SBD volunteers have the responsibility of helping to implement this new course into the schools and train the teachers in how to teach it. So the program has promise and longevity. I also have opportunities to work with multiple NGOs and microfinance organizations. But…But? But this is what needs to be done. It’s just certainly not what I expected. I expected a hut in Africa…I’ll get an apartment in Central America. But I know that Nicaragua’s population is booming and job creation…isn’t. And I went to Babson. And I know that an entrepreneurial spirit is essential. And supporting the development of a middle class is critical. I just haven’t quite wrapped my mind around this new vision of the Peace Corps experience. I will be living with less (my yearly earnings will be about 3000 USD), but comfortably. And we (well, maybe me and Robin) know how awful it is to just be comfortable. How unchallenging. How uninspiring. How am I to develop the tortured soul needed to write beautiful prose and poetry? BaHa! O yes, now I remember. Nicaragua is beautiful. And buzzing. And who wants to write poetry anyway.

What am I doing here?

Is a question I’m sure many of you are asking yourselves, since I guess I haven’t really delved into much detail about what it is I’m doing here everyday.
Aside from Spanish and technical classes, I have a few training projects going on. One is a youth group that the four trainees in my training town have put together. It is a group of students from the local secondary school. We meet twice a week with the ultimate goal of competing in a product fair against the other trainees’ youth groups at the end of July. In the process we are giving lessons in technical subjects such as costs and prices, marketing, and accounting; life skills sessions on HIV/AIDS and self-esteem; and helping them through the process of creating a new product to sell. We have a group of 15 students, about 14-18 years old I would estimate, and they are WONDERFUL. Smart. Outspoken. Funny. One kid I am convinced will be the president of Nicaragua some day (and not in the same pattern of tyrants Nicaragua has had, I’m talking about one of the inspirational nation changing leaders). I think we’re well on our way to winning the product fair.
Teaching. During my 3 months of training, I need to teach at least 3 classes at the secondary school. My first class is June 9th. For this first one I taught with the other trainees in my town, the rest I am on my own for. Our first lesson was “My Life in 10 Years.” Goal setting is the focus. The class went well. The students were responsive and enjoyed the lesson. It is a little tough, since classes are only 45 minutes long, to get much done, especially with my level of Spanish. But communication is certainly getting easier and things are going smoother. This is practice for what my main job here in country will actually be: teaching a course called La Empresa Creativa (the Creative Business). It is a terrifying task to say the least. Hopefully some day my Spanish will be at the level where teaching a 90 minute business class doesn’t seem impossible.
The last main project of my training time is called ASBO (Advising Small Business Owners). This project involves interviewing our families about the businesses they run, and conducting a study of one particular type of business in our community. Though the project is called Advising Small Business Owners, this experience is really all about getting us to practice our technical Spanish, and help us learn about the small business environment in Nicaragua. This is an ongoing project that we will present at the end of training. So far I have just been discussing with my host sister her clothing business. She sells clothes out of the home, a very small operation, but has the goal of opening her own clothing store at some point in the future.