San Juan Del Sur and week five!

I cannot believe that it has already been five weeks. I think that no that I am working time is going by even faster (That always happens when you work).  So this last week I moved into my new place. It’s called the casa roja and is a hostel but the most chill hostel you could ever imagine. At the moment there are four of us staying there, myself, the two Dutch girls (staying for five months) and this other guy Matt who is also volunteering in Granada. There are also about 8 empty beds. So you could say that this hostel is not the most exciting. And next week there is going to be a change in the lineup. Matt is leaving on Wednesday and there are two other Dutch girls moving in on Sunday. It is a little sad that matt is leaving; he is totally the nicest guy ever, not to mention American. After he leaves it will be me and four Dutch girls, it will be a miracle if they ever speak English to me again. Maybe there will be other people that come and live there after next week. I can only hope.

So this week I started my volunteering. I am working at an orphanage run by the nuns of Calcutta (Mother Teresa’s order); yes all of them are from India and so far super cool. Although the place acts as an orphanage for some 20 girls I am not working with them. Instead I am working with a daycare that runs out of the orphanage that serves the families of the community as a day care so that the parents can go work and not worry about their kid. (Side note: in Nicaragua children are required to go to school starting at age 5, so all the children I am working for are under 4)

I have worked for kids a little bit before. At the cov and working at the nursery at church but never have I ever worked for so long with young kids. It is soo exhausting! I am sure it does not help that I have not been getting proper amounts of sleep, but dang, those kids just suck the energy right out of you. I don’t know how full time daycare workers can do it, I would burn out fast! But anyways, my firs week I said that i would work a 4 hour day, arrive at 8 and leave at 12. That was my plan going in on Monday, but as 12 came and went I thought that there was so much more that was needed to do. At 11 they put the kids to bed, but the kids are really bad at sleeping so you have to be sitting around patty backs trying to make them sleep for hours until around 2 when they get up, but some of the kids are a real handful and will never sleep. I just felt needed and stayed until 3 when the kids go home, and really it is after three because like in all places parents never all come on time. And then one day I was actually needed until three as the other daycare worker left early. But after three days of 9 hour days (including the commute) I was exhausted, also remember that I have not been getting sleep either.

On Thursday I looked and acted tired, even the people i am working for asked me if I was tired. I left at 1230 and just came back to the hostel and chilled. It was a good idea. That is until later that evening myself and the rest of the folks living in the hostel decided to go out. I thought it would be good, we would go to a bar, have a drink or two and then come back giving me plenty of opportunity to get home in time for a good night’s sleep, something I dearly wanted. But after walking a few blocks the Dutch girls see someone they know and we stop and start partying with them, free rum, beer food, it was great. Apparently these guys were in a motorcycle group and were stopping in Granada for the night. It was awesome for me because I got to talk motorcycles with a bunch of the guys and even got to take a ride on a 250 Honda, exactly the type of bike I want to get in California. So I was super excited. But after a little bit of talking drinking, eating and riding I was ready to call it a night. Just then a suggestion was thrown out there that we should go to a bar and go dancing, I was like no way, I am going to bed, I am exhausted, but I am easily swayed and after very little persuasion ended going out dancing. It was actually really fun; I even learned a new dance move.  But at 1 in the morning I was ready to go, everyone else was still going strong. I tried to walk home, after all it was only a couple of blocks away, but everyone was telling me that it was too far and that I needed to take a cab, so in the end I took a cab, and got totally ripped off. Oh well. I am used to walking home at night, did it all the time in NYC and I am pretty sure that the areas I walked were the same as in Granada, but when the people in your group are insistent, there is not much else you can do.

Another reason that I wanted to get a good night’s sleep was that on Friday I was going to be traveling to San Juan Del Sur, A three hour bus ride. Myself and Matt, who has friends there, decided to travel together to get down to SJDS. It was a good trip and I even got a seat for most of the ride. Although Matt got really sick on the way down, when he got to SJDS he was constantly on the toilet and even had to go to the hospital, he was in really bad shape, saying that it was the worst he had ever felt. He needed to speak to someone in the states so I lent him my comp. poor guy, says he got a parasite, guess that’s the thing to do in Nicaragua. But anyways getting only 5 hours of sleep and working with kids before a long trip is not the greatest plan. I also packed in a super hurry and apparently did not bring all of my money… so after paying for my room for the two nights only 18 bucks, I only had 300 Cordoba left for food and to get back to Granada with on Sunday. Needless to say I will not be doing anything that costs money in SJDS. I even forgot a book though, which really sucks because one of the things I really wanted to do was to just go to the beach and sit and read. The hostel has a couple books, might just steal one of them for the day…

I have realized that I have been missing out on the traveling experience. Living in hostels is where it is at, all these people from all over the place, doing the same thing that you are doing, and totally willing to just talk and hang out.  So amazing! Last night I just sat down in the courtyard area of the hostel and waited for people to congregate and eventually there was a good old party going on. It was great! This is now my best experience so far. Mombacho for the awe factor, and here for the great vibe and cool people.

So on Saturday I got up and got dressed and went to the beach ready to take a dive and get some sun. I was so deliberate about putting my sunscreen on, on my stomach, on my back, everywhere that was really really white. I as so concentrated on those spots that I forgot the spots that I have been putting sunscreen on from the very beginning, my face, lower legs, and arms. Of course I did not realize this until after the end of the day…

So I go out, walk along the beach, watching the people in the ocean and looking for a good place to put my stuff. I figured I would get some sun first so I found a spot and popped a squat. I laid there for maybe 30 min, but the sand at the beach was so light that it would pick up with the slightest wind and whip into me, stinging my skin. And after I had laid there for a little while I realized that my towel was all wet and so was the bottom of my shorts which I was still wearing. Then when I finally got up and I saw the amount of sand that had piles up during just the short time I was laying there, it was so much, I am sure that if I had laid there for much longer I would have been buried. As it was I was completely covered and the sand was all in my hair. I was so covered that there was no other way to get it out than but jumping in the water. Everything I had read and heard from the people around me, it was not a good idea to leave anything on the beach so even though I jumped into the water I never stopped watching my bag. It was a little ridiculous. But the water was not that nice anyways. The water was filled with sand. The sand was soo light that even in the water it would float. So even though I got in the water and was able to wash the sand from placed like my skin, the sand in my hair, and there was a lot, did not come out. After two disappointing experiences I ended up going for another walk along the beach. There was this very interesting archipelago or something like that on the northerner shore. It was so cool, so many interesting rock structures and a great view of the city. I was also able to dry out my shorts and get a head start on my soaked towel. Took a million pictures and even a few good self-portraits the only catch was that I was wearing my aviators and you can see the reflection of my arm in the glasses.

I get back to the hostel and take a shower wearing my bathing suit still and then go outside to dry off. I started off in the shade but after a little while I got cold and moved to the sun. There was my biggest mistake. I had not reapplied sunscreen and was just sitting in the sun for a good hour. I did jump in the pool at some point but by then it was too late. My stomach and thighs were cooked. I did not feel anything until a few hours later, but I knew I was in for a treat.

There was also the fact that I had not brought enough money with me to SJDS. For lunch I had a bag of bread, actually pretty satisfying, for dinner I had some cheap street food and an ice cream and then bought a water. It is funny, while I was in SJDS I did not buy a single drink, the only thing that SJDS has going for it is that it is a crazy party town. I was really just going there for the beach. And boy did I get the beach.

So that evening I sat around and read a book that I found at the hostel as I forgot to bring a book with me. As I was sitting and reading I was also listening. There was a new guy at the hostel and he had brought a guitar with him and it drew all the folks out that were even the least bit talented. There was a good jam session. I listened for a good while and then went to bed. I have just been soo tired lately. Traveling is one of the most tiring things I have done in a while. But due to the sun burn I again did not sleep well and even woke up around midnight dying of thirst. Luckily I had enough money for a water. I downed about half of it and then went back to bed.

The next day I was supposed to travel back to Granada with Matt, but he decided to stay behind for the day and enjoy SJDS for as long as he could after he had recovered from his sickness. So I traveled back to Granada with this girl I had just met. It was nice and we were able to talk and traveled well together. In the end I got back to Granada and passed out. Sad down and did not get up from my computer till I went to bed. It was brilliant. 

Week four

Over the last four weeks I have been observing and listening to the things people say and the customs of the people I am living with and around. I have found that this is an interesting place. In this post I will describe some of the interesting things I have learned about Nicaragua since I got here.

Firstly are the motorcycles. There are motorcycles everywhere. I am pretty sure that there are more motorcycles than cars in Nica. Most of the time the motorcycles will be carrying more than one person, usually a man and a woman, the man bringing the woman to work or something like that. The interesting thing about this situation is that in almost every case the man is wearing a helmet but the woman is not. I was told at one point that the government noticed how many people used a motorcycle to get to work and transport things but that no one was wearing a helmet. So the government funded an effort to get helmets to the people. Oddly enough this has only helped half of the people riding motorcycles. I also really love the fact that the man is always wearing the helmet, I suppose he would not want to die in a crash, too bad for the woman behind him…

Another interesting and slightly disturbing thing I have learned in Nicaragua is the deliberate lack of commitment. In Nicaragua and apparently other Latin American countries is was common for a man to have more than one lady, a lady that he would marry and have a family with and then another lady where he would just have another family with. Recently there has been a bit of a feminist uprising in Nicaragua and the women are not going to take the two timing any more. No, instead they are going to join the men in their infidelity. So in Nicaragua no one marries any longer, and it is a common and accepted thing for a woman to have a child and raise it on her own.  I asked how the more religious people took this, and was told that they do their own things and try their best to either ignore it or try not to be so obvious when they themselves participate in the actions. I can only imagine some of the drama that must go on with some of these people.

Other strange thing here in Nicaragua is that after you use the bathroom, do not put the paper in the toilet, instead put it in the conveniently located trash can next to the toilet. If you do continue to put the paper in the toilet you might end up with a hefty bill to clear up the septic system…

It gets soo hot here during the middle of the day, no wonder the Spanish invented the mid-day siesta, it is totally impossible to work at that time of day! I am starting to really dislike the heat down here. I was not made for this type of heat, and everywhere I stay, the only relief is a fan and the occasional breeze…

Also my stomach is still off and on. Today I ate my last lunch with the family before I moved into my new home for the next four weeks. All we had was chicken potatoes and rice, but now I feel like crap… I guess it is time to venture out for a ginger ale. Here’s hoping that the new cooking does better things for my digestion…

Also leaving my family was a little weird. I am sure they were told at the beginning of my stay with them that I would only be with them for a month. But when it came time for me to leave they wanted me to stay so badly. Like when I told them that I was going to the other place they got offended like I did not like living there. When I told them that it was because I signed up for a month here and a month there and that I could not change it, they still asked if I had wanted to stay if I would have. It might have something to do with me not speaking a lot of Spanish and something getting lost in translation. But I think they were just acting a little too funny to just want me to stay because they liked me. All in all I liked my stay and would stay with them again if I came to Nica, although hopefully they will not mind if I bring my girlfriend with me the next time. 

Mombacho!

Today I traveled by myself for the first time since I first arrived in Nicaragua. I think that traveling in Nicaragua now is much easier. I feel like I know the routes the people I will most likely encounter on the busses and the people I will find after I leave the bus. I have discovered that the people in Nicaragua are not out to hurt me. And especially not the people I will find outside of the major tourist attractions. It also helps that I speak better Spanish now and can communicate what I need better.

So my trip started at 1030 in the morning. I left a little earlier than I had originally planned just to make sure I got to Mombacho at 1pm. I make my way to the bus lot and as I step into the lot, like I thought would happen one of the bus conductors asked where I was going and directed me to the correct bus. I ended up in a bus to Rivas and of course, like all the busses that leave from Granada, this one was packed. It was packed when I first got in it and 45 minutes after I got in it and we left the station it was even more packed. I felt like a sticky, hot, sweaty, and smelly sardine. But the bus conductor was very helpful and made sure that I stayed at the front of the bus so that I could leave easily as my stop was one of the first ones. And when my stop came everyone made sure that I got off.

When I got off at my stop I fully intended to walk my way up to the ranger station but a mini moto taxi zoomed over to me and said he could take me to the top for 20 cordoba and I agreed. At the ranger station I learned that it was 15 dollars to get a ride to the top. A steep price, but I was willing and figured that the money most likely went to a good cause. So I shelled out my 15 dollars and asked when the transport would leave. I was told 20 minutes so I started on my way to the marisposary or butterfly nursery, but before I could even start over there I was called back to the station and told that I was going to be taking not the regular transport but a truck up to the top of the mountain. I was told to hop in the back of the truck with a bunch of other guys, after jumping in the back one of the guys from the inside offered me his seat which I graciously accepted. My guide book said that the accent was a steep one but it was more steep than I thought it would be. And a little scary to ascend, I couldn’t imagine what the decent would look like.

When I finally got up to the station at the top of the mountain I went inside to see what was going on. All the clearly tourist inside the station were eating lunch. As I wandered through the station I was looking at what everyone was wearing, I felt out of place and a little stupid. Everyone was wearing hiking gear, tough shoes, long pants, had backpacks and everything.  I was wearing flip flops, shorts and a cami, with my bright red satchel bag. Anyone that has ever hiked with me will know that this is not like me. The book had said that the trails were well marked and quite easy, and I figured they were made for tourists. I was a little wrong. The trails were very wet and slippery. And to my chagrin, I have to admit that I did slipp once. But the rest of the way was quite easy.   

The first area the trail brings you to is this overlook of the crater. The view from that point was soo amazing! I could see all of Granada, the isletas the crater, the whole lake and the land beyond the lake. It was amazing. I took a bunch of pictures and felt really crumby about not being able to share with anyone how I really felt at that moment about this experience. It dawned on me that I could take a video with my camera so I did; my first video in Nicaragua.

So I continue down the path around the crater. I can believe the amount of vegetation that I around me on the trees. I seriously think that there was more plan life in the trees than on the ground. Each tree had moss all over it, different plants growing on bugs and birds and reptiles of all sorts were all above me in the trees. They say that there are mountain lion or puma on the mountain as well and every once and I while I thought I could see some movement out of the corner of my eye, but I am pretty sure that was just my imagination getting the better of me as I walked through the woods alone. 

As I was walking through the woods I was taking a picture of everything I could think of, everything was just so amazing and green and alive. I eventually got to a tunnel at walked through that of course taking pictures and as I get the end of the tunnel, my camera dies. I was super bummed and pretty much figured that the video I had made ate up all of my battery life. I felt at least that I had taken the picture of the best view and a picture of me on the mountain, the rest was just interesting things. But near the end of the trail there is an even better overlook where you can see on a clear day, and this was a clear day, all the way to the volcanoes near Leon. I could see everything. At this point I felt really bad about not having my camera. But so I could remember the scene I just sat and watched and looked. The view was really stunning. I finished off my lunch at that spot a bunch of bananas Gloria had given me. And just to see if my camera would work one last time I took it out and turned it on. To my amazement it turned on. I was able to snap two more pictures before the battery died.

There was not much left to the hike after than point. Just another hill and I was back to the ranger station. I went inside and asked when the next transport would be. I was told twenty minutes by one of the park rangers so I went outside to wait in the sun. I was sitting there for a little while watching everything happen around me.  Saw this Asian couple come out the trail and sit near me and then I saw this German couple come out and go into the station when they came out they went straight for the trucked parked next to the station jumped in an started off. The Asian couple sitting next to me jumped up and ran to the truck as they saw it starting off, the quickly spoke to the drive and jumped in the back for a ride down the mountain. After I saw that happen I thought to myself that I really should have jumped in as well.

I continued to just wait when this older woman came over to me and asked if I spoke English. I informed her that I did and she proceeded to ask me if I knew when the next transport was coming. I informed her of what I knew and then just started to talk to her. Her Name was Paula she was def in her late 50s, she was here for two months volunteering and completing her hours for her medical something or other master’s program. She also lives in Davis Ca and has two daughters who live together with their boyfriends in San Francisco. We talked for a good long time about the economy and social work and Nicaragua, learning and speaking Spanish and about how we would get down from the mountain. I had a really good time just talking to this woman. I guess I have not really been able to have really intelligent conversation that I could really understand for some time now. And I just totally took advantage of it. but at the same time she had some really good ideas when it came to working on my Spanish. For instance she suggested that I find a English as a second language program and find someone to do an exchange with. This Paula said that she did it for a little while, speaking half in Spanish and half and English, she said it really helped her out and they always had something to talk about.  She also suggested that I read some youth fiction by Spanish writers such as “house on mango st” and “return to sender”.

After we spoke for some time a truck came to pick us up and we all piled in. one guy had to wait behind because he would not fit. It was really sad because he had a whole bunch of people in his group that could fit on the truck, just not him. But I got a seat on the back of the truck sitting on the railing and holding onto the top. It was so much fun going down the mountain on the back of the truck. At one point I did think that if the truck were to flip over I would surly die, but that was only a fleeting thought and my mind when back to how cool the trip was looking out over the view and the steep inclines this truck was miraculously flying over.

From the bottom ranger station we all walked, only about a mile. And when we got to the bottom we waited in the hot sun for our respected buses. Mine came relatively quickly and I had to quickly say my goodbyes to Paula.

I find it just amazing how easy it is to pick up conversations with complete strangers and then just to eave again more likely never to see each other again.

After I got on my bus and paid my way I felt really good. I felt good about my ability to travel around Nicaragua unscathed, I felt good about this country, I felt good about my conversation, and I just had an all-around good feeling. I even felt that I could seriously stay in this country for a long time.

I got back to the house and informed the host mom that I had a great time. And that I was going to be going out again to go the café. I asked her what time dinner was and was told about 6. So I was at the café for a while looking at my email, sending a couple of messages, looking up some information for the rest of the week, and had a conversation with Hannah. At six I paid for my food and when back to the house. For the first time since I had arrived in Granada the family was not there. They had the door closed and the windows closed I knocked at the door for a little while and waited but no one was there and it looked like no one was going to be coming either. So I packed up my things and went back to the center park to one of the kiosks to order myself some vigiron.

When I got to the spot the owners of the kiosk were a little all over the place I was given a menu but not told were to sit and when I finally wanted to order no one came to take it. I had to go up to the window and ask for what I wanted. There was this older man that has just sat down near the kiosk and after I ordered he signaled for me to come and speak to him. Being nervous about the last time I sat down with a strange man I hesitated. But this guy was really old and probably just wanted to talk and be friendly. Which in the end is exactly what is all that he wanted.

And boy did we talk. We talked for a good 2 and a half hours about everything under the sun, family, politics, economy, religion, being gay (he was not gay), family, everything under the sun. And never was it awkward. Finally he signaled that he wanted to pay and get out of there so I took his cue. We paid and left and going through the park to leave he followed me just because he was going in the same direction. It’s always a little awkward leaving a place and saying good bye and then walking in the same direction. But he stopped to buy something at one point and I kept walking and at that point we said chow. I felt bad because he clearly remembered my name; I cannot for the life of me remember his, Jeff or frank or something like that; but clearly a very kind, friendly, traveling, and very worldly Canadian. I enjoyed my dinner and was glad that my host family had not been at the house this last evening. 

Semana Tres

I can’t believe that I have been in Nicaragua for three full weeks. It seriously does not feel like it has been that long. I am sure it might have something to do with being in class every day of the week, learning extremely quickly and more thoroughly than ever before the basic concepts to Spanish.  And only a week left of classes. I know that I have learned a lot more Spanish in the last three weeks than I have ever in the two and a half years I took it in school. I really think that if someone really wants to know a language they have to go to a place where it is the only thing they hear around them and is spoken to them.  I still do not know a lot of Spanish. There are a lot of words out there, nouns, verbs, adjectives and everything in between. I feel like I will never have a full vocabulary of Spanish words. But as one of my teachers said to me in my first week; I have had twenty five years of studying English, I should give myself credit for knowing as many words in Spanish for the two years I have studied.

Speaking of 25, my 25th birthday is next week! What a year to be in a foreign country for my birthday. I think milestones like 16, 20, 12, 25, and 50 should be properly celebrated with lots of friends and family around. But alas, this year I will have neither of that. If I do anything it might be to have a nice dinner out, a piece of cake, a beer and a long phone call with my mom and then girlfriend (in order of time zone).  

This week was yet another week. I learned four new verb tenses in class: the future, conditional, pluscuamperfecto, and the preterito perfecto compuesto.  It was a lot to take in all at one time ad at the same time I was still trying to get the preterito and the imperfect down pat. I mean, shucks, I still get the present tense wrong from time to time.  So my brain might be starting to be fried and my tongue is definitely tied, but I am not giving up on my Spanish. I even just bought a novel in Spanish, Tuck everlasting, or in Spanish, Tuck Para Siempre. I figure if I can read a book in Spanish I can do anything in Spanish. Of course after the first two pages, looking up every other word because I do not know describing words, I was fried.  Learning a new language is hard!

So as I said in my previous post, there are only three of us in class this week, myself and two young Dutch girls who are participating in an internship and living in Nicaragua for 5 months. I am a little jealous, they will def know Spanish by the time they leave. Because the class is so small, we have been doing a lot of traveling on the crazy old school busses that serve as Nicaragua’s most common means of transportation. We went to San Juan de Orient, Niqinohomo, Laguna de Apollo, and the Masaya market place. It has been quite a week of traveling. I was also able to complete all of my touristy shopping. With the exception of a couple more post cards and the potential of buying a hammock. 

This entire week there has been a continual anxiety with everyone. Firstly there is my Spanish teacher and her son, who is super cute and only about 6 years old, who only speak Spanish. Then there are the two Dutch girls who can speak English but prefer to speak in Dutch all the time, and then there is me. I speak English and a bit of Spanish and no Dutch. So I have a few options, speak to my teacher and her son, which I did a lot. Speak to the Dutch girls in English, which I did but never went very far as the Dutch girls would revert back to their Dutch really quickly, or be silent which I also did a lot of. It is a good thing that I do not mind being silent because I might have had a hard time with this week if it were not the case. It is really hard when the group is soo multi-cultural. Don’t get me wrong, I love culture, after all I majored in anthropology, but I can only take some much when I am trying to learn something at the same time.

So other than the language barrier the most exciting thing this week has been the traveling. If you have ever traveled in a third world or second world country you know that it can get a little sketchy. This week, on our way to Masaya in one of the more safe looking mini busses we quiet nearly got into an accident. We are speeding down the highway dodging our way around motorcycles other busses and cargo trucks. I did not even notice how fast we were going until the bus started to move very close to another smaller bus. I was watching in horror as the bus got closer and closer a man had his head out the window and I watched in horror as the bus nearly took his head off. The bus just barely cleared the other bus, and I am pretty sure that our bus nicked the other one.  I was so flustered by this almost accident that I really started to notice how fast we were going and the crazy driving that the driver was doing. It was really scary. But this was not the end of the craziness. Later on the trip to Masaya in the same bus the bus that we nearly hit zoomed past us and the man that nearly got his head cut off leaned out the bus and hit our bus with his hat. The bus then pulled in front of our bus and slammed on their breaks. I seriously thought we were going to get into an accident this time. The bus in front kept slamming on the breaks and our bus would jolt back and forth slamming on the breaks. The bus in front of us eventually stopped and so did ours. Out of the bus in front of us jumps a bunch of men. I thought that they might jump the bus or something, the all looked really mad. From the back of the bus I could not hear anything but I am sure they were saying some not so nice things to the bus driver. Nothing really happen and the men walked back to their bus and we all went on our merry way.

So looking at my pictures reminded me of some of the other things I have done this last week that I have completely neglected to mention. First we went to San Jaun de Orient which I have already written about. Then we had another cooking class where we learned how to make Nicaraguan tacos. I neglected to take pictures this week regrettably. Pretty much just rolled up tortias with cheese in the middle and fried over the customary vinegar and cabbage salad. And as I have said before and will say again, frying something always makes it more tasty.

Later in the week we went to Ninquomohomo which was the birthplace of Nicaragua’s most famous freedom fighter, Agosto Sandino. We toured a school/ library that was built there in his honor and contains a couple of pictures and a short history of sandino, all in Spanish of course. I read in my tour book that there used to be other things of his there but the government took them and put them on display in their private collection, the jerks.

We then went to the Masaya market and then on Friday we went to the laguna de Apollo which I had been wanting to go to to swim in since I first saw it from the Catarina madador. And swim I did. The water was soo warm, much warmer than any water I have ever swam in in NH. But the two dutch girls thought it was too cold. I think they just did not want to change into their bathing suits. Super lame. But while I was there I attempted to teach the teacher’s son to float. A feat that is even more difficult when you do not speak the language. I think I got him floating a little but at one point I left him in the water where he could stand and I think that his mom did not trust me after that so she jumped in the water and tried to help him float. She cannot swim and it was funny waiting someone that is afraid of swimming teach another person to float. It just cannot be done. I think she was just more afraid for her son than anything.

Anyways, I can't believe that three weeks have already gone by, and that this next week will be my last week of classes! I really hope that volunteering works out great! 

Week Three

This last weekend was really fun. I was on my own for most of the time and got to really explore Granada. On Saturday I went to the poets park and old train station, the old hospital, the inland fort, and Inglesia Xaltera and adjoining park. Before I started my trek on Saturday, everyone I told where I was going thought that is was a crazy distance. For me, after living in NYC and walking everywhere, this was a walk in the park, and not even as big as central park. I think the whole trek only took me two hours and I even took a couple of detours into two grocery stores.

The reason I went into the first grocery store, other than that I had heard of it before, was because there was a roaming man, who I assume suffered from a mental illness, following me and acting in a way that made me nervous. So I ducked into the grocery store to wait till he went by. Unfortunately when I got out of the store he was right across the street from the grocery store. When I walked out and down the sidewalk he again followed me so I went into the next store I could find, which also turned out to be a grocery store. These grocery stores are nothing like the other grocery store in Granada, Pali, which is best described as something akin to an Asian market in the United States. The other two that I went to were more like the grocery stores I would find in the US with a Latin American flair. The neatest thing that I saw was milk in a bag, and I thought that was only a Canadian thing.

So anyways when I got out the store this time the man was still around but in front of me this time. I figured that if I could keep him in front of me I could make a quicker decision if he started to do anything too crazy. At one point he had gotten too close to a group of young men and they cruelly threw water all over him, he screamed like a banshee after that happened running into the streets. Although I was a little afraid of this man, I felt really bad after that happened to him, I do not think he deserved that.

After my trek I got back to the house and just rested, all the walking in the hot sun really wore me out. I got home and just Felix was there. We sat and talked for the rest of the evening. It was really nice. He is a nice kid and has some good plans and ideas. It is still a little hard to communicate well, but we got along and did not even have that many breaks in conversation. Also speaking with a person in Spanish really gives me a bit more confident with my own abilities, which although still not very good are coming along.

Sunday morning I sat around making flashcards and playing Sudoku. The previous day I had noticed that I was getting a really bad foot tan due to my boat shoes so in the afternoon I went out and bought myself a pair a flip flops. I already had a pair but they are the ones that I were in the shower and did not want to dirty my host family’s shower with outside dirt.  I went down to the Crazy market and found a place that was selling flips flops and got a pair that fit. I then went back to my family’s place and waited for the super bowl to start.

I had scoped out the bar I was going to go to earlier in the week. When I got there I parked myself in the best spot under the shade right in front of the tv. This other American guy sat down near to me and asked who I was routing for, I answered him and he said that he was also routing for the pats. That was the end of that conversation. We went back to our beers and watching the pregame.  Unfortunately the bar was trying to set up a big screen at the start of the game and the tv I was watching kept turning off and on. I did not want to miss the start so I got up from my spot and watched at the door of the bar where the tv was still working. Unfortunately due to this my seat was taken and I had to relocate to a less comfortable seat, but equivalent view. Also due to the move, the guy that I spoke to briefly ended up sitting right next to me.

We all know how the game ended, sad as it may be. The guy, Ryan, and I spoke throughout the whole thing, just kind of shooting the breeze. At the end of the game I did not want to be rude and just be boring and go home so I stayed and talked a little more. He took me off guard after a little while and asked me if I wanted to walk to the water, due to the shock I said yes, I didn’t know what else to do. We got up to pay our bills and he ended up buying my drinks, totally unexpected as I was totally intending to pay for my own. We walked and it was nice, just really casual. We turned down our respected streets and his hotel came first. Ryan was like this is my hotel. I quickly said “well, it was nice to meet you” and shook his hand. He then responded, “well, I wish things had turned out differently”.  I did not mean to flirt with him! I was just being nice! And it was also nice to talk to a fellow American who seemed friendly. After all, all the people I knew the two weeks before had already left Granada. Sure I may have led him on, but it was totally unintentional, I was just being friendly. But that’s where friendly gets me. Note to self, say no if they ask you to go to the beach with them.

First day of classes this week and I learned that there were only going to be three of us all week, myself and two other young women about my age. I get there and see them for the first time and learn that they are not Americans. They are instead from Holland. Super cool, but I was not sure they could speak English, all I had ever heard them speak was Dutch and Spanish, and their Spanish was clearly not very good. It was fun being the best at speaking Spanish in the class though. We did a group activity where we had to act out a verb, I knew almost all of them, where I think that they only guessed a few of the words.

For our activity today we went to San Juan del Orient, a place that I had wanted to go to anyways. I wanted to go there to purchase these spotted chickens I had read about in my tour book. San Juan del Orient is also the pottery capital of the Nicaragua. We went to ceramics school to learn how the pottery is made in Nica. It was really interesting. Unlike in the US and other pottery, they do not give the clay a first firing. Instead they let it air dry a bunch of times and smooth the clay out with different objects such as seeds and stones. They do this after the pot is dried the first time, it is primed, after they color it, and finally after they scratch designs into the clay. After all of that they finally put the pot in the oven and fire it. After we watched the process they led us into the show room and I totally felt that someone had to buy something to make the owner happy. I was waiting for one of the other girls to buy something, but it was clear that no one was and I had only gone there thinking that I would purchase a couple chickens. After looking around for a sufficient amount of time we stated that we wanted to leave. I felt bad, but I am sure the owner makes his money in one way or another.

Walking back from the school I stopped at every shop looking for the chickens.  I was surprised to learn that they were only being sold at two stores. I went to both of them and learned the price and played one of the clerks, she wanted 5 pesos more for her chicken and I informed her of that and she lowered the price, while I then went to the other clerk and got a second chicken for the same price. Not really to tricky, but I saved 5 pesos. I really liked this trip for the only reason that I got to talk to the teacher a lot in Spanish and not have to compete with a bunch of other people for the attentions of the teacher, the two girls really do not speak any Spanish. We even spoke a little about the girls and I don’t think that they even recognized it. 

On our trip back from SJDO we took another school bus. Our teacher lived really close to the entrance of Granada and did not want to walk all the way back from the school when she could be let off closer to her house, so she made me in charge because of my better Spanish, love it! Talk about making my head bigger than it needed to be.  We all get out at the market and I ask them if they knew where they are in Spanish, thank goodness they answer me in English telling me that they also speak English. This was a relief. Although I had accepted the fact that I would be using Spanish to communicate with everyone this next week it was nice to learn that they speak English, leave it to a European to know their native language and English. But after I learned that they spoke English I got to know them a little better. It was a real short conversation but I learned that they are going to be in Granada for the next five months and that they are going to be living in an apartment in the place I will be living during my second month. They seemed like they might have wanted to hang out a bit after the activity but were not sure. I really wanted to get back to my place to see if I had time to settle some things with Cal State, so I left them to figure out their shit. But I told myself that I would make it a point to make these girls my friends.         

So Frustrating!

So this really doesn’t have anything to do with my adventure in Nicaragua but it does have to do with things that happened to me in Nicaragua. So on Wednesday, February 1^st I got an email from one of the schools I had applied to saying that my application was not complete yet and that if I did not send in a reference form that I would not be considered for the program. I contacted all my references and found out that my former supervisor at Covenant House had not sent in my recommendation, had not even written it yet. His excuse was that he has been really busy, and that he thought that the other school was my first choice. I informed him that he was wrong and that the reference was due a week ago and that I really needed him to complete it asap!

I then got in contact with the school and was informed that if my reference did not get his shit together and send the recommendation letter by fax by the end of the week I would not be considered priority and may not have my application considered for the MSW program this year. After I got this information I then tried to call my supervisor again but he was in a meeting and then left for dinner. I left a note with my coworkers to give to my supervisor and then left a message on his answering machine. At this point in the afternoon the place where I was using wifi was closing and I had to leave. That ended the possibility for me to try and contact him again that evening. I had to wait and hope that he would send the letter. I plan on trying to contact him again this afternoon.

When I got home to the place I am staying I ranted to one of the guys that live here in Spanish about all my frustrations. It was not as easy to vent angrily in Spanish as it is in English. And I even went back and forth from Spanish to English a couple of times. Ugg! I was so frustrated!

So I have been having digestive trouble and about every night I wake up at about 4am and have to go to the bathroom because I have intense intestinal pain. Well after I got up this morning I could not get back to bed after I got up because I was thinking about the letter and my supervisor and getting into school. So I took a look at the recommendation form I had given my supervisor, and clearly at the bottom of the recommendation form it says that it needs to be postmarked by 1/27/12. This really got me mad and hence why I am writing this now.

I am sorry to anyone who did not want to read about my frustrations, but writing is my form of venting and getting things out of my system. 

I found out this morning that my supervisor did end up sending the letter of recommendation by fax last night. Thank God! Now I still have a chance of getting into the program. 

Semana Dos

You know how when you take a trip to south America or anywhere that is a third world country you are always warned not to drink the water? Well that’s a pretty simple thing to do, just drink a whole lot of bottled things, water, soda, beer, and liquor, simple. Well what they don’t warn you about and should is the ice!

I’m doing something I would do regularly anywhere, go to a café and order a cold drink. Think nothing of it. Well in places like Nicaragua you should think about it. Because if you don’t a few hours later you might be running to the bathroom ever hour or having your stomach cramp up so badly you just want to die. That may be a little bit of an exaggeration when it came to my situation, but it helps you get the picture. Don’t drink the ice!

Luckily I have a pretty good immune system and can generally get through something like this in about a day or two, but damn, why did I not heed all the advice? Live and learn, I will at least never do that again.

Spanish class: ser and estar, por and para. Why do there have to be so many words in Spanish that mean the same thing? All you need is one word, to do, for, simple. But as for now I am having to remember when to use ser and not estar (I have gotten into the habit of only using estar) and when is the right time to just por and not para (also in the habit of using only para) sigh, I will get this eventually!

A random fact about Nicaragua: you by no means should flush the toilet paper. The septic systems in Nica are not up to par with those in say, the United States. At every toilet there is a special waste basket for all the paper the does not go in the toilet.

So one thing that I do not like about Nica, and Spanish culture/ men in general is the incessant lip smacking and cat calling wherever I walk. Yes I am a single female walking by myself. Yes I am foreign. No I am not going to swoon over you because you called me a pretty lady. I mean seriously, guys, what is even the point of acting that way? Has it ever gotten you anywhere other than slapped? I don’t know, maybe it is because I am gay that this particularly annoys me, but I can imagine it annoys many straight women as well. I just don’t understand. I also think it is funny that the only words that a man might be able to say in English may just include, hey pretty lady, real useful.

This week’s afternoon activities included visiting two churches/ museums, cooking vigeron, touring the isletas, and a dance class.