So I had a request from Justine (hey girl hey!) to write a little about how life here is different and/or the same as home...there definitely are a little of both!
Showering, bathing, teeth brushing---Usually pretty similar-we have running water for 3-4 hours in the mornings and at night, which means I get a shower! Now you need to know this shower is much less water pressure than at home, which I miss; and the water temperature is about 200 degrees colder, but I´ve gotten used to this and even look forward to the freezing cold water that helps to wake me up early in the morning. During the afternoons when I need a shower, I get a bucket shower-basically theres a huge bucket inside the shower with a smaller bucket-if there is already water inside the bucket, you´re ready to go. If there is not, you need to fill it up from the huge jug that sits outside of the shower. From there you throw water on yourself a couple times, sud up your hair, body etc... and then rinse! The rinsing part is the hardest because with the way my hair is growing, I need a lot of water to get all of the shampoo and conditioner out. The bucket shower leaves you feeling somewhat cleaner than when you first stepped into the shower. Teeth brushing is exactly the same...nothing exciting there.
Electricity & Technology---we do have electricity all of the time. No microwave, we do have a refrigerator and an oven/stove. A lot of the families here only use the oven for storage but my host mom actually uses it to cook which is exciting! That means I get meals that are cooked in ways other than frying...so great. Definitely no internet or computer in my house, but a couple of the other trainees do have wireless internet in their houses.
FOOD---Breakfast-I always have coffee and it is always DELICIOSO-its just really good coffee...I love it. Usually have some kind of fruit-fresh mandarin oranges, bananas, mangos, watermelon-it depends on the day and what is in season. There is also some kind of bread-they are crazy about their bread here...all of it is amazing. They have pan relleno-which could be filled with jam, cheese, butter, chicken salad or just straight up sugar. Pan dulce literally means sweet bread and there is also a huge variety with this type-mainly a pastry type bread. Pan simple is regular bread-also really delicious.
Lunch-lunch is the meal that varies the most other than a couple staples that always find their way onto the plate-rice, beans and plantains-always. ALWAYS. To go with this I´ve had: pulled chicken with peppers and onions, steak, a whole fish (so amazing), vegetable soup (by vegetables I mean yuca, potatoe, plantain...mainly starches) etc.. My two favorite meals so far have been arroz valenciana which is a take on paella- rice with meats and veggies-still am not sure of all the types of meat that are included in this, but its good, so I dont really care. My other favorite meal was this soup made out of this green vegetable that was the consistency of an avocado- tasted similar to it too, but definitely was not one. You bake the veggie, spoon out the insides and then blend it up with a little bit of salt, add mozzarella cheese and bake again-seriously incredible. I have no idea what the vegetable is but it tastes so good.
Dinner-the staple dinner here is gallo pinto, tortilla, and either queso or a fried egg. The gallo pinto is kidney beans and rice, fried a couple times. I personally really love it and even though the cheese here is waaaaay waaay over salted, it´s quickly growing on me. (okay I actually loved it the first time I ate it with my gallo pinto)
Some of you may be wondering, "But weren´t you lactose intolerant when you were in the US? How come you can eat so much cheese there?" I am wondering the same exact thing...I have no idea. Somehow my lactose intolerance has disappeared and here I am an avid salty cheese fan. I also have had ice cream twice and I am still alive. Not quite sure why the difference in dairy here, but I´m okay with this positive change.
Transportation---I walk pretty much everywhere-to and from spanish class, to the internet cafe, food store, soccer, yoga class etc...Masatepe is areally easy place to walk around and it helps to even out all of that heavy fried foood that I just wrote about. When I´m traveling outside of Masatepe, we either take mototaxis, which are these small open aired taxis-you can fit a lot of people somehow but they really look tiny...comfortably you fit 3 in the back...last weekend we fit 6. Don´t ask me how. Mototaxis are for traveling to the town next to mine or to the other side of town-definitely shorter distance trips. When traveling to Masaya (the capital of my department) or to Managua (the capital of Nicaragua) we either travel in camioneta, which is like a 24 person van ish thing, or in an old school bus. The school busses are cheaper and they literally pack people on like sardines. There are 2-3 people in every seat and the aisle has 2 rows of people-with the blasting music, the sweaty bodies, people selling foods and other cosas on the bus, it´s a really interesting and exciting trip...always.
So basically life here has some differences, but all in all it´s really pretty similar to life at home! Love and miss you all and keep the questions coming!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Health Charlas
My class is divided into 2 groups of 2 for our health charlas-Kari and Alyssa give their charlas at the health post, que se llama La Colonia and Nico and I give our charlas at the main health center in Masatepe. This week Alyssa and Nico spoke about nutrition while Kari and I spoke about diabetes-mainly about type 2. It´s an interesting process because we have to do research (which I really have not had homework to do in 2 1/2 years) about our topic and make sure our spanish grammar and vocabulary is correct. Next we have to make rotofolios, which are hand drawn posters-while I am a huge fan of drawing, doodling and coloring, I have learned a few things about myself:
1. I am terrible at writing words on large pieces of paper-I consistently have to do drafts in pencil, erase, redraft, erase and finally if I am lucky on the 3rd try I will have letters that are the same size, shape and are not all squashed together at the end of the word.
2. While drawing actual human looking people is not my strong suit, the people here think I am a fantastic cartoonist! I never knew that about myself...I´ve been pretty proud of my posters so far.
3. I am a perfeccionist. I never would have thought I would have to say that out loud, but it is true. My name is Kati and I am a perfeccionist...I cannot go into a charla with a poster that looks terrible.
4. I already knew this but I am still a procrastinator-this relates to #3 because it means I am up late the night before redoing everything until I love it. (I did not sleep as well as I should have last night...)
5. I can be funny! Today, speaking about diabetes, I told a story about how I learned how to wash my clothing and how I love the gallo pinto-maybe its because I am not Nicaraguan, but they all loved it.
My charlas so far have gone fairly well-the first one I was incredibly nervous for. I did not need to be because my topic was AIDS and I knew all of the information, but trying to say all of it in Spanish is another story. Today I felt a lot better speaking about diabetes, even though there were 2 or 3 babies crying, dogs barking and construction going on-all inside of the health center. During Nico´s charla a dog cried out, all of us jumped and these 3 old women were dying laughing and cracking jokes about the people who were scared of the dog barking-they reminded me of those two old men from the muppets who are constantly making fun of people...I do not remember their names but what great characters.
For the rest of the day today I will be at the internet cafe for another 10 minutes, then soccer for an hour and a half and then yoga class! Who would have thought that in Nicaragua I would have a regular Tuesday night yoga class to go to? Not me. The Masatepe English Teaching Peace Corps Volunteer, Janelle, teaches yoga Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour in this cultural building in Masatepe. The class last week had about 15 people-3 PC trainees-Kari, Nico and myself-and 12 ish Nicaraguans. Everything was said in Spanish and I left feeling totally relaxed and energized. It´s been interesting to talk with Janelle about what real Peace Corps life is like-she is definitely loving everything about it. I cannot wait to find out what is in store for all of us next!
Quick update on what happens in the next few weeks: right now we are finishing up week 5. Week 6-we have a practicum week, where we get to visit another volunteer in their site (all of us Healthy Lifestyle PCTs will be going to the department of Chinandega). There we will have more trainings, see what the life of a real PCV looks like and get a chance to travel outside of our training towns. Week 7ish I think-we have a site fair-we learn about the various site placements where we could end up. Week 8 (omg not that far away from week 5.)-we find out our sites! April 1st--swearing in! I cannot believe how fast this has been going by.
Still love and miss you all! If you have questions or a theme for a blog post you´ve been dying to know about, definitely post!
1. I am terrible at writing words on large pieces of paper-I consistently have to do drafts in pencil, erase, redraft, erase and finally if I am lucky on the 3rd try I will have letters that are the same size, shape and are not all squashed together at the end of the word.
2. While drawing actual human looking people is not my strong suit, the people here think I am a fantastic cartoonist! I never knew that about myself...I´ve been pretty proud of my posters so far.
3. I am a perfeccionist. I never would have thought I would have to say that out loud, but it is true. My name is Kati and I am a perfeccionist...I cannot go into a charla with a poster that looks terrible.
4. I already knew this but I am still a procrastinator-this relates to #3 because it means I am up late the night before redoing everything until I love it. (I did not sleep as well as I should have last night...)
5. I can be funny! Today, speaking about diabetes, I told a story about how I learned how to wash my clothing and how I love the gallo pinto-maybe its because I am not Nicaraguan, but they all loved it.
My charlas so far have gone fairly well-the first one I was incredibly nervous for. I did not need to be because my topic was AIDS and I knew all of the information, but trying to say all of it in Spanish is another story. Today I felt a lot better speaking about diabetes, even though there were 2 or 3 babies crying, dogs barking and construction going on-all inside of the health center. During Nico´s charla a dog cried out, all of us jumped and these 3 old women were dying laughing and cracking jokes about the people who were scared of the dog barking-they reminded me of those two old men from the muppets who are constantly making fun of people...I do not remember their names but what great characters.
For the rest of the day today I will be at the internet cafe for another 10 minutes, then soccer for an hour and a half and then yoga class! Who would have thought that in Nicaragua I would have a regular Tuesday night yoga class to go to? Not me. The Masatepe English Teaching Peace Corps Volunteer, Janelle, teaches yoga Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour in this cultural building in Masatepe. The class last week had about 15 people-3 PC trainees-Kari, Nico and myself-and 12 ish Nicaraguans. Everything was said in Spanish and I left feeling totally relaxed and energized. It´s been interesting to talk with Janelle about what real Peace Corps life is like-she is definitely loving everything about it. I cannot wait to find out what is in store for all of us next!
Quick update on what happens in the next few weeks: right now we are finishing up week 5. Week 6-we have a practicum week, where we get to visit another volunteer in their site (all of us Healthy Lifestyle PCTs will be going to the department of Chinandega). There we will have more trainings, see what the life of a real PCV looks like and get a chance to travel outside of our training towns. Week 7ish I think-we have a site fair-we learn about the various site placements where we could end up. Week 8 (omg not that far away from week 5.)-we find out our sites! April 1st--swearing in! I cannot believe how fast this has been going by.
Still love and miss you all! If you have questions or a theme for a blog post you´ve been dying to know about, definitely post!
Triunfo del Amor (Triumph of Love)
Triunfo del Amor-that is the name of the novela that I watch every night (I try to watch it every night) at 6 pm with my family. It is the story of a girl named Maria Desaparada-which basically translates to Orphaned Maria. You may be thinking that right off the bat this story sounds simliar to Little Orphan Annie...you are incorrect. This girl has been living in a convent for her entire 18 years of life and has never known who her parents are. When she turns 18, the convent kicks her out and she has to find her own apartment and a job. She turns to modeling (of course. This is such an easy job to just pick up on a whim...maybe Ill come home to the US after Peace Corps and become a model...hm.) She ends up working as a model for this agency, where her boss is a terribley miserable woman because her husband is cheating on her with a younger woman-she suspects something is wrong but does not know what. Little does the model boss or Maria the orphaned model know, but Marias boss is actually her mother. Neither of them realize this, but I am assuming in a few weeks, something huge is going to happen. The other interesting part of this novela is that Maria is dating her boss´(aka her mother´s) son (aka her brother)-but they have different fathers so I guess it´s okay. That is basically what has happened so far.
The most amazing part of this is that the novela is obviously in Spanish and I have somehow managed to understand what is happening. While it may sound like a strange goal of mine, I am hoping to be able to understand everything that is happening in every single novela that I watch by the time my two years here are up. I have to say; I really love my novelas.
The most amazing part of this is that the novela is obviously in Spanish and I have somehow managed to understand what is happening. While it may sound like a strange goal of mine, I am hoping to be able to understand everything that is happening in every single novela that I watch by the time my two years here are up. I have to say; I really love my novelas.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
scoring goals and breaking tiles
quick fyi-i have no idea how to use this keyboard so there are going to be a lot of mistakes in the post-it looks like a keyboard in the us but is programmed to act like a nicaraguan one so certain keys are labeled as one thing but are actually typed as another...i apologize in advance.
playing soccer en la cancha-went by myself for the first time....was a little worried about being able to advocate for myself in spanish as a woman alone, playing just with men-no need to be worried at all. my team started playing at 450 and did not stop until 605-we could not lose...i absolutely loved it when a guy on the 2nd team made a comment like, wow they won with a girl on their team-we went on to beat his team as well-with that same girl.
in the middle of one of the games, someone shot the ball into the clouds and it hit the roof of one of the houses, breaking 3 tiles. the guy who owns the house came outside, took the ball and put it inside his house and says, youre not getting this ball back until you fix my roof. they yell back and forth for a while- finally one of the other players runs back to his house and comes back with a bag of tiles. another player runs up with a ladder from his house. the proceed to put 3 new tiles back on the roof. this hilarious guy goes into the house, comes out with the ball and everybody cheers. we continue to play until 605 when i have to head home because its starting to get dark out.
i am so glad i was there for this strange soccer experience1
playing soccer en la cancha-went by myself for the first time....was a little worried about being able to advocate for myself in spanish as a woman alone, playing just with men-no need to be worried at all. my team started playing at 450 and did not stop until 605-we could not lose...i absolutely loved it when a guy on the 2nd team made a comment like, wow they won with a girl on their team-we went on to beat his team as well-with that same girl.
in the middle of one of the games, someone shot the ball into the clouds and it hit the roof of one of the houses, breaking 3 tiles. the guy who owns the house came outside, took the ball and put it inside his house and says, youre not getting this ball back until you fix my roof. they yell back and forth for a while- finally one of the other players runs back to his house and comes back with a bag of tiles. another player runs up with a ladder from his house. the proceed to put 3 new tiles back on the roof. this hilarious guy goes into the house, comes out with the ball and everybody cheers. we continue to play until 605 when i have to head home because its starting to get dark out.
i am so glad i was there for this strange soccer experience1
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Fotos
PS I swear I have taken pictures here and will try and post them next time Im at the internet cafe!!
Rainbows in Nica
I´ve had many "I cannot believe that I am in Nicaragua" moments since I´ve been here...this one by far takes the prize as Top Moment (at least of this week). We had just gotten out of Spanish class, so I went home to change into soccer clothing per usual this is my favorite after class activity (side note-I have acquired the nickname of Chinelita (little flip flop) because I played soccer in flip flops once...it makes me really happy to hear people I dont even know calling me this!). Anyway, I went next door to see if Nico wanted to come play with my host sister, Giselle, and me, but unfortunately he was busy. Giselle and I walked to the soccer field, talking about life and spanish. When we get to the field, all of the spaces to play already had lots of people playing, so we decided to talk it easy and just watch. As we are talking a tiny piece of a rainbow starts to form...we talk about how beautiful it is and lucky it would be to see a fully developed rainbow-both of us had only seen this once before in our lives. As we are talking about how lucky this is, the colors start to get brighter as the rainbow grows. At this moment, Id be happy with only this small part of the rainbow, but it keeps growing. I have this moment as we sit there in the light rain, watching the rainbow develop into a full arc-I am in Nicaragua, talking about life and about this rainbow in Spanish. I am actually here, finally. I just felt so lucky, other than the fact that I did not have my camera, but I seriously will remember that day forever.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Work and Training
So perhaps you would also like to hear a little about what I am actually doing in Nicaragua...my days are not only filled with rice and beans, soccer and hanging out. My week basically looks like this:
8am to 12 pm- Spanish class- We have some gramatical and vocabulary lessons, combined with Spanish icebreaker type games to practice conversing in Spanish.
12 pm to 1 pm-Lunch! This usually consists of rice and beans, plantains, and some kind of vegetable or meat main course (for example, one day I have this absolutely delicious avocado type vegetable soup, another day-chicken stir fried ish with vegetables)
1 pm-3 or 4 ish-more Spanish class-class in the afternoon is usually more practical-going out into the streets and asking people for directions, presenting ourselves to the mayor and to the chief of police etc...
4-6 pm-either playing soccer, doing homework etc..
6 pm-NOVELA time-right now Triunfo del Amor is on Mon through Fri...very dramatic and interesting.
7pm on- watching the news, playing games and doing homework.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, we have youth group meetings-so far we have only had one, but it was very succesful-we will be discussing various health topics, playing games and doing team building type activities.
Monday mornings at 8 am beginning this Mon February 7th, we will be giving brief health charlas a two of the health centers here in Masatepe-I have a 10-15 minute talk on AIDS this coming Monday-I will defintely keep you all updated on how it goes!
Wednesday afternooons, all day Fridays and Saturdays-we have Peace Corps training sessions-they include the health statistics of Nicargua, how to give succesful health talks, tips on working with Nicaraguan youth and various way to prevent ourselves from getting all of the Peace Corps usual sicknesses...ugh like the common cold, diarrhea, stomach aches, malaria etc...
As I only have a couple more minutes left on the internet and as I need to go play soccer, I will leave you with that.
I will attempt to be better about posting but because we are getting into all of our actual work starting this week, our weeks are getting a lot busier. I hope to make it to the internet cafe once a week and I promise Mom, I will let you know if anything weird happens to me.
love and miss you all!
8am to 12 pm- Spanish class- We have some gramatical and vocabulary lessons, combined with Spanish icebreaker type games to practice conversing in Spanish.
12 pm to 1 pm-Lunch! This usually consists of rice and beans, plantains, and some kind of vegetable or meat main course (for example, one day I have this absolutely delicious avocado type vegetable soup, another day-chicken stir fried ish with vegetables)
1 pm-3 or 4 ish-more Spanish class-class in the afternoon is usually more practical-going out into the streets and asking people for directions, presenting ourselves to the mayor and to the chief of police etc...
4-6 pm-either playing soccer, doing homework etc..
6 pm-NOVELA time-right now Triunfo del Amor is on Mon through Fri...very dramatic and interesting.
7pm on- watching the news, playing games and doing homework.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, we have youth group meetings-so far we have only had one, but it was very succesful-we will be discussing various health topics, playing games and doing team building type activities.
Monday mornings at 8 am beginning this Mon February 7th, we will be giving brief health charlas a two of the health centers here in Masatepe-I have a 10-15 minute talk on AIDS this coming Monday-I will defintely keep you all updated on how it goes!
Wednesday afternooons, all day Fridays and Saturdays-we have Peace Corps training sessions-they include the health statistics of Nicargua, how to give succesful health talks, tips on working with Nicaraguan youth and various way to prevent ourselves from getting all of the Peace Corps usual sicknesses...ugh like the common cold, diarrhea, stomach aches, malaria etc...
As I only have a couple more minutes left on the internet and as I need to go play soccer, I will leave you with that.
I will attempt to be better about posting but because we are getting into all of our actual work starting this week, our weeks are getting a lot busier. I hope to make it to the internet cafe once a week and I promise Mom, I will let you know if anything weird happens to me.
love and miss you all!
Weekends in Nicaragua
January 22, 2011
The weekends here are a time of not doing much-really-it´s not a bad thing though. The people hang out with their families, go to the market, etc...it´s similar to a weekend in the US. The market here is a very interesting place-so far it is by far my favorite street in Masatepe to walk down. Most stands are selling basically the same things-used clothing, socks, underwear-of all colors, organized in a very bright and appealing way. Then comes the fruits and veggies, along with beans, meat, tortillas being made as you stand waiting, and small bags of food that is very difficult to identify. The fruits and veggies are even tough to name because there are so many different kinds.
After the market this Saturday, Doña Maritza and I walked to her mother´s house. On the way there, we ran into a very old woman (whom I later found out is 85 years old), very thing, short and very poor. She was carrying a giant orange bowl with a few smaller bowls inside, all on her head. Inside the smallest, I am fairly certain, were chicken livers. Inside the next were banana leaves, a couple of towels and a pot. And inside the largest was huge slabs of meat. This 85 year old woman must have been carrying around at least 15 pounds, balanced on her head. She seriously looked like you could easily break her in two, yet everyday she walks around Masatepe selling meat. Now Masatepe is not a huge city-there are about 34,000 people living in Masatepe. But just imagine having the walk even 5 blocks at the age of 85, which 15 pounds of meat on your head...pretty impressive.
The people here walk around selling everything-two little girls on my street sell gelatina, which is basically a homemade popsicle in a plastic baggie without the stick. I love hanging out with these girls-really with all of the children that live on my street. Every single night, all of the kids gather to play-either kickball, soccer or some other game. It is such a great time and definitely reminds me of my childhood, playing Kick the Can etc... One of my Peace Corps friends, Nicha, asked me last night if I had friends in Masatepe-my answer was, Well yes, they´re all under the age of 12, but yes. It doesn´t feel too strange though because they´re all like younger brothers and sisters-I walk down the street to a chorus of "Kati! Kati! Kati!" (My name here is Katalina or Kati...prettier in Spanish than Kate). I also really love my Spanish class-there are four of us-Kari is from Alaska, Alyssa is from Chicago and Nick is from Sacramento. Kari and Alyssa live fairly close to each other and Nick lives right next door to me. Him and I play soccer as much as possible with the kids on the street and at some of the soccer fields in town.
I love the way the people here play soccer-Well, I do not like the fact that the women here do not play as much as the men, but the men are starting to realize that I can also play. But the way it works is basically, you show up at a field with a couple of people and call next game. Whenever a team scores 2 goals, the team who lost leaves the field and you take their place. If you only have 2 people, 3 random players join your team. It is such a great way to integrate into the community and to meet people. They all have nicknames like Asesino, Chancho Negro and Pechado, and honestly I do not remember their real names, but it´s fun to joke around with them about this. It´s also a good way to practice my spanish and my soccer is improving so much! With Peace Corps, it is all about integration into the community-whether it be by playing soccer, going to the market with your host family or just hanging out in the park. Having people in your city recognize you and know you by name is an integral part of having a successful service. I cannot wait to find out more about the next 2 years of my life!
The weekends here are a time of not doing much-really-it´s not a bad thing though. The people hang out with their families, go to the market, etc...it´s similar to a weekend in the US. The market here is a very interesting place-so far it is by far my favorite street in Masatepe to walk down. Most stands are selling basically the same things-used clothing, socks, underwear-of all colors, organized in a very bright and appealing way. Then comes the fruits and veggies, along with beans, meat, tortillas being made as you stand waiting, and small bags of food that is very difficult to identify. The fruits and veggies are even tough to name because there are so many different kinds.
After the market this Saturday, Doña Maritza and I walked to her mother´s house. On the way there, we ran into a very old woman (whom I later found out is 85 years old), very thing, short and very poor. She was carrying a giant orange bowl with a few smaller bowls inside, all on her head. Inside the smallest, I am fairly certain, were chicken livers. Inside the next were banana leaves, a couple of towels and a pot. And inside the largest was huge slabs of meat. This 85 year old woman must have been carrying around at least 15 pounds, balanced on her head. She seriously looked like you could easily break her in two, yet everyday she walks around Masatepe selling meat. Now Masatepe is not a huge city-there are about 34,000 people living in Masatepe. But just imagine having the walk even 5 blocks at the age of 85, which 15 pounds of meat on your head...pretty impressive.
The people here walk around selling everything-two little girls on my street sell gelatina, which is basically a homemade popsicle in a plastic baggie without the stick. I love hanging out with these girls-really with all of the children that live on my street. Every single night, all of the kids gather to play-either kickball, soccer or some other game. It is such a great time and definitely reminds me of my childhood, playing Kick the Can etc... One of my Peace Corps friends, Nicha, asked me last night if I had friends in Masatepe-my answer was, Well yes, they´re all under the age of 12, but yes. It doesn´t feel too strange though because they´re all like younger brothers and sisters-I walk down the street to a chorus of "Kati! Kati! Kati!" (My name here is Katalina or Kati...prettier in Spanish than Kate). I also really love my Spanish class-there are four of us-Kari is from Alaska, Alyssa is from Chicago and Nick is from Sacramento. Kari and Alyssa live fairly close to each other and Nick lives right next door to me. Him and I play soccer as much as possible with the kids on the street and at some of the soccer fields in town.
I love the way the people here play soccer-Well, I do not like the fact that the women here do not play as much as the men, but the men are starting to realize that I can also play. But the way it works is basically, you show up at a field with a couple of people and call next game. Whenever a team scores 2 goals, the team who lost leaves the field and you take their place. If you only have 2 people, 3 random players join your team. It is such a great way to integrate into the community and to meet people. They all have nicknames like Asesino, Chancho Negro and Pechado, and honestly I do not remember their real names, but it´s fun to joke around with them about this. It´s also a good way to practice my spanish and my soccer is improving so much! With Peace Corps, it is all about integration into the community-whether it be by playing soccer, going to the market with your host family or just hanging out in the park. Having people in your city recognize you and know you by name is an integral part of having a successful service. I cannot wait to find out more about the next 2 years of my life!
Masatepe
January 18, 2011
The people hang out in the streets here-there are children running around everywhere. It reminds me a a lot of Jamaica Plain in the summer-families all have their doors open and congregrate en los calles-although so far Masatepe lacks the loud reggaeton being blasted at all hours of the night. Instead the roosters, chickens and dogs sing at the top of their lungs from one in the morning until 6:30 am when my alarm goes off, not that I need a real alarm clock. Festejando...celebrating seems like something that everyone does-animals and people alike. The people seem like a happy people and are extremely welcoming and friendly. I have so many questions to ask my family and everyone but am still learning how to.
The language is still difficult but I think I am getting better. It´s getting harder to think only in English, which seems like a good thing, since I am here to learn Spanish. My head is becoming a boxing ring for the two-English and Spanish-constantly fighting each other for the front spot in my brain. I am sure in two years I will be so used to speaking Spanish that the switch back to English will be difficult. But my family in Nicaragua has been so helpful, even the 3 month old baby-by making faces at me and by holding my hand, he is helping me feel at home and more comfortable. The 1 1/2 year old boy Josue finally is warming up to me and no longer hides when I walk into the room. The 11 year old girl, Giselle, plays game with me-a Scategories type game, soccer, kickball, jacks etc... And the 18 year old Valeska talks to me like the intelligent person that I usually am (at least while speaking English); we speak about traveling, telenovelas, and whatever else. My host mother-Maritza-I am beginning to understand more each hour and each day of what she says since she speaks so fast. The combination of these people plus the extended family and my Spanish class is making my time here, so far, amazing.
The people hang out in the streets here-there are children running around everywhere. It reminds me a a lot of Jamaica Plain in the summer-families all have their doors open and congregrate en los calles-although so far Masatepe lacks the loud reggaeton being blasted at all hours of the night. Instead the roosters, chickens and dogs sing at the top of their lungs from one in the morning until 6:30 am when my alarm goes off, not that I need a real alarm clock. Festejando...celebrating seems like something that everyone does-animals and people alike. The people seem like a happy people and are extremely welcoming and friendly. I have so many questions to ask my family and everyone but am still learning how to.
The language is still difficult but I think I am getting better. It´s getting harder to think only in English, which seems like a good thing, since I am here to learn Spanish. My head is becoming a boxing ring for the two-English and Spanish-constantly fighting each other for the front spot in my brain. I am sure in two years I will be so used to speaking Spanish that the switch back to English will be difficult. But my family in Nicaragua has been so helpful, even the 3 month old baby-by making faces at me and by holding my hand, he is helping me feel at home and more comfortable. The 1 1/2 year old boy Josue finally is warming up to me and no longer hides when I walk into the room. The 11 year old girl, Giselle, plays game with me-a Scategories type game, soccer, kickball, jacks etc... And the 18 year old Valeska talks to me like the intelligent person that I usually am (at least while speaking English); we speak about traveling, telenovelas, and whatever else. My host mother-Maritza-I am beginning to understand more each hour and each day of what she says since she speaks so fast. The combination of these people plus the extended family and my Spanish class is making my time here, so far, amazing.
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