The 12 Faces of Peace Corps Joe

1) “My first official night as a Peace Corps Volunteer” Joe

2) “Stay away from my Hamburger” Joe

 3) “Return of the Molestache” Joe

4) “I wish they used that egg to make me a birthday cake instead” Joe

5) “Wanna be Hippie” Joe

6) “I’ve had better days” Joe 

7) “What a year in the Peace Corps has turned me into” Joe

8) “Too much hair gel and cologne” Joe 

9) “Did I really do that?!” Joe

10) “Face covered in fake blood” Joe

11) “Face covered in real blood less than two weeks later” Joe

12) “I really shouldn’t be laughing while sucking on 12 cacao seeds with my luck” Joe

Look on the bright side!

          While I may make it seem like life is super great here and that I’m never upset about anything, that isn’t always the case.  I definitely have my rough days, and feel like I live on a roller coaster of emotions a lot of the time.  As I figure more out about life here the roller coaster has luckily been turning a bit more into a Kiddy Land ride as opposed to one at Six Flags, but I still just have those days when nothing seems to go right.  It is problems at school, nobody showing up to an English class or soccer practice, issues with communication and public transportation, or getting pick pocketed without feeling anything twice within two weeks (I got my stuff back the first time, only for it to be stolen for good the second).  There’s always something.

            Yeah, life sucks sometimes.  We all know that.  Sometimes we all just have “those days.”   But what keeps me going is all of the great stuff.   While I may feel like I have a lot more of “those days” than I used to, I also have a lot more awesome things to help me bounce back or keep me from getting too low.  So here’s a list of some of the things that make me happy here:

1. When my students actually listen to me
2. When I have at least 4 days in a row that I am able to teach as scheduled without classes being cancelled for whatever reason.
3. Being told I do something as good, or even better than the previous Peace Corps Volunteer in my site.  It doesn’t happen very often (especially not from my host mom), but after a year of constant comparison, I feel great when it does!
4. Playing soccer or other games with my students
5. Hanging out and talking with the neighbors I’ve built ovens for and getting free baked goods with fresh homemade/homegrown/home toasted coffee. 
6. Going up to the Finca Esperanza Verde ecolodge, which is a 45-minute walk up the mountain from my site.  I’ve been too busy to go up there as much as I used to, but I helped start a small garden at the school on their property to give me an excuse to go up there.  That and the teacher had been asking me to help him plant one for several months.  A win/win!

An overlook at the ecolodge

     7. Going on runs in the mountains at sunrise or sunset.  It’s absolutely beautiful watching the sun rise or set over the mountains and there are so many beautiful overlooks on the road overlooking the valley!

    8. Having a howler monkey occasionally be my alarm clock in the morning.  A bit earlier that I’d like, but when else will I have THAT as a wake up call?!

     9. Not knowing exactly what my day will be when I wake up.  Here’s an example of one of my days this week.  I planned on taking the bus to my satellite school, co-teach 2 classes in the morning, play soccer with my students, and go tutor a friend in English.  This is what actually happened... I could only teach one class because my teachers got out at 10am for some work meeting.  My second school is within walking distance of town and Internet, so I walked half an hour into town on a beautiful mountain road to do some work stuff, and naturally, to use facebook.  On the walk back I came across a family of 9-10 howler monkeys hanging out in the tree.  There were even a few little ones!  I usually change into my clothes for soccer at a teacher’s house, but because she was gone I went into the forest to change near the town’s waterfall.  Per usual my students showed up super late for soccer practice, but we still had a good time.  Afterwards I asked my friend if we could hike up the mountain to an overlook to practice English in route and up there because it was such a beautiful day.  And on the way home I got off the bus a bit early to hang out at a community member’s house where I drank some of her coffee and ate some fresh cake.  Not my average day, but I love how days like this can just happen out of the blue!

 10. While I may live in a super small mountain village, I can still take occasional weekend trips to the beach, to hike volcanoes, and just spend time with other Peace Corps friends.  When in the States was I ever able to go to a places like this for a weekend with less than a week’s planning?!

Hiking Volcán Telica

Las Peñitas, León

  11. The cold season only requires a sweater.  I may yelp a bit more than usual after I pour the first bowl of cold water over myself while “showering,” but it’s so much better than having to go through a Chicago winter!

  12. I at least have a few people (aka you!) who care about me enough to have actually read this far into the blogpost J

A Tornado and Halloween!

            I didn’t believe it at first, but after a few community members successfully described something that has never hit this region, I finally admitted that it was possible that a tornado did in fact hit my small mountain village while I was in town getting lunch with friends.  The damage wasn’t too bad, and other than a few roofs ripped off, damage to a power pole or two, and several large trees uprooted, everything else was fine.  So while crazy climate change may allow for tornados to hit in the mountains of Nicaragua, I doubt we’ll be getting any EF-5’s anytime soon!  Funny thing is 3 days beforehand I specifically used tornados and an example in class of a natural disaster that we are not vulnerable to in the mountains of Nicaragua.  (As a side note, the tropical storm that was predicted to drop up to 10 inches of rain on us just 3-4 days after the tornado hit moved north last minute, giving us a bit of a break.  An earthquake, tornado, and flood would have been a bit much for a 2-week span). 

            The day after it I finally decided to stop being cheap and spent the C$110 (about $4.10) to buy a machete and help one of my neighborhood friends cut up some of the trees that were uprooted in his backyard.  Soon after getting started I realized that one of the branches was “bleeding.”  A few of the particularly “juicier” branches even squirted a few drops of what looked like blood onto my arm and face.  It was the creepiest, and yet coolest tree ever.  Its sap is literally the same consistency and color of blood, and the tree’s name in Spanish is “Palo Sangregado,” which pretty much translates to Bleeding Tree.  So I naturally turned into a 10 year old when everyone went to eat lunch (or just wasn’t looking) and covered myself in it. 

            The night the tornado hit I was invited to a going away/Halloween party, but was having a hard time thinking of costumes.  I had one or two mediocre ideas, but nothing to write home about.  There aren’t exactly Halloween stores to buy fake blood and other materials like in the States, and while cheap secondhand clothing is super easy to come by in the city, I had just gotten back and did not have plans to go back until the day of the party.  So when this mysterious fallen tree started squirting blood sap on me the following day I was pretty excited!  I was first thinking machete murderer, but just decided to just fall back on something that would most likely not need an explanation…a zombie.  So I covered myself with “blood,” and gathered up some in a baggie to apply before the party.  Even though I knew this tree existed beforehand, I had honestly forgotten about it.  And even if I hadn’t, as an environmentalist I would never have machete hacked the bark of a living tree.  The tornado came through and knocked over several trees, but not one on anyone’s houses, didn’t hurt anyone, and gave me my Halloween costume idea :).

Halloween night

Things I've done for cultural/community integration

Started drinking from baggies 

Started drinking coffee

Started using gel and cologne for certain events

I ran a total of 4-5 miles with my students in my really thick PC polo and jeans (my work clothes) 

Danced with some random girl at her 15^th B-day party (well, just going to random people’s parties in general)

Danced through the streets like this…. I was asked to do this, just to clarify. 

Nica colors!!

While hard to capture in a picture, I've finally started the “I don’t understand you” nose twitch

I now point to things by puckering up

I've been here a year!!!

           As of August 14^th I’ve been in Nicaragua for a year!!! This post is a bit late, but better late than never I guess.  So much has happened in the past year! I’ve learned a new language, sledded down a volcano, adjusted to living with no running water in my house and frequently having ‘farm animals’ in the kitchen, just to name a few things.  While it may not be the case all the time, I’d like to think I’ve become more patient, and have learned the consequences of assuming.  I’ve learned that my body is never very happy with me after eating mangos, using any type of soap here with detergent, or swimming in the rivers pretty much anywhere downstream from my town.  This has been the most difficult year of my life; I’m not going to lie.  So far I’ve had 7 parasites, 6 bacterial infections (i.e. salmonella), among other things.  Peace Corps is not walk in the park.

            That being said, there’s a reason I haven’t left.  I am a very firm believer in the moto “Peace Corps is the hardest job you’ll ever love.”  Sure, there are hard days.   There are days nothing goes as planned and my students are all complete brats.  There are days I’m sick and don’t want to do anything at all.  But it’s the good days that keep me going and loving my job overall.  It’s baking with someone I built an oven for, teaching a really good class that my students actually like, running in the mountains right before sunset, or any number of other things.  There’s so much I’ve gotten to experience that I otherwise would never have gotten to if I had not joined the Peace Corps.  I’m so happy that I’ve had this opportunity to provide support to those in the communities that I work in that I’ve grown to call friends.  I’ve met people in country that I really care for, and that I hope to keep in touch with long after I head back to the States.  I’ve made many lifelong Peace Corps Volunteer friends as well! 

            Anyone who knows me well can attest to the fact that I am not the same person I was a year ago.  It’s strange thinking about how far I’ve come and how much I’ve figured out about myself in the past year.  I’m excited to see what the next 14 months bring and the person I will be when I leave. 

            To close, here are 12 pictures, one to capture every month I’ve spent here (it was hard to just pick one for each month)!

August 2013: If only I knew....

September: My first oven construction while visiting a volunteer

October: PIZZA!!

November: First month in site, and my first time bathing in the river!

December: The Holidays!

January: I climbed and sled down a volcano!

February: I went to visit my Uncle Kevin and Aunt Betsy In San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

March: Field trip with my students

April: This was actually one of the most stressful days of my service so far! Gotta find time to relax!

May: Post-birthday egging

June: Teachers appreciation day festival with some of my co-workers

July: Mango face

August: Teaching how to bake simple white bread!

´Merica!!

I have a bad habit of mentally building up trips beforehand so that they are unable to realistically meet the high expectations that I have set.  Well, I just want to say that not only did my trip meet my unrealistically high expectations… it exceeded them!  There were a few hiccups here and there, but overall I had an amazing time!  Here are a few highlights:

·        WENT TO SAWBILL!!!!!!!!! My time was filled with foosball, hanging out, stargazing, a trip to Grand Marais, hiking, canoeing, sauna-ing, a bit of swimming, and even got a bit of work in.  It felt like I had never left.  My sister who is in the States visiting from Vietnam even went up with us!  Thanks to my Mom and Dad for making that trip possible! The new crew is great by the way!! 

·        Met up (at Sawbill) with the uncle of a supervisor/friend that I had from a college internship.  Not only was he incredibly friendly and enthusiastic, but also brought me a nice Peace Corps Association shirt and shared some cool stories about his time in the Peace Corps in the 60s!  He is even thinking of coming to visit Nicaragua with his wife!

·        Hung out with several family members and friends.  I just wish that I had had time to see everyone!

·        Rekindled an old friendship

·        Went downtown and made it to the Taste of Chicago for the first time in over 5 years

·        Got an essentially free hour and half full body deep tissue massage

·        Was able to get breakfast with a future Peace Corps volunteer that will be heading to Nicaragua in less than a month! 

·        Got new music!

·        Good Beer!

·        FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!

            It may have been a short trip, but I can’t believe how much fun I had and just how much that I was able to fit in.  Everyone made me feel so special, and I just want to say thanks to everyone who went out of their way to make my week what it was*!  The reverse culture shock definitely helped me realize just how much I had taken advantage of growing up, and being home was quite a reality check. 

*A shout out to ‘Crusher,’ one of my high school youth group leaders!  My watch was still set on Nicaragua time and I showed up to dinner over an hour late.  He waited patiently until I finally showed up, even when his daughter was getting in from out of town.  It really meant a lot!

And here are several pictures if you have any more time to scroll through! 

I got to hang out with Kira in Grand Marais! She’s actually from Brookfield too but just got a job at another Boundary Waters canoe outfitters.  She just got back from Tanzania, so we had plenty to catch up on!

Hammer!  Jessica is genuinely one of the nicest people I know and someone I try and keep in semi-regular contact with from Nicaragua.  I worked with her at Sawbill for all four of my summers there, and she has always been someone I can count on!

Lindsay is one of the new crewmembers at Sawbill, and pretty much sums up how I feel about all the new crew there…. You’re all great!!  Keep up the good work J

Not only is Mark a new Sawbill crewmember, but he was also my roommate senior year of college.  It was fun having someone to fill me in on IWU stuff.  I’m so glad that we were able to catch up!

Mark, Denny (my former supervisor’s uncle), and I.  I still think it’s so cool that he drove over an hour to Sawbill for a quick conversation and to give me a shirt.  Thanks again!

I had no idea these girls were in town, but am so excited I was able to meet up with them! It was like junior year all over again!

Abbey!!! We actually became close friends in Central America during our Costa Rica Mayterm course in 2012.  Still trying to get her to come back down here!