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!

OVENS!

            I’ve finally finished building the last oven in my oven project!  It’s been quite a process, and definitely a lot of work for only five (one of which wasn’t even with the grant money).   I’ve run into plenty of road bumps and it has caused more frustration than I’d care to share.  I have to say though, I’m still glad I decided to apply for grant funds to do this back in February.  I’ve already started getting baked goods made in the ovens (for free), which has been pretty awesome!  I’ve made some pretty nice connections with the community members I’ve built the ovens for, and can now say I’ve completed my first legitimate project as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Well, I still have to fill out the grant completion report, but still.  I hope that all the women keep up with their ovens and that the baked goods keep coming! 

            Just as a fun side note, the concrete like mixture we use as a mortar is actually made from 2 parts water that has soaked a specific tree bark, and horse manure.  I usually just mix it with my hands, one of the many things I never thought I’d enjoy doing.

Here are a few pictures for those that haven’t seen them on my facebook page.

It's obviously pretty level!

Marisol (a PC Volunteer friend) helped me with 2 of my ovens!

Doña Isabel adding the finishing touches to her oven

Proudly standing in front of my 5th and final oven of this project!

So I may have forgotten my blog for a while...

Well, It’s been a few months since I’ve last written in here, but I figured I should try and start it up again.  I’ve been trying to just get into the swing of things, but have had plenty of time off of school and have done some pretty awesome things!   Here’s just a short list:           

•         Have been co-teaching and working on tree nurseries, composts, and gardens.
•         Ran a half marathon in the mountains to the highest town in Nicaragua

•      Took 15 of my students on a field trip up to the Ecolodge just up the road from my site named Finca Esperanza Verde
•        Spent 3 and half days with my Peace Corps environment group at an Ecolodge named Selva Negra for an inter-service training (IST).  It was great spending time with all my enviro friends while eating great food and searching for howler monkeys!
•        Spent a week with my parents hanging out at the beach, finding Jesus (hiking up to a statue of Jesus overlooking the town), hiking an active volcano at sunset then walking into it’s bat filled lava caves at night, spending time in my site and at the Finca Esperanza Verde, and most importantly, enjoying good food!  Oh yeah, and enjoying my parent’s company as well!

•        My host sister had a baby boy!  He’s adorable and doesn’t wake up to cry more than 2 or 3 times a night!
•   Helped a group of doctors and dentists that were in my town a few hours a day for a week counting medicine.  Also led to me getting my first cavity (or them finding it at least).  Just so many things here with A LOT of sugar!
•  Went to A LOT of church relate activities for holy week (we had the whole week off of school). 
•  Had to leave my site on two different occasions for a wild fire (just one night each time)
•  Started my oven project
•  Finally made it to Cascada Blanca as a birthday (weekend) daytrip with one of my PC friends.  It’s beautiful waterfall that, as it turns out, isn’t too far from my department (state) head of Matagalpa. 
• Turned 23!  My second birthday in Central America!  Definitely a bit different than my 20^th in Costa Rica.  I spent this one building an oven, getting 3 eggs broken over my head (a Nica tradition), and preparing my class at night before being in bed by 8:30pm.

My life in Pictures

         Instead writing about my past few weeks, I figured I’d let some pictures with captions do the talking.

We got a piglet!

 It would have been welcome to the family, but unfortunately I have to change it to RIP Mariposa.  You escaped the rough life of most dogs in Nicaragua.  (I hope preceding this with a cute pig made this one a bit better….?)

 Classes get cancelled a lot here for whatever reason with little to no warning (quite a change from back home…nothing short of the pending apocalypse would have kept my high school superintendent from calling classes).   Sometimes, however, it’s nice to make the most out of the situation and go for an awesome hike with some Peace Corps friends!

I made tree nurseries with my two schools!

I was hiking around the ecolodge near my site the other day and got within 4 feet of a sloth!! Didn’t have a camera with me though…

   It is much more acceptable here just toss any trash you have on the ground.  It will be a big project trying to change this habit in my students!  That being said, I got really excited yesterday to see a group of people in my community collecting trash.  I quickly grabbed my camera and joined in!

 Unfortunately, all of the trash was then burned in several piles.  There is no trash collection here, so I regularly smell burning plastic…yum!  That being said, it’s still nice to see groups of community members doing something about the trash problem.  One step at a time!

  And just for good measure, here’s a dog with unproportionately large ears.  (And for the Sawbill Crew: Imagine Roy with those ears!)