Friday, July 31, 2009
It's Official
I am now a PCV. More info later but I am no longer an aspirante but a real Peace Corps Volunteer. The next 2 years of my life has begun!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Weekend Adventure...
So this past weekend I got the grand tour of the ER in Managua. Apparently I have a mystery food allergy. Saturday morning I woke up in my training town with a serious stomach ache and started swelling up like a balloon. A lovely start to the day.
Luckily I had Benadryll and my symptoms started to go away before I even got to the ER and I got to avoid the cortizone shot to the tuckus. I stayed in Managua in a hotel on Saturday night but then I got sick to my stomach (Im pretty sure it was the aftermath of the allergic reaction) and lost like 4 pounds of liquid overnight.
The next morning I was back in the ER getting liquid via an IV and getting my blood tested for infections(?) - so much for avoiding needles. Luckily I don´t have an infection, not even parasites or an ameoba, but I have to be super careful about what I eat now because the doctors weren´t sure what I was allergic to. At any rate I left the hospital with enough meds and Pedialite (absolutely disgusting and tastes like old tequila) to last me a lonnnngg time.
At least this all happened before I ship off to my site which is further north and I was really close to Managua (Ive decided that´s the optimistic way to view the weekend´s events). Now I am feeling much better - I went to classes today, got icecream and a snickers, and only have one more day of training. It´s really disturbing how the simplest things now make me so happy :) My training class is officially swearing in on Friday, the 31st, I really can´t wait that will be the official start of my two years of service!
More posts later on in the week I´ll actually have access to wireless soon - woohoo!!!!
Luckily I had Benadryll and my symptoms started to go away before I even got to the ER and I got to avoid the cortizone shot to the tuckus. I stayed in Managua in a hotel on Saturday night but then I got sick to my stomach (Im pretty sure it was the aftermath of the allergic reaction) and lost like 4 pounds of liquid overnight.
The next morning I was back in the ER getting liquid via an IV and getting my blood tested for infections(?) - so much for avoiding needles. Luckily I don´t have an infection, not even parasites or an ameoba, but I have to be super careful about what I eat now because the doctors weren´t sure what I was allergic to. At any rate I left the hospital with enough meds and Pedialite (absolutely disgusting and tastes like old tequila) to last me a lonnnngg time.
At least this all happened before I ship off to my site which is further north and I was really close to Managua (Ive decided that´s the optimistic way to view the weekend´s events). Now I am feeling much better - I went to classes today, got icecream and a snickers, and only have one more day of training. It´s really disturbing how the simplest things now make me so happy :) My training class is officially swearing in on Friday, the 31st, I really can´t wait that will be the official start of my two years of service!
More posts later on in the week I´ll actually have access to wireless soon - woohoo!!!!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Site Visit
So I have my site assignment. The department of Matagalpa will be my home for the next 2 years. Totally excited. I´ll be working with secondary schools training teachers in a new business curriculum and working on a culture exchange program with a german school and the rest of my time will be spent writing business plans for local NGOs (and hanging in the local cafe that actually has wifi!!!).
I love the site and all of the people I´ll be working with. Russ if you can manage the weekend trip from Argentina I highly suggest hitting up Selva Negra - it´s a hotel/coffee plantation type place where they have all natural everything and tons of hiking trails. Haven´t been there yet but am definitely planning on it - supposed to be BEautiful. It´s just outside of Matagalpa about 2 - 3 hours on bus from Managua. Keep me posted on your itinerary.
These next few weeks are going to be insanely busy and I´ll be officially swearing in as a volunteer on July 31st - can´t wait!! More updates to come and I´ll get some pictures up when I move into site.
Ciao!!
I love the site and all of the people I´ll be working with. Russ if you can manage the weekend trip from Argentina I highly suggest hitting up Selva Negra - it´s a hotel/coffee plantation type place where they have all natural everything and tons of hiking trails. Haven´t been there yet but am definitely planning on it - supposed to be BEautiful. It´s just outside of Matagalpa about 2 - 3 hours on bus from Managua. Keep me posted on your itinerary.
These next few weeks are going to be insanely busy and I´ll be officially swearing in as a volunteer on July 31st - can´t wait!! More updates to come and I´ll get some pictures up when I move into site.
Ciao!!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Random Pics from the Mirador
Ok I may or may not be the most inefficient blogger ever. I had some awesome pictures and a pre written blog from my latest adventure and I didn´t put it on my flash drive to bring to the cyber. Oy. Oh well. Above is a picture from the Mirador in Caterina and the forest above the laguna are the forests with screaming monkeys that I hiked through to get down there.
Last week one of the girls in my youth group invited me to come visit her house out in the campo (rural area) to visit the finca (farm) near her house. I of course jumped at the opportunity to break out the hiking boots and a group of us headed out. The finca and forests were absolutely amazing, so much fresh fruit and the kids are so much fun. We had coco con leche (so delicious) I got to try so many fresh fruits I was in heaven - I had raw cacao (my cacao nib obsession can live on here - woo hoo!!), a whole coconut - drank the water from the shell after it was hacked open with a machete, then ate the coconut, mango, mame, guava, and some other stuff that I don´t remember the names of. I need to post the video of the cocunuts getting cut open - really cool.
Tomorrow morning I´m heading out for my first solo adventure and my first site visit to a small town up near the Hondurus border - I´m really pumped and mostly optimistic that I can somehow manage the 3 buses I need to take to get up there.
Got to run but next week I should have some good stuff to post. I miss you all - and someone send me some mail!!!! :)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Weekend
Sorry for the double post but the cyber in my town doesn’t have reliable internet access and I haven’t been able to get on for the past few weeks... Week 4 of training – I can’t believe I have been here for less than a month. It feels like much longer… Some days I feel like I’m adjusted to the new pace of life here – waking up at 6; classes all day; dinner and a novella in the evening; then bed – but then on other days I honestly think I am going crazy because it takes so much effort to do the simplest things. I think it will be different once I get to my site, can speak Spanish better, and get a little of my independence back.
This weekend was my first full weekend off meaning no training or health talks on Saturday (there are literally a million different health risks here – I think I might become a borderline hypochondriac by the end of the 11 weeks of training!). I’ve already gone through about half my supply of Germ-X wipes – I might have to resort to bathing in straight up rubbing alcohol in a couple weeks.
Anyways, to take advantage of the freedom I decided to go on a trip to Masaya to find some legit Nicaraguan coffee. I brought my French Press with me and am determined to use it. The Pali (grocery store) was great. I found my coffee and some other random stuff that made me happy and headed back home. It’s kind of funny/really frustrating whenever I try to do anything on my own here (like making coffee or going for a run) because I try to explain why I want to do it, and well, sometimes I don’t think the words that come out of my mouth make any sense. I just wanted to boil some water but my family doesn’t think I’m capable of even the simplest tasks (sort of true) – but I think that they enjoy the novelty of my “loco” ideas. I’m getting used to the fact that every time I stray from the standard small talk phrases I know I get looks as if I have 3+ heads J
So I asked if I could boil some water and it was quite the process – the result of my first round of explanations was to put my French Press on the stove to boil (which would have been a disaster because the bottom is rubber); once I managed to explain that it had plastic in it the next interpretation was that I wanted to microwave it (which would have been worse because I probably would have blown up the house!); finally on the 3rd round I was able to explain how I needed to make it. I made the coffee and offered some to my family – and to be polite a few people accepted –I’m sure they were curious after the effort we just went through. I didn’t measure the coffee and it was really strong and not that great so I said if they didn’t like it (Nicaragua surprisingly doesn’t have a big coffee drinking culture) they didn’t have to finish it. The look on their faces was priceless but to be polite they all managed to choke it down after going through an entire bowl of sugar. I don’t think that did anything for my culinary cred.
After the coffee adventure – 1 hour later – I decided to hike down to the laguna with one of the guys in my training town and 2 of his cousins. The hike down wasn’t too bad – through the jungle, really steep, but beautiful. The butterflies here are massive and the colors are amazing. We got to the laguna, waded for about a ¼ of a mile to the touristy spot and hung out for a bit. It was such a nice afternoon… then we needed to head back -up the vertical incline we just came down. I’m pretty sure that I burned about 5,000 calories, I almost passed out, and I don’t think I’ll do it again. There are tons of monkeys in the woods and it was getting late in the day. When they start howling it sounds like a pack of dogs are stalking you – really creepy. Overall it was totally worth it though – it’s nice to get out into nature because there is so much smoke here sometimes I forget how gorgeous the land is.
The next 2 weeks are going to be interesting, tomorrow afternoon we are going to visit a volunteer in Granada to observe some classes, and next Saturday I am going to visit another volunteer for 3 days. I’m not sure where I am going yet but I’m excited to see a different site and what the daily life of a volunteer is really like.
This weekend was my first full weekend off meaning no training or health talks on Saturday (there are literally a million different health risks here – I think I might become a borderline hypochondriac by the end of the 11 weeks of training!). I’ve already gone through about half my supply of Germ-X wipes – I might have to resort to bathing in straight up rubbing alcohol in a couple weeks.
Anyways, to take advantage of the freedom I decided to go on a trip to Masaya to find some legit Nicaraguan coffee. I brought my French Press with me and am determined to use it. The Pali (grocery store) was great. I found my coffee and some other random stuff that made me happy and headed back home. It’s kind of funny/really frustrating whenever I try to do anything on my own here (like making coffee or going for a run) because I try to explain why I want to do it, and well, sometimes I don’t think the words that come out of my mouth make any sense. I just wanted to boil some water but my family doesn’t think I’m capable of even the simplest tasks (sort of true) – but I think that they enjoy the novelty of my “loco” ideas. I’m getting used to the fact that every time I stray from the standard small talk phrases I know I get looks as if I have 3+ heads J
So I asked if I could boil some water and it was quite the process – the result of my first round of explanations was to put my French Press on the stove to boil (which would have been a disaster because the bottom is rubber); once I managed to explain that it had plastic in it the next interpretation was that I wanted to microwave it (which would have been worse because I probably would have blown up the house!); finally on the 3rd round I was able to explain how I needed to make it. I made the coffee and offered some to my family – and to be polite a few people accepted –I’m sure they were curious after the effort we just went through. I didn’t measure the coffee and it was really strong and not that great so I said if they didn’t like it (Nicaragua surprisingly doesn’t have a big coffee drinking culture) they didn’t have to finish it. The look on their faces was priceless but to be polite they all managed to choke it down after going through an entire bowl of sugar. I don’t think that did anything for my culinary cred.
After the coffee adventure – 1 hour later – I decided to hike down to the laguna with one of the guys in my training town and 2 of his cousins. The hike down wasn’t too bad – through the jungle, really steep, but beautiful. The butterflies here are massive and the colors are amazing. We got to the laguna, waded for about a ¼ of a mile to the touristy spot and hung out for a bit. It was such a nice afternoon… then we needed to head back -up the vertical incline we just came down. I’m pretty sure that I burned about 5,000 calories, I almost passed out, and I don’t think I’ll do it again. There are tons of monkeys in the woods and it was getting late in the day. When they start howling it sounds like a pack of dogs are stalking you – really creepy. Overall it was totally worth it though – it’s nice to get out into nature because there is so much smoke here sometimes I forget how gorgeous the land is.
The next 2 weeks are going to be interesting, tomorrow afternoon we are going to visit a volunteer in Granada to observe some classes, and next Saturday I am going to visit another volunteer for 3 days. I’m not sure where I am going yet but I’m excited to see a different site and what the daily life of a volunteer is really like.
Training - The Adventures Begin
Hola everyone! So I have made it through my first 2 weeks of training and I’m exhausted. Right now I’m living in a little pueblo – only 4,000 people and my schedule consists of waking up (around 5:30 because that’s when the rest of my house gets up) going to Spanish class for 4 hours, coming home for lunch, then going back to class for another 2-3 hours then going for a walk and hanging out with the new fam. The idea is that I will be sufficiently fluent in Spanish by the end of training – July 31 – here’s hoping! My training town counterparts are to the left and Gloria is our facilitator.
It’s so weird how easy it is to adapt to a completely new environment – I shower in a bucket now!! Although I’m not going to pretend I’ve mastered the art of efficiently showering in a bucket. Washing my hair is always an adventure and I’m pretty sure that my “adaptability” is more due to the fact that I’m so tired every day that I function just to make sure I get to all of my classes/training.
My family here is nice and really huge. There are 20 people living in my house and all are related somehow – I put together a family tree but think I might have missed some stuff because I still can’t figure out the exact relationships... There are some upsides to living with so many people, I always have someone to practice my Spanish with – and when one person gets bored of listening to me bumble along and butcher even the most simple phrases I can just move on to someone else. I feel like growing up in the crazy Byrne household somewhat prepared me for the communal living situation.
The town next to me (about 10 minutes walking) has this great spot the “mirador” - there are restaurants and bars at the edge of a cliff that overlooks Laguna de Apoyo and if it’s really clear you can see Lake Cocibolca (which is a lot bigger) in the distance. I walk there every night and once I got up early to run up there in the morning – awesome views any time - you can see storms coming in, cool cloud formations and some other volcanoes.
Last weekend I took a day trip to Laguna de Apoyo, the water is so clear and there are a few hotels around the lake (big tourist hangout which was kind of nice because that means other people that speak English!) I actually swam in the lake (well paddled out to the raft thing in an inner tube) and avoided getting sunburned, so I considered it a good day.
I’ve been taking the public transportation, which are old school buses or random little vans that can hold like 20 people, to get around and am pretty proud of myself because I haven’t got lost yet. I went to a horse festival in Masetepe yesterday and am planning on going to Masaya (big city – woohoo!!) this coming Saturday; I’m pretty pumped about it.
Ok back to studying - more updates later – and sorry about lack of pictures I somehow lost the battery to my camera and just foud it the other day...
It’s so weird how easy it is to adapt to a completely new environment – I shower in a bucket now!! Although I’m not going to pretend I’ve mastered the art of efficiently showering in a bucket. Washing my hair is always an adventure and I’m pretty sure that my “adaptability” is more due to the fact that I’m so tired every day that I function just to make sure I get to all of my classes/training.
My family here is nice and really huge. There are 20 people living in my house and all are related somehow – I put together a family tree but think I might have missed some stuff because I still can’t figure out the exact relationships... There are some upsides to living with so many people, I always have someone to practice my Spanish with – and when one person gets bored of listening to me bumble along and butcher even the most simple phrases I can just move on to someone else. I feel like growing up in the crazy Byrne household somewhat prepared me for the communal living situation.
The town next to me (about 10 minutes walking) has this great spot the “mirador” - there are restaurants and bars at the edge of a cliff that overlooks Laguna de Apoyo and if it’s really clear you can see Lake Cocibolca (which is a lot bigger) in the distance. I walk there every night and once I got up early to run up there in the morning – awesome views any time - you can see storms coming in, cool cloud formations and some other volcanoes.
Last weekend I took a day trip to Laguna de Apoyo, the water is so clear and there are a few hotels around the lake (big tourist hangout which was kind of nice because that means other people that speak English!) I actually swam in the lake (well paddled out to the raft thing in an inner tube) and avoided getting sunburned, so I considered it a good day.
I’ve been taking the public transportation, which are old school buses or random little vans that can hold like 20 people, to get around and am pretty proud of myself because I haven’t got lost yet. I went to a horse festival in Masetepe yesterday and am planning on going to Masaya (big city – woohoo!!) this coming Saturday; I’m pretty pumped about it.
Ok back to studying - more updates later – and sorry about lack of pictures I somehow lost the battery to my camera and just foud it the other day...
Thursday, May 14, 2009
PC Orientation Retreat
So I made it to Nicaragua and the PC training retreat center. The facility is pretty basic but has a nice tropical sleep-away camp feel. And there's wireless throughout the compound which is super handy and mango trees that keep dropping ripe fruit near my make-shift internet cafe. A far cry from my NYC lifestyle but I think I'm adjusting fairly well...
Up to now we have had intensive information sessions regarding project info, country info, language skills assessment, etc. I'm starting to get really pumped up to get my family assignment and training town (which I will be moving to on Saturday) I'll be there for an additional 11 weeks and then get sworn in as an official volunteer July 31.
Tonight I decided to venture out with some of the other trainees and volunteers to check out the Texaco down the street and see what Nicaraguan gas stations have for snacks (my new definition of entertainment). I feel like I have been cooped up for the past several days so I was all excited about the adventure down the road. So out we go through the barbed wire gate around the corner on a dirt path and to the gas station - the Texaco was pretty standard and I was happily browsing through the cookies when I felt something poking me inside my shirt... Oy ve.
Well I didn't want to freak out in the middle of the gas station the clerks were already staring at us because we were a big group and obviously not locals so I casually try to shake out my shirt. So this was not working and then the mystery thing bit me(I think). This was the point where I basically started hyperventilating and taking off my shirt - some of the other people tried to assist by slapping me and squishing whatever it was but I could still feel it crawling it was so horrible. Ultimately I ran into the bathroom ripped off the shirt and found out it was a creepy beetle thing that bit me. I squished it before I could really ID it but I am hoping and assuming it wasn't anything too dangerous - maybe a cockroach(?) After this happened I lost all interest in finding snacks - I think the clerks and the people I was with think I'm a bit crazy but honestly I feel like I handled the situation pretty well considering my huge aversion to all insects.
Alright that's all I have to report thus far and it's starting to thunder. Next time I post I should have some pictures to share!
Up to now we have had intensive information sessions regarding project info, country info, language skills assessment, etc. I'm starting to get really pumped up to get my family assignment and training town (which I will be moving to on Saturday) I'll be there for an additional 11 weeks and then get sworn in as an official volunteer July 31.
Tonight I decided to venture out with some of the other trainees and volunteers to check out the Texaco down the street and see what Nicaraguan gas stations have for snacks (my new definition of entertainment). I feel like I have been cooped up for the past several days so I was all excited about the adventure down the road. So out we go through the barbed wire gate around the corner on a dirt path and to the gas station - the Texaco was pretty standard and I was happily browsing through the cookies when I felt something poking me inside my shirt... Oy ve.
Well I didn't want to freak out in the middle of the gas station the clerks were already staring at us because we were a big group and obviously not locals so I casually try to shake out my shirt. So this was not working and then the mystery thing bit me(I think). This was the point where I basically started hyperventilating and taking off my shirt - some of the other people tried to assist by slapping me and squishing whatever it was but I could still feel it crawling it was so horrible. Ultimately I ran into the bathroom ripped off the shirt and found out it was a creepy beetle thing that bit me. I squished it before I could really ID it but I am hoping and assuming it wasn't anything too dangerous - maybe a cockroach(?) After this happened I lost all interest in finding snacks - I think the clerks and the people I was with think I'm a bit crazy but honestly I feel like I handled the situation pretty well considering my huge aversion to all insects.
Alright that's all I have to report thus far and it's starting to thunder. Next time I post I should have some pictures to share!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Pre-Departure Kick Off Post
Today I am officially beginning to blog about my PC experience, beginning with pre-departure (so not much to report as of yet). I've never been the blogging sort but I'm going to do my best to keep it current.
Up until now I've been closing out my life in NYC, planning my move back to MA, catching up with friends, practicing Spanish with my Rosetta Stone, and researching all of the crazy insects (namely spiders) that I hope to avoid close encounters with...
My role in Nicaragua will be as a Business Educator and Advisor which I am really excited about - my official departure date is May 12th, beginning with a 1 day orientation in D.C. then off to Masaya for 2.5 months of pre-service training. After this I will be placed in the community I will live in and serve for 2 years. I'm thinking the real blogging will begin once I'm in country so adios until then!
Up until now I've been closing out my life in NYC, planning my move back to MA, catching up with friends, practicing Spanish with my Rosetta Stone, and researching all of the crazy insects (namely spiders) that I hope to avoid close encounters with...
My role in Nicaragua will be as a Business Educator and Advisor which I am really excited about - my official departure date is May 12th, beginning with a 1 day orientation in D.C. then off to Masaya for 2.5 months of pre-service training. After this I will be placed in the community I will live in and serve for 2 years. I'm thinking the real blogging will begin once I'm in country so adios until then!
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