November 18, 2005

So, today was a good day. We've taken our oath of office, sung the national hymn of Nicaragua, become Peace Corps volunteers, gotten our bank accounts and settling-in allowance, and celebrated with a bit of sushi and tempora shrimp at this place down by the Carretera Masaya.

Managua is a bit of a strange place. Some parts are dumpy, and other parts are just as modern or newer than a US suburb. Example: last night, one of our friends, Kris, and I all went to see the Legend of Zorro at this three storey Inter Mall, had Pepsi and a large popcorn, and were treated to a nearly-empty showing in a brand new theater with cozier chairs than are in the former Nicaraguan President's mansion. Tonight, we go out for sushi, and on the ride there, pass a TGI Friday's, a McDonalds, a Burger King, several Subways, and several supermarkets. There are tons of SUVs on that end of town, as well as the brand new hospital. Yet not two miles away lie dirt road neighborhoods with adobe houses, no running water, and kids running around with age-stained, torn clothing: a more typical example of the rest of Nicaragua.

style="float:right" class="post-photo">Enough about Managua. What I want to do now is teach everyone the Nicaraguan national anthem. It's kind of catchy, and I've been practicing it for the swearing-in ceremony for two days now, so it's on my brain. And the third mission point of the Peace Corps is PC volunteers teaching estadounidenses about the country in which they serve, so this will be a fun cultural experience for everyone and contribute to my job success at the same time!

• First, the words and sheet music for those that can read music:
  http://library.thinkquest.org/17749/media/national1.jpg
  http://library.thinkquest.org/17749/media/national2.jpg
  http://library.thinkquest.org/17749/media/national3.jpg
  
  

  Nicaraguan National Hymn

  by SALOMÓN IBARRA MAYORGA
  
  ¡Salve a tí, Nicaragua! En tu suelo
  ya no ruge la voz del cañón
  ni se tiñe con sangre de hermanos
  tu glorioso pendón bicolor.
  ni se tiñe con sangre de hermanos
  tu glorioso pendón bicolor.
  
  Brille hermosa la paz en tu cielo
  nada empañe tu gloria inmortal
  que el trabajo es tu digno laurel
  y el honor (honor) echo
  es tu enseña triunfal (triunfal) echo.
  es tu enseña triunfal!
• Next, the actual tune to sing along to:
  http://www.radioestrelladelmar.com/MP3/
  himno_Nicaragua.mp3

Enjoy!

Nica 39 Training Pics

Okay folks. The latest bunch of pictures is up:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/carterjk/sets/1008714

Note: The previous link was incorrect. Sorry for the confusion. The current link now points to the new pictures.

The End of Training

A week full of activity and emotion. We've had more free time on our hands, which means I've spent some time learning Nica home chores: how to wash my own laundry on the stone wash table, how to cook gallo pinto, tostones, rosquillas, rosquetes, etc. Earlier this week, we built another improved stove model, this one with an oven. It was more complex, technically, but I think it's easier to build. I poked my feet on rocks while mixing mud and horse manure for the cement mix with my feet. They still hurt, three days later.

The weather has been terrific. Sunny days and clear nights, never getting over 95 degrees F. At night the almost-full moon is so bright it creates a halo-effect in the sky.

Thursday, our training group went to this mountain to the southwest of Estelí and climbed to the top. We could see for hundreds of miles, all the way to Managua in the South and the volcanos of the East. To the North, we could just barely make out the mountains of our future home in Nueva Segovia. It's quite breathtaking to see your home from above, all-at-once. It reminded me just how small Nicaragua really is.

That afternoon, after a great lunch of chicken cordon bleu at an organic farming demonstration center, we hiked down and then up another mountain to one of the most amazing displays of modern-day artistry I've ever experienced. This Gutierrez guy has spent the last twenty years carving animals, buildings, people, and history into the side of the mountains in his free time. The display is as big as several houses and overlooks a spectacularly beautiful panorama of mountains and valleys. The artist himself is a farmer, and his greatest joy seems to be just doing what he does and showing it to others. He gave us a tour of the whole mountainside by himself, offering fresh bananas and oranges in abundance and never mentioning a single charge. He could totally turn it into a very successful tourist trap, but that's not what he's about. By-and-far the most perfect day of training. I can't believe we get to do this as part of our JOBS!

This weekend is being spent hanging out with our host families and packing, since it's the last weekend before we head to Managua to swear in as official volunteers. Last night, my family and I spent an hour or so testing my new cell phone. They enjoy gadgets like that, even though they own a better one themselves. This morning, I pretty much packed my room up. After lunch, I'm heading over to Kris' place to learn to make rosquetes and rosquillas, these tasty Nica corn cookie/scone things. I'm going to miss living here. Our host families have provided a stable, familiar place to call home during training. It's scary to leave and start fresh with a new home, new town, etc., but it's also really exciting to be out of training and finally "working".

November 4, 2004

We're back! Yes, we rested a bit, but not nearly enough. My bronchitis is better, but still here, thanks to the cold snap we just had.

Our site visit was marvelous. It is quite possibly the most beautiful place in Nicaragua. They have PINE TREES!!!! It makes me think of home. :) A short hike up the hill next to our house reveals one of the most spectacular views of the entire countryside of low, rolling mountains covered with a mix of pine, cedar, cypress, citrus, bananas, pasture, corn, beans, sugar cane, palms, and a random assortment of other tropical trees.

Our host family is great, and they have a fixer-upper house right next door that they hope we will be able to use. The community is fairly large to walk around on foot, but the land is gorgeous, the houses are fairly well spaced out, and there's a lot of agricultural activity.

We visited all around the community the last couple days and feel pretty well-oriented now. We visited the primary school, where there is a lot of interest concerning a school garden, learning English, and learning to maintain computers. It should be a great place to start.

We also met with the director of the community board, and he's super excited to start working together, especially in teaching people how to grow a bunch of stuff in the small yards they all have. He's going to arrange a community-wide meeting (all 2000 people invited) for the first week in December to introduce us to the people and give us an opportunity to explain who we are, what Peace Corps is, and how we can help.

Last night we went to one of the most tiring church services I've ever been to. The whole service was a jumble of "A su nombre, GLORIA", "ALELUJAH", top-of-your voice singing while clapping your hands non-stop (songs which we didn't know any words to), impromptu everybody get down on both knees and pray loudly between random songs, and a sermon given by a screaming preacher that paced back-and-forth with a little spring to his step every time he closed his eyes and pointed to the sky, with a continuous flow of words that seemed to mean something about being a serious Christian and something about an inferno and heaven. Very different from what we are used to, but they seemed pretty exited about God, which made us feel strangely at home. Not the style of church we would necessarily choose in the States, but a good one nonetheless.

Kind of bummed to find out the reports of a cyber cafe in our nearest city were exaggerated, but encouraged to find the reports of cell phone coverage were not. We might not be able to quite get a signal in our house, but we definitely will be able to at the top of the hill a 3 minute walk away.

Our Spanish seems sufficient to get us by, but people still seem pretty frustrated by the fact that we can't understand much of what they say. Eventually, after working with us for a bit, they realize how to enunciate, but it can be pretty challenging. It is exhausting speaking just one day in all Spanish. We can't imagine how hard it will be once we are in site.

We've been making a really strong effort to note and remember everybody's names, though. They seem really impressed and flattered when we remember their names after the first time, so I hope the effort pays off. It's pretty nerve-racking, so many new faces.

Sorry, but no pictures for now. There was a miscommunication and the camera got left at our training site. We'll be back up there in a little over three weeks, though, so don't fear. They will get there eventually.

Elated

Elated, excited, in-awe, enchanted, tired, fatigued, overwhelmed, grateful, uncomfortable, flattered, embarrased, anxious, hopeful, expectant. Can one person feel all of these emotions at once? Here we are, nestling into our foam bed for the second night in Nueva Segovia, and we are feeling all of this and then some.

Our new home, located near El Jicaro, Nueva Segovia, couldn't be more perfect. Our hose is right off the hightway at the base of a hill used for grazing cattle. The landscape of low, rolling mountains resembles the perfect, idilic scenes that dreams are made of. A small pine forest, with a little stream and a pond, lies just around the bend. A blend of fruit trees, palms, bananas, pines, cyprus, cedar, and tropical deciduous share the hillsides with fields of pasture, corn, beans, and sugar cane. The highway to El Jicaro is receiving a face-lift, with thousands of concrete bricks in the shap of fat, little crosses, waiting on the sides, ready to pave the was for decades to come.

Our host family is even nicer than the last, if at all possible. Our host father is in his mid-30s, with a youthful, soft, rectagular face. Not tall, he has a trimmed, dark mustache and muscular arms, with gentle, kind eyes. Our host mother is also youthful in appearance, with fair skin and bright, gentle eyes. She is pretty and has a rounded face, but isn't overweight. She is, however, very strong-looking. Both are apt to smile and do so often, a trait they have passed on to their children.

The eldest daughter is eleven, skinny, fair-skinned, very pretty, with ears a little too big for her face. She's in second grade, loves to play, smile, and laugh, and often has a few friends over. She almost always includes yer excitable younger brother in the fun, in which he is only too happy to partake. 6-years-old, He is still in preschool and can't yet read. However, he has the most enthusiasm to do anything and everything, including learning English, which delights him to no end.

The last two days, Kris and I have been taken around the delightful little city of El Jicaro multiple times by our host father. He is a diligent guide, showing us all the important places and introducing us to all we meet. He has a 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser, which makes getting to El Jicaro a breeze. We visited the cemetary for the Nica "Memorial Day" (called Día de Los Defunctos, or simply Día de Los Muertos). We also took a tour of the city, made a call from the Enitel station to test our Emergency Action Plan, and then walked for hours around our sprawling rural community, meeting everyone we could and constructing a rough map on our little 3" x 5" notebook as we walked. We were exhausted by the end, but still had enough energy for a climb up our hill to take in the panoramic scenery. It took our breath away, with the golden rays of the setting sun gleaming off miles and miles of rolling countryside as far as the eye could see. Afterwards, the kids and their friends grabbed us to kick around a ball a while, which sucked away all remaining energy, yet was more fun than the whole time in Managua with cable TV.

So, tomorrow´s another day, and we need rest. Until then, peace.