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".