Fate comes in many colors

Yesterday my mami, sisters and I received some sad news, one of my cousins (who lives right across the street) is pregnant. She’s only 20 years old, still has at least 2 years of university left, the guy who got her pregnant is 26 and married…and the list goes on! I was surprised how progressive my host mom was when she called my cousin a “Grandisima Tonta/Bruta” (a great idioit) for not preventing the pregnancy with birth control pills. In Nica, birth control is completely free and no consultation is needed to get pills or injections. In my opinion, most girls are probably very afraid to take birth control because the Catholic Church continues to preach that “pre-marital sex is a sin.” I’ve been to mass 4 times here and I have heard those exact words come out of the padre’s mouth, so don’t call me a hypocrite and tell me that I need to actually hear those words first hand. Been there, done that...and I speak the truth. This leads me into another interesting discussion of Nica culture: the majority of Nicas do not legally get married or even get married in the church! Translation: there is a ton of pre-marital sex going on! I understand that it’s way harder for the Nica youth to have healthy sexual relationships because they ALL live with their parents. The lucky ones get their own places after they get married and turn about 30, but still that leaves the 15 year olds and older in a perpetual chastity cage. I say 15 year olds because the national average of losing virginity is 15 years of age for both boys and girls, and remember the U.S. national average is 15/16 as well.

So, what do I take from this experience? It solidifies my desire to dedicate a good part of my PC service to educate Nica youth about sexual health. It surprises me that the Bush Administration has not dipped into the PC’s health education system to transform it into an “abstinence” program! That makes me happy that Kennedy’s idea of PC still lives on and it is rarely touched by politicians. This week we are doing final interviews for sites and I will definitely mention the importance of being able to work with a health volunteer, or just having the desire to pursue projects of this manner. I’m sure the majority of Nicas don’t even know how the pill works! Course I’m also positive that 4 out of 5 people at home would not be able to describe to me how the pill works. It starts with education, not with pressure or preaching. You present the facts, don’t leave anything out, and then wait for questions or further assistance. This is what I would like to do at my site. All in all, it’s just sad to see someone at the age of 20, who is already living a hard knock life, have another weight put upon her shoulders.

Last Sunday the 15th I played two volleyball games with my sisters and we won both of them! One game was against the team we lost to 2 weeks ago, so it was a nice Victory to have for a Sunday morning. I probably shouldn’t have played because I had my virus still and to top it off I sweated off my sunscreen and got a bad sunburn on my nose and forehead. I looked like Rudolph for the next 3 days! The worst part about sunburns is when they start peeling and everyone can see the skin coming off…(valley girl) Like ew! On Thursday I played with one of the men’s team and managed to twist my knee pretty badly. I’ve been hobbling around a little, but it is getting better. My mami wants to have her massage therapist doctor friend come look at it later today, so we’ll see what happens.

Also on Sunday the 15th I went to a concert (randomly) with my twin sisters and mami in a nearby town, where Mokuanes was playing. They are a famous Nica band, with 3 front men singers and a full band behind them including a trombonist, trumpeter, and saxophonist (kind of a Ska ensemble). I absolutely loved them! They sing covers of other artists and they also have their own songs. They switched easily from Reggaeton, to Latin Rock, to Merengue, to Salsa, to Slow Rock, etc. and best of all the concert was free! And it didn’t rain on us until we got home! I hope to go see Mokuanes in concert on June 24th at a nearby town’s fiestas patronales (it’s a party every town has during a certain week every year to celebrate their Patron Saint).

2 weeks ago, I visited the north of Nicaragua in the region of Esteli for my Volunteer Visit. Here I got to live with Megan, a SBD volunteer who has been here for a year already, and I had the opportunity to follow her around for 3 days. On the way to Esteli Joanna and I experienced our first "fault" from the transportation system (I'm sure it will be the first of many), for our bus broke down about 1/2 hour outside of Estelí! It wasn't too bad because it wasnt hot and we were pretty close to our destinations. Yay for being positive! The Volunteer Visit was a great break from training, good practice in using Nica’s transportation system and a fun experience all around. Megan teaches 4 sections of students at one of the high schools at her site, so she had about 160 students to deal with each week. Some PCVs teach 10 sections of 50 kids, so I might have the possibility of teaching 500 kids in my site! There are only 3 sites that will have a lot of sections, so maybe I’ll get lucky and not get too many of those ankle biters…ha ha. Anyways, I really liked my visit because it reminded me that I can live on my own and have a little bit of independence while still becoming a part of my community. I’m excited about having complete control over my diet and doing house chores again, except laundry, I’ve always hated doing that! I really want to get a cat because they are great for eating the big bugs and rodents, you don’t have to feed them all the time, they don’t need attention all the time, and they give you love (when they feel like it sometimes). I mention the cat because Megan had one who ate all the big cockroaches and spiders! I liked Megan’s site because it was near a bigger city and it was small enough for the people to know her by name.

I was sick from the time I got back from my Volunteer Visit till June 16th…sad times. Nothing big, just a small virus that knocked me on my booty! I don’t like getting sick and I don’t even remember the last time I had a fever, it’s been that long! I had a fever 3 times around 100.2 degrees, my body ached, I was really tired, and I had a splitting headache. At first I thought, “OMG I have Dengue symptoms!” so when we went to Managua on Friday the 13th I saw the doctor at the office and she sent me on a quest to find the lab a couple blocks away. I’m sure I will have many more experiences with the labs and doctors in the next couple of years, better to know now how the system works right? My first time ever giving a stool sample…it wasn’t that bad of an experience, but I’d prefer to not have to repeat it frequently. I also had to have blood drawn and give a yellow bodily fluid, fun times to say the least. Results came back with a high white blood cell count, which I guess translated into a non-malarial, non-dengue fever viral infection. They weren’t sure about the results so I had to repeat them on Saturday the 14th and then again on Monday the 16th in the morning. No more tests please! I feel better really! They made me do tests on Monday to make sure Malaria or Dengue wasn’t just lying there dormant in my body. I felt so yucky from Thursday till Tuesday, so please, feel free to feel bad for me. It sucks having a fever and being exhausted in both spirit and body.

I’d like to talk a little bit about the use of whistles in Nica. People whistle at each other in the house, on the patio, in the street, at the table, etc. Everyone whistles at everybody else! My mom, and many others back home, would say that this sort of behavior is not acceptable and we should use our words, for we are not pets to be whistled at. Whistling was probably one of the first things I adapted to and I now regularly use my whistle for various reasons. I do the whistle that my dad taught me, through the side of the mouth so it sounds like the beaver in Lady and the Tramp. “Say there sonny!” Last week I came to a self realization that my whistle not only identifies me to my family, but when I hear someone use my type of whistle I know that they are saying hello or trying to get my attention specifically. It’s fun to walk out the door and hear one of my cousins imitating my whistle!

I’m going to try to put a song at the end of each of my posts to sort of describe my feelings at the time of the post.

Today’s song: “Angel” – Sarah McLachlan
It reminds me that even though life is tough sometimes, someone is always watching over me in another world or thinking of me in this world.