Gringa en Nica: When adversity knocks on your door…

...let it in, for “adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it” – Horace

That is what the entire month of July was like for me, overcoming adversity. I remember my old softball coach Sean Erikson saying, “I implore you…implore you I repeat, to only think little pieces and overcome this adversity facing you”. Course, he was talking more or less in softball terms and the “little pieces” he referred to were the basics (don’t over-swing, think about winning or doubt the muscle memory accumulated from hours upon hours of practice) and the “adversity” was usually beating a team better than us. However, the same principle can be applied to life, when faced with a challenge it is better to conquer it using all the tools acquired beforehand.

So what the heck am I talking about? Why the huge metaphor? At the least, the month of July was a big test for me and my commitment to continue my Peace Corps service. I never really ever thought about giving up, but when everything seemed to pile up it did get to be a little hard I will admit. I know everyone wants to hear pretty vignettes about PC service, but I’m a realist and I would be lying to my faithful readers and myself if I always said everything was peachy keen. Don’t worry, the story has a happy ending!

The months of May and June were awesome months for me, I was always busy and my classes were for the most part on schedule. I was helping coach softball, met some new people, and also started advising some small businesses…I finally felt like I belonged here in Somoto. My last post was even titled “I Love Somoto!” The last week of June I received news that my Japanese roommate was going to end her service 6 months early and leave the same week for Japan. She had been sick off and on for a couple months and wasn’t getting any better. She figured it was better to terminate early and get well than take the risk to get worse. Also leaving in the same week was Martina from Canada, who stayed at my house in Somoto for a month for a short project. To make a long story short, the day after both Nozomi and Martina left (the 30th of June) I was told by my host family that they didn’t want to host volunteers anymore and that I had 15 days to find a new place to live.

At the least I was shocked and confused and asked for a more specific reason why they had made this decision. The only response I received was “we’re just too old and tired to take care of volunteers” and “you’ll find something else really easily”. I never wrote up a contract with them because I never ever thought this situation would happen, usually it’s the volunteers who decide to leave! I won’t lie to you, I was pretty upset that not only did I have to find a new place, but I had only 15 days. People here just don’t understand how hard it is to find a decent place to live, and to find a place where a gringo (foreigner) won’t get ripped off! I told my sitemates about the situation and they generously offered their extra room for me to crash in. So, on the 1st of July I moved all my stuff to their place temporarily…maybe it was a rash decision, but in my opinion it was for the best to get the heck outta my old place.

The next day I had to get to Managua so I could be at a training session on time the day after. Our training session was in my old training town of Niquinohomo and we had 2 hours to kill before our meeting, so I decided to go visit my old host family. I hadn’t seen them in 7 months and it felt really good seeing them and feeling like a part of their family again. I was pretty bitter about host families at that point and spending time with them helped get rid of my resentment. I ate a nacatamale while I was there, which is a tamale (you know the mushy corn thing) stuffed with meat, potatoes, rice, and beans, and had some of that really yummy Niquinohomo bread. I don’t know why it is that we can’t have good bread up here in Somoto! When I left I promised I’d come visit them soon again, hopefully in August I’ll be able to.

Along I went to our training session, which lasted 2 hours or so. The goal of the meeting was to share ideas for planning the “Creative Business” competitions we will hold in August and September. All in all it was a great session and I think my group and the new group got a lot of new ideas and useful information. We had lunch at the place we had our meeting and then I had originally planned to celebrate the 4th of July in Granada…but sadly I had to get back to Somoto and start looking for places. I was not a happy camper that I couldn’t celebrate the 4th! Actually, it turned out to be a wise decision on my part to get back up to Somoto…because that night I started feeling really rotten and had a slight fever (probably thanks to the nacatamale or the lunch, I’m not quite certain which one).

By the next day I felt even worse and every 20 minutes I either prayed to the porcelain god or sat upon its throne. I couldn’t sleep, wasn’t hungry and I couldn’t even take poor Astro (Matt and Jess’s dog) for a much needed walk. I took samples to the lab the next day and the diagnosis was amoebas (the first ever I’ve had) and a bacterial infection. What we do in this situation is call the PC doctors in the Managua office with our lab results and they prescribe the medication we need to take. So at this moment not only was I homeless, but I was yucky sick. This little hiccup put me about 4 days behind in my search for a new place.

When I was finally well enough I started the very annoying and painstaking search for a new room to rent. I had some prospects given by my sitemates, the ladies at the post office, some coworkers, and some random people I had met around town. In total I ended up looking at about 8 different places, none of them really fully matching my preferences, and had a breakdown because I was so frustrated. In the end I decided to move into a room about half a block away from where I used to live. The price is fair, I have my own bathroom, it’s bigger than the room I used to have, and I have a built in closet that takes up less space. The family consists of a mom (Karla) and her sons, ages 12 and 5, and the housekeeper lives here most of the time. Karla has a convenience store (pulperia) in the front, so whatever random things I need I can always buy from her. I’ve been here for 3 weeks and I’m still trying to get used to my living situation.

I feel a little more closed off and distant at the moment because I’m still wary to trust my new host family. I’ve never had a problem building relationships or trusting new people, but after being “evicted” I feel the need to take it a little more slowly and cautiously. Don’t get me wrong, the family seems very very nice…however, appearances can be deceiving. I don’t want to move again for the rest of my time here! I hope everything goes well and I hope to never again have to ask anyone in Somoto: “Do you know someone who rents rooms?”

I bought a fan and a big bucket for the shower because I need to have water ready at hand when the water shuts off, since we don’t have a tank that saves the water. I am also thinking about getting a small refrigerator because that is the one thing this family does not really have. There is one in the store, but the door is usually locked and I don’t have open access. Next Friday I’m going to Esteli (the closest big city to mine), so I’ll look at the prices while I’m there. I already looked at the prices in Somoto and everything is way overpriced! These are times that I really miss Craigslist where you can find a variety and get used stuff really cheap! Luckily I don’t have to buy a bed or any other furniture.

The other stressor for me was waiting for the administration to hire a new teacher for me to work with at the public school. It has been over a month since the kids have received my class because my other counterpart flaked on me for the rest of June and the administration drug its feet to find a replacement. Finally last week they did, and hopefully I will start working with her on Tuesday of this week. I felt bad for my kids when I saw them on the street and when they asked me why I haven’t been to class. I had to tell them it’s because I don’t have a counterpart teacher to work with. Legally I can’t give class by myself and I don’t have authorization to mark points off or give grades, so all I could do was wait.

On a positive note, the extra time I had from not giving classes I used by helping my small business owners. I’ve trained Anna some more on Excel, we’ve developed some promotional brochures, I helped her sell at the local fair in town this past weekend, and we also did research into how to get Fair Trade Certified (that is a whole other long post in itself). Her business has a lot of potential; she just needs to find a stable market to sell her artwork.

All in all, the storm is over and I can go about life normally, it was just a slight hiccup to overcome. Sometimes everything piles up at once, maybe due to karma or just chance. At the least, these situations help us grow personally and professionally. I have no doubt things will get better in a matter of weeks and I will become comfortable in my new setting. My fan that I just got helps make life beaut-ee-ful!

Thanks to:
-Mom and Dad for the care package and calling me to check up
-James for the care package and pix, and always saying hi to me online
-Jan for her letters with stickers included!
-Amanda for happy letters
-Dave Wagner for a letter from Panama
-Harriett for a surprise letter
-John, Danielle, Arielle, Nishma and Rosine for always sending me a message on Gchat or an email

Random pix:

My counterpart Brenda in Cusmapa with her 5 month old son Chrisnar.