Nicaragua's Independence Day

Setember 15th marks the Independence Day of Nicaragua, so what does that mean? Parades, drums, no school and lots of loud noises for about 2 weeks. I spent the holiday week up in Cusmapa with Lauren, which was a nice change since I had been in Somoto for many consecutive weeks. The students do a parade and then there are also dance and drum competitions later in the day. Nothing more to say about this holiday because that's about it in a nutshell!

These girls are baton twirlers, or gimastas...IMO it's just an excuse for little girls to wear short skirts and hooker boots, which is quite disturbing to me.

Gieselle in her uniform with the patriotic sash.

I was so happy when the drummers stopped practicing for this event...such a headache.

The cymbal player waiting for his moment of triumph! Other than that he just looked bored, poor guy!

Some students form the Oratorio in Cusmapa.

Danilo looked so handsome that day!

Norlan's little brother was running around and we snapped this shot of him.

Wilmer's brother (can't remember his name) wanted a picture with me.

Arlen, Wilmer's sister, and her friend

And again with me this time!

A cute picture of Marlon hiding away in the bushes.

More drummers...they just don't go away! Hehe..

...and more...

Everyone in the town was out watching the band and their baton girls, the building in front is the Catholic church in Cusmapa.

The students from the communities of Cusmapa, all lined up to march down the street.

And even more students...

You see what I mean...short skirts and high boots...

Just don't know what to do with myself

First: Happy Birthday Rosine! 1/4 of a century old!

Second: September is a busy busy month, hence no blog updates! But here are some new pix from the last week or so. It should make everyone temporarily happy for a couple days while I take some more pictures to accompany the blogs I've already written up.

But real quick, thanks to the following people:

-Mom and Dad for a care package that put me out of my misery so I could read the final Twilight book and a ton more useful items
-Jan for letters with stickers included
-Rosine for a ton of yummy goodies and new makeup!
-Tim for my new hand-made shoulder bag, chocolates, books and more
-Uncle David and Aunt Charlene for a box of sweets and goldfish, and letters
-Mamow for happy letters
-Amanda for the picture of us from frosh year and letters filled with fun memories
-Alexa for a surprise letter and her new addy in Portland
-Dave for letters from Panama letting me know I’m not the only crazy gringo in Central America

Marlon knitted this yellow hat all by himself and Lauren helped him with the ball on top. In the last week he's made 6 different ones so he can sell them to earn money to buy a cell phone, so he can call Lauren when she goes back to New Mexico. Very rare to see that type of motivation in Nica kids! Go Marlon!

Lauren bought a chicken from Wilmer's grandma in one of the Cusmapa communities, so we decided to stuff it like a Thanksgiving Turkey. Lucky this time to chicken was not killed in our back yard...I don't like the sounds the chickens make when they are about ready to die. In my mother's words: "Lovely..." (in a sarcastic, semi-grossed out tone)

Yay for stuffing! Lauren and I have a knack for altering recipes from the old "Joy of Cooking" book we have at the Cusmapa house.

On Tonight's Menu:

Starter

Potato and tomato soup with noodles

Main Course

Free-range Nicaraguan fowl with

Bread stuffing with garlic, onions, and italian parlsey

Sauteéd carrots with a sweet&sour passionfruit sauce

Another successful meal by Head Chefs Lauren and Katie!

Clean up headed by Wilmer :)

I played chess against Wilmer and won 3 times. Granted he's only played a couple times and almost beat me twice...but give me a break I haven't played in years!

One word: Strategery

When you have whole coffee beans, grind it with your handy Hand Grinder! Dale!

Lauren knitted a fun hat last week and it found it's way on top of Engel's 6 month-old head!

Spreading the sauce that Lauren made on the pizza crust I made...yum!

Thanks Vy for the apron! I love the Australian animals!

Is Baseball More Important Than Education?

This article was written by Avi Richman who is in my Nica 47 Small Business Development group and perfectly highlights the B.S. we put up with in the public schools. Class gets canceled quite often and it's very sad that most Nicaraguans accept it as "well, it always happens...oh well". However, the "gringos" can only give their opinion on the ridiculousness of the situation so many times: we're basically talking to a brick wall. It will take the Nicaraguan population themselves to change this attitude about education and the value of the classroom. I appreciate all my primary and high school teachers so much and I hope you do too! Send one of your former teachers a thank you on facebook or if you're at a school event take 1 min. to say "hi" and "thanks!"

Is Baseball more important than education?

Written Tuesday, July 28, 2009

This past Sunday, Granada’s baseball team, los Tiburones (The Sharks), were once again crowned champion of Nicaraguan baseball with a huge victory in the deciding game of the best of seven series versus Estelí. However, amidst all of the celebration and joy in Granada, something else happened that should cause shame and anger in every single Granadian.

I am a teacher at four different high schools in the municipality of Granada, teaching an entrepreneurship course to fourth year students (there are five years in high school). After too many days of cancelled classes this school year due to infinity of bureaucratic reasons, this past Monday was the last straw. I feel obligated to inform all of Nicaragua (and those reading at home) that this Monday in the beautiful colonial city of Granada, all the schools were closed in order to celebrate the Sharks’ championship in a decision by the mayor’s office. I have had enough.

What kind of message are we sending to the students of Granada? That it is more important to have a day of rest/celebration instead of having class? What message are we sending to all of the students who this Monday traveled from great distances, walked over an hour, and spent precious money on bus fare, to arrive at their schools and receive an education; only to find the school administration telling them to go home because there is no class today? The wrong message if you ask me.

A nine year old boy who lives next door to me went to school on Monday only to return home five minutes later saying that there was no class because they (the school administration, teachers, etc) are all lazy (this sounds better in Spanish). A father of a student at the rural school where I teach told me that it truly is a shame that his kids were not able to go to class and was completely against the cancellation of class.

I am a baseball fan and I was present to witness Granada win the championship but I definitely did not need a day off the next day to celebrate. It seems to me that the mayor’s office in Granada did not think that Granadians were capable of celebrating the victory after the game on Sunday (the game ended at 2:30 in the afternoon) and Monday night.

Now let me tell you exactly what happened during the day on Monday in Granada, the day the schools were cancelled to celebrate: NADA. Absolutely nothing. I personally passed by the central plaza around 6pm to check on the celebration only to see that the celebration had yet to start (it finally started around 7). Guess at what time the vast majority of schools end? 6pm. So technically speaking, we could have had an entire day of class without one single individual missing the celebration. What a shame.

I am not against parties and celebrations, nor am I against the mayor’s office. I am for the education of the youth of this beautiful country and for making it a priority in the development of every boy and girl. I am for sharing my knowledge with the students and taking full advantage of the classroom hours available to me. Frankly, I am very concerned for the educational system of Granada if it is possible to cancel an entire school day for a reason so trivial such as Monday.

While I do not know exactly who the person to make the final decision was, I do know that such person should have strongly considered the consequences of a decision that impeded each child’s basic human right to an education and fomented the value of irresponsibility. Once again I ask you all: Which is more important, a day off from school to “celebrate” the success of a sports team or the education of Nicaragua’s future. The decision is yours.

Avi Richman, Teacher

Granada, Nicaragua

Tel: 89024993 / 89979839

Note: Since writing this article, I have been able to talk to many other locals in Granada about the decision to cancel classes, and have heard two different sides. There are many people who, like me, were against the decision and also believe that there are far too many classes cancelled. However, unfortunately, there are many others who just responded to me by saying “that’s just how we are” or “it’s always like that here, it’s tradition; we are not in your country”. These kinds of responses are just terrible and with these attitudes, the future looks bleak. So listen up those who still do not get it...please change your attitudes and please understand that the custom/tradition of cancelling classes here must be changed. Just because something is tradition or custom does not mean it is good. In conclusion, I just want to remind every single Nicaraguan teacher, parent, and citizen that you are the ones who must demand more of your schools, of your principals, and of your government. Please demand more of your education; you deserve it.

Fiestas Patronales en Somoto

Two weeks ago Somoto had its Fiesta Patronales (it’s like how in Loomis we have the Eggplant Festival every year), which means it has a big party for its patron saint, Santiago. From Friday till Sunday all of Somoto was in party mode and the streets around the main park had food stands and a couple of random item stands. One of the signs claimed it was a “Rosquilla Festival” (remember Rosquillas are those donut shaped cookies make out of corn, Somoto is famous for them), but there were only 4 stands selling them. Course, they don’t tend to get creative and alter the original recipes very much…so they’re all about the same. Friday night they had dancing in the streets, but I was too tired to partake, especially after I had helped Anna all day with her artisan stand. I saw a ton of my students all dressed up ready to tear up the dance floor with their boyfriends and girlfriends…it was fun to see them all excited for the fiesta.

Saturday…4am…and the band marched down the street, awaking me from some vivid dream. Why do they feel the need to play in the wee hours of the morning? Ugh…well the band played on just about all day long through the streets of Somoto and they were sounding pretty good in the afternoon (less out of tune at least). Around 2pm there were floats decorated with palms, leaves and other plants and a smaller than usual Hipico (Horse Parade). These parades are always the same, so I don’t get too excited about them. I left my camera at home because that day I just did not have the urge to snap photos…disculpame por favor (forgive me please). At one point I turned to Yuka (another Japanese volunteer in Somoto) and told her the parades here don’t really excite me because it’s always the same and I wished there was more creativity. This Nica woman walking by me turned to her friend and said, “Did you hear what that stupid gringa just said?”…so I said to her in the sweetest voice ever, “Then why would you care what the gringa has to say if she’s so stupid?” Shut her right up…can’t people just mind their own business? I love parades, but it’s literally the same style and same music every time! Someone needs to stand up and say, “Hey let’s do something different!” I can understand if something is a traditional dance that it won’t change much, but this is a parade we are talking about…not a traditional ceremony from the time of the Nahuatl (the original language/tribe of this area). Hence why I always am encouraging my students to be creative in whatever they do!

Speaking of Horse Parades, I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my dreams during PC service is to ride in a Hipico. Supposedly one of my friends is going to let me ride one of his horses in the Parade in November…more details to come when I actually see this horse. How exciting will that be!?

Saturday night, Yuka and I were having a couple of Toñas at the fair, just enjoying our leisure time. A couple of my students sat down to chat for awhile, which always makes me feel happy because they obviously must like me most of the time. Haha. Anyways, I ran into Sarah, who is following up on a water project that she wrote her Master’s Thesis on, and Laura, an Española (Spanish girl) that I had met last year. Laura came back with a group of environment students from Spain who is currently working on a latrine project, so they will be here till October or so. Yay for new friends! Anyways, it was great that I ran into them because they told me about a reggae band that would be playing at the Hotel Colonial, the same place I went to see Perro Zompopo in April. I was so excited! Not only for reggae music, but LIVE reggae music from an East Coast Nicaraguan band! At the concert I met some other españoles, a dude from Colorado, and the first person I’ve ever met from Romania. A great night of dancing and awesome music, sadly I didn’t bring my camera because I wasn’t sure how many people would be there and I didn’t want to take the chance of it getting stolen.

Random note: I encourage everyone to read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan, I just finished it and it’s really good! It makes one think about our current food chain in the U.S. and how we could improve our eating habits.

Oh, and did I mention the fact how "everyone dies famous in a small town" ... check out the Loomis News article written about Elaine and I.

Famous Somoto artist Anna Planck, who is originally from Struttgart, Germany, but has made Somoto her home for over 20 years now.

Anna paints jicaros, which dry up like gourds do...very tough and durable. This jicaro shows the wind god of Esteli.

She creates original artwork made of natural seeds, coffee beans, jicaros, and flowers. The necklaces you see in the middle were made by some of my Cusmapa students for their business project. Anna was very nice to showcase the necklaces and earrings to get an idea of how much people would be willing to pay for the products.

More jicaros and guasimos on a string.

Anna's Somoto keychains and my student's earrings on display!

The earrings are made of recycled glass and natural seeds, the keychains are natural seeds with beads.

Jicaros painted in different styles, some are from another local artist who Anna might work with in the future.

More artwork...

More wind gods and the water god too...

Each frame contains an original work of art...what do you think? Is this artwork marketable? Would you buy it?

Some of her art includes old bottlecaps too!

Some of you might recognize the cards! She's one of my stationary suppliers to say the least :)

Rosquilla Festival - Somoto, Madriz

Adita Bakery

Like I said, rosquillas are like hard cheesy corn donut-shaped cookies. Some of them have melted sugar on top which makes them sweeter.

You want to start a debate in Somoto, just ask anyone who makes the best rosquillas...there is no right answer. For regular rosquillas I prefer the Vilchez ones...

Yum! I'll bring a whole bunch back next time!

This was the extent of the vendors.

After the parade, Yuka and I went looking for plants and I wanted to find a new bracelet. We didn't find the plant she wanted and I didn't find a bracelet, but I did get a pair of new earrings made of coconut shells!

Later we hung out and had dinner under the tents...all of my students stopped by to say hi. Yuka had a good time learning some Nica slang!

Note: Next post I'll try to get some pix of moi!

Libros, libros, libros! (Books, books, books)

I think I’ve mentioned before that one of my hobbies, like many PCVs, is reading. I have reestablished my love for books and finishing one saddens me for losing a friend, but joy that I have really spent the time to enjoy everything it contained. One day I got bored and decided to record all the books that I have read since arriving to Nicaragua. I thought it might be fun to share what it is I have been putting in my head: about 50% has been fun reading, the other 50% more “food-for-thought” reading. Take note the books are not written down in the order they were read, but mostly by memory of what I had read. The last ones at the bottom represent the most current ones I have finished, since I had already written the list. All books I recommend are marked with *.

1. I’d Rather Teach Peace – Colman McCarthy
2. Wine & War – Donald and Petie Kladstrup
3. The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch*
4. The End of Poverty – Jeffrey Sachs*
5. How to Boil a Flamingo – Allison Vale and Alison Rattle
6. A Power Governments Cannot Suppress – Howard Zinn*
7. Twilight – Stephanie Meyer
8. New Moon – Stephanie Meyer
9. She’s Not There – Jennifer Boylan
10. Good in Bed – Jennifer Weiner
11. In Her Shoes – Jennifer Weiner
12. Prep – Curtis Sittenfeld
13. An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire – Arundhati Roy*
14. Skinny Dip – Carl Hiaasen
15. The Dirty Girls’ Social Club – Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
16. Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert*
17. Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz
18. The Reader – Bernhard Schlink
19. Mountains Beyond Mountains – Dr. Paul Farmer*
20. The End of America – Naomi Woolf
21. The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas*
22. Angels & Demons – Dan Brown
23. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling (this was a re-read)
24. Eclipse – Stephanie Meyer
25. The Omnivore’s Dilemma – Michael Pollan*

In progress:
1. The Wal-Mart Effect – Charles Fishman*
2. The White Man’s Burden – William Easterly* (1/2 way through!)
3. Harry Potter y la pierda filosofal (Harry Potter 1 in Español) – J.K. Rowling

In the bookshelf queue:
1. The Bottom Billion – Paul Collier
2. A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide – Samantha Powers
3. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
4. Siddhartha – Herman Hesse
5. The Odyssey – Homer
6. Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
7. 1984 – George Orwell
8. The Witch of Portabello – Paulo Coelho

Any recommendations for books I should add to my queue?

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.

Lauren working on the recycled glass jewelry project...more news on this later.

Little Manuel helping sweep up our back yard in Cusmapa.

Samuel and Manuel, two very eager helpers!

Break time with the animalitos (little animal toys).

Loomis News Interview

This is the interview I sent to the Loomis News this week, hopefully there will be an article soon about Peace Corps, Elaine Hogan (PCV in Honduras) and yours truly.

I apologize for not posting in more than a month, July was a little crazy and I will explain in my next post this week. New pictures to come!

Why were you drawn to serve in the Peace Corps?

By joining Peace Corps I felt I had the opportunity to represent the U.S. and show the global community that Americans care about those outside its borders. Many times the only impression other nations gain about the U.S. is through the media and entertainment industry, which is no where close to being representative of the entire U.S. nation. In addition, I wanted to learn more about development work and decide if that was the type of career I wanted to pursue.

What are your thoughts on the program?

Peace Corps has grown up a lot since President Kennedy inaugurated the program in 1961. We have goals set up by country and by each separate program within the country. The word “volunteer” I feel only applies to the part that we volunteer ourselves for at least 27 months of our life. Peace Corps service is not about living in a hut, reading a book in a hammock. We are working with the schools, NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), government offices, health services, etc. We work, we don’t just “volunteer”. It is an opportunity cost to not be earning a living wage in the U.S., but the work experience we get while abroad is invaluable to our development as professionals and U.S. citizens. I think in the future Peace Corps will offer more valuable professional training to its volunteers, which will create a stronger program with greater impact.

What do you do on a daily basis & what is your mission?

I am a Small Business Advisor and Educator, so my primary assignment is teaching in 4 different high schools and advising small businesses in my city. Every day I either co-teach (with a Nicaraguan teacher) entrepreneurship classes to 4^th year highschoolers (15-17 year olds) or I observe the classes already functioning on their own (taught by Nicaraguan teachers) that the PC volunteer before me had established. I have an amazing opportunity to work with both the public highschool and an NGO called Familia Padre Fabretto. The NGO has an after-school program which includes the entrepreneurship class, so in 3 of my schools the class is actually an extracurricular activity. I oversee about 500 students, and the goal is for each of them to organize themselves into groups, develop a product or service, and little by little write a business plan. At the end we have a competition to see who has the best business plan and who was the most creative. The biggest emphasis of the program is creativity and planning! Kids are not encouraged to be creative, so I am constantly pushing them to think above and beyond the norms. We promote business planning because many times businesses open in Nicaragua without the owners taking into account the variable and fixed costs, start up costs, an evaluation of the existing competition, and most importantly recognition of a potential market.

This is where the other half of our assignment comes into play: small business advising. Current businesses usually have little knowledge of basic business practices such as accounting, marketing, and price fixing. I currently advise two businesses and have three more interested in learning more about how to successfully run a business. I’m no business expert, but I can help small business owners realize their actual expenditures, create a basic accounting sheet, or identify prices of their competitors. One of my biggest challenges is showing business owners that they don’t begin to make a profit until they have covered all their costs. Most believe that once they sell something it means money in their pocket right away!

In addition, my assignment is travel intensive, so I have to travel 2.5 hours by bus to one of my schools and 3.5 hours to another. The buses only run a couple times a day to these towns, so I have to spend 2 nights a week away from my home base. Luckily my NGO provides housing for me when I am working up in the highland towns, so I have a home away from home.

Would you recommend it?

I recommend Peace Corps for someone who is ready for an adventure and willing to move anywhere in the world. If you want to gain experience in development and see how foreign aid works in developing countries, this job is for you! Be prepared to miss home sometimes, but usually one remembers that home will always be there to welcome you back. All PC volunteers have different reasons for serving, so talk to as many current or returned Peace Corps volunteers as possible to get a well-rounded idea of the experience.

What were you most surprised about?

I was surprised how much networking would be involved with other organizations, meaning I work with more gringos (foreigners from the U.S., Europe and Japan) than I ever expected! Every day I run into foreigners from NGOs, international aid organizations (World Food Program, UNICEF), foreign government organizations (USAID, JICA), and religious organizations. Last week alone I hung out with Japanese volunteers, Spaniard university students, and fellow PC volunteers. I am certain the networks I have created in Nicaragua will help me in future job searches, should I decide to continue working within the development community.

Also, I was surprised to live in a city of 23,000 people, which includes access to a bank, internet, and a grocery store. However, a city does not guarantee constant water or electricity! We usually have water from 5pm till 8am the next day and the power can go out for days at a time.

How have you been received by the local people?

Everyone in Nicaragua is always curious to know my story, where I’m from and what I’m doing here. Then after my story they will almost always share with me where their relatives live in the U.S. Sometimes they think I am from Spain, which is a great compliment to me because I’m obviously getting rid of my “gringo” accent. Nicaraguans are usually very giving people and will offer you a coffee with cookies, or invite you to come with them to visit their farms. However, there are some that see foreigners as nothing but banks, who are willing to hand out money or things. Even if I explain that I am a Peace Corps volunteer, they still don’t understand why I can’t give them anything. It’s a problem that all developing countries face. I’ve never received any anti-American sentiment, which I attribute to the fact that most Nicaraguans have family members who live in the US.

What do you miss most back in the USA?

I really miss my friends and family; going away has made me realize how much I love them and how much a support base they are for me. I know they are always there for me through phone calls, letters and emails, but nothing beats a family meal together or a cup of coffee and chatting to a good friend. If I had to say a “thing” I miss the most, it would be California wine! Syrah from Carneros in particular!

What is the single greatest lesson you have learned?

I am so thankful for the education I received in Loomis! After teaching in the Nicaraguan public school system where the teachers are paid poorly, the students don’t have textbooks, class is canceled for no reason, and where there is little opportunity for extracurricular activities (especially for girls), I can feel nothing but deep gratitude for my teachers, coaches and administrators.

What will you take with you at the conclusion of your stay?

Patience! I think I will be so much more patient and I will be much calmer when things do not go to plan. Just this weekend the bus broke down halfway through the 3 hour ride down the mountain and I had to wait 4 hours for the next bus to come. One just has to accept unfortunate occurrences and realize that it’s not the end of the world. Life goes on and it’s not worth being upset over the small things! Yes it was annoying that I had to wait for a couple extra hours, but I eventually arrived at my destination.

What are your plans after Peace Corps?

My future plans change every week and I haven’t quite nailed down what I’d really like to do. I finish in July 2010, so it would be great timing to start a graduate program. However, I don’t know what I want to study yet! I’ve thought about a Masters in International Development, but I’m not 100% sure. Some other ideas I’ve also considered are coming back and working in Washington, D.C., going abroad to France to study French, and the newest (and craziest) idea I have is opening a Central American Import store with a coworker who works with me at my NGO.