Internet café guy: You are constantly walking around town, right?
Me: Yeah.
Internet café guy: But you aren’t getting any skinnier.
Me: Hmmm... true. Well, that’s because I like to eat!
So it might be true that I’m not getting any skinnier, but I’m not getting fatter either! And with all the fried food, sugary drinks, and people shoving food at me… that’s a small miracle. I’ve been cooking a lot more at my house. Nothing fancy: beef stir-fry, chicken pesto pasta with broccoli, breakfast burritos, yogurt and granola with pineapple, lots of peanut butter and bananas on toast, pancakes and Aunt Jemima’s syrup (is it bad when you start drinking syrup from the bottle?), beef tacos with homemade guacamole, and tuna Mac & Cheese with vegetables. It’s a lot of rice and pasta, but I’m happy to get so much protein and vegetables. When I’m not cooking at the house, I usually end up at Douglas’s family restaurant (Coma Rico). Sometimes we cook whatever we feel like for ourselves, other times the staff serves us what there is that day. Occasionally, I’ll go to a local bar/restaurant (La Yunta) with other PCVs or Douglas and the group for a beef dish and beer. It’s always a good night at La Yunta, especially when there’s Karaoke! Nicas have no qualms about singing… ever!
This past month I’ve had a few Peace Corps visitors. There’s a new health group that finished training at the end of May and is now in their sites. Nueva Segovia received 5 volunteers, and 3 of them have spent the night at my place. It’s the party house! Actually, it’s usually pretty mellow, but always fun. This past weekend, a volunteer from my group spent the night. He and I are trying to organize some teacher trainings in August and a summer camp in December. We recently (FINALLY) got the go ahead from our superintendants to do some training. Because there are two of us, we are hoping to take advantage of each other and do a traveling show, hitting four different cities. The Summer Camp will be a bit more difficult to plan, but we are considering applying for a SPA grant with Peace Corps. That would take the pressure off getting locally funded, something much like pulling hen’s teeth.
It was nice to discuss the latest and greatest with my buddy over a delicious vegetarian pizza at Julito’s. That night he surprised me with some books: the first Harry Potter book in Spanish and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. The volunteers have an informal system for book exchange. Anytime someone travels, they bring whatever books they have already read or those that they can part with. Everyone fully expects not to see the books again, and in that way multitudes of people get to read “new” books. It’s amazing how delightful it is to get hand-me-downs!
A few good books have come my way lately. First was “Replay” by Ken Grimwood, which I highly recommend to anyone that will listen. Of the 24 books I have read in 10 months here, it is on my top 5 list. Next were “I Heard that Song Before” by Mary Higgins Clark and “The Brethren” by John Grisham. It had been a while since I read either of those authors, so it was nice to fall into their fast paced rhythm again. The most recent book I have read is “The Blind Side” by Michael Lewis. I have to admit, I liked the movie better. Kudos to the screen writer; s/he got the best parts out of the book and put them together well. I did find one quote that I liked in the book though: “Moses stuttered.” Did anyone else know that? My first thought was that in another lifetime he and I could have gone to speech therapy together!
On May 16th, I moved into a new house. And, incredibly, it happened on the planned date! After my stuff was packed up, Douglas and I went out to find a guy he knows with a truck. After driving around for a bit, we found him (that is the truck we are going to put ALL my stuff in!?!). I had my doubts that everything would fit, but silly me, I obviously don’t know how to pack Nica style. It felt like a bad episode of the Beverly Hillbillies. There were four people in the cab (me sitting on Douglas’s lap and falling out the window), the truck bed was stacked dangerously high with my belongings and held down with rope. To add insult to the situation, it was raining. Slowly, we wound our way through the one way streets in town. By the time we made it to the new house, as Douglas said, “everyone in town now knows that you have moved.” That night I slept beautifully with no barking dogs, no wandering cows, and no screeching desks to wake me in the morning.
Before I signed the 6 month lease, I asked the landlord about painting the house and he agreed to paint the walls whatever color I wanted. However, when I was trying to explain the concept of an accent wall, he looked at me like I had two heads (which coincidentally is how many people look at me on a regular basis). After the paint dried, however, he half-heartedly said it didn’t look that bad. I think he was humoring me; he still didn’t look too pleased. Maybe it was the fact that I chose orange, green and yellow for the three main rooms. I still haven’t picked the colors for the bedrooms, but I’m thinking blue, purple and pink. Why not go for the whole rainbow, right?
While I’ve been writing this blog, I thought I would try to multitask (you’re already cringing aren’t you?). Earlier in the week I burnt some rice. You know, it is way harder than you think it is to cook rice well. Anyway, after scrubbing the scorched pot forever, I decided to boil some soap and water in the pot to loosen things up. What better time to do that than while I’m writing my blog? Apparently I was pretty absorbed in what I was doing until it smelled a little funny in the house. Guess I’m going uptown to buy a new pot today. :)
Yesterday I picked up a package that my mom and dad sent down. In the package, I was delighted to find coloring books. Coupled with the crayons that my aunt sent me for Christmas, it is the perfect entertainment for the neighborhood boys. The supplies are now sitting on the “special shelf” and the boys know that anytime my door is open, they can come and color. As soon as they saw the books, they started right away! It was so cute to see their little hands holding the crayons and their tongues stuck out in concentration. We already have a few pirates hanging on the wall, but I fully expect to see soccer players, space ships, airplanes, and sharks to be added pretty soon. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Long Overdue for Pictures
My house got flooded in April. Everything was fine, after a bit of clean up...
My clothes on the line drying.
Little Gustavo in the house next door. The boy is two and can already bathe himself!
Douglas, me, and a few others went out for his birthday. He ended up singing a song for me... so sweet.
My visit to the US in March was wonderful! I really enjoyed getting to see my family and friends, eating all the foods I was craving, and ... playing pool with my dad! 
With my Papaw and Betty
The whole family together... my sister came and surprised me at the airport... such a sweetie!!!
The ladies in our old stompin' grounds. We had a fabulous time eating and chatting and catching up.
My sis and me at her new campus... she recently got a new job teaching.
In this picture I am trying on my sister's roller derby gear. Don't I look fierce?
Monday morning assembly with the 7th and 8th graders. This is when the sing the national anthem and also the educational hymn.
Gas prices by the liter in March 2010.
Donna and me exchanging music at the hotel on Ometepe Island. This is where TEFL 51 reconnect was held in March 2010. It was nice and relaxing and great to see everyone.
Douglas playing with his dog, Cypres.
I finally made my back porch into a real classroom. One of my students brought over the board. Each of the students brought a chair and I had the table made out of a door and scrap wood in the back yard.
Friday, May 14, 2010
May flowers
One of the hardest things about Peace Corps is that I am here, and my family and friends are in the US. Time doesn’t pass as it does in the US. There are no flowers blooming, snow falling, or leaves changing colors. Seasons are much more subtle (is is raining or not). So I find myself puzzled when I hear that there are only 10 more days of school or that my dad is opening up the pool. It seems like they should be doing the same thing as when I left. I’m still doing the same thing, so why not them?
The hardest news is the life changing kind: engagements, pregnancies, graduations, illnesses (so far no deaths). These are the phone calls where I have to fight the urge to hang up and call the airlines to book the first flight home. It brings me back to what some family friends said after living abroad for 10 years: They didn’t come home because they couldn’t hack it abroad, but because of all the milestones they were missing in their loved ones’ lives. I can see where they are coming from. I always imagined if my sister got deployed again I might come home. One daughter abroad is enough for my parents to worry about.
After 8 solid months in country, the first person in our group is taking some time off to see if Early Termination is the right option. This hit my inner circle of PC friends hard as we tried to advise the person the best way possible. But will this open the flood gates? Is this the beginning of our group breaking up? We try to be there for each other, but let’s be realistic, I see my fellow PCVs (from my group) one weekend every 2 or 3 months. We text each other on a daily basis, but there is a lot you can’t share with texts… like hugs!
Did you know that for good mental health, you need 8 hugs a day? How many does the average PCV get? Remember, I’m not average because I have a boyfriend. But still, there are times when I could really use a day long hug. “I know you need to go to the bathroom, honey, but you can’t let me go.” Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huggy person. I swear I wasn’t born with the US mentality of personal space. It’s not uncommon that I’m holding hands with my sister, linking arms with my girlfriends, tackling my mom for a full body hug, and generally giving everyone I know lots of hugs. I have become even touchier down here. Part of it is not my fault; Nicaraguans are touchy people, too. You see people in the street talking with acquaintances while holding their hand or arm. People kiss and hug each other as greetings and goodbyes. On a bus, a random child might sit on your lap if there is no place to stand. God only knows how I’ll be when I come back to the US.
Speaking of God, he is laughing right now. I, being the touchiest white person in probably the entire country of Nicaragua, have fallen head over heels for probably the LEAST touchy Latino on the entire continent. Don’t laugh… it’s not funny. Actually, I have to be bit more truthful; he is a bit touchy. As we walk down the street, he almost always holds my hand (unless he’s really hungry and in a hurry to get to the restaurant). He kisses and hugs me goodbye. Okay… before we get into too many examples, maybe he is touchier than I give him credit for.
Another thing is that the man eats like an elephant! A pound of rice is NOT okay to eat in one meal. He has been eating at my house a few times a week for the past month or so. Recently he went to the doctor, who told him he has lost 7 pounds during this time. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE? He says it’s my cooking, but no. He always eats seconds, is full and says it’s delicious. My thought is that he has a parasite. Maybe he missed that day at the clinic when they passed out anti-parasite pills to EVERYONE. They also did that at the school. You might be asking yourself how they could do that… are some people not allergic? Not important here. I’m pretty sure there are no laws in Nicaragua, unless you steal someone’s cow.
Well, the favorite cow has not revisited my neck of the woods to scare me at 2am. However, the dog next door has been barking SO MUCH! I don’t know how the thing is still living. It literally did not breathe for an entire 8 hour period one night. I had ear plugs in, a pillow over my head, and still could hear him. Finally, I made a little noise myself and blessed the damn thing up and down. Too bad that didn’t make a difference. Hopefully in my new house there won’t be too many neighborhood dogs.
Supposedly I will be moving this Sunday to a new house. We shall see. It’s pretty pointless to make a plan that involves other people. The whole thing just takes too much energy and then it’s really disappointing when it inevitably falls through. However, if I do move, I will be living in a FOUR bedroom house with a kitchen, bathroom, and backyard with papaya, lime, and nancite trees. This is a big change from my current 2 room house (the bedroom/living room, and the kitchen/ storage room) with the bathroom outside. In Ocotal it is hard to find the perfect sized house. You either get a very small, run down house, or a very large and expensive house. I have tried the first, so I figure it’s time to try to latter of the two.
In my new house, I will be neighbors with my site mates. One leaves in July, but the other should be sticking around for another year or so. It would be kind of neat to be so close to them. Currently we are about a 30 minute walk from each other, but that doesn’t stop us from seeing each other at least once a week. Usually we grab a bite to eat, or help each other with a project. This week I helped move dirt at the Casa Materna, and we got together for a welcoming party for the new Health group. There are 5 newbies in Nueva Segovia. Fun times in Ocotal!
This week I also went to the Mr. Nicaraguan contest. Half naked guys + ladies night = a wonderful time! They first came out in their all white wardrobe, then in their swimming shorts (although I’ll bet not ONE of them can swim), jeans with no t-shirt, and finally formal wear. In between rounds, there was folkloric dance and folk singing. All in all, I felt culturally educated afterward. I would have taken pictures, but we were having a little too much fun keeping score on who we thought should win. I must say, the North has some pretty good “talent”. :)
Since I came back from the US, a couple of interesting things have happened. One, I had an infected cyst and two, my house flooded. The best part is that they happened in the same weekend! I had started to notice that my cyst was really sensitive and then it got big, red, and hot to the touch. Obviously it was infected. I started to take antibiotics, but after 5 days, not much was changing. I decided to go to Managua to see the doctor. They first gave me a local anesthetic and then cut it open to drain it. I’ll spare you the details, but just say it was a big show. Tired and bandaged, I came back to Ocotal the next day… TO FIND MY HOUSE FLOODED! Apparently, it had rained a bit. Before I left for Managua I figured that this might be the case, so I moved everything to a higher spot… except the suitcase that I brought back from the States. I have no clue why I thought it was waterproof, but neglected to move it. All the clothes I had brought back were floating in water. My emergency passport was buried in the bottom. Ha! That makes two passports. I wonder what the max in one year is that they will issue to a person. Anyway, I washed all the clothes and most of them were okay. The passport will work itself out… hopefully.
So why did I agree to do Peace Corps? Quality hair growing time.
If I’m being serious, there were many culminating factors that finally made up my mind. When I first applied, I was sitting at my sister’s going away party. She was being deployed for a year in Iraq to transport supplies and soldiers in Baghdad. I viewed this as her contribution to the United States. We have family members in every branch of the military (the Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force) who have given years of their lives to serve their country. Looking at this sacrifice, I felt compelled to serve. However, I wanted to participate in a service of Peace that would help those most in need. I was naturally drawn to Peace Corps.
Other reasons are more selfish. I love to travel and experience new countries and cultures. To spend two years in a culture, practicing my second language, and truly getting to know the people, customs and traditions, was a dream opportunity. What better way to improve my Spanish, gain some experience teaching, and get to travel!
The hardest news is the life changing kind: engagements, pregnancies, graduations, illnesses (so far no deaths). These are the phone calls where I have to fight the urge to hang up and call the airlines to book the first flight home. It brings me back to what some family friends said after living abroad for 10 years: They didn’t come home because they couldn’t hack it abroad, but because of all the milestones they were missing in their loved ones’ lives. I can see where they are coming from. I always imagined if my sister got deployed again I might come home. One daughter abroad is enough for my parents to worry about.
After 8 solid months in country, the first person in our group is taking some time off to see if Early Termination is the right option. This hit my inner circle of PC friends hard as we tried to advise the person the best way possible. But will this open the flood gates? Is this the beginning of our group breaking up? We try to be there for each other, but let’s be realistic, I see my fellow PCVs (from my group) one weekend every 2 or 3 months. We text each other on a daily basis, but there is a lot you can’t share with texts… like hugs!
Did you know that for good mental health, you need 8 hugs a day? How many does the average PCV get? Remember, I’m not average because I have a boyfriend. But still, there are times when I could really use a day long hug. “I know you need to go to the bathroom, honey, but you can’t let me go.” Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huggy person. I swear I wasn’t born with the US mentality of personal space. It’s not uncommon that I’m holding hands with my sister, linking arms with my girlfriends, tackling my mom for a full body hug, and generally giving everyone I know lots of hugs. I have become even touchier down here. Part of it is not my fault; Nicaraguans are touchy people, too. You see people in the street talking with acquaintances while holding their hand or arm. People kiss and hug each other as greetings and goodbyes. On a bus, a random child might sit on your lap if there is no place to stand. God only knows how I’ll be when I come back to the US.
Speaking of God, he is laughing right now. I, being the touchiest white person in probably the entire country of Nicaragua, have fallen head over heels for probably the LEAST touchy Latino on the entire continent. Don’t laugh… it’s not funny. Actually, I have to be bit more truthful; he is a bit touchy. As we walk down the street, he almost always holds my hand (unless he’s really hungry and in a hurry to get to the restaurant). He kisses and hugs me goodbye. Okay… before we get into too many examples, maybe he is touchier than I give him credit for.
Another thing is that the man eats like an elephant! A pound of rice is NOT okay to eat in one meal. He has been eating at my house a few times a week for the past month or so. Recently he went to the doctor, who told him he has lost 7 pounds during this time. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE? He says it’s my cooking, but no. He always eats seconds, is full and says it’s delicious. My thought is that he has a parasite. Maybe he missed that day at the clinic when they passed out anti-parasite pills to EVERYONE. They also did that at the school. You might be asking yourself how they could do that… are some people not allergic? Not important here. I’m pretty sure there are no laws in Nicaragua, unless you steal someone’s cow.
Well, the favorite cow has not revisited my neck of the woods to scare me at 2am. However, the dog next door has been barking SO MUCH! I don’t know how the thing is still living. It literally did not breathe for an entire 8 hour period one night. I had ear plugs in, a pillow over my head, and still could hear him. Finally, I made a little noise myself and blessed the damn thing up and down. Too bad that didn’t make a difference. Hopefully in my new house there won’t be too many neighborhood dogs.
Supposedly I will be moving this Sunday to a new house. We shall see. It’s pretty pointless to make a plan that involves other people. The whole thing just takes too much energy and then it’s really disappointing when it inevitably falls through. However, if I do move, I will be living in a FOUR bedroom house with a kitchen, bathroom, and backyard with papaya, lime, and nancite trees. This is a big change from my current 2 room house (the bedroom/living room, and the kitchen/ storage room) with the bathroom outside. In Ocotal it is hard to find the perfect sized house. You either get a very small, run down house, or a very large and expensive house. I have tried the first, so I figure it’s time to try to latter of the two.
In my new house, I will be neighbors with my site mates. One leaves in July, but the other should be sticking around for another year or so. It would be kind of neat to be so close to them. Currently we are about a 30 minute walk from each other, but that doesn’t stop us from seeing each other at least once a week. Usually we grab a bite to eat, or help each other with a project. This week I helped move dirt at the Casa Materna, and we got together for a welcoming party for the new Health group. There are 5 newbies in Nueva Segovia. Fun times in Ocotal!
This week I also went to the Mr. Nicaraguan contest. Half naked guys + ladies night = a wonderful time! They first came out in their all white wardrobe, then in their swimming shorts (although I’ll bet not ONE of them can swim), jeans with no t-shirt, and finally formal wear. In between rounds, there was folkloric dance and folk singing. All in all, I felt culturally educated afterward. I would have taken pictures, but we were having a little too much fun keeping score on who we thought should win. I must say, the North has some pretty good “talent”. :)
Since I came back from the US, a couple of interesting things have happened. One, I had an infected cyst and two, my house flooded. The best part is that they happened in the same weekend! I had started to notice that my cyst was really sensitive and then it got big, red, and hot to the touch. Obviously it was infected. I started to take antibiotics, but after 5 days, not much was changing. I decided to go to Managua to see the doctor. They first gave me a local anesthetic and then cut it open to drain it. I’ll spare you the details, but just say it was a big show. Tired and bandaged, I came back to Ocotal the next day… TO FIND MY HOUSE FLOODED! Apparently, it had rained a bit. Before I left for Managua I figured that this might be the case, so I moved everything to a higher spot… except the suitcase that I brought back from the States. I have no clue why I thought it was waterproof, but neglected to move it. All the clothes I had brought back were floating in water. My emergency passport was buried in the bottom. Ha! That makes two passports. I wonder what the max in one year is that they will issue to a person. Anyway, I washed all the clothes and most of them were okay. The passport will work itself out… hopefully.
So why did I agree to do Peace Corps? Quality hair growing time.
If I’m being serious, there were many culminating factors that finally made up my mind. When I first applied, I was sitting at my sister’s going away party. She was being deployed for a year in Iraq to transport supplies and soldiers in Baghdad. I viewed this as her contribution to the United States. We have family members in every branch of the military (the Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force) who have given years of their lives to serve their country. Looking at this sacrifice, I felt compelled to serve. However, I wanted to participate in a service of Peace that would help those most in need. I was naturally drawn to Peace Corps.
Other reasons are more selfish. I love to travel and experience new countries and cultures. To spend two years in a culture, practicing my second language, and truly getting to know the people, customs and traditions, was a dream opportunity. What better way to improve my Spanish, gain some experience teaching, and get to travel!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
April showers- aka, floods!
Did you know that Chips Ahoy cookies and peanut butter are amazing? I love them separately, but I think it might be time to join them together. Hold on… oh, yeah…. That’s heaven on earth!
So, I’ve been without a stove now for a week. It is the second time that my electric one has gone on the blink, so I decided to buy a gas stove. I got it for fairly cheap, and then my bf Douglas was going to give me the gas tank and tube. But bless his heart; he has just been so busy lately (Marcia that was for you). Although it has cut down drastically on the amount of dishes I wash each day, it would be nice to cook up some of the good food I brought back from the States.
I HAD A WONDERFUL TIME IN THE US!!!! It was so nice to see so many of my friends and family. If I didn’t get to see you this time, I’ll try my hardest on the next trip. The 10 days
seemed to fly by, but I did get to do some cool stuff. I first visited my aunt and uncle in Atlanta, and then we went to Cracker Barrel (what I was craving most!) on the way to Knoxville. In Knoxville, we watched Alice in Wonderland in 3D IMAX. Pretty snazzy, huh? We ate lots of my favorite foods, played cards, played pool in the amazing new basement and just hung out with the family. I went back up to JC for a few days to meet up with the ladies, give a few presentations, and hang out with some very lovely people.
Finally, I went to Arkansas to visit Katie. It was actually the second time I saw her during the trip because she surprised me in the Atlanta airport. What a sweetie! She, mom and dad were pretty sneaky to keep it a secret for more than a week (even when we “conference” called each other- they were in the same room!). In Arkansas, we went shopping, had pizza, went to church and saw her university. The highlight was going to Hot Springs, Arkansas to do the mineral baths. I never knew there were so many ways to take a bath. The most intriguing must have been the hot butt bath- good for hemorrhoids. Katie and I walked away from there with more than a few funny stories.
So here are a few of my thoughts about my visit:
- The portions were huge! I split most of my meals… thanks Lindsey :)
- Everything was very clean… amazing how we don’t just through our garbage everywhere.
- There is only one person in each car! I’m used to an average of 4 here. Max is 10 in a 4 door.
- Refills? What are those?
- Everything is so easy there… you don’t even have to think about what you are going to say… you just say it and it happens. There is rarely any confusion or repetition of conversations.
- I got to wear WHATEVER I wanted and no one stared at me!
- I could drink the water, but I never did. Why would I when I could down a gallon of chocolate milk?
- It was very quiet. Are there noise laws or something? How do you know what’s happening in town if they don’t announce it by loudspeakers mounted on trucks? (haha, one is going down my street right now) You mean you discipline your dogs if they bark for more than 10 minutes? What?
- It was cold! One night I wore two jackets, gloves, and a scarf while mom and dad chilled in a long sleeve. So maybe I’m just not used to it anymore. Kinda makes me rethink coming back in December. Yikes!
Although I could see so many differences between my current situation and my old home, it felt like I had never left. It was very easy to get used to all the conveniences. So I figured it would be really difficult coming back to Nicaragua, but it wasn’t either. Douglas made it a lot easier by meeting me at the airport. He carried my suitcase (while grunting and joking about its weight) as I carried my big backpack. We made it back up to Ocotal and I settled back into my house. I wasn’t overly happy about sleeping under a mosquito net again, nor seeing that I still have SO MUCH work to do on the house. After a week of running down my landlord, the work is finally beginning. It will take quite a bit of time and effort, but hopefully by the time Mom and Dad come in July it will be done.
Speaking of, I’m going to finish painting my house. I have all the blue done, which covers the top ¾ of the wall. Now, I just have to complete the brown at the bottom. Wish me luck. I hope all is well with you all. Write me some letters if you like (Thank you Tera, Katie and Maher, Pat and Cliff, and Steve and Sherry for the letters!):
Laura Sanders
Apartado Postal 25
Ocotal, Nueva Segovia
Nicaragua
Centroamérica
I also enjoy emails with updates about what YOU are doing: pcnic09@yahoo.com
Do you know what they call pool cues here? Tacos… hahaHAHAhaHAhaha… I love it!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Education in Nicarauga
Every Monday morning the students (in their uniforms) start off in an assembly singing the National, educational and school anthems, followed by a speech from the principal about the values expected in each student. Each grade level is divided into sections with which the students attend all classes in their assigned room. They stay put and different teachers come to them to give class. Many classes have up to 50 students with one teacher. The rooms are small, so there is not room for activities and little room even for the teacher to walk around and monitor. With so many students crammed into a room combined with the outside temperature, the situation quickly turns from hot to miserable. Students have to decide whether to write in their notebooks or fan themselves with it.
Due to the lack of space and the absence of books, much of the class is spent copying information from the board or listening to a lecture. Sometimes teachers are asked to teach two or three classrooms at the same time. This happens when another teacher does not come to school and their class is unattended. No money exists to hire substitutes, so either the students have a free period or another teacher has to cover an additional class.
There are two shifts at the school to accommodate the number of students. Students in grades 7-8 come to school from 7am to 12pm, and students in grades 9-11 come from 12:30-5:30pm. There is no lunchroom, only a snack stand that sells chips, sodas, and typical Nicaraguan home-cooked food at break times. Each class is taught twice a week, one 90 minute class and one 45minute class. They have the same classes all year (February through November). If they fail a class, they must take a make-up test at the beginning of the following February. If they pass, they move on to the next grade, but if not they remain in the same grade for all their classes.
To go to public University (which are all free), students must take an entrance exam. In 2008, 2% of Nicaraguan high school seniors passed it. Most students who want to attend a university must pay to enroll in a private one. Oftentimes, the quality of education received here is subpar, because anyone can enter and as long as they pay, they advance.
I have seen some differences between teaching in the U.S. and Nicaragua. In Nicaragua:
•The students are in the habit of sharing information in all activities, including quizzes and test.
•Importance is put on neatness, not correctness. A straight line is never drawn without a ruler and their handwriting is usually remarkable, but oftentimes the information is faulty.
•Students rarely do more than recite and memorize. Problem solving is difficult for them.
There are also similarities among students. They usually:
• Want to be stylish.
• Smile, laugh, and have fun.
• Groan when a quiz or test is mentioned.
• Are eager to please.
Due to the lack of space and the absence of books, much of the class is spent copying information from the board or listening to a lecture. Sometimes teachers are asked to teach two or three classrooms at the same time. This happens when another teacher does not come to school and their class is unattended. No money exists to hire substitutes, so either the students have a free period or another teacher has to cover an additional class.
There are two shifts at the school to accommodate the number of students. Students in grades 7-8 come to school from 7am to 12pm, and students in grades 9-11 come from 12:30-5:30pm. There is no lunchroom, only a snack stand that sells chips, sodas, and typical Nicaraguan home-cooked food at break times. Each class is taught twice a week, one 90 minute class and one 45minute class. They have the same classes all year (February through November). If they fail a class, they must take a make-up test at the beginning of the following February. If they pass, they move on to the next grade, but if not they remain in the same grade for all their classes.
To go to public University (which are all free), students must take an entrance exam. In 2008, 2% of Nicaraguan high school seniors passed it. Most students who want to attend a university must pay to enroll in a private one. Oftentimes, the quality of education received here is subpar, because anyone can enter and as long as they pay, they advance.
I have seen some differences between teaching in the U.S. and Nicaragua. In Nicaragua:
•The students are in the habit of sharing information in all activities, including quizzes and test.
•Importance is put on neatness, not correctness. A straight line is never drawn without a ruler and their handwriting is usually remarkable, but oftentimes the information is faulty.
•Students rarely do more than recite and memorize. Problem solving is difficult for them.
There are also similarities among students. They usually:
• Want to be stylish.
• Smile, laugh, and have fun.
• Groan when a quiz or test is mentioned.
• Are eager to please.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
February
Every time I sit down to write a blog I think the same thing: where do I begin… so much has happened!
Let’s see, work- I recently went to the TEFL 51 Reconnect where all 18 volunteers in my group and our bosses got together on Ometepe Island to catch up. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how others are doing and ask how they handled different situations. We also received information on how to apply for grants to fund projects, and general information on our responsibilities and how to solve certain common issues. For example, I have been planning with a group of 8 teachers (4 of which are my counterparts) and had some concerns. Two of the teachers seem to be worlds more advanced in English than the others and are doing most of the work. The others seem to be riding on their coattails and to make matters worse; the sessions are now in SPANISH because not everyone can keep up in English. After talking things through with my boss, we decided that I will have to have two different planning sessions separating the two ability levels. Everyone seems to understand the reasoning for the change, except for my counterpart that is the head of the English department. We’ll see what happens.
The classes with students are going pretty well. We do have issues, like keeping students interested and keeping discipline under control. Currently, the teachers don’t even know the students’ names and tend to punish with a heavy hand. I firmly believe that everything is related. This week I’m proposing that the students make laminated nametags to wear in class that will act as the basis of a positive reinforcement program. First of all, students can be called by name and be given the attention they are seeking. Second, for every good thing they do, they receive a sticker as reinforcement. I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it was presented to us by the older TEFL group during training. I hope it works… keep your fingers crossed.
In addition, I have been getting psyched up about teaching a 3rd year writing class and a 2nd year conversation class at the university. I’ll be teaching alone, so the opportunity is there to really make the class dynamic and beneficial to the students without having to teach methodology to another teacher. The students are English majors wanting to be either teachers or translators. Even though these are two different careers with vastly different abilities, they still lump them into one class. Interesting, huh?
I’ve also been having lots of fun with my community class. There are 15 professionals between the ages of 22 and 67. They meet on my back porch twice a week for two hours in the evening. The students bought the copies I made of a good English book and one student even brought over a white board to use. Generally everyone is upbeat and it’s a pretty close group. We have now been together since January.
So that’s about it for work. Let’s see, spare time- most of my spare time is spent with my Nica boyfriend. Yep, after much discussion of expectations and motives, we decided that we do indeed like each other for all the right reasons. His name is Douglas and he was introduced to me by my site mate at a soccer game. The night that I went dancing in the blue sequined tank top and then the dog ate my glasses, I was with him (which I still blame him for). When I had no glasses for a week, he acted as my Seeing Eye dog. Now that we have been dating for over a month, we are slowly introducing each other to all our friends and acquaintances. It’s silly, but I feel butterflies every time he calls me his girlfriend.
Hmmm… what else? The house is looking pretty good. I finally bought two tables and some chairs. One table holds my stovetop, dishes, and 5 gallon tank of purified water. Most of the house is painted sky blue and chocolate brown. I’m considering having someone paint the rest. Every time I come home, painting is the last think I want to do. My porch looks good. We laid a cement floor, built a wooden table and added extra light. All of this was done so that classes would run smoother out there. Tomorrow a guy is coming to close the space between the walls and ceiling. Currently I have a bat issue… eek!
OH YEAH! I’m coming home for an 11 day visit at the end of March! Here’s a list of all the things I’m looking forward to: tackling my mom and hearing her giggle, hugging my dad and having him kiss me on the head, staying up at night to talk with my sister, BOOK CLUB, Bekah’s full body laugh, frappachinos from Panera Bread, sharing wine with Sherb, wearing a sweater, watching a movie at the theater, perusing the book store, margaritas, salmon fresh off the grill, Fajitas from Chili’s, GOOD BEER, visiting my students at school, seeing the Smokey Mountains, driving while singing to the radio, falling asleep on the couch, Cracker Barrel’s country breakfast. This is definitely just to name a few things. The list is pretty long and I’m hoping that I don’t get over there and forget to come back to Nicaragua. I’m not hoping for it, but am fully expecting a few tears to be shed on the flight to Managua.
Let’s see, work- I recently went to the TEFL 51 Reconnect where all 18 volunteers in my group and our bosses got together on Ometepe Island to catch up. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how others are doing and ask how they handled different situations. We also received information on how to apply for grants to fund projects, and general information on our responsibilities and how to solve certain common issues. For example, I have been planning with a group of 8 teachers (4 of which are my counterparts) and had some concerns. Two of the teachers seem to be worlds more advanced in English than the others and are doing most of the work. The others seem to be riding on their coattails and to make matters worse; the sessions are now in SPANISH because not everyone can keep up in English. After talking things through with my boss, we decided that I will have to have two different planning sessions separating the two ability levels. Everyone seems to understand the reasoning for the change, except for my counterpart that is the head of the English department. We’ll see what happens.
The classes with students are going pretty well. We do have issues, like keeping students interested and keeping discipline under control. Currently, the teachers don’t even know the students’ names and tend to punish with a heavy hand. I firmly believe that everything is related. This week I’m proposing that the students make laminated nametags to wear in class that will act as the basis of a positive reinforcement program. First of all, students can be called by name and be given the attention they are seeking. Second, for every good thing they do, they receive a sticker as reinforcement. I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it was presented to us by the older TEFL group during training. I hope it works… keep your fingers crossed.
In addition, I have been getting psyched up about teaching a 3rd year writing class and a 2nd year conversation class at the university. I’ll be teaching alone, so the opportunity is there to really make the class dynamic and beneficial to the students without having to teach methodology to another teacher. The students are English majors wanting to be either teachers or translators. Even though these are two different careers with vastly different abilities, they still lump them into one class. Interesting, huh?
I’ve also been having lots of fun with my community class. There are 15 professionals between the ages of 22 and 67. They meet on my back porch twice a week for two hours in the evening. The students bought the copies I made of a good English book and one student even brought over a white board to use. Generally everyone is upbeat and it’s a pretty close group. We have now been together since January.
So that’s about it for work. Let’s see, spare time- most of my spare time is spent with my Nica boyfriend. Yep, after much discussion of expectations and motives, we decided that we do indeed like each other for all the right reasons. His name is Douglas and he was introduced to me by my site mate at a soccer game. The night that I went dancing in the blue sequined tank top and then the dog ate my glasses, I was with him (which I still blame him for). When I had no glasses for a week, he acted as my Seeing Eye dog. Now that we have been dating for over a month, we are slowly introducing each other to all our friends and acquaintances. It’s silly, but I feel butterflies every time he calls me his girlfriend.
Hmmm… what else? The house is looking pretty good. I finally bought two tables and some chairs. One table holds my stovetop, dishes, and 5 gallon tank of purified water. Most of the house is painted sky blue and chocolate brown. I’m considering having someone paint the rest. Every time I come home, painting is the last think I want to do. My porch looks good. We laid a cement floor, built a wooden table and added extra light. All of this was done so that classes would run smoother out there. Tomorrow a guy is coming to close the space between the walls and ceiling. Currently I have a bat issue… eek!
OH YEAH! I’m coming home for an 11 day visit at the end of March! Here’s a list of all the things I’m looking forward to: tackling my mom and hearing her giggle, hugging my dad and having him kiss me on the head, staying up at night to talk with my sister, BOOK CLUB, Bekah’s full body laugh, frappachinos from Panera Bread, sharing wine with Sherb, wearing a sweater, watching a movie at the theater, perusing the book store, margaritas, salmon fresh off the grill, Fajitas from Chili’s, GOOD BEER, visiting my students at school, seeing the Smokey Mountains, driving while singing to the radio, falling asleep on the couch, Cracker Barrel’s country breakfast. This is definitely just to name a few things. The list is pretty long and I’m hoping that I don’t get over there and forget to come back to Nicaragua. I’m not hoping for it, but am fully expecting a few tears to be shed on the flight to Managua.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
January!
I’m writing to you from a borrowed bed in MY NEW HOUSE. Yep… just spending my first evening listening to my favorite tunes, sitting on my sole piece of furniture, and eating Ramon Noodles. Sound like your entire college experience? …so I cooked my noodles on my brand new electric stove top that had to be lifted up on a few boxes to reach the outlet. (Thanks Mom and Dad for the package, it’s already coming in use!)
I’m pretty pumped about the new place. I decided to use the bigger of the two rooms as my bedroom, where I’ll put a bookshelf and another shelf for my clothes. I’m still trying to think if I want to put in a hanging chair from the ceiling beams. Any thoughts? The smaller room will be the kitchen with a lovely 70’s model refrigerator, and in the very near future, 4 chairs and a table to eat at. The outside room will probably be used for random storage and trash. I’ll hang a hammock from two of the trees in the back yard and we’ll see what else. Originally, I thought of waiting until next month to paint, but I might bump that up. What do you say about light blue and chocolate brown? There might even be room for a World map on the outside back wall. YAY!
One down, 1 billion more; killing mosquitoes could be my profession. Did you know they can bite through clothing? I’m going to be one big mosquito bite by the end of this! The weather is changing again. In December and January we enjoyed nice breezes and cooler evenings which lowered the amount of mosquitoes. Now we can look forward to a hotter two months coming up. I can’t quite wrap my head around this considering I have been wearing tank tops the past two months.
Speaking of tank tops… I swear it was the tank top’s fault. I bought a really snazzy blue one with sequins the other day. Without it I’m sure I would have never gone out in the first place, but I
did. Nikki and I went out for dinner after the soccer game, and met some of her guy friends at the bar down the street later on. After a while, we decided to change scenes and went to one of the local night clubs. I danced, and danced, and danced (the sequins looked so pretty in the lights). We finally left pretty late and got back to the house, where I rummaged around for my pajamas and hit the sack. The next morning I woke up to a huge mess. Apparently I had forgotten to shut the door to my room and the dog entered and had a field day. SHE ATE MY GLASSES! That’s right… chewed them to pieces. I had to go on a two hour bus ride (complete with puking child next to me) to pick out some more, but they won’t be ready for another week. Meanwhile, I am blindly navigating the streets, greeting everyone in hopes of offending no one.On a brighter note, I have actually done WORK this week. Amazing I know. Thursday was the first in-service meeting, where teachers were updated on changes made to the curriculum. The following day was the first TEPCE, a thrilling meeting when the Minister of Education makes a speech by radio and then we meet within our disciplines, discussing the curriculum for the month. (I actually only attended 2 of the 6 hours because I had to get the H1N1 vaccination **Tangent story) So from the TEPCE my 4 counterparts decided to get together and plan with everyone- they want to STANDARDIZE the department! On Sunday we planned for all 5 levels, which only took us 4 hours. We discussed the importance of rules and consequences, pre-assessments, and doing activities that include multi-intelligences. I’d call it a success! Next week we’ll discuss assigned seating, grades, and our goals for the coming year. I cannot tell you how excited I am.
**So my tangent story: I went to Esteli for my H1N1 vaccine. On the way, I was standing in the aisle because the bus was full. Reading The Giver (great book), I glanced up and saw other white people boarding the bus. It was a bit surprising because generally the only other white people are Peace Corps Volunteers. Everyone was told to scoot back to allow for more passengers, which put one of the hot foreign guys right in front of me. At this moment, the bus gods smiled down upon me. The bus swerved, and I fell into the guy. I said I was sorry, but can I tell you a secret? I wasn’t… not even a little bit. He was tall, blonde with blue eyes, and (from what my lingering hands felt) very nice muscles. :) We ended up talking for the rest of the trip. I didn’t catch he name, but I like the name Luke. I’ll always remember the day I fell on Luke, the Scottish doctor traveling through Nicaragua!
Hope you guys are doing well too. Thank you to Mom, Dad, and Katie for the amazing package of Valentine’s gifts, food, and lots of things to pamper myself. Thank you to Steve and Melissa for their wonderful package filled to the brim with school supplies. I literally sat on my floor opening up everything with tears of gratitude in my eyes. Thank you Suzanne for the package of sweets, hair bands, and good smells. I used the fun dips in class as much sought after prizes. The hair bands were used immediatly. You are all incredibly generous and thoughtful. I love you.
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