Only 1 more month of training!

If you can’t tell, training has gotten me a little stir crazy.  A month from today, I’ll be in Managua swearing to protect the United States of America from all enemies foreign and domestic (or at least that’s how it’ll happen in my head).

But the real news.  I found out my site so drumroll please.  I will be spending the next two years of my life in…

PALACAGÜINA!  What does that mean?  I’m not quite sure.  This is when you, my useful followers, come in handy.  If you have spare time please investigate and report back with Palacagüina is the greatest place ever (or lie to me because I’m spending the next 2 years of my life there regardless).  On Monday, I’m going to meet the Nica teachers that I’ll be working with and then going to Palacagüina for a couple days.  Hopefully then I’ll have more information to report on my work.

Right now the fiestas patronles are going one here in Nandasmo and do I ever have stories to tell.  But that’s for next post!

Hasta pronto,

Pedro

Futbol

For the followers who don’t know me quite as personally as others (yes that includes you, stalkers) I kinda like futbol.  Perhaps the more accurate description is that I nearly worship futbol.  I could begin the argument of why it’s God’s greatest gift to the sporting world but I’d rather just give examples that prove my point.

A couple nights ago was the Gold Cup final between Mexico and USA.  After watching an hour and a half of pregame coverage, a couple moments before kickoff ESPN Dos decided to show a rerun of Sport Center Boxing and NOT show the futbol match.  What actually happened was that the game was being broadcasted over antenna and not on cable.  Of course I did not understand this and strung every vulgar Spanish word I knew into a nonsensical sentence (which my family found extremely funny).  In my fit of rage, I stormed out of the house with the intention to flag down a moto and go anywhere that would have the game.  I walked two blocks and heard the distinct lightning fast excited commentary which can only be from a futbol match.  So what did I do?  I walked into the house of a complete stranger.  While this may be highly unacceptable in the States, this Nica family could not have been happier.  They pulled me up a rocking chair and DEMANDED that I stay and watch the game with them.

A while back I posted that I bought a nice futbol for the steep price of $5.33.  I decided to put it to good use and jogged over to the local pitch.  After being stared and judged on why on earth this gringo is here, some of the younger kids asked if I knew how to play (I do have to say I was a little insulted, hah).  Even though there was an organized game going on, we found a little patch of grass and played for a good hour.

Last example, Sunday was the big third division Nandasmo vs Managua match.  This was a HUGE deal because if my tiny town of 4,000 could beat the big capital city they would be promoted to the second division.  Half of our entire town attended and I certainly wasn’t miss it.  I ran into a guy I met twice before, Jader, and we ended up hanging out for the whole game.  Quick synopsis, we were winning at half time but then Managua leveled after the break.  With 5 minutes left, we scored an AMAZING backwards header but it was disallowed by a bad call.  The crowd erupted into near riot which was scary but I did learn some valuable new vocabulary.  With the final seconds ticking away, we put a last ditch effort cross into the box and Managua handled it.  BOOM PENALTY!  So with zero time left, one of our guys stepped up to the penalty spot and SCORED!  Everyone rushed the field and was cheering, whistling and clapping.  It was an unbelievable experience.

So in short, futbol is more than a game.  It’s a culture which is one that enjoy all aspects of.

SITE WEEK!

This week (WENESDAY!) we find out where we’ll be spending the next two years stomping out stupidity in the Nica public school system.  To keep myself from getting too excited about the prospects, here’s what I’ve been up to.

Getting healthier?  My last post talked about the constant bickering between my stomach and the food I put in it.  All tests came back negative which is good, but explains nothing.  So I’m going on this digestion medication in hopes of forcing my GI to play nice with the rest of me.  Upside, between my trips to the latrine, I got to do a lot of reading.  As my close followers would know, this is not a small feat.  Generally I only read when I have free time, am bored, already blogged, cleaned my room, and elected for an unnecessary root cannel sans novocain.  The book I read is entitled Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.  Couldn’t put it down, I read it in less than three days.  I always wondered whether the billions of dollars of foreign aid for economic development actually reach the people who need it.  It is a must read if you’ve ever had questions or been frustrated about US foreign policy and the role we play in the world.  Shameless plug over.

Hiking active volcanoes and schmoozing a millionaire.  Saturday we “hiked” (it’s in quotes because a bus took us practically to the top) Volcan Masaya.  We got to look into the expansive creator spewing massive clouds of sulfur gas.  Very cool.  On our walk back we ran into a Nica who asked us where we were from (yes 20 gringos stick out sorely).  He stuck out too due to the Abercrombie he was wearing and the Mercedes SUV he was driving.  We started talking and found out that he is a BIGTIME international lawyer born in Nica.  And by BIGTIME I mean he owns FIVE houses (four in Nica and one in a ritzy suburb of Los Angeles I’d never heard of) and is currently the head of a class action lawsuit against Dole and Shell for ONE BILLION USD.  Someone please google Walter Gutierrez and make sure he wasn’t playing us.  Either way, we stopped by his mansion and he said he was willing to let us stay on any of his properties for free and is interested in helping in any way he can.  Baller.

Another shout out.  Thanks to Michelle for mailing me an AWESOME package.  Beyond generous of you.  Or maybe the rest of you readers are stingy.  Just remember, I’m probably coming home for xmas and will be bringing expensive rum, cigars, and handmade crafts…

Si Dios quiere,

Pedro

Week 6

This week I had my site interview with my peace corps bosses.  Last week, we found out the 20 available sites where us future volunteers could potentially live for the next 2 years.  There’s some great sites like big cities (Matagalpa, Esteli, Rivas, Diriamba etc) and some places that get me a little scared like RAAS (waaaaaay out east) and a couple towns of less than 2000 people.  I’ll find out my site on the 28^th, SO EXCITED!  Of course to build the already palpable excitement we are creating brackets to try to guess where everyone is going.  This has gotten so intense that people are now keeping their picks secret or giving false information to try to screw up other’s brackets so I literally have NO idea where everyone (including me) will end up.

Today my papa was laughing and I asked him what’s up?  He said that my sister, Alondra, told him for reasons unknown to me, “Papa, ahora Pedro no me da pena” aka she’s finally not scared of me.  Community integration, check!

My trainee group and awesome language teacher, Gloria, spent an afternoon wandering around Jinotepe a bigger city 50 minutes away.  Highlight of the excursion was eating a late lunch at, of all places, Terry’s diner.  Yes, we threw adapting to local cultural out window for cheeseburgers, omelets and ham sandwiches.  It was some of the best food I’ve eaten in weeks.  Of course we had to meet the owner, shockingly enough named Terry.  Great guy.  He even offered us free internet and calls to the States if we come back so you can bet my gallo pinto that I’ll become a regular.  As the tradition continues, after eating food that was not prepared by my dependable mama, I got sick.  It’s nothing awful but annoying enough that tomorrow I’m going to the lab to get checked out.  I’ve lost some weight which is strange because I’m eating a disturbing quality of food.  How disturbing?  Our family of 5 (which includes a 10 and 3 year old and a father that doesn’t eat lunch at home) is going through approximately 50 pounds of rice a month.  So a rough estimate is that I’m eating 15-20lbs/month or 4-5lbs/week or OVER .5 POUND of RICE EVERY DAY.  Add to that the staples of bread and beans and it equals what should be an overweight Pedro.  Granted I am sweating whatever the metric equivalent of a gallon is per day plus walking and jogging so maybe I’m overthinking my current state.  Whatever, I’ll keep you posted!

Tomorrow our youth group and we are going around our community conducting a market study about our product.  If you’re looking for an artsy new vase/candle holder made from recycled glass affixed with art, let me know!

Adio(s)! (nicas don’t pronounce the ‘s’ at the end of words and yes it’s very confusing)

-Pedro

Half way done with training!

Sunday, four of us hiked down to the Lagoona de Apollo which means Lagoon of Support.  It is important to note that it is NOT the Lagoon of Chicken (Pollo) as I had previously thought and inquired about numerous times (which in retrospect does explain the strange looks I received).  Anyway it was great.  After the tedious hour long hike down we swam in the crater of what used to be a volcano and snacked on mangos thanks to a kind stranger.  We also ran into some other gringos which was strange because it’s not a popular tourist destination.  But I finally got to have the conversation I’ve been waiting for.   The surfer chicks said they’re from The States and asked where we lived.  We shrugged and said nonchalantly, “Well, we live here”.  Like it’s no big deal.  Boom, you got Peace Corps-ed!  Here’s a couple fotos.

Caballo eating while we swim

Artsy at the beach

Yeah I could get used this...

As my more regular followers know, I’m taking this pretty potent malaria suppression medication.  Besides ensuring that mosquitos aren’t destroying my red blood cells, the meds come with some unfortunate side effects.  Apparently, besides suppression malaria, it also makes me photo-sensitive.  This does not mean that the medication helps me take excellent fotos (they are pretty good though aren’t they?) but rather a propensity to get sun burnt.  When Hitler was trying to get everyone on the pro-Arian bandwagon he neglected to consider how we fair skinned persons would fare near the equator.  Answer: not well.  In fact, KFC would classify me as “extra crispy”.  Now don’t judge and think that I didn’t use sunscreen.  I was applying and reapplying SPF 50 like it was going out of style.  The issue is that this country is SO hot and humid that with the amount of sweat a body produces, one is never dry enough to make sunblock effective.  I think I may have to investigate into FPS “Wool Sweater” because upon seeing me return from the lagoon my host family burst out laughing.

This week I’m teaching my second class at the local highschool.  The topic is creativity which should be interesting.  I’m also having an interview about my future site placement and another one assessing my language ability.  Gonna be busy as always!

In other news, my blog has had over 1050 page views (and no you snarky reader, it doesn’t include my visits).  Thanks for inflating my ego and making me feel important!  Feel free to post comments/questions and I’ll get back to you!

Que les vayan bien,

-Pedro

The Nica life

Two great landmarks of my life in Nica have finally occurred!

Uno: I had a dream in Spanish!  I don’t remember too much about it.  I blame the malaria meds because one of the side effects are “vivid dreams and in rare cases, night terrors”.  I can remember that I was at the New Market in Masaya and I was helping my youth group sell their product.  I rattled off two solid sentences to a customer and then I came to a word or phrase that I didn’t know how to say and POOF, awake.  I hope that’s not a bad sign to come…

Dos: Background.  My training town, Nandasmo, is suffering from the inconvenience of having the water shut off around 5pm (It used to be 6pm but is now creeping ever forward).  It usually stops being beastly-sauna-7^th-circle-of-hell hot around 5pm so I like to shower at that time in hopes of later retiring to mi dormitorio without sweating.  How do you get around this obstacle you may ask dear readers?  Bucket showers?  Yes, but my lack of coordination usually leaves me feeling soapy afterwards which is the ONLY worse feeling than sweaty.  Any other ideas, followers?  Yup.  I SHOWERED IN THE RAIN!  It was epic.  Picture Andy at the end of Shawshank Redeption (for those of you who haven’t seen it, shame on you…) showering in the river beneath a thunderstorm.  That was exactly what it looked like.  I know I described in an earlier post how hard it rains here but I have another anecdote.  The rain was pouring down SO hard on my ZINC roof that I had to put in my earplugs.  Yes, after years of over-using Ipod in-ear headphones, rock concerts and bumping parties at the fraternity house, I acted like 77 year old and put my beloved professional grade 3M ear plugs to escape the deafening downpour.  I seriously think there’d be less noise waving green light for takeoff while standing next to a F-16.  For those of you who’d like to experience this at home here’s a science project for you:

1.      Open a tin/aluminum can

2.      Discard contents

3.      Dump $.99 of spare change inside

4.      Close can

5.      Hold next to ear

6.      Shake violently and incessantly until your arm gives out

Not only does it shed light on living in the rainforest but is good exercise!

Va pues,

-Pedro