One month Nicaversary!

Yes indeed.  I’ve officially living in this steam-ridden land of lakes and volcanoes for one month!  As a present, HQ is sending us on our VOLUNTEER VISIT!  Why is this so exciting?  A myriad of reason my dear followers.  First, I get to get out of Nandasmo.  Don’t get me wrong, I do love my training site.  But the lack of indoor plumbing / all around nothingness is a little repetitive.  Second, this week was hectic.  I co-planned two lessons, taught a class, observed two classes, gave two presentations, went to the police and bank twice, and attended another 20+ hours language class.  Spending 3 days following around a volunteer sounds like a cakewalk.  Third, and most important, I’m going to LEON!  Well the city is called Telica but it’s only 3km from Leon.  This means I get to hang out in a real city, see an active volcano, and GO TO THE BEACH (crossing my fingers but I obviously have my hopes up)!  Of course I will be doing homework, filling out reporting forms and co-teaching/observing so it’s not a vacation.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

We also had our second youth group meeting.  We finalized our product plan (candles or vases made in recycled glass bottles with aluminum etchings for a label).  I also facilitated a “What’s the difference between cost and price” workshop for the jovenes and gave them assignments to do before our next meeting.

GO DALLAS!

Profe Pedro

So what I gathered from my friends who are education majors, becoming a secondary education teacher is difficult.  You need to take two years of education classes, write papers, complete projects, do countless lesson plans spend a semester observing a class and finally, after more than 3 years of hard work, you can student teach.  Thus is NOT the case with the Peace Corps.  I read a notebook, observed two classes, planed a lesson with a Nica maestro (who, by the way, does NOT even teach business) and taught my first class in a total time of less than four weeks.  Boom, take that edu majors.  May I remind you, in the ol USA my educational background does not even qualify me to teach phys ed (I took Schools and Schooling in American Society in college and decided that business major have way more fun).  Today, I co-taught my first class (withOUT the help of a Nica profe)!  It was just a fellow trainee, Kate, me, and 55 lucky Nicas who had NEVER taken a business class in their lives.  In an hour and a half, we covered what entrepreneurship is, what the characteristics of entrepreneurs are, who the entrepreneurs in Nandasmo are, and topped it off with a little bit of what leadership is.  I wish there was a more professional way to say this, but we rocked that perra.  The estudiantes laughed at my jokes while we played hangman and participated when we discussed the importance of resources and opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs.  Did I mention that the whole class was conducted in Spanish?  Nica, you may have gotten me ill and stolen my wallet but dammit, I enjoy teaching.

Of course there’s never success without some setbacks.  Our youth group meeting today totally flopped.  We’re meeting again in two days to finalize our product or scrap it and go with something else.  On the bright side, one of our youths made all of us hand painted yo-yos!  Tomorrow we’re giving a charla to our fellow trainees about market studies, wish us luck!

Hipica

Sunday was the fiesta patronal of Masatepe, the city of 15,000 next door to our sleepy pueblo.  Hipica is another one of Nica things that’s hard to explain because it just doesn’t happen in the good old US of A.  So let me set the scene for you.  Picture Mardi Gras (tens of thousands of people drinking in the streets) but remove the organized parade floats.  Now insert hundreds of random people riding horses down the main street dressed in everything from wife-beaters to flamenco dresses.  Welcome to Hipica.  It was AWESOME.  Entire communities getting together outside having unadulterated fun should happen more often.

Of course what was not mentioned was that people come from far and wide to attend the Hipica.  Unfortunately that includes the seasoned veteran pickpockets of Managua.  Enter poor judgment Pedro.  Yes, after successfully navigating my way through multiple countries, at ungodly hours and not speaking local languages, I was finally robbed.  No, I did not lose my life savings.  Really, I just feel like an idiot.  Very atypical of me, I brought my wallet with me because I needed to use the bank (Nandasmo is so small we don’t have a bank).  Don’t fear, my USA debit card, credit card, passport, Peace Corps ID and USD spending money are safely hidden in my room back home with the host family.  The scene: at several points during the parade, the inebriated horse riders would get too close to the crowd which would cause a mosh-pit to avoid being trampled.  By the time I caught my balance, my wallet had walked off.  So congratulations, thief, I hope you enjoy the laminated copy of my highschool diploma, expired CPR card and Old Chicago World Beer Tour pass.  I guess he’ll be happy with 200 cords ($8) and my “just-in-case money” of $28 USD.  Unfortunately, I had to have my US driver’s license and Nica debit card to withdrawal money which are now also in the slick hands of the ladron.  I successfully canceled the Nica debit card so that crisis is averted, sucker.  So the point of this story is that I’m looking for a chauffeur when I come home to visit.  Any takers?

25% through training!

Check it, followers.  I have successfully survived 3 weeks in Nandasmo.  Word up.  Updates from this week:

Aggies: is the term that we use to refer to our fellow beloved (and all around inferior) agriculture trainees.  After apparently too much bragging about the excitement of financial statements, us business folk were invited to spend a day with the aggies.  All 42 of us met up in the campo to cook or make products.  I (successfully I should add) made organic cough syrup, antifungal soap, grinded up a plant named marango (look it up, it may be the healthiest thing ever) and bean fudge (surprisingly delicious).  Other concoctions were grinding and making chocolate, corn porridge and a fermented tropical fruit wine.  It was a great time.  Almost as much fun as it will be to torture the aggies with the intricacies of statements of cash flows.

Youths: so our youth group finally decided on business for the business plan competition.  The simplest way to describe it is remember back to elementary school?  Did you ever do an art project where you got a sheet of aluminum and you made a raised design on it by pressing on one side?  Well that’s pretty much it except they actually have talent unlike my uncoordinated 8 year old self.  Besides just trying to sell it as artwork, we are going to use it for labels on products looking to differentiate.  It’s a really creative idea which is important if we’re going to win.  The problem is, it’s not taking advantage of the natural resources of Nandasmo and it’s particularly sustainable.  So what we will probably do is make mango candles (there are so many mangos in our town people give them away by the bushel) and put the candle in a used cut off 2 liter plastic coke bottle and affix our label.  I’ll keep you posted!

Awkwardness: well it finally happened.  I’m actually surprised it took this long.  If you’re a regular reader of my (mis)adventures, you’ll know that we don’t always have running water.  Sporadically, they turn it off for hours at a time.  So yesterday I took the gamble and showered in the late afternoon.  I got wet, turned off the shower to lather up and turned on the water to rinse and nada.  No more agua para Pedro.  So after a strange conversation with my host family, they were nice enough to bring me their reserve water so I didn’t have to spend the rest of my day with shampoo.

That’s it for this week.  Thanks for all the kind words and support that has gotten me this far.  Many more adventures to come!

-Pedro the Explorer

Contact Info Part II

So the Peace Corps has finally caught up to 20th century technology and got me a cellphone!  Why, you may ask, do you avid followers care?  Because you send me text messages anytime you want for free!  It’s pretty simple:

• Go to the website http://www.claro.com.ni/Movil.aspx  (Yes, it is in Spanish, don’t be scared) 
• On the right side of the page should be a box with the following information: Nombre, Numero, Mensaje. 
• Write your name in Nombre 
• My Nica cellphone number is 8701-8522 (check your carrier for rates for calling!) 
• Write me a SMS message (less than 160 characters please!) 
• Enter the security check and click Enviar!

I should probably add that this phone number is property of the United States government.  Therefore, I’m sure if they wanted to read my texts, they could.  You’ve been warned…Happy texting!