Last week

I have returned, triumphant but without photographic evidence (apologies – I didn’t have space in my bag for a camera), from my practicum week in Estelí. While I won’t bore you with the majority of the mundane details of the trip, I will say that after this week I have a slightly better sense of what life can be like as a volunteer. I learned:

• The hills of Estelí are beautiful even in the dry season, so I can only imagine what the landscape will look like when it begins to rain again.
• If you would like a fantastic pair of boots; fresh, fruit-filled yogurt; or delicious rosquitas (think windmill cookies, and you’ve come close to the taste), Estelí is the place to be.
• We take for granted the basic education we usually receive in the United States regarding nutrition, hygiene, and health. What we consider to be “common knowledge” really isn’t – not that we always put it to good use even if we possess it.
• Relationships are key. Want to have success in your service? Take all the time you need to first build trust, respect, and friendship with your colleagues as well as with the people you serve. Without these relationships, you are destined to fail.
• Flexibility is also key. Because things can and will change. Have a plan A. And a plan B. Maybe a plan C too. Also, understand that sometimes all the planning in the world will not save a situation. You will not be successful in everything you do, and you need to be able to accept that. Along the same lines, make sure to celebrate the small successes.
• Like fine wines, charlas get better with time (and practice).
• Unlike fine wines, latrines do not get better with time.
• Children love piñatas. However, when children mix with piñatas, it can end in injury. Always have excess candy to throw around the edges to avoid the otherwise inevitable trampling of the youngest and weakest of the herd.
• Billiards tournaments can be an excellent way to impart information on sensitive topics (such as HIV/AIDS) to an audience that would normally want nothing to do with you (such as a group of semi-drunk men).
• For all intents and purposes, there are only three songs in Nicaragua right now that do not feature Pitbull, LMFAO, or a washed-out American artist from the 1980s. These three songs are fantastic, but after the fifth repetition of the day they can start to be a bit tedious. For your entertainment, feel free to investigate them: Una Vaina Loca – Fuego; Lovumba (Solo SomosTu Y Yo) – Daddy Yankee; Ai Se Eu Te Pego - Michel Telo.

• I find clowns to be creepy, no matter what country they are from or what language they are speaking. Do not feed the clowns on busses. They will come back for more, and no one wants that.
• Service in the Peace Corps is what you make of it.

This weekend was equally exciting, with a site fair in Masaya and an unexpected trip to Granada. Masaya is a pretty, medium-sized city and a hot spot for artisanal fare from around the country. In the future I will need to return, as the main purpose of my visit was to learn more about the locations and work opportunities in my future site (wherever that may be).

My host family went to celebrate the first birthday of an extended family member, and they were kind enough to take me along. Granada is also beautiful, with a completely different atmosphere. While Masaya has tourists, Granada IS tourists. The center of the city is full of elegant hotels, grandiose churches, and public buildings in the Spanish colonial style. A short ride in a taxi or horse drawn carriage can take you to the beach, where you can stay until it grows dark…at which point you can walk across the street to one of the numerous clubs to dance until dawn. The trip was enough to get a taste of the city, but just like Masaya, I would love to return.

Now it’s back to the usual days filled with classes and technical sessions, but there is a greater sense of urgency now that we only have a few weeks left before our swearing in at the Embassy. It’s time to kick it into high gear, so that we might learn a few extra words that might help us survive once we are thrown from the safety of our training towns into the big, scary world of volunteerhood.

Nica phrase of the week: Así es la vida – That’s life. A good phrase to have on hand to make yourself feel better when things don’t go as planned… J