Hello all!
since writing last, I´ve managed to visit granada, and swim in a volcanoe crater, eat a ton of fresh mangos and avocados, and sweat about a gallon a day. We're currently in the hottest part of the year, and my site happens to be in the hottest part of the country, and temperatures are abnormally high, and there is a nation wide warning out. Being a Mainer its been an adjustment to say the least. (funny to say I actually miss the rain, snow, sleet, mud and wind)
I've been in site for two days now. I would post photos, but it looks like the electronic-technical gods have bathed me in their wrath as of late. My laptop is, as far as I can tell, completely dead, and my camera is refusing to load photos.
I´ve spent the last two days traveling to surrounding communities on the annual vaccination campaign. I've been administering vitamin A and de-parasite pills. all the children cry and scream, a side effect of the drops and pills tasting attrocious.
No matter how many kids I see get sticked in the butt, I still cringe a little.
Its heart breaking, on day one, I had to hold back from crying upon the arrival of each kid that came in. Here they have an 80 percent rate of maluntrition in kids under the age of 5. The diet is very limited, and access to a variety of vegitables is limited. A normal meal consists of rice, tortilla, beans, and queso. Food is normally fried, with either a ton of salt, or sugar. The kids who come in, have the classic tell tale signs of grave malnutrition, yellow crispy hair,moon face, big tummys, and emaciated limbs. Many have plenty of energy, and desire to play, investigate, and just be all around a normal kid (like any child of course). Its just tough to see so many children suffering from a perfectly preventable illness.
anywho thats been depressing enough for now.
My site is great. I have two swimming pools, three ice-cream shops, two cybers, and lots of little pulperias. Chinandega the second largest city in nicaragua is only two hours away by bus, and one by ambulance (if i can manage to hitch a ride). There I have access to banking, and plenty of grocery stores, as well as cheap clothing, and access to busses going all over the country. I have friends serving in and around chinandega, and if it comes down to it, I have plenty of opticions when it comes to being around other americans. In a couple weeks in Corinto, about 10 min west of chinandega, there will be a seafood festival. I'm already planning on splurging.
all in all, so far so good.
the previous volunteer has left me with a bed, a water dispenser, cooking supplies, wash basin and random soaps, tupperware, and a fridge. All in all, I am suffieciently set up to find my own place, minus a mattress and a stove. I´m thinking that I will prefer to live with a family, as it will help me improve my spanish, provide company and security.
In regards to my spanish I failed to meet the compentency levels by one step. I made it to intermediate low, rather than intermediate medium.I can understand most of what is said to me, and for the most part convey what I need to say. I like to say I regurgitate words and hope that they fall together in the appropriate tense, and conjugation. Oh well for 6 years of spanish class. I´ve been told that the number of years of class is in no way an indicator of spanish compentency. Those that are more advanced have all lived-studied abroad in a spanish speaking country. I opted not to study in a spanish speaking country, but am glad I did study where I did. I still have two years to improve my spanish.
What else to report. I´m staying with a family for the manditory six weeks, before I can move into my own place. I live with a school teacher, her grandson, and her grandfather. we have a latrine, and water sporatically. (speaking of which i should go do my laundry while we have water). They are wonderfully kind and patient (I have a hard time understanding the grandfather, as well as the grandson).
for the swearing in ceremony, which we had at a swanky hotel (although we didnt spend the night there, understandably)was full of pomp and circumstance. But fun pomp and circumstance. The minister of health was there, Our ambassador had lots of inspiring words for us. there was decent food and drink. All of us could bring two members of our host family, my host mother and her son in law came. It was hard to say goodbye to them. They are wonderful people who really opened their homes and hearts to me (yes that sounds soooo cliche). They´ve had 10 different trainees stay with them, and they seem to treat each with the same level of enthusiasm and passion. The event was exciting, but bittersweat saying good bye to everyone we´ve spent the last three months with, but its exciting to finally start the work we signed up to do.
Oh, and I´ve added some pictures from swearing in, one with my host fam, another with my language instructors.
Well ta ta for now!
Hazel
No comments:
Post a Comment