So incase anyone was worrying, The over throwing of the Honduran government isn´t effecting us here. I just recieved a few e-mails from people, so I want to make sure you all know, everything here is fine! It seems that the problems in honduras stem from the president wanting to change the constitution, and hold new elections. I´m not sure of the details and what not, but heres an article on the BBC about it if you all are interested. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8123126.stm

I took a few pictures at the preschool where I did a teeth brushing lesson last week, and here they are!

So I´m starting to be comfortable with my spanish and am thinking more about working on specific projects. Its hard though, because at the moment all my counterparts are pre-occupied with the H1N1 pig-flu so they don´t have time to work with me on new projects at the moment. These are some ideas
1. ´pregnant club´(sounds better in spanish) to work with pregnant adolscents about their reproductive rights, how the body works, nutrition pre,during, and post natal, and about family planning
2. have a mini soccer leauge with the youth health promotors of teams of6-8 people, since the soccer playing area in the park is small, teams are small
3.start a women´s fitness group (I´m way out of shape, and there seems to be interest)
4.work on reproductive health in the schools.
5. we actually have a school for children with ´different abilities´as they put it here, so I could do something with them maybe, as well as do a workshop with the teachers of the public schools about learning disabilities etc.
5. I´d like to do some family building stuff too, like once every two months, have an activity where families can come in, and work on a project togther aka trust building , empathy, respect. I don´t know how well that´ll work in the culture here, since they days are so busy for everyone, and the time is very divided between the genders. (remeber machisimoism?)

Well I really have to narrow it down to 2, or 3 projects, and work hard on them, and get it right, rather than have a lot of small projects half-assed. We´ll see what happens.

It looks like I may be picking up an online psychology course for July and August. One of my counter parts seems excited about this, but I had to make sure he knows that just beacuse I´ve taken classes in the field, I am not a lisenced clincian, and therefore will not be givig out mental health advice.

I´ll be completing my first three months here in site middle of next month. I feel I have basic understanding of the community, and will be able to start working on more effective, and interesting projects.

Wish me luck!
Hazel

Teaching in schools, and other thoughts.

Hello all!

So I´ve started working in the schools this month. Last week I gave a class to the second graders about oral hygine. I didn´t know this, but I guess whenever an outside person comes into the class, doesnt matter if your nicaraguan or not, they give the kids food. I didn´t know this, nor do I have the money to do so, so I didnt give any to them. I´ll have to go back and appolagize, I was wondering why they all looked so dissapointed when I left.

Well I´ve discovered how fun little kids can be for 30 mins.anything I do is completely hilarious (I can be funny!) and the teachers thus far have been really supportive. this morning I taught in the third section of the second grade, and they kids were really involved (although a bit rowdy, discipline is different here), but were engaged, and taking notes, and copying my pictures (which are actually quite clever if i do say so)...

So yesterday I went to one of the outlying communities with a Doctora, a nurse, and a community health worker to visit with a new mother and her 5 day old child, to register him with the government, and examine the mother and child. The little boy ended up being extremely yellow, eyes and all. So the doctors told the mother that she needed to go to the health center for a more throurough examination. She refused. the nurses instisted, but she still refused. We could have given her a ride, and there was potential free overnight housing, but yet she still woundn´t come. I can understand that is scary, and inconvient to leave your home, and go to somewhere new and far away, but really this is your kids life here! I wanted to yell at her and say, yes its inconvient, but so is having a dead, or chronically ill child. But its not my place to say anything I feel. I come from a completely different experience, different culture, and language.

So I work also with youth promotors, but we´re in a motivational slump. Anyone know how to motivate a group of 20 highschoolers?

Hazel

ok these are photos of one of the health posts in one of the outlying communities. In the main town, where I live, we have the health center. It has a small emergency room, a dentist´s office, a room for labor and delivery etc etc. Work is going well, my spanish is still improving. Well I dont really have much to say for now. In the near future I´ll sit down and write a real post.

Little mini adventure

So I got stir crazy after a month in site, and decided to go up San Cristobal with some other volunteers. This is the tallest volcano in the country, and it proved to be the most challenging thing I´ve ever tried to climb. The bottom of the climb was standard, beautiful jungle. As we climbed, it got steaper, of course. But at the top, it was at least a 45 degree angle scramble over gravel, and pebbles. So for every step forward, you´d slide backwards half a pace. It was hard, but I enjoyed it, although I don´t think the others in the group did. We ended up getting poured on. Which had me worried about landslides (although there was no way that the mountain was going to become sufficiently wet). A couple of the girls on the trip had little to no experience hiking, let alone up something as hard as the volcano. But I enjoyed getting outside. The temperature there was much cooler than where I normally am, so I enjoyed the break from the heat.The views before the clouds rolled in were amazing, we could see all the way to the ocean. I´ve added some pictures for you all to check out.




The first one somewhat shows how steap it was (and it was more steap than this at the top).

I´ve added some photos from swearing in, if you all want to look back to them. It was a post in April.

Hazel

This is picture of the patio of one of the nurses I work with. she has every type of fruit in her back yard, and a very grumpy dog.

(spell check is down again, I didn´t major in english, alright?!)

The rain has started. The world has become vibrantly green. The contrast between the dry landscape, and the somewhat more watered, makes me realize how much I took green forgranted. Things here are well. I´m starting to feel more settled. My first thought in the morning is no longer ¨ oh right, I´m in Nicaragua.¨ I´ve been trying to read more in spanish, and am currently picking at a forraged spanish version of Harry Potter.
Work is comming along. I had my first youth group meeting today with the aid my counter parts. I really have been fourtunate with my placement. There are many oportunitie for a variety of work, my counterparts are really energetic to work, are organized, and extremely pacient with me. The previous volunteer left me with a strong foundation to build upon, though Í´ve some big shoes to fill.
Not a whole lot new to report. Gallo Pinto (beans and rice) isn´t the bane of my existance anymore, its rather tolerable with a enough chilli. I introduced popcorn to my family, and we discovered that putting chilli sauce in the oil before popping it is quite tasty.(you should try it. I wonder if you can use other oil soluble flavorings as well...?)
I´m slowly making friends in the community, and becoming known around town. One of the side effects of this, is that some of the men have realized that I´m not leaving anytime soon, and have become comfortable enough with my presence, to be a little more aggressive with their cat calling etc etc. Right now my tactic is to ignore it, but I´ve been warned that somedays I´ll rub you the wrong way, but not to dwell on it. Its just a cultural difference. Many women from this part of the world move to the states, and comment that ¨am I ugly or something here? the men don´t say anything to me!¨

I was on a home visit the other day with one of the doctoras. The house we visited strickingly resembled one of the many (or at least one of the more durable) forts I built in the woods, or in the back yard with my brothers, and other friends growing up. How is it that some else´s life-reality can mearly be a child´s game elsewhere?
I know thats over simplified, but sometimes thinking in terms of generalizations can make big ideas and topics easier to swallow. Although it can be dangerous. Today I found myself frustraited about something and thinking ´why are nicaraguans like...? How terrible of me! One interaction, or even repeated experiences are not necessarily an indicator of culture.
I´ve hit the one month point of my service. In retrospect its gone by fast, I´ve been in country almost 5 months now, (23 to go).

Well a thunderstorm is rolling in, so I´m off the computer.

Till next time...!