Hello again! Here I am with a baby raccoon for sale (along with apples) on the side of the road on the main bustling market street of Chinandega. Unfortunately I couldn't take this little critter home with me because 1) I'm pretty sure I couldn't take him back to the states no matter how many rabies vaccines 2) I didn't have the dollar fifty on me to buy him.
Anyway, I've been sick for about 2 months now. I had been feeling great for the better part of 6 months (no parasites, bacterial infections, food poisoning, unusual rashes or fungi, etc) but I suppose it had to come to an end sometime. It could be the climate change (freaking hot to freaking hotter) but I've had at least 3 full blown respiratory infections recently (we're talking starts in your throat, moves to your sinuses, and ends in your lungs). And then about 3 weeks ago I got this mysterious bug bite while I was in the shower. It was on my butt of course, the best place for a mysterious bug bite that you have to show everyone so they can try to figure out what kind of bug it was. I went to the public health center and dropped trou at least 7 times. PIC: First aid cart at the health center. Notice betadine and rubbing alcohol in Powerade bottles.
Anyway, the thing gets infected so badly that I could hardly sit or lie down, so they gave me an oral antibiotic, which I promptly had an allergic reaction to. I had welts all over my thighs and back. So then I started rounds of benadryll and prednazone, which is a steroid. All I wanted to do was go to the gym and eat like 6 times a day. Unfortunately, the more I sweat the worse the rash got, so I just ate like 6 times a day. Oops. Long story short, I guess my defenses were already down when I tried to eat a cashew fruit for the first time a few days later (fyi I only licked it before I realized there would be extremely undesirable consequences if I were to ingest the thing completely) and my tongue fell asleep for 2.5 hours and the top layer of skin peeled off my lips over the course of a week. I vowed not to try anything new ever again. Maybe it was just "after shock" of the cashew fruit, but a week after the exposure I broke out into the worst hives of my entire life. And believe me, I know hives. I was allergic to "Runts" candy as a kid. Especially the banana flavored ones. I outgrew it, thank goodness. OK, back on track. So I have hives and weather.com says Chinandega is at 99 degrees "feels like 109". I get on the bus to Managua to have the PC doctors check me out. I suspected the doctors at the public health center were tired of seeing my ass every other day (literally) and they probably would have just told me to put lime juice and salt on it (in Nica that seems to cure everything from minor scrapes to diabetes). I was quarantined in an air-conditioned hotel room for 2 days with a friend from a neighboring department who had dengue for the second time during her service, which prompted me to count my blessings. A week later, I'm still a little blotchy, still on Prednazone and Allegra, but the desire to skin myself has decreased slightly. PIC: My tattoo is swatting away the hives.

Moving right along, last Saturday I went to a quinceanos (Latino version of a Sweet 16 birthday party). It was only my second quinceanos in almost 2 years, and very fancy. They slaughtered a cow for the occasion. And I'm telling you, the girls were dressed to the nines. I kind of felt like a bum...I mean I know I looked fine but almost all of these chicks looked like they came straight out of a music video with their stilettos and trendy tube dresses. I don't know what it is about Nicaraguan girls but they must have a genetic immunity to frizzy hair. I haven't even bothered trying to straighten mine lately because it turns into insta-mop before I even walk outside, but they were dancing around and everything and still looked like exotic little Farah Fawcetts! I wish I had pictures, but unfortunately I thought it might look a little weird if I were 1) the only white person, 2) the only person who didn't know a soul besides her date, and 3) the only person frantically taking pictures.

In other news, about 3 and a half months left of Nicaragua. Sometimes I can't wait to go home, other times I feel tears coming on just thinking about leaving. Is it possible to miss a place before you've even left? As annoyed as I am daily by little inconveniences and cultural discrepancies, will my life ever be this carefree again? Work is relatively stress free, for the most part strangers treat me like a princess, the food is cheap and delicious, my aerobics/ethnic dance class costs less than 50 cents a pop and I'm addicted, and I'm finally making good, solid friendships. But on July 16 give or take a week, the proverbial Peace Corps plug will be pulled. More thoughts to come.
For now, random pictures:
1: Jimmy, a student student from my community English class, fetching me a coconut to drink.
2: Prehistoric treadmill at Woman Gym, my muchachas-only gym in Chinandega.
3: Iguanita. Tried to keep it as pet but it got away and I think it's raising a family in my ceiling. I guess I did keep it, in a way.
4: Flor de Abispa at my school (not sure if that's spelled right)... is that Hibiscus in English?

Napoleon "The Rubber"

Well, I just had my first sports-related injury since my peak as a tennis player at age 14 when my tennis coach made me clean my knee-skin off the court. I've been going to the gym ("WOMANGYM", it's called) to step aerobics class 5 days in a row for 3 weeks now, so when I got to the beach this Friday to help chaperone Amanda's youth group field trip my calves were a little tight. Don't get me wrong - I'm not doing much heavy lifting or traditional training. Most of my calories get burned dancing around with 3 lb hand weights to the beat of some Ace of Base or Celine Dion techno remix. Anywho, that particular Friday we'd finished up the class with a little ethnic dancing (Palo de Mayo) as a treat to congratulate ourselves on a full week of attendance. Fast forward about an hour and a half and I'm at the beach kicking around a soccer ball with 12 year olds. I didn't think I needed to stretch because I figured I was loose enough after all that booty shaking to tie my legs in a knot around my neck backwards. WRONG. Maybe it had something to do with being barefoot in the sand but I started to run towards the ball and heard a "POP"! Ouch.
The 12 year old who usually sells me fried fish and plantains at the cabana bar was nice enough to lend me a chunk of ice out of her fish cooler to put on my leg to slow the swelling. About an hour later, coconut in hand, I hobbled across the road to wait for the next pimped-out school bus to take me back to civilization. Now, a gringa with a gimp leg is apparently quite a sight to see. I kept having to answer questions about what had happened. The Nicas on the bus were quite generous with advice and suggestions for home remedies. The most recurring piece of advice that I got was: "tienes que ir a que te la soben". Which is essentially: "you have to go find someone to rub it". As a matter of fact, I learned that "leg-rubber" is quite a popular trade for Nicaraguan men, especially over the age of 60. Go figure.
So I ended up at the bus driver's dad's house because apparently he is a renowned "rubber" in Chinandega. We knew he lived near the Rosario Cathedral and that his name was Napoleon. Napoleon "el Sobador" to be exact. So as we approached the church, the taxi driver slowed down and asked a woman sitting in her rocking chair, "Are we getting close to Napoleon's house?" "Napoleon 'the Rubber?'" she replied. "Yeah, Napoleon "the Rubber." "Three doors down on your left."
We see a tiny, hunched over, wrinkly little raisin of a man sitting on a stoop drinking out of a plastic bottle of rum. You might have already guessed. It was Napoleon, my bus driver's 83 year old dad. He sat me down, asked me what happened, found the knot in my leg. He sent his grandson (great grandson?) down the street to buy some Vicks' Vapor Rub which he then slathered on my leg. The best part: he whipped out a glass Coca Cola bottle and started pulverizing my leg. Excruciating. This lasted about 15 minutes. Then I paid him a dollar went home.
It's Sunday, and my leg feels better. I'm almost walking normally. I probably won't make it to aerobics tomorrow, and it will be the first class I've missed in over 3 weeks. Boo.

<3
Elizabeth

Howdy! ...from Cowboy country, Nicaragua

I'm writing to you from Esteli, Esteli which is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and buried in the mountains of northern Nicaragua. I've been doing quite a bit of traveling lately (maybe a little too much, my land lady would never admit it, but I think she's tired of taking care of Jennifer Lopez...) I came here because they custom make cowboy boots! I haven't been to the shop yet, but supposedly it's this little old guy that has been in the business for years and years... I'm pumped! They say you can get snake skin for $100! I do see the irony of this, guys, for all of you who know that I have a pet snake at home... But I figure the snakes that are used for boots probably bite people and could even be poisonous, unlike Rose, who is pink and is more like a Barbie doll than a cobra.

Anyway, let's do a quick update on my vacaciones. I fiiiiiinally made it out to Esquipulas, Matagalpa, to visit my friend Steph. It was great! She has such a cute house with a great view of the mountains from her backyard and the weather was beautiful. On the last day of my visit, I went with her to school, and on the way home I saw a MONKEY, yes that's right, MONKEY, chained to a trash can in front of someone's house. Here's a pic, or a video, depending on which I can get to upload. They don't have that in Chinandega, at least not in the city.

So from there I went home for a few weeks to chill out and finish up the school year before the annual ::drum roll please:: All Volunteer Conference. It happens once every 2 years (used to happen once a year before budget cuts) and all 180+ volunteers from all the nooks and crannies of the country reunite in the capital city of Managua. We go to lots of workshops and work-related training but we also ended up doing lots of drinking, dancing, and sitting by the pool. Rough life, huh? So that was last Tuesday-Thursday. It ended on Thanksgiving. It seems like only yesterday that we were at Adam and Lara's in Leon (I talk about them too much!) rolling pumpkin pie crusts with a can of RAID...but this year for Thanksgiving I went to a US Embassy family's house to eat. It was AMAZING. Great group of people, very funny, driven, and last but not least, they fed us 6 different types of pie for desert. I feel like I should enumerate: 1) Pumpkin 2) Apple 3) Apple with cranberries and raisins and walnuts and all kinds of crazy things 4) Blueberry 5) Chocolate 6) Gingerbread cookies (ok, not a pie, but still delicious). We were wined and dined for sure, but on top of that I got some insight into what life in the Foreign Service is really like. I duno if I'd mentioned before that I am in the process of studying to take the Foreign Service Officer test, which would mean I'd work in a US Embassy somewhere. Supposedly the test is similar to playing Trivial Pursuit, so lately I've been kind of discouraged. But it was really motivating to see what life in Nicaragua can be like when you make more than $250 a month and live in the country capital. Ex. they can afford to send their kids to private school and buy the bags of rice that you don't have to pick little rocks out of. Oh, and P.S. I got to play a Wii for the first time, ever. This is me bowling.

So, that was great. Next stop: Somoto, Madriz. I had my mind made up after the volcano climbing disaster that I was just not cut out to be a hiker or an outdoorswoman or whatever. I mean, it's not like I wear make-up to sleep at night or won't go anywhere without my manicure kit but seriously, there was a point on that volcano where I wondered why a helicopter wouldn't come air lift me off the thing. But due to an unforeseen chain of events, I went with a bunch of health volunteers to hike the Somoto Canyon. I heard someone say that it was so easy that you could do it in flip flops if you wanted to. They said that it was about half hiking and half floating/swimming down a river. I was still nervous, but that sounded doable enough. So I popped a Valium (just kidding, mom) and got on a bus up north. Turns out, I could do it! It was challenging in some places not to slip on wet mossy rocks in the riverbed, but I broke no bones and came out with minimal bruises and all toenails intact. Only bad thing: I didn't bring my camera. I'm going to have to jack someone else's pics when they put them up on Facebook some day.

After the Somoto weekend, I spent roughly 5 days back in site and now, here I am! Up north again... As it turns out, I can't be kept far from the mountains these days. There's a breeze, it's green, and the people seem to be a lot more even tempered. All the bus stations are really nice and clean too, and a couple of them even have TVs! It makes the bus station in Chinandega seem like someone took a baseball bat to a beehive. Tomorrow I'm going with a friend to place my order for the boots, and hopefully they'll be ready before I go home in 2 weeks! I doubt it, but it doesn't hurt to ask. If they will be ready, that would mean 3 trips up north in 3 weeks!

Well, I'm going to get some work done. Send me a message if you'll be in Charleston for Christmas!

Elizabeth

Pasa!

Hello there! I'm having a case of writing block right now, so I'm hoping that if I just start typing, the creative juices will begin to flow.
aoigaguh apdghakojf;kalwe nrkwjbfpaid hgfa sdfkas dfkhf asdfkjhd fawernkxi wejeokherewego. This is a picture of my lover and I asleep on the patio at Adam and Lara's house. Her name is Pasa, which means "raisin" in Spanish (refer to the big black spot on her head). The official story is that Adam and Lara were skeptical about having a dog here in Nicaragua because of the responsibility, but Adam's Nica counterpart's dog had puppies and they couldn't say no to one. Off the record, it was destiny that brought them together. I couldn't imagine Pasa without the Clarkhelms or the Clarkhelms without Pasa. They saved her from a dim future as a street dog, and now she's house trained and does lots of tricks.
I'm in Managua right now for a meeting this afternoon, and then tonight is the annual Small Business Cocktail party fundraiser. Lots of volunteers are going, so it should be a good time. We're staying at the Holiday Inn, and that's where the party is too. I'm going to take lots of pictures because we're going to get all dressed up (to the best of our ability). So be on the look out!
More to come soon!! (or later....)
Elizabeth

Secuestro Expreso

I'm back in Managua, writing this from a hotel room that the Peace Corps put me up in last night. Here's the deal. On Monday when I was traveling from Granada to Managua on a bus, I was targeted for an express kidnapping. Express kidnapping is when you get in a taxi, and the taxi driver and accomplices blindfold you and rob you and then leave you on the side of the road (ideally). It's been happening quite a bit lately in Managua, probably now to at least 4 or so volunteers within the past 6 months. You have to be really careful when using public transportation because most of the time the kidnappers get on public buses, sit next to foreigners, make conversation, and then convince the traveler to share a taxi with them. So, I was on the bus and there was a Spanish backpacker sitting behind me. We both had seats open next to us, so when the kidnappers got on (2 girls and a guy) a girl sat next to me and the other two sat next to the Spaniard. It was REALLY obvious what was going on. The girl was SO nice to me, complimenting my hair and my Spanish, and taking an unusual interest in my life. She wanted to know where I worked, where I lived, if I had friends in Managua, if I were traveling to Leon next, if I were going to get off the bus at the final stop or before...etc. RED FLAG! So I immediately called the dude from Peace Corps who's in charge of our "safety and security" and asked him to meet me at the bus terminal in Managua. Well, after that the girl suspected that I knew what was going on, so she got off the bus fast. Her two friends were still trying to woo the Spaniard into a taxi, so I turned around to tell him in English that he should watch out and quit talking to these people. As it turned out, he didn't speak English and couldn't understand me but he already suspected something was up with those people. Soon afterward the two remaining kidnappers gave up on us and got off the bus, but the guy had the nerve to call me a "stuck up gringa." Um, excuse me. I've made it a point since pre-school not to talk to strangers and so far it's worked out fine. The moral of the story is: I went to the police station outside of Managua yesterday to identify mugshots of the crooks and actually identified the girl who sat next to me. Cool, huh!!! Turns out she has a criminal record. Even though her attempt at me was obvious and pathetic, apparently she's done this before. So, travelling gringos beware: don't share taxis with people you meet on buses. Just don't. It doesn't matter how well they're dressed or how helpful and friendly they seem. Punto.

Moving on...here's a picture of me on a horse! I realize that for many Peace Corps Volunteers, riding horses may be part of the daily grind. However, we city girls who have various public transportation options including but not limited to taxis, intracity buses, and tricycle taxis (even though we can't always afford them) are still wildly entertained and enamored by the idea of horseback riding. So here I am with the tour guide at Selva Negra, Matagalpa. I mentioned last time that mom and I went to the mountains for a couple of days to escape the heat of Chinanega. We rented horses for an hour to give us a tour of a coffee plantation/farm/mountain lodge that's buried in the beautiful hills of northern Nicaragua. Mom's horse was a type A personality so she stayed ahead of us most of the time while I chatted with the tour guide. He started his career as a professional cowboy at the age of 10 when he learned to lasso. Intense, huh? I told him to prove it and show off his skills by lassoing my unsuspecting mom and her overachiever of a horse. He agreed, but fortunately narrowly missed. Here's the pic if you don't believe me.
In other news, I turned 23. Had a great birthday for the most part...I stayed in a nice hotel in Managua with my friend Amanda and we went dancing. I feel like I celebrated my birthday continually for 2 weeks though while my mom was here. She brought me lots of stuff from home ranging from shirts, toothpaste and chocolate to books to study for the FSOT (foreign service officer test) and a bird ladder for Jennifer Lopez. We spent quite a bit of time together in very close quarters but in the end I felt sad to see her go. But I'll be home to visit in December for 2 weeks! So clear your calendars. :) Also - yesterday my landlady/Nicaraguan mother gave me a belated birthday present. She got me a set of sheets!!! Dude, I could not have asked for a better gift. The sheets that I've hand scrubbed on a concrete washboard every week for a year and 3 months are almost transparent. And did I mention they were from the 70's? Mom didn't want to part with any nice sheets from the house (obviously) since we were pretty sure they'd stay in Nicaragua forever, so she gave me the sheets that she and Dad bought when they got married. Anyway, I think my landlady got tired of seeing through the same sheets every week when they were drying on my clothesline, so she got me new ones!!! SCORE.
What else...the school year is almost over! Here in Nicaragua school gets out for the "summer" from the end of November to January. So that means I'll have a little more free time than usual to go to the gym and study. Maybe I'll do like an English summer camp or something for some kids at my school. Or I could climb the volcano again (not). The possibilities are endless.
Either way, October and November are going to be relatively busy. I'll be in Managua a lot to plan this year's All Volunteer Conference that's scheduled for the end of November. All 180 or so of us will go to a hotel in Managua and participate in training workshops, eat lots of food, and fraternize. It falls right before Thanksgiving, traditionally when Embassy families invite Peace Corps Volunteers to have Thanksgiving dinner with them and stay the night. Otherwise, Thanksgiving can be a pretty lonely holiday here since obviously no one celebrates it.
Lots to look forward to, huh? I officially have only 10 months of service left. That's out of 27 total months in country. I think I might be having the time of my life. I'm not always happy and I'm never not sweating, but so far I've learned more than I've taught and gained perspective on a totally different way of life. Two years away from my comfy cushy life in the U.S. is a small price to pay for what I'll take away from here next July, including a sweet tan. *tearing up*
Well, I'm going to grab some lunch and head home for a tranquilo night in Chinandega. Maybe I'll catch up on some reading, watch the news, cuddle Jennifer Lopez...here she is trying to crawl up on my pillow. Check out that black tongue.
Thanks for reading! Leave me a comment so I know you're out there....

Elizabeth

Live Grenades

<--- Picture with my "son" at the market (not really my son, people just say he's my son because he looks kind of white).

Hola, hola!! Mom's in town! We're in Matagalpa right now, which is in the cooler, mountainous region of Nicaragua as opposed to the desert where I live. It's AWESOME. I can actually wear pants.... as opposed to shorts.
Spent the better part of last week in Managua (the country capital) for a special conference of English teachers from all over the country. My friend Stephanie and I did a presentation on the use of nametags in the classroom (sounds lame but it's really not!) Then I stuck around in Managua an extra night to pick up mom from the airport. We stayed in a nice hotel and then made the trip to Chinandega the next day. We stuck around Chinandega and went to the gym, the park, the plant nursery, etc. before we skipped town on Thursday morning to go to Leon. Friday I was due back in Managua again to help train the new group of English volunteers that got here a few weeks ago. From Managua we caught a bus to Matagalpa, and here we are! Ok so enough of the play-by-play...
New things I've learned:
1) Peace Corps Volunteers (and all other federal "employees" affiliated with the U.S. Embassy are not allowed to go to this one market in Managua because on top of just being plain old dangerous, they actually sell live grenades.
2) Some Peace Corps Volunteers who live in more rural areas suspect that volunteers who live in urban areas lead "close to normal" lives. I may steal cable television and have a semi-functioning shower instead of a bucket bath, but my life is in no way, shape, or form NORMAL. I can't walk down the street without being harrassed, even my neighbors aren't really sure what my job is here, and I'm constantly confused for being a regular old tourist. Few people recognize me or take the time and energy to say hi to me on the street. My rent is 100 dollars a month, as opposed to the country bumpkins who may pay 30 to 50 dollars a month. If I don't want to eat rice and beans 3 times a day, I have the option of going to a fancy supermarket and buying whole wheat bread and romaine lettuce, but does that fall within my Peace Corps living allowance? Don't think so. Ok, got that off my chest. Phew.
So, my mom almost drank a scorpion/dragonfly cocktail the first night she was here. It happened like this. A few weeks ago I had more "roommates" than normal, so after killing a scorpion and a dragonfly I saved them in a plastic cup to show her when she got here. So she's brushing her teeth at the sink and I handed her the cup with the critters in it, not thinking, and she filled it with water and started to put it to her mouth to rinse. "AGHH!!!!!" I screamed. She dropped the cup. So, close call. We had a good laugh about it. Or at least I did. Hers was more nervous laughter.
I have quite a bit more to write about our trip to Matagalpa, but I haven't had a chance to upload pictures onto the computer yet. I actually rode a horse for an hour today on a coffee plantation. Pretty neat. Anyway, I'll save that one for next time. Adios!

Elizabeth

Quick update from China-town

The Chinandega crew (or at least half of us) at Pizza Hot. Josh Berman, the author of the Moon guidebooks to traveling and living in Nicaragua, came to do some research for an update. Who better to consult than we PCVs? He's an ex-volunteer himself actually. So, he picked our brains on bus schedules, pretty places, and nightlife (or lack thereof) and in return took us out for pizza.

I'm on the far right.

Umm.... updates. Well, over the past two days I've probably spent 10 hours cleaning my house and washing clothes. I'm glad I got the laundry out of the way though because it's been raining for the past hour and half. Definitely not conducive to drying clothes on a line.
I seem to be hosting an extended family of mice. So far I've had to throw out 2 unopened bags of pasta, half a bag of whole wheat bed (I cried a little), a bag of tortilla chips, powder soup mix, countless vegetables (good excuse not to eat salad), and various articles of clothing that contained holes and urine staines. SWEET!!! I had a little breakdown. I scrubbed my kitchen counters and applicances with bleach until my hands were raw because seriously, there was poop all over the place. I wish I could bring my pet snake down here for the remainder of my service...

This weekend Dianne is coming to visit. Next week should be pretty busy. I've got a new community English class that will start on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Will be in touch!

Elizabeth

P.S. Reminder to all that the address to my pictures changed. The new one is http://picasaweb.google.com/elizabeth.p.slack/
I just put pictures of my new house up!

Greetings from a broad abroad! (thanks amanda!)

MY PARROT, Jennifer Lopez --->


Quick update. I'm in Managua right now. I came in town yesterday for a meeting at the office and I got to stay the night! We're talking air conditioning, hot shower, minimal creepy crawlers at night...high class.
I finally had my first parasite. TOTALLY different from a bacterial infection or food poisoning (at least for me). Every time I'd eat, I'd get horrible stomach cramps, but I'd never feel really full. Luckily I took pills for a few days, and I think it's dead now. Was worried I'd have to start thinking of names for it... (Perry?)
What else...I think there are iguanas living in my ceiling. I hear a little scurrying up there most nights, but it doesn't sound like the thing is heavy enough to be a rat. However it's probable that I do have a larger problem because someone or something just carted off 3 whole pieces of whole wheat bread from my bird's cage the other night (no evidence of nibbling whatsoever, it just disappeared). Cats? Rats? Neighboring children? Unknown...
Hmm, so, trying to think of more profound and meaningful things to write about. Work is alright. Next week we (myself and my counterpart, Olga) get to go to a seminar in Matagalpa (beautiful mountainous region) to touch base with Peace Corps. Here in about a week I complete one whole year in site. Which means I've been here for about a year and 3 months. Eek.
What else...lately I've been studying to take the Foreign Service Officer test. I've been downloading podcasts online from the NY Times, the Economist, and BBC World News. Also studying a little U.S. History and Government here, a little economic theory there. I've pretty much established a morning routine... I get up around 8 or so, make my toast and coffee, and sit in the hammock in front of the fan either reading my precious 3-month-old Economists that I've acquired (Embassy families donate their old magazines to us PCV's) or studying.
I've been going to the gym fairly often. There's actually a gym here just for women (thank goodness, or I'd never go, quite a few of the men here are vile and disrespectful). I actually go to a step aerobics class (I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post?). The blocks are made of plywood, and I'm telling you, I wouldn't be surprised if a woman showed up in a mini-skirt and heels. But more power to them, it's rare to see a woman who takes time to invest in herself. Many women are so busy taking care of their kids and their philandering husbands that they just let themselves go.
Sorry if I sound a little negative, guys. They say that a lot of volunteers kind of fall into a slump when they hit their year mark. I'm definitely feeling a little disappointed in my service right now. I don't feel like my work is making much of a difference. There's just not a real necessity to learn English in Chinandega. And since there's not a necessity, many students just aren't that motivated. And if the people you work with aren't as motivated as you are, where is the sustainability? I think I'm going to look for ways to get involved with health projects here. Maybe work with HIV/AIDS or teen pregnancy. Either way, I have a feeling that my major accomplishments will be 1) what I've learned and 2) the relationships that I've built with women and girls here.
Well, I think I'm going to take advantage of being in Managua to go see the new Harry Potter movie before I head back to reality.
Miss you guys.

Elizabeth

Hiking San Cristobal

so, i just climbed the highest volcano in central america. it's called 'san cristobal'. it was pretty much a nightmare. yesterday, a school bus dropped us of in a rural community at the foot of this volcano. we had to walk 8 kilometers (with backpacks and 2 days water supply) uphill just to get to this guy's place where we could hang hammocks up and sleep. we woke up at 4:30 in the morning to start climbing.
guys, newsflash: i don't think i'm a climber. it was probably one of the most miserable things that i've ever done in my entire 22 years. we hiked uphill (duh) for about 2 1/2 hours in the forest before we hit the last 2 1/2 hour climb uphill in pure SAND AND GRAVEL at a 60 degree angle. I gave up. I got close enough in my opinion to what could reasonably be considered "the top" and sat down in the dirt with another girl we went with and we decided that we knew our limits of volcano climbing and that we'd sit down and just hang out in the cloud (we were that high up!!) so then it started raining really hard on the way down and the sole of one of my hiking shoes just came right off. i was rather frustrated to say the least, but did not cry. i think there are more blisters on my feet than toes but i made it home in one piece and have some interesting pictures which i posted today. the new address for my pictures is: http://picasaweb.google.com/elizabeth.p.slack. go there!

Still alive

Something about this heat just adds a sense of urgency to everything I do here, unless I'm sitting on a hammock in front of a fan. Every time I go to the internet cafe, I only focus on the most imperative to-do items and then get the heck out. It doesn't leave me much time to think of interesting blog entries.
So here I am, in the air-conditioned Peace Corps office, still in a hurry because I have a bus to catch back to Chinandega here in about an hour.
In recent news, I moved! No longer live in the same teepee. My landlady's grandaughter and her boyfriend broke into my house and stole my laptop, iPod, digital camera, electronic dictionary that I forgot I had, and the corresponding chargers (good move). With the help of the police, I got all my stuff back. And they figured out who it was because of a footprint the dude left on my back door when he kicked it down! It was like CSI Nicaragua style...
So, every cloud has a silver lining it seems. I found a house that actually has a drop ceiling as well as a zinc roof (I only had a zinc roof before). And my new landlady lives next door and she's REALLY nice. I couldn't ask for more.
So, who's coming down to visit? I've got more space than before and a double bed and a cot! Enticing, right? :)

Elizabeth

Finally, right?

Whoops. Haven't updated this guy in a while. I haven't been lost, just unmotivated to write. So, now summer vacations are over and school is back in session. My trip to the USA was great, it was nice to see friends and family. I didn't leave the house very much - it was SO cold. After living in 90-95 degree weather nonstop for 10 months, I might as well have gone to Antarctica instead of West Virginia.
Hmm...so now we're in the dry season. I don't remember the last time it rained here. There's SO much dust. My boogers are brown all the time (sorry, too much information?). Although I think that the dryness makes the heat a little more bearable. I still sweat, but in the shade I'm usually ok if I remain sedentary.
Chelo the cat died. My neighbors threw him in a well. Well, that's not actually how he died, I don't think. There are various theories... some say he ate rat poison, died, and then was thrown in a well. Others say that he fell into the well at night while he was chasing after his girlfriend and could not escape. Either way, now it's just me and the parrot.
Hmm...well, I'm going to Skype with my mom. Will write more another time!

Hola

Hi! So I'm coming home to visit! First I get to go to my cousin's wedding in Tennessee and then I'm coming home and relaxing. They say that reverse culture shock can be worse than original culture shock. People say that they go home to visit the USA and are surprised by how clean it is, how polite and considerate other people are, and how quiet it is. I'm thoroughly ready to experience this. I've had a lot of down time lately now that school's not in session. A lot of time to visit friends, go to the beach, etc. A little too much time. I mean, I did finish a grant proposal and I've had a chance to brainstorm some ideas for projects, but really, I have no routine whatsoever. Yesterday and today I went walking for about 2 hours. I made ceviche. I cleaned my house. I read. But I feel like I need some structure in my life. I know I'll miss some free time when school starts again, but I think I'll be ready when it comes. As for now, I'll have a nice break in the USA. :)

Duke Before, Duke After

So, here we've got my next door neighbor's pet pig hanging out in the back yard with the dog. In the next photo, we've got that same pig, but wrapped in a banana leaf and ready to be eaten.

Neat, huh? It was about 6 or 7 months old when it was killed. They had timed it so that it would be ready for the daughter's graduation. The only tricky part about eating this thing was that for 3 months, I watched this thing eat garbage, literally, anything they threw it's way. If it's true that you are what you eat and the pig ate garbage, then I ate the pig, well, nevermind. It tasted ok, but I will definitely not get in the habit of raising pet pigs for food.

The graduation was nice though. There were only about 21 kids in the class, so I thought it would go quickly, but no. Lots of speeches, lots of praying, lots of singing, and of course, lots of cheezy American 80's music. It always seems to be a favorite. Example : MIDI version of "Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M. Download it.

Oh yeah, so Thanksgiving. I went to Leon to visit the married couple. Since they actually acquired an oven, we had a better chance of being able to bake things. (duh)

Here's the final product of HOURS AND HOURS. We had pre-cooked and re-stuffed rotisserie chickens, green bean casserole, salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, and orange-squash wannabe pumpkin pie. Lara stuffed the chickens, I made the mashed potatoes with a mortar/pestle type set up, and Adam rolled the pie crust with a Nalgene water bottle (we thought about using a can of Raid but decided against it for obvious reasons), and we drank homemade pitaya (fruit) wine that the married couple had made a few weeks earlier. It tasted great, and no one got bacterial infections!

It was definitely nice to be with volunteers for this holiday. Even though it was a great meal, I think everybody appreciated each others company just as much, if not more than the food.


Moving right along, last night was a huge holiday! The "Purisima" is a week long celebration of the conception of the Virgin Mary celebrated by the Catholics (obviously). Here's a little description of it that I found on the internet.

During colonial times, the Spanish brought their religious catholic fervor to Nicaragua, which was embraced in an incredible way by the natives (obviously after being imposed), with a mystical character and intense piety. This is how the popular religious Nicaraguan festivities were born, and in December ‘La Purísima’ is celebrated, one of the most widespread celebrations.

Imagine ‘La Purísima’ like this: a richly decorated altar is placed in a corner of a family house, with a statue of the Virgin Mary‘s image. In front of this altar, a lot of chairs are arranged, that will be occupied by family members, friends, and neighbors invited by the house owners to celebrate its ‘Purísima’. Once all the guests arrive, the celebration starts with prayers to the virgin, but these are alternated with traditional songs. All the assistants accompany with whistles, tambourines and other instruments. While this takes place inside the house, outside some family members fire rockets and the so called ‘caraga cerrada’, (firecrackers) that contribute a lot to the boisterous celebration. Meanwhile the singings and prayers take place, the host distributes to his/her guests fruits, traditional sweets, caramels, traditional drinks, sugar-cane and many other gifts.

‘La Purísima’ is a celebration to the ‘purest conception of Virgin Mary’, taking place on December 8th, according to the catholic calendar. ‘La Purísima’ is a tradition celebrated in all parts of Nicaragua by thousands of Nicaraguan families. These celebrations take place at the end of November and during almost all of December.

Now...moving on to yesterday's celebration... THE GRITERIA!! (The "Shouting!")

Directly related to ‘La Purísima’, this other tradition, called ‘La Gritería, is more boisterous and more massive.

At 6PM every December 7th, a common yell is heard in different cathedrals and churches: Quién causa tanta alegría? (Who causes so much happiness?). This is how another ancient tradition starts along with the massive response ‘La Concepción de María’ (Mary’s Conception).

At that time, in cities and towns people start exploding fireworks and firecrackers. In the biggest cities, it gets so noisy that any uninformed tourist might think that a war has just started in Nicaragua. At midnight, firecrackers explode once again (the same happens at 6AM and 12PM, but on a smaller scale).

During ‘La Gritería’ Virgen Mary is also venerated. It is a celebration used by people to thank the virgin for miracles and it takes place before the official day. Faithful people decorate altars in their houses in a place were it can be seen from the street. In some neighborhoods you can find more than three altars in just one block.

Then, at 6PM sharp, thousands of Nicaraguans go to the streets to ‘shout’ to the virgin (the word gritería could be translated as ‘shouting’), which means visiting each altar and singing to the virgin Maria. This is basically how it is done: people hang around in groups, stop at an altar, intone traditional songs (the same as in ‘La Purísima’), house owners give fruits, candies, toys, instruments to make noise, natural drinks, and other type of gifts; finally, they move on to another altar. House owners who have placed altars wait until another group comes to sing. This is how ‘La Gritería’ is celebrated, lasting until the house owners have no more gifts to give away or until streets have no more singers.

Not only Catholics and religious people participate in this tradition. It is interesting to hear how people who do not know the songs’ lyrics make up the whole song or just sing the end of each phrase. This is a good opportunity for poor people to collect items, and it is interesting to see how people from different social classes participate in ‘La Gritería’

............that's the end of the official article I found. Very informative, huh? One thing's for sure, I can definitely vouch for the loudness factor. I thought that the gangs were at it again outside my house at midnight last night but it was just fireworks and roman candles and cherry bombs. There actually were fireworks at 6 pm, 12 am, and 6 am. It was deafening. Glad it's over. But, I did go out last night with a few friends and "shout" - or sing songs about the Virgin. It's like trick-or-treating. I got all kinds of stuff. I got a plastic plate, a bag of sugar, a stick of sugar cane, limes, cookies made of sesame seeds and cacao, candy, a rosary, a hair scrunchie, a Virgin Mary bracelet, fried banana chips, and who knows what else. And I didn't even have to dress up! Only one person went as far to ask me if I was Catholic (I'm pretty sure I was the only white person around)...but I sang the little song perfectly and I think for the most part people were impressed. QUIEN CAUSA TANTA ALEGRIA!!! LA CONCEPCION DE LA VIRGEN MARIA!!!

Phew, OK. Well, I'm officially on vacation now that school is out, so a couple of English teachers and I are getting together this week to draft a letter asking for money to make materials to use in the classroom. Simple stuff, like scissors, construction paper, laminate, markers, glue, paint, etc. First we're going to write to a really big sugar mill here that has an equally big human resources department. If that doesn't work, it'll be time to hit the mayor's office. Eek. Gotta try to stay a little bit busy though.

Well, I think I'm going to go home and knit for a while (thanks Aunt Sarah!)

Love,
Elizabeth

p.s. thanks to the people from the website where i stole the article and pictures about la purisima. please don't sue me.

Good night!

Hey everybody! So tonight I got to go to the circus! It was called "Renato's Circus" or something like that, and it was based out of Mexico. They had elephants, camels, zebras, horses, llamas, and lots of trapeze artists and gymnasts. It was pretty neat! It only cost like 5 dollars to get in and to tell you the truth it was a pretty good show. Right now I'm at my friend's house and we're getting ready to go salsa dancing. That'll be my exercise for the day for sure.

I got a pet kitten! Last weekend I went to Granada to visit some other volunteers and ended up taking home a kitty cat. He's a boy and he's about 5 weeks old. I've decided to name him "Chelito" which means "little white guy" in Nicaraguan slang because he is orange and white with blue eyes. The poor cat has parasites right now but I've started giving him medicine to get rid of them. I can tell he doesn't feel very good, but he still loves to play and likes to try to wake me up at 5 am every morning to play. This morning he attacked my face with claws and all. I swatted him off the bed hoping he would get the picture. This is kind of what it's like: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q <------check it out

Well, my apartment/house is coming along. I'll be putting pictures up soon. Now, not only do I have a big comfortable bed and a double burner stove top, I've acquired a table and chairs and a refrigerator, along with a double-bed sized cot for when people come to visit. I also bought a 14 inch television and a hammock. It's pretty comfortable! It was hard to get by without a fridge because not only did I not have access to cold water during 95 degree days, every time I wanted to cook, I had to eat all of it or it would go to waste! I feel pretty spoiled now, to tell you the truth. The married couple from Chinandega finished their service, so Danica and I "inherited" a lot of their things. The refrigerator and table/chairs were theirs, and I also got a bunch of forks, spoons, knives, buckets, Raid (for scorpions), a fan, etc.

Well, I think we're about to head out. Take care!

Elizabeth

 

Parade in the Sun

For the record, today was the first time in 22 years that I´ve ever had to put on SPF 55+ sunscreen (that I know of, at least since I was an infant). And I STILL got cooked. Today, I got up at 5 am to go to the Chinandega high school band parade. It lasted from 6 am to 12 pm. It was pretty fun except it was LOUD. And really hot, of course, and there was no shade. I got a tan though, thats for sure. I feel like a slow roasted rotisserie chicken. A deaf slow roasted rotisserie chicken... I took lots of pictures, so be sure to check out my flickr website (flickr.com/epsnica).

This is me with my counterpart from Instituto Tomas Ruiz. Her name is Olga. She´s great.

Gotta run some errands.

Elizabeth

This is my buddy Wilmer from Ninos Angeles, the orphanage I was talking about. We blow eachother kisses all the time. I´m trying to teach him how to catch them, too, but he prefers to be on the giving end rather than the receiving. He´s very generous. I´m not sure what condition he has, but he´s a lot more with it than a lot of the other kids. He can´t speak or walk but he knows a fair amount of sign language.

News from Chinandega

So, I finally figured out how to change the setting on my blog so that anyone can post comments. Before, you could only post a comment if you were a registered user of blogspot, which I didn't realize, which I wish I had because I was sad that no one posted comments. Oops. My fault.

So, not much as been going on. I moved out of my host mom's house in Chinandega. I have my own little place now. I say little by American standards, but in Nicaragua it's huge for one person. It's basically a long, rectangular room that is divided into 3 rooms (living room, bedroom, and kitchen) by two big bureaus placed perpindicular to the wall. It's cute, minus the bugs. The walls are painted yellow and I actually have a tile floor, which is super classy here. I bought a "kitchen" which consists of a portable double burner stove top and a tank of propane gas to cook with. I've been eating lots of pasta, cereal, salad, and drinking lots of water (tap water!) and tea. One of the nice things about this house is that it's about a 3 minute walk from a big market where I can easily buy cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, limes, pineapples, mangos, etc. REALLY cheap. I made a huge salad of onion, tomato, cucumber, lime juice, and salt for about 50 cents.

As far as safety and security is concerned, I feel pretty good. I bought two masterlocks the other day for the iron gates in front of my front and back door and there are bars in front of my window that looks out onto the street. But I think the trick to staying safe is just not to go out at night by yourself, especially on foot. Even when I walk around during the day I don't like to carry more than five or ten dollars or my cell phone. That explains the lack on pictures I've put up on the internet - I don't ever carry my camera! I am trying to get into the routine of getting my errands done during the day to be home by 6 pm when it starts getting dark. It's a lifestyle change...I've never really had to worry about being "street smart" before. Ha! In Charleston, WV? Not so much. But I'm learning.

My classes are going ok. I'm in the schools on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday co-teaching with my Nicaraguan counterparts. The classrooms are SO HOT!!! And noisy. And the worst part about it is probably that the school bands practice RIGHT outside the classroom. So, I can barely hear myself scream over top of the drums. I know for sure that the students are distracted, and if I can't hear myself, how can they hear me, or much less understand my English or even my gringo Spanish. But there's a huge parade coming up on Sept. 14th where all of the high schools in the area compete in a dance/band competition. I have to march with one of my schools (I teach in two different schools) and I don't know who to go with! They both want me to go with them. This thing starts at 6 am in the morning and lasts for hours and hours rain or shine.

I'm also going every Friday morning to an orphanage for disabled children to help with physical therapy. After Danica and I get a little more acclimated, we're going to start reading to them (in Spanish of course) and doing other activities because neither one of us have a lot of experience with physical therapy. This Friday we're bringing nail polish to paint the girls' toenails! :)

I'm also looking into volunteering with an organization here called Xochiquetzal which focuses on educating the public about the realities of sex trafficking (huge problem in Chinandega because there is an international port as well as the border with Honduras) , as well as AIDS and STDs and responsible sex.

On a lighter note, September is mine and Danica's birthday month! Hers was on the third and mine is on the 25th. So our friend Dianne, who lives in Granada, came up last weekend to celebrate with us. Here's a pic.

We're at a dance club called Dilectus. We love to dance. And everyone loves to watch us dance. Apparently it looks pretty funny. But we have fun.

Dianne stayed with me on Saturday night on Sunday morning we made a nice breakfast and went to the beach. She helped me line my drawers and get my kitchen set up a little bit because I had just moved in a day or two before she got there!

What else...it's still hot. I don't know why but it hasn't rained at all the last couple of days. That's good in the sense that clothes will dry nicely outside on the line, but the rain really does cool things down a lot.

Well, I'm going to go try to find some lunch. Miss you guys!

Elizabeth

HOT

Hey there...just though I´d check in real quick. It´s a little after 3 pm this Saturday afternoon. It is SO hot outside I don´t even know what to do. Luckily I found this little internet cafe that´s semi-airconditioned.
So, my host mom killed a giant scorpion in my bedroom last night. This thing was so creepy. It was bigger than any cockroach I´ve seen down here (which is saying something). I had my umbrella opened in my room so it could dry out and the scorpion had somehow gotten trapped inside it...YUCK. So of course I took lots of pictures of it, then called John and Danica to see what I should do, then sat down and stared at it a little bit more, then finally went and got my host mom. I didn´t know what I was dealing with.
What else...I´ve got another cold/sinus infection. I´m back to using a sweat/snot rag on a regular basis. But I´ve been taking ibuprofen and sudafed to try to get it under control so I can go out tonight. I think we´re going to try to go dancing, so I need to rest up.
I think I´m going to head to the market to do a little shopping. I need some shampoo and conditioner...my 3 month supply finally ran out.

Elizabeth

So, I'm officially a Peace Corps Volunteer! I'm at the hotel in Managua right now trying to get my stuff together to make the move to Chinandega...and feeling refreshed and energetic after having a tranquil evening in the hotel room. I have lots of pictures posted from the ceremony so you should check them out...including one of me shaking hands with the ambassador. Neat-o. Well, as soon as I can find a good internet cafe in Chinandega, I'll post again. Might take me a bit, I think I'll be pretty busy right at first but I guess that's good. --Elizabeth

Me and Katie...about sums it up for day #2 of meetings in Managua.