Practicum Week in Nueva Guinea

David and I giving a charla at the Health Center on HIV

For the last week all of the trainees were scattered around the country participating in field days. In the health sector we were split into two groups, my group of 8 trainees headed for Nueva Guinea in RAAS. It was a surprisingly quick 5 hour non-stop (no-bathroom-stops) public bus ride. The trip out to RAAS crosses a good portion of the country, we drove in and out of the mountains, thus in and out of the drought zone. RAAS is (or was) a giant rainforest. Now it’s a mix of rainforest, rolling hills, swamps, and open fields for grazing and crops.
Nueva Guinea is home to about 30,000 people and it is Nicaragua’s newest city. It’s only about 50 years old and it has the feel of a sprawling small town. There is a good mix of people, food, and cultures there. A lot of the people that live in the city are from León and Managua because they moved to Nueva Guinea after natural disasters in their home cities. Because Nueva Guinea is in cattle country (more or less) there is plenty of good beef, milk and cheese to go around. There was also a good amount of humidity, but surprisingly it didn’t rain while we were there. The volunteers that live there said it generally rains every day at least a little bit.

A thriving garden project started by a health volunteer in RAAS

We stayed really busy all week. Each day we studied new subjects, planned new charlas and gave those charlas to various groups like midwives, students, hospital patients, firefighters, and pregnant women. All in all we each gave 7 health charlas. Some other highlights of the trip were our field trip to a beautiful waterfall and getting to know more volunteers. The waterfall was on private property and we gave the owner a giant watermelon so that we could swim in the river and jump off of the waterfalls (I decided against jumping, maybe next time). It was a great morning and the water was super refreshing in the heat and humidity. We also got to know 7 more current volunteers throughout the week. I think it’s always exciting to meet more volunteers and see how they’re each approaching service in their own way and hear their opinions on service and training. After this week I am also excited to travel more around Nicaragua and have more adventures.

I was excited to return home yesterday to my host family, my host town, my own space, and healthier food. Last night, my 2 year old nephew finally opened up to me while we were playing with a ball together. Now he gives me hugs and kisses when he sees me, before he just kind of stared at me; so that has been a welcome change. I also made lunch with my host mom and niece today. It was so nice to cook again; I didn’t realize how much I missed it. We made a bean soup with lots of veggies and eggs in it, along with sides of rice, beans, steamed plantains, and a cabbage, beet, tomato and onion salad with a chili lime dressing.

I feel like my Spanish continues to improve but I still have a ways to go. I have my second language proficiency interview this week. I’m hoping to reach the level of Intermediate-Mid this week, fingers crossed! I’ll be doing some studying and lots of talking to get ready for it.