Balancing Work and Life

Here in Nicaragua, the general consensus is that work is important so that one can live and enjoy life. On the contrary, the generalization made about the United States is that we live to work. In other words, work to live versus live to work.
Keeping in mind that both are generalizations, I would say they are fairly accurate. Whether it’s striving for a better position or just working a lot, life in the US is very much about your job. Or for example, when someone asks me how my day was, I generally answer with what I got done at work. Through my host family and the friends I’ve made here, I’m starting to see the other side of things. They’re philosophy is about spending time together, helping each other out, and not stressing on work too much. They get their work done, and then they are 100% with their family afterwards. Also, for many of my co-workers and family members, a regular work day includes lunch at home with their family, and an afternoon siesta. All in all, life feels more balanced and relaxed here. Even though in the States we may not be able to have a siesta or lunch at home every day, we could definitely learn something from Nicaraguans. It may be worth it to try and separate work from life outside of work, and focusing more on enjoying our time with family and friends. I am learning this lesson daily here. 

Along this theme, I have spent a lot of time not “working” this month, and felt kind of guilty about it. As far as work went, I solidified my work plan for the next 3 months, strengthened my communication with counterparts (and am still working on this), and got back into teaching in the high school (after about a month of not teaching). Spending time with friends and my host family was more exciting though. I spent some time in Estelí with my host family and went to my niece’s Quinseñera, I visited some volunteer friends, and spent time with friends and counterparts in site. 

The birthday girl

The Quinseñera was absolutely beautiful, and surprisingly similar to a wedding, without a groom. The quinseñera is a big birthday party for when a girl turns 15, because she is no longer seen as a girl by society but rather a young lady. There was a father daughter dance, and lots of pictures. About 80 people made it to the party from all around the country. The food was delicious, as was the cake, and there was a lot of dancing. My niece had 2 dresses, the first was a big pink ball gown, complete with a crown; and the second was a short teal dress, made for dancing. It was nice to meet more of my host family, and learn some new dances, the bachata and marengue.  

Visiting volunteer friends (and having them visit me) was also exciting. I had my 3 month Spanish Language Workshop, and spent the week back in my training town with my friends from training and my training host family. It was really nice to hang out with everyone again, and spend time with my training family. I also visited two volunteer friends in my department. We shared a delicious dinner over candle light (because the power had gone out) and talked about life, in Spanglish. One piece of advice that I really appreciated was about the work and life balance. Like I said, I was feeling guilty for spending (what felt like a lot of) time out of site, and with other volunteers. My friend reminded me that, spending time with other volunteers is part of why we’re here. We are all very interesting people, and can learn a lot from each other. Also, I’ve heard from many RPCVs that they met many of their closest friends during their Peace Corps service. I have since decided to try and be better about keeping up with my fellow volunteers, and hopefully will be visiting more in the coming months.