Training in Carazo

I have been living in a small town in the department of Carazo, Nicaragua for the last two weeks. My host family here is absolutely amazing, warm and welcoming. My host parents are in their early 60s and four out of their five children live within a few blocks of our house with their own families. Needless to say our house is where the action is at, there are always kids running around and someone to practice Spanish with or play a game with.

So far I have continued to enjoy the food, beans and rice are slowly becoming addictive… as I was warned. I never knew there were so many ways to prepare rice and beans… separate; together in gallo pinto; frijoles liquadas (or re-fried beans); fried rice cakes almost like potato latkes; with cheese; with fried cheese; on a tortilla; on a fried tortilla… and I’m sure the list will go on in the weeks to come. I have also tried some new meats since I’ve been here

Nica 61 Has Arrived!

We made it to Nicaragua! My group, Nica 61, has arrived! we got here yesterday afternoon and it has been a huge whirlwind already. On less than 2 hours of sleep, we had a full day of orientations and dinámicas, which are like ice-breakers or games, when we arrived. Everyone in the group is very interesting, qualified, and unique. I am excited to get to know everyone better throughout training and beyond.

Mailing Address for Training

If you would like to write to me or send me care packages, my mailing address for Training (March 10th - May 24th) will be:

Allison Feuerstein PCT

Cuerpo de Paz - Nicaragua

Apartado Postal # 3256

Managua, Nicaragua, Centro América

After training I'll be officially sworn in as a volunteer and I will likely receive a new site along with a new mailing address. I'm told that the mail can take up to a few weeks to go between the US and Nicaragua. Also, if you write to me, the Peace Corps suggests numbering your letters so that we know if one was lost in the mail. If you decide to mail a care package, know that they almost never make it fully in-tact, so don't send anything valuable. I leave in less than two weeks now! Time is flying by!

Preparing

After a year-long application process, I just received and accepted my invitation to serve in the Peace Corps! I will be working as a community health promoter somewhere in rural Nicaragua but I do not know exactly where yet. My assignment will focus on reproductive health and preventing the spread of HIV. I know that I will be living with a host family during my three months of training and then with another family for the duration of my service. I am really excited about this; I am hoping it will give me a unique opportunity to fully take in and learn about Nicaraguan culture and quickly become part of my host community.

I still have two months until I leave for staging and training, but time is passing quickly. I am trying to learn as much as I can about Nicaraguan history, politics, culture and more. At the same time I am preparing to pack and be ready for the largest move of my life, up until now, I have never lived outside of Madison, WI.

I hope to update this blog regularly but I do not know how readily available internet service will be. Please check back as time goes on and feel free to email me or send me letters; however, I won’t be in Nicaragua until March, so please wait until then to send anything.