Hosting Practicum Week

Arts and Crafts, making paper bead bracelets.

In February I was asked to host practicum week for the new group of Health Trainees. I was honored and immediately accepted, knowing it would be challenge. Practicum week is an opportunity for trainees to visit a current volunteer, give charlas, put on events, and get a better feel for what we do as health volunteers. In order to prepare for practicum week I had events to plan, charla audiences to invite, meals to order, and a hospedaje to polish up. I was busy for all of February and March preparing to host 20 people in my small, rural site. 

Flow

A woman in one of the
communities  making pots and komals
for making tortillas,  cooking beans and
toasting coffee from clay.

So it’s true, when things are going well and you get into a routine, it’s easy to forget about los demás (everything and everyone else) blogging, updating Facebook, writing letters, etc. My apologies, I am going to try my best to catch up on all of this soon. 

I feel like I’m in a really good spot in my service. I am happy in site, I feel very supported by my official counterparts in the ministry of health, I truly feel like a member of my host family, and I am slowly making some genuine friends in site. I am grateful that everything is starting to flow more easily. I am very busy with work, which is the way I like it, and I feel appreciated by the people who are important to me.

A snap-shot of what’s been going on lately: 

A Few Short Stories

One of the critters we found in Miraflor.

The last month here has been a lot of traveling and a lot of working in new places. As of right now I’m fairly exhausted, but I feel very satisfied and I am excited to keep on exploring new places and meeting new people. As far as this post goes, I feel like the only way I can convey what I’ve been up to is with a few short stories.

10 pounds of Christmas Cookies

Shoveling with my Dad

To celebrate Christmas and New Years I headed back state-side for two weeks. It was a big change in terms of weather, but surprisingly I adapted really quickly.

Exciting Happenings in Small Town Nicaragua

I wanted to share a couple fun things that happened lately. 

 

The crowd that gathered to see the helicopter.

About two weeks ago a helicopter came to town! As the soccer season was winding down I decided to go watch the semi-finals and cheer on my team (I haven´t been as enthusiastic lately about actually playing, but I´m all about being supportive). It just so happens that the only helicopter landing area is the soccer field.

Event Planning and My Most Embarrassing Moment So Far

The marcha stretched for blocks and blocks (cuadras)!

This week I had two semi-large events. The first was a march for world AIDS day (Dec 1^st) and the second was a youth group meeting, supported by a local NGO. Both events ended up going well, but that’s not how it seemed in the days and hours leading up to them. I have learned a lot through my work here and some of the most useful skills I have acquired are flexibility, and not getting too attached to my own ideas or initial plans. 

Thanksgiving: Día de Acción de Gracias

I know this is a little bit after-the-fact… but I wanted to share a little bit about my Thanksgiving here in Nicaragua.

First of all, I dedicated the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving to making pumpkin pie.

Winter means… Nacatamales

This weekend I learned how to make nacatamales! (Pronounced nak-a-tam-a-lays) It is a traditional food in Nicaragua, eaten year round, but especially in November and December. I made them with my host mom and new site-mate! To honor this tasty food, I wanted to do a “step-by-step how to make nacatamales” blog. Although I missed the first few steps, here is what I did learn:

Mixed Feelings

Yesterday I attended the closing ceremony for “Buena salud para todos,” a large multi-faceted public health project. It was a project completed by several different organizations, including NGOs and governmental organizations. “Buena salud para todos”…. Aka “good health for all,” lived up to its name with a wide scope, and an education centered approach community health improvement.

It's a Small World After All

There is a small group of Peace Corps Nicaragua health volunteers that are spearheading a nation-wide study on Coffee-Cutters as a migrant worker population, and their knowledge and behaviors related to HIV. I am lucky enough to live in northern Nicaragua… aka coffee country. So I volunteered to help with the study in any way that I could, knowing my location was an asset. My first task was this week. I had to figure out where the big coffee farms were in San Juan del Rio Coco, another municipality in Madriz.