Surprise Surprise

Over the course of my many months here, lots of things have surprised me, including lizards falling from the ceiling, chickens running into my legs when I was playing soccer and my host sister's surprise visit from England. On top of all that, I have surprised myself with many things I have said and done...

Hot Mango Crisp Syrup

I made up this recipe as a way to use up some green mangoes that I didn't know what to do with. My inspirations were memories of apple crisp and a mango crisp recipe a friend made once. I made it for my host family for breakfast this weekend and they begged me for it again for dinner, but we were out of mangoes, so I made it with diced star fruit and it turned out just as delicious. Enjoy!

Soccer in Zapotillo

Snap shot of Zapotillo

The path from town to the community of Zapotillo

The sub-urban community of Zapotillo (Sa-poe-tEE-o) sits on the banks of the Rio Coco (the Coco River), about a 20 minute walk outside of the municipal capital where I live. It is home to hundreds of people and has a rich history of indigenous culture, mounds, and artisans. Many years ago it used to be a bustling center of activity, as shown in artifacts found throughout the community. These days, things have changed.

Ups and Downs of my first year of Service

Being that I have now been in site for a little over a year, I wanted to take the time and space on my blog to reflect on this last year. These are some fond, and not so fond, memories that I have from the last 12 months.

June

As soon as I got to site the rainy season started. So I remember rain, rain and more rain. I stayed at home a lot of afternoons instead of going out in the community. It rained almost every day from about 2:30pm to 6pm and sometimes well into the night. Along with the rain, another factor kept me home and in bed... I was sick pretty much all month as I adapted to my new food and water sources.

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.