overdue

I know. I know. It's been like a year since I've written anything.  After a while, things just start to seem normal here.  The fact that I have six roosters outside my window has become common place.  I almost don't hear them any more.  Bucket showers?  Normal.  Much of what I'm doing at the moment has just turned into a daily grind, and it has been hard to take a step back and think about some kind of update for my "adoring public" back home, as my mother has said.  I've been thinking a lot about broader ideas of international development and what it is we're doing here, but that will come another day.  For now, here's an update of life: 

At the beginning of April I had a new trainee visit me in site to see what life is like as a volunteer.  We had quite the couple days of work to do with a wide range of activities.  I put him to work teaching part of a class and then went out to the canyon for some “business consulting.”  He apparently enjoyed his visit a lot because he asked to be placed here too.  Sorry Charlie.  This is my site.  ;)  It was nice to see the fresh perspective he had.  It reminded me of my own optimism (and of course idealism) when first getting to country.  I think it helped give me a little boost in the midst of my frustration. 

Charlie directed a community map activity with the kids.

The idea is they think about what businesses and resources
already exist in the community and what they could possibly
add or start to help compliment what is already there.

Business consulting is tough too.

My birthday came and went.  I turned 27 and entered my late 20s.  A few friends and I went to another city and went rappelling and visited a waterfall.  My buddy from site, Gonzalo, came along and brought a bunch of the gear along and helped set things up for the trip.  It was a short trip, but nice to get out of site for a weekend and relax for a bit. 

It was Lauren's birthday too, so we had a joint celebration.

Cerro del Torro. 70m cliff on that side. 

... and we hiked straight up.

I think Gonzalo almost died carrying the 50+ lbs of gear we had.
He has subsequently made me carry the gear in later trips.

Part of the crew.

Looking out towards Matagalpa.

Getting ready to go.

I was excited at least.  Jessica was terrified.

Cascada Blanca in Matagalpa where we finished off the day.

It was a good day!

I suddenly was swamped with work preparing for an international tourism fair that Gonzalo and I attended.  We’re working on revamping his entire business essentially.  He’s a tour guide based in Somoto, and probably the one with the most experience in the canyon.  We’re trying to position him as a tour operator for more than just the canyon, but for all of the north of Nicaragua.  The hook is adventure tourism, and he is well positioned to grow if we get through this push.  The most recent work has been on marketing materials, which you can see below.  I’ve spent hours and hours on this stuff and probably will never be completely satisfied on the results.  The website is still definitely a work in progress, but a major improvement from what we had before.

Updated logo.

A brochure we made to hand out in hostels, hotels, etc. I joke that I'm leaving my mark quite literally on the business since there are several pictures of me scattered around. 

A Prezi we used during a tourism fair. 

New webpage.  Not all of it is translated yet. 
Clicking on the picture will take you to the website.

The culmination was FENITUR in Managua.  Several Nicaraguan agencies sponsored the event and invited other tour operators from surrounding countries to come and see what Nicaragua had to offer.  We made plenty of good contacts at the event.  The challenge now is follow-up.

Matching shirts and everything!

Gonzalo was interviewed by one of the national papers
and then a story came out a few days later.

That's an update for April.  I'll work on one for May soon. 

the canyon

starting around minute 29 you can see what we do in the canyon.  38 has a shout out for mom!

reflections on adventures

 i just passed nine months in country.  pretty crazy to think about.  my life before Peace Corps seems like an eternity ago even with a trip home for Christmas.  it hasn't all been amazing, but life certainly has gotten more interesting since leaving on may 9th from Reagan International.

nine months ago i was making as much money in one or two nights waiting tables as i now do in a month.  i was terrified of the decision i had just made to give up my comfortable life in the states and move to the second poorest country in Latin America.  i had this silly fear that my language skills wouldn't be up to par and that my time spent in grad school wouldn't help me at all.  basically any and every reason for why this was a crazy idea was racing through my mind.

28 new friends

every time someone asked me if i was nervous i would just tell them that all i needed to do was get on the plane. it would be easy from there (and once the cabin doors closed, i wouldn't have a choice).  i was excited to improve my spanish, meet new people, and see tons of new things.  the day had finally arrived after 21 months of waiting, and i could start my peace corps adventure- hopefully to apply some of the things i had learned about international development in the classroom all the while gaining lots of experience and improving my job prospects in the future.  i wanted to climb some mountains while i was at it, visit the beach, and, most of all, have an adventure.

these nine months have been quite the roller coaster.  big highs. big lows.  sometimes it seems like there isn't an in between.  part of that comes with being so out of what is considered "normal."  it has been a great time overall, however, and i thought i'd reflect on what have i learned so far in these nine months:

perfect spot for reflecting. 

-this thing is quite the adventure: every day is different.  one day i could be in the high school all day working with my teachers and trying to convince them to use a scheduling program to help with the class schedule.  the next i'm going to the canyon with the guides i work with and talking about customer service.  the next i'm out having coffee with little old ladies in the rural communities talking about their credit co-operative and what kind of things they would like to learn about in the coming year.  i wanted variety in my job and certainly got it.  i've also been able to have some great trips to the beach with friends and enjoy all that this beautiful country has to offer.  i think back to what i was doing before and it doesn't compare at all (i was waiting tables after all).  i think about the other options and they definitely don't seem as fun or exciting.  just the thought of an office job makes me restless.

- patience: i don't think if you were to ask any of my friends to describe me that "patient" would be an adjective on top of their list. patience has been a continual lesson here whether i want it to be or not.  from waiting for transport to meetings or classes that never start on time, there is always waiting involved. i usually bring a book, or something else to do, and just wait for things to eventually start. even washing clothes requires much more patience and time.  i'm getting really good at solitaire on my phone too from the times i forget a book.  while i still wouldn't describe myself as a patient person, i've learned to handle these situations with greater ease.

wait, you want me to eat that?
(i did. it was delicious)

- culture shock sucks: (and there's nothing you can do to avoid it) not that i didn't know this before, considering i culture shocked in ecuador and then reverse culture shocked going home, but i've learned it's unavoidable even if you've experienced it before.  it's an individual response and everyone experiences it differently, but the certainty is that we all experience it in some way or another.  from physical discomforts like not always having water or electricity to mental and emotional challenges of language barriers and homesickness, everyone gets it in one form or another. i think the biggest lesson is how i respond to culture shock. do i let it fester and just get worse and worse? or do i seek out ways to respond (like peanut butter and parmesan cheese or calling a friend to vent for a bit) and adapt?  eventually my perspective changes and things don't seem as bad anymore.  i'm not saying it's easy (like i said, it sucks), but i've seen it in me and in other volunteers.  like most things, how we respond to culture shock makes all the difference.  insert some corny comment about overcoming challenges and adversity here. but seriously, it's true.

- development is hard: canceled meetings, miscommunication, language barriers, loneliness, not getting the hero's welcome you expected (don't they realize i came here to help them??), etc., etc., etc.  the list goes on. sometimes i've felt like i'm banging my head against the wall and don't see any progress with the projects i'm working on.  the temptation is to think, "if they don't want my help, what's the point?"  then i see one kid get it, one business i'm working with start to see the point of whatever we're trying to implement, or women in the credit co-ops i work with start to consider bigger possibilities for their community fund. near the end of training when we found out our sites, they read us our "aspiration statements."  mine said, "I realize that I will not solve all of Nicaragua’s challenges single-handedly.  What I do hope is to make an impact on some of the people I interact with on a day-to-day basis and, hopefully, leave things better than how I found them."  i think we all had something similar. especially in the peace corps, we're not going to change the whole country because the model is community-based and very small scale (plus we don't have any money), but maybe we can impact a handful of people and make a small change. poco a poco.

- perceptions of wealth: nicaraguans like to make a hand gesture that is supposed to look like a wallet bulging with bills.  basically it's used to describe anyone you think is loaded.  the assumption is that we are because we're norteamericanos. most are very surprised when i tell them how much i make.  we are poor as volunteers. i'm making the equivalent of just over $8 a day (look at me now mom! that's why i went to grad school!).  back home at a low-skilled labor job like waiting tables i could easily clear $100 a night. it feels like i'm poor because sometimes i can't do everything i want in comparison.  then i go to the campo (rural areas) and realize i have no idea what poor even means. the people i visit live in houses with mud walls, dirt floors, and zinc sheet metal roofs.  some have electricity. some don't.  where do you even start to compare? i've experienced some of the greatest generosity from people who have the least to give away. it challenges my perspective and is a nice check to my pride on a fairly daily basis. sometimes that bulging wallet gesture might still apply, even if i don't want it to.

OK, so are you happy? a lot of times people ask me that. the answer is yes.  this is definitely what i want to be doing and should be doing at this moment. i learn something everyday, whether about myself, my community, or life in general.  this life is so different from back home. it's been hard. it's been challenging.  i see things that don't make sense or fit within my framework of normal and am challenged to think beyond what "normal" has always meant to me. this is definitely the adventure i wanted.  i have a year and a half left, and i have a feeling that the adventures are only just beginning. 

what's next?

what i'm doing these days

a few things i'm hoping to work on in the next few months:

- my buddy gonzalo and i applied to a fhi360/USAID sustainable tourism grant and were approved!  we'll be organizing a summer camp for private and public school kids to "develop potential" using the north of the country as a backdrop.  a lot of kids don't ever get to leave their region of the country, so it is hopefully helping to develop local tourism a bit.  we'll be working on that with a few other partner orgs over the next few months and hopefully implementing by august.
 
- i did a small needs assessment of the women's credit groups i've been working with for another ngo i work with and through that have learned they want a manual that actually explains how things work.  crazy idea huh? the more i talk to people though, i'm realizing that there is already a manual... it's just not being used apparently.  haha.  so i'll be working on developing that as well as creating a curriculum of financial literacy combined with basic business skills that each group will need to complete.  we'll probably have some cool certificate at the end that says they've completed it.

- i want to go to the beach.

- gonzalo also has a tour agency based here in somoto. he's probably my closest friend here in town. we're going to be working on several projects with him over the next few months to try and grow his business starting with customer service trainings for the guides he uses. then we'll work on an accounting system and a better marketing strategy.

- school classes start next week.

- i'm hoping to get connected with Plan International here in Somoto and start working with their monitoring and evaluation officer to help improve their community based monitoring systems. this is what i'm really interested in.

- i want to go to the beach.

- i'm working with another org started by a former pcv that does emergency preparedness stuff in the rural areas.  we also deliver cheap water filters that last up to five years to help reduce water-born illnesses. i specifically am working with the firefighters to help them start selling extra filters to anyone who is interested as a way to raise funds for the station.

- i'm working with my bosses from peace corps to work on re-doing the monitoring and evaluation plan for the biz program. i'm pretty excited about this, but it's a bunch of work.

- did i mention i want to go to the beach as much as possible?

a trip home

i drove again! after 8 months!

i was able to travel home for a week to see family over the week of christmas.  it was a good time to see friends and family and just take a few days to kind of relax.  i say kind of beause i think i slept less than i normally do.  but i was able to enjoy the creature comforts of things like a hot shower, sharp cheddar cheese, good beer, wine, and just a ton of food.  it was an entirely different world from what has become normal to me over the last 8 months.

homemade!

the entire time felt kind of like a dream.  a very vivid dream, but a dream nonetheless.  i kind of wondered when i would wake up and be back in nicaragua.  i actually woke up a few times in the middle of the night at my parents' house and found myself very confused about where i was.  i had to look around really closely at everything that was around me and then realize that i was back in NC and not in nicaragua.

i don't think the aisle ever ended

i went into wal-mart and target the first full day being back.  it stressed me out.  there was so much stuff. and lots of people.  you'd think that i'd be fine because of the markets in nicaragua.  often they are packed, cramped spaces with tons of people walking around and bumping into you.  yet the superstores seemed to make me more uncomfortable than being in the big markets in managua.  i also at one point remarked, "the size of this store must be the size of my town almost." obviously a dramatic overstatement, but it conveys the idea and feeling i had while being in there.

i didn't even know where to start

anyone who has traveled for an extended amount of time knows that culture shock is not fun.  i purposefully didn't want to stay a long time because i knew that it would get worse the longer i stayed.  as it was, the time felt just right because i never really seemed to wake up from my dream of being home.  some things were still fairly poignant.  the amount of money i spent while home, for example, was probably about two months of my salary in nicaragua.  two months versus eight days. crazy isn't it?   when i got to miami everyone was speaking english to me, which sounded really strange and i still responded in spanish half the time.  i also felt incredibly overwhelmed as i opened the pantry to what seemed like a limitless supply of snacks and food.  how much food can two people need?  it was fascinating to see, yet i could never decide what to eat...

tasty beverage in raleigh.
good beer still does exist!

others who haven't traveled as much didn't seem to understand the strangeness of it all.  i got "aaron, you haven't been gone that long" a few times as i couldn't think of an english word or where something was in town. sometimes it's hard to put into words the experience we have as peace corps volunteers.  the best way i could think of how to describe it was to say it is like putting on a t-shirt backwards.  it fits... for the most part, but it still just kind of has a weird feel to it. the collar is tugging at your neck because it is cut the other way.  my currently reality is very different than what i experienced again while at home.

last good beer for who knows
how long...

i came back and went to the beach for a few days to relax and transition back into life in country.  i ate lots of street food, drank the local beer, and couldn't wait to get back to my site.  when i got home my host family welcomed me with open arms, and we sat and chatted about what had happened for the last few weeks while i was gone.  they really enjoyed the chocolates i brought back with me too.

after visiting home, i've realized i have two homes.  i have my home in north carolina, but i also have my home here as well. i was excited to get back to site and meet up with my friends here again.  put simply- i enjoyed my time at home, but i couldn't be happier to be back here in nicaragua.

got to come back to this. can't really argue.

technology dependency

my friend david asked me a nerdy econ question the other day.  "of all your posessions here, what do you derive the most utility from?"  or what gives me the most happiness.  i decided it was my computer since i have been without it for over three weeks now and i have been bored out of my mind in my down time.  i even started contemplating what reggaeton christmas music would sound like at one point...  after that, we both agreed that our cheap peace corps phones are pretty important to both of our lives.  especially since this conversation was happening over text message, i think the point is reinforced even more.  funny how these little candy bar phones that are like the phones people in the states used over 10 years ago are our most important posession.  but they keep us in contact with all of our other pcv friends.  we can call each other for free and send unlimited texts.  best $20 phone ever. 

the beach i was at over the weekend:

where the heck have you been?

anne keller has chastised me for not having updated this for a while. so here's an update.  a lot has been going on recently since the end of october until now.  a peace corps fundraiser. a regional competition. a trip to the "grand" canyon of central america. a national competition. in-service training.  my rural entrepreneurship class. and, what seemed most important to me, was when my computer broke.  i think i stared at the wall for about an hour in shock not really knowing what to do.  i regularly feel like i watch the paint peel of the walls since i lack all of the entertainment my lappy provided.  also probably why i have been a bit slack on the blog posts.

sooooooo...... peace corps fundraiser! every year for at least the past few years, we have put on a "cocktail party" or "benefit" or whatever you might want to call it to raise money for the national competition that we put on for the student businesses.  it helps buy prizes, lodging, etc for the kids who come all the way to managua.  some of them have never even been, so it is a cool experience for them.  as biz volunteers we were required to go, so we all put on our best duds and had a great time.  it basically is the closest thing to an all volunteer conference, so there were tons of vols from every sector as well as families from the embassy, rpcvs, and other people who knew a biz volunteer trying to pawn their tickets off on people (we were required to sell tickets).

 

shortly after getting back to site, we had the regional competition for madriz and nueva segovia departments. the five pcvs brough several groups (11 total) and they competed against each other being judged by a panel of 4 based on creativity, business plan, marketing plan, presentation, and finances.  in our region we had a lot of food products, which honestly is a challenge to get away from.  i had one group that was making small solar panels but when it came time to compete they decided they didn't want to participate.  still, my group took third place with their avocado ice cream pops.  the idea sounds kind of weird, but was delish.

this wasn't even my group. they just wanted a picture.

the group i took from somoto. i swear my profe normally
looks happier than that. 

a few weeks after, somoto had it's carnaval for the fiestas patronales.  basically it is a huge street party for several blocks with a bunch of stages of competing bands and djs... until 5am. a few friends from my group came up to join in the fun, so we decided to go to the somoto canyon, which i still hadn't visited at the time.  they call it the grand canyon of central america, even though it's no where near the size of the actual grand canyon.  still, it was pretty fun to explore.  we even did a jump of 18m into the water at one point.  see david wolfson for videos of that event.  

a high speed shot of courtney doing the 18m jump.
i'm sure she'll love me for making it animated.

after going to the canyon, i went back to my house because my host sister and boyfriend were getting married.  it was more of a reception in comparison to our weddings in the states.  they had the party at their house, but it was when eunice and wilbur officially were legally married.  this involved a bottle of rum on every table as well as ice and limes.  what better way to celebrate a wedding?

fransisco, my host dad, and me

maria, my host mom, and eunice, my host sister

wilbur

yes, this is blurry, but i think it more accurately depicts how things started going

valeria, my host niece

officially signing the documents!

fran is a great guy. 

i ducked out after a while and met up with several other volunteers that were in town as well as some of my nica friends here and went to carnaval and danced it up in the street until the wee hours of the morning.  it was a pretty awesome day... except for the next day when i went up into the mountains to deliver filters to a rural community with another org that i've gotten connected with here in nicaragua. needless to say, i was quite tired, but it was a lot of fun to deliver the filters and then go around to the houses to take pictures.

we had to carry the filters up the hill because the truck
couldn't travel the whole way.  

my sitemate cherrie still hasn't mastered the
carrying things on your head technique.

oscar is our firefighter representative.  once we've
distributed the filters, we go to each house and check
the homes for fire hazards.  the filter basically creates a good
way to get into the homes.  it is also helping create a
connection with the firefighters for this community.

can't beat his view!

one of the homes we went to.

i don't have any pictures of the national competition, but basically we all went into managua and the 12 best teams that were picked from the regional competitions competed on the same criteria.  this was much more serious and the competition was intense.  two really cool products won.  second place was an attachment for the tap to fill up the barrels of water that ever family has in nicaragua. that way people don't have to wait around and watch it.  since the water only comes on at night in some homes, they can leave the "llave automatico" attached and not worry about wasting water.  the other product was a cool mosquito trap that lasted for two weeks.  both very useful here in nica. 

my main work these days has been my once a week class in san lucas with one of my organizations.  they pay for kids in the rural communities to come into town and we have the entrepreneurship course at the local community center. i was hoping for one more week with that, but found out today that next week is canceled. so we're done for the year! 

victor, one of my counterparts helping me explain fixed and variable costs

he got really intense about it

then the kids had to place different types of costs where they thought they would go.

this is usually what my class looks like at the end

group work!

explaining group work!

intro activity to "markets"

explaining what a "market" is

anyways. that's an update.  hopefully it was interesting.  i tried to do more pictures than text for the ADD inclined.  here are a few other pics that i pulled off the camera.

one of the stray donkeys that just roams the streets. i saw him later in the yard of the church.

luis is the son of the woman who comes to wash my family's clothes.
he just picked a bunch of passion fruit and was really excited about it.

my room. well part of it. there's not much more to it though.

a massive toad in the back yard the other night.