Here is an overview of my 27 months in Nicaragua!
47 Volunteers are in my Nica [group #] 56 program. We are sent to Nicaragua to help the local communities in whatever our specialized field may be, mine being business.
Staging:
It all starts Tuesday, May 10th 2011.
Connecticut to Washington DC for Staging.
We are flown to DC to meet with the other 47 volunteers to fill out forms and meet for the first time. We are given government employee passports and short presentations regarding what is expected of us and what we should expect over the next 27 months. This event runs from about noon to bedtime where we are gifted with a few hours of sleep prior to checking out at 2:30 AM to board an early flight to Managua (Nicaragua's Capital). As a tease, we transfer in Miami where sudden flashbacks of Ultra Music Festival will be coursing through my veins.
Orientation Retreat:
Wednesday, May 11th 2011
Upon arrival in Managua we travel an hour south for Orientation Retreat at the Ministry of Education's Training Center. This lasts 3 days and it is our first Nicaraguan experience. We are welcomed by the PC staff and some current volunteers. The usual (or maybe not-so-usual) ice breakers are held to get to know each other. Then it's time for paperwork. Heaps paperwork are scattered around and completed. The Directors and upper-level staffers are introduced and language evaluations are held. Passports, visas, and ID cards are provided. Our bodies get pumped with vaccinations and we each have medical evaluations/interviews regarding health, safety, and security briefings. There is a language program overview and we are segregated to the various language levels (I will be placed in the infant level). After, the staff members provide an overview of training and we are assigned our training sites and site-mates. Then it is off to our training sites.
Pre-service Training:
Saturday, May 14th 2011
3 months of INTENSIVE training begins today (6 days per week, 8+ hours each day). The PC sends us to various training sites dispersed throughout Nicaragua in groups of 3-4 site-mates. Each of us live with a local host family in their homes. **Communication with friends and family will be limited to say the least. A cell phone is not allowed until about 5 weeks in and internet access will be VERY limited.** The first three to four weeks are focused on strengthening language skills, getting to know your family and training town, and dealing with challenging cultural adaptation issues. We are regularly evaluated on our ability to acquire and demonstrate the language, technical, cultural, personal health and safety skills needed to be a volunteer. Often we will have to give presentations to the community in spanish (these are called "Charlas" I think).
Ex.
Monday - Thursday = language classes
Wednesday afternoons, Friday, Saturday = formal technical, cross-cultural, health and/or safety training
Swearing-In
Friday, July 29th 2011
We are PC Trainees up until this point. Assuming we pass all the requirements of training, today we are formally sworn in as official United States Peace Corps Volunteers. During training we are to provide our preferences for our permanent site as we learn about the different areas and districts of Nicaragua. Therefore, today we are given our sites and the real journey begins.
Here on out I am an official Volunteer and begin doing the job I have been trained and selected for (which can be seen in the "My Assignment" tab on the top). I will likely be ALL ALONE at my site, living as a local Nicaraguan with the local Nicaraguans. Please allow the commencement of my plan to turn Nicaragua into a developed nation begin. Cue dramatic music.
47 Volunteers are in my Nica [group #] 56 program. We are sent to Nicaragua to help the local communities in whatever our specialized field may be, mine being business.
Staging:
It all starts Tuesday, May 10th 2011.
Connecticut to Washington DC for Staging.
We are flown to DC to meet with the other 47 volunteers to fill out forms and meet for the first time. We are given government employee passports and short presentations regarding what is expected of us and what we should expect over the next 27 months. This event runs from about noon to bedtime where we are gifted with a few hours of sleep prior to checking out at 2:30 AM to board an early flight to Managua (Nicaragua's Capital). As a tease, we transfer in Miami where sudden flashbacks of Ultra Music Festival will be coursing through my veins.
Orientation Retreat:
Wednesday, May 11th 2011
Upon arrival in Managua we travel an hour south for Orientation Retreat at the Ministry of Education's Training Center. This lasts 3 days and it is our first Nicaraguan experience. We are welcomed by the PC staff and some current volunteers. The usual (or maybe not-so-usual) ice breakers are held to get to know each other. Then it's time for paperwork. Heaps paperwork are scattered around and completed. The Directors and upper-level staffers are introduced and language evaluations are held. Passports, visas, and ID cards are provided. Our bodies get pumped with vaccinations and we each have medical evaluations/interviews regarding health, safety, and security briefings. There is a language program overview and we are segregated to the various language levels (I will be placed in the infant level). After, the staff members provide an overview of training and we are assigned our training sites and site-mates. Then it is off to our training sites.
Pre-service Training:
Saturday, May 14th 2011
3 months of INTENSIVE training begins today (6 days per week, 8+ hours each day). The PC sends us to various training sites dispersed throughout Nicaragua in groups of 3-4 site-mates. Each of us live with a local host family in their homes. **Communication with friends and family will be limited to say the least. A cell phone is not allowed until about 5 weeks in and internet access will be VERY limited.** The first three to four weeks are focused on strengthening language skills, getting to know your family and training town, and dealing with challenging cultural adaptation issues. We are regularly evaluated on our ability to acquire and demonstrate the language, technical, cultural, personal health and safety skills needed to be a volunteer. Often we will have to give presentations to the community in spanish (these are called "Charlas" I think).
Ex.
Monday - Thursday = language classes
Wednesday afternoons, Friday, Saturday = formal technical, cross-cultural, health and/or safety training
Swearing-In
Friday, July 29th 2011
We are PC Trainees up until this point. Assuming we pass all the requirements of training, today we are formally sworn in as official United States Peace Corps Volunteers. During training we are to provide our preferences for our permanent site as we learn about the different areas and districts of Nicaragua. Therefore, today we are given our sites and the real journey begins.
Here on out I am an official Volunteer and begin doing the job I have been trained and selected for (which can be seen in the "My Assignment" tab on the top). I will likely be ALL ALONE at my site, living as a local Nicaraguan with the local Nicaraguans. Please allow the commencement of my plan to turn Nicaragua into a developed nation begin. Cue dramatic music.
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