#29 Posh Corps

Last week was spent visiting our future sites, introducing ourselves to our counterparts and getting to know our new families and towns. I lucked out hardcore when it comes to my family, location, and most of all my living conditions.

The island is so sexy. Two volcanoes make up the island of Ometepe in the middle of a fresh water lake located in the center of the Nicaragua. Anywhere you go on the island you have a gorgeous view of at least one of the towering volcanoes.

My primary job is to co-teach an Entrepreneurship course to juniors and seniors at 4 high schools, 1 in my town, and the 3 others within a 45 minutes bus ride. I met with the principals and all the teachers I’ll be working with and I feel that my relationship with my counterparts will, for the most part, work out well. 

I met with the chief of police, the mayor, and several directors of various organizations who work on the island. One of the umbrella organizations invited me to a meeting on Friday with the directors of about 15 other organizations. That was an interesting meeting, keep reading…

I met my new host family – mother, father, two sisters (16 and 18), several cousins between 10 and 20 y/o and other relatives living in various homes on the property. My house is one of the nicest houses I’ve been in since arriving in Nicaragua. I have a shower, flushing toilet, a big screen plasma, washer/dryer, microwave, fridge, toaster… Literally all of which I have been living without and had expected to go without for the next 2 years. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw an A/C unit in my bedroom – literally chills ran from my toes through my body. Posh Corps. Sorry I’m not sorry.

My Spanish is improving dramatically. I feel like Toby McGuire in the first Spiderman when he is about to get beat up in school and everything slows down because of his newfound “Spidey-sense.” When I first arrived I couldn’t understand pretty much anything anyone said to me. I couldn’t define when one word ended and the next began, while now it seems that people are speaking slower, clearer, and pausing more between words.

Some stories:

My family was surprised that I didn’t know how to ride a motorcycle and had only been on one 3 times due to the fact that it is by far the most common mode of transportation here (they have 3 or 4 motorcycles/dirt bikes). They were impressed that I could drive a car and had learned how to when I was 16 years old. I explained the differences in cultures and how most families in the US own cars and how stores are often not within walking distance of your home. 

I had an appointment to meet with the Mayor at 9:00am on Wednesday, but upon arrival, I was told that the Mayor had left the island for the day forfeiting his scheduled appointments. We rescheduled for the next day at 8:30, where we didn’t meet until about 10:30 while I was passed around the other offices being introduced to other higher-ups in the town. It’s a good thing Nicaraguans enjoy talking here because I couldn’t understand the Mayor’s fast-talking and thick accent. I chimed in every now and then with a ‘yes’  ‘sure’  ‘I agree.’

There is a port about 20 yards from my house and the sun will be setting in the distance for the next two years so expect to see lots of pretty sunset photos. (one of my host cousins in the pic...)

Meeting with about 15 or more different classes, I was able to perfect my introduction and job description in Spanish by the 5^th or so class, even getting the students to ask some questions about my life. While I was being introduced, each principal explained that while I was there to teach business, I’d also be able to teach English classes. I quickly learned how to explain that I was not an English teacher: I would ask who in the room can teach me Spanish, the reply being all the hands in the class would rise. I then picked the most energetic student and starting quizzing him on the technicalities of how he would teach me a language. He quickly realized he couldn’t teach me Spanish, and they understood that speaking and the ability to teach a language are completely different.

I accepted an (addressed, printed, and signed) invitation to the meeting with directors of various organizations to discuss a project to help clean the island for Friday from 8:30am to 2:30pm. The meeting was located outdoors on a farm/hotel just feet from the shore. For the entire length of the meeting, I could not understand the main speaker (again speaking very fast with a thick accent). I became aware that there is no line between professional and personal lives here when the directors started asking me about my taste and experience with women [When my friend Jake went to his first meeting with all the teachers/principals of his school, the first question they asked him was how many girls he’s had sex with since being in Nicaragua]. I grew more irritated and uncomfortable as the meeting continued and began intruding on my plans to explore the island with my new family at 2:30pm. The meeting ended at 3:45pm, but all the directors (and myself, because I had no ride) stayed until around 6:00pm while they drank the two handles of rum purchased during the meeting.

The town of Moyogalpa is definitely touristy with backpackers and plenty of (delicious) restaurants and a few ho(s)tels. I appreciate the restaurants because rice and beans as the main course for nearly every meal is growing old. There are a seemingly endless number of activities to do on the island: hiking to waterfalls and up volcanoes, kayaking, biking, zip lines, horseback riding, ancient artifacts, fishing, and lots of that organic farming type of stuff. I feel fortunate to be able to live in such an incredible place for two years and fully expect the next two years to fly by.

“Tranquilo, tranquilo…” means take it easy, chill out, no worries, patience… It seems to be the motto of the island life and I’m welcoming it with open arms.

#28 Making Moves

I’ve seen a somewhat drastic change in my host family this week.

Since I’ve arrived, I have been pressuring my parents to put more pressure on their kids to focus on education and exercise rather than wasting hours in front of the television. I’ve had educational materials sent (Big shout out to Jamie Seff and the Wessler family for the 10 math/reading workbooks and stacks of flashcards) from home for my family hoping that with some fun age appropriate materials, my brothers will change their perspective on “learning” or “studying.”

During dinner one day this week, my parents broke the news to my younger brothers that they would, starting the following day, be permitted to only watch 3 programs on TV per day and must either play outside or study during the other times. They absolutely LOVE the workbooks and flashcards. They are doing them for fun more often than not. I have actually kept some in my room to surprise them when they complete the ones they are currently working on.

The second big move this week was with my parents. My job here is to assist small businesses and, conveniently for me, my family has a small business where they sell paint and various hardware store type materials from their house. On Friday night, I sat down with my parents and showed them their profit margins for each product they sold, their break-even points, and possible things they can change. I essentially told them how much money they make on average per month from their business and which products are worth selling and which are not. They roughly knew which products were better than others and how much money they were making, but my mother specifically said that she was so happy to actually see it on paper as it was the first time she had the opportunity to. The next step that I’m hoping she will do this week, is to record her sales and costs for just the week so we can use actual numbers rather than estimates.

To top it off my Nica Aunt is pregnant and if their child is a boy, he’ll be graced with the name Zac.

Doin’ work in Nicaragua.

I’m spending this week in my new site on the island of Ometepe, going to meet my co-workers, family, and get my integration on. Lots of photos and pics in the next post : )