3.13-3.24.18

It is very overwhelming to think how far behind I have gotten on my blogging. I originally thought I did not have much going on the past few weeks but after I started writing I was finding it difficult to stop. Thus my happenings will be broken into two different blog posts.

Over the last few weeks I've been working real hard on my Spanish and starting to sorta see improvements (I find it is difficult to recognize if you are improving at something you are doing literally every moment of every day). After feeling the last few weeks that I was not being challenged enough in class, myself and a friend talked to PC and starting Monday we will have a new teacher for the two of us.

There is still so much I need to improve on in my Spanish so I'm very excited to start moving at a faster pace. I did notice a serious improvement the other day when I was able to carry out a conversation with someone about cigarettes in the US, how the different state governments tax them, and differences in perceptions between the US and Nicaragua. Definitely could not have had that conversation on day one.

Below is a photo of my group with our first Spanish teacher Tomasa taken by my friend Rougui.

I recently found myself entering into a beautifully relaxing routine almost everyday. It consists of me laying in my hammock and listening to Latin music (or Disney songs in Spanish which has become a favorite). Sometimes I switch it up and read a book in Spanish or listen to a Spanish podcast. These moments are my new zen. It does wonders to my day having anywhere from 10 min to 2 hours of this.

A few highlights from two weeks ago:

- It was my niece's birthday mid-March and we had a little family celebration (there will be a big party in April). Sarhita was dressed in the most adorable tutu, we sang, ate hamburgers and cake, and watched as my nieces and nephews danced around the house shaking their hips to the music.

fam-squad pictured above inhaling the burgers

- Recently, I had a really cool opportunity to play in a frisbee tournament in Nicaragua! Our team was half American (Peace Corps people and missionaries) and half Nicaraguan. We played in four games before we all became too exhausted and decided to call it quits. It was such a great opportunity to play a sport I love in a new country and with new friends.

Below is my team, we thought the picture would be best if half of us had our eyes closed (its a joke mom).

Below is a picture of all the teams in the tournament

- After a health class for the Peace Corps (which took place in a different town) me and just 5 others decided to grab a drink and unwind (usually the whole crew goes (19 people)). We checked out this little bar that had a garden area in the back and great Latin music playing. It was a fantastic opportunity to really get to know some people in my health group, I even had 2 beers- it was pretty wild.

below is the sun-setting in a neighboring city, Diriamba

- After returning it took a lot of effort to stay awake until 10pm so I could wish my mom a happy 6-0 at midnight. I was greeted by my slightly inebriated family and minus the fact that I was sober, in bed using my headlamp, and in rural Nicaragua- I felt like I was right there with them!

The next morning I had to wake up at 5:30 to catch a ride to Laguna de Apoyo-it used to be a volcano which erupted and filled with rain water over thousands of years and is now a beautiful "tourist" location (tourist is in quotes because we were told you'll never see more than 80 people there on any given day). We had a class at 9 am but arrived at 8 with some time to kill. I headed straight to the water and was the first to jump in and finally enjoyed swimming in this always beautiful 80 degree weather. Many trainees followed suit and we spent the next hour throwing around the frisbee and splashing around (probably the cleanest I have been in a while).

Both photos below were taken by Jasmine Williams.

At 9 we had a class on diversity led by current volunteers which was really interesting and comprehensive. After we enjoyed some lunch with a view, followed by 3 more hours of swimming and spending time getting to know each other better. It was much needed relaxation and English speaking.

- I hosted a movie night at my house that consisted of projecting "Coco" in Spanish on the wall in my living room (amazing movie if you haven't seen it). I watched with my site-mates and nephews and my host sister surprised us with some of the most delicious palomitas (popcorn) I have ever eaten (and she gave us literally a mountain of it).

- For the health sector I am required to complete what is called a "Casita" during my training and eventuallly a bigger one during my actual service. It consists of having guided conversations with different community members and leaders within my town about the different health concerns etc etc. I've found these to be so interesting and fascinating. An incredible opportunity to learn about what is going on in the community from the people who know it best.

- Not so much a highlight, but rather an interesting experience, was the Peace Corps gave us a talk on resiliency. Accompanying this talk was a "Cycle of Vulnerability and Adjustment" chart that has been used for all Peace Corps volunteers since the 80's. It basically shows you the normal emotional pattern Peace Corps volunteers experience throughout their service. Was definitely a somewhat jarring experience looking at the months of lows and highs and being told this reigns true for most people. But PC also provided us with information on how to cope and address issues that come up related to these highs and lows.

Hoping to have my next post up and out before Monday- and for my own sake promise to never get this behind again.

Over and out- Mal