3.13.18

The people have been asking, so here goes blog #3.

I think I left off my last blog right before my first day of Spanish lessons (why don't you check you may ask, well that requires me leaving this page and opening the page with my other blog and I just do not have the energy for that at the moment).

Well, they sure did begin. My host mom walked me to the site of my Spanish classes (a fellow PCT's house in town) where she gave me a pat and said "Buenas Suerte" (good luck). After we all arrived (all of us dropped off like it was the first day of pre-school) it began. Our Teacher started speaking to us in Spanish and it hasn't stopped since. The first day I'm sure all of our faces were white with apprehension but it's incredible to think how far we have come since then; but I'll get back to that later. My friend's house is large and spacious and happens to be the home of three adorable dogs (they have four but one is really quite ugly) very conducive to staying focused and learning a new language. One of the dogs is a two month old husky who disrupts the class endlessly by simultaneously trying to cuddle and eat our feet and bags.

Our Spanish classes have really been quite amazing. Our teacher manages to incorporate different games and activities that have us constantly moving and learning. She also has us interacting with the community every class. Whether it is asking people for directions using our new transportation vocabulary, meeting people in the streets to work on our introductions, or walking around and creating a map of the community so we can better understand it; there is never a dull moment!

Monday of our second week of class, at 8 am, our professor had us doing this exercise where we had to dance with a broom for a minute then respond to a question about our weekend (in Spanish obviously), and then the next person had to do their own dance while also adopting the dance moves of the person before them. Thank goodness I was second because Brennan, a 6 ft 7 kid from the MidWest, who had been fairly quiet the first week, broke it down Magic Mike style directly after me (Mom, you can look up what that means). All in all it is fun and engaging and in week two I know I have improved my Spanish immensely which is a very satisfying feeling (until I am sitting at the dinner table with my Nica family and everyone is talking quickly and I feel like I will never be able to understand this language).

Throughout the 3 months of training there are a number of activities we are expected to do to prepare us for our actual service. They include meeting with the leaders of our communities, observing different health workers giving presentations, and understanding the needs of the community. This eventually culminates in us giving our own presentations to youths about preventative measures in what ever topic presents itself as most pressing in our community (will likely involve teenage pregnancy which is a major problem in Nicaragua).

We are lucky that in our training town there happens to be a current PCV who will be finished with her service in May. So far we have been able to observe her give two charlas (group talks) to sort of understand what we are getting ourselves into. One about sexual/reproductive health/contraceptives and the other about different emergencies with newborns and the best way to handle them. Each charla included games, different ways to engage the participants, and a bunch of great information. It just so happened that after our first charla we had technical training with the rest of the Healthies (that is what they call us health volunteers) about how exactly to give an equally successful charla.

Wednesdays and Fridays of every week we don't have Spanish class and instead travel to a nearby town for technical training. Wednesdays we are with our entire group of PCTs but Fridays are just the Healthies. During this time we are given the technical tools to carry out the actual work we are going to be doing while in our permanent sites. I have really been so impressed by our training thus far. They are incredibly comprehensive and I am sure will be useful once I have finished my service as well.

Because so much has happened since my last blog it is quite difficult to organize my thoughts and experiences. Thus, here is a compilation of some highlights:

-March 8th was the international day of women where my town hosted a big celebration in the park packed with dancing performances and live bands

- After the celebration we went to my friend Brennan's house where his mom made us fresca. Fresh ginger, coconuts, vanilla (all from their garden), and a little bit of milk made for the most refreshing drink. We followed this up by learning how to make a delicious fried tortilla and bean dish.

-Spending a lazy Sunday in my hammock listening to Spanish music and studying after running around for over an our with my four nieces and nephews (3 of whom are pictured below).

-Being invited to a cumpleaños for the 3 year old nephew of a fellow trainee (the theme was Mario Kart).

-A friendly game of girls vs boys soccer tonight with some kids from the neighborhood and my fellow trainees (boys won this round but there will be plenty more). After the game as we were walking back some of the boys hopped on the back of the bull-drawn cart for a free and faster ride home.

All in all, everything about my experience thus far has been nothing short of amazing. The days pass very slowly in a beautiful, drawn out and relaxed sort of way-- yet a week passes in the blink of an eye. I look forward to taking it slow and enjoying every minute.