I have now been on my site 2 months and 2 weeks. It feels like I have been here both forever and no time at all. I have moments when I feel as though I can accomplish all the goals of the health sector (HIV/AIDS education, Rooting out adolescent pregnancy, and working to decrease numbers of maternal and infant deaths), and there are times when I question the productivity of my position. The reality is that I am still adjusting and as much as I want to help promote mountains of change in Morrito, I am more likely to affect individual lives in less tangible ways—hopefully for the better. I can give people charlas and information until I am blue in the face; it is their decision what they do with it.
The newest challenge I am facing right now is getting settled into a new house. Yes, even in Nicaragua, moving is a huge pain in the neck. That seems to be a universal phenomenon. I am renting a nice sized house for $35 dollars a month. It consists of a kitchen (and I use that word very loosely), living room and bedroom that is divided into 2 parts, with 2 beds—so there is a space waiting for all of you to come and visit! I share a flimsy latrine with my next-door neighbor and have to carry a 5 gallon bucket of water about 100 yards everyday (don’t worry, I wont’ subject my visitors to this task—unless they are willing). It is more what I would term a “fixer-upper” than a glorious place to live, but it is my space and I am growing attached. I still have no idea where I am going find places to store all my stuff, nor do I know where all this stuff came from. I pass my free time (that is the few hours I’m not wondering the streets looking desperate in hopes more people will befriend me or invite me in for a meal…joking, sort of) relaxing in my newly installed hammock with the fan blowing directly in my face.
As for the work I am doing at the moment, it is sporadic. A usual day consists of a 7 am wake up call in order to clean my house or go and wash some clothes in the river. Somehow neither of these tasks is ever completed. I mosey over to the health center around 9 where I either give a charla, if there are patients, or hang out with the secretary and nurses as we wait around for people to come. Sometimes I fill this time with planning for my next class or youth group meeting. So far I have gone to the schools about 3 times to give classes, which include creative new ways to use plantains…don’t ask. I am hoping to start a series of classes entitled “Life Skills” in the high school, but I can’t decide the best way to get that project started. Luckily I have time, 1 year and 9.5 months to be exact, but who’s counting? After lunch and an unavoidable nap, I pass the time with various activities and end my day with soccer practice and visits to friends’ houses. I’m glad to report these visits have gotten less awkward and I am becoming a fan of the Nicaraguan custom of just getting up whenever you are ready to leave and saying goodbye, without the need to give an excuse for your departure.
The newest challenge I am facing right now is getting settled into a new house. Yes, even in Nicaragua, moving is a huge pain in the neck. That seems to be a universal phenomenon. I am renting a nice sized house for $35 dollars a month. It consists of a kitchen (and I use that word very loosely), living room and bedroom that is divided into 2 parts, with 2 beds—so there is a space waiting for all of you to come and visit! I share a flimsy latrine with my next-door neighbor and have to carry a 5 gallon bucket of water about 100 yards everyday (don’t worry, I wont’ subject my visitors to this task—unless they are willing). It is more what I would term a “fixer-upper” than a glorious place to live, but it is my space and I am growing attached. I still have no idea where I am going find places to store all my stuff, nor do I know where all this stuff came from. I pass my free time (that is the few hours I’m not wondering the streets looking desperate in hopes more people will befriend me or invite me in for a meal…joking, sort of) relaxing in my newly installed hammock with the fan blowing directly in my face.
As for the work I am doing at the moment, it is sporadic. A usual day consists of a 7 am wake up call in order to clean my house or go and wash some clothes in the river. Somehow neither of these tasks is ever completed. I mosey over to the health center around 9 where I either give a charla, if there are patients, or hang out with the secretary and nurses as we wait around for people to come. Sometimes I fill this time with planning for my next class or youth group meeting. So far I have gone to the schools about 3 times to give classes, which include creative new ways to use plantains…don’t ask. I am hoping to start a series of classes entitled “Life Skills” in the high school, but I can’t decide the best way to get that project started. Luckily I have time, 1 year and 9.5 months to be exact, but who’s counting? After lunch and an unavoidable nap, I pass the time with various activities and end my day with soccer practice and visits to friends’ houses. I’m glad to report these visits have gotten less awkward and I am becoming a fan of the Nicaraguan custom of just getting up whenever you are ready to leave and saying goodbye, without the need to give an excuse for your departure.
