first week in Masaya

Hola amigos!

So its been just about a week since I arrived in Nicaragua, but it feels more like a month. I am pretty exhausted, but everything is going great for the most part. There are so many things I want to talk about; I don’t know where to begin….

My host family is awesome. I really think I lucked out big time! I think I am on a roll with this host family business, even with all the drawbacks of not having personal space and all that stuff, sometimes, families are just great. Anyways, I have a mom and dad that own a little store, called a pulperia, out of their home. They are really busy working all the time, but they have tons of business. They sell EVERYTHING- pre-cooked beans, cheese, chicken, tons of soda, candy, toiletries, milk, etc. I think this will be great in the future to see how they started and manage their business once I get into that part of training. Then I have three siblings, which are great and have been pretty welcoming. Considering I have only been here 4 days, they are very welcoming and have met lots of their friends. They are a few years older then me. Basically life here is really slow paced, and a lot of my time is spent just sitting outside of the store and just chilling. Don’t think my life is that chill though, wait till I get to the training part. I guess the funniest thing that has happened with them is my new found participation in basketball. We all know I am not a huge fan, the extent of my playing is bump and HORSE (I am trying to promote bump among the Nicas.) Haha.. well now I am playing 5 on 5 with all these random Nicaraguan friends of the fam two of the four nites I have been here, and I have no idea what I am doing, and they are coaching me and telling me court positions and how to do layups. It is all about integrating, right? So I had to play…. It was pretty funny (I was horrible) Oh, and did I mention is so hot and I am sweating buckets? Well, I am slowing adjusting to the heat, are at least getting a little used to sweating constantly. Its going ok. Ummm, what else? Oh, also one of my sisters has a 6 year old daughter. She is really cute! Haha, also something really funny! Most of the peace corps volunteers that have stayed with this family ended up staying and living in Nicaragua! Hahah, actually marriage among volunteers and Nicas is super common. Don’t worry though, I haven’t found my media naranja in this first week! Also, my family are throwing my a birthday party this Saturday.. so I am sure that will bring lots stories. It will be the first of three birthdays I will celebrate here, so I hope it’s a good way to start things off!

Training is going well, but it’s a little frustrating. Since I am in the advanced group, they expect a lot out of us a lot sooner then the other language levels. I understand the added workload, but I am pretty overwhelmed since I am still adjusting to the language differences, the culture shock, and the heat, and just everything involved in suddenly moving here. I think everything will go great, but today I had a few minutes (or hours) where I think it all suddenly sunk in and I got a grasp of everything that was happening and I need to accomplish during this training. This week we are already starting up 2-3 youth groups, organizing “charlas” or little lectures and the high schools, as well as getting a lot of technical training, vaccines, and tons of other info. It’s a lot to take in, but I think my group and I will do well. We all get along and I think we have similar ideas and goals for this training period.

Well, what else? Overall, this week has been rollercoaster of feelings, but I guess its all part of the process. I am definitely happy with my family, and am looking forward to the next few months, although they will be exhausting! I will let you know how it goes…

Bye pue…

Irene