It´s Offical I am a PCV

Hi All,

Happy be-lated Thanksgiving and a Happy Holidays too. I am thankful for many things this year most of all knowing that I have the support and encouragement of so many friends and family members back home and in Peru. I'm not going to lie its been tough having to adjust to so much change and then once I finally felt I got the hang of things in Nicaragua I have to pack up and move to my new home, Israel. But as the days go by I am becoming more a part of the community and getting myself more established. I bought a plastic dresser today to store all my clothes. No more living out of a suitcase for me. I am also finding new ways to keep myself entertained since my site is considered a more "campo" rural site. I guess the dirt roads should have given it away. So let me fill you in on some of the happenings thus far.

I officially became a Peace Corps Volunteer November 20th, 2008 at the swearing in ceremony at the US embassy in Managua. SO technically I was in the US when this all happened, since its US soil. The Embassy did look a little like a college campus just with military guards everywhere. The ceremony was smaller then usually because of all the Political unrest due to the municipal elections in early November. It was a little sad because our Host families were uninvited to the ceremony due to the political situation. Everything has calmed done but it did get a little crazy.

During that time in Managua I had a small encounter with a crazy man on the street the 2 days after swearing in the day I was suppose to leave for my new home. I was walking alone to the bank in the morning and as I passed the man he pinched my arm and then threw a rock at me. I didn't get hit by the rock but it did upset me. A large truck loaded with men stopped down the street and were shouting at me. After a moment I realized that they were trying to help me and wanted to know if he had robbed me. They went after him and I don't know if they found him or what. I was just upset by the encounter and ended up staying one more night in Managua before heading to my site. I did learn a lot from that encounter and am even more aware now. I don't think Nicaragua is any less a safe place as somewhere in the states so what happened to me could have happened on the streets of LA. I am truly amazed at how helpful Nicaraguans can be when something bad happens to someone and it does show that bad things happen but there is good there too.

After a day delay I did make it to my site and have been adjusting to my new life. I attended the last few days of the school year at my site. It was interesting seeing how the school day goes. The class day was shorter due to it being the end of the school year which is similar to the states. But then half way through the class day the teacher stopped teaching and the students started working in the yard clearing the area where "real" flush toilets are to be built. That was interesting to see. The students ended up killing a tarantula and then bringing the dead arachnid to me. EWWWW!!! I am not a fan of the bugs that I am now growing accustom to living with. Spiders are the worst and I am told there are tarantulas running about too. I have no desire to find one any time soon.

I have also meet with some of the youth of Israel and watched some of a Volleyball game they played against another town. It was pretty hot and I was amazed at how they are able to play a sport while I am sitting around and feel like I am melting. I also went with my new sister Francie, fellow teacher Mareling and a student Nancy to the Rio (river). It was a 40 minute walk up the carreterra (hwy) then down some dirt road and down a small hill. I had the gripe (cold) and it got me out of having to go swimming. I have learned you don't want to agree to something before you know what you are getting into. I know what to expect in a hike the rivers in Nicaragua are another story they can be very dirty since they are used as a trash dump. Gladly however this river looks clean and I do look forward to swimming in it once the real heat rolls in come March. It did rain on our hike but we got to see a double rainbow. Which was a nice end to a long hike.

Right now is the windy season here in Nicaragua which helps with the heat in Chinandega but since I have dirt roads I unusually end up covered in dust and my room is covered in leaves. Got to love the tile roofs and walls that don't actually reach the ceiling. My Host Mom, after seeing that i had to mush stuff for the size room I had decided we need to knock down a way. It's made of plywood so it was more of pulling the pieces from each other. Now I have a room that's much more livable its till dark, no windows, but much roomier. We also placed a trap over my bed to help with the dust and leaved that rain from the ceiling. It's all a fact of life in Nicaragua. I bought a plastic drawer set so that I can finally after 4 months of being here unpack my life out of suitcases. The one big issue I have had to dealing with is all the trash burning. In the states we have a great way of getting rid of our trash and never really thinking of where it goes or what happens to it all. In Nicaragua I have learned a lot about trash. In my site we have no dump so trash is thrown anywhere. The street get lined with trash in most cities. In my pueblo they will sweep the dirt and then burn the trash, leaves and anything else that they swept up. Smoke is an issue and I know burning plastics in not a good thing for the environment. I am hoping to work on sorting trash to inorganic and organic. So that some trash is reused for compost and not just burned. I save my trash and take it to the bigger city to throw away since they have a dump somewhere.

But now for some nice news. Peace Corps did allow us to celebrate Thanksgiving and I was able to spend mine splashing away on the Beach in Leon. It was a lot of fun with 20 or so PCV from Chinandega and Leon. THe owner of the Hostel even cooked us a Turkey dinner ( it came with an American price), but was oh so delicious. It was a lot of fun to be able to celebrate a US holiday and with people that understand US customs.

I hope everything is going well with everyone. Thanks for all the letters and packages. They are the best. I will send pictures next time.

All the best,
Olenka