Adios

There have been many times here that have been difficult, and I know that I won´t remember those as much as the good. So today, I made a list for myself just in case I was feeling really sad, I could remember what I really didn´t like. So here goes.
5. Being stared at when I´m walking anywhere, doing anything.
4. Being yelled at on the street, adiosssssss mi amorrrr, chelita, gringa, ect.
3. So much about the educational system that it could be its own list
2. The creatures..scorpions, rats, mice, spiders, tarantulas, cochroaches, yuck.
1. Sweating all day, everyday for 2 straight years! And smelling like it.

The bad doesn't even compare to the good, but the bad is a daily thing, and the good sometimes is more hidden. But here is what I will remember and miss, in no particular order.

Farah-the smartest little girl ever. She picked up English so easily and we spent many afternoons together in private English class. She is very creative, funny, and full of life. She invited me to her birthday party, we once took a 5 hour bus ride together on a packed bus and sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer like 20 times. I will miss that Farita.
My neighbors, not just these neighbors, but specifically bird. I am holding bird, or pajarito, in this picture, and this kid kept me entertained. The crying, the screaming, the AMAZING dancing, the spaziness of it all. I will miss bird. And speaking of spaz, I will also miss our next door neighbors, a family of 7 women and pobrecito Carlos.
My Telecentro English class. Some of these kids were in my community class for 2 years (Susy, Jared, Maried, Luis); others came and went. We had some good times, and we played a lot of UNO. We had a Halloween party, without costumes, we had a goodbye party before I went to the USA to visit for 2 weeks, and a welcome home party when I got back, and they also threw parties for my visiting family members. I think we actually just liked to throw parties, not learn English. This group of kids made my English class fun. I will miss Luis for never just calling once, but until I answer. I will miss Maried because she's fun and I really wanted to take her back to the states with us. I will miss Jared because she totally gets gringos and she always has something to say. She also helped me teach English to kids....that was fun.
My counterpart Henry. This is one dedicated, great, teacher. We had some great times teaching together for 2 years! We always spoke in English and Henry really took advantage of me working at INCH. It was great. Henry really made my service. I was lucky.
The gemelo. My best friend for 2 years. He is such a great friend, always doing things for me and helping me with things that I really don't want to do, i.e. chasing out an iguana that got itself stuck in a doorframe, killing a tarantula that was stuck in the sink, changing a lightbulb really really high up. You get the picture. In 2 years this kids English went from 0 to conversational. He also knows really great, useful phrases such as "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" and "Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater". I really feel that Jeff and I realized our potential as English teachers with those lessons. But really, the Gemelo is a great friend.
Williams. Thats right, with a s. One of my 5th year students, turned friend. He walked me home everyday when I was being stalked by a taxi driver. He was my Spanish teacher before my interview. Williams is really chill, really good at English, and also an amazing friend. He knows more vulgar words in English than I do.
And of course, I will miss all of my Peace Corps friends. I wouldn't have made it without them! The following is a collection of good memories!

I am currently at home in Minnesota, I just got home last night. It is scary to be back, no place to live, no job, no car, no money! But its also exciting and completely awesome. Jeff and I were given a early COS (Close of Service) date because of a family situation. Jeff is, however, still in Nicaragua for 2 more weeks. So here I am, home, a RPCV. (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer)

Peace Corps is like a rollercoaster; you're up and you're down in a matter of seconds. There were many days were it went from great to crappy, back to normal in a matter of hours. Was it worth it? Ya, totally. I learned a lot: spanish, about Nicaraguan culture, about Central America, and about myself. I am very greatful for this opportunity, and yes, I would do it again. I will miss it.
Adiooooos!

Nicaragua Independence Day 2008

Nicaragua´s Independece Day doesn´t just celebrate the independence of Nicaragua, but of 5 Central American countries: Guatamala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. It´s a pretty big deal. To celebrate, there are parades the two days before Independence Day. The first parade is when all the primary schools march. But not all the students get to march in Chinandega because we´re such a big city with so many schools, only the TOP students. This means the students who have the best overall percentage in classes, the band, and then some baton twirlers. Our neighbors marched with their school, and they carried the school banner.
Our other neighbours also were in the parade for their school. This is taken afterwards, in front of their house. One was a baton twirler, the girl in the middle was one of the best students, and the little one carried the Nicaraguan national symbol.
The big day in the second parade-the parade for all of the high schools. This year 21 high schools marched in the parade. My school has 4,000 students, and a few hundred walked. First come the best of the best, wearing their very military style outfits, or maybe it looks more like a pilot. The best of the best carry the school banner, the school symbol and the flags for all the Central American countries that gained their independence on this day. Its a pretty big deal. And they have to buy those outfits!!! 500 cords! (40 dollars). The teachers walk behind all of the students, which is why we were lucky enough to get to walk too.
Me and my favorite students. Maried, Williams, Carlos, me, Ricardo, Mariela, and Rider.

Jeff and one of his students who is carrying the flag for Jeff´s school, Tomás Ruiz.
The chaos that is the parade.

Danica and me holding our school´s symbol. Danica is a new TEFL volunteer who is replacing me! Yeah!



Jeff school marched at spot number 14. This took place at about 10 a.m. We got to the baskeball court, where this all takes place, at 6:30 a.m. And it was hot. Really hot. Those poor kids in those pilot suits.
And here come Jeff and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is our new sitemate. She is working at Jeff´s school, and will replace him there.

All schools must do a presentation before they leave the baskeball court to march. Here is my schools amazing performance.
And we´re off marching. Thank god. We were the LAST school. Number 21! We left at 11 a.m.
I don´t think that I can fully explain the chaos that is the Indpendence Day parade. So you get there in the morning and wait all day to start. The baskeball court is filled with hundreds, thousands of students and other observers. Then you finally start walking. I was already drenched with sweat when we left. The march is about 2 hours long. The band plays and the girls dance throughout the march. The sidewalks are packed with people watching. People are sitting on roofs, the sidewalk is overflowing on to the street. Then people start walking with you, infiltrating the band. I was walking with kids and adults up on me the entire time. It´s actually scary. The police sort of try and help, but give up after awhile. I was kicking people out and moving people the entire time. It´s hard for the kids to play the drums when someone is standing right next to them. But that is what those baton twirlers are there for. They swing those things right out into the crowd to move them back and keep them away. That part is great.

That was our second and last Nicaraguan Independece Day celebration. I know for sure that I will never experience anything like that again. Tear.

El Chorizo!!!

The weiner race at the Milwaukee Brewers game!!

In early Aug. we went to the states for 3 days for my brother´s wedding in Milwaukee. It was a lot of fun, although tiring. The day after the wedding we went to the Brewers game with my brother and his wife, Wendy, and a few of their friends. When it came time for the weiner race I cheered with all my might for mi amigo, el chorizo, but it was for not. He was too quick out of the blocks and could not hold, fading face the second half of the race. Que Lastima!

Fish Story!

About a month ago I got the opportunity to go deep sea fishing. Our old sitemate, Ernie, who is working for Peace Corps now in Managua, invited me to go along with him and his dad, that was visiting, and another former PC volunteer from Ernie´s group, down in San Juan del Sur. This was the first time I have ever got to do anything like this, probably cause I suck at fishing. We went out with 2 guides and the 4 of us for the whole day. The guides provided everything, food, drinks, all necessary fishing equipment, etc. All we had to do is get ready. I was the 3rd person to get a chance to reel one in. The first two were good sized fish, but it took them maybe 10 minutes to reel them in. Just my luck when it was my turn I got what seemed to be a good sized one also.

Here is me working hard.
It took me a good half hour to get this fish in the boat. I struggled through fatigue, cramping, and my swimsuit falling almost all the way off me(nothing like showing your ass to everyone on the boat when you are trying to reel in the big one!), because of my weight loss here, but I didn´t let go of that pole. And the results were this...
It was a about a 70 lbs. wahoo. The guide said it was the biggest he had seen caught of that type. Talk about luck! After that we did not have as much luck catching fish, but I did get some awesome sea sickness after I caught my fish. Luckily Ernie´s dad is a doctor and he prescribed me 2 beers and a half a dramamine, which did wonders.
When we got back to port the guide cut up all the fish. We took about 1/6 of the meat from the fish I caught and brought it to a restaurant owned by a chef from California. He cooked it up with some veggie, mashed potatoes and a sauce on top. It was really good, (even Jenny ate some). Here are the catches from the day, minus one which is still in the boat. The two others are Mahi Mahi.
So that is my fish story for my lifetime. I am just glad that it was bigger than the one my dad caught ice fishing and mounted so I can tease him!

It´s been awhile

Well, it has been quite awhile since we have written! Since our last blog, we have gone to the United States and it was glorious! I was so excited to go, and it lived up to its expectations. We did so many fun and great things. First, we went to our friends Courtney and Nate´s wedding. It was really fun and a great way to start off our trip. And it was the first time that we have looked nice for over a year and a half!
Courtney and Nate had a female minister. Our friends here thought that was strange. We don´t just for the record.
Later, we also went to my stepbrother Aaron´s wedding. Here we are with my stepmom Luann in downtown St. Paul. The twin cities are so great! We also had a really good time at this wedding, as it was also very beautiful. That tornado warning didn´t stop us, even if we were told to move away from the very large windows to the back of the room. There was still beer.
Aaron and Kara got married at the James J. Hill Library. When we got back we showed the pictures to our Nicaraguan friends who thought it was so funny and strange to get married in a library. They told me, more than once, oh you gringos really love your books! You even want to get married around them! If you get bored at the wedding, you can read. Followed by laughing by everyone but me. I tried to explain how beautiful it was, but it was lost in cultural differences.
Another favorite pasttime that we have missed was lawn games. Here is Jeff with Renee playing Bag-O. A favorite.
We also enjoyed our favorite local beer, Summit. We have really missed good beer, as there are about 2 options here, both leaving something to be desired. Unless you are a Miller or Bud Light fan, well then, you might be pleased with the beer here. Notice, I am wearing 2 sweatshirts. It was that cold!! (the following pictures are ripped off from Veronica, thanks!)
Jeff also taught some signs that are popular here in Nicaragua. We were remembering that goal number 3 of the Peace Corps is to educate US citizens about our host country. Jeff was on the clock here, giving a short charla on nonverbal communication. We did also go to Southside Family School and give a presentation on our experiences here in Nicaragua. This nonverbal presentation was not included.
We also relived some oldies, but goodies.
And we drank more good beer! Guiness, I miss you....oh, and I miss you too Shaun.
We saw a lot of family and friends and went to 2 twins games! We also ate out at all of our favorite joints. We had a really great time.

Since returning to Nicaragua, Jeff and I have both judged an English singing competition. I judged one for an elementary school where the second place winner was a little 4th grade boy who sang ¨My Heart Will Go On¨ by Celine Dion while wearing a suit and tie. Just thought I would mention that....

Well, at any rate, we are back in Nicaragua and we have 5 months left here. Our replacements are coming next week. And, just for the record, its still really hot here.

Update from The Chin

School started which seemed to conicide with a decline in blog writing by us. So, here is an update as to what we have been doing these past 2 months, other the contemplate the educational system, as stated in Jenny´s previous blog. After we returned to Chinandega from being on vacation and working at the summer camp in Managua, we had about a week to prepare for the upcoming school year. The week before school started all the teachers (a couple hundred teachers) from the department of Chinandega come here to have workshops put on by the Ministry of Education. One of my counterparts happened to be one of the faciliators for the English teachers. He asked me if I would help him with some activities, so Jenny and I ended up presenting particpatory ideas to use in the classroom three days in a row. It was luck that my counterpart happened to be one of the faciliators and we got this opportunity to work with all the English teachers in the department. Yeah, objetive 2.2!!!

The school year at my school definitely got off to a faster start this year since I was already accustomed to my counterparts and the specific challenges that working here entails. But, one challenge that is always hard to overcome is when you do not have a classroom. At my school right now there are 4 different classes that share the basketball court, as shown by the photo, plus one other class that doesn´t fit on the court so they are off in the dirt. Talk about a difficult way to start the year. I work with my counterpart in the morning with 3 of these sections. It is almost impossible to do speaking activities because I can not hear/understand the students and vice versa. Luckily they are in the process of building the extra classrooms necessary and they should be done in April or May...I hope.




My counterpart David writing on the whiteboard in our classroom of 11th grade students (seniors here).

Besides our usual English teachings responsibilities we have been doing some "secondary projects" including cooking with soy and creating a garden and compost pile in our backyard. These are more for our own good and sanity.


Will cooking our "Chorizo with Soy"... It tasted a lot better than it looked!

Will actually bought the soy beans here in Chinandega in the market and then soaked them and got the meat (payana) out of them before bringing them to our house to cook with.


Not really a secondary project, but what would a blog be without a random picture of a parade that came by our house the other night. This one was for a private school that is near our house. Surprisingly, it had a religious theme!

Here is our amazing compost pile it even comes with free baby trantulas!!


Finished after a lot of help from our two friendly environment volunteers, Lucian and Will. We couldn´t have done it without you! Now we just have to wait for the fruits of our labor..peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, two types of lettuce, and melon...mmmm.


This photo is for Jenny´s dad because Jenny said he would never believe her if she told him that she picked weeds.


This is Paul. He is a health volunteer in Corinto. He didn´t really help with the garden, but man, can he supervise!

We have about 7 months left here and it seems to be going so fast. We still have plently that we want to accomplish....next up... making homemade mango wine!!
Oh yeah, and of course the English teaching and all our other projects and responsibilities.

Jenny´s had too much time to think...

The other day I was thinking...why is it so much easier teaching here than in the states? Is it because there are 2 of us in the classroom? I do think that this has a lot of do with it, but not everything. So what else is it? I think it is so much less stressful teaching here. Maybe it´s because I´m a volunteer and I don´t have to deal with any political issues? Once again, yes, but this isn´t a big problem in the US, so it doesn´t really count. So really, why?

Then I got to thinking.....wait, I know nothing about most of my students, much less their names. But neither does anybody else. In the states, we are encouraged to find out why Student A is sleeping during class, why Student B doesn´t do his homework, why Student C is such a spaz, and why Student D copies incorrectly from the board. This is something here that teachers don´t worry about! However, I still do. Sometimes I´ll make comments to my counterpart, Hey did you know that Student B who never does his homework has a job and works all afternoon/evening? And he´ll say....mmmmm. Like, and your point is.....??? I realized that here, the teachers don´t think of this as part of their jobs. Well, I guess, because it´s not.

Some of this makes my life a lot easier. We can treat all students as equals. But the truth is, they aren´t. Why should 2 students who grew up in the states be judged on the same scale as the rest of the students in English class? Since nobody is diagnosed with learning disablities, that must mean that nobody has one, right? WRONG! It is amazing the amount of students who can not copy off the board without their papers looking totally crazy and illegible. But what do we do to help these students succeed? Nothing.

In the states, the schools are really different. Teachers are expected to be part of a committee, hall moniters, lunch moniters, homeroom leaders, counselors, motivators, and more. I realize that only the teachers that really care do the counseling and motivating, but I really feel like that is a large portition of teachers in the US. However, here, teachers are mainly instructors. I am speaking about me as well. Here, I walk into the classroom and I give a lesson. It is up to the student to decide whether they want to learn it or not, listen or not, take notes or not. If they do or not, no me importa. I try and create lessons that stimulate and motivate my students, but beyond that, nada. In the states, I will honestly say, that kid in the back is going to learn, and really try to achieve that. Here I think, those of you paying attention will learn! Even though, sometimes just paying attention isn´t enough for some to learn.

It´s sad really. Jeff thinks that Paulo Freire would be mad. However, most teachers don´t have time here to play the other roles of a teacher. Many teachers teach at one school from 7-12. A different school from 1-6, and yet a different school all day on Saturday or Sunday. This is way to much work to be doing a good job in the classes that you have. There needs to be big changes in the structure of the eductional system to allow the instructors here to really become teachers. There needs to be more teachers, more schools, and more class time for students. I don´t think that 7-12 really cuts it. Students need to recieve more classes, and be given more opportunties for other forms of learning in groups outside of school as well, or even sports teams.

A lot of time, we hear a lot of complaining that there are no materials for teachers. And they´re underpaid. Welcome to the job of a teacher. Wherever we go, we will be underpaid! But materials, what do you REALLY need to inspire youth to learn? An imagination. Sure, some kick ass materials would help, but many times great materials go to waste because people don´t know how to use them. So maybe its better to do like we were told, to keep it smart and simple.

There is so much that really needs to be changed. But really, as a Peace Corps volunteer, what can I do? Nothing with these big, structural changes. But I can try and help teachers do the best that they can, with what is given to them. I can also help students who want to learn English, learn more. It´s a start.

Learning English IS FUN!

Guess what? we are in the paper.
Its true. A photo even. You have to look really hard to find Jeff. He´s all the way in the back next to the drunk guy wearing a hat crooked throwing the metal sign in the air. Where am I? I´m at the store down the block with 8 students buying chips. Ya, we missed the fame for chips!

We spent 2 weeks living in Managua and working at a summer English immersion camp sponsered by the US Embassy. It was soooo much fun. There were 10 of us volunteers and almost 100 students, along with some Nicaraguan English teachers. It was the best experience that we have had so far teaching English, for us and the kids. Because it was total immersion, the students learned a lot in 2 weeks and improved what they already knew as well. The students were from all over Nicaragua. As volunteers, we got to recruit students from our schools. 5 students from my school and 1 from Jeff´s came to the camp. The students were then seperated into 3 basic groups and 2 intermediate groups. 4 of my students tested into the intermediate group, which made me proud. Here is me and my 5 students, plus one. They don´t look happy, but really we were having fun.
In the mornings, they had 3 classes, each 1.5 hours. I taught American Culture class with Caitlin and Jeff taught Speaking and Listening with Paul. Below is Jeff teaching about time.
In the afternoons we had sports or we went on fieldtrips. Here is Jeff with his fieldtrip group.
They also had homework time at night before dinner. The last night we had a talent show where the kids could show off. After that, there was a dance party, obviously. Here are 3 students who did some songs in Spanish. They´re really dressed up. I don´t think that American kids would dress like that to camp. Just a guess.
The last day was a ceremony where the US ambassador came to give out certificates. Then, just like regular camp, there were a lot of tears. Here are all of the teachers, coordinators, and the US ambassador (he´s the really tall guy in the back)