Volunteer Visit to Chinandega

So I suppose I'm sort of a moron, but I just realized how to see the comments that people have posted! Thank you for all of the nice/funny comments...its good to know that people are actually reading this!

I currently am in the Peace Corps office in Managua after my volunteer visit. The office is a really nice space and has two computers that the volunteers can use the internet free of charge, its great!

So the trip that I had been anticipating for a long time, the volunteer visit is basically over. It was a really great experience to be in Chinandega for a couple of days and be with a real live volunteer one-on-one. We meet a lot of volunteers who come and give us trainings, but you can´t ask them all the questions that you want to. Plus, actually seeing something in action is a much better teaching tool.

The first day we got there we went to the beach. This beach wasn't particularly beautiful but it was a beach in the sun so it was great. It was the first time I had been swimming in the Pacific, and I'll be honest, the waves really disappointed me. I was told that the waves were very unusually calm when we were there, so I guess next time I'll see the 100 foot waves that I was expecting.

After that little day at the beach we went back to Chinandega and hung out. This city had a much smaller town feel than I expected. The tallest building is three stories high and most all building are one story. Also, there is really only one main road with a bunch of city things on it, while the rest of it is just endless typical Nicaraguan neighborhood. There are three other volunteers that live in Chinandega, a married couple (both 26) that teach English, and a business volunteer (27). Oddly, this is one big reason why I would want a smaller city as a site. I want a site where I live and am friends with Nicaraguans. If I am in a site with 3 other volunteers I would be tempted to hang out with them all the time.

On the flip side of that argument against the big city, the programs available to work with in the big city are amazing. The health center has a great HIV/AIDS testing program and is very open to new ideas that a volunteer would bring. Also, there are a couple of NGOs that work with HIV education that are very willing to collaborate with a new volunteer. While I was visiting, we met some of these various people and agencies that are working on this and it was a great experience.

Basically, I am really having an internal battle with myself over what I want in a site. I want a more rural community with access to the NGOs and people affected by HIV, unfortunately this doesn't really exist (actually one site does sort of exist like that, but I'm trying not to get set on it because we can only preference sites, not actually pick them). Anyways, if you want to know what consumes my thoughts during most of my free time, it´s this internal debate.

During this trip I got to experience for the first time, Nicaraguan HOT. The city of Chinandega is one of the hottest places in the country. Unfortunately I don't have a temperature of how hot, but the sun felt like it was burning a hole through you during mid-day. By 9am it was hot, and only around 5 would it start to cool off. It was so draining to the point that during mid-day you couldn´t really accomplish anything...so we didn't. Where I live in Santa Teresa would probably be just as hot, however we have really strong winds throughout the day and night that keeps things cooler. As a result I never feel too overheated or anything in Santa Teresa, although it is really hot. I did decide that I could live in Chinandega even though it was super hot. Which was good to know because whenever you ask a Nicaraguan not from Chinandega about Chinandega they respond with "Holy crap its super mega hot there, why would anyone ever live there!" But I have learned that every Nica thinks that about every place that isn't where they live.

Anyways, I'm heading back to Santa Teresa this afternoon and I'm actually pretty excited to get back "home". I will be having normal training for the next couple of weeks. One exciting thing we do get to do in the next two weeks is receive information on all the available sites that we can go to and then we have an interview with Peace Corps staff about our preferences. I'm very anxious to receive my site, and also very excited! Anyways, thanks again for the comments, if anyone has a question just let me know!

Happy Valentines Day!