There were some rocky spots about my visit to Corinto but overall I left Corinto on a very positive note. I am excited to go back there on April 1st and I think I will have a better plan of how to attack my first couple of months. I still am unsure of exactly where I will focus most of my energy but I am hoping to get experience in a lot of different areas in the first couple of months and then after that focus in on one area. But I am excited to get to know the people better and form my work relationships.
Everyone from my training group of 20 returned to the capital city of Managua on this past Thursday. Since we had meetings all day on Friday in Managua, Peace Corps put us up in a hostel/hotel for the night. We all went out for dinner and beer which was a great way for all of us to share our stories from our weeks in site (e.g. I showered with a huge cockroach!, I have nowhere to put my clothes except on the dirt floor!). Everyone was really happy about there new sites which was great to hear especially since some people were happy with their initial site assignment. Most people had the same feelings as I did, the first couple of days were rocky, but by the end they were super excited to go back.
The other interesting thing was that we were all really excited to get back to our host families that we had been living with since we got to Nicaragua. I’m not sure if it is just by necessity, or our host families are that great, but we all genuinely missed them while we were gone. When I got home they were really interested to hear about my new site, but specifically to hear about my new host family. I made sure to focus on the negative things, so my current host family wouldn’t get too jealous.
This past weekend happened to be St. Patty’s Day and us trainees felt like we had to celebrate it in some way. We decided to go to the nearby beach for the day. The trip was about 2 hours by microbus to “La Boquita”, a beach on the Pacific Ocean. The beach was pretty beautiful and the waves were the biggest and most powerful I think I have ever seen. But that’s not saying much since it was the first time I’ve swam in the Pacific Ocean (except in Corinto, but those beach are protected by other islands). I ended up being sore the next day from getting knocked down so much by the waves! This particular beach was really fun because they had little straw cabanas where you could hang out in the shade. We ordered some food and drank some beer, but not enough to make an Irishman proud. The beach was interesting because there were some random pigs and horses that were roaming around on the beach. It added a new element to beach life that I had never experienced before. All around, it was a unique and fun St. Patty’s day.
This week is called “independent study week”. It basically means that if there is anything that we want more information on, we have this week more or less free to investigate it. I’m going to continue taking Spanish classes, although at this point they are optional. Also, I’m going to attend a class on how to cook with soy, something that’s encouraged for Nicaraguans because it is a cheap source of nutrients. I’m still thinking about what else I should try and learn.
I guess that’s all from me right now. It was a super long post, but a lot has happened. I hope everyone had a good St. Patty’s Day, and are enjoying the fact that spring is almost there! And as always, thanks to those that have emailed me!
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