Yes – I am feeling much better J. I think that my already sensitive stomach just doesn’t deal well with Nica bugs (plus I would advise against drinking Managua’s tap water – that was just a bad late night decision; I don’t know for sure if that’s what caused it but it seems like an awfully odd concidence).
We have both officially started ‘work’, though I think it will take some time for both of us to figure out exactly what that means. The main program with which I am going to work is a program that focuses primarily on youth and issues of sexual and reproductive health. It has been a very successful three year program which will lose its funding in December. So, I find myself wondering what the best (and in true Peace Corps mentality, most ‘sustainable’) approach to work will be – to spend my time with this project only to find myself out of funds and out of work in December, or to branch out into the community and initiate some of my own projects. We’ll see. Madriz (the department in which we live) just organized an HIV workforce this month, in recognition of the growing problem in Nicaragua. I hope to contact the director of this program and see if I can help out in any way.
Matt finds himself in a slightly different situation. He volunteered to take over a project that the former volunteer had started in conjunction with a group of Irish University students. The group built a health post last year in an outlying community, and they hope to construct another one this year. It sounds like he is going to be the liason between the group and local contractors for much of the project which should be fun for him. Other than this, he is exploring ideas for working with the University (brand new and very small) population in town and thinking about other projects.
All in all we are doing well and are excited to start our two years here. We started our search for houses today, though it seems like it is going to be a slow and rather round-about process. Nothing is particularly direct in Nicaragua, and it appears that renting a house will follow that pattern. There are few houses in Somoto that have ‘For Rent’ signs and when you encounter one that does, there is no direct route to encounter the owner. The process involves speaking with roughly every neighbor to arrive at consensus about who owns the house, and then with multiple people in the street to arrive at a consensus as to where the person lives. After that, you look for their house, realize that they don’t actually live it, but in Managua, and proceed to look for the house of their brother, cousin or other relative once-removed to see how to get in touch with them. As with everything here, it will be a learning process.
We have both officially started ‘work’, though I think it will take some time for both of us to figure out exactly what that means. The main program with which I am going to work is a program that focuses primarily on youth and issues of sexual and reproductive health. It has been a very successful three year program which will lose its funding in December. So, I find myself wondering what the best (and in true Peace Corps mentality, most ‘sustainable’) approach to work will be – to spend my time with this project only to find myself out of funds and out of work in December, or to branch out into the community and initiate some of my own projects. We’ll see. Madriz (the department in which we live) just organized an HIV workforce this month, in recognition of the growing problem in Nicaragua. I hope to contact the director of this program and see if I can help out in any way.
Matt finds himself in a slightly different situation. He volunteered to take over a project that the former volunteer had started in conjunction with a group of Irish University students. The group built a health post last year in an outlying community, and they hope to construct another one this year. It sounds like he is going to be the liason between the group and local contractors for much of the project which should be fun for him. Other than this, he is exploring ideas for working with the University (brand new and very small) population in town and thinking about other projects.
All in all we are doing well and are excited to start our two years here. We started our search for houses today, though it seems like it is going to be a slow and rather round-about process. Nothing is particularly direct in Nicaragua, and it appears that renting a house will follow that pattern. There are few houses in Somoto that have ‘For Rent’ signs and when you encounter one that does, there is no direct route to encounter the owner. The process involves speaking with roughly every neighbor to arrive at consensus about who owns the house, and then with multiple people in the street to arrive at a consensus as to where the person lives. After that, you look for their house, realize that they don’t actually live it, but in Managua, and proceed to look for the house of their brother, cousin or other relative once-removed to see how to get in touch with them. As with everything here, it will be a learning process.
Jess´s family in El Rosario. This is us saying ¨¡Adios!¨
3 comments:
congrats on being on your own now! :)
Hope you feel better Jess. AND don't drink the water!!! Gald you two are on your own and hope you find a place without to much trouble. Things are fine at home and even the snow is going away. Your mother and I will be driving down to Jen's next week and have rented a place on the beach. I don't think it will be as warm as Nicaragua. Talk with you soon Love Dad
Hi thanks for sharring this
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