So after three months of training I have finally sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer! I even have the little pin to prove it! :o) Swear-in took place last Thursday at the U.S. Embassy. Normally it takes place at a hotel but due to some political issues going on in Managua last week we had to change it. They recently had municipal elections here and the general consensus is that the results were fraudulent. So there were some protests and then celebrations in Managua when the Sandinistas decided that they won. Some people are still calling for a re-do of the elections, but we shall see if that happens. So the swearing-in was moved to the more safe location at the embassy. It also meant that our host families were unable to participate which was very sad as we were all hoping to see them again before we left. The embassy was a nice place to have our swearing-in but security was really tight and we weren't allowed to bring our cameras, only one person in our group had a camera for all of us. So below is a photo of all the Nica 48 volunteers (agriculture and environment) that swore-in on November 20.
After swearing in we were given the day off on Friday to pick up anything we needed in Managua before going to our sites on Saturday. But off course Friday had to be the day of the really big Sandinista celebration and so we passed a lot of the day in the Peace Corps Office and our hotel. They had fireworks going off for hours and buses full of people wearing black and red (the Sandinista colors) and waving flags. It was crazy times. But luckily it all seems to have been non-violent in nature.
On Saturday I headed out to Ometepe for the second time to begin my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The trip out to the island was pretty rocky. I took a smaller boat than the ferry and the wind was whipping up some larger waves on the lake. I saw at least three people on the boat vomit. It was a tough hour and I was very happy to step of the boat in Moyogalpa and get on a very crowded bus to my site.
The first few days in site were kind of awkward. I couldn't get a hold of my counterpart (apparently I had the wrong number) and spent a lot of time reading and walking around with my host family. I got to visit my host family's finca (or farm) and they grow plantains, rice, beans, squash and have numerous fruit trees (avacado, mango, orange, lemon, pitahaya, guava, and some other ones that I didn't know what they were and can't remember their names). Their finca is in a beautiful location with the Maderas volcano behind it and amazing views of the lake in front of it. I plan on walking up there a lot.
I was at my site a whole four days before I left to get together with some other Peace Corps Volunteers for Thanksgiving. Some U.S. organization has allowed us to stay in their very nice, brand new facilities for free with an amazing view of Ometepe Island in front of us. I am looking forward to a wonderful dinner tonight (albeit sans turkey) with the other volunteers before heading back to rice, beans, and plantains (which I like, but three times a day is a lot!).
I hope that everyone is well and Happy Thanksgiving from Nicaragua! Thanks for the letters and emails!
After swearing in we were given the day off on Friday to pick up anything we needed in Managua before going to our sites on Saturday. But off course Friday had to be the day of the really big Sandinista celebration and so we passed a lot of the day in the Peace Corps Office and our hotel. They had fireworks going off for hours and buses full of people wearing black and red (the Sandinista colors) and waving flags. It was crazy times. But luckily it all seems to have been non-violent in nature.On Saturday I headed out to Ometepe for the second time to begin my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The trip out to the island was pretty rocky. I took a smaller boat than the ferry and the wind was whipping up some larger waves on the lake. I saw at least three people on the boat vomit. It was a tough hour and I was very happy to step of the boat in Moyogalpa and get on a very crowded bus to my site.
The first few days in site were kind of awkward. I couldn't get a hold of my counterpart (apparently I had the wrong number) and spent a lot of time reading and walking around with my host family. I got to visit my host family's finca (or farm) and they grow plantains, rice, beans, squash and have numerous fruit trees (avacado, mango, orange, lemon, pitahaya, guava, and some other ones that I didn't know what they were and can't remember their names). Their finca is in a beautiful location with the Maderas volcano behind it and amazing views of the lake in front of it. I plan on walking up there a lot.
I was at my site a whole four days before I left to get together with some other Peace Corps Volunteers for Thanksgiving. Some U.S. organization has allowed us to stay in their very nice, brand new facilities for free with an amazing view of Ometepe Island in front of us. I am looking forward to a wonderful dinner tonight (albeit sans turkey) with the other volunteers before heading back to rice, beans, and plantains (which I like, but three times a day is a lot!).
I hope that everyone is well and Happy Thanksgiving from Nicaragua! Thanks for the letters and emails!
No comments:
Post a Comment