My Site!

I found out where my site will be for the next two years, and I couldn’t be more excited! I am going to Ometepe, an island formed by two volcanoes in the middle of Lake Nicaragua! I had read all about it in my guide point and was looking forward to exploring it on my own, and now I have the incredible luck of getting to live there. But I was explicit about the fact that I really wanted a small community, and the Peace Corps did not let me down; I will be living in the village of Urbaite, population 500! I will be the first volunteer to live in this particular site, which means I have the responsibility/opportunity to develop my own secondary projects. I am happy about this because I know I will not be compared with previous volunteers. I will be working with a total of three counterparts, all women, at two different high schools: one in my village, and another 5 km away in Altagracia, a considerably larger city that sees a predictably large number of tourists. Two of the three teachers have worked with a Peace Corps volunteer previously, but still need support as they seek to improve their English proficiency and teaching abilities. I am secretly really grateful that all my counterparts are women, based on some stories I’ve heard. There is also a small university in my village, one that the former volunteer described as a “garage university” that I could work with if I so choose. I am probably going to look into this (unless classes are only on weekends!), especially since by all accounts the Nicaraguan counterpart there is amazing.

The Peace Corps gave each of us a packet of information about our site, including an extensive document written by a former volunteer with tons of information and advice. For example, prices will be high because it is a big tourist area, so one must be thrifty. There are two other current volunteers on the island in the city of Altagracia, in the areas of Small Business Development and Maternal and Child Health. The principals of the local high school identified opportunities for the volunteer (yours truly) to be involved in extra-curricular activities such as arts, crafts, music, and sports. Maybe I will finally be able to follow the shining example of my sister and start an ultimate team. My guitar skills aren’t developed enough to do anything meaningful with, but maybe singing. And I got some great arts and crafts ideas from the environment volunteers I’ve talked to. So we’ll see how everything shapes up. Though 500 is really small, I wonder if I will have trouble rustling up participants for all these great ideas I have.

I will be staying with a husband and wife in their 40’s, and a 13-year-old son. Apparently the mother didn’t want to charge me any rent at all, but the Peace Corps talked her into it. I like her already. I received a list of nearby Peace Corps volunteers, and I already know most of them because I met them during my practicum week in Rivas. We could actually see the volcanoes of Ometepe from Rivas during that week, so I won’t be so far away. And it is only a few hours from Diriamba, so hopefully I will be able to come back and visit periodically.

The former Peace Corps volunteer writes, “You have one of the best sites in all of Nicaragua! The people are amazing, it truly is a magical place. It was at one point in the running for one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and recently named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve!” Her first words of advice to me are to get a bicycle ASAP, something I have been planning to do all along. Her second tip is to find things that will keep me in my site, such as having class on Friday (umm…no) or getting a pet. Of course I’d love to get a cat, but it depends on what my family thinks. And no, Mom, I won’t bring this one home. Well, maybe. I assume it will be very tempting to leave my small community to hang out in touristy places, so I will have to make an effort to stay in Urbaite and establish strong relationships with the people there. Whom I will probably all know by name within a month. I’ve also been warned that gossip will travel really fast. There is apparently a common saying: “Pueblo pequeno, infierno grande” (small town, big hell). Hmm. And she cautions me to never drink in my site, especially at parties or around students. Oh well, I haven’t missed it too much thus far. She gave me a list of great sites of interest, some of which attract tourists and some of which are only frequented by locals. Lots of beaches and spectacular hiking and biking opportunities. Have I mentioned how thrilled I am? This feels like cheating, I was supposed to be dedicating these two years to a very selfless purpose, not living in a tropical paradise. The only thing I need now to make this a dream come true is a washing machine…(Yesterday, after a week of rain that prevented me from doing laundry, our washing machine died and left me with a mountain of dirty laundry, a bucket of water, and some soap. Oy. Of course I am one of about 3 people in our group who even have a washing machine, so I shouldn’t be complaining.)

I know not everyone in our group is as pleased as I am with their site assignments, so I’m trying not to gush about it too extensively. But it’s hard. Fortunately for me, my two closest friends are also super excited with their sites. Caroline is going to the legendary city of Bluefields on the Atlantic Coast. The whole Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua is divided into two regions, The North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) and the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS). They were very unconnected with Hispanic Nicaragua during the colonial era, and were actually settled and populated by the British. The regions are the motherlands of the indigenous groups in Nicaragua, and also received a lot of African immigrants. The history is a sad one, as the Nicaraguan government decided around the year 1900 to march in and assert its authority. The prosperity they had experienced during the British era disappeared when the British ceded the territory and moved out. The people of the RAAS and RAAN had virtually nothing in common with Hispanic Nicaragua; neither language, customs, food, culture, nor appearance. The indigenous people felt no allegiance to the Nicaraguan government and rebelled, resulting in the deaths and dislocation of thousands upon thousands of people*. Even today the physical connection to Bluefields, in the RAAS, is tenuous: Caroline will have to take a bus, then switch to a boat ride down a very lengthy stretch of river to arrive. The only other options to arrive are my plane (ha, like Peace Corps will fund THAT one), or on winding dirt roads. Apparently the roads are in the process of being paved, so Caroline may be here to see the completion of that project. We are all excited to visit Caroline and experience the rich culture of the Caribbean coast. Caroline has felt weird being in a place without black people, since she is from Alabama, so I think it will be reassuring for her to be in a more diverse place. Also she has a masters in linguistics/dialectology, and Bluefields is the place to be for those areas of interest.

Alba could not be farther away. She is way up in the northern mountainous province of Madriz, not too far from the Honduran border. Her location is the one I always envisioned for myself, but as you can tell I am not complaining about my site. I am excited to pack up my tent and visit her for some outdoor adventures. It’s sad that we will all be so far apart, but the potential for vacations is prime. And there are some volunteers located on my island or a short boat ride away. I also know that 3 of the environment volunteers from my group will be placed in my province of Rivas, so I am excited to find out who they will be (they get their assignments this afternoon). The next step is counterpart day, which I believe is Monday, when all our counterparts come to meet us.  We then travel together to our sites, where we will stay for one week. The best part of this arrangement, from my perspective, is the opportunity to move all my luggage in two trips instead of one. Especially since I now have a guitar to cart around. So look for photos next week!

*Wow, you may be saying to yourself, how does Laura know so much about the history of Nicaragua? I recently finished an absolutely fantastic books called “Blood of Brothers” by Stephen Kinzer, the NYT correspondent in Nicaragua during the 70’s and 80’s, meaning he was here for the overthrow of the Somoza regime, the struggles of the victorious Sandinista party, and the bloody contra war funded by the US. It’s heartbreaking, but one of the best-written books I’ve ever read, and a must for anyone interested in Nicaragua.