Que Tenga un Feliz Navidad, y Prospero Nuevo Año

Try and Stay Warm this Year During the Holidays!

Es hora de Promocion (It’s Graduation Time)

The last month or so is my most hectic of the year between entrepreneurship competitions, final exams, and graduations. Unlike back home, the school year here is February to early December, and also the longest school year in the world. But when you take into account how often school gets canceled, it probably the shortest. Due to the timing of my arrival, and eventual departure, this is also the only full year I will have with a graduating class, so understandably the end of this academic year was a little emotional for me. After a year in the classroom, I had developed bonds with many students, and I was impressed to see just how many students I knew by name when I went to all of their graduations. I was both happy and nervous for them, as I saw them throw their caps into the air, the iconic symbol of ones graduation.

I was nervous because now, like a college graduate in the states, these kids were free to make their own decisions and chose their own path in life. They had graduated from my sphere of influence, and were now on their own. At least in class, I could help them and guide them through any problems they were having. The probability of any number of students coming to my house for advice is pretty slim. And at that age, how do you know what the right decision will be? It’s six years later for me, and I still don’t want the right decisions are to the big question: what’s next? But I forget at that at age, in your own eyes, you can do no wrong, because you’re invincible. Lit-rally. I guess at some point you just need to let your students or kids grow up, and make their decisions on their own. In a small way, I can understand how a parent feels sending their students off to college for the first time, and how it is such an emotional moment.

But I was simultaneously happy because for many, their graduation may just well be the most successful day in their lives. Living in remote areas, the lack of resources and a small job market mean most of them are destined to life in the la Villa, and that isn’t anything to aspire to. Even those who go on to graduate from the University aren’t guaranteed a good job; I know a few folks who have Nicaraguan law degrees, but instead drive taxi’s because the market is so saturated. But this weekend the students weren’t thinking about their futures. They were focused on the present where they were linked arm in arm with their fellow classmates, singing their graduation songs, with the whole community clapping and cheering them on. They were grinning from ear to ear, and to borrow another line from my new favorite book, they were infinite. And that was enough reason to be happy and emotional for my students.

***For any Richmond 2010 grads reading, I was inspired to find and re-read Arne Duncan’s (the Secretary of Education) commencement speech. To be honest, I hardly remembered it. But it’s an interesting take on education in America, take a look:http://www2.ed.gov/news/speeches/2010/05/05092010.html

Home Happy

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of coming of age books. Great books, such as Looking For Alaska by John Green, Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Perks especially hit home for me, not because I experience anything that the main character Charlie went through, but because it seemed so natural. So I started thinking of my own upbringing, and my own coming of age, and the people I’ve met and experiences I’ve had since. Heck, I still think I’m coming of age, still learning what its like to be a man. But that’s aside from the point. I felt something else, and I’m going to do my best to describe just what that was.

I think for a lot of people in the Peace Corps, or living away from home, family, and friends for any extended amount of time, domestically or internationally, thoughts of the past can be painful. You dwell on good memories that are gone and past, wishing that you could return to them; to reach out and touch them. And sometimes you wish it so much, that everything else around you in the present becomes less interesting, and maybe been depressing. You feel homesickness. But what I’ve noticed from my recollections of the past is the opposite of homesickness. It’s home happiness.

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I look back and those memories make me smile and feel warm. They make me feel like I’ve lived. Scratch that, they make me feel like I’m alive, right now in the present. Because I know no matter what, I will always have those memories. Maybe everything else in my life will change, but those, well; no one can ever take away. Some are cliché, like my first kiss (thank you Hannah Hutton), picking up my first girlfriend for a date (and thank you Alyson Atherton), big family Thanksgivings, the day my folks dropped me off at Richmond, my high school and college graduations. But a lot of those memories that I hold dear lie in the small moments, like sleeping on the turf a few nights before graduation. Or playing late night “ping pong” in a friend’s basement on east chop. Or priming walls with a new friend on a YG trip. Or me and my college buddies sitting in our self made tree house, shooting the breeze about what comes next. I definitely miss those moments and those friends. And yes, I definitely would enjoy re-living them. I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever be able to be at a party again where everyone is crammed into some small backroom, sweating profusely, dancing up and down to the pop song of the day, like Party in the USA. And loving every second of it. I sure hope so.

I realize that those moments in my past helped me get to where I am today, and helped me grow into the person I’ve become. And those (to tie this back to the beginning) were my coming of age moments. All the successes, all the mistakes, all the failures have all played a part. So I shouldn’t miss them, but embrace them, because those are my links to everything. I’ll always carry those memories with me, so they’ll never truly be gone or out of touch

I don’t really know what I’m trying to get across to you all right now, but I hope you understand. I just feel really happy right now, that I’ve met so many great people in my life, and been able to share so many unforgettable experiences with them. So for all those folks who have been there with me, both in the best of times and worst of times….thanks.

Re-Branding Los Cardones

As I had mentioned a briefly a few times before, last week I was able to work with a eco-lodge for a few days in my municipality, who was looking to revamp their image. To start, the municipality of Villa el Carmen has upwards of 30 kilometers of Pacific Coast beaches. Beaches that are located 15 – 20 km of dirt road, making them inaccessible without private transport. Sure, I could ride my bike, but when the roads are terrible, and you’re carrying a surfboard, it isn’t the most ideal mean of transportation. So usually, I have to take the bus out of the municipality farther south to San Rafael del Sur, and the beach communities of Montelimar, Masachapa, and Pochomil. Los Cardones is one of these tough to get to beaches in my municipality, and although it only about 20 km away from my front door, I’ve never been able to get out there, although I’ve always wanted to. So you can understand that I was excited when this opportunity came about.

Los Cardones turned out to be even more incredible than I could’ve thought. The owners, Laure and Issac, have been running the eco-lodge for 12 years now, and have carved out their own little piece of paradise at this remote beach front property. Scattered around the property, amongst the fruit trees, palm trees, and flowering plants, are small cabanas for the guests and in the middle of the compound is a giant rancho. A rancho is a like a big canopy tent, that is supported by hopped down tree trunks, and roofed with palm fronds. This is where you find the bar, restaurant/eating area, and community lounge. And what makes the lodge so unique, is that they operate almost completely without electricity. There is full electricity in the kitchen and a solar panel on the rancho for soft music and light while you’re eating dinner at night. But more often than not, we ate dinner under the glow of candles, instead of electricity. And what’s more, the property is right in front of a beautiful beach, a beach that is perfect for beginner and intermediate surfers. You can guess what I was doing in my spare time. I surfed my brains out.

The whole mentality behind Los Cardones is that you go there to disconnect from society and reconnect with yourself and nature. You rise with sun in the morning, and fall asleep as the it sets. The only noise you really hear is the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, and they offer surf lessons, yoga sessions, turtle releases, and environment walks and trainings to help your self reconnect with yourself and nature. And did I mention the staff is incredible? They not only ran the place without any managers there, but become part of the relaxing, tranquilo experience.

So, what were we doing there, sports fans*? My friend Kelli and I were there to help re-brand Los Cardones. Los Cardones had just qualified for the Rainforest Alliance, an international environment group that promotes protection and conservation of the environment through sustainable tourism. It’s a really great accomplishment, and few hotels have that status in Nicaragua. Although formally accepted, the owner Laure, felt as though she needed to re-create her mission and vision statements, which were practically non-existent ahead of time. This was part of Kelli’s job pre-Nicaragua, and Laure reached out to her for her problem. I got dragged along because I’m the closest volunteer in the area, and I’ll be able to do follow up work on a moments notice. Lucked out on that one huh? So in exchange for a series of group workshops Kelli and I got put up in our own private bungalow for four days, all food included. I not only got to surf my brains out, but I got to sleep in a comfortable bed and eat to my hearts content. Despite all the surfing, I probably added on some lbs, something my frame could use these days.

What was so unique about this experience is that Laure wanted to include the staff in creating the new mission and vision statements. Most managers down here take it upon themselves to do this sort of work, and don’t take their staff, who are in charge of day-to-day operations and work hand-in-hand with the guests, into consideration. It just shows how much the staff is respected, and just as important as the boss lady. It’s not something you see much down here, but you could tell right away. The employees were proud of their job and completely empowered, and as a result, the guest experience is that much better. So Kelli and I spent three day working with all the employees in small group settings, from waitress and guards, to the upper management, to identify what their values were, what was important on a day to day basis, and what everyone wanted to happen in the future. We held discussion sessions, had everyone make a collage of what Los cardones meant to them, and most of the work was one on one, getting to know the staff at a personal level. For me it was great, because it meant four days of in-depth Spanish, which is always fun and good practice. And as the days progressed, we focused in on the principals and driving force of the lodge, so by the end we constructed the “House that Los Cardones Built”.

*Anyone have any idea what character from what book calls his kids sports fans?

Turkey Day and Laguna de Apoyo

From the competition, I just rolled into a mini vacation and a week of work/play (the topic of the next post). The competition was on a Wednesday this year, and the following day was Thanksgiving. Most volunteers got invitations to stay with an embassy families. For some weird twist of fate, I was not one of those volunteers. So I made other, less conventional plans.

Thanksgiving for me is one of those times of year where I most miss home, because it’s a mix of everything great that I miss. The night before Turkey Day is one of the biggest reunions of the year for New Canaan grads, and an opportunity to see people I hadn’t seen in years. It’s also about the only fun night to go out at home, where everyone heads out to Tequila Mockingbird’s. Things typically get weird, but in a good way. Than there is the day itself, where your family comes together, and enjoys each others company. At least for my family, 4 or 5 of my mothers siblings come to the house with all of their kids, and we do what my mothers family, The Petersens (or Eatersens as we like to refer to ourselves) does best, we cook, eat, and enjoy fine drink. After living on such a basic diet for more than a year and a half, thinking about all that delicious food sitting on the table makes my mouth water. So as you can see, there are plenty of reasons to go home.

Not wanting to be devoid of my Turkey Day feast, I headed down to Masachapa, where I spent what I in my eyes was a non-conventional Thanksgiving, with three ex-pat friends I have down there on the beach. What made it so unconventional may you ask? Well, the day started with any early morning surf session, for starters, this isn’t really possible at home this time of year. Instead of sporting a thick coat and wool hat, I was walking around most of the day in board shorts. Next up, it was a Cajun themed T-Day, as the primary cook was born and raised in New Orleans, which meant spicy mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and even the turkey. While different, it was delicious, and I felt like I had to undo my belt after finishing. So to Shiloh and Becky, thanks for a great Thanksgiving feast, and making me feel like I was temporarily back in the states.

And from there, I just rolled right into the weekend, where the majority of my Peace Corps class rented a house at Laguna de Apoyo, to celebrate our year and a half anniversary. We rented out this beautiful, secluded compound right on the lake front, which we had all to ourselves. Oh yeah, the Laguna de Apoyo is this crystal clear lake in the crater of a dormant volcano, the same one I used to hike down to in training every week or so.

Its really tough to describe what makes trips like this so great, because its not really the big parties at night that ring out in my memory, but it’s the smaller moments. You know, those kind of moments where you’re just small talking about similar experiences with a friend, or side by side cooking with a friend. Although we see each other relatively infrequently, it feels like I have known all these guys my entire life. No matter how much I try to describe my experience down here to all of you, I’ll never really be able to do it justice. We all share this bond, this shared experience full of hardships that only we know and really understand. It never really gets brought up at these reunions, but its there, and we all seem to take comfort knowing that our friends are going through the same thing, and that there in the moment, we’re there for each other. Whether its “diving for treasure” in the laguna, or watching Ace Ventura together, it’s comforting to have each other. I hope that makes sense.

Second hand T-Shirt of the Year

"I have the Pussy, I make the Rules"

Besides being a hysterical shirt, it’s the context that made this so great. This woman was one of the teachers of a group that participated in the National Kongress. She wear this shirt the entire day at what was supposed to be a formal, serious setting for young professionals. So me and my boy Leslie had to request a photo with her. If only she knew…

Unfortunately, blogger is telling me that I have exceeded my limit for photo. So for this photo and others, you'll need to go to my Facebook (whih i'll update early next week) 

The National Competition

Hey there sports fans, it’s been awhile. Despite what I said in my last post about school ending and my amount of work dropping, that hasn’t really rang true. I’ve been surprisingly busy these past few, and haven’t quite had the time to sit down and write. That’s why all of these posts are coming to you at one time. So sit down and get comfortable.

This year the National Competition was big success in my eyes. To be honest, I was disappointed with how last years turned out. To give a little background on how the competition is evaluated, teams earn points based on their business plans, creativity of the product, presentation, finance, and marketing plan. And this year even included a one minute “pitch”, where one or two members of the group would stand up in front of everybody, and sell their idea to the crowd. It was supremely entertaining, and the most of the kids killed it, combining humor with their power of persuasion. But I digress. The two categories that are worth the most are business plan and creativity. From day one, we – the volunteers – emphasize how important creativity is, and it is sort of the guiding theme behind the whole course. So when last year when a flower pot (that looked like a tree trunk) won third, and a coffee flavored smoothie won first, I was super disappointed. Two pretty plain and simple projects managed to take top prizes. I mean, these two products beat out innovative ideas like a new eco-friendly roofing material, a car battery re-charger, and pre-made, processed soy. I had planned on outlawing drinks and smoothies in the following year, but how could I do that if a drink won first place in the nation? Naturally I was a little skeptical going into this year’s competition, and didn’t want to get my hopes up that this year would be any different.

But I think every volunteer was a little embarrassed of last year’s competition, and as a result, helped to filter out un-creative products. Although we, volunteers, may not be judges in our own competitions, we most definitely have a say in the evaluation process. If there’s anything we have learned down here, its how to steer a conversation towards a certain goal.  In addition, although the Congress leading up to the Competition didn’t help with creativity of products, it did help with the presentations, and improvement of business plans. As a result, the competition, in my eyes, was ten times better than last year, and unlike last year the teams that deserved to win did.

First Place went to MoskyTramp (above), who hailed from El Sauce. There product was a mosquito trap. I know it doesn’t sound terribly creative, but that sort of thing doesn’t really exist here. More often than not, restaurants will hang clear bags, filled with water from the ceiling at around eye level, which supposedly drives flies away. So in Nicaragua terms, it was creative. Also these guys seemed to have it all: the product was made from recycled coffee bottles, they used a local resource to create the powder that attracts and kills the flies, and had some serious charisma. They also had the best business plan.

Second Place was awarded to Agua, Tiempo, Dinero (ATD), which means Water, Time, Money. This team hails from the Boaco Department, which has a water problem. By that I mean, most people only have access to water two or three days a week. To have water for the entire week, these folks fill up humongous vats and tubs of water. More often than not, they leave the water running to fill up the vats, and forget about it. An hour later, the vats are full, yet water is still flowing out of the tap. Waste of water and money. So these two kids invented a device that turns off the tap when the vat is full of water. The idea came to the student after his mother made him try to fix their broken toilet! Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo on hand of the product or group.

Third Place was a disappointment now that I think about it. A team from Esteli took the third spot with another coffee based drink. What interesting is that the team that won first place last year with a coffee based drink also was from Esteli, and the ingredients were almost exactly the same. But hey congratulations to Nicafesino, who also had the best pitch of the Competition.

Another worthy mention is the team from San Rafael del Norte, EcoBlock, that won best presentation. This group of jovenes created a new type of construction material to build houses. At it’s base is cement, but the rest is a secret “earth mix” that helps cut back on costs, and makes the material more eco friendly.

So all in all, this years Comp turned out pretty….pretttttttty good, in the words of Larry David. It’ strange to think though, that it was my last one ever that I will personally be involved with and participate in. It makes it feel like my service is that much closer to being over.

Readjustment Time

So I haven’t posted in the past few weeks, the reason being that nothing has been going on. Lit-trally, nothing. The emprendedurismo class all but ended with the local and regional competitions, and with the exam period coming soon, teachers are using that block to better prepare the students for mathematics and Spanish. The exam for the students in emprendedurismo was there presentations during the competitions, for those wondering why there is no final exam. So apart from a small survey I gave to the students to get their opinions and reactions to the class, there hasn’t been the need to go to my institutes.

So after running to todos los lados every day and always being busy I find myself trying to adjust to a simpler, less hectic lifestyle. But to tell the truth, that lifestyle just doesn’t suit me. I need more. I need to be active and have something on the agenda. I can only do so much exercise and study Spanish. The ban on reading (in English) is back on, so now I don’t really have a steady intellectual stimulation either. So what is a guy to do?

Well the answer is to make new projects to stay occupied and put yourself out there. After all, that’s the primary reason I joined the Peace Corps; to put myself out there and try new things. So to stop myself from going crazy, I started volunteering for anything I could get my hands on. And the effort has born positive results.

This week, the small business program is hosting the tenth annual National Competition of Entrepreneurship, and to celebrate the tenth anniversary, we hosted a 2 day “congress” where the winners from each region are put together to learn about networking, how to formalize their business, create and sell a pitch  and interchange ideas. This congress of students, and their teachers, is an educators dream. Think of it as having the best students from each school, together in one room, discussing their futures and their businesses. It’s such a change of pace from what we see on a day to day in the classroom, that it’s almost overwhelming. Instead of shy students, you have those who want to participate. (Usually I feel like I’m pulling teeth from the students when I ask for an opinion or comment) By volunteering to help, I’ve been able to spend the past few days with these students, helping in small group work, but also leading three separate sessions on life after high school graduation. Similar to life in the states, it is programmed in students’ minds that what comes next is the university. But that isn’t always the best option for a student here (or in the states), so as a group, we explored the advantage and disadvantages of other options, like working, a vocational school, the police/army, or starting a family. The last being a very real possibility for many students. A significant percentage of female students either leave high school early, or graduate, pregnant or already have given birth, a sad reality of life down here.

So tomorrow is the national competition, and next week is a three day training that another volunteer and I will be giving on sculpting the mission and vision statements of your business. The kicker is that its at a luxurious eco lodge that is putting us for free as payment. Work during the day, surf the dawn and late afternoon, and kick back and relax. 

And for fun, take a look at this sweet project:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Fpsw_yYPg

Municipal Elections

I imagine, with the US presidential elections tomorrow, there has been little else to think about, or listen to, on the news. After all, who knows what the long term consequences will be of re-electing Obama, or putting Romney into office. But this weekend, another pressing political matter took precedent for me: the municipal elections of Villa el Carmen, and every other municipality in the country.

To provide some background, while the Nicaraguan presidential elections take place every five years, the local municipal elections are every four years. In 2008, municipal elections were so wrought with fraud that violent protests broke out all over the country. Essentially through bullying and aggression, the Sandinista party forced their way into the local governments, after winning the presidency two years earlier in 2006. For good reason, I had reason to be more nervous this year, than during last year’s presidential election. After all, the effects of the local government resonate a lot more to the people of my time than national policies. So this year I was prepared for the worst.

The voting process passed without incident. Although there was a lot more foot traffic past my house, the day was super tranquilo. It wasn’t until after the ballots closed that I started to become a little….apprehensive is the word. I live right in the center of town, across from the Mayors office, and a block away from the Health enter, where they manually count each individual paper ballot. So gradually more and more people started to amass outside my house, getting more and more riled up as hour of announcing the results approached. My town is heavily Sandinista, and there was never really a doubt in my mind that they would lose; the liberal opposition is too divided and has too few followers. Plus, with the Sandinistas counting the votes behind closed doors…well you know what I’m saying. However, I started to think what would happen if, for whatever reason the Sandinistas lost. It would be mayhem. Mayhem that I wouldn’t want to be around for for too long. So, rather than sit around, just hoping for a peaceful result, I prepared myself for the worst, putting together an “on-the-go” bag, in the worst case scenario of having to temporarily flee from the enter of town. It looked like this, and included the following items:

-         Wallet with Dollars and Cordoba’s       - Passport

-         External Hard Drive                              - Pen and Paper

-         Knife                                                    - Leatherman

-         Headlight                                              - Combo Lock

-         Gumby                                     - Portable Hammock

-         Waterproof Bags                                  - Journals

-         Carabineers                                          - Nalgene Bottle

-         Deck of cards                                       - Non – Perishable Food (Thanks Aunt Jen!)

-         Machete – Just in case              - camera

-         Ligher and Matches

In putting all this together, which took no more than 5 minutes, it really made me think about just what of my possessions was important, and what was superfluous. Turns out although I have a ton of material stuff, what is really important can all be put into my Eastpack backpack. Luckily, I didn’t have to hop my back wall, sneak into the night, and start hoofing it towards Managua, a cool 45 kilometers away. As expected, el Frente Sandinista swept the election, and instead of riots, we had a loud, joyous victory party. So it all turned out alright, now I have friends in high places. The new mayor and vice mayor are the current superintendent and principal of my schools, respectively. Hopefully, soliciting funding and help for projects such as a world map and another university fair will be a little easier this year!

Also a fun fact about voting in Nicaragua: The sale of alcohol is prohibited the day before and of the election. They say it’s to prevent riots or something, but we all know the real reason: Friends don’t let friends vote drunk.

Also, as some of you may know, amongst males, November is also known as No-Shave-November and/or Beardvember. Men are encouraged to grow out there beards and prepare for the cold of winter. More recently however, a charity has sprung up, called Mo-vember, where participators let their mustaches grow free, to help spread awareness about and raise money for prostate and testicular cancer initiatives. While I’ll be participating in spirit (of course I’m growing out a stache), my college roommate and good friend, Nate Gilman is participating for real, using this as an opportunity to raise money. If you’re interested in supporting not only a great mustache, but a good cause, you can donate here: http://us.movember.com/mospace/2874833

How Does it Feel to be Done?

I’ve heard it from other volunteers. I’ve heard it from my boss. And now I’m hearing it in my own head. How do you feel being done? And the answer varies on my mood. But before I explain further, I need to step back a second to give the question some context.

As of last week, the last of the municipal and regional competitions that I will help organize and compete in (as a volunteer) took place. These competitions, as I’ve mentioned before, are the culmination of a years work with the students, and are sort of an evaluation of your work as a teacher for the year. The whole school year builds up to these competitions, and once their realized, that’s pretty much it. The school year finishes at the end of November, and exams start halfway through the month, leaving only two or three weeks for additional classes. As was the case in most of my schools, my counterparts and I often “borrowed” time from their other classes to prepare for the competitions. That’s to say, that if the teacher taught both math and emprendedurismo to the students during the week, we would borrow the block from math. But now with competitions done, I need to “pay back” that block, meaning students now have math twice a week, leaving me with no class time. Although there is still a month left of school, it now feels like it’s already done. With school done comes a two month school vacation, and then already it’s February. From February its just four short months away until my service ends, and those months will be spent going over the basics of what is a business. If the first 18 months of my time down here has been any indicator, the time just flies by. And I expect it to pass even faster during this last leg. So if you’re still with me, it’s easy to see why the question “How do you feel being done?” keeps popping up.

In responding to that question, the first thing that comes to mind is my own evaluation of this school year, the only time I’m able to self-evaluate my work. Last year, entering the municipality as a replacement, I could only really take partial credit for the success of my schools, and next year was I will only be around for the first semester and miss the competition at years end. So this was my only full year working with the students, the only time I’ll be able to evaluate my self first hand. The most logical and easiest way was through the business plans and local competitions. During the competitions, there were moments when I closed my eyes, oblivious to all around me, and just thought, “I just wasted a year.” I wanted to strangle these kids who showed me through their 7 minute presentations that they learned absolutely nothing, and worse, seemed to spite me for making them do additional work. But I had to check my premises, and remember that I won’t be able to help everyone, that some folks just don’t want to learn, or just don’t care. So I looked for the groups that did care, and was delighted with what I found. I found students, from 5 of my 7 schools that truly wanted to learn, and better themselves, and it was a pleasure working with them. The three teams that won my municipal competition didn’t pout or release sighs of disappointment upon winning; they released shouts of happiness and cried with delight. I worked with these groups and their teachers/staff for two days straight, all day to help prepare for their regional competition. We worked hard all day, sacrificing meals and personal time. At days end I would be tired and disappointed I hadn’t exercised or done some personal errands, but I was happy. Ear to Ear smile happy. I felt like the time I spent here, all the days biking in heat, sweating through all of my clothes, was worth it. It was great to build a bond with these students in particular, and bring them to the regional competition. And at that regional competition, after watching them present, and sitting their waiting for the results, I found myself just as nervous as them. Not because it was an evaluation of my own work as some volunteers think, but because I knew how much it meant to my students, and I wanted to see them succeed. A week prior, I hadn’t felt like that, and didn’t expect to. My teams didn’t take home first, but they walked away with a handful of other prizes (Third, Best Business Plan and Best Marketing Plan) and their heads held high. So in my eyes, if just for these eighteen students or so, the year was a success.

And as for feeling done, yeah, it’s easy to think that, with my school responsibilities waning down. But nine months is a long time, and I intend to take advantage of them through a serious of secondary projects in the community. There is work to be done with a local eco-lodge, more university fairs to be had, and countless other projects on the agenda. So rather than a feeling of being done, I feel more like I have more time to focus my time elsewhere, on areas I may have been forced to, let’s say, overlook in my busy schedule. But in the meantime, it’s time to kick back and relax. This weekend is the annual cocktail party to raise funds for the national emprendedurismo competition, the only time in the year where all (or most) volunteers are together under one roof. And not only that, everyone puts on their Sunday best and their dancing shoes, and enjoys the luxuries (hot water and air conditioning) of one of the nicest hotels in Nicaragua, The Holiday Inn. It will be a true bacañal. 

2nd Place - Herb Based Marinade

Third Place - Custom Stickers

First Place - Salsa de Tamarindo

Most Creative - RequFrut

Best Presentation - Banana and Pineapple Pastry

All Participating Students, Teachers and ya boi

The Three Teams that went to regionals (First - Third above) 

Two counterparts and I

The End of Local Fairs

The sound of my alarm Monday morning meant only one thing: time to wake up and hit the ground running. And until now, my feet haven’t stopped moving, bringing me to the farthest corners of my municipality and back, by bike, bus, motorcycle, and friendly nature of those who pick me up trying to hitch.

The bad news is that the rest, the break, is only temporary. The big push, the granddaddy of all fairs is still to be had. Tomorrow, Villa el Carmen will be proud to present its Third Annual Feria de Emprendedurismo, and although all the teams now are qualified, there is still some scrambling to be done, due to a last minute change.

The good news is that after a two week period all 7 of the schools I work in have had their local fairs, some for the first time. Not all group presented top notch work, and there were some notable disappointments. Disappointments that made me question was I really wanted here in this community. But those disappointments tend to be forgotten when seeing the relative success on a grand scale: over 45 student groups handing in business plans and presenting a years worth of work, schools finishing its first full year teaching the emprendedurismo program, and the kind words said by teachers, principles, and students about what the class meant to them. More on that after my last competition in a few days.

Last year, wanting to make an early impression on my new community, I took the planning process by the reigns, but this year I took a different approach to planning the competitions, by acting as a facilitator more than decision maker. After all sustainability is the name of the game, and as I recently found out, I will be the last business volunteer in the community. So I used this year as a test run for how the teachers may perform and act at next year’s competition, sans Sam. Once all together, I just asked the questions that needed to be asked, and let them (my counterparts) discuss and decide. It let to some awkward, long pauses in debate, but by the end of the hour it was all planned out, without a single decision made by myself, at individual school level, and at the municipal level. I’ve been running around in large part to help prepare the students for the fair and revise their plans, attend competitions, and relay messages. Oh yeah, and to help change the date of the competition two days before it was suppose to happen. Long story short, we changed the date due to scheduling conflict. Almost, immediately after we made the change, we found out the event in conflict was suspended to a later date. As a result, we lost a sponsor, two judges, and a workshop for the winning teams on how to make a PowerPoint presentation (for the regional competition). The event in conflict was the national science fair, and national Ministry of Education couldn’t get their shit together, or in more eloquent terms, failed to prepare adequately. So their incompetence side railed my competition. But so is life. Hopefully these extra days will help the students to prepare and better their projects, right? We’ll see tomorrow! Pictures to come, as well as a recap of my last round of planning competitions.    

Local Busniess competitions

So a picture often tells a thousand words, or so the saying goes. So instead of talking about the first four of 7 competitions to come, I'm going to instead share the photos of all the groups up to now. After the competitions, I'll be sure to share about the experience the 2nd time around, but for now, I just don't have enough time to sit down and write. Enjoy!

The Teams from La Ceiba

A small rural shool, with one klass of 30 students

 

The Institute In Santa Rita

A small semi rural shook, with one class of 24 students

Monte Fresko

A small rural school with one section of13 students

 villa el Carmen Public School

                                My largest and most urban school, with three classes of 25 students

More to come next week!

What the Rainy Season Means to Me

So while back at home, the weather is getting brisker, and the leaves are changing color, down here its just starting to rain harder. The month of October brings the heaviest rains of the year, and it’s a almost a guarantee that it will rain for at least a few hours each day. It could be sunny and beautiful out in the morning, and in the afternoon it’s torrentially down pouring. Or vice versa. Well yesterday, that deception beautiful day got the best of me. I went to lass, without even thinking about bringing a rain jacket or umbrella, and it wasn’t until the last 5 minutes of class when the skies started to darken. Hoping for the best, I started my hour long walk back to my house, hoping that the storm would wait for me, or pass me by to the north. Well, I realized about 5 minutes into my walk that I wasn’t going to make it home dry. I could literally see the rain fail sprinting towards my direction, and with little to no cover around, all I could do was brace myself. Within minutes, I was soaked to the bone, my only option just to keep walking. At that point I was so wet, it didn’t make a difference.

Naturally, the only thing I could think about was the rain; in that state its hard to think of anything else. The question that kept popping into my head was, “What does the rainy season mean to me? How am I affected by it?” When it rains everyday, it’s more a matter of preparing yourself for the inevitable.

Quick side note: There are no weather forecasts down here, at least officially. The news stations actually film a computer screen to give its audience a weather forecast. That technology, or at least the money to fund it, hasn’t seemed to make it down here yet. Therefore, you decide what the weather will be like later in the day by looking at the sky to the east. Through the majority of the year, if it’s cloudy, it’s probably going to rain, and if its clear skies, you’re in for a hot day. But around this time of year, no matter how the skies look to the east…it’s gonna rain.

So back to the question, “what does the rainy season mean to me?” First and most directly, it means I can expect more days like yesterday, where I get soaked through. Rain jacket and waterproof boots or not, you’re bound to get wet if you’re standing exposed for more than a few minutes. I thought my tattoo was in a pretty concealed spot, but who knew that kaki is practically see through when wet? I’m not even safe in my house as I recently found out. There are plenty of holes in the roof and cracks in the wall that allow rain to enter. It’s sort of like walking through a maze in my house when it really is raining hard, to stay on dry ground. Apparently, there were a lot more wholes than I realized when I “repaired and patched” up my roof.

Second, and more significantly, the heavy rains of October mean that it is competition season here in La Villa and the culmination of a years work in the Nica school system. The school year here goes from February to the end of November, but for all intensive purposes, my work in the schools ends at the end of October, for glaring flaws in the educational system here, as well as the effects of municipal elections in the beginning of November. If the elections are as fraudulent as they were 5 years ago, I can expect extended school cancellations. So for that reason, we do are best to get the municipal and regional competitions done before that. To make that happen, a lot goes into planning and organizing, and as I’ve found out this year, I not only enjoy planning big events like this, but I’ve found I’m pretty good at it to (to toot my own horn). But this time around I took a different takt. The name of the game after all down here is sustainability, so if I’m running and organizing everything, what will happen next year, when I’m not around. So about two weeks ago, myself and my 7 counterparts sat down in the same room to plan the competition down to the T. I would pose a question or problem, sit back, and just watch my profes discuss and debate. Really interesting to observe, and after an hour, we walked out of the classroom with every detail agreed upon. That isn’t to say that I’m not busy. There is still tons of work to do around here, and I’ve been scrambling around non-stop these past few weeks preparing students for their presentations, editing business plans, and helping to plan/attending the local business competitions in each institute. So although it’s a lot of work and traveling, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The next post, more likely than not will be photos of the local competitions that are in the upcoming week!

The Intellectual Environment of the classroom

 Previously, I’ve talked about the physical environment of the typical Nicaraguan classroom and the behavior of students: dirty classrooms, worn equipment, open aired, and with constant interruptions coming from the students, other teachers, or stray dogs. But what I haven’t talked about is the intellectual environment of the classroom, that is to say, the behavior and mindset of both teachers and students alike. It’s something I’ve been aware of, but have only subconsciously analyzed until recently. With so much traveling to and from many different schools and so many physical distractions to begin with, it’s no wonder it has taken me this long to really contemplate the psychological state of the classroom.

Where to start…I guess the best way to start is with the general attitude towards grades. Unlike the states, where there is a high level of confidentiality between the teacher and student about sharing grades, no such discretion exists here. A teacher finishes grading a test, and simply just drops the packet of tests off in the classroom for the students to distribute themselves. I have a feeling some students and parents would throw a hissy-fit back home if they knew teachers were so cavalier with exams. But here, it’s not even a second thought. And as a result, students have no problem sharing their grades to their friends or the whole class. That was especially shocking to me, because back at home, even amongst my best friends, there was a high level of secrecy and competition. Although friendly with everyone, you secretly, or openly, wanted to crush your neighbor in any sort of academic activity. Home in the states, every student wants to be the best in the class, and that competition impulses an environment that promotes a higher degree of learning. Unfortunately, that competition is almost non-existent in the Nicaraguan classroom. Students see school as an obligation, as something that every adolescent must finish. What seems to be certain is that they do not see it as a vehicle to better their lives. And in part I can’t blame them, because a better education does not guarantee a good job by any means, and the students of the rural schools don’t often have the resources or money to even consider attending a university. But the fact that there is such little desire and emphasis placed on learning proper language (reading and writing), as well as basic mathematics, is honestly shocking. In one of my classes last year, the equivalents of seniors were earnestly complaining that they had to do basic division and multiplication by hand, that it was too hard. Or how to the same students, the concept of percentages (1 = 100%, ½ = 0.5 = 50%, 2/3 = .666666 = 66%) is still not well understood. Recently, a graduated student told me he likes math, but only addition. How he was really good at that, but couldn’t really do subtraction, division, or multiplication. Well buddy, that’s not being good at math.

To be fair, the low level of enthusiasm and knowledge can also in part be blamed on the teachers. The following idea came up in a recent conversation with another volunteer:

Students will only rise up to the expectations you place on them. If you don’t expect them to excel, than they will perpetually under perform and squander their education. If I accept that principle as fact, than I can go further and say that lower standards and expectations lead to less in class competition, less actual learning and lower grades. At least to me, classroom competition is what’s most important, because it causes everyone to strive to do their best. After all, who wants to be the worst in the class? No one.

I feel the best way to exemplify the low expectations of teachers is the test taking process. With the exception of math (the only subject I haven’t first hand witnessed the students take tests in), teachers actually hand out the test in advance…with the answers attached! To a degree, I can understand handing out the test in advance. It’s almost like a take home test, where the questions are obscure, not simply definitions, and makes you think. But theses tests often only include fill in the blanks sections, or definition sections that come right out of the textbook. So as a result, students aren’t actually learning any new material or challenging themselves with new problems, but memorizing the answers right before the test is taken. And short term memory at that. The next day, the correct answers are nothing but a distant, forgotten memory. Like in the states, you need at least a 60% to pass a class, and a 60% overall average to graduate at the end of the year. But the big difference is that in the eyes of the students, at least it seems, there is no difference between a 60% and an 80%. Either way, you still pass. And a 90% or above is no real indicator of intelligence, or better said, mastery of a subject, because it’s all relative on the whim of your teacher. To strengthen this argument (for you skeptics out there), I’ll provide some hard stats taken by la UNAN – Managua in the last scholastic year. UNAN – Managua is one of Nicaragua’s top universities. To even be considered, you must first pass a matriculation exam that tests your basic language and math skills. Of the 12,000 students or so who took the exam, only 20% of students passed the Spanish test, and even less, 10%, passed the mathematics test. And these are the students that should be the top of their class, if they considered applying to la UNAN.

So in more ways than I realized, the typical Nica student is at a disadvantage from the get-go. Besides the obvious distractions and problems of the physical environment, a Nica student simultaneously has to fight against the intellectual environment of the classroom. Perhaps a simple solution exists, if we think of the Broken Window Effect. The BWE being that if we see one broken window, we’re more likely to break the one next to it, because it your mind, the building is already starting to fall down. Perhaps, Nicaragua needs to fix up the classrooms and make them more conducive to learning, which consequently has a profound effect on the attitude of teachers and students. But if you ask me, nothing will change until there is a profound cultural change in the attitude toward education. Until as a culture, the Nicaraguan people realize the importance of education, and put more emphasis on it, the classroom will continue to simply just exist. I guess you could say I’m hear to help encourage that change.

****An important disclaimer. I use the words Nicaraguan and they referring to the greater population in general. But by no means am I saying that this is the attitude of every single Nicaraguan student and teacher. In my time here, I have come across multiple teachers and students, who seem to stand as the catalysts for change, and make me exited for what the future holds for these individuals and the country itself. It’s also worth pointing out that most Nicaraguans are very creative and intelligent. They use the limited resources that they have to solve everyday problems, like a real life version of Odyssey of the Mind. Think Street Smart over Book Smart.

Emails to Readers

So its been brought to my attention that people haven't been getting email updates or been able to comment. After messing around with the settings, comments are now open to anyone and everyone, and i am trying a new email subskription. So sign up again if you're interested, and if that doesn't work, we'll try something else. But let me know if email updates are up again!

The Bros do Rio San Juan

“I’m telling you guys this feels like the beginning of the Hangover, you know what I mean?” Those were the first words I heard as I met up with my buddies at the bus terminal this past weekend. Just judging from this picture, he had a point. Four buddies, dressed sharp for a weekend out of site*, rocking shades, and excited to party. And while San Carlos doesn’t have the same nightlife and quality of women as Las Vegas, that didn’t stop us from having an unforgettable (or for some of forgettable) weekend exploring old Spanish castles, fishing out of canoes, looking for girls (that weren’t in fact high school students), and plenty of Nicaraguan Rum. 

Our Host with the Most

The reason for our trip down to San Carlos was the Torneo de Pesca Internacional , or Fishing Tournament. I say down, because San Carlos is at one of the southern most points of the country, where the Lake Nicaragua funnels into the Rio San Juan, and exits into the Caribbean Sea. Fun fact about the Rio San Juan is that it is a highly contested border dispute (one of many in the world actually) between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Both countries claim the river as their own, and supposedly in the upcoming year, the case will be brought before the International Court System. Crazy, right? Anyway, the Rio San Juan boasts a big population of Sabaldo Real, or Tarpon, and every year on the Nica independence days (for 52 years now), the town holds a fishing tournament, that draws in people from all over North and central America. The Tarpon is a monster trophy fish, and sort or reminds me of a Stripe Bass…but bigger. This year the winner was a Guatemalan who pulled in a 130 pound tarpon that was actually bigger in length than he was tall!

Our fishing adventure was a little less extreme due to lack of resources. Instead of 20 foot center consoles or pangas with a motor, we paddled 12 foot canoes, and instead of legit rods with reels, we had three foot long branches, stripped down, with a few feet of fishing line and a hook. No reeling in for us, just a sharp flick upwards, in which you hoped to literally throw the fish into the boat with. Our hooks were way to big for the “river monsters” we were dangling for: mostly scup or sunny like fish no bigger than 6-7 inches. But I would dare to say that we had much more fun than any of those chumps who paid to enter the tournament. Out of the 7 of us, 3 or 4 had never fished before, and a few had never entered or paddled a canoe. So there was a lot of learning by experience that day, and every 20 minutes or so, the quiet chatter or silence would be broken by a shout of happiness or joy. One of the new guys would pull in another fish. We were burnt to a crisp and dehydrated by the time we docked the canoes, but were full of grins and aspirations of paddling the entire length of the river after our successful trip dropping lines along the Rio.

The other noteworthy (and appropriate to tell) adventure was our trip down river to El Castillo. El Castillo is a small community about 60 km down river that holds an old Spanish castle up on the hillside that was used to defend the Spanish colonies in Nicaragua from pirates during the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Strategically placed next to rapids, any pirates that ventured that far up river would’ve been sitting ducks, blown to smithereens. But what you notice almost immediately upon docking (it’s only accessible by boat), is that there are no motor vehicles. Not one. The Main Street is no bigger than what we would consider a back alley, and that’s what it felt like to be honest. But the pictures below can do better justice to it than I can, so enjoy. Next weekend, off to El Crucero for an In-Service training with the whole small biz gang!

*Remember, our wardrobes are pretty limited down here. This was about as “sharp” as we can get. One of the most quoted phrases down here is, “I can’t wait to be back home, so I can have some style again.”

The Land of Lakes and Volcanoes...and Earthquakes

As some of you folks may know, Nicaragua is known as “La Tierra de Lagos y Vulcanes”, or in English, the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes. Nicaragua boasts the largest lake in all of Central America, as well as a host of large lakes scattered around the country. And although it is not the most mountainous Central American country by any means, it has more, and taller, volcanoes than any other country in the region. I took this thought for granted, just another unique feature of my resident country, something to take pride in. What I didn’t think about was the greater consequences and side effects of living in the land of volcanoes…earthquakes.

Nicaragua sits on the edge of a tectonic plate, I believe the same one that California sits on. (Kan someone fact check that? I don’t have internet as I write this.) In effect, Nicaragua is highly prone to earthquakes, and has a rich history in earthquakes. Well, rich isn’t quite the right word. The opposite or rich, poor, would be more appropriate. Or more appropriate is the following Nicaragua has a devastating history of earthquakes. Twice, in this century alone, 1932 and 1972, have earthquakes in the high sevens on the Richter scale had their epicenter in the heart of the capital, Managua. The effects of these quakes have had long lasting effects economically, esthetically, and politically. As buildings collapsed, people watched helplessly, knowing that neither they themselves nor the government had enough money to rebuild them. Buildings structurally unsound due to the earthquake 40 years ago still stand, because the government doesn’t have enough dough to knock them down. Instead of rebuild, the city as a result expanded outwards, enlarging the city limits. Few buildings are over two or three stories. The result has been the ugly sprawling mess that now is Managua, with no downtown or safe commercial area, that doesn’t resemble any other capital in the world. Most people would think the capital is the ideal place to go while on vacation down here. I tell you now with hesitation, run, get away from Managua as fast as you can. Not worth the time. And one of the consequences was the death of baseball player Roberto Clemente, who was delivering food and medical supplies when his plane when down on New Years Eve in 1972.

Now why I am suddenly talking about earthquakes? Because in the last week and a half there have been three significant earthquakes in the region, the last one being a 7.9 two hundred km off the coast of Costa Rica. The first two were smaller, off the coast first El Salvador and Costa Rica, and were not felt. But living within twenty five kilometers from the beach, I did get two frantic midnight calls from the Peace Corps office warning me about a pending tsunami. Had they been real threats, I would’ve been evacuated, but I certainly appreciated the heads up.

But yesterday, as I’m in class, the big one hit. We were working in small groups outside, and I was sitting on a bench holding up a piece of paper in explain a concept. All the sudden the students, almost simultaneously the students covered their eyes or looked away. And then I felt it, although not in the way I expected. All the sudden I felt dizzy, as if I was going to faint with the world was swaying slowly around me. My first though was something more sinister, some sort of airborne agent in the air that caused all of us to feel that weird sensation. That is until a second later, I heard the word temblor (tremor), mumbled by a student. For about fifteen to twenty seconds, there we sat, stupefied almost, just watching the world around us. I was only vaguely aware we should take some sort of precautionary measure; I was more amazed by the way everything seemed to move in waves around me. What was I supposed to do in my first earthquake anyway? I’m from New England, things like that don’t happen there. There was no visible damage, and class continued as usual. It wasn’t until ten minutes later when I got the call from the assistant country director, who knew my enthusiasm for surfing. “STAY AWAY from the beach. There is a high alert for a tsunami.” (Don’t worry dad, I didn’t grab my board and run to the beach.)  Now being in a rural community, I had no way of knowing immediately where the earthquake originated or the extent of the damage through the country. Luckily in Nicaragua, there was a low incidence of problems, info I gathered from neighbors with TV’s, my radio, and talking with the local army. A tsunami was an effect of the earthquake, all though it had little repercussions, hardly flooding the more southern departments of Nicaragua. But it was a sufficient threat to cancel all class in coastal departments, and I enjoyed an afternoon off to myself. I was surprised and pleased with the response of the government, who seemed to do all it could to prevent any unwarranted property damage and death. So kudos to Ortega and the Sandanistas, for that.

But the real question is, when will the next big one hit Nicaragua? You’ll notice these two major earthquakes were forty years apart. It’s been forty years since the last one. Does that mean we’ll get another big one soon? Will we be ready?