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