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.