IST

-7/5/13 - 7/10/13
   IST stands for In-Service Training. It was five days at a hotel/resort on a beach on the Pacific coast with my Nica 61 group as well as other business volunteers who have been here for more than five months. We had air-conditioning, hot water (almost forgot what that felt like), a buffet with American food such as bacon and pancakes (none of this I have had since being in the U.S.), and beautiful views of the beach from our patios. But we were there for trainings, so the majority of our time was spent in an overly air-conditioned conference room. We did receive a lot of useful technical information that we will be able to utilize in site. Not only this but we were able to exchange ideas with other business volunteers which will prove to be helpful in the future.

Some pictures from IST:

   On the way back to our sites, a couple friends and I decided we weren't quite ready to stop being pampered so we went to see a movie in the air-conditioned theater in Managua. We watched World War Z in 3D in the VIP theater! Yes, Managua has theaters that have VIP rooms in which you watch your big screen movie in the comfort of a leather Lazy-Boy recliner. Not only this, but they have a server in the theater who comes around and brings you a menu with an assortment of snacks from the theater as well as food from restaurants in the area. I bought a bag of skittles just for the fun of it. Overall, this movie trip costed about 150 cordobas which is equivalent to about $5 USD. I know this may not seem like much but my Peace Corps budget does not accomodate this luxurious experiences. I won't be doing that again for at least another six months.

First Time "Out of Site"

As a volunteer we are allowed 3 "Out of Site" nights per month. Unfortunately, these cannot be rolled over if they are unused one month so volunteers usually make sure to use them up each month. What is considered "Out of Site" is anytime you are spending the night anywhere other than your city/town that you have been placed to live and work during the two year service.

- 6/21/13 

   A few volunteers from my group, Nica 61 (We are the 61st group of volunteers to be placed in Nicaragua, anytime I mention "my group" this is who I am referring to)  decided to celebrate another volunteer's birthday and our first night out of site, in the city of Leon. It is considered one of the most important cities of Nicaragua and well known for it's colonial architecture. I met up with a couple friends in Managua and we caught a bus together up to Leon. The drive was full of beautiful green scenery with volcanoes in the background. We spent the weekend checking out the sites and going out at night. During the cathedral tour we ran into the cast from the show "Pit Boss". My friends were extremely excited about this and took some pictures, while I had no clue who these people were. I always hated those reality TV series. 

   One night out on the town was especially my favorite because we found a bar that played great salsa music. I was able to find someone who could dance really well and this made me extremely happy. I hadn't gone dancing once since I've been here even though I hear salsa music everywhere I go. The few times I've asked people about places to dance, they have warned me not to go there because that is where "vagas" go. The translation means "lazy" but Nicaraguans use it more broadly to describe someone who is up to no good, such as: a drunken man wandering the streets, a woman who goes out with different men, etc. So, when people tell me that only "loose" women go to these places, I figure it's best to avoid them. This has become really irritating for me because I really miss dancing and it served as a huge stress reliever back home. 

-6/28/13

   Found a great kid's library in my city. I was able to chat with the owner, who was really interested in my work here, and he offered to let me use his space for trainings that I plan on doing in the future. The library has a couple side rooms that would be perfect to give trainings to small groups. Also, I discovered that this library had the whole Harry Potter series in Spanish and I decided to make it a personal goal to read the series before I leave. As of right now, I am already halfway through the second book, "Harry Potter y la cámara secreta"!

-7/4/13

   Happy 4th of JULY!!! I was lucky enough to celebrate with a few other volunteers that are living in the region. We had ourselves a potluck where were wore red, white and blue; listened to American music; and ate American food such as: burgers, mac & cheese, no-bake cookies and drank the Nicaraguan equivalent to Budlight called Toña. It was AMAZING! At the end of the night we all passed out in hammocks (a.k.a spare mattresses) that were strung up around the house.