May 11, 2012
Hey all. Time to
update the blog! I feel like there's not
much to update you with, since I don't feel like I've been terribly active
lately. I came to the realization that
because I was watching a movie or TV show episode every night on my computer
before bed, that I wasn't reading anymore and that was making me feel really
guilty. So after a trip to the Peace
Corps office in Managua I brought back about 10 new books to get started on (I
already had about 20 sitting on my desk at home, but hey, when a whole group of
volunteers finishes their service and drops off tons of new books at the
library, one must take advantage). So in
the past two weeks or so I've finished 4 books, mostly spending my days hanging
around in my new hammock and just enjoying some well-needed reading time. However, that in turn made me feel guilty for
not leaving the house and visiting with the community. We're still in summer here right now so it's
super hot everyday, making it hard to drag my lazy ass out of the house to go
work in the sun. I hope that once the
rains start up again that I'll be more motivated to get out and stay moving.
As for what I have been doing besides sleeping in and reading
in my hammock, I've finished 9 out the 10 ovens in my project. The last one is the one at my own house. I'm still waiting for the owner to deliver
the bricks and get the table built so I can do the oven.
The irrigation project has pretty much stopped. The heat had gotten to all the tomatoes we
planted, and even though we had great plans of buying a hose to attach to the
system to water all day long from the river, it just never happened. We did however replant some tomato seeds to
start fresh, and just yesterday we transplanted those back in the garden. But this time we won't try to water them with
the irrigation system. We're hoping the
rains start soon so we don't have to hand water everyday. We've started harvesting the few squash that
we planted back in February, but it's not enough to sell and make money on the
project, so we're dividing the squash amongst the group to take home and
eat. I've made two soups out of one of
the squashes, and it was really good! If
the tomatoes don't do well this time then we're planning on just planting
squashes next time since they did pretty well in the heat. The school garden project is super
frustrating, and I've kind of bailed on that one yet again. The tomatoes we planted got a disease and the
kids weren't watering them frequently enough so they all dried up. The few cucumber plants that made it are just
now providing some cucumbers, but they're really small and there are so few of
them I don't think it will positively affect the school meals much. But even though there aren't a lot I can still
give them to the parents that make the meals and just tell them to do what they
can with them. It's really hard to
motivate the kids and teachers to work and keep watering and the weeding when
they really just don't seem to want to.
At the end of the month I'm taking a trip with some other
volunteers to Bluefields, which is on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. They say it's a whole different world over
there considering the population is mostly of Afro-Caribbean/Creole
decent. Most speak English, but it's a
creole English with a thick accent. And
of course they speak Spanish, so I wonder what I'll be speaking more while I'm
there. The reason we're going to visit
during the Palo de Mayo (May Poll) celebration, which is huge over there. I don't know it's origins or real cultural
influence, but there's always a big parade with lots of dancing and various
partying throughout the week. I hope to
eat lots of yummy seafood and coconut dishes and see some great costumes and
fun dancing. It should be fun! Perhaps my next post will include pictures from that trip.
Love and miss you all,
~Sarita~
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