10.22.2006
This weekend, 6 of us went to Granada. It is a great colonial city on the shores of Lake Nicaragua. It’s pretty touristy, but not so touristy to be annoying. It was the first time we really went anywhere just to wander around. It felt really good to get out of our training towns for the day. Training is starting to wear a lot of us down. Every day is so structured and we are always either in language class or one of a seemingly endless supply of meetings or workshops. It was nice to have a break. I’ll put up some pictures later.
In a couple of days we will learn where our site will be, and then we will go visit it for about a week. During that time we will meet the people we will be working with, the family we will stay with for the first few weeks in site, and probably other important people like the mayor and the police. We will also try to look for a house to live in, and for places to buy things like beds and refrigerators, etc.
When we get to our site for good (a day or two after Thanksgiving, which I think we get to have at the embassy) the PC will give us a settling-in allowance that will help us buy necessities such as a bed and stove, etc. After that we will receive a monthly stipend from the PC that will be about the same as what a teacher here makes (you don’t even want to know what that is in US $). The stipend will be enough to pay rent and buy food and take buses.
Speaking of buses, they are the primary form of transportation here. Most people don’t have cars. In fact it is quite rare to own a car. Buses run to almost all of the towns. The majority of them are old school buses from the states. They are still big and yellow with the same seats and sticky floors. Some have been painted, but some still say things like “Tulsa Public Schools” on the side. There are also quite a bit of “microbuses” which are a bit bigger than mini-vans, but which hold on average 20 passengers, not comfortably. Also, on most buses, there are no scheduled stops, just a beginning and an end. Just let the driver know if you want them to stop and they will, even in the middle of the highway. I am able to get off right in front of my house. Also, if you happen to be standing on the side of the highway, and you signal, the bus will stop for you. This system, combined with the state of the highways here can make a 7 kilometer trip take 30 minutes.
It has been raining for the last 8 days, mas o menos, and because of that I have no clean clothes. Here is why. All of the laundry here is done by hand and then dries on a clothesline. If it is raining, then the clothes don’t dry. I tried hanging a few things in my room, but with the humidity brought on by the rain, they never dried and now smell funny. There are many things like this that make me realize how nice we have it in the States without really knowing it.
I gotta go. Thanks for all of your e-mails.
In a couple of days we will learn where our site will be, and then we will go visit it for about a week. During that time we will meet the people we will be working with, the family we will stay with for the first few weeks in site, and probably other important people like the mayor and the police. We will also try to look for a house to live in, and for places to buy things like beds and refrigerators, etc.
When we get to our site for good (a day or two after Thanksgiving, which I think we get to have at the embassy) the PC will give us a settling-in allowance that will help us buy necessities such as a bed and stove, etc. After that we will receive a monthly stipend from the PC that will be about the same as what a teacher here makes (you don’t even want to know what that is in US $). The stipend will be enough to pay rent and buy food and take buses.
Speaking of buses, they are the primary form of transportation here. Most people don’t have cars. In fact it is quite rare to own a car. Buses run to almost all of the towns. The majority of them are old school buses from the states. They are still big and yellow with the same seats and sticky floors. Some have been painted, but some still say things like “Tulsa Public Schools” on the side. There are also quite a bit of “microbuses” which are a bit bigger than mini-vans, but which hold on average 20 passengers, not comfortably. Also, on most buses, there are no scheduled stops, just a beginning and an end. Just let the driver know if you want them to stop and they will, even in the middle of the highway. I am able to get off right in front of my house. Also, if you happen to be standing on the side of the highway, and you signal, the bus will stop for you. This system, combined with the state of the highways here can make a 7 kilometer trip take 30 minutes.
It has been raining for the last 8 days, mas o menos, and because of that I have no clean clothes. Here is why. All of the laundry here is done by hand and then dries on a clothesline. If it is raining, then the clothes don’t dry. I tried hanging a few things in my room, but with the humidity brought on by the rain, they never dried and now smell funny. There are many things like this that make me realize how nice we have it in the States without really knowing it.
I gotta go. Thanks for all of your e-mails.
posted by Mwiebe at 5:05 PM
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