Three Months in Site!

If I felt I had accomplished a lot in my first two months in site, I have a whole lot more to feel accomplished about after the third. This month was full of planning for the Regional Business Plan competition (check out my previous post) and the cocktail party. Classes are starting to wrap up (we only have one month of school left), and the Presidential elections are this coming Sunday. Overall there is lots going on.

Yesterday, I hiked up to the top of a mountain/hill here in Matagalpa with a new friend who is just travelling through Nicaragua. I had been wanting to hike up there (takes about 1 hour) for the past 3 months, but since I am noramlly a single female, never felt safe doing it. But here are some pictures from out great hike right here in my city.

On my way up to the top!

My hiking buddy Derek

What I thought my Peace Corps life would be like

The road less travelled anyone?

My city - Matagalpa

More of Matagalpa

We made it to the top!

The rain is coming!

Keep making good choices! Love you all!

Regional Competition!

It is finally over. The Regional Business plan competition that I have been planning for the past month is finally over, and I would say it was a success. Just to inform everyone, I was coordinating a regional business plan competition. So that means we had 8 groups of high school seniors from 3 different departments (or states) of Nicaragua participating. This event is part of the culmination of their senior year entreprenurship class that I and other Small Business Volunteers help facilitate. We had several donors come through at the last minute and so we were able to provide the students with a snack and a lunch, as well as have a great event.

However in true Peace Corps fashion, the day started out early when a student of mine (of the group that was to be competitng that day) called me at 5:30am to ask about the marketing section of her business plan. 5:30am???!!!??? I was not so happy when she asked me how I had slept (which is a customary morning greating here in Central America). I thought oh it is just a cultural thing, until I got a text message from one of my fellow PCVs at 6am. Apparently her group had already been on the road for a half an hour to just get to the competition in Matagalpa. When I arrived, I discovered that despite the fact I had gone to the Mayor's office several times to confirm the space we were borrowing, the chairs, and the sound system, that there had been some emergency and the sound system was no where to be had. But luckily, with a little help from some fellow Matagalpa teachers, we were able to find one and only started about 1.5 hours late. A triumph really.

Here are some pictures from the day!

Me with some students before setting up for the event.

 

PC Country Director giving and introduction

A group of my students at the competition with their product

Coffee with Flavors, relatively new for Nicaragua

Awarding second place

First place team! Roof Tiles!

Sun, Managua, and the Cocktail Party

After almost 2 weeks of rain and clouds, I went to Managua last Friday for the annual Cocktail Party. It is a fundraiser for the National Business Plan competition that the Peace Corps holds annually. It was a great night, first because it was held at the Holiday Inn, which has an amazing pool, hot showers with great water pressure, cable TV, a small casino, etc. A real luxury for all of the volunteers, I assure you. Secondly, it was a great night because it is the first time I have seen all of my fellow business volunteers since coming to site 3 months ago. Everyone seems to be doing well, we have all settled into our new roles as volunteers. And lastly, it was a great experience because I believe we were able to raise a good amount of money for the National Competition. 

The National Competition takes the best teams of high school students from around the country, brings them to Managua, and then provided prizes for the best business plan, most creative product, etc. The Second place team from last year, actually found some seed capital, a grant from USAID, and is now building a small production plant. This kid is 19 years old and is running his own business. It is exactly how we would all love our students to end up!

Saturday, I stayed in Managua and with some girls from my training group, we went to the mall and tried our best to recreate a Man vs. Food event at Papa Johns. We had the family feast that included breadsticks, pepperoni rolls, an X-Large pizza, and a pitcher of Diet Coke. We did not finish it between the three of us, but we took the rest to go, and then saw a movie at the movie theatre. Stadium seating, air conditioning, and everything you would find in the States.  It was a great time, and very relaxing. The rest of the night I just stayed at the hotel, went to the casino (lost about $11 – which was much less than some of my fellow volunteers—so I think I made a good choice there!) and then went to bed. But sadly, although it was an extremely comfortable bed, and quiet, I did not sleep more than 7 hours the entire weekend.  So I got up at 7am the next day, went to work out, got in the pool (it was beautiful and sunny both days thank goodness!) and had some breakfast with a fellow volunteer. By the time I got back to Matagalpa it was raining and cloudy again. But overall it was a great weekend. Here are some pictures of me and friends all dressed up for the party!

Local Business Plan Competition-Take Two

The second business plan competition was held last Thursday at one of my schools. We had 15 groups participating and only 1 group could advance to the Regional Competition which will be held this Thursday (although supposedly a Tropical Storm is coming so we shall see what happens). The small event went well, and after about 3 hours of judging and another 45 minutes of deliberating, we had our winning team. It is hard to describe their product, but it can be best explained as a little cabin (used to decorate a house, or restaurant) made of cinnamon sticks or a box (covered in coffee beans and grounds) to served as a decoration and an air freshener. They will be trying to sell their product as a gift for corporate conferences, or decorations for restaurants. I am interested to see how far they will be able to take this product.

The rest of the groups (those that did not win) were mainly jewelry, decorations for houses, or products made of recycled materials. One group actually produced a bottle of wine made from grapes. It tasted pretty good, however their business was not very feasible considering the grapes cost about $4USD a pound and their wine was more expensive than a bottle from Chile here.  Another notable product was the scorpions made from wire. They were pretty cute, and I bought one to serve as a souvenir of my time in Nicaragua (although I have only ever seen one), but it was small and I figure I can put it on my Christmas tree one day. Here are some pictures of the groups presenting their products.

My Counterpart who is Sandinista, could you tell?

This picture frame is made from recycled paper... not wood!

My scorpion

Oh my gosh! A scorpion... oh thank goodness it's not real!

The not so magical school bus

It had to happen eventually. Either getting on the wrong bus, or it breaking down, or something.

Well it happened. Last Friday, I got up at 5:30am so I could make the 6:30 bus to get to San Ramon on time to plan and then teach class. I know the less than ideal teaching situation but with the number of events and festivities that are going on, it was unavoidable.  So I see that the San Ramon bus is no where to be seen and as it gets closer to 6:30 I decide to hop on the bus that goes to Rio Blanco, as it passes by San Ramon and I have taken it before on a Friday morning. I needed to get there so why wait possibly an hour and therefore be an hour late, or just get on the other bus.

So I am riding along, and thought the bus was moving quite fast. So far he hadn't stopped for anyone else to get on. That should have been my first clue, the second clue was that the people who are normally standing in the aisle were given stools to sit upon. So as we got closer to San Ramon and subsquently drive through the town, I run up to the front of the swaying bus and tell the guy I need to get off here. The guy then tells me this is an express bus and they don't stop at all until they reach Rio Blanco a good 4 or 5 hours down the road. Well I start speakign very loudly and very quickly (as the bus had now sped through San Ramon) that I must get off, I am a teacher here, I am not from Nicaragua, I had no idea that it was an express bus, and on top of it all I couldn't pay him the full fair, let alone to get back to Matagalpa. Well nothing stops a bus driver faster than being told you can't pay. So I jumped off the bus and started walking back to San Ramon, luckily it was only about a 5 minute walk back. I felt bad, but I think people shouldn't just assume that everyone knows it is an express bus. And well I learned my lesson, always ask before getting on the bus.

Friday afternoon, classes were cancelled due to the celebration of the Day of Indigenous Resistance. It basically turned out to be a day to celebrate all foods Nica. So here are a few pictures of my students, and the food they prepared. It was all very delicious and very filling as I didn't even need to eat dinner that night!

Out of Uniform Day for the students! Well mostly.

The traditional Gallo Pinto with fried cheese and fried plantains! YUMMY

Posole with Milk, made from corn of course

Tostones, which are fried green platains, and my awesome students of course

Pureed beans with tostones and cheese

The girls and Indio Viejo, which is like a thick corn and meat porridge. its better than it sounds

Explaining to the judges the importance and history of the foods they prepared.

It was all very good. I could go for some more right now. But then again what fried food isn't good?

Well keep making good choices, and take care of yourselves. I love you Aunt B!

A good day

So not only does the weather here in Matagalpa feel like a cool fall day in New England (complete with storm clouds and rain), but I also found out that I got the location I really wanted to hold the regional competition here in Matagalpa. And it is free!

It is the cultural center right in the middle of town. I am hoping that people who are not involved in our project will stop in and buy some products the students have made. Also I met a local TV personality who will be MCing the event. Although it is only about 2 weeks away, things seem to be coming together quickly and I hope to have the sponsors set by the end of next week. It should be a great event and I am getting quite excited!

Also, today there was a local competition at the largest institute in Matagalpa and I was one of the judges. Here are a few pictures from the day:

A little background, this is the largest institute in the city of Matagalpa, and in two days it will be closed and all the classes relocated to other schools because their school is getting renovated. So everyone was saying goodbye.

It was like a party, but people were hugging and crying too!

These are some of the teachers in the center of all the students. The president of the student body was saying thank you!

And some of the senior girls presented a traditional dance in the teacher's honor

One group explaining their product to a judge.

This girl can sell ice in the antartic! And apparently she also holds the #1 ranking in public speaking at the high school level.

Me with Donald (the local TV star) and the famous Professor Bismark!

A Weekend Away...

After being in Matagalpa for two months straight, I decided to take a short trip to the La Dalia-El Tuma area where my friends Sam and Allison live. Sam has a grill at his house so we made BBQ chicken, grilled some Pipian which is kinda like zucchini, and I made ranch dip with veggies. It was a wonderful time, and it was great to get out of the city for a day to see some more of Matagalpa. Here are some pictures from my trip!(Oh and Happy Birthday LBRO!!! the big 2-9!)

A view from the coolest hang out place in La Dalia - the gas station. What a view right???

Still at the gas station!

The only method of transportation to get La Dalia, old school bus!

Sam and Allison in front of the gas station!

A random coffee plant by the side of the road, with berries!

Sam in front of the Barrio de los Maestros

Me in front of the Barrio de los Maestros

Sam in front of his house

La Dalia bus stop

On the bus, heading back to Matagalpa

Goodbye awesome gas station

Best drive I have done yet, beautiful right?