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?

October Madness!!!

This will be a quick one, as I am writing it from the gym's free wi-fi and I have a lot on the agenda today with meetings, teacher planning sessions, trips to the grocery store, etc.

Unfortunately, I had last weekend to rest after the workshops, and now it is back to the grind. haha well at least the Nicaraguan grind. I have been working on follow up reports all week, and have spent the better part of the week worrying about the regional competition I will be hosting here in Matagalpa on October 27th. I wish I could say I already have the details firmed up, but alas, things are moving a little slowly. I hope to have at least the space where we will have the event nailed down by the end of the week. (that means today or tomorrow! eeek!)

Other than lots of planning and classes getting back to normal, I have been trying to keep up my gym routine and have now run 2 miles (1 mile at a time) without stopping, which for me is a big deal since I am NOT the running type. I hope that by the end of October I will be running 2 miles at a time without stopping! Well better get going! Love you all and keep making good choices!

My First Workshop and the end of Month 2

Wow, I can hardly believe I am only two days away from having been in site for 2 months.

First off, I would like to thank all of the family members and friends who have sent me postcards, letters, packages, etc. They have been such wonderful surprises and mean so very much.

Elena wearing the Hessel Boat Show T-shirt I got in a package from home!

Secondly, I am sure you want an update on how my first teacher workshop went. Well I was told that 30 teachers from the Department were invited, and that they would all be professors of the 4th and 5th year of high school and teach the entrepreneurship class that I am helping to teach. Well the reality was that only 12 teachers showed up and only about half of them teach 4th or 5th year. But either way, we (a 3rd year volunteer came to help support me in my first workshop, Thanks Diego!) had a good time, we were able to put the class that these professor's teach into a greater context and gave them materials that will help them give their course that much better. Also, I was asked to redo the workshop this coming Friday (tomorrow) at the municipal-wide teacher training workshop, so I will have a chance to reach even more teachers.We covered topics such as, what is entrepreneurship? why is it important in Nicaragua? and why are business plans necessary and how do you write one?  I was also able to have the teachers fill out an evaluation form to ask about more specific topics they would like covered next year. I am going to try to make this a bi-monthly (every two months) occurrence to reach more teachers than just the one's I am assigned to.

Ready to give the workshop!

Diego my only participant, just kidding, we took this while waiting for teachers to arrive.

Participants filling out their evaluations! Positive reviews!

Me at the school where we gave the workshop with Matagalpa behind me!

 

 

Diego and I all Peace Corps-ed out!

It has been a great 2 months, and I can say I have officially lost 10 pounds! And haven't been sick a day! I have continued to workout 4 to 5 times a week and watch what I am eating. I am comfortable riding around on buses and love my new city. All in all, good times, and I can't wait to explore more of this very amazing and never boring country! Keep making good choices! Love you all!

Quick Update...

I apologize for not posting anything earlier, but this week life got back to normal after two weeks of Independence Day celebrations. I had a nice long relaxing weekend (last weekend) read a book, and worked on my presentation for my upcoming teacher workshop which I have this Wednesday (Update to follow on that one!)

This week classes went alright, I had some planning sessions cancelled then rescheduled, and this weekend I have been relaxing and going to the gym. It's life as usual here, but thought I would give an update anyway.
Hope you all keep making good choices and love you all!