Over the last week, I have settled into my community, overcome some homesickness over Thanksgiving, and found some potential activities that I can try starting. I am generally enjoying my time here, there seems like there are enough activities to keep me busy. My site mate and I planned a “summer camp” this week, and I will present the project to the Mayor today in order to ask for some funds and potential space to hold some of the activities. We will do activities and some lectures, go to the river and teach water safety and basic swimming to the kids, have a field day and the like. It will only be for the mornings, so we have no responsibilities to occupy them for an entire day or feed them lunch. I am talking with the guy in charge of trash collection, to see if we can start a city sized compost project. The local government will be able to sell the compost, and the volume of trash being thrown into a ravine will be reduced. He asked me to talk to a local NGO about their knowhow before coming back to him, and we will hopefully meet together sometime next week.
The weather has turned to cool and dry from warm and rainy. The beginning of “summer” is around mid November, and lasts through May, but these first months are cooler while the sun hides in the Southern Hemisphere for awhile. Then in February, it gets really hot and dry until the rains make their return, following the sun northwards. I have so far liked the climate of my site, I know that other people are currently experiencing heat that will only come here for a few weeks of the year. The mountains in the area ensure it stays more or less comfortable for gringos year round, and I am told most rains come from the Atlantic side, so we are protected from the harshest rains by a jungle and the mountains.
I sometimes feel like the Pied Piper, with a troop of kids following me around most of the time I am out of the house. I take kids to the river, we play soccer, we go on walks, and play games around the house. It seems natural to bond with kids first, as your Spanish level is fairly similar and the world around you is fresh and new. Also, we as Volunteers do not know what to take seriously, and what to make light of, and kids are a great way of learning about the societal norms.
Other than that, I have been doing quite a bit of reading and household chores. I buy a newspaper every time I go to Matagalpa, and dissect it for a couple of days in order to practice Spanish. Also, since coming to site, I have read a book and a half, along with some PC material. My host dad painted a neighbor’s house, which I helped with for a few hours, and we also sanded and stained some rocking chairs(the easy chair of choice here, as couches trap a lot of heat and are not comfortable) another day. In the next few weeks, I hope to do more of the same to pass the time, he did just buy a big hunk of zinc roof for a project of his...
