Week Two
Well, it's hard to believe that I've been here two weeks. Mostly it feels like I've been here much longer than that. I have another picture website for people to view. The link is kind of long, so I would recommend just copying and pasting it into your browser window. The link is: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/michaelkritzman/my_photos This website is from another volunteer here, and so there are many photo albums, scroll down and find the album that is entitled "Managua." If you click on it there are many good pictures of the area. The first pictures are from the city of Managua itself. Then there are other pictures of a concert that was performed here in our dorm when the first delegation was here. The next pictures are from a school we visited last week, and the final pictures are from a feeding station here in Nueva Vida. The feeding station is open everyday and feeds 400 children everyday from the neighborhood. These pictures give a good idea of what things actually look like here.
So I've made it through week two now. Overall this week was much more calm than last, since there was not a delegation of volunteers here. Mostly during the days us five long-term volunteers worked on construction at both the clinic and the compound where we live. Next week there is a large delegation of doctors coming and the clinic already has one building that they work out of, but we are scrambling to finish a second so it will be ready for the delegation. Mostly we have been working on tiling one of the large examination rooms and the adjacent bathroom. Toward the end of this week we worked on putting in a sidewalk from the office in the compound to another walkway. If you have never made a sidewalk before, I can assure you it is challenging work! We all feel a bit sore today after two days of digging dirt, dealing with huge blocks of stone and mixing and pouring concrete.
I also learned this week about the way things normally run around here. In terms of meals we volunteers go down to the main house and make our own breakfast, and sometimes lunch At dinner Kathleen, who is one of the founding community members, makes the food with the help of another community member or volunteer. There is never a lack of food, which can either be a positive or a negative, depending on how you look at it. On Tuesday of this week we went out to see a play in Managua. The play is called "El Nica" and it documents one man's struggle to live as a Nicaraguan in Coast Rica. It was written and performed by one man, and was based on his own life experience. While I am still struggling in my comprehension of the language it was a little difficult to understand, but his passion and amazing acting abilities helped me to catch much of what was going on. Which could be difficult in a play that is essentially a dialogue between a man and his crucifix!
The only other exciting items from this week happened yesterday when we saw our first large large taratula. We also saw a beetle that was probably five or six inches long. Luckily these were both outside, otherwise I might not have been so pleased with the sightings. I am planning on moving in with a host family in the next week, so I will keep this updated with my new adventures when that change takes place.
So I've made it through week two now. Overall this week was much more calm than last, since there was not a delegation of volunteers here. Mostly during the days us five long-term volunteers worked on construction at both the clinic and the compound where we live. Next week there is a large delegation of doctors coming and the clinic already has one building that they work out of, but we are scrambling to finish a second so it will be ready for the delegation. Mostly we have been working on tiling one of the large examination rooms and the adjacent bathroom. Toward the end of this week we worked on putting in a sidewalk from the office in the compound to another walkway. If you have never made a sidewalk before, I can assure you it is challenging work! We all feel a bit sore today after two days of digging dirt, dealing with huge blocks of stone and mixing and pouring concrete.
I also learned this week about the way things normally run around here. In terms of meals we volunteers go down to the main house and make our own breakfast, and sometimes lunch At dinner Kathleen, who is one of the founding community members, makes the food with the help of another community member or volunteer. There is never a lack of food, which can either be a positive or a negative, depending on how you look at it. On Tuesday of this week we went out to see a play in Managua. The play is called "El Nica" and it documents one man's struggle to live as a Nicaraguan in Coast Rica. It was written and performed by one man, and was based on his own life experience. While I am still struggling in my comprehension of the language it was a little difficult to understand, but his passion and amazing acting abilities helped me to catch much of what was going on. Which could be difficult in a play that is essentially a dialogue between a man and his crucifix!
The only other exciting items from this week happened yesterday when we saw our first large large taratula. We also saw a beetle that was probably five or six inches long. Luckily these were both outside, otherwise I might not have been so pleased with the sightings. I am planning on moving in with a host family in the next week, so I will keep this updated with my new adventures when that change takes place.
posted by Emily at 9:45 AM
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