the first two weeks!

hola everybody!

sorry it has taken this long to finally post a blog but here i go!

my group is nica 56.. because i am in the 56th peace corps group to come to nicaragua.. there are two sectors, ag and food security - and small business... i have many friends in both but i spend most time with aggies.. the first 11 weeks are for training alone.. i am placed with three other aggies in a small town of la paz de carazo.. it is nice here.. population about 3 thousand.. but with people living in the campo closer to 7 thousand.. the main part of the pueblo is 4 by 4 blocks.. i am very familiar with how to get around already.. after training, ill be placed in a rural place along the pacific coast.. most likely.. i would love to work with coffee farmers but also working to improve homes in rural areas is at the top of my list for a secondary project..

I have class lunes a jueves from 8 am to noon.. that is spanish class.. then a lunch break and back to school for two hours in the afternoon.. that is more applied spanish and walking around the community talking with people.. el viernes.. i usually leave to jinotepe or diriamba.. to meet up with the rest of the group.. we have lectures and what not together- vaccines too.. in training we have 4 main tasks to complete outside of learning the language.. the first is to form a youth group in the community and come up with a product to sell at the local market.. i think we are leaning towards mango soap ha.. the next is to estalish a community bank.. we have already started that and it is a great way to save, pool money for ideas, and build trust .. there are many more details but no time to go into that.. the third is to begin integrating yourself into the community.. much of that is taken care of in the afternoons when walking around and stumbling over whatever bit of spanish i can put together.. lastly we have started a garden and a compost.. everything here is burned and i think people may be confused on what is organic as compared to inorganic when even trying to compost.. anyway thismoring we built a 28 pole fence for our garden and cleard it with a machete.. only 2 blisters.. ha but a good way to get in shape nevertheless.. i have a good friend in the community who is an englsh teacher.. he also is a translator a few times a year so we are really helping eachother out... i met a local farmer.. mario. who is helping us with the garden.. hell of a guy.. i am going to start correcting his daughters english homework and help her with pronunciation.. although spanish is a little hard right now, i couldnt be happier for my first language being english.. just talking with them it is bind boggling for them to understand why blew and blue are pronounced the same.. same with know and no.. and the there their and theyre is a whole new world.. i can see how that is confusing..

the family i am posted with is amazing.. irma is mi madre, martin sr mi padre.. there are three kids.. belen 18, martin jr 12, and fernanda 8.. soon ill try to post photos.. a great family.. extremely generous.. in fact martin was thinkin of getting a dog for a while and then when he found out i loved them he brought one home.. although it is not mine they wanted me to name him... so Simba it is.. ha also now we need to watch the lion king together..

i have had a lot of good chicken down here,, and i really like the fish too.. galla pinto is huge.. which is beans and rize mixed up.. ha everymeal.. my family discovered how much i like coffee so its basically coffee with out sugar for every meal as well.. the first cup i had down here had a half inch layer of sugar in the bottom.. ha it went from cup to mouth to cup... ha i have had countless laughs with my family already... im sure there are more to come
the baseball is a blast too.. every sunday after church practically half the town goes down to the field.. in fact last week they wanted me to try out but im just too busy for that during training.. batting practice isnt ruled out though!

anyway, ill try to post in this blog atleast once or twice every few weeks.. hope everyone is doing great and I think about you all often! thanks for the support!

love you all,

maclaine

Leaving tomorrow!

Hey everyone,

Here is the address that I can be reached at from now until late July. Once I know the village I'll be in, I'll update this blog with a new address! Thanks for your support!

Maclaine Sorden, PCT
Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 3256
Managua, Nicaragua
Central America