hey everybody! just got a po box. the address is
maclaine sorden
aparto postal # 22
matagalpa
nicaragua, central america
hope all is well! i wont be back to a computer until next month so looking forward to catching up then! take care and hasta la vista!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
life in matagalpa
so sorry this has taken so long but here i go..
life here is exactly what i expected as a volunteer.. because i am working in 4 communities, everyday i am walking from house to house in different comunities to present and introduce myself.. usually ill stay and help clean beans or shuck corn as well.. the men are always working in the fields and the women are around the house working.. days here are from 530 in the morning until 7 at night or so.. i am usually asleep by 830 or 9.. every night i am reading a new book.. i have discovered a new passion for reading and it is definately a stress releiver as well.. i am about to start building my own room with bricks and cement attached to my families house.. i am getting way closer to them as well.. everynihgt i eat dinner with my brother while laying in the hammock and talking.. my family thinks i am crazy for drinking coffee without sugar with almost every meal.. ive started to clear a plot of land with a machete for planting a garden.. im going to have a class with the little kids in the community about how to plant and maintain a garden.. every saturday i am teaching english in the high school.. the kids are excited for that.. the english teacher knows quite a bit but we are helpiong one another out.. the other communities are much smaller and i have better relationships with the people.. i am as healthy right now as i ever have been.. im usually covered in sweat head to toe every afternoon.. last week i threw my sweat drenched shirt on a line out back to dry and the cows here love the salt.. needless to say the shirt was chewed up and spat out and will now serve as a rag.. because we are in winter right now and it is wet season there is a river in my back yard.. which means there are bastante mosquitoes everynight but also means i can do my laundry without having to walk down to the well.. i usually look for a rock without a significant amount of algae for washing and then beat my clothes into it for a while.. three weeks ago or so i walked into my room with my brother and we discovered a teranchela on the wall.. my brother took my waterbottle and threw it at teh spider obsiously missing and then we watched the thing crawl over to my bed.. so.. i remade my bed and shook everything out to look for him and didnt have any luck.. my brother assured me he was scared and went outside and i was sure that was wrong.. anyway i couldnt find him so i went back to organizing my stuff.. i reached down on top of one of my suitcases to grab a pair of swim trunks and sure enough the little guy crawled right across my knuckles.. luckly i wasnt bit and within a few seconds he was on the bottom of my sandel.. generally ill try and grab the insect reptile or animal and take it back outside but i couldnt manage to do that with the araña... we have 4 new puppies that sleep outside of my door at night.. there is a strong shot that one of them is going to be mine.. my littlest brother is bound set on getting me a girlfriend so every time a girl from the age of 14 to 30 walks by he inquires on whether or not i am interested.. last night i got the point across that i have to talk with a girl before determining whether or not i like her.. ha.. he is a hell of a little kid and some days i dont know what i would do without him there.. my older brother and i have had nights of talking about money religion politics life and certainly culture before dozing off.. one night we stayed up till 930 talking and i couldnt remember the last time i stayed up that late ha... i am certainly enjoying my days here and religiously writing in my journal about al lof my experiences.. yesterday i went to visit another volunteer who has been here a full year come november and were going to start some projects together later this month.. she worked for the southwest conservation corps as well in colorado so we have plenty to talk about.. were going to be building 46 stoves for different families in her villiage.. its a great opportunity for practicing for my community as well.. i have been visiting a tutora in another community a few afternoons every week and i am starting to become better friends with her and her brothers too.. life is so simple here and an experience like this certainly pushes ones limits.. i have found a maclaine that is striving for a hell of a lot more patience understanding and compassion.. i remember some of the littlest things that got on my nerves a few years back that i am looking back now and laughing at.. more than anything i feel so obligated to continue giving back becuase of the simple blessings that have got me here... like an education system.. schools with resources such as paper.. not having to pay to recieve study guides in high school.. having running water.. not worrying about a food shortage next summer.. being able to understand simple mathematics.. going to college.. having a supportive and able family.. playing in an organized league.. just everything that i have had at my fingertips is a dream for these people.. for people here, welcoming in a stranger on the street for a meal is a norm.. helping chop down limbs for firewood is a given regardless of age.. grandmothers carrying buckets of water 100 yards to their houses and back to the well is the way that they survive.. all of this labor intensive work is just normal.. life in the campo is way different than life in the cities.. all of that said ive had some of the best laughs here and some of the most welcoming smiles that i have ever experienced in my life.. there are days i would do anything for a cold ipa beer.. or a day at an iowa cubs game.. or a day on the lake with some college buddies.. or just a nice run on paved roads but realizing that all of these things are priveledges and not rights makes me appreciate all i have been given my entire life.. i am doing well and everyday growing as a person.. hope that every one reading this is doing as well as i am and miss you all very much!
take care and much love,
maclaine
a quote that hit home a few nights back from the book the art of happiness-
the very struggle of life is what makes us who we are
life here is exactly what i expected as a volunteer.. because i am working in 4 communities, everyday i am walking from house to house in different comunities to present and introduce myself.. usually ill stay and help clean beans or shuck corn as well.. the men are always working in the fields and the women are around the house working.. days here are from 530 in the morning until 7 at night or so.. i am usually asleep by 830 or 9.. every night i am reading a new book.. i have discovered a new passion for reading and it is definately a stress releiver as well.. i am about to start building my own room with bricks and cement attached to my families house.. i am getting way closer to them as well.. everynihgt i eat dinner with my brother while laying in the hammock and talking.. my family thinks i am crazy for drinking coffee without sugar with almost every meal.. ive started to clear a plot of land with a machete for planting a garden.. im going to have a class with the little kids in the community about how to plant and maintain a garden.. every saturday i am teaching english in the high school.. the kids are excited for that.. the english teacher knows quite a bit but we are helpiong one another out.. the other communities are much smaller and i have better relationships with the people.. i am as healthy right now as i ever have been.. im usually covered in sweat head to toe every afternoon.. last week i threw my sweat drenched shirt on a line out back to dry and the cows here love the salt.. needless to say the shirt was chewed up and spat out and will now serve as a rag.. because we are in winter right now and it is wet season there is a river in my back yard.. which means there are bastante mosquitoes everynight but also means i can do my laundry without having to walk down to the well.. i usually look for a rock without a significant amount of algae for washing and then beat my clothes into it for a while.. three weeks ago or so i walked into my room with my brother and we discovered a teranchela on the wall.. my brother took my waterbottle and threw it at teh spider obsiously missing and then we watched the thing crawl over to my bed.. so.. i remade my bed and shook everything out to look for him and didnt have any luck.. my brother assured me he was scared and went outside and i was sure that was wrong.. anyway i couldnt find him so i went back to organizing my stuff.. i reached down on top of one of my suitcases to grab a pair of swim trunks and sure enough the little guy crawled right across my knuckles.. luckly i wasnt bit and within a few seconds he was on the bottom of my sandel.. generally ill try and grab the insect reptile or animal and take it back outside but i couldnt manage to do that with the araña... we have 4 new puppies that sleep outside of my door at night.. there is a strong shot that one of them is going to be mine.. my littlest brother is bound set on getting me a girlfriend so every time a girl from the age of 14 to 30 walks by he inquires on whether or not i am interested.. last night i got the point across that i have to talk with a girl before determining whether or not i like her.. ha.. he is a hell of a little kid and some days i dont know what i would do without him there.. my older brother and i have had nights of talking about money religion politics life and certainly culture before dozing off.. one night we stayed up till 930 talking and i couldnt remember the last time i stayed up that late ha... i am certainly enjoying my days here and religiously writing in my journal about al lof my experiences.. yesterday i went to visit another volunteer who has been here a full year come november and were going to start some projects together later this month.. she worked for the southwest conservation corps as well in colorado so we have plenty to talk about.. were going to be building 46 stoves for different families in her villiage.. its a great opportunity for practicing for my community as well.. i have been visiting a tutora in another community a few afternoons every week and i am starting to become better friends with her and her brothers too.. life is so simple here and an experience like this certainly pushes ones limits.. i have found a maclaine that is striving for a hell of a lot more patience understanding and compassion.. i remember some of the littlest things that got on my nerves a few years back that i am looking back now and laughing at.. more than anything i feel so obligated to continue giving back becuase of the simple blessings that have got me here... like an education system.. schools with resources such as paper.. not having to pay to recieve study guides in high school.. having running water.. not worrying about a food shortage next summer.. being able to understand simple mathematics.. going to college.. having a supportive and able family.. playing in an organized league.. just everything that i have had at my fingertips is a dream for these people.. for people here, welcoming in a stranger on the street for a meal is a norm.. helping chop down limbs for firewood is a given regardless of age.. grandmothers carrying buckets of water 100 yards to their houses and back to the well is the way that they survive.. all of this labor intensive work is just normal.. life in the campo is way different than life in the cities.. all of that said ive had some of the best laughs here and some of the most welcoming smiles that i have ever experienced in my life.. there are days i would do anything for a cold ipa beer.. or a day at an iowa cubs game.. or a day on the lake with some college buddies.. or just a nice run on paved roads but realizing that all of these things are priveledges and not rights makes me appreciate all i have been given my entire life.. i am doing well and everyday growing as a person.. hope that every one reading this is doing as well as i am and miss you all very much!
take care and much love,
maclaine
a quote that hit home a few nights back from the book the art of happiness-
the very struggle of life is what makes us who we are
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