So I made it...alive and well, going on my 24th hour in Nicaragua. I have had a few emails from people making sure I made it, so here is a quick post to update everyone. I got here lastnight, and was met at the airport by Eric, who is the current volunteer coordinator at CDCA. I will be taking over his job in three weeks, when he leaves. So, basically today I just followed Eric around as he explained to me everything he did...from telling me which keys go in which doors, which CDCA employees are quirky, and the best way to bribe a cop when you are pulled over for traffic violations...it was a lot to take in, but I am convinced I will someday know up from down and be competent in this job. The compound that I live on has many different buildings, the main house, which houses the permanent members, a volunteer dorm (where I live) a guest house, a women's sewing cooperative, and some permanently broken-down vehicles that have been turned into things like "the medicine warehouse." There are many pets...including two monkeys.
Today I ran some errands like going to the xerox store, I toured the medical clinic, and worked on some small construction projects. One thing that I wasn't nervous about before but now am, is driving. I guess I will have to do a fair amount of driving around town, and the streets are chaos here. If you aren't dodging a lady selling coconut water in the middle of the road, then you're dodging a dog with 2 (or less) legs, or 5-6 people all on the same mo-ped. I'm not really looking forward to that aspect of the job...I'm not even a good driver in the US. Oh well.
Today I did bust some bluegrass out on the other volunteers that are here now...overall it was a good reception.
I'll leave you with this comforting observance. Before coming down I was a little unclear about the role of the religious or Christian component of this organization. I knew they hosted a lot of churches, were a faith-based non-profit, and had some religious funding sources, but i also knew that they are not evangelical or prosteletizing (sp?). Anyway, so this morning at breakfast I enjoyed and was comforted by two magnets on the refrigerator. One said "Jesus called, he wants his religion back," and the other magnet had a man kneeling before Jesus and said "Jesus would slap the shit out of you." For whatever reason, I thought, hmm....I think I'm gonna fit in just fine. Love you all,
Bree
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4 comments:
PICTURES! that is my request. when i visit, do i get to stay in the guest house? or maybe there is an abandoned car i could sleep in. do all your pets have all their legs? You should tell people that the reason you dont drive well is because we drive on the right side in kentucky. or that we only drive tractors. i miss you bree! you have a real cool grown up job. im a little jealous. :)
hola amiga,
ahora que tengo trabajo y internet gratis, te puedo seguir en todo. but i haven't quite become a paid slacker yet. we'll see. in other news, i turned in my paper to be legal. what's that going to feel like? anyway, i am glad that at least spent money on magnets that express things you can agree with. maybe you'll be in real good company. te quiero guapa.
I second Jess' motion for pictures. As for the driving, just think "obstacle course".
Jesus is a hardass.
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