Any given Sunday

It's midafternoon. the hottest part of the day has come upon us, and it makes me decide to walk instead of jump onto the bike I've brought and ride away. When it's hot, my body prefers to move slowly - the bike's much to fast for this kind of heat.

On my way out of the internet cafe or ciber as the Nica's call it, I turn to see the Somoton Mercado off in the distance. It was newly built and quite large and comparatively luxurious...unfortunately it's also quite far from where I live and eve too far from where I am standing in this moment for me to get the ganas or desire to walk to it.

But I want fruit. I've been craving pineapple or watermelon or maybe something uniquely Nica. I spot a medium sized fruit and veggies stand just a half a block down the road and make my way over remembering that I also need to buy some veggies for this week's giant pot of soup. Don't even ask why I eat so much hot soup when it's 80-110 degrees outside...I couldn't tell you.

When I reach the stand, I notice there are two vendors there. I always feel bad choosing one so I decide to buy something from each of them. First, the young woman...I ask for platano, a banana like fruit that is a staple here, and ask that she pick out a good one for me. She looks confused. Nicas often like to pick out their own produce so my request for her help in the selection process has her puzzled. I tell her I'm not good at choosing and that it's for a soup...with my broken spanish I can tell by the look on her face she finally gets it. I'm extranjera, a foreigner, and don't know what I'm doing (completely - I've learned one or two things thus far, but still have not mastered the art of fruit and vegetable selection).

She picks out one and collects the 10 cents or 2 cordobas I hand her. I smile and thank her moving on to the male vendor to the side. He has a wider selection and here I buy a yuca - a staple root in many countries including my own Cape Verde - when I was a kid my Dad used to share a piece of his yuca with me while watching TV or on the front porch. In Cape Verdean or Creole, they call it Manioc (sp?) and my dad and I used to eat it crude or uncooked. Here in Nicaragua, it's strictly yuca and almost always found in soups.

To fill my craving for fruit, I ask the prices of the watermelon and another local fruit called mamon. Since watermelon is out of season it's expensive and costs about 1.50$. A bunch of mamon (it comes in a bunch on a vine like grapes) costs just 4 cords or about 25 cents. I choose the cheaper of course. They don't pay me enough to live the life of out-of-season fruit.

I put my bag of produce in the basket attached to the front of my bike, which makes me stand out terribly in the crowd since Nicas don't have baskets on their bikes (and I feel rather like the wicked witch on top of it - all I need is the theme music da dat da dat da daah duh, da dat da dat da daah duh, daaaaaah!) I thank the vendor who looks disappointed I won't be buying more than 45 cents worth and take off on my bike - it's time to head home.

As I reach my house exhausted from the hot climb up my street and dismount, I remember that I need to buy water- purified that is...since I am out of beverages in the house and still have the lemons from my boyfriends backyard tree in my frige so I can make lemonade. After putting the bike inside - it might get stolen if I leave it unguarded in the street- I head on a mad hunt for gallon sized water. There are several pulperias within a 3 block radius (small corner stores) but it's always a wild guess which one will have water on any given day.

I hit them all up with no luck and end up finding a pulperia a bit far that has small prepackaged purified bags of water. I buy 7 , enough to make 2.5 pitchers of lemonade, and also some culantro (cilantro for those unkowing). I like to cook with it in my soups and in salsa for my Mexican style soy tacos, but haven't been able to find it close to my house until now. I explain my appreciation to the pulperia owner when he tells me they always have it available- "we'll be seeing you then" he says. "si, seguramente" I tell him, yes surely.

Returning to my house I stop one last time for a bag of pineapple juice (we drink from bags here alot), but am disappointed when I take a sip and realize it doesn't mix well with the metal taste I've had in my mouth the past 2 days - a side effect of the medication I am taking for the parasites I'm harboring, amoebas. This is my first time with amoebas and I am having a hard time adjusting to the side effects. Most volunteers in my training group have had parasites several times...this is my first and I am lucky for that!

Last night I couldn't sleep at first because of a strong headache and second because of insomnia - both side effects of the meds. I ended up getting up at 2 am and working on preparing some materials for my English classes in the coming weeks till 5:30am when finally I felt I could shut my eyes and drift off (but not of course without first checking for scorpions, spiders, and other crtitters in my bed!)

But back to today. I squeeze the lemons into a pitcher of the just bought water, add some sugar, and drink...yum, fresh lemonade on a hot day, nothing like it. suprisingly it seems to agree with the lingering metallic taste in my mouth.

What to do now? Well since there's no running water like always till 4:30pm or so, I can't wash laundry like I need to. How about a good book? yeah. in the hammock on your back patio? hell yeah! In 30 seconds I'm there book and cellphone in hand (in case the boyfriend calls from Panama...oh how I miss him!). Within a minute of lying down in my precious and treasured relaxation device - aka hammock, the Gata (literal translation female cat) is looking to jump up and join me. No I tell her- she's dirty and I want to be comfortable and not have to share space. She gives me a "jerk"! look and settles for a spot 4 feet away on the banister of the patio. She looks content. I feel content.

I begin to read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and get through about 5 pages when I hear my neighbor making noise in the mango tree that hangs over my fence and drops ripe mangos when the season is right "plop" right into the back corner of my yard. The kids love to climb that tree and spy on their neighbors, especially the gringa (that would be me). I give him a pathetic look and continue reading.

The Gata catches me glancing her direction and thinks it's her I'm looking at and not him. She takes my stare as an invite for hammock snuggling and before I know it she's in my lap. I feel bad pushing her yet-again pregnant belly out of my space (this will be her 6th litter, 2nd while I am here) and decide to let her stay, petting her pretty little head. All these distractions make me decide I'd rather be writing about them and reflecting on my day than reading about the observations of someone else in Iran (the Lolita book). I pull out a notebook and pen from under the hammock and begin my discourse.

The Gata falls alseep. I suck on some mamon, take in the fresh air, listen to the ranchero (think country gone Mexican) music playing from a neighbor's backyard, and think about when I will be able to post what I have written in my blog. After all, the friends and family fan club is waiting to hear about my everyday afternoons and ordinary nights...

Back by popular demand!

So I know, I know...it's been awhile. I have been getting complaints from all over the world from Iowa to Massachusetts to Texas to Switzerland that I haven't been keeping my readers updated with what the heck is going on in the life of Alison. So after a short break, I'm back and long winded as ever! Hope you enjoy the following exceedingly long blog entry, filled with juicy details and frightening tails. And I will try better in the future to be consistent with my posts. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

I should warn my readers that I was in a very sarcastic mood when writing this blog post, and have included a few profanities (oops, sorry mom).

My Peace Corps Service in Numbers...Number of:

Pounds I have lost: somewhere between 10 and 15...it fluxuates depending on (1) if I have been sick or not (currently there's a party going on in my stomach hosted by my dear friends, the amoebas - that's a parasite for all you that don't have a clue) and (2) whether I have access to McDonald's and PizzaHut or not. These fabulous fast food restaurants, sadly, are only available in that distant land I like to call Managua, aka the capital city. thus I have a hard time maintaining my fat deposits.

Bugs that have threatened my life and nearly made me shit my pants: 2. The first one was a giant scorpion that I came across on top of a pile of dirty laundry I had next to my bed. It was the size of my palm and wanted to kill me, I am convinced. How do I know this, well because after I dumped almost an entire can of Raid on the little bastard he continued to charge right for me with his stinger lunging at me about three times a second. I eventually won the battle, but have not been the same since...read next week's blog to find out how.
The second bug I have not recovered from was a giant (and I do mean giant) spider. This I found inside my mosquito net which covers my bed hanging just above my head. I was reading a letter lying in my bed, calm and relaxed, trying not to think about the scorpion I had found the week before, when I glanced up to see an arachnid the size of a tarantula hanging above me about 2.5 feet away. Yes folks, Alison did panic this time. This thing looked like something we only find in pet stores. I actually considered trying to capture it and sell it on the black market as a circus pet, but decided it would be best to kill the son of a bitch before it could breed any more demons like it, or worse attack me. Let's just say killing it was a thrill, but not the kind I would like to ever have again in my life.

New noteworthy hobbies I have acquired: 1. And it's called riding in the back of a truck, holding on for dear life while travelling up and down dirt and stone mountain roads in the presence of pure beauty...the mountains are absolutely gorgeous...I find it very difficult to describe just how gorgeous they are, but just know, there's fabulous. Sometimes I feel like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music singing the Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music. Other times I feel like I am on the roller coaster ride of my life. I practice my new hobby 2-3 times a week usually when we travel to distant mountain communities to give workshops on sexual and reproductive health. let me tell you my new hobby is 110% fun and adventure. I am often reminded of how a dog looks with his head out of a car window, tongue hanging out, with a face of absolute content and thrill, when I imagine the expression my face makes while practicing my new hobby.

Hot boyfriends that I adore: 1. Yes folks, Alison has a boyfriend. His name is Donald and he is 100% Somoteño (Somoto is the city I live in), though he works a good portion of the year in Panama coordinating the logistics of a shipping and trade company his cousin owns. He is a fabulous and passionate dancer and I must say quite the intellect (He's definitely smarter than me, and I'm pretty furious about that....j/k). He comes from a very loving and kind family that takes good care of me and keeps me company while he is gone at work...We started dating at the beginning of May and I must say he makes me very happy. We have so much in common and I really think we compliment eachother well. In fact we were born just 5 days apart (he April 2nd, me the 7th of 83). As soon as I finally download my pics, I am going to post one of us.

Communities I work in: 24. Even though I live in Somoto, my work requires me to travel all over the state and I work in a total of 24 towns or pueblos each month giving workshops to teens. The kids range from age 11-22 and they are fantastic to work with.

TV commercials I have organized the production of: 1, and there will be 2 more in the future months. In addition to a weekly teen radio show I co-direct, the project requires that we produce commericals about health topics related to teens. Yesterday a team of professional TV producers (writer, director, casting crew, etc) came to Somoto to give an acting workshop I organized and tape a commercial with the kids on teen pregnancy. It was quite amazing to participate...the NGO Puntos de Encuentro was the production team and they are world renound for their media communication productions. We are currently thinking about producing a radionovela in the next year, which could be a huge project, but quite an interesting experience to participate in, should it go through. I'm starting to realize I really like working with health communications and maybe want to focus my Public Health degree in that (yes I am still planning on doing med school for sure :) So far my Nica experience has made me want to be a doctor even more!) There's nothing like doing a double degree! I also realize I really like working with sexual and reproductive health...who knows, OB/GYN could be my future :)


ok so I am running out of time and money...this isn't going to be as long as I hoped...but next week I plan on posting another entry entitled "a day in the life of" in which I walk you through the ins and outs of my experience, the ups the downs, the suprises, the thrills, the things that make me smile, and the things that make me learn. So keep an eye out folks...hasta pronto.