I´m Here!

Here = Nicaragua :)

I made it safe and sound to Nica on Saturday (no mechanical problems this time). The Peace Corps set me up in a nice hotel (hot water, a/c, comfy bed) only a 1 block from the office here. I spend most of the weekend on my own reading and walking to and from the supermarket (the only place I had enough money to eat at). Today I signed all of the important documents for my bank account and I swore in as a Peace Corps volunteer. Tomorrow I should be moving in with my new host family and I´ll probably meet with my counterpart (the English teacher I´ll be working with for the next two years). I´m sure I´ll spend the rest of the week settling in and refamiliarizing myself with my site. Next week the real work begins with a 3 day conference with my counterpart in Managua.

Still enjoying the warm weather.

What It's All About

My mom just had me read an article by John Gardner about the secret to happiness in life is not money or luck, but a desire to learn at all stages of life. Sometimes we meet with sucess and others failure, but the key is to take the knowledge that we gain and apply it for future use. For me, that is what the Peace Corps is all about, being able to use what I have learned as a student and teacher and being able to apply that knowledge to help out other teachers and students in need (the best part is that I will be learning some things right with them). I am realistic enought to know that I'm not going to reform the English educational system in Nicaragua, but I am optimistic that I can make a difference in the curriculum and instruction at the high schools that I'll be working with directly. I know that it will not be easy, especially since the students in Nicaragua and the United States are similar in that they both have difficulty looking 3 or 4 years into the future and seeing what a difference knowing a foreign language can make in their chosen career field. I am looking forward to learning a lot over the next 2 years and hopefully coming closer to a decision about what to do after the Peace Corps. I'll keep you posted along the way.

If you want to read the article, it is titled "The Road to Self-Renewal" and was written by John W. Gardner. It can be downloaded in pdf format from http://www.aligningthestars.com/aligningthestars/gardner.pdf.

Back to Nicaragua!

Right now I'm supposed to be in 85 degree, sunny weather gloating about all of you poor folks back in snowy, freezing Nebraska...but instead I have the opportunity to be here for a few more hours absorbing the bone-chilling cold.

I found out on Monday (12-31) that I am supposed to be in Managua by Monday 1-7. My flight out was this morning from Eppley to Atlanta and into Managua. But, after arriving at the airport at 3:30 am, waiting for 2 hours to board, and getting on the plane it was determined that there was a mechanical issue onboard the aircraft and that we had to get off the plane. Initially, there was a chance that the problem would be fixed and we would only have a delayed flight, but luck was not on my side and the plane never left Omaha. After I waited until 8:15 to talk with the Peace Corps travel agency and I was finally able to get up to the airline counter, it became apparent that there was no way to get to Managua before dark today. So, tomorrow the whole adventure begins again with the same 5:40 flight to Atlanta and then on to Managua - hopefully with a functional plane this time. The only advantage is that I was able to convince the airline to hold my 90 pounds of luggage (2 suitcases) so that I didn't have to haul it home and back again.

The extra time gave me a chance to get some sleep (I've only had a couple of hours over the past few days) and clean the trash out of my car so it can be sold.

I'll update everybody once I land safely and have a chance to use the internet.