September 19th, 2009

So, yesterday I went to a mall in Managua with the other volunteers to get lunch during our break between sessions we were getting about how to go about teaching and planning in Nicaragua. It was pretty awful, all in all. The food court was full of places that had things pre-prepared, like pizza hut, where they would warm up a piece of ham or pepperoni (which ended up actually also being ham) or Hawaiian (ham and pineapple) pizza. The only decent veggie fare that wasn’t a sub I could find was a bowl of minestrone soup from Quiznos, which was pretty watery, burned my tongue, and with a huge grape soda, ended up costing almost a hundred cords, which is a ridiculous amount to be paying for the amount/quality of food I got.

I left the mall wishing I could take back the previous half hour of my life. This got me thinking, that having gotten here, I have a lot of regrets about the stuff I brought, and that if I could take back the few days I spent packing before I left, I’d change quite a bit. So, in case anyone reading this is considering teaching English in Nicaragua with the peace corps sometime in the future, here’s my short list of advice on what to bring (and what to leave behind):

Things I wish I had brought:

- Art supplies. They’re hard to come by here, and are necessary, since the dearth of teaching supplies means that teachers have to create a lot of their own visual aids for their classes. This is what the other volunteers all have said, at least. I feel woefully unprepared, having brought exactly one pen and two black sharpies, and nothing else arty. So markers, pens, pencils, tape, and crayons are all things I probably should have brought.

- Books! For pleasure, I only brought one decent novel in English (Fahrenheit 451), and two novels in Spanish (the last two Harry Potters), and a book of Neruda poems. I wish I’d have brought some decent novels in English, maybe another couple I had already read but could definitely read again (like The Stranger), and some I hadn’t read. I’ve already lent out the last Harry Potter to another volunteer, and I wish I had brought more, so as to have some to contribute to the informal intra-volunteer lending network that has already sprung up.

- A guitar. The peace corps will tell you flat out not to bring more than two pieces of checked baggage that weigh up to 80 pounds together, and no more than one carry-on that weighs less than 45 pounds. These aren't like, limits; they're guides that would only come into play if you were trying to get them to pay for charges on the bags you brought with you. What are enforced are the limits the airlines place on what you can bring on and check, which is generally two checked bags weighing up to 50 pounds each, and two carry-ons, as long as one’s a backpack or purse or something. One volunteer definitely brought his guitar on the plane with a backpack, and seeing this, I very much wanted to go back in time and do the same.

- Pictures! Liz brought a whole boatload of pictures from throughout her life down here with her; i have a couple of my closest friends, and forgot the one of my family i kept on my desk all last year. I wish I had a mountain of images from my life i could show people down here.

Things I’ve brought that I’ve found indispensible:

- Technology (my camera, computer, mp3 player, and flash drive). They’ve been great for cataloguing and commemorating my experiences thus far, giving me an easy way to escape from the pressures of the day, and a way to transport my blog entries to a place where I can upload them, respectively.

- My headlamp/flashlight. The lighting situation in my room is that I only have one ceiling light, so they’ve been wonderful for reading at night.

- My pants and t-shirt selection. It’s hot, but guys have to wear pants, so I’m glad I brought like, 6 pairs. Also, while I can roll up my nice long sleeved shirts, more people down here wear nice button down t-shirts to work, so I’m glad I have a few (thanks mom).

- My timepieces. I have a little itty bitty pocketwatch, which I love so much more than any watch I could own, since my wrists still weigh the same. Also, my battery operated alarm clock has been invaluable.

- My earplugs. If I could sum up Nicaragua in one word, that word would be “Loud.” Sometimes you just want quiet.

Things I wish I hadn’t lugged down here:

- My ties. No one wears ties in Nicaragua. To do so would, instead of making me look professional, look even more like a gringo than I already do.

- About half of the clothes I brought. I packed all of my professional clothes, and a month’s worth of underwear and socks. I’d cut that in half, at least. I have access to a washing machine with my host family, and can do laundry weekly. Plus clothes are cheap second hand down here, and I could probably assimilate better by buying Nicaraguan.

- Professional books. The peace corps gives you a sack of books at the end of your 3 day in country orientation, including books on how to go about teaching English, planning lessons, English and Spanish grammar, a dictionary, and 501 Spanish Verbs. I really wish I’d left the two big grammar books I bought right before I left, but am glad I have the Oxford Picture Dictionary to supplement the technical books, and to use as a quick and easy source of visuals.