September 5, 2009,

I’m at my site with my host family! Let me write a little bit about the whirlwind last two days:

Yesterday was our first three hour language class/diagnostic session. It included, for me, a 5 minute rambling introduction of myself in Spanish where I was trying to point out where I lived in Michigan on my hand while waddling like a penguin toward a coffee cup with a coin between my legs, and revealing my deepest feelings about el amor to a group of two Nicaraguan language teachers, and 7 PCT’s, 3 of whom were native speakers. It was intense, to say the least.

Later, I found out that on the strength of my language interview/diagnostic, I would be stationed in a town called Dolores with three other PCT’s with advanced language levels. I feel it’s right where I belong, in a group where we all have a pretty good handle on Spanish, but still have to iron out the details and grow our vocabularies, especially our Nica vocabularies, since they use lots of words here that they use nowhere else in the Spanish speaking universe, supposedly. I’m glad I’m not the lone gringo in the group of three native speakers.

We arrived last night, in the rain, after finally getting all of our baggage (which was delayed for two days; and one girl still hasn’t gotten hers). My family was so welcoming, kind, and ready to correct my Spanish/put things in terms I could understand. I had my first taste of real Nicaraguan gallo pinto (their very popular national dish of rice and beans) con queso frito (fried cheese), y un fresco (fruit juice). It was all delicious, and exactly what I wanted after not having eaten between noon and 6:30. I went to bed right afterwards, even though it was only about 7:00, because it had been an exhausting day.

The night was… interesting. I woke up first to the sound of chickens squawking right outside my room as though they’d just been kicked at 2 in the morning or so, and they pretty regularly punctuated my sleep for the rest of the night. Then at 6 a.m., I heard explosions in the street right outside my window (which I’d been warned in advance about, that they were actually fireworks, and not bombs), and a woman on a loudspeaker shouting “¡Despierta Nicaragua! ¡Viva la Virgen!” (wake up Nicaragua! Long live the Virgin! (Mary)), followed by a recorded song over the loudspeaker that lasted five minutes or so. I still felt great in the morning, but for Sunday, since I can sleep in, I’m definitely putting in some earplugs before I go to bed.

This morning was our first language class, where I found out my language level was technically classified as Advanced Mid, which is a step up from where I tested when I took a similarly tiered oral test in Michigan with all my other (at the time) future language teachers. We also took a fairly lengthy break to talk with Martín, a 17-year-old street punk fan who’s part of Megan’s host family, and talked to us at length about access to music in Nica, vulgarities, folklore, how to deal with pirropos (catcalls guys make at girls, especially at gringas), among other interesting topics. I’m now back at my host family’s home, delaying lunch a bit to write this entry, which I plan on taking to a cyber (short for cybercafé. There are 2 here in Dolores, and according to Martín, the one on the corner is better than CyberSolución, which is two doors down). Now that I am actually here, I really miss my American keyboard where I knew how to make an at sign, an apostrophe, and a quotation mark. It has made me miss home unexpectedly, and also be unexpectedly unable to comment on it without sounding stilted.

Tomorrow is an off day, and then Monday we start our intense schedule of language classes, getting to know our town and the people in it, and observing classrooms. I will try to come back here at some point, but I am not sure if I will have time. Bah! I{m so done writing right now.