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31 Aug 07

The first few days have been a bit of a training blur, as we have had a lot of charlas on safety, our jobs here in-country, what competencies we will be expected to achieve before swearing in, that sort of thing. It’s great information, and I’m glad we’re moving into things slowly, but I am ready to get out there into my training site and really get started.

Today we took a whirlwind tour of Managua, and I managed to remember to take some pictures. We went to the Peace Corps office, and saw some of the sites of the city, but only very briefly.















Lake Managua – There’s actually a movement to change the name of Lake Managua back to its traditional indigenous name, which unfortunately I can’t remember right now, and don’t have the internet time to look up. You’ll just have to do a little research of your own!



Another Lake Managua – Almost all the way to the left in this photo, you can see a white wave-ish object. That’s the National Ampitheater, and then to the right of the large skyscraper is the old cathedral.


This is a shot of the large Sandino statue that overlooks the city.


Finally, this is me in front of Lake Managua. My mouth is doing something odd, but I felt that how I looked was less important than just documenting the moment.


I also found out today that my training town will be in Masatepe, which makes very beautiful wooden furniture, which I hope to take some pictures of in the next few weeks. In fact, I have heard that the department of Masaya has many traditional crafts and is a good place to buy gifts. One of the other villages where trainees will be stationed is known for its pottery.

More to follow once I’m on site and having lots of amazing experiences to share. I can say so far though that the other Peace Corps volunteers are an amazing bunch, and it sounds like while it will be a difficult two years, it will also be really rewarding. My impression of the training program is that the work is hard, but that they never expect you to do anything without some kind of preparation.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Your right, awesome pictures! Looking forward to more, pictures and commentary. Not quite the same as being there, but still able to share the adventure.
Love Ya!
September 1, 2007 at 12:38 AM
Anonymous said…
Glad to hear you are doing well! Sorry about your ear...at least you lived through the flight!! I love the pictures and we want a postcard! I will pass this on to some of the people at work so we can make fun of you and it will be like you never left! Brenn-
September 2, 2007 at 10:35 AM
Anonymous said…
Denise! Awesome pics.

I have ample internet time so here it is: Lake Managua indigenous name is Xolotlán. Also, my research tells me that Lake Nicaragua's indigenous name is Cocibolca. Personally, I far prefer the indigenous names. Keep sending those pics!

Trevor
September 2, 2007 at 5:32 PM
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