Monthly (more than monthly) Update

Due to some ongoing maintenance and recurring issues within avirichman.com you will have noticed a lack of information recently flowing from these pages of milk and honey. All I can say is please disculparme and carryon with previously scheduled daily activities. I know that avirichman.com may be an adventurous escape from the daily boredom of your work activities but remember that it is only one of many escapes. If you need help finding more, talk to your wife/husband, child, partner, friend, a book, etc.

In the spirit of updating everyone of my recent activities and adventures, I am forced to once again rely upon my trusty, effective, yet not that creative friend, the list. So here where go again:

My trip home: Went home for a week to Jacksonville, FL and had an awesome time. Honestly could not have been better. And recently I just scheduled my next trip home for my cousin’s wedding in Orlando.

Insect problems: Phil experienced a lot of issues with insects during his time here. He managed the ants but could not handle the scorpions or large spiders. For me, it’s just an everyday part of life. I think the scorpion count is up to like ten now. About two a month in the new house.

Classroom troubles and solutions: First semester went better than second semester did last year but it still was not easy. Discipline is a major issue with these adolescents. They just want to talk to each other, touch each other, show up late for class, and not do their homework. Sounds similar to some adolescents I once knew. Anyway, I have been working with my partner teachers to work on this issue and thus have a more productive class. We made a syllabus for this second semester (started a week ago), established a more organized grading system, and will be assigning homework on a weekly basis. We are not going to tolerate continuous interruptions from the students and will just start taking points of their grades. I think it is a very positive step forward.

Fired from NGO: Big news! Opportunity International and I have terminated our working relationship and will from now on just be friends. It was best for both of us and we moved on amicably. I honestly learned a lot from this experience, realizing that just because I am a volunteer working for an established organization does not mean that I cannot take more initiative and get more deeply involved in their organization. I think I tried to just slowly work my way in, not stepping on any toes, and instead ending up not taking enough initiative. Also I believe, that they were clearly not as focused on building entrepreneurship strength as I was and it led to average results. Still I definitely was able to help improve a community library and will look fondly on my time with Opportunity International.

New fan: As part of Phil’s visit here, actually on the second day, we went a bought a new fan which has been amazing! It also doubled my electricity bill for the month but it was worth it.

BD party: Oh yeah, I am now 25. Thanks for all the bd wishes. If you forgot, there is still time to send money/gifts through the mail. I’m not going anywhere! For the 25^th bd party, I had a pretty fun time. We had a party at Dianne and Liz’s house and about 15 people showed up. We did some dancing, some drinking, some guitar playing, and then pizza eating. A group of us then packed into a cab and headed back to my house where I had to profusely thank the cab driver for driving us and putting up with us (why? Think about it). The night ended with my house flooding a bit, Phil trying to help me clean the flood with a broom, and me calling Michael (another best friend of mine living in NYC) at 4:30 in the morning to give a recap of the night’s antics. I give the birthday an 8 out of 10! And do I feel 25, absolutely not.

Moronga: Phil and I both tried moronga during his stay. Moronga is basically Nicaraguan’s version of blood sausage. A rice and beans mixture gets cooked in pig’s blood and then stuffed into a sausage and then deeply fried on a big grill. It tastes like fried. Yes, that’s right, just fried. I give it a 1 out of 10. Phil would not have even given it a zero.

Ometepe: Went to Ometepe again, this time with Phil in tow. And this time we went with expectations to climb Volcan Concepcion, the prettier and larger of the two volcanoes. The night before, while talking to a PCV who lives on the island and possible host for us, she let us know that it has been raining a lot, there was a mudslide in the main road that was not passable, and she was not sure if we could climb the volcano. Still we moved forward, and with my buddy Scott (who also lives on the island) we climbed that sucker. We were about 300m from the crater and in the part where it is pure rock and loose rock, when the clouds really came in and we could not see anything. The lack of vision coupled with the unsure footing freaked me out and we decided to not go any further. I then proceeded to go down a good 200m crab walk style (Phil and Scott did the same but for not as long as me). I will reach the active crater next time.

San Juan del Sur: Phil and I went to SJDS with Regi, the gf, and a friend of hers. Good times but turned out Regi’s friend was a big party pooper and thus did not provide Phil any chance to learn more about the local culture.

House Flooding: I have had a few house flooding problems but had not had the good fortune of being home while the house flooded to actually see what was going on…until a few weeks ago. So the whole back patio would flood, then the water level would be high enough to crawl over the little concrete wall I built next to the back door. It would enter the house and then move its way all the way to the front door, effectively flooding the entire house. Great times! And I have great pictures!

So obviously I had to solve this problem and I did with the help of a two helpers. The two guys and I spent an entire day trying to clean the drain to my house only to discover that it was completely stuck. We then tried to figure out where the drain actually led to, a process that involved digging up my house inside and out. Finally we discovered that some geniuses had build the end of the pipe from my drain below ground level in front of my house

Televisions: Why even buy the kind where you cannot see the picture on the channels while you flip them. You know how you are forced to wait like a full second to see the picture of each channel while you flip. They should outlaw those tvs. They are pointless.

Youth Basketball League: This is one of my new projects and one that I should have tried to start like a year ago…but you live and learn. I have been working with some guys from other basketball teams in my league to organize a basketball league for kids between the ages of 9-13 in Granada. This past Saturday we had an open court at the Red Cross (the same court we the older kids, meaning me, play) and had about 35 kids show up. So tonight, Wed, we will trying to organize the league, see how many teams we will have, and then start up the practice games on Saturday. Should be good, reeeeal good.

Miscellaneous: Still looking for more projects. Need to fix my house up a little bit because I had some branches cut down in front of my house a few weeks ago and they continue to just sit there in my front yard. Also there are a few families of frogs that live in the front yard/swamp that make A LOT of noise! Oh I have very little money left in my account right now. We are talking like 25 dollars and one week to go until we get paid again….I had to bring out the personal budget again and start keeping track of daily expenses. I had some Israeli couchsurfers stay with me a week or so ago and they were awesome, made shakshuka, hummus, Israeli salads, the works. Real good people. Also made a new friend who works for Teach for America on the border of Mexico and the US and her school sounds very similar to my schools…so I guess America has problems as well.

On the Descent

A few weeks back, a relatively common day, I think a Wednesday, came and went, nothing unusual happened. However, this seemingly regular ole’ Wednesday was anything but; it was actually the halfway point of my 27 months of service in Nicaragua. Writing to you today, I have now spent 14 and one-half months in Nicaragua! Wow! Speaking in Nicaraguan metaphorical terms, I have reached the peak of the volcano, hung out for a little bit admiring the view and I am now descending.

Throughout the ascent, the first 13 and one-half months, I have struggled and pained and taken a few steps back to regain my footing. Trust me when I tell you it was not easy. Easy is not why I joined Peace Corps and easy Peace Corps should not be. Even with it being difficult, I have enjoyed the ascent, shared great times with both American and Nicaraguan friends, discovered a whole new culture and mindset, and joked about how hard the ascent was while feeling pain everywhere in my mind and body. During the thirteen and one-half month ascent, I have also learned much more than I have taught (even being a teacher) and taken much more from Nicaragua than what I have given.

Please allow me to share a few quick lessons/thoughts which Nicaragua has reinforced for me. I hope that these lessons, repeated often yet forever relevant, strike a certain chord with those of you reading from, my home, the United States of America.

Money does not buy happiness (nor should it!)

A recent study revealed that out of top 10 happiest countries, Latin America, a region stricken with poverty, represented 8 of them. I was not able to get an exact ranking for Nicaragua, who come in second place on the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere list, but I can tell you that Nicaraguans are pretty happy people even if they do not like Nicaragua in general (something like 3 out of every 5 Nicas would leave the country if given an opportunity). Nicaraguans know how to enjoy life, they dance at every possible occasion, drink at every possible occasion, and spend a lot of time with their friends and families. They also smile a lot except for when the camera is on them (because pictures are for formal occasions and formal occasions are serious). I believe that the fact they spend a lot of quality time with friends and family is the key in all of this happiness. Personally, you can put me anywhere in the world, rich or poor, with a few good friends or family members, and we will be happy and have a good time!

Back to the lack of money thing…They know that they do not have a lot of money but they do not feel “poor.” I caution everyone to not just feel sorry for people who do not have a lot of money or resources; they do not feel sorry for themselves! Instead talk to them, do something with them, help them do something for themselves. They have grown accustomed to living a life without much or any luxury and feel that they have enough. Maybe they are not prosperous but they have enough to live happy lives. And on a personal note, I did not even make close to enough money to file taxes this year yet I am as happy as I have ever been.

I do have much more to say on this topic as I have obviously given it a lot of thought during my Peace Corps service but I will keep you anxiously waiting for more.

Patience really is a virtue (and a necessity in development work!)

By nature, I am not a patient person and anybody that knows me well would tell you the same. But I would have jumped into a volcano by now had I not learned how to be more patient in the past 13 months. Consider this. There is a popular Nicaraguan phrase that translates to “there is more time than life.” Meetings do not start on time, things NEVER go as planned, and water and electricity are not regulars in life. Things do not work on an American schedule here. Nicaragua really has not changed all that much in the last 100 years, at least from what I have heard, and Nicaraguans do not seem in any big rush to change things…they want change but why the rush? More time than life, right?

Development work, the type that I am doing and Peace Corps is doing, really does take years, even decades, to develop. Who knew?!? I spent the first year here getting very frustrated with the people with whom I was working and the lack of progress in my work only to realize that not only was it not helpful but it was hurtful. I have found that Nicaraguans do not respond well to frustrated people (meaning me when frustrated). They respond much better to strong, direct, well-articulated arguments (like most people do). So I have learned to channel those daily frustrations into positive energy helping to motivate those around me.

Noise and disorder can be beautiful.

In my past life, those two words had very negative connotations. As Americans, we want peace and quiet and order (maybe not in that order). We try hard not to bother the people around us and do almost everything with an eye on the law. Come on, we even stop at red lights at 4am when not another soul is driving on the street.

Most people would think that going to a country like Nicaragua where there is abundant land, few people, and little development will equal peace and quiet. However, those people would be dead wrong. Even in the middle of nowhere, it can be difficult to get a good night’s sleep due to howling dogs, crowing roosters, and fire crackers (yes they are EVERYWHERE here). I used to get woken up very early every Friday morning from the squeals of the pig my neighbors were slaughtering.

But noise and disorder can also equate to a raw freedom that we do not have in the United States. People are very free to do what they want here even if it means bothering their neighbors. We can play music as loud as we want at whatever hour of night, throw trash on the streets without anyone telling us not to, and drive the wrong way on one way streets only fearing a honk, and shoot of fireworks to celebrate every occasion. As you can see raw freedom can be good and bad, but I believe it can also be very liberating.

With these little lessons tucked into my pocket, I now begin the descent…less than a year to go (unless I decide to extend). From the experience of my eight or so volcano climbs, I can tell you that the descent is no less arduous or time consuming than the ascent; it just requires a whole new set of muscles and renewed mental strength, and as always a good sense of humor. Estoy listo!

Fame at last

Just check this out people…and look for the cute face.

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatlike.voljournal

The Reawakening of Avi

I am smiling from ear to ear right now. Why? Because yesterday I bought a toaster oven in the market and then frozen bagels (made in Orlando) from the supermarket and this morning I had my first ever bagel and cream cheese in Nicaragua! Do you feel the excitement? Bagels and toaster ovens….imagine the possibilities!

And if you were curious about my absence during the month of June…here is the explanation.

Mr. Philip Stephen Watkins of Jacksonville, FL (originally Pitsburgh, PA) visited Nicaragua and yours truly during the month of June. You can thank him personally for the extended hiatus that this blog has taken at his personal email address which you can easily obtain by emailing me.

I am catching up with my life right now and looking for new work projects. This week is the semester vacations from classes so I am trying to take advantage of this free time by getting back on the productive track. Much love to all of my readers and I still think of you often. I currently have something up my sleeve to expand my readership which I will reveal to you hopefully in the next week.