Alright...Welcome, or bienvenidos to all. With the new year, I decided to jump on the blogging-bandwagon instead of sending those long emails to explain the many strange events which are my life. When I brought up the idea to some of my PC friends, they looked at me as if I had just discovered the television...Apparently I am the only one who is doing things the hard way and living here blogless. SO....I Brought back my laptop from the states to write entries while I am in my site, and then post them once I get to Esteli. If I can figure it out, I will be able to post videos and pictures as I go. But lets take it one step at a time. This last month has, to say the least...taken the wind out from under me. I have, and still am going through one of the toughest battles I have yet to fight, but somehow, I am able to move forward. I don't know what it will be like going back to my site, and trying to pick up where I have left off. I kind of feel like I am starting over, from scratch. And I am so overwhelmed with everything that I don't think I have even given myself a chance to even get hit with the weight of reality...But here in the land of alone time, I am sure it'll come sooner or later. One of the things I realized while I was home, is that having such an amazing group of friends in Nicaragua made the going back bridge a lot easier to cross. I was greeted warmly in the airport by 6 of my friends, with posters and screaming chants of welcome. It felt really nice to be back with them. We went together to my own city of Esteli, because lucky for me, it was here that we were to have a week of training!
It is Friday the 29th of January and our agriculture group has just finished our first IST (In-Service Training). We did all sorts of interesting things, like make Drip Irrigation Systems, Make cheese, and learn about medicinal plants and how to process them into concentrated tinctures (Syrups), and other usable products. It was just like being in training again, a lot of standing around while watching a few people do things. No I am being too harsh, we did participate some...So I guess I will just start from the top.
A drip irrigation system (for those of you who don't know) is a device that is used in agriculture all over the world. It is an especially good alternative to typical watering methods in third world countries who don't have access all year to rainwater, or runninng water. In my case I am lucky to have running water all year, but the rain only comes from may-november. So there are these systems, very simple, that run water through tubing from a central barrel, to garden beds. The tubes have special holes that "drip" out water slowly, therefore watering your garden without acutally having to physically water it with a hose, or a watering can (which is my primary mode). It uses less energy, and is more efficent in the long run. So, our group built 4 in a community that happened to be located right up the road from my site. It felt great to get dirty and sunburnt again. Although I must admit, this time around since I have stopped biting my nails, I enjoy scooping dirt out of the ground much less, since now I have to maintain them. :)
So on the drive back to the city, my boss Bayardo, told me he would swing by my house with the whole aggie gang so that I could drop off my luggage and see my family for a quick minute and say hello, I am alive and I will be back soon. WELL, let me just say it was way too overwhelming. I was greeted by pretty much everyone in my family (40+ people) running up to me with hugs and kisses and huge smiles. I could not even find words to say. It was like being some sort of gringa royalty or celebrity, not to say I didn't enjoy it, but just my family being there alone was a lot, PLUS the added density of all my fellow group members and bosses etc. I'll tell you one thing, all the boys in my group can't wait to come back and visit me after getting a look at some of the very cute girls in my family. AND not only are they cute, but they are 18years old, single, in college, and without a baby...let me just tell you that combination is harder to find in nicaragua then a pair of sunglasses in the ocean!
The days to follow in training were very cool. We got to go to this finca (farm) that grows medicinal plants and herbs organically, and then dries and processes them into various medicinal products, like tea, soaps, syrups, etc. Some of the herbs we worked with were:
aloe- which is very good for your hair and skin and also used to help treat stomachache ,
garlic-which is an anti-fungal, anti-parisital, anti-bacterial, and a really good cleanser internally. It is also used to help repel pests in the garden by making a tea of garlic and chile +water. I was told it is really good for your nails too, so I made some garlic oil and rub it onto my cuticles and nails to strengthen them. I highly reccommend it if you can stand the smell! it helps me keep the boys away! :)
lemongrass- which is used for many things, teas and to help with stomach troubles.
lemon balm (or citronella)- is used for repelling mosquitos and also if ingested can help with insomnia and sleep discomfort.
Chamomile -is used to also calm nerves, and help with sleeping.
We worked with others like oregano, basil, wormwood, etc. but the above were the most interesting to me. Anyway we took dried leaves of the various herbs and mixed it with either alcohol or boiling water. and let them seep into a very concentrated liquid version of the leaves. We then made sweet syrups that children or adults can use (kind of like tryminic) to heal various health problems. I made on with mentha (mint) for stomachaches. We also made polmades which are vasaline, and beeswax based and then mixed with the strong concentrations we had made earilier. I made on with chamomile ( I am using it as lip balm) and one with garlic (as a nail treatment). At the end of the day, the director gave each of us 25 plants, and a bag of different seeds so that we can give the same information out in our own communities! I love when we get seeeds, as you know how hard they are to come by.
The cheese making- well it was very cool. I took a video but am not sure how to upload it onto here. I also have pictures as well. We took milk, and mixed it with sour whey to separate. After that we drained the liquid and cooked the cheese until it resembled something like mozzerella, but certainly was not. We got to eat it afterwards. Very cool. I am going to work on pictures for this so you can see. Well that is all for now. I will write again soon- hopefully!
It is Friday the 29th of January and our agriculture group has just finished our first IST (In-Service Training). We did all sorts of interesting things, like make Drip Irrigation Systems, Make cheese, and learn about medicinal plants and how to process them into concentrated tinctures (Syrups), and other usable products. It was just like being in training again, a lot of standing around while watching a few people do things. No I am being too harsh, we did participate some...So I guess I will just start from the top.
A drip irrigation system (for those of you who don't know) is a device that is used in agriculture all over the world. It is an especially good alternative to typical watering methods in third world countries who don't have access all year to rainwater, or runninng water. In my case I am lucky to have running water all year, but the rain only comes from may-november. So there are these systems, very simple, that run water through tubing from a central barrel, to garden beds. The tubes have special holes that "drip" out water slowly, therefore watering your garden without acutally having to physically water it with a hose, or a watering can (which is my primary mode). It uses less energy, and is more efficent in the long run. So, our group built 4 in a community that happened to be located right up the road from my site. It felt great to get dirty and sunburnt again. Although I must admit, this time around since I have stopped biting my nails, I enjoy scooping dirt out of the ground much less, since now I have to maintain them. :)
So on the drive back to the city, my boss Bayardo, told me he would swing by my house with the whole aggie gang so that I could drop off my luggage and see my family for a quick minute and say hello, I am alive and I will be back soon. WELL, let me just say it was way too overwhelming. I was greeted by pretty much everyone in my family (40+ people) running up to me with hugs and kisses and huge smiles. I could not even find words to say. It was like being some sort of gringa royalty or celebrity, not to say I didn't enjoy it, but just my family being there alone was a lot, PLUS the added density of all my fellow group members and bosses etc. I'll tell you one thing, all the boys in my group can't wait to come back and visit me after getting a look at some of the very cute girls in my family. AND not only are they cute, but they are 18years old, single, in college, and without a baby...let me just tell you that combination is harder to find in nicaragua then a pair of sunglasses in the ocean!
The days to follow in training were very cool. We got to go to this finca (farm) that grows medicinal plants and herbs organically, and then dries and processes them into various medicinal products, like tea, soaps, syrups, etc. Some of the herbs we worked with were:
aloe- which is very good for your hair and skin and also used to help treat stomachache ,
garlic-which is an anti-fungal, anti-parisital, anti-bacterial, and a really good cleanser internally. It is also used to help repel pests in the garden by making a tea of garlic and chile +water. I was told it is really good for your nails too, so I made some garlic oil and rub it onto my cuticles and nails to strengthen them. I highly reccommend it if you can stand the smell! it helps me keep the boys away! :)
lemongrass- which is used for many things, teas and to help with stomach troubles.
lemon balm (or citronella)- is used for repelling mosquitos and also if ingested can help with insomnia and sleep discomfort.
Chamomile -is used to also calm nerves, and help with sleeping.
We worked with others like oregano, basil, wormwood, etc. but the above were the most interesting to me. Anyway we took dried leaves of the various herbs and mixed it with either alcohol or boiling water. and let them seep into a very concentrated liquid version of the leaves. We then made sweet syrups that children or adults can use (kind of like tryminic) to heal various health problems. I made on with mentha (mint) for stomachaches. We also made polmades which are vasaline, and beeswax based and then mixed with the strong concentrations we had made earilier. I made on with chamomile ( I am using it as lip balm) and one with garlic (as a nail treatment). At the end of the day, the director gave each of us 25 plants, and a bag of different seeds so that we can give the same information out in our own communities! I love when we get seeeds, as you know how hard they are to come by.
The cheese making- well it was very cool. I took a video but am not sure how to upload it onto here. I also have pictures as well. We took milk, and mixed it with sour whey to separate. After that we drained the liquid and cooked the cheese until it resembled something like mozzerella, but certainly was not. We got to eat it afterwards. Very cool. I am going to work on pictures for this so you can see. Well that is all for now. I will write again soon- hopefully!
you never seize to amaze me. i love you ti ti :)
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteI love your updates and in awe of what you're doing. Maybe you can start a program here one day to teach those of us who don't have the guts to enter the Peace Corp.
Leslie Stein
Erin-- I love reading about your adventures blog style. I'm so proud of you. I can't wait to read more ;0) Keep up the good work and know that you are in all of our minds and hearts.
ReplyDelete