ICS blog

After a cramped but picturesque bus journey from Managua to the Nicaraguan highlands, we were met with a warm reception the second we disembarked in Parcila; a little village in North-Western Nicaragua consisting of about 50 households. The members of the community had, in conjunction with our fellow Nicaraguan volunteers, prepared a welcome party for us, where we all had an opportunity to introduce ourselves in our broken Spanish accents, and mingle with the locals. 

El día 6 de enero 2016 viajamos a la ciudad de Managua a la inducción global del ciclo 14 de ICS, para entrenamiento de nuestros roles la cual participamos voluntarios Nica y británicos, la cual duró un lapso de cuatro días, retornando el día domingo 10 a nuestras comunidades. 

Introduction

‘Chiche!’ is a word I learnt recently in Nicaragua. It means ‘piece of cake!’ and has to be my all-time, hands-down favourite word that I have learnt here (and I have learnt a LOT of new Spanish words).

Even saying the word itself is enjoyably effortless. (Go on, you simply have to try saying it out loud now!).

However, I am aware of how ironic it is that ‘Chiche!’ is my favourite word out here as this project has, of course, been anything but a piece of cake. 

The 7 of January marked the first day of orientation for both groups of volunteers. We were incredibly excited to meet each other and interacted with heaps of enthusiasm. In the grand scheme of things, not much time has passed so it goes without saying that we have to make the most of every moment. 

After almost two weeks of living and working in Malawi as part of Team Masomphenya, we are busy settling into life in Nkhata Bay. However, it is difficult to ignore the inevitable cultural differences between two contrasting societies and even within our own team members, between national and UK volunteers. Of course this is all part of fitting in with the locals: making the embarrassing faux-pas is all part of the fun. 

El día lunes 11 de Enero 2016, nos reunimos los voluntarios nicaragüenses para preparar la bienvenida a Parcila de nuestros queridos amigos británicos.

El pastor de la comunidad, Juan Martínez les dio unas palabras lindas de bienvenida para demostrarle el amor y la alegría de tenerlos con nosotros.

Luego una joven los deleitó con un hermoso baile folclórico donde lucía un traje radiante que impresionó a nuestros amigos británicos.

Close your eyes for a minute and picture a stereotypical Central American country. If you’re anything like me, you may have conjured up images of extreme poverty, endemic corruption, scorching weather, and violent drug lords. Typing ‘Honduras’ into Google does little to assuage these images (if my parents are reading this, please don’t under any circumstances google ‘Honduras murder rate’). Yet despite this, and despite being labelled clinically insane by my close friends, I have agreed to come to Honduras to volunteer for three months.

Un día miércoles 6 de enero de 2016, salimos de la comunidad de Parcila el nuevo grupo de voluntarios nicaragüenses hacia la capital de Managua en donde los hospedamos en el centro de capacitación PAEBANIC. Donde fueron recibidos con mucho entusiasmo a los nuevos voluntarios británicos. Luego nos dirigimos a realizar un tour por la capital en donde se les mostró los lugares turísticos.

Once we arrived in Managua we got taxis to the hotel and we all went straight to bed due to being jet lagged. 

After breakfast, the next day, we met Ereik (the doctor) and had our medicals, whilst waiting for the Nicaraguan volunteers. Once they arrived we experienced the language barrier, and I am sure we will all get better as the weeks fly by. 

Over the next few days we were bombarded with ice breakers, team building and name remembering. Which proved to be a bit of a challenge for people with bad memories. 

Having survived what we later learned was the second most dangerous landing in the world (hairpin U-turn onto a very short runway) we were excited, and slightly relieved, to finally be in Tegucigalpa and to meet the infamous Carmen, our guardian angel in-country. 

Our first stop was the beautiful Santa Lucia, a small town in the hills of Tegucigalpa where, in a beautiful rural hotel, we would be introduced to our national volunteers and our project in El Carrizal in more detail.