I just passed the three-weeks-in-Nicaragua mark (as well as the “I-can-talk-about-more-than-just-the-weather” mark in my Spanish lessons- quite the milestone, in my mind). So, bueno, La Vida Idealistas. I am a 26-year-old from Washington state, currently living in Leon, Nicaragua. I’v[...]
Archive for the ‘Day in the Life’ Category
January 23rd, 2012 - 10:01 am § in Day in the Life
Strike a Balance
Upon creating my vision board for the new year, it became clear to me that this year should be focused on striking a balance! With a jam-packed schedule, finding time for everything in my life in Guatemala may be difficult. I will be taking on a part-time English teaching job in the mornings at a [[...]
Tags: Mindi Batson No Comments
January 18th, 2012 - 5:00 am § in Day in the Life, Dominican Republic
They Call Me La Morena: Race in the Dominican Republic
I stood at the counter of a little cafeteria close to our house and ordered a plate of food. The family that runs this cafeteria knows my husband and I fairly well. But this was the first time they had seen our new baby in my arms. The grandmother of the family took my order [...][...]
To Chocolatada or not to Chocolatada: How NGO’s Should Handle Local Traditions
Chocolatadas are a very popular tradition here in Peru. They are essentially Christmas parties, which range in extravagance: from a simple end-of-term school prize giving ceremony where chocolatadas (hot chocolate) and panetón (a traditional Christmas fruitcake) is provided, to full-on parties f[...]
Tags: children, Chocolatada, Christmas, Fran Talavera, NGO, tradition No Comments
December 28th, 2011 - 5:27 am § in Day in the Life, Honduras
The Peace Corps Pulls out of Honduras: the Spectrum of Human Emotion
Last week we found out that Peace Corps is pulling its volunteers out of Honduras due to insecurity. With 8 months left of service with my community and every intention of finishing them, this was not happy news. Most of us Peace Corps volunteers were shocked to hear this decision, not because of wh[...]
December 27th, 2011 - 9:25 am § in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Day in the Life, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, In the Field, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Tips & Resources, Volunteer
45 More Tips from Kiva Fellows in South America
Sixteen classes of Kiva Fellows have been working in the field for Kiva for years now. We upload borrower profiles. We make field visits. We battle typhoid, malaria, and poisonous spiders the size of our heads. Now, we’re no experts in living or working abroad (though we sure do like it), but[...]
December 22nd, 2011 - 5:00 am § in Day in the Life
Home for the Holidays: Continuing Lessons in Patience
Working in Latin America requires patience. Whether we are waiting in a camioneta that has been leaving “ahorita” (right now!) for the past 25 minutes, or we are listening to a 4-hour PTA meeting held in Kaqchikel so that we may issue a 4 minute announcement in Spanish which will receive[...]
Dreams of Kiva Borrowers
Part of my Kiva Fellowship here in Bolivia is to complete two Borrower Verifications (BVs) for two Kiva partner microfinance intuitions: Emprender and IMPRO. During the BV, I ask four questions to verify that the borrower is the real borrower, and I ask one question to understand the Kiva borrower b[...]
Tags: Kiva, kiva borrowers, Kiva Fellow No Comments
Costs of Volunteering (and where does my money really go?)
As a volunteer we do have to do our research. Just like someone donating (discussed pointedly in Amanda’s recent post “Too Much Charity“) in order to make a difference, we have to do a background check on who we donate our time to. We also must realize that volunteer organization[...]
December 15th, 2011 - 6:30 am § in Day in the Life
Doing Fair Trade in an Unfair Society and World
We have diligently contacted these excursion guides, requesting that they stop by our fair trade art shop, which is right on their route. What a wonderful way for them to use their positions to give back to the community and to earn 5 percent of all sales they bring in. However, they do not want to [...]
