June 22- Six weeks down!

As my sixth week comes to a close, I realize that I am over half way through my internship. I had intended on being in Nicaragua for 10 weeks. In order to meet my internship requirement, I needed 5, but I assumed it would be difficult to “hit the ground running” and opted for a slightly longer amount of time. I now realize that my thinking was more than correct. However, after recounting my weeks, I realize that I am actually here for 11 weeks. I am not sure how I managed to miscount them but in a way I am sort of grateful since my estimated 3 week water boiling test is now in its third week with only 2 of 9 tests done. I do not even have a stove yet for one of my testing requirements. I know that this is all part of working internationally though. Even though I seem to fail a lot, I am learning so much and gaining a lot of knowledge about working abroad and about agricultural engineering also.

I think now is a good time for reflection.

1.       It is hard to be viewed as a professional here as a woman. The culture is very different. Men yell inappropriate things at women on the street because it is culturally acceptable. Many women will get married and have children after high school. If they do get degrees, very few will actually use them because they have to stay at home to cook, clean, and take care of their children and husbands. However, I think I will be a much stronger person because of this because I have really had to assert myself about what want to do.

2.       While I do enjoy the food here, I am missing the variety in my diet that I once had. I eat beans, rice, and cheese every day at least twice a day. And although I can get “American” food like pizza, hotdogs, and hamburgers here, they are different and often unappetizing.

3.       It is great to live with a family. I can practice my Spanish and learn to cook with them. They also explain things when the news is on if I don’t have the background knowledge to understand what is going on. They also feed me and even do my laundry.

4.       Finding time to blog is really hard when the internet doesn’t cooperate and I do not actually live in a home with internet. I apologize for my spotty updates.