Any help about Latin America….
May 23rd, 2006 by Rick@CSUMB.>To whom this Reaches, My name is Rick and I have been nominated to central/Latin America. I was wondering if anyone knows any information/experiences they could share with me about these regions. I am very excited about this opportunity, and very curious about this adventure I will be starting in a couple of months. Well any info would be greatly appreciated…thanks and have a nice day. Rick
June 18th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
Hi Rick–
I spotted your post here and thought I’d respond — I too was nominated for Central/South America, on May 19th 06. My medical packet is still pending completion so I haven’t been assigned a country yet — this makes me nervous as my scheduled departure date is in September. I am looking forward to serving in the CA/SA region. I did some work in Nicaragua previously and some travel there for about two weeks. My experience was short in contrast to the length of the Peace Corps assignment but I found Nicaraguan culture to be vibrant, hard-working, creative and friendly. I worked briefly in a school (called Centro Pan y Amor) doing repairs with other volunteers and playing soccer in my spare time with young students who attended the school but were on break. The school also served as a feeding center/nutritional program for young mothers and was also affiliated with a group home for kids living under difficult circumstances (e.g., as foster children, children affected by drug abuse in the family or generally poor living conditions, poverty etc.). I imagine this youth center to be similar to ones that Peace Corps may work with in Central America.
Politically, Latin America is interesting right now with many recent presidential elections and upcoming elections which are changing the political landscape. Also there is the impact for better or worse that the Central American Free Trade Agreement will have when it is implemented.
When I was in Nicaragua, I found out that approx. 80% of the population live on less than $2.00 a day and that the poorest of the poor in the country are still subjected to an outrageouss sales taxes on goods/services of %15. Nearly half of school age children do not advance past 2nd grade due to multiple reasons (lack of teachers, little established value of education/perception of education leading to a decent job, children working immediately instead of school to help w/ family expenses). I also found out that a teacher makes the equivalent of around $60.00/mo! No wonder its hard to find teachers! So amidst all the great things happening in the region, there is a palpable struggle for people to meet some very basic needs (incl. food, shelter, water, jobs) just to make it. On the positive side, I was able to visit one of four new recycling centers being built in Managua, Nicaragua, see many volcanos, a rain forest, and take in a championship Nicaraguan league baseball game (for under $4!)….
I think Central/So America placement is so exciting… I wish you the best as you prepare for your placement… Perhaps we’ll even meet at a staging or orientation….?
Michael M
Nominee
June 26th, 2006 at 3:23 pm
Hi there, I was just recently nominated for Latin America/South America region on June 20th, however my date to leave, should I pass everything, is May 2007, so I do have a way to go but I was wondering if anyone has already gone through the language interview for Spanish. Since it is a requirement I was wondering how difficult the actual interview from the placement office is.
I havent taken spanish in over 8 years and I just signed up for a refesher course but I am frightened that I will not be good enough in the language department. Any advice that anyone could give me would be extremely helpful! Thank you
-Jenny
August 24th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
Hola! I will be going to Tanzania (as a secondary school math teacher), in September, but I do know about Latin America, from the Spanish classes I have taken (and from talking to people from that area of the world).
Any idea what part you will be going to (e.g. Mexico, Central America, South America)? The culture you will be living in depends on which country you go to, along with where in it you go (as does the language; there are some countries in Central America where you might speak some native language. In Peru, they speak Spanish on the coast, but Quechua in the interior). You might try going to lonelyplanet.com, or looking at old National Geographic articles, to get a better idea of Latin America.
Also, for news, the Miami Herald (www.miami.com) has good coverage on the region. If you can understand Spanish, you might try El Nuevo Herald (there’s a link to it at http://www.miami.com) or El Pais (www.elpais.es). Both have thorough news coverage on that region. Then there’s the BBC (news.bbc.co.uk), which has general news of Latin America (English and Spanish), along with information on each country in the region.
Hope this helps.
Matt