Mek wi get fahn here

It is now June 3rd, 2018 and we no longer live in Tola. We spent one entire year there, and it was time to move on. It was definitely worthwhile to spend the time in a Spanish congregation and become much more comfortable with the language. After a while though we started to feel like it was time to go back to the Atlantic coast.

There isn't a congregation in Nicaragua that doesn't need more brothers, but Jean has relatives in Pearl Lagoon, and my family are no longer in Nicaragua. If they do come back it won't be to the Pacific. So after weighing our options we decided to move back to Pearl Lagoon.

We had left Pearl Lagoon initially for a variety of reasons, one being that we were newly married and wanted space. Another being the need for online work. Taking Jean back to Canada requires jumping through endless and seemingly impossible hoops. Thus, since I am unwilling to live away from Jean for months at a time we must support ourselves as other "digital nomads" do, by making our living off of the internet.

A few years ago, you could forget about getting a stable internet connection in Pearl Lagoon. Or even stable electricity for that matter. Things have changed a bit. A few new telecom companies have made their way into Nicaragua and brought some stiff competition for the existing internet providers. This has encouraged the well established ones to provide better services in more remote areas. The result being that one can now get a DSL broadband connection in Pearl Lagoon. It isn't cheap, but it works. This gave us the opportunity to go back "home" to the place we first met, and where both of us had spent most of our time in Nicaragua.

There were some snags in our move. We had some things we wanted to take with. We had bought our own furniture in Tola and didn't like the idea of losing on all of that. So we looked into hiring a truck to drive us there with all our furniture, now that the road is much better as well. We also didn't want to make the cats endure a 10 hour bus ride in the heat and in a tiny carrier.

The truck ended up being too expensive, so we considered renting a truck and hiring someone to drive it for us. I can legally drive in Nicaragua with a Canadian licence, but I wasn't comfortable doing this because of how foreigners are seen by police.

Then a couple interested in visiting Pearl Lagoon offered to drive us and our things in their own truck. This was by far the best option, but the plan was "mashed up" when Nicaragua was hit with a wave of political unrest. Although we haven't been affected by the protests that are going on right now directly, there are roadblocks on the major roads from time to time and this would add some major delays to a cross-country roadtrip. After having delayed our trip for an entire month we decided it was simply time to go. We had found everything we needed in Pearl lagoon: A house to rent, an internet connection, and even furniture. So we sold everything and bought a plane ticket.

We hired a taxi, driven by a local brother from Rivas (who by the way was a fantastic driver, well done Jose). Who managed to sneak by every single roadblock by going down back roads and through small towns on the way to Managua. We skirted around Granada and popped out near Tipitapa, bringing us to the Managua Airport without coming across any trouble or entering Managua itself.

Nicaraguan cat carrier

We spent that night in a nearby hotel and the next morning flew to Bluefields. The cats absolutely hated the trip. It was hard to find nice carriers for them, will definitely try to find something better by the next time we travel. Also the tranquilizer was too small of a dose and didn't do anything. They seemed to prefer the backpack we carried them in to Managua more than the airline approved carriers we got from the vet in Managua.

Just in case our trip sounded too easy, our panga from Bluefields broke down twice for a combined period of half an hour. The words "throw the anchor" are not words you want to hear when you're tired and eager to get home.

Everything we own

Whiskey in "his" hotel room

Roadblocks? Where we're going we don't need roads!

A surprise layover in Paradise

Our first meeting back home in Lagoon

The new building used as a Kingdom Hall in Pearl Lagoon

But in the end, we made it and its good to be home! We found a place to rent that was furnished with all the things we had to leave behind, and our cats Whiskey and Brandy are settling in well.

Whiskey helping me get back into blogging.

Working online while abroad

Its now December and we have been in Tola for about 8 months now. There have been some unexpected challenges, but overall we have managed to pull through and our circumstances are much better now than before. We deeply miss Corn Island and just can't stop thinking about our time there. Its still our hope to some day go back.

Remembering Corn Island

The main reasons we were forced to leave the island were A: The time it took to make necessary trips off-island, and B: No job. We had no way to make a living on the island. We were able to scrape by selling pizza on the street, but it wasn't enough to cover the unpredictable travel and immigration expenses. I had to keep going to Costa Rica every 6 months, and extending my visitor visa in Bluefields ever 3 months in between. With each trip taking a week minimum that got costly fast.

Once we moved to Jinotepe I was able to get a job teaching English over the internet, which was quite a blessing for a while. Sadly the company I worked for gradually changed their policies and their contract (Apparently they have a different idea of what a 'contract" is). In the end I was making about 1/4 the income and doing 2x the amount of working hours. I won't mention the name of this company because they don't deserve the publicity.

The good news is, I've been hired now by a better company that offers about 4x the pay per hour, even more than I would expect to make per hour in Canada. They use the same type of software and teaching materials so its a really smooth transition. I will include a link later in the post to their application page for those interested in working for them. I will confess also, at this point, that if anyone uses my link to apply and gets hired I will personally receive a bonus, so if you're looking to work online please USE THE LINK ON THIS PAGE it will help me out a lot.

Below I have assembled a quick guide to how you can get started working online. I will specifically talk about my company DaDaABC, but the principles apply to most ESL teaching businesses you might apply for.

What you need:

A good headset and microphone

- I want to emphasize the word "good". in this case you really can't cheap out. The quality of the microphone is very important and makes a huge difference. 

- Over-ear headphones tend to be better in my experience and help you understand the students pronunciation, which might be terrible so you need to listen closely to know what they are saying.

A good laptop or desktop computer

- Again you don't want to get just any computer. Your entire income depends on this machine so make sure it is up to the task. Remember that with computers more expensive doesn't mean better. I know a lot of people that teach with a Macbook and do fine, but a $300 windows computer might have double the processor speed and three times the RAM. A good graphics card also matters so make sure to know what you have. The custom applications used by DaDaABC and many other teaching companies actually demand quite a bit from your computer for live video feeds, interactive whiteboard and animations etc.

REALLY GOOD Internet

- This one is probably the hardest. We had internet on Corn Island but it wasn't stable enough. DaDaABC requires that you have UNLIMITED internet with a minimum download speed of 10 MBS, and upload of 2 MBS. It must also be a wired internet connection. Which means you have a router in your house with an ethernet cable connecting it to your computer. They feel that wifi is less reliable and require that you use ethernet. Claro offers a package in Tola with 10 MBS download and 2.5 upload for about $80 per month. Isolated communities do not have this service so that really limits where you can go, at least in Nicaragua. 3G and 4G are not permitted (aka the claro stick)

- If you're not sure what any of these numbers mean you definitely want to do some research, its important.

A Quiet place with lots of lighting

- Kind of self explanatory. You need a really quiet place to be teaching. There can't be roosters or dogs barking or traffic in the background. I'll be investing in a slingshot soon to deal with the former myself.

A UPS/Backup battery

- To work for an online tutoring company like DaDaABC you need to be more reliable than the services of the place you live. Power outages happen fairly often in Nicaragua and many other developing countries. You have to keep teaching, so having a backup power supply can be useful. Furthermore, standards for electrical work are different here. I've already had one computer get fried by faulty wiring and don't care to repeat that. A device known as a Utility Power System (UPS) can help. It plugs into the wall, and then has its own outlets for your important devices. It contains a self charging backup battery that automatically kicks in when the power goes out, so if you're teaching and your router, lights, and laptop are all on the UPS... you're students won't even know anything happened. Most UPS also protect against power surges and irregular voltages, thus protecting your devices as well. I got one for about $50 at maxi pali that lasts my laptop, the router, and a bright LED light well over an hour without power.

Those are my tips, Finally here is the company I mentioned earlier. They are called "DaDaABC". I don't know, maybe the name makes sense in Chinese. They are based in Shanghai, and they pay quite generously by the hour. The actual rate is based on your experience and qualifications (TESOL etc), but even their minimum rate is significantly more than minimum wage in most of Canada. Working hours are very early in the AM for the americas, so that means working 4-7 AM. It sounds horrific but its not that bad after a while.

I've only just started with them but I will say they seem very professional. There are two others in the congregation here in Tola working for them and they are very happy with their jobs. I was hired within a week of applying via a link just like the one below, and there was a lot less nonsense I had to wade through than with some other companies (i.e. hours and hours of training videos). They use their own software rather than Skype or zoom, which includes a whiteboard and lets you see the student, as well as their mouse cursor. They also provide ample lesson material so you don't spend much time at all preparing in advance for a class. More like helping them read slides and asking them questions on it, with the occasional grammar game/puppet show. Most students are children.

Click here to apply for DaDaABC: https://www.dadaabc.com/teacher/job/p0R2Y2G5o005

Once you apply, they will contact you on skype or by email and walk you through the rest of the process. It usually involves a skype interview and a demo class after watching some training videos.

Tola, September 2017

We have a few months in Tola now. We're really enjoying the change so far, and starting to learn more about the area and the community. Its been somewhat challenging being completely immersed in Spanish for the first real time, that is to say being in a Spanish congregation with completely Spanish territory. But at the same time not quite as hard as expected.

We also got cats!

Their names are Whiskey and Brandy. We adopted them from a sister in Masaya whose cat had kittens. When we got them they were incredibly tiny, but in just two months they have grown very fast. At first they were terrified of everything and wouldn't come out from under the couch, but within a short time they became very social, affectionate and even jealous for attention. They never scratch or bite, and they help keep down the insects like scorpions and other pests like mice and rats.

Getting pets has also brought to light for me some more cultural differences that I wasn't aware of before. I've gone through all the stages of culture shock over again since we moved to Tola, not realizing how deeply different it was here from the Atlantic coast and from my own culture. 

For a good while I was just frustrated and upset with everything that was "wrong" but I've come to terms with it now. A lot of the big differences I've noticed lately is in regard to animals. Admittedly, animal cruelty and neglect is a big problem in Nicaragua and its often quite hard for tourists and foreigners to deal with when they see it. But not everyone is completely cruel to them, for the most part they simply have a different view of animals, one very different from that we have in North America. Back in Canada people pamper their animals too much, sometimes treating them better than human children. This is obviously wrong as well, but on the other end of the spectrum.

Its a bit hard to express accurately, but from what I can tell here in Nicaragua people do not see animals as "alive"... What I mean is they don't think of them being able to feel pain or any kind of suffering or pleasure. They seem to put them in the same category as plants. Having a chicken is like having a fruit tree, a dog like a shrub to keep nosy neighbors out.

The idea of having a pet is completely foreign. Pet stores are rare and cater to foreigners who bring their pets with them. Veterinarians do exist but the majority of their work is vaccinating cows and pigs. Of course they are capable of looking after your cat or dog as well. 

As I mentioned dogs are kept for security, but when it comes to cats things get really different. Cats are not pets, in fact many see them as dirty animals, some people even having a phobic response to seeing them. One lady said she would much rather have rats in her kitchen than a cat. This may stem from some superstitions or possibly misinformation. We were told by a few people that we shouldn't have cats in the house because their hair will make you go blind. 

Now normally I couldn't care less what people think if I have two cats in my house, but it gets hard when you try to find the basic necessities. If someone here has a cat, firstly they do not feed it, they expect it to hunt. So don't expect stores to sell cat food. Then comes the litterbox. Since cats make you go blind no one would ever have one in the house, so obviously they relieve themselves outside. If they get fleas, rabies, or any other disease is the cat's problem. We made our own box easy enough, but getting the sand was hard. We managed to find some bags at the maxi pali in rivas, but they were in the food section (I think the staff actually thought it was cat food). Unfortunately there wasn't much available and the bags were not big enough to even properly fill the box. But we made due. 

Then the food. They do sell it in big stores like Pali, but because only foreigners buy it, it is priced accordingly. Cat food costs more than many basic staples for human beings, ranging from $1.50 to $2.00 per pound. Cat litter (AKA grey catfood) is even more expensive.

I'm beginning to understand and accept the differences in thought now though. Its actually quite reasonable that someone wouldn't bother buying food for an animal when they can barely afford their own food, and why buy something for the animal to poop on when you have no toilet paper.

I still find it amusing though when the neighbors or friends come and see our cats and their jaws drop because of their size. The cats are only 4 months old but because they are fed regularly and given parasite medicine and needed shots they are already bigger than most of the street cats.

In other news were looking to move to another house soon. Another cultural quirk of Tola is that everyone has to have a rooster. Even though we made it clear to the landlord we needed a quiet place it seems they spent the rent money on pigs and chickens. My clients are starting to complain so if we stay here I risk losing my job. The place we've found is much quieter so hopefully it will be a good move. Internet is still good though and it sounds like moving our connection to the new house won't be an issue.