2011…really!?! Sorry I’ve been very MIA with my blog recently. Opps. So here is what has been happening in Nicaragua.
Our community house/library project continues to be difficult. Most of the construction has been finished for months; however we have been waiting for wood for the roof for a while. The wood that the community supposedly had…well I guess they really didn’t. So we found an NGO that was going to donate wood – wonderful! Except that only begins the yes in this week we will drop off the wood…really this week…for sure this week…and months later we are still waiting. To add to our worries, our builder was planning on leaving the country to look for work elsewhere. I finally got word while in the states that we did finally get the wood and that the roof was up, as were the doors and windows. So I was ecstatic…thinking as soon as I got back we could start using the house for meetings, all our groups and the library would finally have a home. Except that they failed to mention that while waiting for so long the cement turned hard and is no longer usable. Great…now we have a roof but no floor! So the wait begins yet again. Supposedly the mayor’s office is going to donate cement…they were also supposedly dropping it off this past week. Did that happen? Nope. So we are closer to finishing…but not there yet.
School…classes ended in November and graduations began. So many ceremonies…one is my town, 3 in my other town, and 1 in yet another town. I was up at the table of honor for 3 of them (since I’m a teacher) and a girl who graduated from high school asked me to go as her special invitee. It was sad watching my 6th graders graduate…they are a fantastic group. After the ceremony, my English class had a small ceremony – they have been working for 2 years. One of them never missed a class in two years. She’s amazing. Since I’ve been back from the states, I’ve been giving her English class everyday. She catches on very quickly, is super enthusiastic about learning and always does her homework. So I have a new goal for my 3rd year…I’m going to have her speaking English before I go! School starts February 15th this year…which just happens to be my birthday! And my host sister’s birthday. I don’t know yet which teacher is teaching each grade at the school in my town yet…hopefully soon. I do know for my other school – unfortunately at that school 2 of my favorite teachers to work with aren’t teaching within my range. I have a new plan of how I’m going to work with my teachers this year. I’m going to attempt to have them write a whole month plan outlining all of their activities for the month…instead of doing this the night before. That way we can spend more time preparing materials and looking for additional information since this is fairly impossible the night before. So that’s my goal.
Chicas Pavanicas…my adorable girlies decided to use the money they earned to have an end of the year celebration with a secret Santa gift exchange. I decorated my house…we listened to music…danced (girls are super goofy when they get together)…hung out…drank coke…ate sweet bread and exchanged gifts. It was a blast. They rest of the money they divided between themselves to use for whatever they wanted. We had our first meeting this year and will be working on forming the group again…inviting new girls…and writing up a more stable work and selling plan. I have high hopes for them this year…but they have a lot of work to do! The most important thing they need to do this year is come up with a better strategy for selling. They make so much jewelry but then can’t sell it all.
Gardens…still going for some! I have lots of work to do in this area this year. One of my friends promised me she would plant a garden while I was gone. And she did! She has 10 green pepper plants, 4 tomato plants, a few banana trees and yucca. She also planted trees which will be ready for transplanting in a few months. Compost and tree nurseries will be one of my first projects when school starts. After a month or so we will start on the gardens.
Melon picking…a few of the guys here went down to Costa Rica to pick cantaloupe. So the next time you buy a cantaloupe at the grocery store, you can think about the guys getting up at 4 to go to the field, working bent over turning and picking melons until sometime between 8:30-11 at night. Does not sound like a good time at all.
Puppies…one of my friend’s dogs had puppies. An all white puppy, an all black puppy, and a brown and white puppy (my fav). So they other 2 puppies were given away and the brown and white one stayed. She’s basically my puppy. Her name is Mancha (stain) because of her coloring…it looks like she has white stains. She’s absolutely adorable. Unfortunately she hates going to my house because I made her stay in the house instead of going outside, which is where she wants to be. But my host family has a lot of really mean dogs so I’m afraid they would hurt her. Maybe when she’s bigger.
HIV prevention…one of my favorite side projects…and by far my father’s favorite we had our first meeting of the year. We ended the year being the most active municipality in the entire department…and the municipality with the highest number of HIV infections. However it is always difficult to compare numbers…yes we have the highest number of infections…but we also have the highest number of tests performed. And we had the highest percentage of pregnant women do the test…98% in 2010. So that was super exciting. Our goal this past year was to really focus on informing and testing men. We definitely improved a lot. The number of men tested in 2010 greatly exceeding those tested in 2009. It is still one of our main focuses this year. We also want to focus more on the rural areas. We are in the midst of planning a few soccer tournaments in the rural sectors and a concert to celebrate May 18th…day of solidarity for people living with HIV/AIDS. We are also attempting to meet with sex workers to form interest groups…one I’m very excited about…a few women expressed interest in learning to read and write…that will be a group I will be working with…if we are successful in creating the groups.
Home leave…so since I extended my service for a year I got to come home for a month. Overall opinion…it was freezing. Very fun but very cold. I got back in time for Christmas…and snow in North Carolina. I also got to go to San Francisco for the first time. It is an awesome city. Way too expensive but very cool to visit. I saw a lot of friends and ate an incredible amount of food…it was great. And I got to go to my cousin’s wedding which was absolutely beautiful. A few random thoughts after being home…
1. Static is annoying is thank goodness does not exist in Nicaragua.
2. My hair is so much prettier and actually stays straight in the States.
3. I love that I can walk outside and not get hissed or yelled at about how beautiful I am… not that I was out walking a lot in the cold but you know…
4. I love that I am outside basically all day in Nicaragua.
5. I love food…best meal…Burma something restaurant in Berkeley (I think)…probably best meal of my life.
6. I missed riding my bike.
7. Mattresses are so much softer and more comfortable than wicker.
8. I don’t like being stuck in some sort of house/building all day.
9. I like the sun very much.
10. Everything is so big and there is so much of everything in the states…2 story Target!?!?
Speaking of so much of everything…funny story. I’ve never been very good at making decisions…mostly because normally I don’t really care. But I normally can handle going to a restaurant and ordering something...yeah not so much anymore. Since there aren’t really many options here, I’m not used to having so many choices…it’s intimidating. So my dear friend Carrie witnessed this firsthand. I was in San Francisco and she was taking me to all these amazing restaurants. I was totally fine when she just ordered for us since she knew what the best dishes were. However, when I had to make my own meal choice…yikes! It was like I had a nervous breakdown. Way too many choices…I didn’t know what to do. Pathetic. I explained to her that I don’t really have that many choices and was getting overwhelmed…so she patiently helped my make some decisions. Slowly my meal decision making time went down…or at least I think it did…or I took just as long but wasn’t nearly as stressed. Haha. I’m sure this sounds ridiculous to most of you but I assure you it’s not! So thanks Carrie, for putting up with me and my freak outs over what kind of toast I wanted and the whole Chipotle fiasco! Among other freak outs!! You’re the best!
Well I guess that’s all I have for now. Sorry again for the delay! I’ll try to update this more frequently. Love from Nicaragua!! Oh and after a week…my house is finally clean again…dust and leaves…awesome.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, July 2, 2010
JULY!!
Its July!!! how did that happen?? I hope everyone has a very fun 4th. I'm not sure what we are going to do here but we are going to try and celebrate...maybe a trip to the pool and some pizza...that sounds like an american thing to do. and yes we actually have a pizza place in somotillo....just opened about 2 months ago...not the same but its still really good...and they actually give you parmesean (spellling?).
so here are the regular updates...
GARDENS!!!
the school gardens are beautiful! at one school we have around 170 tomato plants, 70 green pepper plants and about 10 squash plants. we still need to plant cucumbers but we are on vacation now until the 12 so it will have to wait. I also worked with a girl who is studying agriculture to put on a small workshop on family patio gardens. We made invitations and invited all the women in town....which is close to 50. we had 16 come to the meeting which I was pleased about. that was 2 weeks ago and later today we are going to walk around to all their houses checking up on them. hopefully that goes well.
CHICAS PAVANICAS!!!
the girls are still working hard on their jewelry!! they have made a lot of money and are starting to thing about where they want to go on their excursion. they may have to wait until after the rainy season because no one wants to go in the rain! a few of the girls seem to have lost interest which i don't really understand since they are doing so well so i need to figure out whats really going on....i have a feeling they dont have permission anymore. but i'm going to figure out some ways to reinterest them.
RAIN!!!!
it's rather rainy here! and a tropical storm just went by which means it was really really rainy. there is this really wierd thing that should happen in 2 weeks where it stops raining. supossedly it shouldnt rain from july 15 – aug 15. we'll see if that actually happens!! it would be a nice break! and i wouldnt have to worry about my clothes drying.
FRIEND VISIT!!!
I had a friend here visiting and it was great! fortunately or unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy most of the time she was here...which was nice because it wasnt nearly as hot as it normally is but not nice because sun is so much prettier than rain. but we still had a good time. we went to this really awesome art museum and found this place with an amazing breakfast. she had frozen chocolate milk (fantastic) and the biggest pinneapple pancakes i've ever seen. i have to go back to try the chocolate banana pancakes. i'll let you know how they are...
SCHOOL CRAZINESS!!!
ok so i realize it's the world cup and that's really important here...but seriously...i was at the teacher's monthly meeting and someone had a radio on the whole time listening to the game. in another classroom the guy that was leading the planning for 5th grade had headphones in and was listening to the game while writing on the board. crazy! also, this past tuesday was national teacher day so we all went to somotillo for the acto. after lunch we had a special guest...gustavo leyton...he's a famous singer whose music vidoes consist of him singing on a beach or near a pool with a bunch of girls dancing in bikinis. so not only did he come and sing but he brought his dancers. now like in the states, the majority of teachers here are female. watching girls in thongs shake the butt is not exactly how i would like to celebrate being a teacher.
MEDICAL STUFF!!!
disclaimer...if you get grossed out easily you may not want to read this part.... so this isnt the bad part yet. i'm generally a very healthy person. i never have to go to managua to see the doctors and i don't really ever have problems...until recently! a friend of mine noticed white spots on my face...finally i got the chinandega fungus! on my face! it's some sort of skin fungus that is really prevelant in leon and chinandega because it has something to do with the sun. so thats cool. so i have some cream i have to put on it every night. then one day someone asked what was wrong with my eye...no idea i cant see my eye. well when i found a mirror...yikes! my eye was totally red...looked a little creepy! next morning i woke up fine...in the afternoon it turned to the devil eye again. then it was in both eyes. so i had to call the docs and i got some medicine that cleared that right up. and lastly...this is the semi disgusting part. so last week i got sick...stomach pain and diarrhea and what not. so after 2 days i started taking meds and then i was with my friends and went to the bathroom...in a real toliet not a letrine...and i found a little surprise! a worm. i finally had a parasite. so that was pretty cool. and after almost 2 years here...i finally have to get my first stool test.
i guess that's about all i have. love from nicaragua!!
so here are the regular updates...
GARDENS!!!
the school gardens are beautiful! at one school we have around 170 tomato plants, 70 green pepper plants and about 10 squash plants. we still need to plant cucumbers but we are on vacation now until the 12 so it will have to wait. I also worked with a girl who is studying agriculture to put on a small workshop on family patio gardens. We made invitations and invited all the women in town....which is close to 50. we had 16 come to the meeting which I was pleased about. that was 2 weeks ago and later today we are going to walk around to all their houses checking up on them. hopefully that goes well.
CHICAS PAVANICAS!!!
the girls are still working hard on their jewelry!! they have made a lot of money and are starting to thing about where they want to go on their excursion. they may have to wait until after the rainy season because no one wants to go in the rain! a few of the girls seem to have lost interest which i don't really understand since they are doing so well so i need to figure out whats really going on....i have a feeling they dont have permission anymore. but i'm going to figure out some ways to reinterest them.
RAIN!!!!
it's rather rainy here! and a tropical storm just went by which means it was really really rainy. there is this really wierd thing that should happen in 2 weeks where it stops raining. supossedly it shouldnt rain from july 15 – aug 15. we'll see if that actually happens!! it would be a nice break! and i wouldnt have to worry about my clothes drying.
FRIEND VISIT!!!
I had a friend here visiting and it was great! fortunately or unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy most of the time she was here...which was nice because it wasnt nearly as hot as it normally is but not nice because sun is so much prettier than rain. but we still had a good time. we went to this really awesome art museum and found this place with an amazing breakfast. she had frozen chocolate milk (fantastic) and the biggest pinneapple pancakes i've ever seen. i have to go back to try the chocolate banana pancakes. i'll let you know how they are...
SCHOOL CRAZINESS!!!
ok so i realize it's the world cup and that's really important here...but seriously...i was at the teacher's monthly meeting and someone had a radio on the whole time listening to the game. in another classroom the guy that was leading the planning for 5th grade had headphones in and was listening to the game while writing on the board. crazy! also, this past tuesday was national teacher day so we all went to somotillo for the acto. after lunch we had a special guest...gustavo leyton...he's a famous singer whose music vidoes consist of him singing on a beach or near a pool with a bunch of girls dancing in bikinis. so not only did he come and sing but he brought his dancers. now like in the states, the majority of teachers here are female. watching girls in thongs shake the butt is not exactly how i would like to celebrate being a teacher.
MEDICAL STUFF!!!
disclaimer...if you get grossed out easily you may not want to read this part.... so this isnt the bad part yet. i'm generally a very healthy person. i never have to go to managua to see the doctors and i don't really ever have problems...until recently! a friend of mine noticed white spots on my face...finally i got the chinandega fungus! on my face! it's some sort of skin fungus that is really prevelant in leon and chinandega because it has something to do with the sun. so thats cool. so i have some cream i have to put on it every night. then one day someone asked what was wrong with my eye...no idea i cant see my eye. well when i found a mirror...yikes! my eye was totally red...looked a little creepy! next morning i woke up fine...in the afternoon it turned to the devil eye again. then it was in both eyes. so i had to call the docs and i got some medicine that cleared that right up. and lastly...this is the semi disgusting part. so last week i got sick...stomach pain and diarrhea and what not. so after 2 days i started taking meds and then i was with my friends and went to the bathroom...in a real toliet not a letrine...and i found a little surprise! a worm. i finally had a parasite. so that was pretty cool. and after almost 2 years here...i finally have to get my first stool test.
i guess that's about all i have. love from nicaragua!!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Welcome to the rain!!!!
Well May is over i.e one month of rainy season almost over...5 more to go! We've had a variety of rain. Reallyhard earshattering rain, storms, light rain, sprinkles. It rained for 3 days straight...literally nonstop. the next 3 days it rained most of the time. and today finally after a 6 day hiatus, the sun has reappeared. so beautiful!!! Finally my clothes are going to dry!! I was getting worried that I wasn't going to have dry underware tomorrow. If we had electricity I would use a fan but we still don't so... I'm so glad that I have boots because between the highway and my house is mud and approx 100 cows that go to the bathroom a lot. so walking to my house is great! I looked pretty sweet going to our mother's day celebration at school...cute pastel green dress, did my hair and makeyp...which doesn't happen often...with my giant umbrella and boots carrying my heels with me...as if I'm walking through mud mid shin in anything but my rain boots! Unfortunately only about 10 moms showed up due to the rain so that was sad. The next day we didn't have class either because of the rain.
Garden news...
my garden is going ok. I just planted but i'm afriad the seeds got washed away in all the rain. my trees are very pretty however and i've transplanted a few and gave away the rest. the school gardens are growing. hopefully we will have very successful gardens again this year and win the best school garden of all somotillo!
English class...
My 6th graders are still loving class and complain that we should have english everyday. tey are so adorable. they just learned to play duck duck goose and the hokey pokey. so funny. i also have highschoolers come searching for me all the time for help on their homework. i don't understand why teachers think it's a good idea to assign pages and pages of translations and pronunciations. As if the students are actually capable of any of that. i get annoyed that i'm doing english homework all the time but i feel bad because there is no way they could ever do what they are being asked. very sad.
Jewelry!
My girls are still working hard. hopefully they can plan an excursion soon with the money they are making but it will be difficult with all the rain. they have run into a problem...the metal earring parts rust. so if anyone has any good antirust ideas please let me know!
Volcano Cosiguina...
A fellow volunteer, her bf, her friend from the states and I hiked volcan cosiguina last weekend. it was so beautiful. we had a heck of a time getting there however...missing the bus to the beach...twice...waiting for the bus after the beach for 1.5 hours, waiting in another town for over 2 hours and arriving at our destination at 9:15pm which is really late for Nicaragua. but we found a guide and the next morning set out. the hike was really nice, only 2.5 hours to get up and 2 to get down. The view was gorgeous. there's a laguna in the crater, you can see lots of other volcanos, El Salvador, Honduras, and the Gulf of Fonseca. So despite the travel issues it was a great trip!
Baby!
A friend of mine's sister had a baby last week and was all alone in the hospital so my friend and i hopped on our bikes and rode in the rain to see her. i think that's the first time i've ever seen a baby just hours after birth. so little!! it was wierd becaue the mom was in normal clothes with her baby next to her in the bed not hooked up to any machines. nothing. just the two of them laying in bed in a room with 2 other mothers. literally this was 2 hours after birth. crazy. the baby is so cute and they both are doing well. i've been over to see them almost every day...possible a bad idea considering they always make me hold him and tell me it's because i need to practice....yeah not for 5 years i don't! his name is julio gabriel. precious! and just in time for mothers day here which was the 30th.
Community house...
this friday is our presentation of our project of constructing a community house. wish us luck!! i really hope it gets approved!
Environment day...
is june 5th so we are having a little celebration at school. there is a competition between 3-6th grade for the best costume made completley out of trash...also competing will be their teachers! there is also a drawing competition and some poems, songs, skits and dances. i'm looking forward to seeing my students use their creativity!
Visitors...
yeah courtney is coming june 21!!! and then kelly aug 4th!! love it can't wait!!! i really really hope it's not so rainy!!!
well i guess thats all i have for right now. hope you are all doing well and enjoying the weather! as always visitors are always welcome!! love from nicaragua!
Garden news...
my garden is going ok. I just planted but i'm afriad the seeds got washed away in all the rain. my trees are very pretty however and i've transplanted a few and gave away the rest. the school gardens are growing. hopefully we will have very successful gardens again this year and win the best school garden of all somotillo!
English class...
My 6th graders are still loving class and complain that we should have english everyday. tey are so adorable. they just learned to play duck duck goose and the hokey pokey. so funny. i also have highschoolers come searching for me all the time for help on their homework. i don't understand why teachers think it's a good idea to assign pages and pages of translations and pronunciations. As if the students are actually capable of any of that. i get annoyed that i'm doing english homework all the time but i feel bad because there is no way they could ever do what they are being asked. very sad.
Jewelry!
My girls are still working hard. hopefully they can plan an excursion soon with the money they are making but it will be difficult with all the rain. they have run into a problem...the metal earring parts rust. so if anyone has any good antirust ideas please let me know!
Volcano Cosiguina...
A fellow volunteer, her bf, her friend from the states and I hiked volcan cosiguina last weekend. it was so beautiful. we had a heck of a time getting there however...missing the bus to the beach...twice...waiting for the bus after the beach for 1.5 hours, waiting in another town for over 2 hours and arriving at our destination at 9:15pm which is really late for Nicaragua. but we found a guide and the next morning set out. the hike was really nice, only 2.5 hours to get up and 2 to get down. The view was gorgeous. there's a laguna in the crater, you can see lots of other volcanos, El Salvador, Honduras, and the Gulf of Fonseca. So despite the travel issues it was a great trip!
Baby!
A friend of mine's sister had a baby last week and was all alone in the hospital so my friend and i hopped on our bikes and rode in the rain to see her. i think that's the first time i've ever seen a baby just hours after birth. so little!! it was wierd becaue the mom was in normal clothes with her baby next to her in the bed not hooked up to any machines. nothing. just the two of them laying in bed in a room with 2 other mothers. literally this was 2 hours after birth. crazy. the baby is so cute and they both are doing well. i've been over to see them almost every day...possible a bad idea considering they always make me hold him and tell me it's because i need to practice....yeah not for 5 years i don't! his name is julio gabriel. precious! and just in time for mothers day here which was the 30th.
Community house...
this friday is our presentation of our project of constructing a community house. wish us luck!! i really hope it gets approved!
Environment day...
is june 5th so we are having a little celebration at school. there is a competition between 3-6th grade for the best costume made completley out of trash...also competing will be their teachers! there is also a drawing competition and some poems, songs, skits and dances. i'm looking forward to seeing my students use their creativity!
Visitors...
yeah courtney is coming june 21!!! and then kelly aug 4th!! love it can't wait!!! i really really hope it's not so rainy!!!
well i guess thats all i have for right now. hope you are all doing well and enjoying the weather! as always visitors are always welcome!! love from nicaragua!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
MARCH!!
Kelly is coming to visit me in august!!!!!!!! CANT WAIT!
One month of school done! Its nice to be back in school and have a Schedule again but also frustrating…i forgot that the first few weeks attendence in really low and class gets cancelled for various reasons…the teachers have to get paid, there´s a meeting, it´s the town fair, everyone is tired from the fair, etc. But it is nice to hear teacher, when are you going to teach our class over and over again. These kids are so cute. This year i´m trying really hard to work more witht the teachers in the planning process and co teaching the class. It´s a little hard because they would prefer if i just give class but i´m trying to get them to understand that isn´t the point of me being here. So far it is going pretty well. At the beginning of feb, I gave a workshop to all the teachers at one school on participatory techniques and have been very impressed as i have seen many of the teachers using the techniques in class. That make me very very happy. So i guess maybe i am getting something accomplished! School projects for march – planting tres and making compost.
My english class with my 6th graders is going fantastic. Im really proud of them. They are so interested in learning and work really hard and do their homework. And since it is a small group it is easier to focus on pronunciation and whatnot. We have a lot of fun together. I also forgot that now that school is in session, multiple times a day i hear Eliza help me with my english homework! So i spend a lot of time every day helping high schoolers with their english homework. And if im not at home, they come looking for me wherever im at to get help.
My girls group has finally started their business! They call themselves chicas pavanicas…so adorable. So far they have sold about 20 dollars worth of jewelry which im really happy about. They are really excited to continue working and selling. Its fun for me to watch them talk about what they need to do after their first selling experience…what sold and what didnt, what they should make more of, etc. They are learning a lot.
I had one of the best birthdays ever! My host sister and i coincidentally have the same birthday which is really fun. So our family woke us up at 4am with singing, bread and coffee. Unfortunately it was a Monday so everyone had to get ready for school right after. So myself and 3 other volunteers went to Chinandega for lunch – best lunch in Nicaragua ever. We went to a mexican place…absolutely amazing. I thought for a min we took an express jet to mexico. I felt like i was in Veracruz again. Absolutely amazing authentic tacos and the cheese…oh the cheese…heavenly! So after that perfection i went back to my town. I had already planned to have a girls only party because i knew that if the guys came it would turn into a dance party which normally would have been fine with me but if there is dancing the evangelical girls wouldnt be allowed to be there. So at the complaints of the boys, i had a girls only party. I made them chocolate chip cookies, we listened to music and joked around. One of the traditions here is to put powder all over the birthday person and crack eggs over their heads. Well, my sister and i definitely got powdered more than once but luckily they didnt crack eggs on our heads! Its so fun watching them together since they dont normally get to hang out. So i enjoyed watching them interact. They had a blast. Afterward i had to drop them all off at their houses so their parents knew they were still with me and not out getting in trouble or something. On the way back when it was just my sister and i (she turned 14) she told me that was the best birthday shes ever had and that normally she never gets to do anything but sit in the house. This was the first time she actually got to celebrate her birthday. That comment made my day. I was so happy. We walked arm in arm the rest of the way home. Best day ever, even if i never hear the end of, you had a party and didnt invite us from all the guys…whatever get over it.
4 days after my birthday was another volunteers bday so we had a joint pool party to celebrate. That was also a blast. We made food all day long and had over 50 people. It was also a blast. And shockingly we werent the only people swimming, a few nicas decided to brave getting sick from swimming at night and joined us in the pool. Everyone had a good time…2 successful bday parties in one week…check!
What else…oh we formed a committee that is working on writing a proposal to build a community house. We are at the very beginning stages but so far we are making progress. This will be amazing if it works out. I am a little nervous because the committee, especially my host mom, is sooooooooo thrilled thinking about it that i keep trying to remind them that just because we are writing the proposal doesnt mean it will definitely happen. It has to actually be approved first! But they are actually working with me and on their own to get everything we need for the proposal. So that is promising.
Well i guess thats about all i got right now. Hope you are all doing well and having better weather!!! Still really hot here! Love from Nicaragua. Oooo it randomly rained twice in feb…not a lot but a hard rain for 15 min or so…one day was the superbowl which shockingly i got to watch….minus the few minutes when the cable got knocked out by the rain. Hahaha. Ohhhh one other thing….so we have road signs now. And a speed bump. My favorite sign says… CAUTION- URBAN ZONE 40 KPH. Really??? Urban zone? There are 300 people here…not exactly my definition of urban….i guess definitions can change…but urban? Seriously now…
One month of school done! Its nice to be back in school and have a Schedule again but also frustrating…i forgot that the first few weeks attendence in really low and class gets cancelled for various reasons…the teachers have to get paid, there´s a meeting, it´s the town fair, everyone is tired from the fair, etc. But it is nice to hear teacher, when are you going to teach our class over and over again. These kids are so cute. This year i´m trying really hard to work more witht the teachers in the planning process and co teaching the class. It´s a little hard because they would prefer if i just give class but i´m trying to get them to understand that isn´t the point of me being here. So far it is going pretty well. At the beginning of feb, I gave a workshop to all the teachers at one school on participatory techniques and have been very impressed as i have seen many of the teachers using the techniques in class. That make me very very happy. So i guess maybe i am getting something accomplished! School projects for march – planting tres and making compost.
My english class with my 6th graders is going fantastic. Im really proud of them. They are so interested in learning and work really hard and do their homework. And since it is a small group it is easier to focus on pronunciation and whatnot. We have a lot of fun together. I also forgot that now that school is in session, multiple times a day i hear Eliza help me with my english homework! So i spend a lot of time every day helping high schoolers with their english homework. And if im not at home, they come looking for me wherever im at to get help.
My girls group has finally started their business! They call themselves chicas pavanicas…so adorable. So far they have sold about 20 dollars worth of jewelry which im really happy about. They are really excited to continue working and selling. Its fun for me to watch them talk about what they need to do after their first selling experience…what sold and what didnt, what they should make more of, etc. They are learning a lot.
I had one of the best birthdays ever! My host sister and i coincidentally have the same birthday which is really fun. So our family woke us up at 4am with singing, bread and coffee. Unfortunately it was a Monday so everyone had to get ready for school right after. So myself and 3 other volunteers went to Chinandega for lunch – best lunch in Nicaragua ever. We went to a mexican place…absolutely amazing. I thought for a min we took an express jet to mexico. I felt like i was in Veracruz again. Absolutely amazing authentic tacos and the cheese…oh the cheese…heavenly! So after that perfection i went back to my town. I had already planned to have a girls only party because i knew that if the guys came it would turn into a dance party which normally would have been fine with me but if there is dancing the evangelical girls wouldnt be allowed to be there. So at the complaints of the boys, i had a girls only party. I made them chocolate chip cookies, we listened to music and joked around. One of the traditions here is to put powder all over the birthday person and crack eggs over their heads. Well, my sister and i definitely got powdered more than once but luckily they didnt crack eggs on our heads! Its so fun watching them together since they dont normally get to hang out. So i enjoyed watching them interact. They had a blast. Afterward i had to drop them all off at their houses so their parents knew they were still with me and not out getting in trouble or something. On the way back when it was just my sister and i (she turned 14) she told me that was the best birthday shes ever had and that normally she never gets to do anything but sit in the house. This was the first time she actually got to celebrate her birthday. That comment made my day. I was so happy. We walked arm in arm the rest of the way home. Best day ever, even if i never hear the end of, you had a party and didnt invite us from all the guys…whatever get over it.
4 days after my birthday was another volunteers bday so we had a joint pool party to celebrate. That was also a blast. We made food all day long and had over 50 people. It was also a blast. And shockingly we werent the only people swimming, a few nicas decided to brave getting sick from swimming at night and joined us in the pool. Everyone had a good time…2 successful bday parties in one week…check!
What else…oh we formed a committee that is working on writing a proposal to build a community house. We are at the very beginning stages but so far we are making progress. This will be amazing if it works out. I am a little nervous because the committee, especially my host mom, is sooooooooo thrilled thinking about it that i keep trying to remind them that just because we are writing the proposal doesnt mean it will definitely happen. It has to actually be approved first! But they are actually working with me and on their own to get everything we need for the proposal. So that is promising.
Well i guess thats about all i got right now. Hope you are all doing well and having better weather!!! Still really hot here! Love from Nicaragua. Oooo it randomly rained twice in feb…not a lot but a hard rain for 15 min or so…one day was the superbowl which shockingly i got to watch….minus the few minutes when the cable got knocked out by the rain. Hahaha. Ohhhh one other thing….so we have road signs now. And a speed bump. My favorite sign says… CAUTION- URBAN ZONE 40 KPH. Really??? Urban zone? There are 300 people here…not exactly my definition of urban….i guess definitions can change…but urban? Seriously now…
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
oh my
2010…that´s crazy! I hope everyone had a very good new year…
I was home over Christmas – 2 weeks of being super super cold! But it was great seeing my friends and family. And I got to enjoy electricity, football, amazing food, running water, showers, toliets, soft beds, etc. I spent New Year´s Eve with 2 other volunteers and our Nica friends. We had a very good time together as always.
A Little new year present when I got back to my town…electricity! It´s great. I now am back to enjoying cold water and keeping food. No more candlelight dinners for me!
Since we haven´t been in school, i´ve been keeping myself busy with the library, teaching English to my elementary students and to high school/college students, running with the girls and working with them on their jewelry which they are super closet o being ready to sell.
Just this past week 15 staff members came to visit myself and 3 other volunteers. We all live fairly close and we collaborate a lot on projects. They are looking into putting together a program for volunteers working together so we are the case study I guess. We had an afternoon of meetings and then a day at site and processing. It was a little intense with that many people but we had a good time. The 4 staff that came to my site were very impressed and I enjoyed showing them around and introducing them to people that I live and work with. Funny note…the head of PC Nicaragua called us the 4 mosquito nets….I think he was going for the 4 musketeers…haha
It´s almost time for school again…teachers start going to school on the 18th and school actually starts the beginning of feb. The break went by really fast!
What else is new…hmmm I took my first ride on an ox cart the other day. Pretty exciting, except that I felt back for the poor oxen pulling us as we went to drop off a bed that a fríend of mine made. My house is bat free for the most part and I haven´t seen the rat that supossedly inhabited my house while I was on vacation.
Well I guess that is it for now. Love from windy Nicaragua!
I was home over Christmas – 2 weeks of being super super cold! But it was great seeing my friends and family. And I got to enjoy electricity, football, amazing food, running water, showers, toliets, soft beds, etc. I spent New Year´s Eve with 2 other volunteers and our Nica friends. We had a very good time together as always.
A Little new year present when I got back to my town…electricity! It´s great. I now am back to enjoying cold water and keeping food. No more candlelight dinners for me!
Since we haven´t been in school, i´ve been keeping myself busy with the library, teaching English to my elementary students and to high school/college students, running with the girls and working with them on their jewelry which they are super closet o being ready to sell.
Just this past week 15 staff members came to visit myself and 3 other volunteers. We all live fairly close and we collaborate a lot on projects. They are looking into putting together a program for volunteers working together so we are the case study I guess. We had an afternoon of meetings and then a day at site and processing. It was a little intense with that many people but we had a good time. The 4 staff that came to my site were very impressed and I enjoyed showing them around and introducing them to people that I live and work with. Funny note…the head of PC Nicaragua called us the 4 mosquito nets….I think he was going for the 4 musketeers…haha
It´s almost time for school again…teachers start going to school on the 18th and school actually starts the beginning of feb. The break went by really fast!
What else is new…hmmm I took my first ride on an ox cart the other day. Pretty exciting, except that I felt back for the poor oxen pulling us as we went to drop off a bed that a fríend of mine made. My house is bat free for the most part and I haven´t seen the rat that supossedly inhabited my house while I was on vacation.
Well I guess that is it for now. Love from windy Nicaragua!
Monday, November 23, 2009
1 year in La Pavana...
wow so i've officially been in my site for a year...pretty amazing. so a few interesting things have been happening...
so i just found out that a few months ago the gossip going around was that i was pregnant but got an abortion...really? was i getting that fat? interesting...also the principal of my school may or may not have told the parents not to invite me to their kids' graduation parties...very sad....and supossedly i'm dating a kind of married guy. this is what happens in small towns where there is nothing else to do. and the fact that we are once again without power (it's been a month encounting...) doesn't help...it gets pretty boring.
the school year is over!!! yea!!! so the kids had their end of the year parties. at one of my schools the 6th graders had to wash the floor...but instead they decided to throw bags of water on each other. so i got to class and asked why are so many of you wet?? so they explained and then said, "profe, you won't get mad if we get you wet will you?" why of course not! so i joined in the water fight. we had a blast...it turned into trowing huge 5 gallon buckets of water on each other. i was soaked. none of the other teachers got in on the action...lame...but i had a blast. so i dripped my way back to la pavana...somehow the ride didn't seem nearly as hot...
this saturday is 6th grade graduation...i'm so excited! dec. 4th is preschool graduation at my other school and dec 10 is 6th graduation at my other school. it's going to be great...lots of food and lots of dances. i'm pumped.
my school's out schedule is as follows...
exercise group - monday, wednesday, friday
girls jewelry making group - monday
elementary english class - tuesday
high school/college english class - wednesday
story time/literacy lesson - thursday
it's going to be great! and somewhere in there i'll be working on HIV prevention, gardens and building a communal house...
so in my other town, they built a basketball/soccer/volleyball court...it's so sweet. so the other day i watched some guys play basketball...oh my it was the best thing i've ever seen. double dribbling, traveling half the court, apparently bball is now a contact sport, reaching in...doesn't exist. and shooting...well i think most 5 year olds shoot more correctly. so that is perfect because i have no problem playing with them. and hopefully they will let me teach them how to play...
well i guess that's it for now...i'll be home soon!!! love from nica
so i just found out that a few months ago the gossip going around was that i was pregnant but got an abortion...really? was i getting that fat? interesting...also the principal of my school may or may not have told the parents not to invite me to their kids' graduation parties...very sad....and supossedly i'm dating a kind of married guy. this is what happens in small towns where there is nothing else to do. and the fact that we are once again without power (it's been a month encounting...) doesn't help...it gets pretty boring.
the school year is over!!! yea!!! so the kids had their end of the year parties. at one of my schools the 6th graders had to wash the floor...but instead they decided to throw bags of water on each other. so i got to class and asked why are so many of you wet?? so they explained and then said, "profe, you won't get mad if we get you wet will you?" why of course not! so i joined in the water fight. we had a blast...it turned into trowing huge 5 gallon buckets of water on each other. i was soaked. none of the other teachers got in on the action...lame...but i had a blast. so i dripped my way back to la pavana...somehow the ride didn't seem nearly as hot...
this saturday is 6th grade graduation...i'm so excited! dec. 4th is preschool graduation at my other school and dec 10 is 6th graduation at my other school. it's going to be great...lots of food and lots of dances. i'm pumped.
my school's out schedule is as follows...
exercise group - monday, wednesday, friday
girls jewelry making group - monday
elementary english class - tuesday
high school/college english class - wednesday
story time/literacy lesson - thursday
it's going to be great! and somewhere in there i'll be working on HIV prevention, gardens and building a communal house...
so in my other town, they built a basketball/soccer/volleyball court...it's so sweet. so the other day i watched some guys play basketball...oh my it was the best thing i've ever seen. double dribbling, traveling half the court, apparently bball is now a contact sport, reaching in...doesn't exist. and shooting...well i think most 5 year olds shoot more correctly. so that is perfect because i have no problem playing with them. and hopefully they will let me teach them how to play...
well i guess that's it for now...i'll be home soon!!! love from nica
Thursday, November 5, 2009
is it really november
hello!!! i cannot believe it is already november. this is craziness! so i just spent the past 3 days in matagalpa at the black forest....modeled after the one in germany...for a workshop on hiv/aids. it was a great workshop but it was freezing and by freezing i mean the thermometer read 65. we all died. actually we made fires in the fireplace every night and were shaking during the day. for real i may turn into and ice cube while im home in december.
ok so updates...
a woman in my town and i put on a 3 part workshop on project design and management for about 25 people in my community. it was painful...im really glad we did it and im really glad its over. hopefully we will be putting together a committee to work on a community project. right now it looks like they want to do a community house but we'll see. i really hope we can accomplish it. fingers crossed!
school is winding down. the 27th is technically the last day of school but i doubt they will have school at all that last week. the graduation for one of my schools in teh 28th and the other school isnt until dec 10th. im going to miss my little 6th graders. ive been on them a lot lately about where they are going to study next year. so far it looks as though most of them are going to continue studying. at least they all tell me they are in fear of what i'll do if they tell me they arent going to high school...they may know me better than i think! haha. last week i read the magic school bus in the time of the dinosaurs. they liked it and actually were quiet the whole time (amazing) and they actually learned some stuff. i was impressed.
i still have some students who come over all the time to read and borrow books. it makes me super happy. although they get mad at me frequently because im gone so much...even if im just visiting a friend down the road. but they are super awesome.
my 5/6th grade english class is going alright. it got kinda small but they are super interested and would be at my house for hours learning english if i had the time. so i guess thats what matters. they absolutely love playing red light green light...even though none of them have probably ever seen a stop light in real life. hmmmm.
my other english class is going quite well... they just learned how to sing if i were a boy by byonce. they are cute. they also all have to sing songs as their english exam so we have been singing a lot lately.
another volunteer and i are planning a track and field day for youth and inbetween each even we are going to give a brief presentation about hiv/aids. we are both really really excited. we aren't actually doing it until jan 10 but it takes a long time to do all the paperwork necessary to get funds and all this other stuff. but we are getting really really excited.
halloween!!!! although most people in my town think that its devil worship and evil and whatever...i still celebrated and tried to convince everyone that it has nothing to do with worshiping the devil. a little kid dressed up like a demon isnt saying that he is in fact a demon any more than a little girl dressed up like a princess is actually a princess. speaking of princesses...another volunteer came up and went out with us and the 4 of us all dressed up like princesses. fancy dresses, really high skinny heels and tiaras. it was a blast. unfortunately there were no pumkins to carve...maybe next year. there was also no candy....huge bummer but i guess we got over it.
oh i got kicked by a cow the other day. yeah it was taking shelter under my roof overhang during some rain...i walked out to the latrine and as i walked out my door the stupid cow kicked me. jerk
so apparently there is a hurricane?? yeah it hit the atlantic coast...and yet here i am in managua and its not even raining. maybe the rain will still come...ill let you know but so far it has only affected the atlantic coast.
ill be home dec 15-29!!! ill be the puffy marshmellow person in 800 layers of clothes, scarves, mittens, hats, etc. please hug me
what else is going on in my life..oh i bought a used bike a few weeks ago. its the love of my life. i ride it all the time and this is what i hear all the time... "aren't you scared to ride to somotillo by yourself??" "what are you doing in the rain! you're going to die!" "so are you never going to ride the bus?" "fachenta! which is kinda like fancy/rich/snobby or something" (um yes you all have a bike too so shush it) "let me borrow your bike" i love my bike. its orange. and it gets me places so fast! instead of a 50 min walk, i have a 12 min bike. and i can get to somotillo in 17-20 mins and not have to worry about bus schedules! i can go whenever i feel like it! its great
hmmmmmmmm well i cant think of much else at this point. hope you are all doing well and ill see you soon!!! love from warm sunny nicaragua!
ok so updates...
a woman in my town and i put on a 3 part workshop on project design and management for about 25 people in my community. it was painful...im really glad we did it and im really glad its over. hopefully we will be putting together a committee to work on a community project. right now it looks like they want to do a community house but we'll see. i really hope we can accomplish it. fingers crossed!
school is winding down. the 27th is technically the last day of school but i doubt they will have school at all that last week. the graduation for one of my schools in teh 28th and the other school isnt until dec 10th. im going to miss my little 6th graders. ive been on them a lot lately about where they are going to study next year. so far it looks as though most of them are going to continue studying. at least they all tell me they are in fear of what i'll do if they tell me they arent going to high school...they may know me better than i think! haha. last week i read the magic school bus in the time of the dinosaurs. they liked it and actually were quiet the whole time (amazing) and they actually learned some stuff. i was impressed.
i still have some students who come over all the time to read and borrow books. it makes me super happy. although they get mad at me frequently because im gone so much...even if im just visiting a friend down the road. but they are super awesome.
my 5/6th grade english class is going alright. it got kinda small but they are super interested and would be at my house for hours learning english if i had the time. so i guess thats what matters. they absolutely love playing red light green light...even though none of them have probably ever seen a stop light in real life. hmmmm.
my other english class is going quite well... they just learned how to sing if i were a boy by byonce. they are cute. they also all have to sing songs as their english exam so we have been singing a lot lately.
another volunteer and i are planning a track and field day for youth and inbetween each even we are going to give a brief presentation about hiv/aids. we are both really really excited. we aren't actually doing it until jan 10 but it takes a long time to do all the paperwork necessary to get funds and all this other stuff. but we are getting really really excited.
halloween!!!! although most people in my town think that its devil worship and evil and whatever...i still celebrated and tried to convince everyone that it has nothing to do with worshiping the devil. a little kid dressed up like a demon isnt saying that he is in fact a demon any more than a little girl dressed up like a princess is actually a princess. speaking of princesses...another volunteer came up and went out with us and the 4 of us all dressed up like princesses. fancy dresses, really high skinny heels and tiaras. it was a blast. unfortunately there were no pumkins to carve...maybe next year. there was also no candy....huge bummer but i guess we got over it.
oh i got kicked by a cow the other day. yeah it was taking shelter under my roof overhang during some rain...i walked out to the latrine and as i walked out my door the stupid cow kicked me. jerk
so apparently there is a hurricane?? yeah it hit the atlantic coast...and yet here i am in managua and its not even raining. maybe the rain will still come...ill let you know but so far it has only affected the atlantic coast.
ill be home dec 15-29!!! ill be the puffy marshmellow person in 800 layers of clothes, scarves, mittens, hats, etc. please hug me
what else is going on in my life..oh i bought a used bike a few weeks ago. its the love of my life. i ride it all the time and this is what i hear all the time... "aren't you scared to ride to somotillo by yourself??" "what are you doing in the rain! you're going to die!" "so are you never going to ride the bus?" "fachenta! which is kinda like fancy/rich/snobby or something" (um yes you all have a bike too so shush it) "let me borrow your bike" i love my bike. its orange. and it gets me places so fast! instead of a 50 min walk, i have a 12 min bike. and i can get to somotillo in 17-20 mins and not have to worry about bus schedules! i can go whenever i feel like it! its great
hmmmmmmmm well i cant think of much else at this point. hope you are all doing well and ill see you soon!!! love from warm sunny nicaragua!
Friday, October 30, 2009
sorry
hey there...so i attempted to put up pictures but technology is not my friend today...so someday...who knows when...i will put up lots and lots of pictures!
Friday, September 11, 2009
1 year in country!
WOW it's hard to believe that I have been gone for over a year now! the new group is here and i just gave my first training session to them...very exciting. so after 1 year i'm feeling rather odd. there are days when i think...wow i've been in my site for 9 months and what have i accomplished?? not a whole lot. and other days i think...well i am making progress...maybe not in my primary job focus (which is depressing) but in other ways. my spanish unfortunately is not where i want it to be. i'm sounding more like the people in my town..which is not necessarily a good thing. i'm noticing more and more how many tenses i'm not using that i should. but i'm trying to read more and analyze the grammar so hopefully that will help. but it's hard not to speak as i am being spoken to on a daily basis.
disappointments...i came back after a week workshop on project design and management (which was amazing) to find that my principal had the 5/6th graders pull out all the plants in the garden...there were over 200 plants...all gone. why this happened i have no idea and will never understand. but i was very upset. so much hard work on the part of so many and now it doesn't exist. also, my teachers are not very willing to co-plan and co-teach with me. we are working at it but it's very slow and painful. class getting cancelled all the time! the 15th is independence so we really havent had school at all in sept because they are practicing their marching skills. and then we have an entire week off for independence day. also i was going to give a training on bloom's taxonomy for the teachers one day...until that happened to be pay day so the kids got out early and the teachers went to go get paid...even though the entire next day we didn't have school so that they could go get paid...so the session never happened...maybe in 2 weeks.
successes! my girls jewelry group has a special place in my heart. those girls are so much fun. i had a business volunteer come and talk to them about how to start a business and run it...they are so excited and so am i. they have chosen a name, slogan and image to represent themselves and are working on pricing materials to figure out how much to sell their work for in order to cover their costs and make a small profit. the jewelry that they have made so far is so beautiful...i'm so proud of them. my english class is also moving along...they have been surprising me lately with their progress and attendence. i started running again and one day at the end of class i told them i was going to go run if anyone wanted to join me they could. (i was expecting 'no way' to be the general answer). to my surprise every one of them sat up in their chair and said yes, can we really go with you? let's go! seeing as though it was 'late' (5:45pm) i had to go ask some parents for permission so that their daughters could go with me but in the end there were 8 girls out running with me...i'm pretty sure that was a sight never before seen in my town. it was great. and as i was dropping all of them off at their respective houses, they all asked when are we going running again??? so i think i have found some new running partners. very very exciting. girls exercising! now that is an accomplishment! my students at school lately have been awesome...very respectful and participatory. it's incredible...and they have finally learned that yes i will give them the soccer ball to play with at recess as long as they give it back as soon and recess is over. this past week they were playing and as soon as the 'bell' rang the boys immediately stopped playing and said 'here profe...take the ball...thanks for letting us play'. it was the most adorable thing ever...those little 6th grade boys know exactly how to melt my heart. and watching the girls play always puts a smile on my face. i love my students.
oh still no electricity...it's been over a month. maybe someday i'll have a fridge again...i mean the storage unit is great but i would rather have cold water. and my fan has now become decoration. also...i normally have a cow or 2 in my back porch to get around when i go pump water at night. one night i went out there to find 2 giant pigs sleeping out there. a nice change. i petted a cow the other day...surprisingly soft..you should all try it sometime. the town still talks...i believe that i am now (supossedly) with guy #3 from my town who has a wife and child. very annoying however i have decided that there is nothing i can do to stop the talking so as long as it doesnt affect my work and as long as the people in my town still want to work with me...then i really don't care. so yeah...
i guess that's all i can think of right now... ohhhh one more thing...i was in the hotel in managua last night and it was so perfect...pizza and the nfl...not to mention a real bed, ac, and a hot shower. it doesn't get better than that. and i completely forgot that i was in nicaragua. i'm not sure what the steeler's problem was last night but it was great to watch the game. i wish i could watch all the college games tomorrow. GO HAWKS!!!
love from nicaragua!
disappointments...i came back after a week workshop on project design and management (which was amazing) to find that my principal had the 5/6th graders pull out all the plants in the garden...there were over 200 plants...all gone. why this happened i have no idea and will never understand. but i was very upset. so much hard work on the part of so many and now it doesn't exist. also, my teachers are not very willing to co-plan and co-teach with me. we are working at it but it's very slow and painful. class getting cancelled all the time! the 15th is independence so we really havent had school at all in sept because they are practicing their marching skills. and then we have an entire week off for independence day. also i was going to give a training on bloom's taxonomy for the teachers one day...until that happened to be pay day so the kids got out early and the teachers went to go get paid...even though the entire next day we didn't have school so that they could go get paid...so the session never happened...maybe in 2 weeks.
successes! my girls jewelry group has a special place in my heart. those girls are so much fun. i had a business volunteer come and talk to them about how to start a business and run it...they are so excited and so am i. they have chosen a name, slogan and image to represent themselves and are working on pricing materials to figure out how much to sell their work for in order to cover their costs and make a small profit. the jewelry that they have made so far is so beautiful...i'm so proud of them. my english class is also moving along...they have been surprising me lately with their progress and attendence. i started running again and one day at the end of class i told them i was going to go run if anyone wanted to join me they could. (i was expecting 'no way' to be the general answer). to my surprise every one of them sat up in their chair and said yes, can we really go with you? let's go! seeing as though it was 'late' (5:45pm) i had to go ask some parents for permission so that their daughters could go with me but in the end there were 8 girls out running with me...i'm pretty sure that was a sight never before seen in my town. it was great. and as i was dropping all of them off at their respective houses, they all asked when are we going running again??? so i think i have found some new running partners. very very exciting. girls exercising! now that is an accomplishment! my students at school lately have been awesome...very respectful and participatory. it's incredible...and they have finally learned that yes i will give them the soccer ball to play with at recess as long as they give it back as soon and recess is over. this past week they were playing and as soon as the 'bell' rang the boys immediately stopped playing and said 'here profe...take the ball...thanks for letting us play'. it was the most adorable thing ever...those little 6th grade boys know exactly how to melt my heart. and watching the girls play always puts a smile on my face. i love my students.
oh still no electricity...it's been over a month. maybe someday i'll have a fridge again...i mean the storage unit is great but i would rather have cold water. and my fan has now become decoration. also...i normally have a cow or 2 in my back porch to get around when i go pump water at night. one night i went out there to find 2 giant pigs sleeping out there. a nice change. i petted a cow the other day...surprisingly soft..you should all try it sometime. the town still talks...i believe that i am now (supossedly) with guy #3 from my town who has a wife and child. very annoying however i have decided that there is nothing i can do to stop the talking so as long as it doesnt affect my work and as long as the people in my town still want to work with me...then i really don't care. so yeah...
i guess that's all i can think of right now... ohhhh one more thing...i was in the hotel in managua last night and it was so perfect...pizza and the nfl...not to mention a real bed, ac, and a hot shower. it doesn't get better than that. and i completely forgot that i was in nicaragua. i'm not sure what the steeler's problem was last night but it was great to watch the game. i wish i could watch all the college games tomorrow. GO HAWKS!!!
love from nicaragua!
Monday, August 10, 2009
opps it´s been a while
wow! is it really august already! it can´t be. well, i haven´t been doing a very good job of writing recently...and so much has been going on. so here goes in my totally normal, completely random way...
Lynn came to visit! and it was amazing. it was so great to have someone come see what my life is really like. and it was refreshing to have someone who really knows and understands me around for a while. we hung out at my house for quite a few days, went to school and all that...everyone in my town loves her...obviously...and the students had a blast with her. it was super amazing. then we decided to take a trip to the island of ometepe which was beautiful! nice black sand and 2 volcanoes. we rented bikes and went swimming and then decided it would be a blast to hike a volcano. now...we were informed that the hike up concepción is hard...but we are 2 tough girls so no big deal. what we were not told was that hard really means you may not come back alive...i mean you could...or you could be like those little rocks that go flying and bouncing all the way back down the volcano...in which case you would be a little dead at the bottom. well, luckily we somehow made it down the volcano in 1 piece and with only a little lost blood. i think some of my favorite comments were... wow i mean i know you told me there are a lot of animals but i never imagined having to step over the pig, simón, while walking past your parent´s house, and those chickens really never stop making noise. yes, it´s true, they have no idea what time it is. also...i apparently am way too used to throwing whatever on the floor since it´s made of cement...apparently you can´t do that in the states...but one day in the hostal i dumped my contact solution on the floor and she just laughed and said it´s going to be hard when you go back and can´t throw stuff on the floor. yes, possibly so. anyways...the trip was amazing...i can´t wait for her to come back...and for everyone else to come. what a trooper she is...a dizzy spell at site and a trip to the hospital and she still loves nicaragua...awesome.
site news...i have 2 new groups started - my english class started over and there are now around 15 students...they are really fun...all girls ages 13-23. also, i started an art/craft group...also all girls. they love it...i love it. they are making some really cool stuff and are planning to sell it so that they can continue to buy more materials...although we are also making things out of recycled trash...and they want to buy a whiteboard for classes and studying purposes. they are so cute. also, i love watching them get so excited to have an excuse to leave the house and see other people. that honestly makes me the most happy. the other day we decided to play volleyball and i can´t even describe how happy that made me. finally the girls getting out and playing sports! amazing! i was in heaven.
speaking of sports...i told the boys at school that the girls were using the field that day...boy were they unhappy with me! haha. so the 5th grade girls played the 6th grade girls in soccer one day. i was in heaven yet again. they had so much fun it was priceless. all these girls running around in their uniforms smiling and laughing. i told the boys that if they wanted to use the new soccer ball the following day, they would not touch the ball or interfere with the game. and if they ever didn´t give the ball or the field to the girls when it was their day, the ball was going to be strictly for the girls. unfortunately i´m not at school each day to inforce this and the principal and teachers and not very helpful...they probably don´t want the girls to be playing at all. well too bad...girls can play too. and they will
gardens at school are going well. of course some of the fruits disappear but what can you do. we have so many tomatoes - the kids love it. of course they are starting to slack on the watering now that it has stopped raining for a bit but im trying to convince them that if you don´t water there will be no more tomatoes. let´s hope they believe me.
speaking of school...so the first grade teacher has been gone for months...she had an operation and is now recovering. well the ministry of education paid for a sub for a month but that was it. so the first graders haven´t had a teacher for months. so the fifth grade teacher is teaching both classes because 5th is the smallest class. so that means that part of the time the 5th graders are alone and part of the time the 1st graders are alone. now...is there anyone...anyone at all who thinks leaving a group of 30 first graders alone in a classroom is a good idea. yeah didn´t think so. so while the principal sits in her office doing whatever, there are lots of little bodies alone. REDICULOUS
my 5/6th grade english class is also going really well. they love singing head shoulders knees and toes. it´s adorable. this week they were really mad we couldn´t have class because it is the fiestas patronales in somotillo which means all the little towns that make up the municipality don´t have school until wednesday and our english classes are mondays and tuesdays. so sad.
so one day i was in a very odd mood...and i decided to clean the walls of my house...inside and out. now for whatever reason...i dont really mind living in a spiderweb house...i mean when else will i ever have that chance. so anyway i finally decided i would sweep the walls. well, my host dad saw this and said... well finally it looks like a woman lives in that house. i died laughing
madrina! yeah i´m the godmother of one of the soccer teams in my town. on presentation day i had to walk out in front of the team holding their soccer ball..very entertaining...got a special shout out to the gringa as they announced our team...only a little embarassing. some of the guys think they are pretty cool because the gringa is their madrina. oh yes so cool. so i go to all their games...i take my job very seriously. at least it gives me something to do on sundays.
11 months. i have been in nicaragua for over 11 months! that´s incredible. i can´t believe have fast the time goes. i still have so much stuff to do. i´m really enjoying most things. the gossip of living in a small town could be toned down and i wouldn´t mind at all...but besides that i´m really liking it. and i just recently got a new burst of motivation to do more projects so that´s good. a friend of mine told me that they have a saying here...the smaller the town the bigger the hell...made in reference to me being annoyed but all the gossip. it´s wierd...some days it really bothers me and other days i could care less. all part of life in nicaragua i guess.
fiestas patronales...awesome. so much fun. i´m glad i have cool friends in somotillo. and i´ve definately been taking advantage of all the fun since i live with 300 people and 800 cows. i think i deserve it. and i love dancing so it´s great. right now my friend and i are off the watch people ride bulls. luckily, unlike in spain, they don´t hurt the bulls. should be interesting.
well i guess that is it for now. lots of love from nicaragua!!!!!!!
Lynn came to visit! and it was amazing. it was so great to have someone come see what my life is really like. and it was refreshing to have someone who really knows and understands me around for a while. we hung out at my house for quite a few days, went to school and all that...everyone in my town loves her...obviously...and the students had a blast with her. it was super amazing. then we decided to take a trip to the island of ometepe which was beautiful! nice black sand and 2 volcanoes. we rented bikes and went swimming and then decided it would be a blast to hike a volcano. now...we were informed that the hike up concepción is hard...but we are 2 tough girls so no big deal. what we were not told was that hard really means you may not come back alive...i mean you could...or you could be like those little rocks that go flying and bouncing all the way back down the volcano...in which case you would be a little dead at the bottom. well, luckily we somehow made it down the volcano in 1 piece and with only a little lost blood. i think some of my favorite comments were... wow i mean i know you told me there are a lot of animals but i never imagined having to step over the pig, simón, while walking past your parent´s house, and those chickens really never stop making noise. yes, it´s true, they have no idea what time it is. also...i apparently am way too used to throwing whatever on the floor since it´s made of cement...apparently you can´t do that in the states...but one day in the hostal i dumped my contact solution on the floor and she just laughed and said it´s going to be hard when you go back and can´t throw stuff on the floor. yes, possibly so. anyways...the trip was amazing...i can´t wait for her to come back...and for everyone else to come. what a trooper she is...a dizzy spell at site and a trip to the hospital and she still loves nicaragua...awesome.
site news...i have 2 new groups started - my english class started over and there are now around 15 students...they are really fun...all girls ages 13-23. also, i started an art/craft group...also all girls. they love it...i love it. they are making some really cool stuff and are planning to sell it so that they can continue to buy more materials...although we are also making things out of recycled trash...and they want to buy a whiteboard for classes and studying purposes. they are so cute. also, i love watching them get so excited to have an excuse to leave the house and see other people. that honestly makes me the most happy. the other day we decided to play volleyball and i can´t even describe how happy that made me. finally the girls getting out and playing sports! amazing! i was in heaven.
speaking of sports...i told the boys at school that the girls were using the field that day...boy were they unhappy with me! haha. so the 5th grade girls played the 6th grade girls in soccer one day. i was in heaven yet again. they had so much fun it was priceless. all these girls running around in their uniforms smiling and laughing. i told the boys that if they wanted to use the new soccer ball the following day, they would not touch the ball or interfere with the game. and if they ever didn´t give the ball or the field to the girls when it was their day, the ball was going to be strictly for the girls. unfortunately i´m not at school each day to inforce this and the principal and teachers and not very helpful...they probably don´t want the girls to be playing at all. well too bad...girls can play too. and they will
gardens at school are going well. of course some of the fruits disappear but what can you do. we have so many tomatoes - the kids love it. of course they are starting to slack on the watering now that it has stopped raining for a bit but im trying to convince them that if you don´t water there will be no more tomatoes. let´s hope they believe me.
speaking of school...so the first grade teacher has been gone for months...she had an operation and is now recovering. well the ministry of education paid for a sub for a month but that was it. so the first graders haven´t had a teacher for months. so the fifth grade teacher is teaching both classes because 5th is the smallest class. so that means that part of the time the 5th graders are alone and part of the time the 1st graders are alone. now...is there anyone...anyone at all who thinks leaving a group of 30 first graders alone in a classroom is a good idea. yeah didn´t think so. so while the principal sits in her office doing whatever, there are lots of little bodies alone. REDICULOUS
my 5/6th grade english class is also going really well. they love singing head shoulders knees and toes. it´s adorable. this week they were really mad we couldn´t have class because it is the fiestas patronales in somotillo which means all the little towns that make up the municipality don´t have school until wednesday and our english classes are mondays and tuesdays. so sad.
so one day i was in a very odd mood...and i decided to clean the walls of my house...inside and out. now for whatever reason...i dont really mind living in a spiderweb house...i mean when else will i ever have that chance. so anyway i finally decided i would sweep the walls. well, my host dad saw this and said... well finally it looks like a woman lives in that house. i died laughing
madrina! yeah i´m the godmother of one of the soccer teams in my town. on presentation day i had to walk out in front of the team holding their soccer ball..very entertaining...got a special shout out to the gringa as they announced our team...only a little embarassing. some of the guys think they are pretty cool because the gringa is their madrina. oh yes so cool. so i go to all their games...i take my job very seriously. at least it gives me something to do on sundays.
11 months. i have been in nicaragua for over 11 months! that´s incredible. i can´t believe have fast the time goes. i still have so much stuff to do. i´m really enjoying most things. the gossip of living in a small town could be toned down and i wouldn´t mind at all...but besides that i´m really liking it. and i just recently got a new burst of motivation to do more projects so that´s good. a friend of mine told me that they have a saying here...the smaller the town the bigger the hell...made in reference to me being annoyed but all the gossip. it´s wierd...some days it really bothers me and other days i could care less. all part of life in nicaragua i guess.
fiestas patronales...awesome. so much fun. i´m glad i have cool friends in somotillo. and i´ve definately been taking advantage of all the fun since i live with 300 people and 800 cows. i think i deserve it. and i love dancing so it´s great. right now my friend and i are off the watch people ride bulls. luckily, unlike in spain, they don´t hurt the bulls. should be interesting.
well i guess that is it for now. lots of love from nicaragua!!!!!!!
Friday, April 17, 2009
it´s been forever!!!
Wow! Where to even start…it´s been a while since I´ve written anything! I guess I´ll start with school news. We are still talking about seed collection, ground preparation and garden management. We have a parent work day coming up so hopefully we can get everything ready and then after my training week we can plant so late
April or the beginning of May. So that will be quite exciting. I´m also going to start giving mini workshops every 2 weeks to the teachers on various topics…classroom management, participatory techniques, HIV/AIDS, math strategies, etc. And I´m teaching the 5/6th graders English twice a week after school. They are having lots of fun with that.
Family vacation!! My parents were here for a week – so great! I think the heat was a little bit difficult for them to get used to but they were troopers. And I´m pretty sure it has gotten hotter since they left. The first day they got here we just relaxed at the hotel, watched some bball and went swimming. I enjoyed the shower and mattress. The next day we went to Chinandega, picked up 2 of my friends and went to the beach – always a good time. We had a really awesome dinner and the next day we went to my house. They spent a few days with me…going to school and talking to people. The kids really enjoyed seeing my parents. One of the best parts…my dad and I built a showering area in my house…seriously the best thing ever. I can now shower in my house instead of in a public area and I can shower whenever I feel like it. However, no one knows that I shower at night because everyone here thinks that showering after noon makes you sick. So I secretly shower at night. Some of my little neighbor boys helped us as well … following my dad around like puppies…it was adorable. Then he started teaching them the English words for his tools. It was super fun to watch. Unfortunately they both got a little sick while they were here so that was too bad. Then we were off to Leon for the night…another amazing meal…and then off to Granada…lots more good food. We walked around Granada and then took a tour including a mountain hike (beautiful) and a boat trip around all the little islands. It was great. We spent a day in Masaya going to the market – lots of fun things to buy. I´m so glad they decided to take a hammock back with them. Then it was back to Managua for our last night which was great except that I was vomiting most of the night. But I can´t complain considering that was the first time I´ve been sick since being in Nicaragua and I was in a nice air conditioned hotel room instead of my latrine. So no complaints. Overall I think they had a pretty good time – I had a blast.
The following week I was in Matagalpa (which is beautiful…in the mountains and much cooler, still hot obviously but not suffocating) at an HIV/AIDS committee meeting. It was very interesting and once again I was in a nice hotel. Afterward I went to visit another volunteer who has a really sweet site. She´s in a much bigger area – it was so nice to be able to walk around at night and see people out and about. We went hiking one day kind of in the mountains where there are these water holes. They were beautiful…waterfalls and everything. The water was freezing but we went swimming anyways. We attempted to fine where the water originated from but never could find it because we had to go back in order to catch the bus. Then we went on a river clean up which was very typical Nica style. Obviously we left late. There was a transportation issue…shocking. We get there and eat a bunch of food that was brought before we do anything. Then we walk around putting up signs that say do not swim – contaminated water. Walk around some more and then swim in an area that apparently wasn´t contaminated. Walked back and drove home. It was great hanging out with her – going home at 4am wasn´t exactly a blast but it works.
So I finally get home after being gone for 11 days which felt like forever. My house was a disaster zone, the power was out and it was incredibly hot. My mom had asked me earlier if it would be hard to go back after being in hotels and such for a while and I remember telling her no it´s not a problem at all. But when I got back super tired and hot without electricity or music which was a huge ordeal that I´m NOT getting into…just trust me that it was super frustrating but it´s fine now…I thought to myself…WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Seriously whose brilliant idea was this? But a few hours later after I rested and the power came back I was totally fine. I went out and played football with my sister…who can throw really well..better than the boys. I´m so proud of her.
Easter Eggs!! So my mom brought me an egg coloring kit which was awesome. The other day when all the boys went swimming in the river (at the border…and of course none of the girls in my family went) my sister and I colored eggs. She loved it. Then we walked around giving eggs to people. I wish I had a video of people´s reactions when they saw my basket of colored eggs. Everyone asked, “what are those and what do I do with them”. Haha. So I attempted to explain Easter eggs and why we do it…a fun little cultural exchange. And it was nice to have/do something from home.
Coming up…a week of normal class…then a week of in-service training and then May should be pretty normal…I don´t think I have anything special going on. I feel like I´ve been gone a lot lately. And there wasn´t any school during Holy Week…which obviously the kids loved. No one wants to go back to school…except for me! We have so much stuff to do.
Training town visit! My friend and I went back to the town that we trained in to see family and friends. It was great being back…and it´s cooler there as well. I had to sleep with a fleece blanket because it was cold at night! So funny story…the first thing out of my host mom´s mouth to my friend is, “wow you got fat” and to me, “wow you stayed fat.” Thanks mom! Gotta love culture. But it was really fun being back there and seeing everyone.
River swimming! So I finally got one of my cousins to take me to the river to go swimming – on horseback! That´s how I spent my Easter…swimming in the river that divides Nicaragua and Honduras. The water was kinda hot which was sad and there were tons of sardines that bite…but it was great. I love swimming. And unlike Thursday and Friday when it was packed with people, there was no one there…nice and peaceful.
so you know it´s an interesting day when you get a blister on your finger from writing on the board. one of the teachers all of a sudden had some really important thing to do for the misitry of education so she decided to have me give class. which consisted of me writing pages and pages from the textbook on the chalkboard so that the students could copy it. then they were told their homework...the end of class. and now i have a blister on my finger. rediculous!!!!!!
I´m sure I´m forgetting some things but I guess that´s enough for now. Hope you are all doing well. Love from Nicaragua!
April or the beginning of May. So that will be quite exciting. I´m also going to start giving mini workshops every 2 weeks to the teachers on various topics…classroom management, participatory techniques, HIV/AIDS, math strategies, etc. And I´m teaching the 5/6th graders English twice a week after school. They are having lots of fun with that.
Family vacation!! My parents were here for a week – so great! I think the heat was a little bit difficult for them to get used to but they were troopers. And I´m pretty sure it has gotten hotter since they left. The first day they got here we just relaxed at the hotel, watched some bball and went swimming. I enjoyed the shower and mattress. The next day we went to Chinandega, picked up 2 of my friends and went to the beach – always a good time. We had a really awesome dinner and the next day we went to my house. They spent a few days with me…going to school and talking to people. The kids really enjoyed seeing my parents. One of the best parts…my dad and I built a showering area in my house…seriously the best thing ever. I can now shower in my house instead of in a public area and I can shower whenever I feel like it. However, no one knows that I shower at night because everyone here thinks that showering after noon makes you sick. So I secretly shower at night. Some of my little neighbor boys helped us as well … following my dad around like puppies…it was adorable. Then he started teaching them the English words for his tools. It was super fun to watch. Unfortunately they both got a little sick while they were here so that was too bad. Then we were off to Leon for the night…another amazing meal…and then off to Granada…lots more good food. We walked around Granada and then took a tour including a mountain hike (beautiful) and a boat trip around all the little islands. It was great. We spent a day in Masaya going to the market – lots of fun things to buy. I´m so glad they decided to take a hammock back with them. Then it was back to Managua for our last night which was great except that I was vomiting most of the night. But I can´t complain considering that was the first time I´ve been sick since being in Nicaragua and I was in a nice air conditioned hotel room instead of my latrine. So no complaints. Overall I think they had a pretty good time – I had a blast.
The following week I was in Matagalpa (which is beautiful…in the mountains and much cooler, still hot obviously but not suffocating) at an HIV/AIDS committee meeting. It was very interesting and once again I was in a nice hotel. Afterward I went to visit another volunteer who has a really sweet site. She´s in a much bigger area – it was so nice to be able to walk around at night and see people out and about. We went hiking one day kind of in the mountains where there are these water holes. They were beautiful…waterfalls and everything. The water was freezing but we went swimming anyways. We attempted to fine where the water originated from but never could find it because we had to go back in order to catch the bus. Then we went on a river clean up which was very typical Nica style. Obviously we left late. There was a transportation issue…shocking. We get there and eat a bunch of food that was brought before we do anything. Then we walk around putting up signs that say do not swim – contaminated water. Walk around some more and then swim in an area that apparently wasn´t contaminated. Walked back and drove home. It was great hanging out with her – going home at 4am wasn´t exactly a blast but it works.
So I finally get home after being gone for 11 days which felt like forever. My house was a disaster zone, the power was out and it was incredibly hot. My mom had asked me earlier if it would be hard to go back after being in hotels and such for a while and I remember telling her no it´s not a problem at all. But when I got back super tired and hot without electricity or music which was a huge ordeal that I´m NOT getting into…just trust me that it was super frustrating but it´s fine now…I thought to myself…WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Seriously whose brilliant idea was this? But a few hours later after I rested and the power came back I was totally fine. I went out and played football with my sister…who can throw really well..better than the boys. I´m so proud of her.
Easter Eggs!! So my mom brought me an egg coloring kit which was awesome. The other day when all the boys went swimming in the river (at the border…and of course none of the girls in my family went) my sister and I colored eggs. She loved it. Then we walked around giving eggs to people. I wish I had a video of people´s reactions when they saw my basket of colored eggs. Everyone asked, “what are those and what do I do with them”. Haha. So I attempted to explain Easter eggs and why we do it…a fun little cultural exchange. And it was nice to have/do something from home.
Coming up…a week of normal class…then a week of in-service training and then May should be pretty normal…I don´t think I have anything special going on. I feel like I´ve been gone a lot lately. And there wasn´t any school during Holy Week…which obviously the kids loved. No one wants to go back to school…except for me! We have so much stuff to do.
Training town visit! My friend and I went back to the town that we trained in to see family and friends. It was great being back…and it´s cooler there as well. I had to sleep with a fleece blanket because it was cold at night! So funny story…the first thing out of my host mom´s mouth to my friend is, “wow you got fat” and to me, “wow you stayed fat.” Thanks mom! Gotta love culture. But it was really fun being back there and seeing everyone.
River swimming! So I finally got one of my cousins to take me to the river to go swimming – on horseback! That´s how I spent my Easter…swimming in the river that divides Nicaragua and Honduras. The water was kinda hot which was sad and there were tons of sardines that bite…but it was great. I love swimming. And unlike Thursday and Friday when it was packed with people, there was no one there…nice and peaceful.
so you know it´s an interesting day when you get a blister on your finger from writing on the board. one of the teachers all of a sudden had some really important thing to do for the misitry of education so she decided to have me give class. which consisted of me writing pages and pages from the textbook on the chalkboard so that the students could copy it. then they were told their homework...the end of class. and now i have a blister on my finger. rediculous!!!!!!
I´m sure I´m forgetting some things but I guess that´s enough for now. Hope you are all doing well. Love from Nicaragua!
Friday, February 20, 2009
School, valentines day and my bday
School is quite the interesting place. i definitely have my work cut out for me. there are so many things i wish i could change about the educational system but to keep my sanity im going to try and focus on what i actually can change. for example i cant change the fact that dust blows into the rooms all the time. so ill just have to deal with that. i cant change the fact that there are way too many students in classes, etc. what i am hoping to change are some teaching methods and classroom management...i asked one teacher what classroom management techniques he has used and he asked me what classroom management was.... i dont want to make it seem like the teachers here are bad. honestly they're not. i think they do an amazing job with the experieice, preparation and tools that they have. and i am looking forward to learning from them. unfortunately the only teaching style ive seen so far is dictation and copying. not exactly the most conducive for learning. one other thing that drives me nuts is that teachers and students sweep in the middle of class. ok i realize its dusty but seriously the dust can wait. its going to be quite the task of teaching all the routines ill be implementing because routines are definitely not the norm here. but i think it will be a good challenge and thats why im here.
valentines day...somehow hallmark made its holiday spread to nicaragua. there were lots of celebrations...obviously not in my town but in other towns. i went to a dance with a group of friends..an experience i probably wont ever forget. first of all i felt a little like i was back in junior high...going to a valentines day dance at a school. second...transportation...yeah so there arent buses at night but who needs buses when you can put 4 people on a bike. luckily the bike i was on only had 3 people. i got the lucky spot of sitting on the cross bar..not the most comfy position but it works. i give props to those boys who can peddly multiple people down a dirt road in the dark (the town in 4k away fyi). so we get there and its kinda an all ages type thing. it was mostly young people alhtough its impossible to tell peoples ages here but i would say the majority were between 13 and 25. some older people and some younger people... who just happen to be my students...hey profe when you are going to teach again? why hello students im glad you dont find this swkward al all but i sure do! cultural differences...gotta love them. so music...a wide variety. a few bachata, a few reggaeton, a few slow, a few disco, a few random english songs, etc. kept things interesting. overall it was very fun. and we all rode safely back home.
my birthday! wow im getting old! as tradition here goes, my extended family woke me up at 4am singing las mananitas. (btw the 15th is also my host sisters bday...she turned 13). so everyone was singing at my house first, not knowing that i slept with my sister that night. finally they realized that no one was at my house and they figured out i was with my sister. so they came over and we popped our little heads out the window. after the song was over we served them coffee and 'things from the oven' as they are popularly called, that my host mom and i made the day before. i went back to sleep at 5 seeing as i didnt go to bed until 2. i slept until 930 which is by far the latest ive ever slpt in this country! since reception here is bad and i cant charge my phone so its off most of the time, i was super sad when i realized i had missed phone calls from friends in the states and spain. (thanks for trying...love you guys!) so i decided to plop myself down in the 'park' (3 swings) where there is signal for the remainder of the afternoon. i got to talk to some volunteers, my bro, my parents and aunt and uncle. so that was pretty sweet. the day before some friends had talked about having a little dance party for me but then we had some issues finding a place we could have it that had electricity. so i didnt think we would end up doing anything. but as soon as i got off the phone, my friend grabbed me and said lets go its time to dance. she had found a stereo to use and we had it at her house. she also told all the youth and even got my a piñata. i had no idea and was super excited. shes a sweetheart. one of my other friends gave me apples...such an amazing present! so we whacked at the piñata and danced for a few hours. it was great.
im super happy to report that after 3 weeks of no electricity...i now have it again!!!!! wohoo!!! the other day i was with some friends on the highway when the power lines started sparking and cought on fire. another pole fell...but not all the way otherwise it would have landed on someones house. after a few minutes they stopped sparking. we were lucky the trees didnt catch fire. so there went the power for all of my town. the next day people were working on it so that was exciting until i found out that they put the power back on for all of my town except where my family lives. so once again everyone had power except for us. i was super annoyed. however, the next day i came home and as i neared my host familys house, i heard a familiar sound...the music of the soap operas...could it be true? did we finally have power? yes! but not in my house my host dad informed me. i though he was joking..nope he wasnt. but after he spent a few hours in his hammock...meanwhile im dying because all i want is cold water after my 4k walk in the sun at noon...but finally he connected for me. cold water is possibly the best thing ever. and i cant wait to buy milk again. and its watermelon season...which is also pretty darn amazing.
thats pretty much it...going to the beach tomorrow to celebrate my bday. so thats exciting. thanks for all the birthday wishes...wish i could have spent it with all of you! lots of love!
valentines day...somehow hallmark made its holiday spread to nicaragua. there were lots of celebrations...obviously not in my town but in other towns. i went to a dance with a group of friends..an experience i probably wont ever forget. first of all i felt a little like i was back in junior high...going to a valentines day dance at a school. second...transportation...yeah so there arent buses at night but who needs buses when you can put 4 people on a bike. luckily the bike i was on only had 3 people. i got the lucky spot of sitting on the cross bar..not the most comfy position but it works. i give props to those boys who can peddly multiple people down a dirt road in the dark (the town in 4k away fyi). so we get there and its kinda an all ages type thing. it was mostly young people alhtough its impossible to tell peoples ages here but i would say the majority were between 13 and 25. some older people and some younger people... who just happen to be my students...hey profe when you are going to teach again? why hello students im glad you dont find this swkward al all but i sure do! cultural differences...gotta love them. so music...a wide variety. a few bachata, a few reggaeton, a few slow, a few disco, a few random english songs, etc. kept things interesting. overall it was very fun. and we all rode safely back home.
my birthday! wow im getting old! as tradition here goes, my extended family woke me up at 4am singing las mananitas. (btw the 15th is also my host sisters bday...she turned 13). so everyone was singing at my house first, not knowing that i slept with my sister that night. finally they realized that no one was at my house and they figured out i was with my sister. so they came over and we popped our little heads out the window. after the song was over we served them coffee and 'things from the oven' as they are popularly called, that my host mom and i made the day before. i went back to sleep at 5 seeing as i didnt go to bed until 2. i slept until 930 which is by far the latest ive ever slpt in this country! since reception here is bad and i cant charge my phone so its off most of the time, i was super sad when i realized i had missed phone calls from friends in the states and spain. (thanks for trying...love you guys!) so i decided to plop myself down in the 'park' (3 swings) where there is signal for the remainder of the afternoon. i got to talk to some volunteers, my bro, my parents and aunt and uncle. so that was pretty sweet. the day before some friends had talked about having a little dance party for me but then we had some issues finding a place we could have it that had electricity. so i didnt think we would end up doing anything. but as soon as i got off the phone, my friend grabbed me and said lets go its time to dance. she had found a stereo to use and we had it at her house. she also told all the youth and even got my a piñata. i had no idea and was super excited. shes a sweetheart. one of my other friends gave me apples...such an amazing present! so we whacked at the piñata and danced for a few hours. it was great.
im super happy to report that after 3 weeks of no electricity...i now have it again!!!!! wohoo!!! the other day i was with some friends on the highway when the power lines started sparking and cought on fire. another pole fell...but not all the way otherwise it would have landed on someones house. after a few minutes they stopped sparking. we were lucky the trees didnt catch fire. so there went the power for all of my town. the next day people were working on it so that was exciting until i found out that they put the power back on for all of my town except where my family lives. so once again everyone had power except for us. i was super annoyed. however, the next day i came home and as i neared my host familys house, i heard a familiar sound...the music of the soap operas...could it be true? did we finally have power? yes! but not in my house my host dad informed me. i though he was joking..nope he wasnt. but after he spent a few hours in his hammock...meanwhile im dying because all i want is cold water after my 4k walk in the sun at noon...but finally he connected for me. cold water is possibly the best thing ever. and i cant wait to buy milk again. and its watermelon season...which is also pretty darn amazing.
thats pretty much it...going to the beach tomorrow to celebrate my bday. so thats exciting. thanks for all the birthday wishes...wish i could have spent it with all of you! lots of love!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
top ten lists
so one day i sat down and wrote some top ten lists...the first 10 things that came to my mind in no particular order...here they are:
Top Ten Things I Like in Nicaragua
1. sunshine
2. mountains and volcanos
3. people - super friendly, welcoming, helpful, hospitable
4. hammocks
5. being outside all the time
6. open houses
7. people singing loudly at all times of the day
8. boys playing soccer barefoot
9. markets
10. tortillas
Top Ten Things I Don´t Like So Much
1. mosquitos
2. dust
3. mold/rain
4. infidelity
5. scorpians
6. superstitions - everything is harmful
7. burning trash
8. dark by 6pm
9. standing on crowded buses for hours
10. gender roles
Top Ten Things I Miss
1. family/friends
2. hugs
3. diversity
4. mexican food
5. sports
6. dancing
7. coaching gymnastics
8. movies
9. internet
10. chocolate
So in other news...i don´t remember if i already said this but i can now carry a giant bucket of water on my head...very exciting. workshops are over... school starts on tuesday - im super pumped. My garden is growing nicely...my youth group is still talking about a tree nursery...im hoping one day soon...
the community attempted to have 2 meetings to pick new council members and only me and my host mom showed up both times. so thats a little frustrating. but we thought of people for each position, are going to ask them and hope they all accept and meet again next week. there is an environment coordinator so im hoping to work with that person on projects. but the community doesn´t seem too pumped about meeting so far...hopefully that will change.
im really enjoying my house and garden. im making more friends and enjoying myself. and i really can´t wait to get into the schools and working with the teachers. i guess that´s it. love you and miss you all!
Top Ten Things I Like in Nicaragua
1. sunshine
2. mountains and volcanos
3. people - super friendly, welcoming, helpful, hospitable
4. hammocks
5. being outside all the time
6. open houses
7. people singing loudly at all times of the day
8. boys playing soccer barefoot
9. markets
10. tortillas
Top Ten Things I Don´t Like So Much
1. mosquitos
2. dust
3. mold/rain
4. infidelity
5. scorpians
6. superstitions - everything is harmful
7. burning trash
8. dark by 6pm
9. standing on crowded buses for hours
10. gender roles
Top Ten Things I Miss
1. family/friends
2. hugs
3. diversity
4. mexican food
5. sports
6. dancing
7. coaching gymnastics
8. movies
9. internet
10. chocolate
So in other news...i don´t remember if i already said this but i can now carry a giant bucket of water on my head...very exciting. workshops are over... school starts on tuesday - im super pumped. My garden is growing nicely...my youth group is still talking about a tree nursery...im hoping one day soon...
the community attempted to have 2 meetings to pick new council members and only me and my host mom showed up both times. so thats a little frustrating. but we thought of people for each position, are going to ask them and hope they all accept and meet again next week. there is an environment coordinator so im hoping to work with that person on projects. but the community doesn´t seem too pumped about meeting so far...hopefully that will change.
im really enjoying my house and garden. im making more friends and enjoying myself. and i really can´t wait to get into the schools and working with the teachers. i guess that´s it. love you and miss you all!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Feeling Nica and New House
i finally had my ...wow i´m totally Nica...moment the other day. i bought rice and beans, watered my floor and relaxed in my hammock. pretty exciting. i moved into my own house...here´s a little description. the house is 1 room...about 12 paces by 7.5 paces. i have a window on each short wall, 2 doors on 1 long wall and 1 door on the back long wall. the windows and doors are wood and the windows have metal bars on the outside. it has a zinc roof - which is going to be sweet in the rainy season. it´s made of cement blocks and concrete with a concrete floor. so the main doors in on the left on the long wall. you walk into the kitchen part. to the left on the short wall is the fridge, then a small table with my stove (under the window). then i have a wooden bar aka tree branch hanging from the farters with hooks and rope hanging from it to hang things. against the back wall is another table with my water, dishes, and where i wash dishes. in the middle of the wall is the door. in the back right corner is my bed. on the right side wall is my bookshelf - made of wook on top of cinder blocks. on the front wall is another table with cothes and tolietries. going lengthwise through the middle is some rope. near my bed i have some of my clothes hanging from the string with a piece of fabric over them so they don´t get dirty. in the middly of the house is my hammock. I have fabric covering my stove, dishes, clothes, and bookshelf to protect them. i like it because they are all different materials and they are all different colors. i needed some color - too much gray! i put some pictures on the fridge, hung a drawing one of my students gave me in training and put some of the articles people have sent on the walls so it feels like home.
my first 24 hours...first threw water on the floor so when i swept i didn´t die from the dust. then i organized my books, hung clothes, put clothes in a plastic container, went through the beans to pick out the bad ones, put them in water to soad all day. basically i cleaned and organized all day, hung my mosquitero and hammock, watered my plants. i ate lunch with my host family and made my beans with onions and green peppers for dinner. watered and swept the floor again, did dishes and went to my family´s house to watch my tv show...which ended last week :(, read and went to bed after seeing a giant hairy horse killer spider. next morning...got up, watered plants, watered/swept floor, made breakfast, did the dishes, took my bucket bath and cleaned the rice. pretty exciting! everyone is so proud that i can cook and clean like a nica - well maybe not the cooking like a nica but proud that i can cook at least.
so the volunteer before me left a temp guage - not sure how accurate it is but during the day its in the 90s and it was 85 at 6am and that is in the house...can´t wait for march!
thoughts on tortillas...everything here is done by hang. it´s incredible. if i want rice and beans in the us i just dump them out of the box or can and they´re ready to cook. here they ahve to be thoroughly washed and gone through bit by bit to pick ou the dirt, bugs, and bad ones before they are ready to cook. tortilla pretatation blows my mind. right now the men are bringing in the corn and dumping it in piles in everyone´s houses. after that the women will take all the kernals off by hand. next the corn has to be treated and placed in the sun. then it is celaned and sotred. each night the women cook the corn in a huge pot of water. in the morning they clean the corn again and take it to a guy in town that has an electric machine to crush the corn - unless the power is out and then they ahve to do that by hand too. next the corn is mixed with water and made into dough whcih is kneaded. take a chunk, made a ball, flatten a little, pound it out into a thin circle and put it over the fire on a thin piece of metal, flip and wala you have a tortilla. repeat over and over agina. now how many tortillas do you need? well my host family is super small...only parents, 2 kids and me. my mom makes about 60-70 tortillas a day. my aunt next door - 10 people live there - that´s a lot of tortillas. think about that the next time you eat a burrito.
yesterday was a great day..spent the morning on the roof of a new house painting and played football all afternoon. so great. teachers go back to school next week which is exciting. and school starts the beginning of feb. thats about it from here. thanks for all the emails!! love and miss you all!
my first 24 hours...first threw water on the floor so when i swept i didn´t die from the dust. then i organized my books, hung clothes, put clothes in a plastic container, went through the beans to pick out the bad ones, put them in water to soad all day. basically i cleaned and organized all day, hung my mosquitero and hammock, watered my plants. i ate lunch with my host family and made my beans with onions and green peppers for dinner. watered and swept the floor again, did dishes and went to my family´s house to watch my tv show...which ended last week :(, read and went to bed after seeing a giant hairy horse killer spider. next morning...got up, watered plants, watered/swept floor, made breakfast, did the dishes, took my bucket bath and cleaned the rice. pretty exciting! everyone is so proud that i can cook and clean like a nica - well maybe not the cooking like a nica but proud that i can cook at least.
so the volunteer before me left a temp guage - not sure how accurate it is but during the day its in the 90s and it was 85 at 6am and that is in the house...can´t wait for march!
thoughts on tortillas...everything here is done by hang. it´s incredible. if i want rice and beans in the us i just dump them out of the box or can and they´re ready to cook. here they ahve to be thoroughly washed and gone through bit by bit to pick ou the dirt, bugs, and bad ones before they are ready to cook. tortilla pretatation blows my mind. right now the men are bringing in the corn and dumping it in piles in everyone´s houses. after that the women will take all the kernals off by hand. next the corn has to be treated and placed in the sun. then it is celaned and sotred. each night the women cook the corn in a huge pot of water. in the morning they clean the corn again and take it to a guy in town that has an electric machine to crush the corn - unless the power is out and then they ahve to do that by hand too. next the corn is mixed with water and made into dough whcih is kneaded. take a chunk, made a ball, flatten a little, pound it out into a thin circle and put it over the fire on a thin piece of metal, flip and wala you have a tortilla. repeat over and over agina. now how many tortillas do you need? well my host family is super small...only parents, 2 kids and me. my mom makes about 60-70 tortillas a day. my aunt next door - 10 people live there - that´s a lot of tortillas. think about that the next time you eat a burrito.
yesterday was a great day..spent the morning on the roof of a new house painting and played football all afternoon. so great. teachers go back to school next week which is exciting. and school starts the beginning of feb. thats about it from here. thanks for all the emails!! love and miss you all!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Just call me cowgirl...yeehaw!
A friend of mine took me horseback riding - spurs and all...which i didn't use. it was quite fun - lerned a lot about his family's land, the crops they grow, where the cattle graze, where they stay when it rains and they can't get back to town, etc. very interesting, very nice horse, only thought i was going to fally once - it's very hilly where we went and 1. i'm not used to being on a horse and 2. i'm not used to going down hills/through bushes and trees on a horse. but it was fine. the best/most scary part - when my friend made the horse run. I don't think i've ever been on a horse running before. so sweet. kinda wish horses came with seatbelts though. :)
It's raining scorpians and cockroaches...and all other insects!!
So I came home one day to the houses being fumigates...and spent the rest of the afternoon sneezing. it's incredible the amount of creey crawlies living in the housese that end up dead on the floor from the fumes. mostly spiders and other insects in my house, cockroaches in the latrine, and my friend had quite a few scorpians - pregnant ones too - so gross! but I thought i'd be spider free for a while...um no, maybe 2 days and they're back!! I just think of them as cheap wall decorations.
Other site news...
I bought a mini fridge- pretty exciting. Cold water is amazing. so are frozen chocolate bananas which my friend and i made when she came to visit. I move into my own house next week - exciting and odd at the same time...living alone, cooking without a pound of oil and salt...definitely different. My garden is growing nicely - soon it will be time to transplant the tomatoes. My youth group is still going. it's nice to see a few of them take charge of the group. we are still thinking of doing a tree nursery...trying to get seeds and bags. also, I started an English class - mostly girls as the boys are stilll way too shy around me. but they are really interested and work hard - very impressive. they all showed up the first day with their notebooks and pens and worked very diligently on spelling and pronunciation. although I don't really like teaching English, I think with this group it will be fun since they are so enthusiastic and truly want to learn. so that's really exciting. supossedly teachers go back to school on Jan. 5th...so hopefully i'll be a bit more busy then..i guess cleaning the school is first on the agenda. oh and i possible am going to teach PE since none of the teachers every do. Sweet!
I went to an evangelical wedding yesterday. vows pretty similar. no groomsmen but a few really young firls up front. we all went back to the bride's house for food and cake after. All the women were dressed up and all the men wore jeans.
New years plans...apparently we are cooking a ram...should be interesting. That's about it from here. I hope you all have a very safe and fun new years!! lots of love!
It's raining scorpians and cockroaches...and all other insects!!
So I came home one day to the houses being fumigates...and spent the rest of the afternoon sneezing. it's incredible the amount of creey crawlies living in the housese that end up dead on the floor from the fumes. mostly spiders and other insects in my house, cockroaches in the latrine, and my friend had quite a few scorpians - pregnant ones too - so gross! but I thought i'd be spider free for a while...um no, maybe 2 days and they're back!! I just think of them as cheap wall decorations.
Other site news...
I bought a mini fridge- pretty exciting. Cold water is amazing. so are frozen chocolate bananas which my friend and i made when she came to visit. I move into my own house next week - exciting and odd at the same time...living alone, cooking without a pound of oil and salt...definitely different. My garden is growing nicely - soon it will be time to transplant the tomatoes. My youth group is still going. it's nice to see a few of them take charge of the group. we are still thinking of doing a tree nursery...trying to get seeds and bags. also, I started an English class - mostly girls as the boys are stilll way too shy around me. but they are really interested and work hard - very impressive. they all showed up the first day with their notebooks and pens and worked very diligently on spelling and pronunciation. although I don't really like teaching English, I think with this group it will be fun since they are so enthusiastic and truly want to learn. so that's really exciting. supossedly teachers go back to school on Jan. 5th...so hopefully i'll be a bit more busy then..i guess cleaning the school is first on the agenda. oh and i possible am going to teach PE since none of the teachers every do. Sweet!
I went to an evangelical wedding yesterday. vows pretty similar. no groomsmen but a few really young firls up front. we all went back to the bride's house for food and cake after. All the women were dressed up and all the men wore jeans.
New years plans...apparently we are cooking a ram...should be interesting. That's about it from here. I hope you all have a very safe and fun new years!! lots of love!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Take that chickens!!! and yes i went a day without bathing...
So I finally got my fence up around my garden with the help of my host dad and uncle. I was looking forward to doing something myself but that didn't happen - heaven forbid a girl with a hammer so I got the job of puttin gthe staples in place for them to hammer. I really do appreciate all their help - they are wonderful and although I'm not comfortable with a machete yet, a hammer I can handle. A friend helped me make a gate so I'm all set up! No more chickens, pigs, or dogs!!! so awesome. so far I've planted tomatoes, green peppers, cucumber, and watermelon. I still have to plant the squash..ran out of time the other day. Here's hoping it all grows!!
Youth group meeting attempts 1 and 2 = crash and burn! I invited a bunch of youth to a meeting planned for wed mid morning. well, at 7 am I was watering my plants when my director showed up and told me I had to go to Somotillo for a workshop and that the bus would be there any minute. great. I ran home, changed clothes and go to the highway just in time. my sister was nice enough to tell some people that the meeting was postponed but of course many did not know. so I tried to have it Friday but lots of people weren't around and not many showed up so we all decided it would be better to try again next week. so we'll see...i hope next week turns out better. oh and on the walk home from the meeting that didn't happen, I got stung by a bee - twice- once on each butt check...not cool.
so last week i went to chinandega and left at 530 and didn't really feel like taking my bath in the dark. I had every intention of bathing when I got home around 4. well, I was informed by many townspeople that I couldn't shower right away because my body was agitated from my journey and that I needed to rest and let my body relax first. so I sat and chatted with them for a while and by the time they let me leave it was dark and time for dinner. well of course I couldn't bathe right after eating because that's bad too so I rested again. and at that point I decided I didn't care and would bathe the next morning. well, the next day all these kids kept asking me if it was true that I didn't bathe the day before and whay not. so that was the talk of the town...how the gringa didn't bathe. highly entertaining. even if I shower later than normal people ask me about it. normally I bathe at 6 but if I decided to work out or water the garden or something before bathing everyone says...eliza...it's 8am and you are just now bathing? why so late? (even though i'm still the first one with the few exceptions that work in somotillo) :) yeah fishbowl effect!
stars...I would just like to say how beautiful and bright the stars and moon are. the sky is always clear at night and the stars are so so bright. and the moon lights up everything so much. there is a huge difference in how light it is depending on what type of moon it is. it's absolutely beautiful.
I'm slowly getting to know people which is fun - lots of life stories and interesting facts. i've also met with a man who works for INTA which is the agriculture government sector who will be a great technical resource for my school gardens and tree nurseries. so everything is going really well I think. I still feel like a 5 year old sometimes but the other day I decided whatever, I'm an adult and I'm going for a run and I don't care what people say. so I did. of course a bunch of people said that I should run around this little area (less than half a soccer field) right across from their house...um no thanks. I told them I would be fine and that I would be back in a half hour. So off I went - it felt so good to run...although breathing in dust is never fun, especially when exercising but oh well. I definitely was stared at by everyone I passed but other than that it was perfectly fine and I felt very safe. so I get back, red as a tomato and sweating profusely....some scolded me for it being dangerous and for me working too hard...others saying it's good to exercise. all definitely laughing at how red and sweaty i was. the next day my director was still going on about how i shoudn't run. my host dad told her it was fine but that i should go at 430 am instead of 5pm because the "thugs" would be asleep at that time. I told him I also enjoy sleeping at 430, that I prefer 5pm and that he should just go with me. they both enjoyed that.
oh the heat is coming! I swear everyday it is getting a little hotter. and it's going to continue to get hotter until it rains in may. but I'm getting used to the mixture of sweat and dirt on my skin at all times. makes me look tanner.
that's all I know at this point. stay safe in the snow and with holiday traveling. it's hard to believe it's almost christmas - but I was at a house the other day with a little christmas tree so that made me smile. Happy Holidays and best wishes from Nicaragua!!!
miss you all...lots of love
Youth group meeting attempts 1 and 2 = crash and burn! I invited a bunch of youth to a meeting planned for wed mid morning. well, at 7 am I was watering my plants when my director showed up and told me I had to go to Somotillo for a workshop and that the bus would be there any minute. great. I ran home, changed clothes and go to the highway just in time. my sister was nice enough to tell some people that the meeting was postponed but of course many did not know. so I tried to have it Friday but lots of people weren't around and not many showed up so we all decided it would be better to try again next week. so we'll see...i hope next week turns out better. oh and on the walk home from the meeting that didn't happen, I got stung by a bee - twice- once on each butt check...not cool.
so last week i went to chinandega and left at 530 and didn't really feel like taking my bath in the dark. I had every intention of bathing when I got home around 4. well, I was informed by many townspeople that I couldn't shower right away because my body was agitated from my journey and that I needed to rest and let my body relax first. so I sat and chatted with them for a while and by the time they let me leave it was dark and time for dinner. well of course I couldn't bathe right after eating because that's bad too so I rested again. and at that point I decided I didn't care and would bathe the next morning. well, the next day all these kids kept asking me if it was true that I didn't bathe the day before and whay not. so that was the talk of the town...how the gringa didn't bathe. highly entertaining. even if I shower later than normal people ask me about it. normally I bathe at 6 but if I decided to work out or water the garden or something before bathing everyone says...eliza...it's 8am and you are just now bathing? why so late? (even though i'm still the first one with the few exceptions that work in somotillo) :) yeah fishbowl effect!
stars...I would just like to say how beautiful and bright the stars and moon are. the sky is always clear at night and the stars are so so bright. and the moon lights up everything so much. there is a huge difference in how light it is depending on what type of moon it is. it's absolutely beautiful.
I'm slowly getting to know people which is fun - lots of life stories and interesting facts. i've also met with a man who works for INTA which is the agriculture government sector who will be a great technical resource for my school gardens and tree nurseries. so everything is going really well I think. I still feel like a 5 year old sometimes but the other day I decided whatever, I'm an adult and I'm going for a run and I don't care what people say. so I did. of course a bunch of people said that I should run around this little area (less than half a soccer field) right across from their house...um no thanks. I told them I would be fine and that I would be back in a half hour. So off I went - it felt so good to run...although breathing in dust is never fun, especially when exercising but oh well. I definitely was stared at by everyone I passed but other than that it was perfectly fine and I felt very safe. so I get back, red as a tomato and sweating profusely....some scolded me for it being dangerous and for me working too hard...others saying it's good to exercise. all definitely laughing at how red and sweaty i was. the next day my director was still going on about how i shoudn't run. my host dad told her it was fine but that i should go at 430 am instead of 5pm because the "thugs" would be asleep at that time. I told him I also enjoy sleeping at 430, that I prefer 5pm and that he should just go with me. they both enjoyed that.
oh the heat is coming! I swear everyday it is getting a little hotter. and it's going to continue to get hotter until it rains in may. but I'm getting used to the mixture of sweat and dirt on my skin at all times. makes me look tanner.
that's all I know at this point. stay safe in the snow and with holiday traveling. it's hard to believe it's almost christmas - but I was at a house the other day with a little christmas tree so that made me smile. Happy Holidays and best wishes from Nicaragua!!!
miss you all...lots of love
Monday, December 1, 2008
first week at site/happy thanksgiving!
me and all my stuff sucessfully made it to my site! my little brother really wanted to help me with my stuff but honestly my hiking pack is bigger thank he is. but a cousin did carry my very heavy suitcase so that was helpful. ive been a little sick since ive been here but im sure its due to the changes in food and what not...getting better. but everything is good. last week school was pretty much over. students came a few days to clean and receive their final grades. this past sat was the preschool and 6th grade graduation ceremony. so i went to that and sat at the table of honor at the front of the room with the principal, minestry of ed. delegate and the teachers handing out awards. each studnet walked in with their escort and was announced. after that each one came up individually to get their diploma. and then they came up again to get a flower. it was a few hour affair but very interesting to take part in. oh and during all of this they played the same song over and over again. after the ceremony started the food. i ate at the school with my principal and then again at home snce my brother graduatioed from 6th grade. all day eating and talking - good spanish practice and it gave me a chance to put more names and faces together. sunday was hs graduation...more food as one of my cousins graduated.
Thanksgiving!!! so a bunch of colunteers met at a beach in leon for thanksgiving. the beach is absolutely beautiful and the water was perfect. unfortunately it was a bit of a journey - left my town at 6am and got to the beach at 1pm but it was great. and luckily there are beaches way closer than that to me. the owners of the hostel we stayed at are american and they made us a thanksgiving dinner - not as good as grandmas but definitely good and unexpected. then we had a big fire and dance party on the beach. although it wasnt the same without my wonderful family and football- i cnat complain too much about a thanksgiving on the beach. i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving and are enjoying the leftovers!!
more about my town...im already used to my bucket bath in my public bathing stall. still a little odd that a guy is always there as well bathing next to the well (not in a stall thing) but at least i get serenaded while i bathe every morning. still havent seen any scorpians, terantulas or snakes. cockroaches, spiders, and other creepy crawles, yes, but nothing too discusting. ive already made friends with a girl in my town - shes been super helpful and im sure will continue to be throughout my service. im getting to know others at a slower pace but im working on it. ive started discussing project ideas with some people and in the next few weeks im going to finalize some plans for my youth groups and start working on forming them. i also am going to start my garden and compost pile in the next few weeks. those, working on spanish, and talking a lot with people to gain trust are my main goals until school starts. so thats whats going on with me. hoppe you are all doing well! miss you and love you!
cell service is pretty bad at my site but you can try!! and i have received mail so the new address works!
Thanksgiving!!! so a bunch of colunteers met at a beach in leon for thanksgiving. the beach is absolutely beautiful and the water was perfect. unfortunately it was a bit of a journey - left my town at 6am and got to the beach at 1pm but it was great. and luckily there are beaches way closer than that to me. the owners of the hostel we stayed at are american and they made us a thanksgiving dinner - not as good as grandmas but definitely good and unexpected. then we had a big fire and dance party on the beach. although it wasnt the same without my wonderful family and football- i cnat complain too much about a thanksgiving on the beach. i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving and are enjoying the leftovers!!
more about my town...im already used to my bucket bath in my public bathing stall. still a little odd that a guy is always there as well bathing next to the well (not in a stall thing) but at least i get serenaded while i bathe every morning. still havent seen any scorpians, terantulas or snakes. cockroaches, spiders, and other creepy crawles, yes, but nothing too discusting. ive already made friends with a girl in my town - shes been super helpful and im sure will continue to be throughout my service. im getting to know others at a slower pace but im working on it. ive started discussing project ideas with some people and in the next few weeks im going to finalize some plans for my youth groups and start working on forming them. i also am going to start my garden and compost pile in the next few weeks. those, working on spanish, and talking a lot with people to gain trust are my main goals until school starts. so thats whats going on with me. hoppe you are all doing well! miss you and love you!
cell service is pretty bad at my site but you can try!! and i have received mail so the new address works!
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