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!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
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!
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