Hotel Managua

Ok, well I'm not really at "Hotel Managua" and I'm not sure if that actually exists, but I am in a hotel in Managua just for the night.  The doctors wanted to bring me in to have my ear checked out AGAIN, but it was nice because I went to a specialist and it seems that things are improving.  He instructed me to stop taking the ear drops and he wants to check up on me once more on Monday.  Since my appointment was late this afternoon, Peace Corps put me up in a hotel for the night, and then I'm back to San Juan in the morning.  It's been a crazy adventure with this ear, but I'm looking forward to the day when I can hear normally again.  Right now though, I'm enjoying some AC, free internet, and I'm going to take a warm shower before I head to bed.  I know I'm getting great treatment right now, but please keep me in your prayers...also Jessica (from my town) is sick (stomach) so please pray for her too.

Ok, here are some other updates:

Youth Group


Our youth group (grupo de jovenes) is going really well so far. I’m going to call them jovenes here because I keep wanting to say kids or students, but they’re aren’t really that young, and they’re not really our students and I don’t want to say adolescents because it feels weird. The best weird is in Spanish so that’s what I’m gonna use to talk about this group. So, we had 15 jovenes Wednesday for our meeting and we practiced some questions and answers about personal information in English. It was fun to finally be teaching English and the jovenes are eager to learn more and practice. There are some challenges to our group, like any classroom, there are various ages and levels of English ability; however, for the most part our students do not know much English. It’s fun though because we have been talking a lot about what they want to learn and this is a unique situation where we get to cater to their needs, rather than following a specific curriculum. I really like this because it makes more sense and the jovenes will learn what they want and need to learn in English. So far what we have planned is to teach them introductions, greetings, interrogatives, how to give/ask about prices (there are a lot of little shops in our town selling basic everyday things, food, pottery, hammocks, and more), how to describe/promote their products, some idiomatic expressions (colloquialisms/slang), and of course lots of practice and review! I’m really excited about this and I keep thinking about how great this experience is and how it will build my teaching experience for the future.

 
Encouraging Quotes


“Nothing of significance is achieved without effort and hard work and weariness” –Max Lucado

I find this quote encouraging because a lot of times in our work, no matter what we’re doing, we tend to struggle or get frustrated, but if it’s always easy, than it probably isn’t significant. In order to accomplish great things, we must work hard, and if we aren’t willing to put in the effort, we won’t reach our goals. I read this quote the other day when I was lying in bed, exhausted from the day’s activities. It was perfect for that time, and it makes complete sense for the job I’m doing here.

Another quote I recently read and found relevant to my service here is:

“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.” -Albert Schweitzer

I really like this because I have a passion for serving others, and no matter this service is, various places in the states, or here in Nicaragua, it brings me happiness and peace. We were meant to serve. “For even the Son of God did not come to be served, but to serve others.” Mark 10:45