Busy Week

This week was kind of crazy.  On Monday, no students showed up to the school in the morning because of an event the day before, but I did have class in the afternoon.  We also had a little birthday party for Hazzell at our house.  It was a bummer because my host mom, dad, and Ruth were at the finca, but I convinced Jasser to stay Monday and invited others over to give her a little surprise.  I made a cake, somebody brought coca cola, and Jasser brought out some decorations.  We had a great time dancing and even the power went out for awhile, but we had birthday candles! haha  Unfortunately, I do not have pictures to post right now, because I think I left my camera at Frank's house.  Oops!

Tuesday, my boss came into town to do a site visit and meet with my counterparts and principal.  My principal didn't show up, but all my counterparts were there so that was good :)  I also had my kids English class that afternoon and then packed up my stuff for Managua.

Wednesday, I taught a culture lesson with the embassy students and then hopped on a bus to Managua.  I grabbed some lunch with another PCV at McDonald's--the old me would scoff at this, but it sounded absolutely delicious.  I was supposed to meet with one of the doctors because she and I were giving a charla Thursday, but she was unable to come into the office because of some family things, so I just hung out with other PCVs in town and got some grub. 

Thursday, I headed over the office early but the doctor wasn't able to arrive until right before we had to leave, so she and the other PCV giving the charla had to brief me on the way to Carazo.  Fortunately, it was a charla that we were facilitating and the new trainees would be sharing most of the time, so it wasn't to difficult to get organized.  We started at 8:30am with the first group of trainees and split up into 2 smaller groups.  The topic was coping with stress.  I remember this charla last year when I was a trainee and talking about lack of privacy, different foods, language progress, etc. that was a big stress in my life.  I heard similar stories and it made me realize how far I have come and it gave me hope for the new trainees.  It was really fun to talk to them and swap stories.  They asked me questions about my service, etc. so that was fun too.  After the charla, we went and got lunch, and then headed over to another town to do the next charla.  We didn't finish up until 3:30pm and then didn't leave until about 4pm.  This means that we didn't get into Managua until a little after 5pm so I had to rush to try to catch a bus.  I got one headed toward Matagalpa because Boaco buses usually don't leave that late and I finally arrived in Dario at 8:15pm.  I was exhausted to say the least. 

I stayed with Frank in Dario for the weekend because it was our "6 month anniversary".  I know it might sound silly, but 6 months is significant for us :)  We looked up recipes online to make something special and decided on orange chicken.  We bought all fresh ingredients from the market, even fresh oranges, and whipped it up.  Oh my gosh.  We surprised ourselves with this one.  It was AMAZING!  We both could not believe that we made this delicious dish.  We enjoyed our food together in the dark patio with a small candle and relaxed after all the hard work. 

Saturday we went to another town to pick up some things and buy some veggies.  We also got ready that afternoon to go to a wedding.  One of the teachers that Frank works with was getting married.  He also knew the groom too and was friends with him.  We got all dressed up and headed to the church that evening in Dario.  This was Frank's first wedding so that was neat too.  I was making some comparisons about this wedding and weddings I've gone to in the States.  I had never been to a Catholic service though, so the ceremony was a little different.  The reception was pretty similar though.  We ate, drank, danced, and then ate some more (cake).  I almost caught the bouquet but another girl jumped in front of me.  I had a piece of it but she was vicious and I wasn't that desperate hehe 

Today we got up and made fresh orange juice and toast on the stove.  It took us quite a lot longer to get things ready because we didn't have a toaster and didn't want to just buy a jug of orange juice, but it was worth the wait.  I helped Frank clean his room a little and hang up some pictures and then I headed out for Boaco. 

I got back in the late afternoon and I unpacked.  I had scheduled time to meet with my counterparts to plan, but things came up and that didn't work out.  Oh well.  At least I have some time to relax and get things together for this week.  I can plan for my adults and kids English classes.  Those, I can control.  Well, if the students show up haha  The kids always do :)