Celebrations continue...

Since yesterday was National Teacher's Day, I had heard that there was going to be an acto for the teachers today at my instituto.  One of my counterparts said that he wasn't going to be teaching because each section was giving an acto and the students would be leaving early.  He told me he probably wasn't going, but I went anyway.  He was there.  He ended up teaching class in the morning, reviewing and improvising--wish we could have worked on something yesterday...  Anyway, I had a break in between the first class and the next class I was "teaching" with him, so I relaxed in the teacher's lounge and read a book.  I talked to the principal and he told me that the acto would begin at 10am, right when my next class was going to begin.  I'm not sure why they don't do these during the 30 minute recess (9:30-10am)--yes, there's recess in high school.  Well, the bell rang and I didn't see anything set up where they usually have actos so I walked over to the classroom.  There was loud music coming from inside and the students had set up a huge stereo system and pushed all the chairs to the walls.  They were setting up a celebration in the classroom for their "guia" teacher (kind of like homeroom--it's a teacher that's in charge of their section).  My counterpart, well my counterpart's son because my counterpart is sick right now, is a substitute so he's not a guia teacher so we just left, after I showed off one dance move for the students.  I think I surprised them because they had been asking me to dance because there was music playing and kept telling me there wasn't class and that I could only go in the classroom if I was going to dance.  So, I walked out while doing a little dance and they screamed and cheered.  It was fun.  Needless to say, there weren't any more classes so I jumped in a taxi and went home. 

Gearing Up

There weren’t any classes yesterday and today because of National Teacher’s Day so Frank came to visit me in Boaco so we could go shopping to gear up for the fiestas patronales and hipico—more festivities, but these include horses and cowboys!  

Frank arrived Monday afternoon so we jetted over to the markets to see what we could find before they closed.  I found the boots that I had been looking for—something western-like, but still stylish enough to wear back in the States and Frank tried a few options.  We decided to go back the next day to browse some more.  

My boots :)

That night it was my turn to make dinner since Frank did most of the cooking the last weekend.  I’m glad I found a guy that can cook ;)  Well, I decided to make my famous (not so much) enchiladas.  Nicas make enchiladas but they’re different from Mexican enchiladas regarding the fillings, but also they’re deep fried :(  Thanks to my parents, I had enchilada sauce (yes, I use the can kind haha) and cheddar cheese Mmmm!  My enchiladas are simple, yes, but delicious to the max.  Frank got to work on the mojitos (our favorite drink—well at least mine hehe) while I took over the food.

The enchiladas turned out great (as well as the mojitos) and we were pleasantly stuffed!  We played cribbage after while our stomachs settled.  I recently taught Frank to play crib (a tradition in our family) and he’s been dying to beat me since I beat him the last weekend.  No such luck this night.  We got ice cream as a consolation and watched a movie. 

The next day we went to the pools with the natural hot springs.  It was a perfect day to go since it was a little cooler and overcast.  We took a bus over there and we were the only guests—how nice!  The water was so HOT and wonderful—felt like a hot tub, and brought back memories of what a hot shower must feel like…  We played crib there too and Frank’s trying to learn how to be a gracious loser ;)   

 

 That day Frank had a craving for taco salad so we decided that would be our dinner, but first we went to the markets to look for boots for him (and hats, belts, and plaid shirts of course).  Frank found his boots and I got a belt.  While we were chatting with the owner of the shop after buying my belt and trying on several hats, we told her that we were volunteers and what our jobs were, etc.  She asked us if we were brother and sister, since we apparently look SO much alike (isn’t the reverse stereotype funny?)  and we said no, that we were dating.  She said we both looked nice (attractive) and I mentioned that my poor boyfriend was getting too skinny.  We talked about the food here and back home.  Frank told her that he eats with his Nica family and he loves the food, but he just doesn’t eat as much meat as he did in the States.  After we chatted a little more, the lady took a liking to us and offered to give us chicken.  We were a little confused that she said she was giving us chicken, but apparently she sold chicken outside of her clothing store.  Anyway, she walked out the shop, grabbed a large piece of frozen chicken and had her daughter saw off the breast, slipped it in a plastic bag, and handed it over to us.  What a sweetheart!  We thanked her many times and she sent us on our way.  Well, our taco salad idea just got a little juicier with chicken in hand.  

I really like this belt because it looks Nica with the fields, volcano, and roosters.

Frank's boots, which actually have a good sole for working out in the campo (fields, mud, etc.) so they're very practical

We went to the grocery store after to collect the rest of the fixings and got to work.  I don’t know why, but we always choose to make things with so many ingredients that need to be cleaned, chopped, cooked, and then added to the mix.  It was a little exhausting, but we got it all together and the meal was very satisfying. 

The power went out for a little that night, just long enough to break out the headlamps :)

We played cribbage again and Frank finally beat me—it was pretty bad too.  He almost skunked me!  He was pretty happy after that…and so was I :)

Today Frank taught me how to make these paper flowers that his Japanese roommate taught him how to make.  He had made me one and I showed to Jasser and he wanted to learn, so I promised him that I would have Frank teach me so I could teach him. 

The one on the left is one Frank made me a few weeks ago.  The one on the right is one we made together today.

Then we went and had a little lunch in the park and played crib again.  Frank didn’t win, but he’s certainly getting better :) 

He had to leave after lunch to get back to his site for classes tomorrow so I walked him up to the bus stop.  As we were walking up the stairs, the bus started going down the road so we flagged them down to stop.  The bus stopped to pick someone up on the other side of the road, and then started driving off before Frank got on so he started running after it.  The guy who collects the money was yelling “suave”, which means slow down/stop, but the bus drove on slowly.  Frank took off running to try to get on the back of the bus (in his new cowboy boots).  I watched from the side of the road (along with others) hoping that he would make it safely.  Fortunately, he ran fast enough and grabbed the ladder on the back and the guy collecting the money opened the back door and helped him in as the bus drove down the road.  Phew!  Frank told me later that the bus did this to a couple other people along the way because it was running late—a lot of people on the bus were getting upset about it, because obviously it’s rude and not safe.  Anyway, he made it home safely and I get to see him in just a couple days for a 4th of July party that some PCVs are putting on.  Yay :)

I have a shadow...but it's not sunny.

We have some visitors from the finca--a lady and her 3 1/2 year old daughter.  The little girl has taken a liking to me (I've become a kid magnet lately) and she's been following me around the house, copying my movements, repeat funny sounds I make, and laughing hysterically when I move my eyebrows in a funny way.  It's actually pretty cute.  I didn't get a picture of the little one yet, but I'm sure I'll have my chance.  An interesting thing about her though is that she doesn't talk.  She makes sounds and points to people and things, but can't say a word.  I thought maybe she had a hearing problem or something, because she's 3 1/2 so she should be able to say a lot of things by now.  However, I taught her a word (and English word) tonight.  I was filling up my water bottles and said "bottle", to which she repeated "boggle" haha  It was sweet.  I knew she heard me though.  She repeated it several times :)  I also taught her to stick out her tongue and wiggle it back and forth...maybe not the best thing for a 3 1/2 year old who occasionally throws tantrums to learn.  Oops! hehe  It was all part of my linguistic testing to see if she had speech problems because of the improper movement of her tongue...or something like that ;) 

Anyway, my little shadow has an attitude sometimes and craves attention so when I wasn't giving her any, or not as much as she wanted, she kept leaning over on my bed and then (accidentally) knocked down my mosquito net. I'll let it slide since I taught her the bad tongue habit ;)

What’s going on? Not a whole lot.

This week has been  pretty uneventful, yet exhausting.  I think it’s all the rain.  It’s got me tired and lazy.  Unmotivated, that’s for sure.  Monday & Tuesday we didn’t have classes because of the anniversary stuff, as mentioned in my last blog.  Wednesday I went to the Embassy English class and helped out with that—that always is the highlight of my day because the students are more motivated and there’s one student in particular that always tries to use English whenever he can.  I love it!  Even if he’s not exact correct in what he’s saying, I am amazed at his courage.  He always sits up front near my desk and he chats with me during “down time”.  He actually called me out in class while I was teaching.  So, I was practicing numbers with the students, dictating numbers between 20 and 100 and they had to write them down.  After I had said about 8 numbers, I asked them to repeat them back to me and I wrote them on the board to make sure they had the numbers written correctly (in word form).  Well, as I was writing them, this student asked me why the students don’t go up to the board to practice the writing and pronunciation instead of me writing them. CALLED OUT! Ha!  I wasn’t hurt; I was impressed.  From that comment, I can tell he really wants to learn.  To be funny though, after he said that I said ok and pointed the marker to him and the students chuckled as his plan sort of backfired.  He really wasn’t embarrassed or anything and went up to the board to continue the lesson.  I’m glad for students like this one.  I’m so use to practically dragging students to the board in my instituto, but these ones actually volunteer. Awesome!

So, I went to school one day this week.  Thursday I went to Managua for a dental appt because one of my molars felt very sharp and I wanted them to check it.  Since our 1 year medical exams are coming up soon, they let me get my teeth cleaned while I was there.  Wahoo!  I was actually really excited about this because dental health is very important to me and I was scared from eating all this oily, sugary, starchy food that my teeth were doomed.  Fortunately, they’re just fine.  The dentist called me chiquita linda (rough translation: pretty little one) and told me she loved me teeth :D  Great news! 

After the long day’s journey to Managua and back, I was soooo tired!  I even got in bed before 9pm!  I haven’t gone to bed that early since training when we had 6 hours of Spanish class every day…talk about exhausting!  

Today I had to go to the school, but not for classes.  This Friday, like every last Friday of every month, is the teacher training/planning.  It’s usually a waste of time (the teachers share my opinion) and unfortunately, it’s just another day where students don’t get to learn :( 

The rest of today was fairly boring.  I had some plans to go out with a friend and then have dinner at somebody’s house, but the rain kept everyone in their homes.  This gave me a good excuse to complete some work for Peace Corps that I had been avoiding…was I really that bored? Ahh!  I also moved all of my laundry inside my room from outside because with all this rain, nothing was drying and it was actually starting to smell bad. Yuck!  Well, I guess I’m gonna go distract myself with yet another lazy activity now…catch ya on the flipside!

This is a mapping activity I did with the Embassy English class last Friday.  We were practicing giving/following directions.  I made a big map on the floor and students worked with partners to make directions and then they had to practice on the map.  They liked it and it went well :)

One of the street "blocks"

Writing out directions with partners

One student following directions from her partner

Traveling on the map

Here's my laundry in my room--I hung up some rope to make lines

I had to use some chairs too...

Celebrations

Yesterday we celebrated our Instituto’s (public high school) 53^rd anniversary.  They celebrate the anniversary every year, which is great I guess to recognize another year of students, success, etc.  However, they turn this in to a crazy celebration every year.  I thought it was kind of funny when the principal was telling me about all the things they were planning for the anniversary—a parade, fair, production in the park, selling shirts & hats with the 53^rd logo, etc.  Well, Nicas sure know how to party.  

I showed up Monday morning to the designated area and to my surprise, there were already a ton of students and teachers there.  However, the band and dance team was not, so we waited 45 minutes for them to arrive, then organized all the students in lines and got started just before 9am.  We walked slowly through the streets of Boaco leading up to Boaco arriba (on the hill) to the central park. After the parade was a celebration near the central park which lasted until noon, and then we had lunch with the teachers.  Needless to say, there were no classes.

Me with my host cousin's daughter--I'm her English teacher.

Students waiting around

Getting "organized"

School emblem

Dance team getting ready--interesting outfits...

King and Queen

Dance team with coach

Honor students with sashes

Students holding boards for each year the school has been in session--53 years

The students lined up in their grades

Color guard with the Nicaraguan flag and the school flag

Reception area set up near the park for the teachers and special guests

Performance by the dance team

Special dance performance by a student

Steven (my sitemate) and me with our school polo shirts