Thursday, April 26, 2012

Snack fix

I've been in a really snacky mood lately but I haven't really had much around the house to snack on which leaves me grumbling.  I didn't have time was too lazy to go to the store this week so I didn't buy groceries until today and I got a little excited about getting cereal.  I haven't had cereal in a very long time and I kinda missed the simplicity of it and how great of a snack food it is.  I guess it's not really supposed to be a snack food, but I remember staying up late with my mom and getting a big bowl of cereal to watch a couple Friends episodes before bed.  Anyway, I planned on getting cereal, but what kind would I choose?!  Well, since it's pretty much either Corn Flakes or Cocoa Puffs, I chose Cocoa Puffs even though they were a little more expensive.  Cereal is SO expensive here!  Mainly because nobody really eats it, or they're okay with just Corn Flakes. 

Anyway, I didn't end up eating my cereal today as a snack.  I guess I misled you there.  But, I was planning on making some sweets for tonight's English class because it's Edwin's birthday on Saturday and I thought we could celebrate tonight with everybody.  I floated between brownies and cookies for awhile and finally decided on cookies because those are much easier to separate, well because they're already separated in the pan :)  I have such a hard time getting those brownies out of the pan and looking like squares/rectangles.  Anyway, I ate some cookie dough, so if I get sick later we'll all know why, and I ate a few cookies too--gotta test them out before you give them away, right?  Well, indulging in these cookies (and cookie dough) was the perfect fix for what I've been craving.  I just can't say no to cookies, especially oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  And if we're mentioning my addictions I guess I'll have to throw out ice cream and popcorn as well.  Popcorn has been my go-to snack food lately and I even thought about popping some this afternoon, but I held back as I remembered I ate a whole bag yesterday. By myself.  I'm surprised I don't weigh 500 pounds.  Seriously.  I gotta exercise extra hard this week!  I haven't been an A student with that lately.  I blame sickness as the #1 culprit and laziness as a very close #2.  Oops. 

Well, now that I got that lovely little bout of sugar and chocolate endorphins--they're really in there!--I'm much better now and ready to conquer class.  Ha!  I did have some delicious grilled pork tonight for dinner too; it's not just about the sweets.  I caved and bought out for dinner but I never do that in my site so I approved.  

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Friday, no wait Thursday, no Monday, um...how about Friday? Oh, did I already mention that?

Yeah so if you're confused by that, then step into my world.  Every last Friday of each month we have teacher meetings at the instituto.  One month it's planning, the next month it's training.  Either way, we're always at the instituto on the last Friday of every month.

This month for some reason they wanted to change the date to Thursday and have some fundraisers on Friday.  Ok... Wait!  Next thing I know, the meeting has been moved to Monday because there's already no school Tuesday for Labor day so it makes sense to do that since most students wouldn't go to school that day anyway.  Oh wait!  Actually, the meeting has been moved back to Friday and they announced that Monday will just be off, along with Tuesday (the actual day of the holiday).  Hmmm.  It's only Wednesday so who knows what will actually happen...But seriously?!  This has been within the last 2 days--each day something changes.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Where has the time gone?

Today we got an email from our PC Country Director telling us that the new U.S. Ambassador is here.  Her name is Phyllis Powers.  Kinda cool to have a lady in power :)  Anyway, she looks like a pretty neat lady and it's nice to have an Ambassador again.  She was the Ambassador for Panama before and here she is in Nicaragua now! 

Another part of the email was talking about how PC invited her to the swearing-in ceremony for the next group of small business and agriculture volunteers which will be in July (they arrive in country as trainees May 9th).  I looked at my calendar and was shocked to see that the new group will be here in 2 weeks!  Yikes!  They swear-in in July, then that means that the new group of TEFL and Environment trainees that replace us will be here in the end of August to start their training.  Oh my gosh.  We only have 6 full months left here in Nicaragua!  That may seem like a long period of time, but holy cow, I can't believe that's all we have left.  There's a light at the end of the tunnel! hahaha  Although there's not much time left, there's still a lot to do, but I'm excited to be at this point in my service.  I wanna soak up what's left and try to do my best with what I have.

As I am a constant organizer/cleaner/packer/or whatever other words there are for that, I have been slowing going through things in my room, dropping off bags at the PC office of things I don't use anymore/extra clothes to give to other PCVs.  I know it may seem a little early, but I'm trying to weed through things so I can take a bag with me when I go with Frank to Maryland in June (oh, did I tell you we're going to Maryland again?) so I can ship things to Oregon since we're planning on traveling a bit through Central America & South America after our service here.  I need to get the stuff I want to keep back to the States so I don't have to drag it all around with me through various countries, on top of buses, etc.  Welp, gotta get going...more adventures to come!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Good weekend, Good Monday :)

This weekend I got to spend time with my boy which was so nice!  We hung out with other PCVs and had a lot of down time to just chill, watch movies, and eat good food (now that neither of us are sick!).  Frank doesn't have classes this week because of some teacher meetings and he also has a training that he's going to tomorrow.  Anyway, he didn't have to leave until this morning, so we left the house together and he caught a bus while I headed over to my school.

Today at Access was really special.  There are no classes for the Access students this week because they are transitioning to the next level of the program and today we had a big meeting with all of the parents.  The students ran the meeting in English and Spanish (they traded off translating for the parents), they gave presentations, and sang a song.






The students opened with a prayer in English because here in Nicaragua, each class (and meeting) usually begins with a prayer and the national anthem.  Their teacher this level, Edwin, taught them to pray in English and one student each morning says a prayer in English.  They did this today and explained to their parents why they pray in English. 



I thought that they all did a very good job with their presentations--most of them made up situations and wrote scripts to memorize to present.  They did this in English and another student explained the skit in Spanish for the parents.  I was very impressed.  It was a nice way for them to show their parents what they had been learning in English, even if the parents didn't understand the content (it was translated though).

This video shows a conversation/skit between two of our best students:


Here one student share what the students in this program have learned so far.






Thursday, April 19, 2012

A little bug

Hopefully my last blog post gave you enough reading material until this one.  So on Tuesday I caught a "little bug", meaning I got sick...not sure exactly what it was but it felt like a stomach bacteria and that's what I'm taking medicine for and it seems to be working.  I hate feeling like that.  Yuck.  It started Tuesday afternoon and it swiftly took over that night and didn't let me get much sleep.  My stomach was bloated and I had, well the runs is what some like to call it.  Delightful, yes.  Anyway, I felt nauseous as well so I took some Dramamine which helped, but my stomach just hurt and I couldn't make myself drink liquids, which was much needed in this time to stay hydrated.

I went to the pharmacy the next morning to deliver my "specimen" and the lady told me to return at 11:30am.  I feel like their system isn't so great when I drop something off at 7:30am, I was the only one there and I have to wait 4 hours to get results which means I have to wait 4 hours to get any medicine.  I went back at 11:30am and she told me it wasn't ready and to come back at 2pm.  Seriously?  I'm dying here!  Ok not really, but I wasn't in a pleasant state.  Anyway, this time I had Peace Corps call them to check the results (the PC doctor of course to keep confidentiality) and they finally got back to me around 3:30pm and I headed over to the pharmacy to get the much loved Ciprofloxacin or "Cipro" as we call it.  It's a very well-known medicine among the bacteria-infected PCVs.  I think I'll pick up some extras to take when I go traveling later.

Anyway, I started taking Cipro yesterday and I feel so much better.  I even felt so good that I tried to go back to normal right away and then I felt very exhausted and had to take a nap.  I tried to take it easy and things are going well.  I missed some school, but that's ok.  I was sick and my counterparts understood and even gave me all their suggestions (along with my host family) of medicines I should be taking to get rid of whatever it was that I had.  Funny how everyone loves to tell you what the best medicine is even though they don't know what exactly you have... It definitely felt like a bacteria to me so I didn't want to take their suggestions of medicines to stop the, well, um the reason why I had to make all those bathroom trips.  The reason, well, if you have a bacteria, you don't want to trap it in your body.  You want it OUT asap so, the best thing is just to keep hydrated and when you have a test confirmed, you can take the correct meds and hopefully get better soon :)

I'm super happy to be feeling much better and so glad that I got a full night's sleep last night.  AND, I get to see Frank tomorrow :)  I broke down a little in the midst of the sickness--those can really bring ya down--and he comforted me over the phone but I really wished he could have been here.  Even if he thought I really really needed him though, the roads were closed between us.  Darn roadblocks.  Well, things are supposedly cleared up now so hopefully traffic will be ok tomorrow. 

I did get some love from little Dyland who was so sleepy this afternoon that he decided to take a nap with me.  It was so precious :)

Not great quality--it's from my phone in the dark--but you get the point.  Isn't this just so sweet?? :)
He was just getting comfy...I eventually had to roll him a little to get my arm out so I could go use the bathroom.  This picture is the same phone, but with flash--I didn't want to use the flash before because I didn't want to wake him.

Ok, I think he was getting a little too comfy here...

Monday, April 16, 2012

Another Reflection


I wrote a reflection for my research project, just to keep things updated, and I felt like reflecting on my service so far.  Sorry if some things are repeated for those devoted blog readers!  Take a deep breath; it's a long one!

 
Looking back through my blog entries and personal reflections over the past 19 ½ months here in Nicaragua, I have seen many changes in my perspectives and definite growth in many areas.  I feel like a lot of people join Peace Corps hoping to change or improve the lives of the host country nationals where they will live, but end up doing so much more than that.  I think a very important part of Peace Corps service is learning about yourself and how you fit into the world.  We are, as individuals, so small and insignificant, but what we can do is incredible when we learn from other cultures and open our eyes to new perspectives.  I don’t necessarily agree with everything or follow everything that Nicaraguans do, or other PCVs for that matter, but I respect them and have a more open mind about different opinions and different ways of life.  

In the United States, we tend to get stuck in our own little bubbles, fulfilling our own needs and helping those in direct connection with ourselves.  It takes a lot to step out of our comfort zones and be uncomfortable in order to serve others.  This doesn’t necessarily have to be Peace Corps, but it definitely fits the bill.

When I was enrolling in Peace Corps, I was excited to go somewhere I had never been, and never really thought about before.  It was exciting and adventurous, and totally not something people expected me to do.  I even surprised myself.  I think I was sort of in a daze leading up to leaving and then when I was saying goodbye to my parents at the airport, it suddenly hit me that I was saying goodbye to them and I might not see them for 2 years.  What the heck was I thinking?  I didn’t know anybody who was going and I didn’t know where I was going to live.  Can I get out now?

I remember having mixed feelings in Washington DC for staging, but having friendly people around talking to me really did ease my anxiety.  Arriving in Nicaragua and training was very difficult, physically and emotionally.  But, I made it through and entered into my service, which only led to a bigger roller coaster ride.

It’s difficult to work with people who have such different experiences than you do, especially with the cultural differences woven in.  Not only were my counterpart teachers male, and several years older than me, they grew up in a completely different world and had significantly different expectations of what a classroom and a lesson plan should look like.  This was of course difficult and what I wanted in the beginning was to build trust and gain respect.  I wanted them to know that I was bringing new, innovative ways to help improve their teaching and to increase student motivation.  I think I jumped the gun though and this led to a lot of frustration in the beginning.  You can’t just go into someone’s niche and tell them that the way they’ve been doing it (as well as all the other teachers) for 50+ years is not good and they must listen to you, the young, all-knowing gringo(a) to change and be better.  Yeah, that didn’t work.  So, patience became my best friend and frustration surely lingered.  I tried my best to hang back a little more and then work on modeling certain activities and strategies in order to show how these could work instead of just forcing my counterpart teachers to do something they weren’t used to doing, or didn’t quite understand.  This worked out a lot better, but then my teachers wanted me to take over more of the teaching, which really didn’t bother me at first, why I’d love to be the star of the show!  But, that’s not really what I’m here for either…

It’s difficult to find a good balance between teaching, modeling, and building confidence in the teachers versus taking over and telling them I can do it better, now you just sit back and watch.  Not that I ever said that, but sometimes it was just easier for me to just do the lesson myself because I knew how to do the activity and I was afraid my counterpart teacher was going to mess it up.  Uh oh.  Enter the perfectionist…  That was no good.  I needed to look deeper and realize that the point of me being there wasn’t necessarily to change everything and make everything better because it was in such terrible shape and the students and teachers were probably doomed.  No, no, no.  I was there to give the teachers a new perspective, to open their minds to different teaching strategies, to hopefully make their teaching more dynamic and even easier on them and the students.  

It took me awhile to get to this point because first, I had to change my perspectives and realize what my real goal was in this program, and in life.  Anywhere I go, or whatever I do, I can’t put my priorities in front of others’ if I want to eventually open their minds to something I would like to do.  I realized that it’s so important for me to humble myself and maybe even sit through a few things that frustrate the heck out of me because I so eagerly just want to jump in and “fix” it, and look beyond the situation and into the other person and see what drives their actions.  It’s not that the teachers I was/am working with are bad teachers, they just had different training and their education system is very different than the one I grew up in and studied.  I’m sure these teachers could go to a U.S. classroom and start listing off things they find silly or arbitrary, but that’s not the point.  We have many differences in the way we do things in the classroom, and in general everyday life, but we are still people and we have the abilities to think and create.  This is not necessarily something we learn in school, but through these kinds of experiences that stretch us, bend us, break us, and remold us, it’s there that we find understanding and are able to truly relate to others on another level.

Something I noticed in the classroom is that I would try to introduce a different activity or something and my counterparts, or other teachers in the schools would just say that they couldn’t do it because they didn’t have the materials.  They might not have had physical materials in the classroom, but what I tried to do was help them to open their minds and think about what resources they did have and how they could use those to work in their classroom.  We don’t necessarily have to use what the U.S. does just because it looks fancy and it must work because that’s what they do over there.  I realized that by working in a place where classroom materials are very limited that I had been very wasteful back home and that the materials I made in my classrooms here worked just as well and that I didn’t need to print out 50 copies for the students because we could reuse materials over and over again and students could make their own things as well.  When you don’t have the resources to make a bazillion copies of some worksheet and you need to write everything out and have students copy, it makes you really conscious about deciding which activities are really important, or if it’s just a filler (time-waster) activity.  

Materials design really became my passion throughout working in the classrooms here because I knew that students pay more attention when you bring new things into the classroom, especially if they’re colorful, flashy, or look different.  The teachers that I trained were also very responsive to the materials that I was developing (or simply reproducing from other PCVs), which made me happy that it interested them and they wanted to use these things in their classrooms.  Sometimes just using yourself as a resource is good enough.  Why make flashcards or spend the whole class trying to make beautiful drawings on the board when you can act things out (daily activities) or point to yourself (clothing) or point to things in the classroom (classroom objects).  I like to encourage teachers to think before they write.  I hate seeing a long list of vocabulary words on the board and students copying and translating because I know they’re not learning.  And you know how I know this?  Because I was a student once too and that’s just boring and it never helped me to learn vocabulary.  I remember making flashcards, pneumonic devices, saying things aloud, acting them out, and doing whatever I could to connect different parts of my brain to make me learn those words.  I realized though that maybe I didn’t explain this very well to teachers, maybe I was just stuck in the No! Don’t do that!  It doesn’t work! phase and not telling them WHY.  But the WHY is so very important because why would we stop doing something that we think works fine just because someone said so?  We have to know the reason to understand.  It’s also difficult for teachers here to really measure students’ learning because they have so many students and it’s difficult to keep track of each one, even to learn all their names (they usually assign each student a number).  I bet that if I were to not only model something different and show how students are more motivated, but also show that they learned the information quicker, teachers would be more willing to maybe put in the extra effort it takes to do something different.  Sometimes I feel that I’m a traveling saleswoman and just trying to get teachers to buy into my latest schemes.  Ugh.  I hope they don’t feel that way.  

Working in the schools has been very challenging, but it also has been very rewarding.  No matter how frustrating things can get, I try to remember those successes I’ve had along the road and reflect on how much I’ve changed and improved my own outlook on life and teaching.  I will always hold in my heart something one of my “adopted” counterpart teachers said. 
He was talking to the students about some vocabulary words, one of which was "volunteer".  He shared with the students that he used to not like to work for free because he knew that his time and energy was valuable, but after working with me and knowing that there are approximately 200 PCVs in country, as well as other U.S. organizations that send volunteers, he had "changed [his] views".  He has been volunteering in my community class that I teach in the evenings and he told his students that he does this because he realized that he wanted to be a part of their learning/education and he was excited to help other people and see them improve
It's funny because I was thinking about this before he had said this in class as I was talking to another PCV because this teacher works for 2 hours each morning teaching English in the Embassy program (7:45-9:45am), teaches in the elementary school for the rest of the morning (10am-12:15pm), the secondary school in the afternoon (1-6pm), and then, he has been helping me in my evening class for 2 hours, 2 days a week (for free!).  I was so thankful for his help and what he brings to the class and I was sharing this with another PCV--I was impressed by his willingness to volunteer and support me in this.  I hadn't asked him to do it, but I had mentioned my new community class in his classroom and he asked me if he could participate, which was awesome.  It even gave me a little chill in class when he said these things about volunteering and it made me realize that just being a volunteer, not a teacher trainer, not an English teacher, not a college graduate, just a plain old volunteer, that’s what motivated him.  Cool.

From this also, one of our students from the Embassy program came to class to help out and share her experience learning English.  I was so impressed by her eagerness to help the students with the exercises and she even taught part of the class.  She also talked to the community members about the importance of English and how they needed to take responsibility for their own learning.  She’s a great student and I wish I could take credit for her, but she really just has a good heart and an unbelievable desire to learn.

These are some things that keep me going when the going gets tough.  When I feel like giving up, packing up my things, and heading home (yes, that thought has entered my mind and any PCV that said they never thought that would be lying), memories like these, “success stories” that fill my glass, make me realize that it’s all going to be okay and that in life, not everything goes our way, and not everyone will listen to our ideas. Having friends (and my boyfriend here and my family back home) to support us through whatever the circumstances may be adds loads of encouragement as well, but it also brings its own twists and turns.  What would life be without its rough spots, without its challenges?  We would be pretty weak and live pretty fluffy lives.  That’s not what we were meant to be or live. 

My experience so far has definitely been a roller coaster ride, but I have learned so much about the culture and people here, and I have learned a lot about myself and who I want to be.  It certainly is life changing and I’m so glad that my service is 2 years and not just one.  Living with my host family has been both incredible and awkward, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  They are my second family and they love me and have included me in all their family gatherings.  I mean I’m the godmother of the first grandson.  How special is that?  I’ve met so many incredible people, host country nationals and other volunteers who have added so much to my adventure.  I am so happy to be here, even though I have to take cold showers and sometimes the power goes out for a couple hours or the water runs out for a couple days, and I have to wait at the bus stop for an hour… It’s all part of the experience. 

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Cultural differences

When I go shopping, I usually like to browse and check things out for myself and wander a little.  I don't like people following me around or asking me tons of questions.  If I need help, I'll ask for it. 

Frank and I went to the fruit & vegetable market the other day and it's so funny because they have about 10 or so stalls with pretty much the exact same thing in each one, maybe 1 different veggie or fruit in a different stall.  Well, we got there and we started looking at things and of course the vendors up front ask you what you want, what can they get for you, etc.  That's nice, but I can see everything and I'd rather just look for what I want and take a few more minutes to process things.  Also, with fruits & veggies I like to look them over and touch them to make sure they're of the quality that I want and not just the cheapest price for whatever they'll give me. 

Apparently I wasn't paying attention to what the guys were saying, but Frank told me later that one of the guys thought we didn't speak Spanish because we were just talking in English to each other (discussing what we wanted and the prices) so he started asking if any of the other guys spoke English.  One of them told him that we indeed speak Spanish, but we would talk to him when we were ready.  Haha  This reminded me of my taxi blog that I just wrote.  It's nice to know they're picking up on the cultural differences.  I hope they didn't think we were being rude, I just don't like to rushed into buying things, especially something I'm going to eat.  Speaking of that, at any little food stand or small restaurant, you really do need to know what you want before you get there and be pushy about it too.  I hate that.  I like to look at what they have and think about what sounds good at that moment and see if it looks like good quality or not.  People get really impatient with that here and the other customers just push me aside and order.  Whatever.  This is why when there's a menu, I like to have ample time to browse so I can decide on what I want.  I just really dislike people who are so pushy about getting you to order quickly without knowing what there is.  Is this just me?  Haha maybe...

Another thing that kinda bugs me here is the ever-changing bus prices, or should I say the ever-changing charges.  It's not that the bus prices are always changing, but the men who work the buses decide to charge you a different price each time trying to get more money.  Ugh.  Sometimes it sucks to be so white. 

Today I was riding the bus and I accidentally gave the guy 10 more Cordobas than what I was supposed to (35 instead of 25 a big difference in price) because I confused myself about the recent price changes and he didn't say anything about it, but just gave me a ticket.  I realized this near the end of the trip and I approached the guy and told him what happened.  He gave me 7 Cordobas back.  I guess I was lucky he gave me anything back, but really, that's not cool.  Then, on the next bus to Boaco (I trust the Boaco buses so much more than the Esteli & Matagalpa ones--northern buses), the girl was collecting money and this time I paid 25 Cordobas (same as what the other bus ride was supposed to be) and the girl gave me 1 Cordoba back.  The official price is supposed to be 24 Cordobas apparently, but I've just been paying 25 because that's what most people usually pay.  I was surprised that she gave me change, but it made me happy that she was being honest and wasn't giving me the gringo price--that sure does get old.  I really hate when they overcharge and try to argue and not give back any change.  It makes me so mad because it makes me feel like I'm being cheap and demanding my (small) change, but it's really the principle that I'm fighting for, not necessarily the money.

I guess I just miss some of the regulations and standards.  I like going to places and seeing the prices posted and not having to guess and ask with hesitation as I know that the quoted prices will surely be too high.  This goes along with bartering in the markets.  Blah.  I wish more things has price tags.  This is not to say that things in the U.S. aren't overpriced, just a standard price that's offered to everyone, no matter who you are, is nice.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Taxi! Taxi!

Taxis here are an interesting story.  They're not bad in our smaller towns, but they can be dangerous in bigger cities, including the capital, Managua.  So, Peace Corps Nicaragua (being so awesome) came up with a taxi system where we can call the office and they call taxis to come pick us up.  These are considered "safe" taxis, either approved by the U.S. Embassy or Peace Corps specifically, all are interviewed, background checks are done, etc.  Anyway, it's a great system, but it does come with its faults.  Today as I was waiting for a taxi (as it sometimes takes awhile for one to arrive), I walked outside of a bus terminal in Managua where I was surrounded by taxi drivers offering me rides, trying to persuade me to take their cab, when all of a sudden a taxi pulls up, parks, and a guy gets out and says (in Spanish), "No, no, no.  All the North Americans have their own taxis," pushing the others away.  Then they started to argue whether I was North American or Canadian--last time I checked Canada was part of North America...  Anyway, it was pretty funny to watch that all go down and then the guy tried making small talk with me, confirming that I did in fact have a taxi already on its way to swoop in and save me from the lurking vultures. 

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Stamps for a laugh

Here is what happened that one time I went to the post office and the lady made me put 16 stamps on a small envelope.  Seriously?

This is the back of the envelope...
Today she gave me 5 stamps for a postcard.  Are you kidding me?  I want to make a formal complaint, but to who???  Apparently you can stack the stamps as long as you can see the value of each.  Well, I used some glue and stacked those babies up.  Mom & Dad, hope the postcard makes it to you :)

Monday, April 9, 2012

I lost my glasses

Today I had to say goodbye to my cherished, ten dollar, super-glued sunglasses.  It was a little sad, but I got as much use out of those things as I possibly could have and super-glued the side pieces on several times even to the point where only one side could fold in and they were awkward to carry in my purse, so they just rode all day on my head if necessary.  Well, today I had to give them up for good.  It was an unusual way to lose my sunglasses, but I wasn't heartbroken because I was distracted with other things. 

The story begins on a bus, as most good stories here do.  I was leaving Frank's and hopped on a pretty full bus, and was left to stand, balancing my bag on the back of a seat while gripping one of the overhead bars.  Finally, the guy working on the bus helped me with my bag--he was annoyed that it was big and that I brought it on the bus because it was a large bus that they put bags underneath, but my bag fit just fine.  Anyway, he put it up and then I was just standing, holding onto the back of a seat.  The bus was really crowded so there were people pressed up against me and I was leaning over a lady sitting in one of the seats.  It usually gets pretty warm in there and in the mornings a lot of people don't open the windows because of the cold breeze.  Ugh!  I hate that because when you're standing it's so hot and stuffy so the cold breeze is necessary.  I was feeling a little woozy so I asked the guy in the seat near me to open his window more and he did thankfully.  I did some deep breathing but I started seeing splotches, felt hot, and my inner ears were plugging.  I started to feel a little better after deep breaths and closing my eyes, but then the swerving of the bus and everything else just did not help.  The splotches were worse and I was leaning over the seat and then I felt my body sort of crumble.  The next thing I knew I was sitting in the bus seat and my glasses had fallen off and a guy who was standing next to me said that they broke, but he handed me the pieces.  I wasn't really in the place to get upset over broken sunglasses nor did I realize that I only had 2 of the 3 pieces of my sunglasses.  Oh well.  I was a little disoriented and as my eyes blinked open and closed, I realized that the guy who was sitting next to the window got out of the seat, the girl slid over, and I was not in her seat.  I would have thanked him right away had I not been so disoriented and confused.  I just sat there slouched in the seat trying to regain consciousness and figure out where exactly we were on the route.  I hoped that we hadn't passed my stop, but figured if I took the bus all the way into Managua I would just call the doctors to have me go into the office anyway.  Fortunately though, we hadn't passed my stop as I recognized some things out the window.  A few tears streamed down my face and that's when I took notice of the broken sunglasses as I was unable to cover my tears.  Bummer.  I'm pretty sure everyone was staring before that anyway, so I guess it wasn't too big of a deal.

After I felt a little better, I got a phone call from Frank which was weird because he was at school, but I told him what happened.  It was nice to hear his voice.  Not too long after that, I saw signs out the window which told me that we were now at my stop.  It's a good thing that the bus always stops at this town because it's a checkpoint and the guy has to run across the street to stamp their card.  I had enough time to pull myself out of the seat, say thank you to the man who gave me a seat, ask another guy to help me with my backpack, and squeeze through the line of people to get off the bus.  It felt good to be off, but I was still not feeling so hot.  So, I headed across the street and bought an apple juice and some bread and chugged some water.  Unfortunately, when I was on the bus and feeling dizzy, my water was out of reach.  Glad to have that back!

The Boaco bus pulled up about 15 minutes later and I got on to see an open seat right up front.  Perfect!  This was extra nice because all the air comes in through the open door (yes, they leave the doors open while driving on the highways).  I pretty much slept the entire way which was nice, but awoke abruptly a couple of times to big gusts of wind sweeping through the bus.  Not the worst thing, but it sorta scared me.  Anyway, I made it back to Boaco and after a lot of people got off the bus in Boaco before my stop, one of the guys working on the bus asked me where I was from in English and I told him.  Then he told me he used to live in Canada and we had a nice little conversation in English and he invited me to come to his restaurant sometime.  Nice people :)

After I got back to my place, I told my host family what happened and of course they were so worried about me, especially that I had been traveling alone.  They all said that I was so lucky that someone didn't rob me.  I hadn't even thought of that, but was sure glad that the people on the bus around me were so generous to help me and not take advantage of me.  I saw a lady come close to passing out on the bus once before and people were very kind to her, but I'm a gringa, so ya never know.  Fortunately though, they were kind to me. 

Well, that's the story of losing my sunglasses.  Bet ya didn't see that coming!

P.S. I threw away the two pieces of my glasses at the bus stop because I determined them beyond repair, considering that the other piece was lost somewhere on the bus...

Grateful

I definitely enjoyed our little vacation, especially getting to spend time with Frank outside of just a whirlwind weekend.  I was very grateful though for yesterday, Easter Sunday, when Frank & I were able to Skype with his family (parents, bros, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents) and my family (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins).  This was really nice to be able to do together.  And even though they did their fair share of bragging about delicious food they were enjoying, it was nice to feel "at home" with our families.  This was really special for me, and Frank too.  I'm really happy that everything worked out to be able to see so many people who we love and miss dearly.  It was the first time for me to see my grandma (Dad's mom) since I had left for Nicaragua almost 20 months ago...wow!  I have been able to call her at home on my Skype phone number over the internet, but it was really special to see her, and I think it was even more special for her.  She'll be celebrating her 80th birthday this Wednesday too :)

Anyway, I sure am thankful for family and friends and it is such a blessing to be able to hear from and see people from back home, especially during the holidays.  Love you all.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Vacation

First of all Happy April and Happy 1 year of dating to Frank & me :)  Yep, it's already been a year!  So crazy, but here it is.  The Holy Week (week before Easter) vacation lined up quite well or us to spend some time together to celebrate both which has been nice.  We were originally planning on going to a beach resort, but with Frank still finishing up his medicine and having to stick to simple foods, we decided we would postpone that til a later date when he's back to normal and can eat to his heart desires :)

So, we decided to head out to La Laguna de Apoyo (a lagoon inside a volcano) to spend a couple days swimming in the lake.  We got there late morning and were eager to go sailing as it was a gorgeous day and very windy, however the manager didn't really want to help us get the catamaran in the water so we said we'd be fine waiting til the next day since we were staying a few nights.  We enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and even saw two other PCVs and hung out with them during the stay.  They were two health PCVs that came in a few months after us.  We shared some food and played cards and had a grand ole time.  It was nice because the hostel has a kitchen so Frank & I made all of our meals there and didn't have to buy the expensive things there.  We had purchased food before and brought it with us.

The next day was really nice as well and we got up a little early to take a dip in the lake before breakfast.  The water was cool and refreshing :)  We hoped that that day would be our sailing day, but unfortunately, there wasn't much wind and the manager of the place kept giving us excuses every time we asked about the boat.  Bummer.  Well, we were on vacation so we were determined to enjoy ourselves so we took the kayaks out and paddled around the lagoon enjoying the nice breeze and the sun setting over the edge of the volcano crater.

The last day we were there, we woke up to another beautiful morning filled with sunshine and a nice breeze off the lake.  We were too tired of dealing with the manager so we decided not to ask about the boat today and just enjoy the rest of the time we had there so we went swimming and played on the floating docks.  After a little while, we packed up, checked out, and caught the bus back up to the highway.


Frank is ALWAYS reading, which is a great hobby.  He loves his Kindle :)


View from our room at the lagoon





Our friends Sarah and Anna 

The second part of our adventure was to Granada.  As we headed back up the volcano’s edge to the highway, the bus stopped a few times to pick people up.  One stop was for a drunk man being kicked out of a “bar” at 11:45am.  They also loaded up his bicycle too.  Not quite sure why they even let drunk people on the buses, but the owner of the bus was very eager to get rid of the guy.  We made it to the top after about 15 minutes or so and we jumped off the bus to walk over to the Granada bus stop.  I glanced back and saw the drunk man lying in the middle of the highway with his bike.  Not sure if he was riding it or just fell over with it.  Fortunately, he made it to the middle lane without getting hit by a car, AND, there were police there doing traffic stops so they were able to go get him and his bicycle and bring them both to the side of the highway. 

After all of that, we got on a microbus to Granada and made our way to our hostel to check in.  Frank had to go to Managua for a quick appointment so we ran and grabbed some lunch for him in the park and then he hopped on a bus while I stayed and got something to eat and relaxed a bit.  While at my restaurant of choice, I saw one of the newer TEFL PCVs that lives in Granada and I shouted her name and she came over.  She’s a sweet lady in her 70’s and fun to chat with.  We sat there for about 45 minutes or so just talking about our experiences and teaching.  It was nice to have someone to talk to since Frank was out of town for a bit.  We then went to the park and sat there and enjoyed the shade of a tree and people watched for awhile.  It was getting a little late in the afternoon, so Sophia decided to head back to her house and I went back to the hostel to catch up on some emails.

Frank finally got back and we had to jump in the pool because it had been such a hot day and I was starting to get a heat rash ugh!  The pool at this hostel is always so cool and refreshing which is such a treat because Granada is one hot city! 

We went out to dinner and found something Frank could enjoy, steak and potatoes.  Those were simple enough, but different than the everyday beans and rice.  I had some quesadillas and a sangria—yum!  We were too tired to watch a movie that night (our usual tradition) so we went to bed to get some good sleep for our next day’s adventure.

The next morning we cooked up some breakfast and caught a bus out to another volcano, but this one was for hiking.  We got to the ranger station at the bottom and found out that you could either walk up the road to the top for free (or probably a small fee or entering the park) or pay for a ride up to the top.  We were told it was only 5km, but another PCV had advised us to take the ride.  We were very glad we paid the $6 for the roundtrip truck ride, even though it was in the truck bed.  This would have been a miserable walk since most of it is very, very steep and there was pretty much no shade the whole way.  We had to wait an hour at the ranger station before the truck left, but that was ok since we had brought our cards and there were picnic tables. 

On the way up, we passed by a family who had left to walk up when we got to the ranger station.  They weren’t quite to the first checkpoint and an hour had already passed.  It was nothing but steep hills after that and lots of HOT sun.  Well, we made it to the top, listened to a little chat about the area, and then hiked around on the trails.  It wasn’t anything strenuous, but there were a lot of steps so it would be difficult for people with knee problems. 

We made it around the volcano crater and took pictures of the beautiful views and flowers.  It was super hot out so we tried to stay under the shady trees and made our way back to the reception area just as a truck was getting ready to go back down the volcano. That worked out perfectly because the next truck wasn’t scheduled to leave until another hour or so. 

As we headed down the hill, we saw the family that I mentioned earlier, almost to the top of the volcano to start their hikes around the top.  That was 3 hours after they had started walking from the bottom.  How miserable!  I hope they had lots of water!  This made us even more thankful that we paid a little extra to not be exhausted and dehydrated.  Also, since we made good time, and we were close to Carazo, we decided to visit Frank’s training host family.  It was really nice to meet them and they were excited to meet me, Frank’s girlfriend.  I met my “Nica mother-in-law” as she referred to herself when she greeted me with a hug and kiss on the cheek.  Nicas make me laugh sometimes. 

Anyway, it was nice visiting them and they must have picked up on our ravished looks and offered us some lunch, which was eagerly accepted.  They were also making these corn treats called “rosquillas” for Holy week and offered us some fresh out of the oven—yum!  Well, we didn’t get to stay too long until it was time to leave so we could catch a bus back to Granada.   I was getting a little stressed and feeling anxious since a few people told us that the last bus already passed, but fortunately, even Nicas don’t know their own bus schedules and we were able to make it back to Granada just fine.  It was getting dark when we got back, but we had time to jump in the pool before going out to dinner.

That night we decided to watch a movie.  It was getting a little late and the movie was long, but we lowered the volume and continued watching.  Someone disturbed our movie night though.  The room we were in shared air space with two other rooms so we heard our fair share of someone’s nightmare.  The walls were about 15 feet high, but the ceiling was probably 20 feet or so, which left open space and a sort of echo.  An older man was in a room across from ours and we think he must have been drinking and having several different dreams or nightmares.  He was quite the sleep-talker/screamer and it actually creeped us out a few times.  Sometimes it was just odd when he was groaning and cursing fairly loudly, sometimes it was funny when he was asking questions and saying random things, but he also had this creepy laugh that you would hear in some kind of horror film right before the guy is gonna kill someone.  I’m glad Frank and I were together and we weren’t watching a horror movie.  Unfortunately, the sleep talking continued throughout the night and woke us up several times.  Frank woke up once thinking that the guy had scaled the walls and was looking at us, which made it real difficult for me to fall asleep after that.  But, we finally got some shut eye.  We’ll make sure to not get one of those rooms next time, although I’m sure that man won’t be there again.

Mombacho Volcano
The hike around the crater


Looking out over the crater to Granada

Top of the volcano
Inside the crater








Looking out over Granada and the little islands
Steam vent


Saw this while waiting for a bus.  It's a usual site, but it was funny because there were some department of transportation workers there, but they didn't have them pull over, just the buses to check paperwork.
Rosquillas (Row-ski-yuhs).  Yummy baked corn treat, although only good when fresh and crunchy--have been described as a milder flavored cheeze-it cracker
Baking in the oven

Making (and eating)
Waiting to be eaten
Well, that was our last day in Granada, so we grabbed some breakfast and played cards by the pool.  It was nice to have some time to just walk around Granada a little a look through the shops.  There were even some recycled material items that kept Frank’s interest for awhile :)  We then grabbed some lunch and decided to catch a bus before it got too late and too crowded. 

The bus ride out of Granada and to the north highway wasn’t too bad, but the buses were super full heading north.  After a bus pulled up, we walked over to the back and tried to see if there would be enough room for us to squeeze in before the guys put our bags on top of the bus.  As I was trying to hand my bag to the guy, another guy climbed up the bus behind me and the zipper of his back pack caught my hair and started taking me with him.  I shouted out and Frank grabbed my hair to pull it back.  This was certainly not pleasant.  The bus guy yelled at the guy who eventually came down a little so they could free my hair.  Ugh.  Not fun.  The worst was over though.  I didn’t even mind that we had to stand the whole way back, I was just thankful my hair didn’t get ripped out and that we made it back to Frank’s in one piece.   The bus guy tried to charge us for our bags (they’ve been doing this a lot lately), but we just said no and walked away.  It’s funny because they usually will say one price and then quickly lower it when we shake our heads and then they usually don’t fight it when we just walk away.  They’re not supposed to charge you for your bags unless you have A LOT of stuff that they have to load and unload, so I really didn’t feel bad about it.  

So, the third part of our vacation is here in Ciudad Dario where Frank lives.  It's pretty chill here and they have a beautiful courtyard and patio that's nice to relax in.  We've been playing cards, watching movies, and just hanging out (oh, and we hand-washed some clothes).  Nothing too exciting, but it's nice just to relax.  There were thunder and lightning the past two nights though, and a little rain really cooled the place down last night which was wonderful.  Now it's just time to soak up the R&R before it's back to the grind...

Flower in the patio

This is Maia--the little girl at Frank's house.  She will be 2 next month and she's so cute.  She definitely weighs less than Dyland.  Remember, he just turned 1 last month...  Anyway, this is an outfit that Frank's mom gave her last year and she can finally fit into it (She was a preemie).