Last day of October

Today is the last day of October and it sure doesn't feel like fall/winter here.  I'll be glad to be back to experience the change of seasons.  Technically here we do have a dry season and a rainy season, but this rainy season has been pretty dry.  The only difference is a slight change in temperature.  It's been a little cooler in the evenings, but during the day it's still pretty hot.  The dry season is almost unbearably hot though.  Well, it should be an interesting transition to winter in the US.  I'm looking forward to it though. 

Last night I went through more things in my room to organize--things to leave in the PC office for other PCVs, things I will send home, things I will take with me, and then trash I guess.  I'm trying to get everything ready to go since I don't have much time left here and Frank's dad is coming to visit next week so I'll be out and about with them :)

I know I will miss Nicaragua and all its peculiarities, but right now I'm just super anxious to move on with things and start a new chapter in my life.  I really hope to return to Nicaragua some day.  It's funny because everyone I say goodbye to says one of two things: "so you're never coming back to Nicaragua" or they ask "when are you coming back to Nicaragua".  Both are sad and kinda awkward, but I always have the same response: "I will come back to Nicaragua someday in the future.  I don't know when, but I will be back." 

Yet another goodbye...

So after rescheduling this dinner about 5 times to make sure all the English teachers in Boaco could make it, only 3 of them showed up tonight.  Oh well.  They were the ones that I was closest with in the teacher trainings anyway, so that's alright with me :)  We had a nice little dinner and they even paid for my meal and gave me gifts!  It was really sweet.

Nicaraguan doll carrying the traditional food "Nacatamales" on her head

Ceramic plate wall hanging

Hallo-what?

So Halloween really isn't celebrated here in Nicaragua.  There is a celebration near Halloween where some people dress up like devils and creatures from myths & legends and have a parade in Masaya, but that's just over there.  The rest of the country is awaiting Christmas and La Purisima (the celebration of the Virgin Mary).  Since Nicas don't really celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving doesn't really pertain to them, the malls are now decked out in Christmas cheer.  I'm sure that many places in the US have Christmas decor out as well since it's pretty typical for people to get a jump on things, but I thought it was pretty crazy to walk into the mall in Managua two weeks ago and see people setting up the giant Christmas tree.  It's weird because this is the third time I've seen the Christmas tree in the mall here... once during training, last year, then now.  I'll be glad to see all the Christmasy stuff back home--I love it all!

Tonight I have a dinner with the English teachers here in Boaco.  I'm not quite sure what they have planned, but it will be neat to get together with them one last time before I have to take off.  They really are nice people and they try hard.  I hope it's not too sad of a goodbye :)

Waiting

So I'm pretty much "checked out" here.  After our COS presentation and this little lake vacation with some goodbyes, I'm pretty much ready to leave.  I'm done with my work stuff so I feel like I'm just kinda waiting around.  I guess I'll use this "extra time" to organize and clean my room and make some big decisions about what goes with me and what stays in Nicaragua.  I feel like I've pretty much gotten that all figured out, but it wouldn't hurt to look again and shave down that list of things that I'll be taking with me. 

Tonight I went to the bank and took out money in dollars for the first time to slowly drain my account and get the money I want to take with me.  Don't really need those cordobas anymore...  I then went to the gas station and bought a hot dog and pringles for dinner.  Can you tell how much I'm itching to leave?? haha 

Last picture at the Laguna this morning

Lake house

So here we are at the Laguna de Apoyo, a popular attraction amongst PCVs and backpackers, but also the wealthier crowd who can afford to stay in nice large houses on the lake.  Well, we rented a big house and 16 of us are here enjoying a mansion on the lake complete with an infinity pool.  It's a nice treat for the end of our service :)  I don't want to bore you too much with my words, but will leave you with some pictures to show how amazing this place is.

Walking down to the house from the road

Beautiful staircase in the entryway with built-in cabinets and desk underneath

Backyard view.  Seriously?!

Infinity pool over the lake

Back of house

Hanging in the pool

Everybody hanging out

Environment group pic

Found the hot springs

I'm (almost) done!

We had our Close of Service (COS) presentations yesterday afternoon and they went really well.  I was a little nervous about ours because I put it together, but I was happy with the way it turned out and everyone else told me that they loved it so I felt good about that :)  It was exciting to be together with everyone, share our successes, and look at pictures from everybody's individual experiences throughout service. 

Frank receiving his completion of service certificate

Me receiving my completion of service certificate

Me with the Country Director of PC Nicaragua

After our presentations, our staff talked about us and presented us with gifts (awesome PC mug, and personalized Nicaraguan passport sleeves).  It was very nice and we even had some dessert before heading off to the Country Director's house for dinner.

Karen, our project specialist talking about us

Donald, our training coordinator talking about us

Frank's project specialist

 

 

Treats!

We took a PC vehicle over to the PC Nicaragua Country Director's house for dinner which is always a good time :)

There were appetizers waiting for us which we scarfed down since we don't get cream cheese dip very often (ok, never).  It was delicious!  Then, we had a nice pasta dinner with salad & garlic bread.  Of course they brought the extra chocolate cake over to eat with vanilla ice cream.  Yum!

Serious Nica faces

We were all pretty exhausted

 The night ended fairly early since we were all so tired from the very long day.  I was glad for that though since this whole week has been exhausting for me and a bit stressful preparing the presentation.  It was a nice night though, and we were all glad to be staying in the hotel with nice AC.

3 weeks left!

Today marks 3 weeks left until we ring the bell and head out on another short adventure before going home.

Final Medical Check-ups

This week I'm in Managua for my final medical appointments for them to check and make sure that I'm good to get out of here next month.  We have three days worth of exams and such.  We also meet with our bosses for exit interviews and paperwork.  It definitely makes everything feel like we're leaving real soon.  I'm just hoping everything goes smoothly so I don't have to do anything extra.  We'll see tomorrow about my lab results.  Here is a picture of what my arm looks like right now with the TB test and post-drawn blood.  Currently, all the PCVs walking around this area in Managua have these markings.  It's kinda funny.

Garage Sale

So, I've been selling a few of my things as I'm approaching my departure date and I'm come to realize a few things about how people buy here.  (First of all, I was encouraged by a Nicaraguan and other PCVs to sell rather than give away so people don't expect other visitors/volunteers just to give things away or always bring things for free).  Ok, so the selling/buying process...

Most people buy things on "credit", which isn't referring to a credit card, but more like "put it on my tab", except when that tab will get paid off, no one knows.  I've been trying not to do that, but my host family is really bad about that because they want to buy everything and then they always claim to not have any money.  Hmmm, maybe you shouldn't buy the things then?  Shopaholics?  I think so. 

Another thing is that they're always asking for more things to buy, like walking in my room and asking me if I'm selling the things hanging up or sitting on my desk, or even my clean laundry hanging out to dry and the sweaty blouse that I'm currently wearing.  Awkward.  Um, no I'm not selling you my clothes off my back.  It's funny because when I say that I'm not buying something, they say, oh well I really like it so that's too bad because I would buy it.  Really, I'm ok with you not buying ALL of my clothes, thanks.  Sorry if I'm being too sarcastic, but I got a little peeved today. 

What's next? Oh yeah, the prices.  The prices are always, dramatically, too high, yet when I don't reduce my astronomically high prices (since I've already reduced them plenty), they buy the stuff anyway.  Ok, obviously the price wasn't as terrible as you made me feel guilty for since you were willing to pay it.

Here's another one for ya.  Drives me crazy.  They love to ask what items can be used for, over and over again.  Ok, if it was something not sold here or something odd looking, I'd be a little more patient, but if somebody asks me what they can do with a glue stick one more time, I might explode.  Hahaha  I hope I don't have a mental breakdown over a glue stick. 

And, back to the money issue.  Something that pushed me over the edge today.  My family is constantly buying things, but surprisingly, they always tell me they never have money (as mentioned above).  Funny how that happens, right?  Well, today I sold a few things to students and such, then brought some stuff home with Melissa and I was telling her about my family and their absurd amount of clothes and how they're always buying clothes and asking me for more clothes.  After Melissa left and I ran an errand, I came back home and here is a lady sitting in our front room selling yet more clothes to my family.  Seriously?  I think they seriously have a clothes addiction.  Anyway, I saw them looking through things and I hung out a bit just to see what the prices were and if they were going to buy anything.  Well, there they were haggling, trying to get the lowest prices.  This poor lady.  I felt so bad because she probably doesn't make much off these clothes and that's most likely her only job, walking around house to house selling whatever clothes she buys in bulk from Managua.  Then, my family, who has money, gives her a hard time for "high" prices.  Ok, I will admit that haggling is a big part of the culture here, but sometimes it just seems harsh.  Anyway, my family picked out their things after awhile and I happened to be there when my sister (who still owed me quite a bit from my clothes) hands the lady a large bill to pay for these clothes.  I was a little surprised.  I thought she would have at least begged her mom to buy her something, but she had the money.  I had to call her out on this one.  I asked "and my money, Ruth?"  She looked a little embarassed, but not very much and said that she had told me before that she would pay me at the end of the month.  Seriously?  It really just made me feel like they were taking advantage of me.  They really do have money, but they want to pay me when it's most convenient for them.  Yeah, it stung.

After all that, my sister came into my room to pay me (I'm pretty sure her husband gave her a hard time and she felt bad) which I think was the right thing for her to do.  After my host mom haggled over prices with me later though, I just lost it and really wanted to leave right then.  I was selling clothes for a few cents over a dollar and the prices were still too "high".  I had to close my door and separate myself from the situation.  Unfortunately, Melissa is dealing with the same things from her host family.  Since they live out in a rural area, they have a little more reason to want lower prices, but they were asking her to just give them everything.  We both have given many things to our families over the past two years, so it's not that we're trying to just get a lot of money out of them.  Really, our prices are very low and we're mainly trying to get rid of our extras, but not just give them away to avoid that expectation that people from the US are extremely rich and will give you whatever you want. 

Sorry about all the venting here, but it just frustrates me a little.  I just don't like feeling taken advantage of.  I know my family loves me and loves having me here, but the matter of buying/selling and anything to do with money is always not fun to deal with. 

400!

Ok, so this post marks my 400th blog.  Crazy!  I gotta find a website or something where I can "publish" my blog to keep forever and ever!  I'm sure it will be fun to read to the kids someday :)

House Hoppin'

Today I got a lot of things done before I had to hop on a bus at 10am to go check out some houses for a new volunteer coming to the Boaco area.  I did my laundry, got the mail, dropped off a report to the superintendent, and then headed out to Camoapa.  I surprised myself at how much I could accomplish in the morning haha  Anyway, I met up with Melissa and we went around Camoapa to check four different houses (well rooms in 4 houses) to see if they met safety regulations from Peace Corps and to see how the family dynamic was.  We decided that one of the houses was a really good fit for a future PCV so we finished and got lunch.  We met up with another PCV who is going to try to help me sell my laptop before I leave--hope that works out!  Then, we came back to Boaco to hang out and sell our extras before we leave Nicaragua.

The house checks was a neat experience because we got to see different living spaces and talk to families to check things out and be all official.  I enjoyed it and meeting the different families.  I hope that the new volunteer will like the house and family we chose because the room is pretty decent in Nicaraguan terms and the family is super sweet.  The lady even gave us all mandarin oranges straight off her tree in the patio :)

Leaving Dario

I had to say goodbye to Frank's family today and wow, goodbyes are hard!  They made a special lunch to have with me before I left and it was nice to sit and chat for awhile.  I can't believe that I already had to say goodbye to them.  They're such a sweet family and I will miss them dearly.  I teared up a bit and we took some pictures quickly before all the waterworks. 

with Frank's host mom

with Maia looking at a book my mom sent

with Carolina (Maia's mom)--she's pregnant with twins & due in March!

all together...so sad to say goodbye (the aunt slipped in for the picture too)

Frank walked me to the bus stop and we were talking about goodbyes and such.  I'm so glad I'll be seeing him on Wednesday for PC stuff so I don't have to be "alone" after that goodbye.  I'm in Boaco now, and I don't know how I'm going to say goodbye to my family... I still have a few more weeks to figure that one out though.