Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Feelin' fruity?

Nica fruits are something else.  There's such an interesting variety.  Today my choice of fruit is more traditional than strange, but different nonetheless: apple bananas.  These are small bananas that taste like bananas with a  hint of apple.  They're delicious and the perfect size for a snack.  I also bought some mandarin oranges today which are in season now & they're huge!


Monday, January 30, 2012

Pop-tart Burn

As I got distracted by my computer, as I usually do, I started smelling something delicious from the kitchen and then realized it was my Pop-tarts that I put in before I got online and knew I would forget about, that must be burning...  I jumped up, ran to the kitchen and it was a little brown, but not too charred.  I unplugged the toaster and then used a knife to get them out so I wouldn't burn myself.  Then as I moved them on the plate, my finger stuck to the sizzling icing and burned my finger!  Ugh!  That icing is HOT!  Even though I ran my finger under cool water and put some burn relief gel on it, it still looks like a semi-blister is forming.  Seriously, Pop-tarts, seriously?! 

My morning wasn't all bad though.  I went to the instituto (after waiting for the bus for an hour that never showed up and standing amongst a drunkard fight) for the first day of school for teachers.  It was nice to see all the teachers I knew from last year and do the usual greetings.  We started the meeting an hour after it was supposed to, no surprise there.  I walked home after (nice exercise) and got some mail from friends (one from Peru).  That was nice :)  Then I started planning trips with Frank--can you tell I'm excited for school to start?? haha 

Today is pretty dreary and I've been hanging out inside just trying to keep busy.  I think I might take a nap though--this weather makes me so tired & I did get up early for that meeting this morning.  Hey, the rest of my town is sleeping at this time of the day...

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Back just in time

I'm back in Boaco again, but I really haven't been in Boaco much this month.  My "summer vacation" went by pretty quickly as it was filled with camps and such.  I have a feeling that the next 9 1/2 months that I have left here in Nicaragua will probably go by pretty quickly too, considering I will be busy with school, visiting the last few places I haven't seen, and planning for things back home. 

February is just about here and that means a new school year for Nicaragua.  Here we go again...  I'm a little apprehensive about the new school year for a couple of reasons, but I'm trying to be optimistic.  I just hope that I can figure out what would be best for me to do and try to accomplish something here.  A whole new school year brings a whole lot of room for opportunities to improve :)

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Meetings & Entertainment

Today our counterpart teachers left and it's our last night for our Peace Corps retreat.  I'm sad we have to leave this beautiful place, especially because the food here is AWESOME!  We had some great meetings and sharing time.  The new TEFL group came today and joined us as our counterparts left for their homes.  Tonight we had a fun barbeque dinner: hamburgers, hotdogs, campfire, and roasted marshmallows :)  We also had a little "entertainment night" tonight.  A couple of us who have been working at camps the past month or two wanted to continue on with the talent shows and show off some fun skits, so I had our trainer send out a text and then I made a few announcement to encourage people to participate.  Some were skeptical, but it turned out to be a great night.  We had skits, songs, guitar performances, a story, and other acts such as a contest to hold your breath the longest.  It was pretty funny and special.  I was glad that I was that annoying person pushing people to sign up and urging ones to come and watch.  I'm pretty almost everyone was there watching and quite a few people participated.  I announced at the end that this was the "First Annual TEFL Talent Show", emphasizing "annual" so that the new PCVs will hopefully continue with this to make it a tradition.  It was a nice bonding time and just an evening to share a laugh and relax.  Glad it happened :)

Monday, January 23, 2012

On the road again...

Yep, I got back on a bus today and headed out for my mid service training with Peace Corps.  We're a little past mid-service, but our meeting is always in January.  We are up north in a beautiful place called Selva Negra.  It's kind of jungle-ish and very cold this time of year.  We went on a short hike to check out the area and had a little session to make sure everyone knew everyone (counterpart teachers).  Our dinner was big & delicious and now I'm indulging in a piece of chocolate cake that is way too big for one person, and sipping coffee much later than I should be putting caffeine into my body.  Oh well :)  Life is too short to not indulge once in a while... 




Hey, if you're sitting there thinking of making me feel guilty, remember I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer living in third world country with no hot water and toilets that can't handle toilet paper.  I deserve the cake ;)

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Free

Free to do what I want.  That's how I felt tonight.  I got to stay in Managua thanks to our boss who sympathized with us exhausted PCVs (especially Monica & me working at 2 camps in a row).  I was wanting to get back home since I have to leave for meetings Monday, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity to just hang out and relax with my friends without any other obligations.  It makes for a better transition from camp to "home". 

We all just crashed when we got back to the hotel & I took a shower (not hot, but freezing, and it was a clean bathroom).  Then we had some snacks & went out for drinks.  We ended up getting appetizers for dinner and just hanging out at the restaurant and then going to another bar near the hotel.  It was so fun talking, sharing funny moments from camp & other things, and just being free to do what we wanted and chill.  I really missed Frank though.  It was nice hanging out with my TEFL PCVs, but it would have been nice to have Frank there too--especially because two of the guys in our group were there & Frank likes to hang out with them too.  Well, after our PC meetings this next week we might all hang out in Matagalpa so that will be fun. 

Tonight was a blast.  Super thankful for the "mental health break"  :)

Camp 2 done!

We finished up camp today which was such a relief!  This camp was fun in its own way, but I liked the first camp a lot more.  This was felt more like classes and not camp, but I still got to hang out with other PCVs which was cool.  I felt bad because a lot of the kids were not having a super time, but were just excited to see their friends and spend time together.  They didn't really like the idea of speaking English all the time together and it didn't help that we were sucking all the fun out of it by constantly reminding them to speak English haha  Oh well.

We're done now so we don't have to worry about that anymore, but one thing really bummed me out.  Someone took my camera case out of my bag so now I don't have a camera case.  We made several announcements that it was missing and I even told the kids that if they had it they could leave it in one of the bathrooms, but nobody turned it in :(  What was really weird about it was that I had my camera in its case, along with an extra memory card & a memory card reader, all in my teaching bag in my classroom.  I was gone for about 20 minutes during break, and someone had gone in the room and taken my camera, card, and card reader out of the case, put them back in my teaching bag, but took the camera case.  Not sure why they really wanted the case and didn't take the valuable items, but I guess I'm lucky in that sense.  It's a bummer that those things happen, but I guess I gotta be more careful.  It was just strange--my laptop was sitting there too. 

I won't worry too much about it because it really wasn't that expensive & can be easily replaced.  Monica needs a new camera case too so we're gonna go shopping together.  Up in Matagalpa they have this place that sells purses, glasses & wallet folds from neat fabrics that some Nica women make so we might go there.  We'll see!  Anyway, we'll be going to our Peace Corps meeting Monday up north and I'm excited to see everyone and hang out.  It should be fun.  Hopefully it will be a little more relaxing than camp haha 

Friday, January 20, 2012

Movies

The kids here are tired.  They have so many classes throughout the day all in English and it's exhausting!  Yesterday we played some large group games after lunch & it was awesome!  The kids were into the games and laughing.  It was so fun to see.  Then, we loaded them onto two buses and we headed out to our surprise activity (movie theater).  They were so excited.  Most of them had never been to a movie theater--can you imagine never having gone to a movie theater until you were a junior or senior in high school?  The only two places where you can go to a movie theater in Nicaragua are in Managua (the capital city) and Leon (a touristy/college town) and it's expensive.  So, this was a neat trip to take the kids on.  We all had a great time and watched "Johnny English" (Mr. Bean movie) in English with Spanish subtitles and ate some popcorn and treats :) 

The kids did a great job staying in line, keeping quiet in the theater (we threatened to take away their phones if we saw any lights in there haha), and the bus ride went well too.  I was impressed.  Taking 100 kids to a movie theater sounded a little scary, but we did it.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Behavior Issues

So I did get more sleep last night, but these kids aren't behaving so great.  More and more of them aren't following directions, being disrespectful, sneaking into rooms where they shouldn't be, etc.  They are supposed to be using English at all times at camp (we can't control them in their dorms though), but a lot of them don't and even when we remind them they just say "yeah ok teacher".  Super frustrating!!  There are some great kids; don't get me wrong.  However, a lot of them are lying about feeling sick and sneaking off.  We tell them to go back to their rooms and they just stare at us, put their hand up (1 minute or wait), or keep walking.  It's driving me crazy.  It's a losing battle.  There's only so much we can do and the kids are just not behaving as well as I would have expected for this camp.  I know that they aren't having as much fun at this camp because it's a lot of work and heavy classes, but they knew what it was as it is called "English Intensive Camp".  I get really frustrated when the kids don't listen or wait for you to turn around and then continue what they weren't supposed to be doing.  I keep checking outside for wandering girls because I keep hearing doors opening and closing.  "Lights out" was almost an hour ago...  I still hear chatting, but it's time for me to get some sleep.  I can't stay up all night waiting for someone to sneak out.  They have to make their own mistakes and live with the consequences. 

Tomorrow we are doing a fun, surprise activity for the kids: going to the movie theater in Managua.  It will be the first time for a lot of kids to go to a movie theater so that will be neat.  I hope that they will behave better!

Sleep!

Oh, thank the Lord, I got some sleep last night!!  We finished the movie last night around 8:30pm that we had started the other night with the students and quickly moved them all toward their rooms.  During our staff meeting we had to tell several of them to go back to their rooms, but they all got there eventually.  My roommate (other PCV, Monica) and I got to bed before 10pm and didn't have much trouble keeping the girls in their rooms or keeping quiet. Yay!!  We kept the fan on to cool down the room & cut out the outside noise and slept peacefully until 6:15am and even hit the snooze for an extra 5 minutes :)  It was sooooo nice!  Hope we can do that again!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Early Morning

Today was a very early morning--it still is actually.  I'm at camp for high school students right now and these Nica high schoolers are nothing like American high schoolers when it comes to morning routines...  They are not the kind to roll out of bed and into the classroom.  These kids get up WAY too early to take a cold shower before the sun rises in the chilly morning.  So the rule for camp mornings is supposed to be lights out until at the earliest 5:30am (for 6:45am breakfast).  Well, I woke up at 4am this morning, not because I was feeling cheery, but because the girls were already awake, chatting, and running to the showers.  4AM!!!!????  I had to get up to tell them to be quiet, turn their lights off, and to not take showers in the boys bathroom. 

The way the rooms & bathrooms are set up is kind of weird, but basically there are 2 dorm style rooms for the boys (17 & 18 boys in each room) and they have bathrooms next door to their rooms, but only toilets & sinks.  Their showers are actually over near one set of the girls' rooms, which happens to be right next to my room so I got a lot of noise this morning.  The girls in my section (2 rows) have to walk over to the other girls section (which really isn't too far) to use the girls' bathroom with showers.  Well, some girls thought since they were up at 4am it would be ok to take a shower in there since there were no boys, but ya never know who might be roaming around that early so I had to kick them out.

Well, I'm definitely NOT a morning person, as most of you know.  I set my alarm for 6am since breakfast starts at 6:45am and we just have to walk about 50ft to the cafeteria.  However, I've been up since 4am and haven't been able to get back to sleep through the giggles, morning chatting, and shower line yelling.  The boys are lined up outside the showers and the counselors are reminding them to take quick showers.  I can't even stand the thought of taking a cold shower this early since I'm almost shivering just sitting outside with my computer in jeans & a sweater.  Yikes! 

Well, let's hope I can get to bed much earlier tonight (and maybe take a nap during midday break??) because I'm going to be tired today! I considered just locking the doors to the bathrooms and not letting anyone in until 5:30 or even 6am, but there probably would have been a lot of whining. ;)  I really wish I had brought my earplugs to camp...

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Camp: 1 down 1 more to go

So I made it through the first camp with English teachers and I actually had a great time.  I was soooooo exhausted throughout the camp and ready to crash at the end, but I made it through.  I got to know a lot of awesome English teachers from all over Nicaragua which was super cool.  I was very impressed by their English levels too.  They were a fun a group to work with. 







My reading group for the week
Being silly!
Camp Staff (4 girls on bottom are all PCVs)
Being silly again
We had a great time at camp and now I'm at my second camp for high school students that are in the ACCESS program--the English program I've been teaching culture with in Boaco, but this is for students all over Nicaragua.  The students arrive tomorrow so we're just here preparing everything.  I did get a little rest this weekend, but Frank was visiting so we were talking a lot and I had to help him with a craft project he needed to make for a dinner in his town.  It actually turned out really nice.  It's a picture frame made from cardboard and rolled up magazine pages. 


Well, here's to another week of camp!  Please Lord, give me strength :)

Friday, January 6, 2012

Camps

Although January is my "vacation", I'm going to be pretty busy this month.  I leave tomorrow morning for a camp for English teachers.  I'll be teaching a class on gender roles & relationships and a workshop on materials design.  I'm excited for the camp, but I know it's going to be exhausting.  After that camp, I'll have a day and a half off, then it's off to another camp, but for high school students.  I'll be teaching a variety of topics such as grammar, oral presentation, writing, etc. all in English.  I'm looking forward to that camp too, but I'm not as prepared for it because the camp details were sent out a little late and most of us were out of the country during December.  Now I have this other camp, so I'm gonna try to "prep" during the evenings if possible.  We'll see.  After the second camp, I'll have a day off and then I'm off to meetings with Peace Corps.  That won't actually be too exhausting because I won't be up front blabbing, but I'll be listening and participating in small group things.  I'm really excited for that because we get to see all the TEFL PCVs (the newer group & everybody in my group) and we'll be bringing one of our counterpart teachers.  Should be a good time :) 

I have a little anxiety thinking about the next few weeks to come, but I know I will enjoy myself and look back and be glad that I volunteered and participated in the camps.  Please pray for me for strength, a positive attitude, confidence, and good health--camps are physically exhausting too!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Christmas in January

One nice thing about not being in Nicaragua over Christmas is coming back to Christmas mail and gifts to exchange :)  I picked up several Christmas cards from friends and family which will now decorate my wall (thank you to all those who sent cards & pics!!) & Jasser and I exchanged gifts after I got back into Boaco.  I gave him a red scarf (per his request) and he gave me a mug with a picture of him & me on it that says "Brothers Forever"--translation from Spanish because their word for siblings is "hermanos" which can be used for boys & girls.  Anyway, I found it endearing.  It was a really sweet gift--something I can hold on to for a long time :) 

We later visited my aunt here and I took a little treat to her house: chocolate covered cherries from the States--yum!  I also greeted several "family" here and they were all glad to see me, and me of them.  It's nice to be back.  I really gotta soak up these last 10 1/2 months before I have to leave this beautiful place.  Time is going by fast!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Back in Nicaragua

It was so nice being back in the US and getting to meet Frank's extended family and see some new places, but all things must end some time...

The two week trip was so great and didn't go by too fast, but now I'm already back in Nicaragua and it's 2012--crazy!!  We started out our trip with family things including finding a Christmas tree, decorating, and dinners.  It was really special for me to be included in all of this.  Then, Frank &I ventured out to DC & Arlington on our own so he could show me around.  We even had a little date night & went out to dinner & a movie--so fun :)  And, for the last part of our trip, Frank's parents took Frank & me with them to Colonial Williamsburg to celebrate New Years (we met up with Frank's aunt & uncle there too).  That was a really neat trip full of fun, new experiences and delicious food.  Our last night in Maryland was spent with family--we sat around the lit Christmas tree and chatted, ate a delicious meal together, played cribbage, and ate ice cream while watching one of Frank's (and his dad's) favorite shows, "Jeeves and Wooster".

Although I didn't want it to end, I knew we would have to come back sometime.  I do love Nicaragua and I'm excited for this new year, but it's going to be hard to get back into the swing of things after that wonderful time of home comfort... such as hot showers & being able to flush the toilet paper haha  After 2 weeks of pure English, I was still able to whip back into Spanish, so that's good.  Upon arriving in Nicaragua though, Frank & I weren't quite ready to hop on a bus back to our towns so we got a taxi to ease us into Nica culture haha  We had a lot of bags too so it just made more sense ;)

I'll be posting pictures on my Facebook, because there are way too many to put on here & the internet is a lot slower here than it was in the US when I posted my last blog.  But, here are a couple to get you through.

Christmas Church tour in downtown Frederick, Maryland:






Frank's youngest brother's (Robert) birthday:





Arlington & DC:

Tomb of the Unknowns



U.S. Capitol
National Christmas Tree
Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia:

Governor's Palace
Writing with a quill pen
Carriage ride around town :)
Troublemakers...