Surprise

Monday I got a nice little surprise...after a few of my classes were canceled and I packed my things for my meeting in Managua for Tuesday morning, guess who showed up at on my doorstep?!  Frank!  He was also going to the meeting in Managua, but had me convinced that he was meeting up with another PCV that night and was busy.  BUT, he came to visit me :)  I was so happy to say the least.  I still had my adults English class that night, but only 2 people showed up and they insisted that I hang out with Frank so they could have more time to study for tonight's class.

We headed to Managua yesterday for our meeting which was for the Peer Support Network (PSN).  The PSN is a group of PCVs that support other PCVs through charlas during training on coping with stress, alcohol awareness, etc.  Also, our phone numbers are available to all PCVs if they need someone to talk to.  We work with the medical officers to assist PCVs in finding accurate information or assistance as well as assist the medical officers in providing support to the PCVs.  It's a great program and I'm glad to now be a part of it--it doesn't hurt that I get to see Frank too ;)

Since the meeting went until the late afternoon, PC had us stay in a hotel in Managua.  This was super fun because it's been awhile since I've stayed in a hotel, and one with hot water!  We hung out with the new PSN members and got to know each other over dinner and drinks.  We really had a great time and I'm glad I got to meet these super fun people!

Today we all woke up and didn't want to leave our air conditioned rooms, but knew the luxury had to end sometime...  We had breakfast at the hotel and parted ways at the bus terminal.  I got home and took another show because of all the sweating I did on the bus.  Yikes!  Then I taught my kids English class.  They always get here so stinkin' early--it drives me crazy! haha  I'm just not used to people arriving early, and then having kids playing around while I'm eating lunch/dinner and getting my things together.  Oh well.  I'm thankful they still come to class :)

Last year today I was in Washington DC for PC staging.  Right now we were going out to dinner with other PCVs--our last American dinner and what some called our "Last supper" :P  Silly, but oh that food still lingers in my taste buds and makes me salivate.  I remember feeling so nervous hoping that I was doing the right thing, making the right decision about moving to a foreign country to 2 years and 3 months.  The people in my group seemed fun so I was thinking that I was in for a good experience.  I was right.

Going down memory lane

This day last year I left my family in Oregon and had arrived in Washington DC, nervous and excited.  I met a couple of people and I had mixed feelings about looking forward to my service as well as uncertainty about what I was getting myself into.  I ate dinner at an Italian restaurant with four other newbies and we made some awkward conversation.  Let's be honest, we were nervous and unsure of things and meeting each other for the first time.  Anyway, it's crazy to think that it's been a whole year since I left my familiar, green, carpet-filled, life in Oregon and I miss it dearly, but I can't believe how fast it's gone by and I still love being here.  In just two days it will be our official 1 year here in Nicaragua.  Can't wait to celebrate with my friends here and reminisce about all the experiences we've had here.  I'll save some of those anecdotes for that day's blog.  Tomorrow the new group of Environment and TEFL trainees arrive in Nicaragua which really makes it more real.  I'm so excited to give some charlas (talks) to the new group and share what I've experienced and learned.  It will be fun to see all their fresh and frightened faces, but also to reassure them that I've survived this long and even though things will be strange, they will be so good too.  Can't wait! 

Surprise Craziness

This morning I laid in bed for quite awhile, drifting in and out of sleep, hitting the snooze at least 15 times, and responding to text messages that disrupted my slumber.  Frank and I were up late chatting and me not being a morning person, needed to make sure I got a solid amount of sleep.  When I finally wandered into the kitchen, Jasser told me that the president was coming to Boaco for a rally.  I got excited because I wanted to see him and take pictures.  Well, he didn't come (just like last time when apparently he was supposed to come), but there was a big parade through the streets which passed in front of our house and I got lots of pictures from that.  It's kind of weird because there were so many kids and young people involved, but I guess this nation has a lot of young people and they are very involved in politics.  I'm not sure if they know what they're "fighting" for, but that happens in the States too.  I think it's just all the excitement of holding a flag, dressing up, and being in a parade.  Anyway, here are some pictures of the parade.  There were TONS of people flooding the streets.

They were hanging up a pinata here.  I think it was of the opposing party's candidate.

Workshop, Party, Fair... A wild Saturday

We had our workshop on materials design yesterday and ten English teachers came.  It was a little smaller, but a lot of teachers take classes on Saturdays or teach on Saturdays, so that was a bummer.  We had a good size group though for what we were doing so it worked out just fine.  Andrea and I did demonstrations on different materials we use for the teaching lessons in our English classes and asked for ideas from the teachers.  Then, we had a workshop for the teachers to make the materials we demonstrated.  We had enough money in our budget to purchase glue sticks, rolls of packing tape, and scissors for them to use, and I brought my HUGE stack of magazines that my family and friends have sent :)  The teachers loved it all!  They had a lot of fun making the materials and we actually couldn't get them to stop.  I had to take away the scissors... haha 

 

There was a fair going on this weekend so we cruised around to check things out after the workshop.

That day I got invited to one of my Embassy program student's birthday party.  My counterpart went with me and we arrived on time, which meant WAY too early!  I sat around for awhile and then talked to Frank on the phone.  He kept me company from afar :)  

Side story: When Andrea and I were going to the place where we were having the workshop, we took all of our supplies out of the taxi and then later realized that we left a lot of poster paper in the taxi (a roll of 40).  We hoped that someone would see it in the backseat and say something to the driver and he would bring it back to our workshop.  Nope.  Well, we remembered what color taxi it was and what style car, so we kept our eyes open for it while we walked around the fair and Boaco later.   We didn't see it. While at the birthday party though, I was sitting inside the house and my counterpart came in and said "Megan, the taxi's here."  I thought he meant there was a taxi to take us home or something, which was weird because the party hadn't really started.  Oh wait, he stopped the little red taxi and the driver said he had my poster paper at his house because he didn't know who it belonged to, but he would drop it off at my house.  I did have to pay him the fair to go to his house to pick them up and then take them to my house, but I was just thankful that he was honest about the whole thing and that we got them back. 

Anyway, back to the party...it was a calm party for Nicas and it was neat because I got to see my students from the Embassy program whom I haven't seen in a few weeks so that was nice.  We chatted and I suggested we practice English but they were all too shy.  They did say some things, but we were at a party, so I didn't bug them too much about it ;)  Because they're in the second level of the program, a different teacher is working with them (not my counterpart).  I've been trying to get ahold of that teacher to see about working with them again, but she hasn't returned my calls, but apparently has been telling the students if they see me to ask me if I'm going to work with them.  Not sure why she won't answer her phone...  Anyway, I'm going to try to go to the class on Friday.  I wanted to meet with the teacher before just showing up as a courtesy, but I guess they know I'm coming.  One of the other reasons why I wanted to talk to her first is that I wanted to see if I could teach on Wednesdays instead of Fridays because I tend to have PC meetings on Fridays and have to go to Managua.  We'll see!  

 

We ate lots of food and cake and drank juice and coca cola.  It was great!  Then, the boys invited me to go to the fair with them, so I said yes.  Hey, they wanted me to hang out with them and I was having fun catching up with them.  They really like asking me questions about English too, so that's fun :)

We met up with Jasser and some of our Nica friends at the fair.  The boys rode the ferris wheel type thing and I went and browsed the items at the fair.  One the way home, I say one of these posters that I like and finally took a picture.

 

"Que Tuani" is a program promoting respect for women and showing young men that they don't have to be macho and disrespect women.  This culture is known for being very "machista", which means male chauvinistic.  This poster says "How cool it is to respect women.  How cool is it to not be macho."  They have a good message and I like that there are people (men included) standing up for the women in this country :)

Starting the morning off right

It's crazy how exercise can change so much about you--attitude, self-esteem, energy, etc.  I'm not a morning person and I surely don't try to hide it.  I usually wake up groggy, walk around with my eyes half shut hoping that morning won't come if I don't let it in.  Eventually though, I give in because the day is coming, and every activity and obligation that comes with it, whether I like it or not.  Now this week has changed, for the better :)  I've been getting up early, before all of my other obligations, and exercising at home.  It has really helped having my host mom working out with me because of the accountability--I don't want to let her down and she's pretty excited about the exercise too.  It's even pretty motivating because she keeps telling me how skinny I am and asks me how I can exercise, walk home from the instituto and run errands around town without being tired.  It makes me feel more confident and not so lazy to hear all that.

Today I have a meeting in Managua--the regional director of PC Central America is in Nicaragua and some of us PCVs have been invited to meet with him.  I'm looking forward to it.  I'm not sure what I might ask him or talk to him about, but I think it will be a cool opportunity to at least hear what he has to say.  Anyway, I worked out this morning with my host mom, took a shower, and I feel ready for the day!  Usually when I'm going to Managua I'm still in a zombie-like phase heading to the bus terminal and I swim in and out of dreams on the way into Managua.  I might still take a nap, but at least I feel good, awake, and happy :)  Here's to starting more mornings off right!

Isn't it ironic

Isn't it ironic that I received this package right in the middle of my exercising???  I was very happy about it though :) A big thanks to my good friend Piah!!

Feeling good

Day four of my exercise routine: it's going well and I'm feeling good.  A little sore, yes, but I'm feeling better about myself.  Frank has also started exercising--doing some exercises at home and running.  It's been fun so far because we've been talking about our exercises together so it's encouraging.  I would like to get into running here, but anyone who knows anything about Boaco, knows that is ridiculous.  There are practically no flat areas here.  Out past my instituto on the highway there is a long, flat stretch of road but that’s 20 minutes from my house and ON the highway so really not that safe.  Kind of a bummer, because I would really like to get back into running.  There’s a race up north in February or something like that and Frank and I might do that together.  I gotta get running somewhere though.  Anyway, this exercising is definitely having a positive effect on me and I’m hoping to keep with it. 

Kids!

I know I already posted today, buuuut, I wanted to share some pictures of my kids English class that I have.  Today another kid showed up, but I'm not quite sure what to do.  I originally set this class to be from ages 7-10, and then the two neighbor girls who originally asked about a class, well one is 6 and the other is 7.  Ok, that was fine.  Then a friend of my host mom brought her 11 year old daughter.  Ok, sure.  So this little boy is standing outside of the house with a backpack on while I'm giving class and I ask him if he's coming in.  He's obviously shy and kind of walks away but then I see his dad's arms and hear his voice prodding him to come inside.  The other kids know him and he didn't look that young, but apparently he's 4.  He said he turns 5 in December.  Hmmm.  I asked him if he knew his phone number because I have collected numbers just in case and he told me "44".  I asked, "That's it?" and he said "yep".  haha  I couldn't help but giggle (I'm still giggling actually).  I thought he was cute and let him stay, but then I soon realized that he can't write so one of the girls was copying some vocabulary into a notebook for him, AND, he can't read, so I'm really not sure why she was copying for him anyway...  This causes some problem because we do things and write things down, not a lot of things, but it's good to write down vocabulary so the students can take their notebooks home and practice with their parents.  Well, I'm just gonna have to think about this.  I told myself that I would give him a couple classes to see how he does and then decide if I need to talk to his parents. 

Besides that, my students are doing really well with remembering words and phrases.  They remembered all of the colors they learned last Thursday.  That's more than I can say for my adult class ha!  No, they're great too, but they don't study :P

Anyway, here are some pictures from today's class.  I drew a picture (and made copies) to have them color things in to practice colors with the names of the colors in English.

Let's Get Physical!

I started back up with my exercise routine this week (yesterday and today so far) and I feel so good!  I walked home from the instituto yesterday and today and I did one of my pilates/aerobics dvds.  My host mom wanted me to join in so I asked her today.  It was pretty funny I have to admit because she isn't very coordinated.  Also, she kept telling me she couldn't feel anything even though I was sweating.  I told her she needed to use her muscles but she was just swinging her arms around.  I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon.  I'll try a different dvd with her tomorrow--more aerobics, less pilates.  I'm going to try to use the accountability of working out with someone else to motivate me.  I have written "work out" in my planner for each day at a reasonable hour and I hope I can keep to it :)  I know I feel better when I exercise, but sometimes I just can't find the motivation, like when I come home exhausted and drenched in sweat already haha  Ok, I'm going to get rid of all the excuses and take better care of myself!  Let's get physical! (Hope that lovely 80's song is stuck in your head all day long)

Peace Corps 50th Anniversary

This past March marked Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary and we've been celebrating the anniversary in different small ways throughout the year.  Because of significant budget cuts, we were not able to have an all-volunteer conference to celebrate, but instead did regional celebrations and invited our counterpart teachers.  This past Saturday was our celebration and I was in charge of organizing it because I am the volunteer rep in Boaco.  One of my sitemates (Liz) was coordinating things with me and we took on a great task.  I was certainly thankful that the "celebration" was finally over, even though I'm still crunching numbers to submit the final budget and writing up a report about it.  The event went really well and the counterpart teachers seemed to have a good time.  I barely ate any lunch at the event because I was so nervous/anxious about everything going smoothly.  We did it though and we got lots of compliments.  I feel good about it.  It's nice to be able to share with host country nationals what Peace Corps really is about.  The counterpart teachers also seemed proud of their work with the PCVs so that was special :)

Frank was here over the weekend so that made some of the stress melt away.  He came over Friday afternoon after dropping his brother and friend off at the airport.  We made tomato basil bisque (it was the canned variety from Costco hehe), garlic butter rolls, and of course Mojitos :)  He was exhausted from the week with visitors and I was exhausted from all my classes so we just relaxed.  We also made choco-bananas for dessert which was fun.  Those are pretty popular here, except they call them choco-bananOs (not sure exactly why they call bananas, bananos…I’ve heard that it has something to do with plantain bananas which are called platanos).

Anyway, Frank and I had a great time together this weekend, catching up—I got to hear some fun stories from the week.  We even played a couple games of cribbage and Frank beat me once.  Yikes!  I gotta practice!  It will be fun when my family comes to visit—maybe we can have a little cribbage tournament haha 

I sent Frank off this afternoon and sweated all the way home in the extreme noon sun.  Fortunately we got some rain a little later and it’s cooled down.  Now I have some work to do to prepare for the week.  I have my lessons planned with my counterparts so that’s good.  I have some things for my adult community class, but I still need to plan for the kids class.  And then there’s the matter of organizing all the information from the celebration (budget, write-up, photos, etc.).  I’m not really stressing though because one of my counterparts will be in Managua for meetings this week so I won’t have those classes to go to.  I have a workshop this Saturday with Andrea, but it’s going to be pretty chill.  We’re going to do some classroom materials demonstrations and give time for teachers to make their own materials.  I’m excited for it :)

Community

My community adult & kids classes have gone well so far.  I'm really enjoying working with my students although they were a little silly this week (both the adults & kids).  I'm glad that I started these classes because I was getting really stressed out at the instituto.  Although I'm still working at the instituto and having to plan more for these classes, it's a good balance.  I also cut a few hours at the instituto to re-work my schedule a little.  I feel very busy now and I have my Fridays free again :)  I was helping out with the embassy class, but my counterpart isn't teaching it this semester--he's taking turns with another teacher and I don't know her.  He didn't have her information but I just got it from a student so I'll probably call her to see about helping her.  I really did like working with those students. 

I didn’t work out “formally” this week, but I still have tomorrow morning which is my day off.  I thought things would be slowing down this month after all the craziness in July, but I have two workshops (one this weekend and then one the next) that I’ve been organizing, which is a TON of work!  Also, I started the two community classes.  However, I feel a lot more productive and happy about my work so that’s less stressful.  I know that once I get these workshops out of the way things will be a little more relaxed.

Today I had my kids class and these kids are punctual!  No, not punctual; they’re EARLY!  I forgot what to do when people arrive early.  Well, I guess it’s a good thing though because I hate wasting time.  They’re good kids and I think they’re having fun.  Two of the little girls that live next door always say “hola profe” to me and today when I got out of a taxi in front of the house they shouted “ya viene la profesora” (here comes the teacher/the teacher’s here) from across the street.  It was pretty cute.  Their mom said they were so excited for class and asked her to “make them pretty” haha  

Well, I’m glad I’m getting into the swing of things and feeling more comfortable teaching English and using Spanish.  I’ve noticed that I talk faster without really thinking, so my Spanish is becoming more natural :)  Makes me feel good!  It’s almost been a year since I first stepped foot here in Nicaragua and I’ve come a long way.  How exciting!

Chill Bumps

Ok, so I didn't work out today, but I did sweat.  Does that count?  I feel like I accomplished enough to say that the day was successful :)  This morning I literally had to drag myself out of bed because I was feeling just oh so comfy and my eyes were not wanting to open.  After I received a couple text messages and peering through one half close eye so to not wake myself entirely (the nerve of those people sending me text before 9am haha), I decided to arise from my slumber and start the day.  I got a slow start, letting the familiar voices of Friends wake me up.  Perfect start to the day if you ask me :)

After fighting off the ants in the kitchen, yes, we have a slight invasion (yuck!), I retreated to my room and started thinking about working out.  That’s the first step.  But then I couldn’t bring myself to actually change and put on the dvd.  Ugh!  Why am I so unmotivated?  Well, I decided to clean and organize my room since that’s what I tend to do when I’m avoiding things hehe

I always feel so refreshed after organizing because I feel like I accomplished something great—my room looks so much better afterwards and I know everything is in its place.  Right now I have a lot of things piling up in my room because of a couple workshops coming up.  I always end up storing everything for those…Also, Jasser has me storing a load of things for the upcoming baptism of baby Dylan.  So, it kinda stresses me out seeing all these things making a mess of my room.  Well, I decided to put all of Jasser’s things under my bed.  They’re in bags and boxes so they should be fine.  Then, I organized all the workshop stuff and put them in bags & boxes.  I went through all my drawers to organize my clothes and sifted through a few things to donate to the free box in the volunteer lounge at the PC office.  I have picked up some great finds there so I figured I could return the favor to someone else.  I will be leaving most of my clothes in that box when I leave. Anyway, I cleaned and organized and I do feel much better.  It still needs some work, but it’s the best I can do for now.  

After all of this work, I headed over to my host uncle’s (one of my cp’s) house to practice English with him.  He had asked me to meet with him once a week.  My aunt made me gallo pinto and coffee during our chat.  While we sat out on the front porch and discussed English grammar, I soaked in the nice breeze on the strangely cool & overcast day.  In my house it’s always HOT HOT HOT.  However, up on the hill, you can feel the breezes as the air sweeps through the house.  Their house isn’t connected to any other house so that keeps it cooler as well.  At one point during our conversation, I started feeling my nose get cold and looked down to see chill bumps on my arm.  I pointed this out to my host uncle and we had a discussion about the different names for these.  What an amazing feeling, being cold here.  It was wonderful.  I haven’t had chill bumps (or goose bumps/skin) in quite awhile.  We didn’t sit out there too much longer because the food was ready.  It made me enjoy my hot coffee even more this time though.