Managua

I came to Managua yesterday to plan a charla and meet with an English teacher--all on "Halloween".  It really didn't feel like Halloween, but I enjoyed the day nonetheless.

I got into Managua, took care of some things in the office, got lunch with some PCVs at the nearby mall & met up with Jasser :)  Then, I met with an English teacher to plan some lessons for the Embassy camp in January--I invited her to the PC office and she was really happy to meet with me--it was pretty cute & she even gave me a little treat bag and a mug.  So sweet!  I then took a nap before my other meeting and headed back over to the office and planned with the tech trainer for English (Donald).  I got out of there after most of the PCVs had already eaten, but my friend Julie went with me to a nearby place that has a good happy hour and we got some fun drinks & had dinner. 

Today was my charla day.  I slept in a little which was wonderful & I was surprised by a nice HOT shower!  Yay :)  I had forgotten what hot even felt like.  I shall never take a hot shower for granted again!  We headed out for our charla and drove through Carazo which is a very green department & full of hydrangeas which are so lovely.  I convinced Donald to pull over on the side of the road where a family was selling flowers & I bought a bouquet of hydrangeas--this made my day!  I was so happy.  I just love fresh flowers & I never get them here.  I can't wait to put them in a vase in my room.  Anyway... we got to the school & met up with the trainees and chatted for awhile.  They're a nice group so I enjoy talking with them.  They just got back from their site visit so they had plenty of stories to share--so fun!  We finally got around to our charla which was "teaching grammar" something I used to dread, but have grown to love.  They also had a little practice teaching experience after where a team of  two planned & did a mini grammar lesson for us and we gave them feedback.  I like this experience because we all get to share ideas and ways to improve our teaching.

We wrapped things up around 5pm, but because of local political rallies, there were no buses running & we had to take some trainees home.  With many roads closed off, we had to drive around and take the long way to get them home & then to get back to Managua.  I settled with McDonald's for dinner, but got a slightly healthier option (grilled chicken sandwich), but still chose fries.  They're just so salty and delicious haha 

I finally got back to the hotel & settled down to enjoy my meal.  P.S. the guys at the hotel helped me get an ice container to hold my flowers & they even cut the stems for me so it'd fit better.  Nice!

I tested the shower tonight, but no hot water so hopefully I'll have better luck in the morning :)  I'm exhausted so it's time for bed!  Back to Boaco tomorrow.