Sweat!

No, I'm not crying and no, I didn't pour water over my head.  It's SWEAT!  Yes, I've just completed week 6 of my exercise routine and I'm still sweating TONS but feeling better and super motivated.  I said I completed this week because we're leaving early tomorrow morning to go on vacation and I probably won't have time to squeeze in a formal workout, but I have already worked out 5 times this week so I feel great!

I found some workout programs on the internet that are so fun and make me sweat so much, partially because it's about 95 degrees here, but they're also awesome workouts!  If you wanna check them out, go on youtube and type "Tiffany Rothe workouts".  She has a bunch of different ones to choose from.  A lot of them are about 10 minutes long and you can repeat them or mix and match with others to build a 20, 30 or 40 minute work out, whatever you want to do.  I've been enjoying them so far and I found out that she speaks Spanish too and has some videos in Spanish so I did some of those too for fun.  Exercising can be fun and I definitely feel stronger and fitter.

I challenge YOU to get to it.  Go SWEAT!

Volunteerism

Yesterday I found out something neat about the Access teacher (Edwin) whom I work with (who also helps me with my community class).  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 has "changed [his] views".  As I have mentioned before, he has been volunteering in my community class that I teach in the evenings  (co-teaching with me and helping students) and he told his Access students that he does this because he realized that he wanted to be a part of the students' learning/education and he was excited to help other people and see them improve. 

I was so glad to hear this after writing that other blog post before about what a great help he was and how I was so surprised that he was volunteering to help me without pay when he was so busy with so many other things.  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 it in class and he asked me if he could participate, which was awesome! 

Also, one of our Access students came to the community class Monday night to help out & I was very impressed by her.  She was eager to help the students with the exercises and even taught a part of the class.  She also talked to them about the importance of English and how they need to take responsibility for their own learning--this is our star student (I wish I could take credit for her haha). 

Anyway, I was happy to hear what Edwin had to share in class and it made me realize that just my job of being a volunteer really means a lot.  

Sick baby swimming

**Warning to those who have weak stomachs**

Today was quite boring in the morning.  My counterparts were both out of school so I didn't have class, but being at home wasn't much fun either because the power went out and we didn't have any water!  Double ugh!  I remember about this time last year when we were lacking water and it is not fun.  Well, this afternoon, Ruth suggested that we go to the hot springs place that has pools with warm water and we finally convinced my host mom to go after getting our cousin to agree to take us in his taxi.  Well, right before the cousin showed up, Dyland had a little diaper explosion that smelled real bad, and then he threw up his lunch.  Apparently Ruth gave him too much food, which really doesn't surprise me--have you noticed how big that child is?!  Well, we still decided to go even though Dyland looked a little weary.  He sat on my lap and was pretty sleepy the whole ride.  Ruth had him because he got a little fussy and he threw up a little more.  Bummer.  We continued on to the hot springs and got all ready. 

Dyland looked excited to see water and was eager to get in.  I took him around in the pool a little and then Ruth joined in too.  He was completely fine in the pool and flapped his arms around slapping the water.  It was pretty cute.  After we had played for about an hour and a half or so, they took him out to change him and my host mom sat with him and gave him a bottle of milk--mistake!  He pretty much drank it all, then pretty much threw it all up--not all of it though, he saved the rest for the car ride home.  Yep, more throwing up in the car, a lot of throwing up in the car.  Thankfully for our cousin, he just threw up all over Ruth and we had a large towel from swimming to catch the rest.  I did not get any of the shrapnel, but I did help catch some in the towel and clean up as much as I could.  Poor little guy.  Hope he feels better!

We got home and I checked the faucets for water but there wasn't any, and then I remembered the spigot in the kitchen and checked that for water.  YES!  Water!  So we quickly filled up some buckets and then let the rest rise up to the roof to fill our pila.  Hopefully we'll be back to washing hands and dishes like normal by tomorrow :)

Here are some pictures of the little guy enjoying the water in between sick fits.

 

P.S.  I was holding Dyland this evening while Ruth got some things ready and we gave him a bottle of rehydration salts in water and he was really calm and almost fell asleep.  He almost finished the bottle, then he threw it all up on me, then all over the floor next.  It's a good thing it was just water, sugar, and salt, and then also that they have tile floors :)

Perfect Timing

Today I had to leave Frank's, something I really hate doing especially because of the dreaded 3 (or more) hour bus ride.  Well today I decided to leave a little earlier than normal because the buses in the afternoon tend to get a little sporadic.  I hopped on a bus that was heading to Managua and enjoyed the nice breeze and semi-cooler weather as we left the mountains and headed south.  The ride didn't seemed like it was going pretty quickly, but I was caught off guard when I looked at a roadsign to see where we were and realized that we'd be arriving at the Boaco junction in a couple minutes.  It took just about 50 minutes to get there and this trip usually takes an hour and 15 minutes! 

I got off the bus I waited a couple minutes there and hoped that I would be able to catch an earlier bus than anticipated now that I was there about 30 minutes before the one I had hoped to catch.  Well, sure enough, a Boaco bus pulled up and I got on that one.  Unfortunately I didn't get a seat right away like the previous one, but I squeezed through the crowd and a man offered to hold my flowers (that were in a nalgene water bottle) while I put my backpack in the overhead rack. 

Not more than 20 minutes passed by of me holding onto a bar and balancing my bottle of flowers before an older man offered me his seat as he was going to get off soon.  I was very thankful for that and I could also then enjoy the bag of mango strips that I had just bought.  This bus also got us back to Boaco on time and my total trip time was 2 hours and 15 minutes.  This is extremely unusual because of the inconsistent schedule of Boaco buses, especially in the afternoons, and even more on Sundays.

From Boaco to the junction to go north, the bus ride is 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Then once I'm there, I have to wait for a bus going north to Esteli or Matagalpa (both pass through Frank's site) and those pass by about every 15 minutes (lucky for him!).  Then from the junction to Frank's site, it's about an hour and 15 minutes again.  So, if you hit it right and don't have to wait for a bus, you can make it there in 2 1/2 hours.  Getting back to Boaco is usually a little longer because I usually have to wait at the junction for about 30 minutes (and sometimes an hour!).  I usually give myself 3 hours for the trip so today was a miracle.  I called Frank at the junction to tell him I was already there and he was surprised and then I called him when I got home to share the record-breaking news.  Incredible!  I guess I'll have to try catching that bus more often!

Passing the time

Frank is so lucky.  About twice a month or so, this girl cleans his room, his bathroom, sweeps, and even does his laundry!  She's so great!  It's a good thing too because he lets his room get pretty dirty...  This girl is awesome!  She even cleaned the toilet today and washed all of his dirty clothes (even the ones that were just lying around on the floor).  Wow, she is amazing.  Ok, have you found out that "this girl" is me, yet, or should I throw in a couple more sweet adjectives?  So, Frank has been in Managua today for appointments (I hope this is almost over for his sanity and mine) and he promised me he wouldn't have to stay overnight and would be back to Dario tonight.  He's on his way, just late.

When I was on my way over I was thinking, what am I going to do with my time while I'm there.  Well, I did plan to Skype with a friend in the late afternoon so then he would probably get home shortly after that.  Hmmm, when I opened the door to Frank's room and saw a fairly dirty floor, books strewn about, and clothing lying where he must have changed, I knew my time would not be wasted.  I cleaned up the clothes and books, then asked his family for the broom and cleared out all the dust--these tile floors sure get dusty! As I was finishing sweeping, Frank's host mom comes to the door with a small bag of bleach and hands it to me.  She said she'd be back with a toilet brush so I could clean the toilet too, since she has back problems now and can't clean it--wait, his host mom has been cleaning his toilet?  Yeah, she sneaks in and cleans his room when he's gone for the weekend sometimes too.  So, I took the supplies and got to work.  While I was in the bathroom I realized that his dirty clothes basket was almost full.  Really?  Didn't I just wash all your clothes in my laundry machine last weekend??  I decided to take those out and let them soak while I tried taking a short nap in the hammock.

I was startled awake by Skype ringing, but it was too early for my Skype date, so I was confused.  It was another friend whom I had called earlier today and had left her a message.  So, we chatted for about a half an hour which was nice to catch up and then my stomach was growling since a pb&j doesn't quite fill the belly, so I had to get going.  Also, my Skype date was quickly approaching and I realized I still had laundry to do.  I did a couple clothing items and then it was time to chat with my bestie from home--Laura.  I was really excited to see her and her baby who is a little over 2 months old.  So sad I can't be there with them and play, but it sure is nice to have Skype. We got some good chatting in and then it was time for the baby to nap and for me to finish laundry (hand-washing of course).

Frank was not having much luck in Managua between taxis and waiting for people everywhere he went.  Poor guy.  So, he called me at about 5:45pm and told me he finally got on a bus, which means he wouldn't be here until 7:30pm or so.  Yikes!  Well, I had all the laundry done and I was starving again.  I don't know why those two spoonfuls of peanut butter didn't curb my hunger for long.  I had to get something to eat, but I wanted to wait for Frank because I knew he'd be so hungry by the time he got back.  Considering he is not supposed to be eating anything wild right now, only simple foods, I just decided to buy some things from the local eatery instead of whipping up something fancy (since I'm so good at that anyway).  I bought some plates of food so we definitely had something to eat when he finally got home and stored them in the fridge awaiting his arrival.

Oh, I can't wait for Frank to get better and to be able to eat whatever he wants, which means I then can eat anything I want around him and then we'll be so happy again! haha Really I just want him to get better because he's pretty sick and frustrated with it all and who likes to be around a grumpy person all day anyhow?  Ok, I'm just kidding.  I love him, even though sometimes he's a bit whiny, but hey, aren't we all sometimes?  :)

So, I had dinner hot and ready when Frank came home and just look at what he picked up for me in Managua!  What a sweetheart :)

With a little help from my friend

I just got back from my 2nd community night class and it went really well.  The students are catching on quickly and they are doing a good job of getting up and practicing dialogues and such.  I was very impressed.  Also, the teacher who works for the Access program here in Boaco, Edwin, came to my class and co-taught with me.  He really livened things up--he always has so much energy and is so fun to work with.  It kinda made me realize that I was probably putting the students to sleep :(  BUT, it's a good thing he was there because we got to work together and I appreciated the help and I'm sure the students enjoy the different perspectives.  I think it's also great for them to see a Nica speaking English fluently.  He still makes errors and such, but he is confident and so positive.  It's great!  That really brightened my evening and I'm so thankful for him.

Edwin was already talking about plans for Monday so I'm looking forward to working with him more in this class.  I'm surprised he wants to do the class with me because it's completely voluntary and he already works all day teaching elementary students in the morning and high school students in the afternoon (til 6pm), so he's got to be exhausted.  He sure doesn't ever look like it though!  He is only 24 though so maybe that's why.  It's pretty fun having a counterpart teacher my age and he's so open to new things and he's excited to learn.  I'm glad that he teaches me things too and that he's a good friend--where would we be without our friends (and family, of course)?

Money Money Money Money

Apparently the bus fares rose in price this past Saturday, but I just found out today because 1: it's Nicaragua and news often travels slowly and there's a lot of misinformation, and 2: because I haven't been on a bus this week (besides the school bus but that's free for teachers).  Anyway, the ministry of transportation approved a 10% increase, but the bus drivers and their associations took it upon themselves to make that 15%+.  Well, isn't that nice.  I do realize that gas prices are rising as well and that an increase in fares is a fair thing to do, but they are increasing the prices way too much to support clientele.  Buses are cheap here, BUT, if you take them everyday for work, buying food, etc. AND if you have a very lowing pay job (if you have a job), then it gets expensive.  The price that I usually pay to go to Managua is c$30 (approximately $1.30), which is not too bad, but the price was just raised to c$40 (approx. $1.74).  That extra c$10 can buy someone many things that they will now miss out on, such as: a pound of beans/rice, a taxi ride anywhere in town, 3 eggs, 10 tortillas...you get the point.  It seems very small at first, but in reality, that's huge for a family (or a single) here. 

I'm certainly glad I walked to and from school this morning instead of spending c$10 to get there and c$10 to get home.  I didn't even know about the price change this morning though, but I'm sure glad I decided to not be lazy today!  It's unfortunate though because some days I actually have to take a taxi in order to get from one school to the other on time.  Well, I'm going to try my best to walk to and from school when I can and take the free bus if possible (I usually do in the mornings when I have class).