A few recent Nicaragua cultural highlights.
On having friends everywhere.
One of the only advantages to looking different from everyone else is that people tend to remember you. Rachelle and I headed back to a local beach on Sunday for some delicious fish and a day in the sun. The transgender restaurant owner we met one time, six weeks ago, exclaims excitedly over our arrival, kisses us on the cheeks and proceeds to treat us with VIP service the entire time we are there. This has happened to me several other times and I LOVE the feeling of having friends in different parts of the city and region. I have to say the lady who works at the ice cream place around the corner from my house probably knows me the best though...
On the negative of being a tourist.
People like to overcharge you for things. A lot. On the bus to the beach, Rachelle and I were joined by a group of Peace Corps volunteers who are living in nearby areas. We enjoyed chatting with them about our very different experiences, one of these being that they are barely allowed to leave the areas where they are in training. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember how much the bus was and the driver took that opportune moment to overcharge all of us. GRRR. Rachelle and I were somewhat frustrated and later blamed the Peace Corps volunteers for being six people and talking so loudly in English on the bus! Not a big deal though in the scheme of things.
On food that is common.
Helado in Spanish literally translates to ice cream, but in its most common use refers to a snack that we enjoy almost every afternoon at the orphanage and that I have come to love. Helado is milk mixed with a little sugar and cinnamon and some other ingredient, like chunks of coconut, frozen in a small plastic sandwich bag. You bite off the corner of the bag and suck out the slushy deliciousness as it melts, then chew up the coconut and eat it. YUM.
On food that is not common.
Peanut butter is a main staple of my diet at home and the only food I have really been missing. After seven weeks of dreaming about peanut butter, and not having any, this week it miraculously appeared in the local supermarket. Let's just say that I am currently in peanut butter heaven and will refrain from sharing the rate at which I am consuming it....
On danger in the showers.
I thought that the water completely stopping in the middle of your shower was the worst thing that could happen in that area, until I accidentally touched one of the wires that heats the water in the showers with electricity. While the water was running.
On the danger of walking.
It is utterly and completely imperative in Nicaragua to watch where you are walking, at all times. Not only is there horse poop in the streets and giant cockroaches on the kitchen floor, but there are giant holes in the middle of the sidewalk. This morning, I was trying to walk through the market to go to work and a man shoved a squirming pig right in my face, trying to get me to buy it, so enthusiastically that to avoid getting kicked by a pig I stepped in a pile of garbage, almost slipped and fell, and got slimy stuff all over my shoe.
On rice.
I am really enjoying the food here. Really, I am.
But I am probably not going to eat one bite of rice for at least 8 months after I get home.
On things that I am currently excited about.
I have to cook my own breakfast since I eat before everyone else, but I still get to use whatever food is around the house and I am really enjoying making delicious, elaborate breakfasts for myself and planning them the night before.
This weekend, almost everyone will be gone, and Friday night Leo and I are going out for pizza and then Saturday night he is leaving and I will be AAALLLOOOONNNEE. Words cannot really express how excited I am to be by myself for like 24 hours.
The weekend after, Rachelle and I are planning an epic trip to a city in the north called Matagalpa and surrounding areas to experience the roots of the fair trade coffee industry firsthand. I'm hoping that it will be an amazing and educational experience.
There are many more but for my faithful blog readers, especially my wonderful parents and grandparents, I thought I'd add some interesting stuff for you to read today!
Love to all, remember to always be grateful.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
In one of my developmental psychology classes, we learned that little kids can tell who spends a lot of time with other little kids and who doesn't. I'm pretty sure this is true. I don't know when in my life it was decided that I was a kid person, but it just happened. I'm not sure if I have a choice in the matter. The kids at the orphanage would follow me around all day if they could and a couple of them have gotten really attached to me, insisting that I come play with them right this second and that I pick them up whenever they want (mostly 4-7 year olds so i am getting my arm workout) After an entire day of this, I get home usually covered in chalk, marker, dirt and drool; my hair is usually done in some interesting style and today I have a beautiful manicure done by a six year old (a bribe for doing her homework; mostly I just have chunks of nail polish stuck to my fingers) The other day I got about seven hair chopsticks stuck at strange angles in my hair and forgot about them for the entire trip home, as if I don't stick out here enough already.
After days like these, I get back to my house and Elisa, the 9-month-old daughter of a couple who lives in my house, shrieks with joy when she sees me. She has recently decided that I am her favorite person and never gets tired of me, and I cannot figure out why. Last night, while Cat and Rachelle were getting tattoos, she pulled me around the house in circles and refused to go near anyone else, including her parents. Sometimes when I pry her off of me she starts crying, and so my life from when I wake up until Elisa goes to bed at night is being clung to by small people. Not that I mind, but it just strikes me as funny how without even trying I am the favorite human being of so many children right now. It's kind of nice, but also strange and very exhausting - I'm so glad that this is not permanently my life yet!
Well, I guess that didn't have anything to do with Nicaragua, just my current life as a climbing post.
Leo and I went on an intense 10k multiterrain run complete with sprinting intervals today so I am quite worn out and have a few new scrapes and blisters. it was so fun though. Definitely looking forward to a weekend of doing nothing!
I just ate way too many cookies and I'm off to bed.
After days like these, I get back to my house and Elisa, the 9-month-old daughter of a couple who lives in my house, shrieks with joy when she sees me. She has recently decided that I am her favorite person and never gets tired of me, and I cannot figure out why. Last night, while Cat and Rachelle were getting tattoos, she pulled me around the house in circles and refused to go near anyone else, including her parents. Sometimes when I pry her off of me she starts crying, and so my life from when I wake up until Elisa goes to bed at night is being clung to by small people. Not that I mind, but it just strikes me as funny how without even trying I am the favorite human being of so many children right now. It's kind of nice, but also strange and very exhausting - I'm so glad that this is not permanently my life yet!
Well, I guess that didn't have anything to do with Nicaragua, just my current life as a climbing post.
Leo and I went on an intense 10k multiterrain run complete with sprinting intervals today so I am quite worn out and have a few new scrapes and blisters. it was so fun though. Definitely looking forward to a weekend of doing nothing!
I just ate way too many cookies and I'm off to bed.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
WOW what a weekend... okay two weekends since I haven´t written in a while. Both were very volcano-filled. I´ll start with last weekend.... We took the new volunteers back to Mombacho to, of course, walk up the road to the top (the truck is for wimps.) This time we got to sleep up there, in a dorm on the top of the ranger station on top of the volcano. It was awesome!!! It was freezing, and we got to go on a night hike to see a species of salamander that only lives on this volcano and only comes out at night. Cool huh?! It was a very quiet, relaxing evening as it was only our group, a couple of rangers and two science researchers staying up there. In the morning we got up early, had breakfast and hiked the "Puma trail" which takes about four hours and is lots of climbing around on slippery rocks. The top of the volcano was completely covered in fog this entire time so you couldn´t see anything! We learned a lot about the biology of the volcano and about its unique ecosystem. We ended up taking the truck down because we were all so tired, but not without a stop at the coffee farm halfway up the volcano. YUM!
My legs barely had time to recover when we left early Friday morning to go to Ometepe Island, which is in the middle of a huge lake called Lake Nicaragua or El Lago Cocibolca (I´m pretty sure it has some other names, too...) We stayed in a very nice little place far out on the island with a great view of the water and BOTH volcanoes that basically make up the island. Cat lived there when she was a volunteer two years ago so we got to meet her host family. On Friday afternoon we hiked up to a waterfall and swam there, but we left too late so we ended up finishing the hike in the dark. It was pitch black by the time we got from the trail to the road back to our hotel, and we were in a very rural area so there were no lights anywhere, plus it started thunderstorming and raining! It was an adventure for sure.... we made it back though, in time to eat dinner and crash.
The next morning we got up early to hike up the Maderas Volcano, the smaller of the two on the island but not to be underestimated! Warning Dad: you will be jealous. Cat and Megan turned around about halfway up but Rachelle, Brett and I hiked up to the lake on the top with our guide. The top half of the volcano is basically like rock climbing but with roots and vines instead, a full body workout of pulling yourself up! On the way down, it poured, so the mud made it even more challenging. There were lots of falls and near misses but it was quite fun and very beautiful, although unfortunately I don´t have many pictures due to the treachery of our climbing. It was true jungle and there was a lot of swinging on vines involved. Now, though, I can barely move and have lots of scrapes and bruises! I have to wash my sneakers to get all the mud off and then duct tape them where they ripped, so it´s a good thing I will not physically be able to run for a few days. I think that I will have to leave early to walk tomorrow morning, as I am moving significantly slower! It was definitely worth it though, an intense but beautiful weekend.
Rachelle and I just cooked a simple but delicious dinner of burritos with lots of veggies and for dessert we made fried tortillas with mango ice cream... totally an experiment but probably one of the best things I have eaten in my life. Ahhhh so good!
I realize that I have not written that much about the orphanage so far which I apologize for, I will definitely have to do more of that soon. It´s tiring but I am definitely enjoying it. More to come later when people are not staring me down waiting to use the computer....
The next two weekends I am spending in Jinotepe, in the hammock, watching movies and drinking coffee. I am very, very much looking forward to it... adventures are great but I need a rest!
More to come soon.
My legs barely had time to recover when we left early Friday morning to go to Ometepe Island, which is in the middle of a huge lake called Lake Nicaragua or El Lago Cocibolca (I´m pretty sure it has some other names, too...) We stayed in a very nice little place far out on the island with a great view of the water and BOTH volcanoes that basically make up the island. Cat lived there when she was a volunteer two years ago so we got to meet her host family. On Friday afternoon we hiked up to a waterfall and swam there, but we left too late so we ended up finishing the hike in the dark. It was pitch black by the time we got from the trail to the road back to our hotel, and we were in a very rural area so there were no lights anywhere, plus it started thunderstorming and raining! It was an adventure for sure.... we made it back though, in time to eat dinner and crash.
The next morning we got up early to hike up the Maderas Volcano, the smaller of the two on the island but not to be underestimated! Warning Dad: you will be jealous. Cat and Megan turned around about halfway up but Rachelle, Brett and I hiked up to the lake on the top with our guide. The top half of the volcano is basically like rock climbing but with roots and vines instead, a full body workout of pulling yourself up! On the way down, it poured, so the mud made it even more challenging. There were lots of falls and near misses but it was quite fun and very beautiful, although unfortunately I don´t have many pictures due to the treachery of our climbing. It was true jungle and there was a lot of swinging on vines involved. Now, though, I can barely move and have lots of scrapes and bruises! I have to wash my sneakers to get all the mud off and then duct tape them where they ripped, so it´s a good thing I will not physically be able to run for a few days. I think that I will have to leave early to walk tomorrow morning, as I am moving significantly slower! It was definitely worth it though, an intense but beautiful weekend.
Rachelle and I just cooked a simple but delicious dinner of burritos with lots of veggies and for dessert we made fried tortillas with mango ice cream... totally an experiment but probably one of the best things I have eaten in my life. Ahhhh so good!
I realize that I have not written that much about the orphanage so far which I apologize for, I will definitely have to do more of that soon. It´s tiring but I am definitely enjoying it. More to come later when people are not staring me down waiting to use the computer....
The next two weekends I am spending in Jinotepe, in the hammock, watching movies and drinking coffee. I am very, very much looking forward to it... adventures are great but I need a rest!
More to come soon.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
I´d like to paint a picture of my trip home from work today to show you a bit about Nicaragua.
I left the orphanage with two other women who work there, Silvia and Evalin. Both live in Jinotepe so we travel together every day. We walk down the long path framed with coffee plants to the main road, made of dirt and lined with coconut trees and farm fields, and start the trek home. There is public transportation here but it´s not constant, so we usually walk as far as we can before a bus passes, which is sometimes all the way home. We pass a man perched on his wooden wagon pulled by two huge oxen. The road, though well populated at this time of day, is very quiet except for the whiz of bike wheels and the sound of horses grazing.
Children walk lazily home from school and the day is slowing down for everyone. No one walks at any kind of hurried pace, and for vehicles it´s impossible to go fast. Recent rains have made the road even worse, and maneuvering around trenches, ditches and mudholes is the only way to drive through here. Even walking can be treacherous as it´s easy to slip, trip or fall into a hole.
We pass a few open fields that consistently hold afternoon soccer games, usually dodging balls flying across the road. Passing one spot, Silvia and I laugh about the scene here yesterday when a rooster walked directly in the path of a bicycle and appeared to get crushed by the bike, but when the dust cleared and I dared to look for the dead bird it was strutting away missing only a few feathers.
The poverty is more evident here than in cities, but in a much different way. There is much more hope in rural poverty than in urban poverty, much more of a sense of purpose and having something. The houses in this area between Jinotepe and San Jose are all very small, cinderblock with tin roofs, but most have hammocks outside and you can often hear celebratory music playing from some prized boom box inside. Dust is everywhere, but it still has a remarkably clean feeling. Every single house has at least ten chickens. One of the most dilapidated houses on this route has a pathway leading up to it that is always covered in flower petals.
After walking for about forty-five minutes, a truck belonging to some business passes and we manage to hitch a ride, all three of us squeezing in the cab. The driver skillfully covers the rest of the dirt road and drops us off at the entrance to the Pan-American Highway, as he is turning the opposite way to go to Masatepe. We walk down the side walk, hoping to avoid the second rainstorm of our walk but knowing it is inevitable. Evalin and I turn off to take a new route through town that she is going to show me, passing her house.
As we walk through the outskirts of Jinotepe, it starts to pour again, but a rainbow makes it slightly more appealing. We walk with Evalin´s neighbor and her three kids. One of the boys carries a coke bottle full of milk, the other casually swings a huge machete around, barely missing their little sister who walks between them. I turn on the street that heads to downtown Jinotepe, saying goodbye to Evalin and continuing past more trees, more horses and more cinderblocks before the top of Santiago Church looms ahead and the buildings start to look familiar. I head to the market to catch the last vegetable sellers, as I have only had rice and beans the last two days. There is only one decent avocado left in the market and the seller knows it. The elderly woman tries to get me to pay 30 cordobas for this avocado. We settle on 20, which is 1 dollar, a lot for an avocado. She tries to convince me to pay 15 now and come back and pay the other 5 tomorrow, but we both know she´ll remember me and can easily throw tomatoes at me or something if I don´t pay her. I´m too tired to bargain more and after buying a massive carrot and tomato, hurry out of the market past people covering their vegetables, loading up carts and sweeping up garbage. I walk the last three blocks to my house and arrive at 5:45, barely beating the twilight.
I left the orphanage at 4:00. Welcome to Nicaragua.
I left the orphanage with two other women who work there, Silvia and Evalin. Both live in Jinotepe so we travel together every day. We walk down the long path framed with coffee plants to the main road, made of dirt and lined with coconut trees and farm fields, and start the trek home. There is public transportation here but it´s not constant, so we usually walk as far as we can before a bus passes, which is sometimes all the way home. We pass a man perched on his wooden wagon pulled by two huge oxen. The road, though well populated at this time of day, is very quiet except for the whiz of bike wheels and the sound of horses grazing.
Children walk lazily home from school and the day is slowing down for everyone. No one walks at any kind of hurried pace, and for vehicles it´s impossible to go fast. Recent rains have made the road even worse, and maneuvering around trenches, ditches and mudholes is the only way to drive through here. Even walking can be treacherous as it´s easy to slip, trip or fall into a hole.
We pass a few open fields that consistently hold afternoon soccer games, usually dodging balls flying across the road. Passing one spot, Silvia and I laugh about the scene here yesterday when a rooster walked directly in the path of a bicycle and appeared to get crushed by the bike, but when the dust cleared and I dared to look for the dead bird it was strutting away missing only a few feathers.
The poverty is more evident here than in cities, but in a much different way. There is much more hope in rural poverty than in urban poverty, much more of a sense of purpose and having something. The houses in this area between Jinotepe and San Jose are all very small, cinderblock with tin roofs, but most have hammocks outside and you can often hear celebratory music playing from some prized boom box inside. Dust is everywhere, but it still has a remarkably clean feeling. Every single house has at least ten chickens. One of the most dilapidated houses on this route has a pathway leading up to it that is always covered in flower petals.
After walking for about forty-five minutes, a truck belonging to some business passes and we manage to hitch a ride, all three of us squeezing in the cab. The driver skillfully covers the rest of the dirt road and drops us off at the entrance to the Pan-American Highway, as he is turning the opposite way to go to Masatepe. We walk down the side walk, hoping to avoid the second rainstorm of our walk but knowing it is inevitable. Evalin and I turn off to take a new route through town that she is going to show me, passing her house.
As we walk through the outskirts of Jinotepe, it starts to pour again, but a rainbow makes it slightly more appealing. We walk with Evalin´s neighbor and her three kids. One of the boys carries a coke bottle full of milk, the other casually swings a huge machete around, barely missing their little sister who walks between them. I turn on the street that heads to downtown Jinotepe, saying goodbye to Evalin and continuing past more trees, more horses and more cinderblocks before the top of Santiago Church looms ahead and the buildings start to look familiar. I head to the market to catch the last vegetable sellers, as I have only had rice and beans the last two days. There is only one decent avocado left in the market and the seller knows it. The elderly woman tries to get me to pay 30 cordobas for this avocado. We settle on 20, which is 1 dollar, a lot for an avocado. She tries to convince me to pay 15 now and come back and pay the other 5 tomorrow, but we both know she´ll remember me and can easily throw tomatoes at me or something if I don´t pay her. I´m too tired to bargain more and after buying a massive carrot and tomato, hurry out of the market past people covering their vegetables, loading up carts and sweeping up garbage. I walk the last three blocks to my house and arrive at 5:45, barely beating the twilight.
I left the orphanage at 4:00. Welcome to Nicaragua.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
I had intended to write in here yesterday but I was too exhausted to even type! Quite a bit is new, over the weekend Rachelle and I went to Leon to meet Jackie Chan and his friend April. It was definitely a fun weekend and we also ran into a couple of Israeli guys that we had met on a bus in southern Nicaragua the weekend before, which was pretty random. It was quite the culture shock because Leon has a lot of foreigners and a lot of foreign influence. There is an enormous cathedral that does not look much different than ones I saw in Vienna and there are even international restaurants although they all certainly have their Nicaraguan influence. We stayed in a very relaxing hostel full of trees and turtles... and backpackers. I have a few words to say about what the traveling community refers to as the backpacker crowd. usually nice people, but frustrating to me. I have little patience with people in their twenties, and even thirties who go to other countries and then proceed to spend all of their time and money getting drunk because they don´t want to deal with responsibilties or their own countries. I just want to say to them, stop drinking and DO something with your life! It was a fun weekend, though. Very beautiful city and lots of good food, I ate so much!!
Also a note, had the smoothest and easiest public transportation experience so far this past weekend, even though Leon is the farthest away I have gone. The buses between Managua and Leon have semi functional air conditioning, and the two different routes between Managua and Jinotepe have absolutely stunning mountain views. It was great.
We have three new housemates, Megan, Uzair and Brett. All from Canada of course, and all are nice although Uzair is crazy. It is funny to see their new perspectives, for example, they are convinced they will get sick from drinking any tap water and Uzair tried to convince me that we were going to get mugged while walking to the supermarket this evening. I did have a very nice conversation while at dinner with Megan and Brett the other night. Every other foreigner I have met while here has basically tried to make me feel guilty for being from the U.S., but I had a great conversation with these two just about comparing our countries politically and socially and they were very interested to hear about what it was like to be in college when Barack Obama was elected which is always something I am willing to talk about! So that was nice.
Yesterday was my first day at the orphanage, which is called Tierra de Juda (Land of Judas). On the first day I woke up at 4:30 a.m. not feeling well, but that was the only rough start. It has been fun, but tiring, especially since yesterday my friend Silvia and I decided to walk back to Jinotepe (over an hour and a half, but a very beautiful walk on dirt roads). My main job during the mornings is caring for a girl named Abigail who has cerebral palsy. Unfortunately, she did not really receive proper care before she came to the orphanage last year so she has no communication abilities because she can´t speak. One of my jobs is to try to teach her basic communcation by pointing at pictures of food, drink, emotions, etc. I´m definitely hoping to get somewhere with that as right now she just thinks the pictures are hilarious ...... anyone who has any expertise in this area, I´d love some pointers! Otherwise, I will just be taking care of her basic needs and reading to her and hanging out and stuff like that. In the afternoons I am helping to teach English class, which is just pure chaos and mostly I just cause a major distraction and act as an involuntary climbing post. I will also be sometimes shadowing the psychologist who works there. It is a fun place to be and a very nice facility on a beautiful land in a rural area. It is definitely an adjustment getting up at 5:45 in order to make breakfast and walk 20 minutes to meet my ride after a month of relative laziness, but at least it´s light out.
I am getting used to almost every aspect of Nicaragua, I think, and yesterday I saw the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life outside of the tarantula exhibit at the zoo (and yes, it beats the one that hangs out on the seawall at camp) and this morning I was quite proud of myself when a cockroach the size of my thumb almost ran over me in the bathroom and I did not even flinch! (although I did jump about a foot five minutes later when a gum wrapper fell on my foot and I was sure it was a cockroach....) All in all adjusting to living here has been quite easy for me, and it is only the lack of home that is the challenging part. Oh yes, and when I get home I am making a meal that is entirely spinach and peanut butter and bagels and just eating that, I´ve already decided. I´m not going to say that I want to stay here forever, because I think that in six and a half weeks I definitely will want to come home, but I feel as if I´ve definitely been living here for a while.
Well... that is all. It is too far past my bedtime! More to come about the 29 kiddos consuming my life and about sleeping on top of a volcano this weekend.
Adios,
Suzanne
Also a note, had the smoothest and easiest public transportation experience so far this past weekend, even though Leon is the farthest away I have gone. The buses between Managua and Leon have semi functional air conditioning, and the two different routes between Managua and Jinotepe have absolutely stunning mountain views. It was great.
We have three new housemates, Megan, Uzair and Brett. All from Canada of course, and all are nice although Uzair is crazy. It is funny to see their new perspectives, for example, they are convinced they will get sick from drinking any tap water and Uzair tried to convince me that we were going to get mugged while walking to the supermarket this evening. I did have a very nice conversation while at dinner with Megan and Brett the other night. Every other foreigner I have met while here has basically tried to make me feel guilty for being from the U.S., but I had a great conversation with these two just about comparing our countries politically and socially and they were very interested to hear about what it was like to be in college when Barack Obama was elected which is always something I am willing to talk about! So that was nice.
Yesterday was my first day at the orphanage, which is called Tierra de Juda (Land of Judas). On the first day I woke up at 4:30 a.m. not feeling well, but that was the only rough start. It has been fun, but tiring, especially since yesterday my friend Silvia and I decided to walk back to Jinotepe (over an hour and a half, but a very beautiful walk on dirt roads). My main job during the mornings is caring for a girl named Abigail who has cerebral palsy. Unfortunately, she did not really receive proper care before she came to the orphanage last year so she has no communication abilities because she can´t speak. One of my jobs is to try to teach her basic communcation by pointing at pictures of food, drink, emotions, etc. I´m definitely hoping to get somewhere with that as right now she just thinks the pictures are hilarious ...... anyone who has any expertise in this area, I´d love some pointers! Otherwise, I will just be taking care of her basic needs and reading to her and hanging out and stuff like that. In the afternoons I am helping to teach English class, which is just pure chaos and mostly I just cause a major distraction and act as an involuntary climbing post. I will also be sometimes shadowing the psychologist who works there. It is a fun place to be and a very nice facility on a beautiful land in a rural area. It is definitely an adjustment getting up at 5:45 in order to make breakfast and walk 20 minutes to meet my ride after a month of relative laziness, but at least it´s light out.
I am getting used to almost every aspect of Nicaragua, I think, and yesterday I saw the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life outside of the tarantula exhibit at the zoo (and yes, it beats the one that hangs out on the seawall at camp) and this morning I was quite proud of myself when a cockroach the size of my thumb almost ran over me in the bathroom and I did not even flinch! (although I did jump about a foot five minutes later when a gum wrapper fell on my foot and I was sure it was a cockroach....) All in all adjusting to living here has been quite easy for me, and it is only the lack of home that is the challenging part. Oh yes, and when I get home I am making a meal that is entirely spinach and peanut butter and bagels and just eating that, I´ve already decided. I´m not going to say that I want to stay here forever, because I think that in six and a half weeks I definitely will want to come home, but I feel as if I´ve definitely been living here for a while.
Well... that is all. It is too far past my bedtime! More to come about the 29 kiddos consuming my life and about sleeping on top of a volcano this weekend.
Adios,
Suzanne
Thursday, October 1, 2009
So I'm sitting down with my tea to read everyone else's travel blogs and realized I should probably write in mine! Happy October everyone, once again I am jealous of those who get to experience fall in North America, I miss it.
Since I last wrote, I turned 20 and a half (exciting, I know.) Got a letter (thanks Dad!) Tried to improve my snacking habits, learned how to play the marimba (ish) and planned all the rest of my weekends while I'm in Nicaragua!
I've realized that my Spanish speaking skills have been getting a lot better, comprehension not so much. I am so glad that I will be working with kids as they are so much easier to understand! And it's not just listening, either. Today I got out a container of yogurt and started eating it before the expiration date caught my eye. 5/11/09.... uh, that was, like, five months ago?! I was a little concerned before Leo reminded me that dates are written differently in Spanish and that 5/11/09 is actually November 5, not May 11..... whew!
Today was my last day at Los Pipitos. That was not so much a volunteer experience as a learning experience for me. It helped me a lot with Spanish, and I learned some cultural stuff as well. For example, there is a song called the Moralinda that must be some traditional folk song of Nicaragua... I will have to look it up, but anyway, I learned not only a dance to it but today I learned how to play it on the Marimba! I also got to hang out with the music class, mostly playing hand drums. It was really fun.
I am extremely excited to start volunteering at the orphanage on Monday. I have already sort of become friends with the English teacher there, Sylvia, which I think will make it a lot easier to start out. That's really what I came here to do and I am looking forward to it so much. I will be very tired and busy, but that's what I'm used to anyway.
This weekend Rachelle and I are going to Leon to meet up with Jackie Chan and have a little September volunteers reunion.... apparently Leon is the second hottest city in Nicaragua, so we're pretty sure that we are going to suffer immensely, but it should be worth it. I'm really looking forward to visiting a bigger and more international city, mostly for the food. Nica food is great, but it's hard to eat very similar food all the time and some variety is really exciting. Plus when I am eating on my own in a place like that it's easy to eat only vegetarian food which will be really nice... I am sticking with the meat eating and ate beef AND pepperoni in one day last week, but that is ending as soon as I leave Nicaragua! Gross!
This weekend is also terribly exciting because three new volunteers are getting here tomorrow. That is basically all we have been talking about for two weeks, I hope they are actually cool people... it's going to be a huge difference going from two volunteers to five! Plus one of them is a girl so Rachelle and I will have another roommate.... in our 8 person dorm suite thing.
Okay, it is well past time for me to finish writing a list of 100 spanish verbs (only one more day of Spanish class) and go to sleep!
Hope everyone is doing well. Send me e-mails!! I love them!
Since I last wrote, I turned 20 and a half (exciting, I know.) Got a letter (thanks Dad!) Tried to improve my snacking habits, learned how to play the marimba (ish) and planned all the rest of my weekends while I'm in Nicaragua!
I've realized that my Spanish speaking skills have been getting a lot better, comprehension not so much. I am so glad that I will be working with kids as they are so much easier to understand! And it's not just listening, either. Today I got out a container of yogurt and started eating it before the expiration date caught my eye. 5/11/09.... uh, that was, like, five months ago?! I was a little concerned before Leo reminded me that dates are written differently in Spanish and that 5/11/09 is actually November 5, not May 11..... whew!
Today was my last day at Los Pipitos. That was not so much a volunteer experience as a learning experience for me. It helped me a lot with Spanish, and I learned some cultural stuff as well. For example, there is a song called the Moralinda that must be some traditional folk song of Nicaragua... I will have to look it up, but anyway, I learned not only a dance to it but today I learned how to play it on the Marimba! I also got to hang out with the music class, mostly playing hand drums. It was really fun.
I am extremely excited to start volunteering at the orphanage on Monday. I have already sort of become friends with the English teacher there, Sylvia, which I think will make it a lot easier to start out. That's really what I came here to do and I am looking forward to it so much. I will be very tired and busy, but that's what I'm used to anyway.
This weekend Rachelle and I are going to Leon to meet up with Jackie Chan and have a little September volunteers reunion.... apparently Leon is the second hottest city in Nicaragua, so we're pretty sure that we are going to suffer immensely, but it should be worth it. I'm really looking forward to visiting a bigger and more international city, mostly for the food. Nica food is great, but it's hard to eat very similar food all the time and some variety is really exciting. Plus when I am eating on my own in a place like that it's easy to eat only vegetarian food which will be really nice... I am sticking with the meat eating and ate beef AND pepperoni in one day last week, but that is ending as soon as I leave Nicaragua! Gross!
This weekend is also terribly exciting because three new volunteers are getting here tomorrow. That is basically all we have been talking about for two weeks, I hope they are actually cool people... it's going to be a huge difference going from two volunteers to five! Plus one of them is a girl so Rachelle and I will have another roommate.... in our 8 person dorm suite thing.
Okay, it is well past time for me to finish writing a list of 100 spanish verbs (only one more day of Spanish class) and go to sleep!
Hope everyone is doing well. Send me e-mails!! I love them!
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