LOVING NICARAGUA

Where to start???

So not sure if I mentioned that my host sister came to visit me in my site. She came for 4 days and we had a blast. The last time I visited my host family I was telling them how I can’t make tortillas, that they always turn out oval shaped and then fall apart in the frying pan. So my mom had bought me a clay comal for cooking tortillas. Then my sister showed me how to use it and how to correctly make tortillas. She showed me the proper way to wash out my mop, and helped me cook! She graduates from the university this Saturday so I am going with my friend Manuel to the ceremony…I’m so proud of her!

I have started some new classes in my town which is pretty exciting. There is a little boy that is the grandson of my land lady who is 5 and doesn’t go to school. They say he is too hyper to send him. It is true that he has an extremely short attention span, but to just let him grow up without any class doesn’t sit well with me. So he has class with me for an hour three days a week. On the first day I did an assessment and realized he doesn’t know his colors, numbers, how to write his name, how to count objects, pretty much nothing. We started with the calendar and colors and he already learned his colors and days of the week, and counting objects up to 10. With his family he can be a handful, but in class he has been an angel (knock on wood) he knows the rules and knows the prizes if he works hard. On Saturdays we don’t have class but he came to the door and said “Profe Karen, dame clase por favor” (teacher Karen, give me class please) haha, he is so sweet. His parents asked me how much I was going to charge and I said they were crazy to even ask, but now on the days I have class with him they show up with a huge plate of food for me! So they are basically paying me in food (not complaining!) The other class I started was English. At first I had no desire to give English class. A lot of other volunteers have attempted and failed because the people think they are going to speak perfectly in a few weeks and get frustrated and quit when they realize it is hard to learn a language. But finally, I decided to give it a shot since people were asking me to do it. As of right now I have 45 people enrolled!! My rules are that they have to learn la hora gringa (American time) and be punctual because at 6:31 the doors will be shut, and that they are not allowed to be embarrassed in class to speak, and to respect everyone. Everyone has difficulty speaking but they need to practice and practice to get better. Well guess what, all my students get there before me (and I show up 15 minutes early!) But of course in Nicaragua there are always bumps in the road. My director called me the other day and said I had to cancel English class because the head of education said we couldn’t use the building…said he would explain it to me later. So Monday I have to go talk to the head guy and explain everything to see what he says. Luckily there is an NGO in my town that said they can most likely lend us their space in a last case scenario…so we will see.

Other activities in my town: Dia de la Raza and Recylcing Fair. October 12th is the Dia de la Raza (race day) when the people celebrate their indigenous heritage. So we had a big activity in my school. All the secondary students made straw huts to sell typical foods. Everyone in the primary and secondary came dressed as Indians, and they had a competition for King and Queen of Race Day. It was basically a pageant and they couples had to present themselves, their outfits, talk about their history, answer questions etc. It was a fun day, and I got to eat a lot of typical foods…yummy!



One of the "chozas" or straw huts that the high schoolers constructed



All my seventh grade girls that I help in English class



Quebrada Honda participants from my 5th grade (we took second place!)



Watching the festivities!

We finally had our recycling fair which turned out pretty good. Next year, I think it will be a lot better with better planning. At our table we had a hands on project to make the bottle flowers and we talked about organic and inorganic trash and they kids then did a sack race to put garbage in the proper container. I was asked to judge all the tables which was fun because I was able to see all the other ideas and listen to their description and explanation of their projects.



Jamie helping kiddos make recycled flowers



Winning school for creativity

Princesa and Diego update.: So it is still a mystery if Princesa is pregnant or not. Before I was convinced that she was but now I don’t think she is. Her nipples started sagging so low like a pregnant dog with milk, but it has already been more than a month and a half and yea she is a little bigger but she is not a fat pregnant dog. Half of the people I talk to say she isn’t, the other half say she is and will only have 3 or 4 puppies…so only only time will tell. Diego is good, he doesn’t love me. He stays outside all day which is fine with me but then only comes in and meows and sits on top of his food bucket waiting to be fed, and then leaves again! Haha, the other day I caught him peeing in my flower pot that I just planted...he is so annoying sometimes but I love him because Princesa loves him. They are best friends and playmates so I guess I will keep him around.



Princesa's new favorite place is under the bed even though she barely fits. The other night I woke up at 3 am to her crying because she was stuck and couldnt get out...she is so loca



See how in love they are!



Auntie Jomarie came to visit! As Sister Miriam said there are always surprises in Nicaragua and something always happens (which is so true) Well our surprise came the first morning. Three of us were sharing a bathroom and shower. Auntie Jomarie were in the same room and while someone else was showering Auntie Jomarie says “boy I sure thought I dried my feet before I came in here, where is this water coming from” Then we realize it wasn’t just a puddle but a LAKE in our room! Turns out some tube came loose while some one was showering and was spraying all over the floor! So we started our day with a good laugh!

Birthday celebration with all the Sisters of St.Agnes (Nicaraguan style!)







Workin with colors and shapes at the special education school!

NEW HOUSE

Kitchen area




Living Room



My Bedroom




Well I have been in my new house now for about two weeks now and I love it! The move was surprisingly pretty easy. My two guy friends that are like my little brothers have been a huuuuge help. They are the two that took care of Princesa during my trip and they have been the best friends I could ask for here. My house is just one big room so I had to buy materials to make a division for my room. I also needed materials to make a metal door frame for protection. They made a list of all the measurements and materials, took me in their truck to the city to help me buy it and haul it back, found me the people to put the division in, found me the guy to make the door protector. On moving day Manuel came over early to help me pack everything up, then Roberto came over with the truck and his cousins and we got everything moved in one trip to the other house. We went back to quick clean the old house and when I say we I should really say they because they swept it all out, mopped it, everything. Then Roberto made me a table for my kitchen (my old one belonged to my old house) so I wouldn’t have to spend fifty dollars on a new one, Manuel painted the kitchen table. The next night they came over to figure out my electric work. Which by the way I decided I can probably be an electrician down here, it isn’t too hard considering I trusted my 19 year old friends with no experience to do mine. In my house I only had one light and one outlet so they put a light in my bedroom that we divided off and added another outlet on the other side of the house. They were over for 5 hours working on it and I wish I could have videotaped it all. We use a rock for our hammer, and since I don’t have a ladder they had to stand on each other’s shoulders to get the cord high enough. After all their work they went to turn on the light in my room and guess what it didn’t light up! Haha It was already almost midnight but they wanted to figure out what happened, and then after another half an hour they realized they put two negative currents together or something. My job through all this was to lay on my bed and take a nap…haha, I also made tacos for them!



Me and my hermanos Roberto and Manuel. My best friends here, and they are both wearing the shirts I got them from the states...and Manuel developed this pic for me to put up in my house...love em!

So my house is almost completely put together, I just need to put up my Christmas lights and my hammock! As for my new neighborhood and family, it is pretty good. Granted everyone is SUPER curious about me living down here and the first few days the new family was always in my house looking at all my stuff, but now they are getting used to me. There is a huge chunk of land and the parents live next to me in a different house and then all their kids have houses on the same chunk of land but in different parts so there are always people and kids everywhere. But I don’t mind it. At first the dogs here attacked me every time I went to go use the bathroom but now they are used to me, and are friends with Princesa. On the same topic of Princesa...I think she might be pregnant. YikeS! My good friend's mom told me she was certain about it, but I didn’t believe her. Then about 5 other people told me she is…so now I keep thinking that maybe she is! Plus I mentioned it to the two guys that have been helping me so much and took care of her. Sure enough, all of a sudden all these stories come out about these close calls when I was gone ”but they didn’t get stuck together, so she can’t be pregnant” is what they keep saying. I have to take her to the vet to be sure. The funny thing is, if she is pregnant she will have her puppies right around the time that I will be in the states for Christmas. I guess it’s only fair that if it’s their fault she got pregnant they get to take care of the puppies…am I right? Quick Diego update since I always leave him out. He is good, he hurt is front paw, probably playing with princesa, so he has a little limp right now. But at my new home he is more famous than Princesa, the kids play hide and seek with him at night since he blends in and everyone always talks about my cat and how its not fair that I wont take him back to the states as well. (even though they are secretly pleased cause they all want him!) He also serves as a guard cat. He sits on my front porch and if any other dog comes by he chases them away...dogs are terrified of cats here even if they are triple in size. My pets make me laugh everyday, dont know what I would do without them.


Taking a nap!



Sun tanning!

We just had our year anniversary in country and to celebrate all the volunteers in my group got together and went to a brunch in Managua at Hotel Intercontinental. It was four hours long, and probably the most luxurious thing I have experienced in Nicaragua. They had every kind of bread you can imagine (which was actually the enemy because it fills you up), a sushi bar, typical Nicaraguan food bar, seafood station, assortment of cheeses, pasta salads, 20 different fancy desserts, a crepe station and best of all unlimited mimosas! There was 2 waiters they just walked around with bottles of champagne to top of the drinks, nobody ever saw the bottom of their glass! It was really great to see others in my group that live farther away that I don’t get to see as much and find out about their schools and lives. The four hours flew by and then I had to take the 3 hour bus back to my house because I had special ed school the next day. The bus ride back was less than pleasant with my mixture of food, desserts and mimosas in my stomach…ugh. They played a movie but again I was unlucky because it was a movie titled Bloodsport from the 70s that was dubbed in Spanish. When I got home I went straight to bed.



Mimosas with the girls!



Pretty sure this is why I got my tummy ache...the dessert table!

The new Environment group has already arrived and I have my training session with them on the 16th to teach them about lesson planning format. I’m excited to meet them all! Next week we have the whole week off for their independence day. We are doing a parade that starts in a nearby community which is where one of my schools is and we are marching down the highway into my community. In order to get ready for this I did a big town clean up or should I say organized a big town clean up with my students. It ended up falling through because they are “repaving” our horrible road and it was too dangerous with all the students out in the street. Instead I took just the sixth graders to do one are and the rest of the younger students cleaned within the school grounds. So it turned out to be a half of a success, 12 sacos full is quite a bit of trash…Monday the kids have off of school but 10 from each grade that volunteered are coming to finish cleaning the rest of the community!



Cleaning up Quebrada Honda



Isnt it lovely, all the plastic that my school burns! I arranged for a truck from Matagalpa to pick up the garbage and take it to the landfill in the city.

Last bit of update is that my friend Jamie and I are on a committee for a Recycling Fair, the first ever in Matagalpa. Even better is the fact that it is working with Santa Julia which is my special education school that has a recycling center! The funds raised are going to them to buy a truck to have a weekly recycling pick up in Matagalpa! As Peace Corps I want to set up a hands on table that teaches kids a recycled craft and then have some kind of competition or races going on that deals with organic and inorganic materials so kids can practice separating trash and more importantly throwing it in a trash container and not on the ground!

HOME SWEET HOME

So my first trip back to the states was a quick but fun one. It all started with my staying in Managua with the nuns since my flight was really early the next day. They were all happy to see me and had me not only try on my bridesmaid dress but model it off with the flowers they cut from the garden in my hand just like the procession in church! The next day I got up at 3 to get to the airport on time. My flights all went smoothly and before ya know it I was back in Chicago. I was full of excitement coming down the escalator because I knew mom and dad were somewhere close by waiting for me. What I didnt expect to see was Mark, all grown up and tan! I looked right at him and then kept looking for my parents. Then I looked back and him and saw his goofy grin and realized I totally did not recognize him the first time. So then I ran down the escalator to give him a big hug. Next in line were mom and dad with a few tears! I expected to have major culture shock coming back after almost a year but it was surprisingly easy to slip back into English, paved roads, cars, traffic, and having everything accessible. After being home for no more than 20 minutes my relatives were already over. I got to see granny and all my aunts and uncles. It was a little overwhelming at first but it was great to see everyone. Somehow I got talked into going out with Aly Brandon and Chris to the old Dirty Martini. It felt like I never left…..we all just picked up right where we left off.

The next day was the big day at the fair. I got up early to do some shopping and then at one everyone started showing up. It was a hot day so most of the day was spent in the air conditioned buildings. We all stayed and danced to a country cover band (with my bottle of wine). Just wanna say thanks again to all my friends that traveled to come and see me…basically I have the bestest friends anyone could ask for!



Baked Potatoes...YUM!



Ramsey the love bandit always going in for the kiss! So good to see him!



WINE TASTING...that was so yummy I just had to buy a bottle for the night




Me and my gang!

Friday was the dress rehearsal which was nice, even though Becky laughed when they practiced their vows. Played a few drinking games in the basement with the bridal party and then I headed over to Chris’ new apartment to catch up with the Pius guys and St.Als gang. Aly and I kicked butt in beer pong and then had to leave at midnight cause we needed our beauty sleep for the wedding the next day!



St. Als group!



PIUS GUYS


Wedding day! We all met at the hotel at 930 and then headed to the salon to get our hair done. It was nice because the salon let us bring in a cooler to have mimosas. Then we rushed back to the hotel for makeup and to put our dresses on! I loved Beckys idea for everyone to have their own style dress with the same color. Luckily in Nicaragua I found the same color material and had my dress made for 20 bucks! It matched almost perfectly with the other dresses. Becky looked absolutely beautiful in her dress, it was so her! Then we had to race off to pictures because of course as the females were running late. We tried to do pictures as fast as we could because there were mosquitoes everywhere and we were all sweating profusely. We had the quick ceremony and then party time! The dinner was delicious, even though I ate too much, and the rest of the night flew by. Everyone had a blast dancing the night away and taking pictures in the photo booth.



Saying the I Do's






BRIDAL PARTY



PLEASE DONT STOP THE MUSIC

It was all fun and games…until the next day…when I felt hooooorible. Haha. My dads side of the family came over to visit, which was great even though I literally had to lay in the recliner the whole time. I could barely even eat my moms yummy food! I finally recuperated enough to go back to the fair with Victor who came to visit me from whitewater! We got to see the racing pigs, eat some Rueben rolls, and see a body building contest. May I reiterate that I have the bestest friends ever! Monday I ran around shopping, and had my moms delicious cooking and then sat on my patio with the girls until midnight chit chatting. Found out I get to do it all over again in June for Brittanys wedding! Great trip!



VICTOR!

So I didn’t mention that I left my house and dog under the care of two friends of mine, Manuel and Roberto. They were going to meet me at the bus stop at 3 to help me with my luggage but I got back at 215 and decided to make my way back on my own. I got back to my house and they had my whole house SPOTLESS. They swept, mopped, and organized everything, even under my bed! They made me a welcome back sign and had pizza and soda ready for me! They are great! My princesa was well taken care of and soooo happy to see me! One night at 3 in the morning I guess she was crying and Manuel thought she had to pee so took her outside. But really she wanted to see her boyfriend and she got out of her collar and took off so Manuel jumped the barbed wire in my backyard to chase her, ripped his shirt, Roberto ran out in front to chase her. I guess they were running through the neighborhood after her (she was in heat and I told them both that she better not get pregnant while I was gone which is why they were chasing her). All the neighbors woke up, and turned their lights on to see the commotion to make sure they were being robbed. When Manuel finally got her and grabbed her one of the dogs bit his leg!!! I couldn’t believe everything they went through to protect my puppies goodies. Which by the way she finally is out of heat and there aren’t dogs outside my house every hour of the day! I owe them both big time! Well Im already back in the swing of things and all my students were so happy to see me and to get their gobstopper candy gift from me…its good to be back, but only four more months and Ill be home again for Christmas!




Princesa happy to see me and sitting on my suitcase so I cant leave again!



Sign that the boys made me

TIME TO BACKTRACK...

SISTER SISTER




My game face for the dance contests for Teachers day




We taught them how to make Smores for Juancitos Birthday




Drinking from bagged water...only one cordoba




Pedicure...finally had clean feet after 10 months in Nicaragua




Putting on Avocado Face Masks




Beauty night with the Girl Scouts



I have a lot to catch up on so I am going to try to make this as brief as possible:

Way back in June I believe Jamie, Jason and I helped translate for a group of doctors from Michigan. They were a great group of people, which made the hot long days of non stop talking for us not only bearable but fun. One of the days there were 1,000 people lined up to get a consult with a doctor. They had to barricade the doors to the building because it was like a stampede of everyone trying to get in. Every time they opened the door to let another group in they needed 4 grown men to open and shut the door. It was worse than Black Friday at Walmart….scary. The doctors were amazed that people here would walk 4 hours and wait in line another 5 for the consult and medicine and then walk home the 4 hours back. Funny they said how people in the states get their panties in a bunch if their appointment is 10 minutes delayed. One day we went to the prison to give consults to the prisoners which was interesting. I got asked to give them my number, one of my earrings to remember me, and where I lived. Haha, told them nowhere close by. One of the guys had problems moving half of his body cause he took a machete to the neck a few years back and I could see how far the machete went in. Another night on our way back to drop me off we almost ran over what I thought was a sleeping dog. Turns out it was a sloth crossing the street at night. It was the first time I had ever seen one and it was a creepy looking animal. So all in all it was a very interesting week.

Then at the end of June Kristina came to visit which was a lot of fun. If you want a detailed account of the trip you can go to her blog at http://kkatris1986.blogspot.com/
Here is my brief version. It was a great trip mostly because we were able to just relax and catch up on everything. She got to go to my schools, meet all my neighbors, play soccer, and take a trip to the mountains. I thought for sure should wouldn’t be able to sleep because my room is bright really early, the buses outside of my house, my dog attacking the bed, and of course my host family next door. But she slept at least 10 hours every night! While she was here we had our celebration for teacher’s day. First of all let me just remind you that sometimes it seems they take off of school for any reason. For mothers day they had off one day for the party at the school, and then off another day for people to recuperate from the holiday. They had children’s day off of school. For teachers day they had one day off for the party and then the teacher’s have off the actual holiday. We also just had off for the anniversary of the government, and the following day for recuperation again. Okay enough venting. So back to teacher’s day. The kids and families planned it all. They performed dances and a play for us. Of course they have contests too. So they ask we need 5 teachers to volunteer. Tell me why anytime they asked for volunteers EVERYONE in the room (teachers, parents, students) look at me and say Karen? Being the American is also kind of being like the freak show because they all want to see me do everything. So I had to participate in musical chairs and two dance competitions. Luckily being younger helped me win the dance competitions. So I made out like a bandit with prizes. Then all my teachers got together to buy me a present to show their appreciation, it was so sweet! The kids made chalices out of plastic bottles (hurray for recycled materials) that were filled with candy. And a few students got me presents. It was a fun day. Not so much for poor Kristina since she couldn’t understand.
So all in all another absolutely wonderful trip. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends!

For the fourth of July I went to visit another volunteer. We made burgers, deviled eggs, and French onion dip. It was wonderful. It was the anniversary of his town so there was a parade, bottle rockets, and a big dance at night! It was perfect. Since his town is close to Managua I stopped by Fatima to visit my old host family. It was SOOOO great to see them. My host mom ran out and kissed me on the cheek like 15 times! Nobody told my host dad so he was in complete shock, I’m surprised he didn’t have a heart attack! It was great to visit with my youth group from there and all my old friends. Although one day was not enough time. Next time I need to go back for a few nights, and with Princesa.

Other than that things are going good, I started co-teaching in all my classes and it is going well. I just picked 12 big squash out of our school garden to raffle off to the kids. I had my site visit from my boss and she said everything looks good. I am still trying to figure out my future housing situation because my contract ends in august. Princesa is good, was really naughty for a week and destroyed my house. Now I know not to leave anything in reach and that means not even on top of the table cause she jumps up when I am not there. She has gotten better. My kitten is no longer a kitten. He eats so much and is getting big. He really likes it outside which is fine by me so he doesn’t poop in my house. I had to go plan at a teachers house that lives close by and not only did Princesa follow me but so did Diego. Her husband got scared cause he thought it was a fox at first. Then another night at like 8 one of my neighbors came to my door in a hurry and it surprised me. He said Karen I think your cat is in our house. My cat who is not afraid of dogs went in a house that has 4 dogs and when I walked in the cat was in the corner hissing and scratching and all the dogs were going crazy barking but too scared to attack the cat!

Another Great Visit

Brit and Chris learning to dance bachata...Look how Chris is with the little boy and Brit with he girl...so funny!




Brit and Chris with my fifth graders!



Night out!




The three of us putting on a smile at the dreadful Surfers Turtle Lodge




Look a Juans puppy dog eyes...so in love with Chris




Making plastic flowers for Mothers Day




Finihed product of the plastic botle flowers...they turned out great!




My teachers from my second school and I all dressed in red for Mothers Day celebration (everyone still is shocked when I say I am not married, don't have kids, or a boyfriend back in the states at age 24)





All the kids from the primary school, still learing all the names but know about three fourths by name...work in progress



The teachers loving dress up....from left to right we have the lumberjack, then the mother, and the wolf...




Me and Diego




Chris and Brittany came down together to visit me in May. The trip started off to a Nicaraguan start. I met them in the airport and as we were walking out to the highway to catch our bus, I saw our bus about to pass so I yelled at them to run and hurry up so we jumped on as quick as we could with all the luggage. Poor Brit and Chris barely had time to grasp they were in Nicaragua and we were already on a packed Nicaraguan bus with no seats left open that took off before we were fully on. So in the midst of all the craziness we had to get our suitcases stowed overhead without falling over. I said to them, sorry guys but we have a two hour ride ahead of us. Their question was, Do we have to stand the WHOLE time!? Luckily some people got off so we eventually got a seat. We finally made it back to my house around four and of course all my little kiddos were hanging around my porch just waiting to see the new gringos! They were all in my living room right after us and I told them that we would play the next day because we needed to relax a bit. So then I cooked dinner and we relaxed and were in bed early. The next day I had English class with the high school, and Brit and Chris came to help. All the students were really shy at first and scared to practice their English. We did a presentation about Wisconsin and our families and by the end of the class we had them doing the electric slide and they had us learning Bachata! After English class we headed off to Matagalpa for lunch so they could meet Jamie and then hurried back for my afternoon classes. All the kids were SOOOOO excited to meet my friends. My fifth grade planned a talent show to present to them with cultural dances. The girls got all dressed up in their folk lore dresses and performed for us. Then after they finished all their dances they wanted us to have a dance party with them. The kids were obsessed with Brit and Chris and wanted to see them dance together in front of everyone, so they did. Then I told my students that they needed dance partners to teach them the dance. So I picked out a boy for Brit and a girl for Chris. They started doing the dance and then the boy got super shy and asked if he could dance with Chris instead! So we danced all afternoon with my fifth graders. It got realy crazy because somehow Princesa found us in the school and was chasing around all the students that were dancing.

The next day we were planning to leave on our trip to the beach. Here in Nicaragua there are two types of buses. There are normal buses that are cheaper and stop at every stop to pick people up and there are express buses that cost a little more (but is totally worth it) and goes directly to the destination. Our destination was Leon, and the express bus leaves at 6 in the morning which does not give us time to take my town’s bus to the bus terminal to get on. So I got the number of the driver to tell him to please stop in front of my town to pick up three passengers (which they aren’t supposed to do because they go direct) So we weren’t sure if the bus would stop or not to pick us up at 6:15. In the end it didn’t matter either way cause at 6:05 Brit says “Crap I didn’t pack my suit” hahaha, so she had to run the 10 minutes back to my house and then come back after the express bus already passed. Hahaha. We finally got to Leon and enjoyed a weekend of relaxation on the beach. I am pretty sure we were the only ones staying at the hotel and there weren’t many other people on the beach either. We could hardly swim in the ocean because they waves were huge and the riptide really strong. Even just standing on the beach where the waves come up took out Brit and Chris and sent them flying up the beach with their feet in the air! Our second night we went out for a nice seafood dinner and Chris’ 12 dollar meal came with 5 lobster tails! Cant beat that. After that we went back to our hotel so Brit and Chris could try some of the local rum. After the rum was gone we headed down the street to a bar. Well we walked for about 5 minutes and then realized that there were no lights and nobody around in the dark creepy street so we ended up walking back to the hotel along the beach and saw a tiny little bar shack that had a bonfire. We stopped by and ended up staying there all night. The night consisted of me, Brit, and Chris dancing like crazy people and the 4 Nica guys that worked there laughing at us. As I said this place was literally a shack, the stairs were not well constructed so Chris fell through them and scraped up his knee and toes and all I could seem to do was laugh. Then about 20 minutes later I fell through the same stairs…serves me right I guess. By the end of a really fun night, we were happy that this shack was right next to our hotel so it wasn’t a long walk home.

So as everyone knows after a really fun night there is usually not a very fun morning. To make matters worse I had a reservation at a different hotel at a different beach that I wanted to check out. It is new and uses only solar energy. The website looked really cool and I wanted to give it a shot. Well let me tell you, websites can be deceiving! So keep in mind we are all feeling pretty awful…and we had to get on a bus, travel about 15 minutes, get off, wait another 30 minutes in the sun for another bus that never came, so we took a taxi instead, then we had a boat ride to the other side of a “lake” which was really just a muck pond. Instead of rowing the guys had to get out and push us in the boat. On the other side we had to sit in the sand and mud in the scorching sun to wait for the horse drawn carriage. Which might I add, is not as lavish as it sounds. Instead it was a starved horse and a couple of wooden planks nailed together. So then we sat on this horribly uncomfortable wooden carriage for 20 minutes into the middle of nowhere. The website made this place sound like a private secluded island. It was secluded alright but it was just a normal beach, not an island. When we finally arrived we all just took naps for a few hours. That night when we wanted to eat we had to wait two hours because the owner wanted everyone staying there to eat together, which would have been nice if we weren’t still super tired. The next morning we were told the horse would be ready for us early, but when we got up and asked to leave at 8 the owner said the carriage doesn’t come till nine. So there we sat waiting for the bumpy ride back to the muck where we waited half an hour for the boat. I shouldn’t have complained about the boat ride on the ride over cause this time they sent this teeny tiny canoe over to get us and our backpacks. I was joking with the guy rowing it and asked if there was enough room and where we were going to sit ( there were no seats). He joked back and said we could fit 3 more people and that we were to sit on a crate which Brit and Chris shared and then I got a rusty anchor to sit on! As we started on our way the water came up to an inch below the top of the canoe. The man paddling was laughing nervously cause he knew we could easily tip. Chris just kept telling me and Brit nervously not to move, and not to overcompensate if we started tipping one way. Brit and I were laughing so hard but trying not to because our laughing made the canoe shake. Well we surprisingly made it to the other side dry and safe and at that point had enough “adventures” in Nicaragua.

We finally got back to my house Monday evening and relaxed after our fun filled trip in Nicaragua. The next day we were invited to dinner. The lady that invited us is Arora. She loves foreigners. She cooked us a great dinner and was very pleased that Brit and Chris cleaned their plates. And says “See Karen, look, they LOVE my food” We took pictures and she still asks me about them everytime she sees me. She wasn’t the only one that was in love with Brit and Chris. My little nephew that always comes over got so attached to Chris. Every night he would bring Chris and Brit a new craft, card, or drawing he made. He and Chris were best buddies even though they could hardly communicate. They used a lot of hand gestures. Then Juan would only use hand gestures with me too, and I told him “Juan Alfredo, I understand you. You can speak to me!” haha. He was really sad when they left and wrote Chris a three page letter about how he will miss him. To end an awesome visit we had to walk through my town at 3 in the morning to catch the early bus to Managua. I knew it wouldn’t be dangerous as for having drunks out and about, but what I didn’t think about was the dog situation. At night every house let’s their dog loose in their yard to protect the house. Let me tell you these are not nice dogs that just bark at intruders, they are ferocious and are trained to attack. I had to tell Brit and Chris to walk as fast as they can without running and if one gets close you have to stomp your foot down and yell something. We all took a deep breath when we finally reached the highway and were out of sight from the ferocious dogs of Quebrada Honda. It was a great visit, and I am so happy they were able to come down to see me!

As for other things going on. We have officially entered winter which is the rainy season. It rains EVERY DAY! Even though it is greener and prettier, I am definitely not a fan. My street is pure mud, I can’t leave my house without a rain jacket or umbrella, there are a million times more bugs around, it’s near to impossible for clothes to dry so they all have a mildew smell to them, and my Princesa is ALWAYS dirty. She doesn’t like the rain too much and is indoors a lot more and is going absolutely stir crazy. At night she just runs and back and forth in my small house. When she gets really bored she attacks the cat. The cat on the other hand is getting bigger and thinks it’s a dog. It eats Princesa’s food, and Princesa prefers the cat’s food. They are both crazy. Some days I will be doing my hair or something and before you know it the cat crawls up my jeans and just stays clung onto my jeans by my hip and stares at me. He even crawled all the way up my mosquito net before he fell down. I love the cat but he is so smelly! I haven’t been able to find litter here anywhere so he uses a Tupperware container filled with sand and dirt. Which is better than him pooping all over my house but it is just a pain in the butt…I have to figure something out.


The 30th of May is also Mother’s Day here which is probably the second most important holiday here after Christmas. In order to help my teachers prepare I did an activity with the students to make flowers out of plastic bottles to give to their mothers. They turned out great. Then on Thursday the 27th they celebrated in the schools. All the moms go, and the kids put on skits, dances, and poems. Some of the dances are folk lore with the typical Nicaraguan dresses. Other girls turned on some hip hop like music and did hoochie mama dances! Which is totally accepted here! The moms are asked to participate in some things too like a dance competition and musical chairs. Then at the end the teachers serve food to the mothers. Then the next Monday school was cancelled and I was confused because I thought they were celebrating Memorial day but it turns out that everyone needs a day off after Mother’s Day (which was Sunday) to recuperate. The week after Mothers Day was Children’s Day which we celebrated on Friday in the schools. The teachers decided to put on a skit for the students. So on Thursday they cancelled class so we could plan our activity. We decided to do Little Red Riding Hood. They decided that I should be the lead role. So on Friday we got the curtains set up like a stage and all 250 kids at our school packed into one class room to watch the performance. I think the teachers had more fun than the students. The school as a box of random dress up clothes and the teachers that were in the play just started putting on every article of clothes that was in the box. After or skit we got a standing ovation and kids screaming for 5 minutes! Haha Now all the kids call me Little Red Riding Hood. After the skit all the grades went to their own classrooms to celebrate. Some classes had piñatas, others just had food and music to dance too, some did games. It was hard for me because they all wanted me to come to their class. So I had to make my rounds to all the classrooms and bust a move in each (they all want to make me dance in front of everyone, pretty much so they can laugh at me).

My only other big news is that I will be coming home in August for Becky’s wedding! I have been asked to participate in the wedding so now I have to find a dress maker here to make me a dress which I am actually really excited about! Also that Kristina will be here in two weeks! I am so blessed to have such great friends that come all the way down to Nicaragua to see me!