Well, at least I have some pictures...

Well, I have been having some trouble with technology, and while I can not open up the blogpost I typed up last night, I do have the pictures.  They are all from the visit I made to see another volunteer for a week in San Rafael del Sur!

The broken pier I climbed up.  It used to be the private pier to the Nicaraguan dicator Samoza.  Not the greatest idea in retrospect, but it was still pretty cool. 

Another cool shot of the beach

Working on  the oven that we built

The finished product

A Lesson in Patience

          I (most likely) will co-teach my first class on Thursday, but instead of planning out that lesson right now like I should be doing, I’ll work on this lesson instead!   Basically the objective of this is to teach a lesson in patience based on my experiences of the past week or so.  So first comes story time (please read past the first paragraph, I swear it’s not just me complaining the whole time).

            Alright, so I started off my week by having my 4^th grade co-teacher tell me she didn’t have time to work with me.  Later that day the director our school ordered us to plow over our garden and start again, despite the fact that we had spent several hours planting days before and the seeds were already germinating.  That night I came down with… I’ll just say I did not get much sleep.   The next morning (Tuesday) I woke up feeling pretty lousy and crabby.  After taking my temperature I went to the doctor in my pueblo and figured out I had a bacterial infection and parasites.  During the week I’ve also been developing some kind of allergic reaction (maybe flea bites) similar to a poison ivy rash on a leg and arm, plus a bit more in other areas (for the second time).  On Saturday I figured out there were more issues with my class, and my cell phone was stolen. 

            Okay, so yeah, this last week sounds pretty miserable right?  Wrong!   I actually had a pretty good week!  Shortly after getting frustrated with the one teacher I switched to a super friendly 3^rd grade teacher to work with.  With the garden, we all came to realize that while frustrating, this is his school that we are working at, and we have to work together (we also now will have two different gardens, but now ours just has a really good barbed wire fence).  As for getting sick, it’s pretty unrealistic not to expect getting sick when moving to a new country.   I’m not a huge fan of the rash/maybe flea bites, that I will admit.   The new issues with my class schedule worked themselves out (with the help of Environmental Sector PC staff) by the end of the afternoon.  I can also live without a phone for a few days.  Not thrilled to have to buy a new one, but at least I had my iPhone (acting as my iPod and camera) and bus money was locked up in a different part of my backpack.  There were also many other times during the week when I was allowed to spend time with other volunteers and have a good time!

Enjoying the litting things! For those that ever try and eat ice cream in Nicaragua, eat it fast!

            It’s all about perspective.  I’m not trying to sound all preachy and say that I’m perfect at this. There were definitely times when I was ticked this week, but getting worked up about things will not make the situation any better and only make a bad situation worse.   Obviously most people reading this aren’t living in the same situation I am, but I think it’s a valid lesson to be learned.  Back home I definitely had issues with patience sometimes, and I really think my past three weeks here have helped me out a lot!  It’s a work in progress, but I’m glad I’m getting this all in during training before I’m sent off to be on my own for two years! 

Yes, there’s more!! What lesson would be complete without a quiz?  A couple of the answers can be found in the above (novel of a) blog post, but most are not.  All answers can be found at the bottom.

Quiz:

1. Finish the sentence: Watch out for that ________ !:

a. Pig            

b. Horse      

c. Rooster/chicken                    

d. Cow                     

e. Goat

f.  Stray dog

g. Duck

h. Drunkard

i. All of the above

2. When running in short shorts you will:

a. Actually feel strange wearing a glorified loincloth

b. Get catcalls and weird looks

c.  Have your host mom laugh at you

d.  All of the above

3. How do you say  “I don’t understand, can you slow down please” in Spanish:

a. Hola!

b. Yo no entiendo, mas dispacio por favor!

c.  Yo quiero Taco Bell

d.  Why are you asking me?! 

4. Circle all of the things that make noise at night (past a bedtime of 8:30-9pm):

a. Roosters

b. Dogs

c. Night club

d. Evangelical Church

e. Kids

f. Rain on the tin roof

g. I’m just crazy, it’s all in my head!!

h. Adorable, but unhappy 9 month old host niece

i. All of the above

5. Fill in the blank: Nighty night, don’t let the __________ bite!

a. Fleas

b. Bed bugs

c. Monster under my bed

d. Anyone’s best guess between a and b

6. If a kid in your garden starts swearing at you in English, what do you do?

a.  Tell him that he is being inappropriate and politely ask him to stop

b.  Realize that nothing you say will stop him (especially don’t know how to say much)

c.  Kick him out

d.  Ignore him until he stops

e.  d because of b

7.  Your training staff just told you that you need to start integrating into your community more by starting to talk to people as you walk down the streets.  On your first attempt to start a conversation unaided by friends or your host family, who do you approach first?

a.  The friendly old couple sitting on their porch

b.  Your neighbor who just helped teach you how to wash your underwear and socks

c.   The woman who you only realize may or may not have been a drug dealer or prostitute several minutes after saying you don’t have any money but it was a pleasure to meet you

d.  The friendly woman you buy bread from at the Pulpería

8. What name brand clothing do you see most in Carazo, Nicaragua?

a. Hollister

b. Hollister

c.  Hollister

d. Hollister

e.  All of the above

9. If you are supposed to co-teach a class with a teacher that never smiles and says she  doesn’t have enough time to co-plan with you, you should:

a. Do whatever she says, she has a wooden machete on her desk she uses as a pointing stick

b. Eventually switch to the super friendly third grade teacher in the afternoon before talking       it over with the first teacher.

c. While observing the class just sit silently next to the kid pretending to shoot the toy gun              and try not to make eye contact with the teacher.  Maybe then she’ll respect you.

d.  All of the above

10.  Despite the few negatives, you will:

a.  Grow to look forward to seeing horse or cattle draw carts in the street during class

b.  Figure out that the majority of the population is very nice and hospitable

c.  Learn to sleep through the nightly chorus of strange sounds (either that or buy earplugs)

d.  Love it in Nicaragua!

e. ALL OF THE ABOVE (hint, it’s this one!)

Answer Key:

1. h

2. d

3. b

4. i

5. d

6. e

7. c

8. a

9. d

10. e