Post Vacation

Wow, I cannot even begin to express how absolutely amazing it was to see family last week!!!!! I sort of feel like I dreamt it all now that we are back to our regular lives…..We saw some amazing sites, swam in the ocean, went to a Mass, ate all kinds of yummy food, went zip lining and had some run ins with the law (-: All in all, it was awesome. Thank you family. Indeed, it was heartbreaking to say goodbye….lots of tears….that part, well, it just sucked.
So re-entry into life in our site has been a little rough, though I am sort of back into the swing of things now. One of my students committed suicide on Monday….I went to her burial on Tuesday….we had some things go missing from our house while we were out of town…..I am having some stressful issues with some folks I “work” with….all these things on top of just saying Good Bye to our families made the beginning of the week a little tough…..but I am feeling surprisingly more optimistic today.
It was awesome to give our host family and counterparts presents from our real families----they loved everything!!!! Our host family here, even though we don’t live with them anymore, really knows how to make us feel good (-: Their house is one of the places I go when I am feeling down, and I am sure to feel better after a visit.
Our adult community class is going well—every time we have to miss a Friday class, they insist we have a makeup class on Weds AND regular class on Friday=More work for us but it is SO AWESOME how motivated they are…..we gave them a list of the 300 most frequently used words in English, and over the holiday one student looked up every single word! We are thinking of adding some more Community Classes since they seem to be one of the things that make us happier (-:
We have a workshop coming up in a few weeks in a nearby (2.5 hour bus ride) town. Really Matt and I are just giving an hour and a half presentation with another volunteer about communicative activities. A volunteer who has been here a year longer than us is really leading the event. All of our counterparts plus all the other English professors from our municipality say they are going to attend. Supposedly, about 40 Nicaraguan teachers have signed up. It is super exciting because they will all be receiving a Teaching English Manual----complete with activity ideas etc. Right now, most English teachers here have no books….they are given a topic to teach, such as Human Rights etc….and they just have to decide what to teach! I also think it will be great for all the teachers to have the same book. They are paying a fraction of the price, thanks to US AID and PC. I am excited about this, even though it means lots more bus time )-:
Ok, sending the biggest hugs you guys can imagine….I really can’t wait to give them in person….please keep the updates, cards, phone calls, emails etc. coming!!!

gettin somewhere

This title makes me laugh. Mainly because it is actually physically quite difficult for us to “get” anywhere but where we live. Thanks to a dirt road that winds through the mountains kickin up more dust than you can imagine and full of holes and rocks…..Matt likes to say the bus ride is like being on a boat…..and it kind of is….
It feels good though to look back on the past 7 and then some months and see a little progress in SOME areas.
Living situation is great still—in the garage and super happy about it—though it has recently become a stale kind of hot….and living in a garage with a tin roof doesn’t help much-----
We got a new sitemate! Welcome new friend! He is young and full of energy and optimism—it is pretty refreshing (-: He lives with our old host family and must be 6 foot something----but since he is from India originally he blends in a bit more here than us pasty white chelas.
We had a site visit—meaning a supervisor of sorts (an old volunteer who has climbed the chain a bit) came allllllll the way to Quilali to spend some quality time with us and observe some classes. This was really great and gave me a fresh perspective on some things. The class she saw me teach with one of my counterparts went REALLY REALLY well, so that was a definite bonus, although, sadly, it is sort of more the exception than the norm. But at least I know how possible it is to have a class like that now! Work is…..still pretty frustrating at times, but baby steps are being made. Having a great class makes the whole week sort of shine. Despite all other difficulties or frustrations.
We are really REALLY looking forward to vacation with our families in a week!!!! Cannot believe it! Only worry it will make it hard to get back into the swing of things after, but well worth whatever may come!