One Month Left!?

Geovannia with her new baby girl!

Afternoon Class

9th grade in the morning

 Buenas!

8th grade B

Me with Xiomara and Conny! 

The Close of Service conference we had in August went well. They gave us a lot of information to prepare us for leaving Nicaragua. I got Advanced-mid on my language test. I was very happy because I started at Novice-high (much to my surprised I thought I was at least intermediate lol). With only a month left in Peace Corps, lately I have spent a lot of my time reflecting back on the past two years. It’s been really difficult to narrow down everything that I have learned and experienced. I think that I won’t really realize the impact that Nicaragua has had on me until I get back home. A lot of people are asking me, “how do you feel”? I would say it changes from day to day. Some days I am really excited and can’t wait to get home and then other days I am sad and dreading the day when I have to say tearful goodbyes to all of the people I have met here in Nicaragua. But it’s time for a change and time for a new chapter. I am trying to take lots of picture of everything and everyone so I will always have those memories with me. The school year is winding down, as much as the kids drove me crazy they also made me laugh and I am going to miss them. Its so cute when they tell me "no se vaya teacher". Dont go teacher! I am trying to figure out how to pack up all my stuff, sell things and give things away. It’s hard! I have accumulated a lot of stuff over the past two years. Other than that my life has been consumed with studying for the GRE. I really hope I do well. My friend and I are taking it in Costa Rica because there are no more spaces left to take it here in Nicaragua. It’s kind of annoying but asi es la vida. After we finish with the GRE we are heading back to Nicaragua for a few days, going to a friend’s wedding and then heading up to Guatemala for two weeks! Exciting things to come. Also this past weekend we had a little going away party that was thrown by one of the volunteers counterparts. It was a lot of fun to see all the people who came to Nicaragua with me. It's so amazing to see how we have all changed and grown over the past two years. It is going to be weird not to see them on a regular basis. But it's good to know that I will always have people to talk to who shared this experience with and will know where I am coming from. Time is really flying by. Trying to take it all in and not miss a thing. Next time I turn around I will be back home!

Three Months Left!

I just want to say that I only have 3 more months left in Nicaragua! What!? It’s very exciting and also very strange. When I think about going home I feel very excited and also anxious about that adjustment back into my normal life in the states. But anyway I have had a busy couple of months. I had my birthday in June. I am getting really old but I don´t want to talk about that... But it was kind of sad because I was sick the day of my birthday. Those pesky little parasites know how to get into your system and ruin a birthday. But luckily my friend Stephanie came over to cheer me up so the day wasn´t a complete bust. 
In June my friends Mary Helen and Dan came to visit me. It was so much fun. We went to the beach, did a boat cruise and they got to see where I live and how I live. It was so much fun and their visit was too short ha! After that was the Vagina Monologues. My friend Stephanie organized a showing of the Vagina Monologues in Nicaragua. I helped with the production of the show. It was really great and in Spanish! The women that were in it were all Nicaraguan and they did a great job. It was cool to be apart of it from the beginning and see how the women progressed and also formed a bond. Then right after the monologues another group of friends came. All the girls that I lived with in D.C. before I came here. It was such a great time. It was a reunion for all of us because now we all live in different cities (and countries). We also went to the beach and did the same boat tour.  They also saw my house and my town. My friends said that they liked my house but I can imagine they were very shocked when they saw the way I live. I remember someone saying “wow Kellie and I am proud of you”. Lol. But it’s just become normal to me. 
 At the end of August we have our COS (Close of Service) Conference. We are going to talk about transitioning from Peace Corps to the next step and wrapping things up. It’s something we heard about from the beginning our service. Now that it’s almost here it’s hard to believe it. I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment that I have almost completed my service. In September it will be two years in Nicaragua! 

Pictures from top bottom

1. Mary Helen, Dan and I at the Masaya Volcano. 

2. The ladies after the Vagina Monologues

3. The girls and I before getting on the boat

Overdue Update!

Wow I haven’t written a blog entry in four months! I have been kind of Busy I guess. Since I last wrote school has started of course. It has definitely been a lot easier this time around. I know a lot of the kids and they know me so it makes things run more smoothly in class. Also the things that use to bother me about the school system last year, don’t bother me as much and I have learned to go with the flow. I walk into school and there is no class and no one told me. I don’t get frustrated I just take it as an opportunity to go check my email, get some ice cream or take a walk! I am still doing my community class two times a week. The class is going well. It’s fun and I have a good group! I think they enjoy it and are learning. My mom and Brittany came to visit last month! It was a lot of fun. They felt like Nicaragua experts this time around! We went to the Atlantic coast for a few days and then came back and stayed in my area for the rest of the time. They got to see a volcano also which we didn’t get to do last time!

So I only have six more months of service left! I can’t believe it. It’s crazy to think about. I have been trying to enjoy my time here in Nicaragua while looking towards the future as well. That can be a little hard sometimes. I am excited to go home but at the same time I am trying to live in the moment because I know that when I get back I will miss living here and all the friends I have made and the crazy experiences. For example a few weeks ago I had to go to a peace corps meeting in a town near by. So I got on the little bus but before we left my town the bus has a flat tire. So they stopped to change the tire. I was calm and said ok this shouldn’t take long. Twenty minutes later I wasn’t as calm and was already late for the meeting. So I decided to get off the bus and catch the next one even though the bus driver said “they were almost done”. So as I am walking down the street the bus I wanted to take passes me… I was not happy. So then I decide to take a taxi because I don’t have time to wait for another bus. I am in the taxi with three other people. As we are heading to our destination. I notice the car slowing down. The taxi driver says “ay no” and I realize that he has run out of gas! At that point I just had to laugh and say is this real? So I had to get out of that taxi and find another taxi… I finally made it to the meeting but of course I was late. As someone said to me the other day I got “Nicaraguaed” lol.

Anyway the next few months with be exciting! I am going to the Palo de Mayo on the Atlantic Coast at the end of the month. I went last year so it should be fun.  Also I have two different groups of friends coming to visit! So I will be a busy lady. That’s all for now.  Peace.

PS for some reason these pictures are huge!!!

Back In Action

Well a lot has happened to me since I last wrote a blog entry. I went home for two weeks, which was amazing! It was a short two weeks, but I think I successfully packed as much as I could in that time. I ate a lot of great food and spent some quality time with my family and friends. It actually wasn't as weird as I thought it was going to be. It felt good being home.

I got back to Nicaragua and it was a little bit of a shock. When I got to my house in Nicaragua on January 4th, there was a huge man hole in front of my door the side of a kiddie pool! It was really deep and I thought I was going to fall in. That was a big surprise. Apparently they were installing a sub-pump underground and they thought they would be finished by the time I got back. I also got back and felt a little bit depressed. I wasn’t expecting to feel as sad as I did. I arrived home late at night and I was alone and without all my family and friends. It was the first time in awhile that I really realized how difficult being a Peace Corps volunteer really is and that this life style isn’t easy. But my sadness didn’t last long, I was back into the swing of things in less than a week.

The 16th-20th of January I did a summer camp with another volunteer. I got back on January 4th and I did nothing but prepare for the camp until it started. It was a lot of work! A lot more than I expected. I think that the work paid off and the kids had fun. The kids learned English and also art, poetry and American culture. We also taught them about HIV and Aids and self-esteem. At the end of the camp we had an “Amazing Race” where the kids went to different stations in groups and had to apply the knowledge that they learned all week. They had a lot of fun doing that. It was a good time.

Right after the camp we had an in-service training (our last one ever). We were able to bring one of our counterpart teachers and have them participate. I think it was good for a lot of us to get a little motivation for this next year and have some new ideas. The training was in this place called Selva Negra in the northern region of Nicaragua! It was really cold there! I was wearing a scarf and a fleece the whole time. It’s so weird how it can be so hot in one part of the country and really cold in another part. It was really pretty there. They make coffee there too, and they export it to the US and sell it in certain stores (I think Whole Foods was mentioned). It was a good training overall and we got to spend sometime with the new group that came this past September. School is starting in two weeks, so I am getting ready for that. I have 10 more months of service so I am trying to make the best of it.


Pictures
1. Our christmas tree in Bmore
2-3. Pics of me at the camp and some pics of the kids
4. Picture in Selva Negra
5. Picture of me with my counterpart teacher.