Monday, January 30, 2012

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.

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