Village Life

I live in the ANS Village.  To most of you that doesn't mean much but it's like living in a really small community.  If you have ever seen the village the "Others" live in on LOST then just imagine that but with a fence around it. :) There's lots of people, some excitement, and neighbors.  I lived in dorms with lots of roommates in college but it's not quite the same when you have families living around you rather than young adults.
About a week or so ago, maybe two weeks I was reading in my room (I do that a lot) and I hear Alex (my dear friend and neighbor) yell "SARAH! LAURA!  Come to my house ASAP and bring your cameras...I have something to show you!!!!!"  So in humoring my good friend in neighbor I did as she told me with as smile and went over to her house.  She told me to look in her toliet...my first reaction is "Alex, your gross!"  But Alex isn't the kind of girl who would poop and tell so I humored her.  This is what I found:

For those of you who don't know that is an iguana.  They are really common and we have tons on campus but I've never seen one in someone's house let alone in the toliet.  WHO KNEW!  So we went and got our good friend Melvin.  Melvin is one of the guys who is head of maintenance and he fixes things when they break.  He fixed my toilet, my air conditioner, listened to Alex cry when she an ant nest in her house; He pretty much does it all.  So here is a fun little video of Melvin the magician working his magic :)

My favorite part of this video is when Alex smiles in the end...haha! That one of the many reasons why I love her! :)

In other village news my friends bought motorcycles!  Learning to ride a motorcycle when you live in the village is a ticket to freedom and they cost under 2,000.  I couldn't get a picture, but i'm sure there will be one to come!

This semester has gone so so fast!  I can't believe it's only 8 more days of teaching for me.  Two this week, one week of SEMANA SANTA ( spring break!) in Costa Rica and Panama, and then we have Monday off the following week, and the next Monday off and then we leave!  It's gone so fast but I'm ready to be home and start the job pursuit!

One way I really need prayer is just of this whole job thing. Just that God would give me wisdom as to where to apply and he would just provide what I need in those places.  I had a little "worry day" on Saturday.  (Worry Days are day I freak out about the future)  Luckily I was able to talk to my mom who reminded me that it really isn't in my hands anyway!  Yay for wise mothers!

Next post will be full of Semana Santa pictures!!! WOOO HOOO!

Life in the First Grade

As of yesterday we have been in Nicaragua for a whole month!  It is crazy how fast it has gone and really how much I am beginning to feel comfortable.  I'm learning the routine of life here which is definitely growing on me.
First of all I LOVE my students.
Last week was a little difficult.  Friday after discussing with two of my male student why 'Where's Waldo' books are inappropriate to pick out during library time, I had to have an even serious talk with one of them who checked it out behind my back.  I had never been more disappointed in a six year old!
This week has been really fun.  Monday could best be described as a little awkward.  It was the first day I was teaching all day and I felt like I was a chicken with head cut off!  I was all over the place.  Yesterday (Tuesday) was just a really fun day!  I am beginning to really appreciate the little personalities that are in my class!  Today my mob boss gave my cooperating teacher a half eaten pastry...its funny because this kids love food so much.  He is also the one who calls me Ms. ALL THE TIME....finally yesterday I told him I asked him what my name is...he told me Ms.  So I started calling him "boy." :)
Friday they had Tiger Meeting...here are some of the pictures from it:

This little girl is from my class...she did a great job helping to MC the Tiger Meeting.

One of the groups from my class presenting their sentence on families.

"Families can be big or small"
The little boy standing up on the right, with his hair slicked back is my mob boss...

This one was very cute...their sentence was "Families are stuck together with love glue"
SO GREAT!

An update on life in the 3rd world:

Friday Sarah and I got a taxi by ourselves to come home from Spanish lessons.  I was pretty proud of our skills however began to panic as the taxi drive drove straight through the turn to our school!  I was said...Sarah, we were suppose to turn back there.  The taxi then preceded to pull into a hotel and go inside.  We were panicking because we weren't sure what was going on and taxis are a site of many robberies and kidnappings in  Managua.  So we got out of the taxi as the man came back.  He got his phone and we started walking alway.  I was just pissed and Sarah was trying to call everyone in our phone.  We ended up walking a ways to the only skyscraper in Nicaragua and called a taxi from there.  I think this was one of the best ways to call a taxi...when under the influence of fear and adrenaline :)  Anyway we got home safely but a the same time shaken up.  The problem is that we are white and don't speak Spanish so we couldn't understand what he had said to us.  The pluses were that we are becoming familiar with the city that has no order what so ever!  We knew where we were and where the school was.  It was also around 5:30 so it was still somewhat light out.

This weekend we chilled at home.  It was really great to just sit around and read, especially since I'm on a major reading kick.  I've just been reading every night before bed for a half an hour to an hour.  In the past month I have read like no tomorrow!

Books I've Read:
 The Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury - Redemption, Remember, Return, Rejoice, Reunion
Really great series that I really connected to!

Currently Reading:
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - my kindle has free classics so I'm taking full advantage!  I think Gulliver's Travels is next.

Passion and Purity by Elizabeth Elliot - I absolutely love Elizabeth Elliot!  I read her "Let Me Be a Woman" a few years ago and was blow away but her insight and wisdom.  I've had this book since part way through the semester but haven't taken the time to read it.  I started it the other night and can't put it down.  It's amazing how now when I'm a single woman, in another country, trying to decide what to do with my life I have time to read it...timing is perfect.

*Any book suggestions are also taken :)

Here are just a few more pictures from my life lately:

My bedroom! 

Our living room

Our little kicten

other view of our living room, into our kitchen

My kick butt neighbors...haha
Allen is on the left- he is my friend Hailey's fiancée
Alex is on the right...she is fierce :)
They are both in Takwando

Alex and her new kitty Elton...who I frequently call Elliot
Alex is a proud mom

This little man is the hit of the neighborhood

First Earthquake + First Espanol lesson

This afternoon after my last lesson of the week, I walked to lunch with my cooperating teacher.  (I eat lunch while the kids are in Spanish) I had just sat down with my usual lunch of chicken strips with honey mustard and amazing homemade chips (great meal for $2! or 40 cords).  I was eating with my two friends who teach in the middle school when our table began to rock.  At first I though someone was just moving the table but then no one was moving and it lasted a little long for that to be it.  I looked at my cooperating teacher, Maria, who was smiling at me from across the room asking if I felt that.  IT WAS MY FIRST EARTHQUAKE!  Awesome!
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc00017cj.php
Then the sirens started going off in the school.  Being from Iowa there is no reason why I would ever need to know what to do in case of and earthquake so I had to ask her where I was suppose to go.  She said we just had to get away from the buildings and trees.  The siren only lasted a minute at most but I found out the tremor was a 5.1!  Such a cool experience.  Nicaragua has 50 volcanoes, 7 of which are active.  There is a lot of movement and shifting of the plates here.
My second unique experience of the day was our first Spanish lessons.  This is no Ballard High School Spanish class.  Professora Balew has nothin' on this lady.  She spoke Spanish the entire time...it was super intimidating and my brain literally hurts after being immersed in it for dos horas.  It's kind of crazy how much I can remember though because I didn't think it was as much as it was.  This lady teaches Spanish for the Peace Corp and is giving us lesson for 5 dollars each time!  I'm hoping I come home a better Spanish speaker and understander (not sure if that's a word but oh well my brain is fried!)
:)
:

Starting teaching/weekend out of Managua

Last Monday was my first day at school.  It was only a staff work day but it was really nice to get to know the other teachers and the school without the worry of kids.  I meet my cooperating teacher who is very sweet and I am very excited to be working with her.  We also are doing a book study for professional development which I am really excited about.  I realized my need and desire to be constantly learning more professionally and this definitely is helping to fulfill this desire.

Last Tuesday I met my kids.  I don't think I have ever been so nervous to meet a groups of 20 six and seven year olds.  It is kind of hard because some of the don't know as much English and the kids usually talk to each other in Spanish.  This has been especially true after coming back from a month of winter break.  It's kind of difficult situation because I want them to be conversing with each other and doing think pair share but I never know if they are on task or not.

This week I have taken over writing.  It has been an adventuring figuring out what works and what doesn't with all ELL kids in a very open environment where it's usually fairly loud.  Have three little angels that don't seem to want to do any writing but I have already seen improvements in there stamina to write.

Yesterday I came home very frustrated and overwhelmed by the whole experience.  I called my mom and she suggested really focusing on building relationships with my students.  Today this was my main focus and I have to say it made it much more enjoyable.  I am beginning to appreciate and get to know the little personalities in my class.  I know you aren't suppose to have favorite but let's face it I have a little tiny favorite.  This little boy is seven years old and I have nicked name him the mob boss.  He is absolutely hilarious and always has a comment to say after every class discussion.  He also loves food and money and is very good at ordering people around.  The thing is they listen to him because he just has that mod boss way about it.  My teach and i constantly are smiling at each other when he does something that is mob bossish.  :)

The other really exciting thing is that we got out of Managua this weekend!  It was awesome!  Managua can kind of kill your spirits and so it was nice to see other parts of Nicaragua.  On Saturday morning we went to Granada for breakfast.  It was SO GOOD!  We went to a place called Kathy's Waffle House and then toured around Granada.

Above is a picture taken from the Cathedral's bell tower looking over at Lake Nicaragua.  The largest lake in Nicaragua

This is the cathedral!  I think it is so absolutely stunning!

This is a video of La Laguna.  We went to an overlook on Saturday then went swimming in it on Sunday! So much fun and so beautiful!

This is at a the Monkey Hut Hostel.  If you ever visit Nicaragua look it up! We went swimming and ordered pizza which was super good, but Sarah got sick after eating it.  As you can see though it's a little piece of paradise.

To get in you jump off the end of the dock.  We then swam out to the far floating dock.  I hope you can see it in this picture cuz it's kind of far away.  The water was really choppy this day so I was exhausted swimming out there and back...plus I had run Sunday morning so getting out of bed on Monday was a bit of a challenge. :)

No Mas Gasolina

So tonight Sarah and I went out to dinner with Alex, another teacher that lives here in the village, and Stephanie, a girl who works for the peace corp North of Chinandega.  It was really fun.  We went to a Middle Eastern restaurant.  It was muy, muy delicioso!  Although our waiter was not very good.  He brought me another drink that I never ordered.  He charged Alex for 3 drinks when she only had 2 and put in the wrong salad order for Stephanie.  She sent it back then he tried to charge her for both dishes.  It was very interesting but then came the big adventure.
What I haven't told you was this was our first experience taking a taxi in Nicaragua.  We got there perfectly.  They way back was a little more rough.  We got in a taxi and got him down to 20 Chords a person (about a dollar) to take us home.  However we only made it about a mile and all of a sudden he pulled over.  Alex and Stephanie started to ask him questions and then get out of the taxi.  I asked what happened and it turns out that the driver had run out of gas.  So he just kicked us out on the side of the road...never the way i thought my first ever taxi ride would go!  So armed with Stephanie's pepper spray we marched on along the street in Managua. We were about two blocks away when Alex hailed down a taxi for the road that I guess is not great to walk at night.  As we were stepping along the dirt paths toward the school I could only think that these are the kind of adventures i would not forget about Nicaragua. :)

I am currently watching Julie and Julia.  I am encouraged by watching Julia Child try to speak French :)  Sounds like my Spanish.
PS. If you weren't away Sue Sylvester in Julia Child's sister.

PPS. I just saw the first lizard since I've been here.  Sadly it was on the wall my apartment.  AH!  and Sarah is asleep so I had to withhold my scream and wake up my roommate tenancy.