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

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.