A little on the life of your favorite gringa stuck in Central America

Well people, here I am again. Today I am writing this from one of the two Nicaraguan malls. This mall is the 'nice' one and it has wireless interenet. This past week has been fairly uneventful. I laugh frequently or at least want to. I still don't know why any Nicaraguan would ask me my opinions on who should win for president in November. I can't even figure out how many candidates there are. Like I'm pretty sure one of them died this summer and is still running. So when I get asked that or for my phone number when I am just trying to make small talk I just laugh. Ok well yesteday I took pictures in my classes (which they loved) so here they are. love, joy

This shows part of the outside of the school, the long building
holds all of the classrooms, the roof on the left is of the church
we share the campus with, we can only use that for chapel on
Fridays. On the right (it isn’t in the picture) is the office, and
a room they are hoping to call a library (once they get books)

This is the playground (note the transparency of the slide on the left)
The shack to the right gets opened up for kids to buy food during
Recess, it isn’t affiliated with the school but Matthew sees it as
A good way to support the community.

Second Grade (The blue book they are holding is the project they are working on to learn their colors)

Third Grade

Kindergarten (I didn’t have a chance to take a picture of all 30
Of them but here are three), I teach kindergarten Thursdays.

First Grade (This is a lot of 1st graders and I think 6 are absent)

On bats, volacones, and other things Nica

The other night as I was trying to sleep I kept hearing this noise so finally I decided to go check it out. As I stepped out of my bedroom a bat flew in and landed on my bedroom wall. We leave the balcony door open so I had to stand in the stairway to wait it out.

So Cristina warned me that the gringos here hang out in two groups, the more creative ones and the more athletic ones. My apartment has the athletic ones. Just like Daivs, yeah? No, there we made collages in our spare time and I would take cardio kick boxing to socialize. On Friday my “friends” here were hiking a volcano. Yeah it was really just a huge pile of gravel. Two steps up one step back completely on your hands and knees. After about one hour, I was 75% of the way up I realized, “Hey you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. Your brothers aren’t here to make you and you really don’t care what these people think. And you don’t enjoy hiking.” So I quit. But still I have plenty of bruises and scrapes to remind me of the occasion and the back of my legs got a nice tan.

That same night after I took a cold shower I grabbed my shirt off the bed to put on and yeah there were ants all over it. Not the nice ants from home that are just annoying. These ants bite and were everywhere. I just got back in the shower and stayed there until I had enough courage to brave the elements.

But things are good too. This morning I went to Curves with Cristina. Last week I had to get a copy of a key made and it was less than 18 Cordobas, so only like a dollar. Last Thursday and Friday were holidays so no school and I have today and tomorrow off as well. I went to the movies on Saturday and it only cost $3 and I didn’t even have to turn off my phone because I wasn’t really worried about incoming calls.

Well lovely people I think that is all for now, keep up the good work.
Love, Joy

Uh, mas despacio por favor

Hola, que pasa? Well I'm here about to complete my first week in lovely Managua, Nicaragua. Today was my first day of teaching and i wore white pants and a green shirt. That's the kind of info I'm supposed to put in this thing verdad? Hum I guess the easiest way to break this down is by day so I'll try that.
Tuesday
Bienvenidos a Managua. Yup I got here, safely and fairly stress free considering I flew with my sister-in-law and my 9 month old nephew.
Wednesday
I spent most of the day settling into my new apartment. I'm living with three other girls in a three bedroom three bath apartment. It is very nice and clean and spacious. It seams bigger than my apartment in Davis but maybe because there is only the stuff that would fit in 2 50lb bags each. I also went to the Nicaraguan version of Costco with my brother and sister-in-law. It was more exciting for them then me because I'm not at the state where my body craves orange juice yet.
Thursday
I think this might have been the first day I used my mad Espanol skills. I had a conversation with the maid that consisted of her telling me she could tell I'm an Eklund because I look just like my brothers. Now a little more on the maid situation...I mean my mom does an amazing job on my laundry but this lady not only washes it but puts it back in my dresser. And she put it all in the right place, (this is very important to me folks). Also on Thursday I went with Cristina to a cafe with wireless internet and drank a Nicaraguan Frappachino. Oh and for dinner I went to the house two of my roommates are house-sitting at for dinner.
Friday
This one was interesting. I met with the man Matthew that runs the school where I'm teaching. He is Korean-American. We went out to lunch at one of the four Koren restaurants in Managua. I got some beef thing that tasted very similar to PF Chang's lettuce wraps. I got to use a lot more Spanish this day because the school has a driver that picked me up and we just chatted it up in my poor Spanish.
Saturday
I went to the Market. I bought two rugs.
Sunday (Home stretch folks only two more days)
I went to church in the morning. Actually to two different ones. First the English one that all the missionaries go to and then to the Nicaragua one. My brother spoke at the Nicaraguan one so it was in English with translation. Now this brings me to my next point. Electricity. Saturday it was out from noon until 5:30. Sunday from noon until 7:00. That is annoying. I think everyday there is no electricity for at least a little. But after that from 7-9 my apartment has a coffee night and people come over for a little food and games and stuff. That was good, just like old times.
Monday
Today was my first day of teaching. I walked to my to the school my brother teaches at which is about 8 minutes from my apartment. Then I waited for the driver to pick me up. The school is about a 20 minute drive from here. When I got to the school Matthew wasn't there so this lady in the office was going to show me the classrooms. First she introduced me to the first grade class, then to the second grade class. When I walked into the second grade class she left me there and I was supposed to begin the molding of these 18 young minds. I almost started laughing but restrained myself. Yeah second graders are crazy, they don't stay in the desks or in the classroom necessarily. They already knew colors and numbers so today they learned to say "Hello, my name is..." and "How do you say...?". After a super productive hour with second grade it was recess. Matthew still wasn't there. I talked with some of the kids and ate the last of my Trader Joe's Sweet, Savory, and Tart trail mix. Next I followed the third grade teacher into his room. I was doing pretty well until they asked my how to say ardilla in English. Yeah apparently it is Squirrel. After that I went back into the first grade class. They made second graders look like angels. Now I am at my brother's school using the internet to write this way too long letter.

I love you, Joy

all my bags are packed...am I ready to go?

Hello, and welcome to update numero dos from Joy! Although it may seem like you just heard from me, really a lot has happened (unless you did just hear from me than not much has changed). I'm a little tired so there is a possibility this e-mail may actually be brief but more likely it will be incoherent. So either way feel free to stop reading whenever and I'll never know. And here she blows...
Mexico and Memorial
On August 16th I went to Mexico, on August 15th my grandmother died. She had been sick a long time and things went more quickly and painlessly than we ever could have hoped for. My family all encouraged me to still go on the trip and that was definitely the right decision. I think God really used this time in Mexico to increase my confidence about this whole Nicaragua thing. Obviously the extra language use was helpful and I got to see that God really does have a plan. That aside, one thing that was really good on the trip was that I got to spend lots of time with the little kids. Now you may be thinking "Joy, why was that a good thing? You don't even like kids." That may be true but I am moving to Nicaragua to teach kids with no direction. Hanging out with them in Mexico got me accustomed to being with kids that don't speak English and reminded me that kids do like to color and play games like pato, pato, ganso (duck, duck, goose).
Other things were cool too. Like on Sunday nights everyone gets dressed up and goes to the town square. They separate by gender and the boys circle the square walking clock-wise while the girls walk counter clock-wise. If a boy likes a girl he asks her if he can walk with her and the walk around it together, in the girls direction. It was just like old-fashioned prom or something.
I could say a lot more about that, but I won't. I got back to my lovely home town the following Thursday and then two days later we had a memorial here for my grandma. Although it was sad, it was nice to see the family and Jeremy and Cristina (and Elijah) were able to come up from Nicaragua
Moving On
Since then I've been packing and cleaning and trying to do things I won't be able to do once I leave. These things include, but are not limited to; talking on the phone, drinking Peet's coffee (well maybe not actually coffee but I'm sure there is a little in what I order), driving, watching cable television, taking scalding hot showers, having tea parties with my sister, socializing with people I know. Pretty much really important things.
Am I Excited?
So lately people keep asking me if I am excited or nervous, prepared or overwhelmed. Yes, I definitely am.
Love, Joy
PS. What is going on with you?

1st Nica Letter Revised and Expanded

Dearly Beloved, how are you? I am doing well, I am typing from my room at my parent's house and am surrounded by bags of stuff I haven't yet unpacked from when I moved out of my apartment in Davis two months ago. It is odd because I've been working in an office for the past two weeks organizing and filing, yet when I come home, I dig through things to try to find slips of paper with e-mails written on them. So the good news is, despite my chaos, you made the cut onto my e-mail list. However, my mom just informed me that maybe everyone doesn't want e-mail updates on my adventures. So if you are one of those people, I won't be offended but this will be my last e-mail to you. On the other hand, if you or someone you know would like to hear from me just send me an e-mail back and you'll be added to my mailing list, and I'll be really happy.

And enough of that and here comes update numero uno.

For the past year I knew that I was going to be graduating soon and that I would have to move on to something else in my life. What that would be was a mystery, but the idea of getting a career or going to grad school wasn't looking very exciting. Last summer my oldest brother, Jeremy and his wife Cristina moved to Nicaragua and since then they have been trying to sell the idea to me. Well I've been down there twice and it is amazing how many doors God has opened up as I began praying about it. So from September 5th to December 18th I will be living in Managua, Nicaragua (that's Central America folks). I will be teaching English three days a week at a local Nicaraguan school in the slums. Currently the school has no English program at all or any resources, so what ever I have to give they will take. The man, Matthew, that runs the school doesn't seem to have any problems with the fact that I have no experience with this kind of business except 6 years of Spanish. To my knowledge I will be teaching Kinder-Third grade English two days a week and Bible to all grades (K-6) one day. I am not going to live with Jeremy and Cristina but with three gringa girls that teach with Jeremy at the American school.

So that leaves me with little less than a month and the time is already filling up. On Wednesday morning I am flying to Mascota, Mexico on a missions trip with nine friends. When I get back I am going to visit my grandparents in Oregon for the weekend, then I will be back in Concord a week before I leave. Throughout all this it is amazing to see how much God continually provides and how smoothly things have been coming together.

Even if you don't want more e-mails I want you to know how much of a blessing and encouragement you have been in my life. Thank you for taking the time to read this and sorry it is so long (I hate reading long e-mails).

PS here's whats new. I did go to Mexico and it was absolutely amazing and God really used it to prepare me for Nicaragua. Being on the trip reminded me of things like that kids like to color. So now I just need to find a coloring book and I'll be set. I didn't go to Oregon because the day before I went to Mexico my grandma passed away. It ended up being really perfect timing (if there is such a thing) and we had a memorial service last weekend were I got to see lots of family. So now I leave on Tuesday and I bought shampoo yesterday so I'm ready to go.

I love you, Joy

I have lots of prayer requests but this is one way you could pray "To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you," -2 Thessalonians 1:11-12