Joy, the updater, strikes again

As you may have noticed, some weeks I have a lot more to say than other weeks. I've been trying to mix up the format to keep things fun and exciting but I’m running out of ideas, I’ve done bullets, day-by-day, a poem, F.A.Q.’s, short, long, what else is there? That’s right! A story.

Once upon a time there was a boy named Sue, but this story isn’t about him it is about a girl named Joy. Seemingly, Joy had it all, ravishing beauty, unparalleled intelligence, a captivating personality, the perfect California life. Then, one day she was ripped from her home and thrust (not exactly against her will) into The Quinta Allyson. At first, and probably second, glance The Quinta Allyson apartment complex looked just like her North American home plus a few mango trees, maids, and armed guards, minus some hot water heaters, garbage disposals, and carpeting. But, once the guards opened the gates to trash-laden Caratera Vieja a Leon, she wasn’t in North America at all but Nicaragua .
In this new and exciting land, Joy was faced with various trials, the most prevalent being the strange language that was constantly spoken. Another dilemma was deciding how to fill her time without the conveniences that she was accustomed to, such as a readily available car, reliable electricity (however, recently, when the electricity was on she got shocked and the left side of her body still feels a little tingly), nearly constant studying and homework, and a plethora of friends.
To counter the lack of English spoken around her without having to learn Spanish, she decided to share her English skills with those around her (this also helped fill her excess time). It was not difficult for Joy to find clients, although a little more challenging to find those that pay. It seemed as though everyone assumed since she is a native English speaker she must be an excellent teacher as well.
But, here is a little secret, Joy, until recently doing some on-line research, had no idea that a verb ending in –ing and acting like a noun is called a gerund, or really what prepositions and articles were. While teaching 2nd grade Nicaraguans this doesn’t actually matter but, teaching teen-aged Koreans who actually want to learn English and have been studying it on their own some problems arise.
With the younger, Nicaraguan, student population, Joy’s was faced with other challenges, such as stopping students from spitting on each other and getting them to stay in their seats instead of crawling under their desks. If these issues were dealt with within the allotted 45 minutes, she was then able to teach them phrases such as “My name is Fernando,” and other basic English vocabulary.
These two groups of clientele took much of Joy’s time but still she found time for various other activities. On Tuesdays and Thursdays she tutored an eighth-grader in algebra. This task she found especially satisfying because he rarely asked a question for which she did not have an answer.
Saturdays were Joy’s time to spend however she wished. Often this included watching TV or movies with friends. Recently she was introduced to the Indiana Jones movies although she has not yet formed an opinion as to rather or not they were worth her time.
One Saturday, February 24, 2007 , she went with a group of high school students and teachers to the dumps for a service project. There are many tasks that could be accomplished when twenty, hard-workers, go to a neighborhood/land fill to help-out. This particular group, on this particular day, picked possibly the least obvious task (or maybe the most obvious?). They went to pick up garbage. Looking back, it was mostly moving trash from one area to another, but when is that not the case? This time the trash was picked up from a make-shift soccer field and taken to a designated place depending on if it was recyclable or not. The group was attempting to clean the field enough so that a band could come for a concert.
Once again Joy was shocked to see the filth that some Nicaraguans live in and even more astonished to hear about the depths some have to lower themselves to in order to sustain their meager lifestyles. Seeing people in this state of poverty, yet not necessarily despair, it was easy for Joy to look at her own life and think of how frequently she lets her material possessions effect her attitude, and to realize how completely ridiculous that is.
After this eye-opening experience Joy decided that she needed to take a few days off. Actually she was sick, not even with some cool jungle disease but with a lame-o cold or something. Either way it required her to sleep for the greater part of two days and to continue watching Indiana Jones to figure out why it has lasted for so long. She still thinks the ride is better than the movie, but even that isn’t as good as Space Mountain .
Finally, one Tuesday night at 9:40 Joy decided it was time to go to bed, in hopes that the next morning she would be ready to face whatever new adventure came her way, because, they always did.

How much can Joy say about her week without saying a whole lot

Maybe last week's e-mail was short but those short ones have their advantages, I think the shorter they are the less likely people are to feel guilty about not reading the whole thing. But since there is no condemnation in Christ you really shouldn't feel guilty if you don't finish this weeks because of my long-windedness.
Jueves:
Today I helped out with pre-school. There are 42 students, one teacher, one very un-enthusiastic aide, and three boxes of crayons. Last week we played with clay which I thought was a disaster until today when we played with scissors. Is it ok for 3 year-olds to have scissors? I guess there was no major mis-haps but we learned that they aren't ready to cut clouds out of white paper yet. Guess what one of the students had for snack. Yeah you won't guess so I'll tell you, toothpaste.
Today was also payday and I got a raise. I now get 900 instead of 880 cords every two weeks. That means I am getting about $1.30 more than last year, however I am on campus an extra four hours.
Another exciting thing is I started a new job. Jeremy's school needed tutors so I am tutoring one eighth grade boy in algebra two hours a week. I think I can handle it, I knew those two years of college calculus were good for something. Actually I am still doubt they had any use besides bringing down my GPA.
For lunch I went to this Korean family's house and we had spaghetti and rice. I am going to be tutoring their three teen-aged children nine hours a week. I am a little nervous about the schedule because I will be teaching them in three hour blocks and that will be a lot of time to fill. Especially since they actually want to learn, so maybe crafts won't cut it.
Viernes:
School started out fine, but it usually does. One of the first grade teachers left to teach at a public school so on the second Friday of the school year the teachers have already changed. That class is very poorly behaved anyways and on Friday I held them all in during recess. I might start doing that every day. My second graders are worse than the first graders. Their teacher was absent and her husband came in instead but I do need to talk to her about helping to keep the students under control. Another thing that makes the class especially difficult is that only about half bring their books and less than that do their homework. It seems like every day I just spend the entire time getting them to be calm, but maybe that is what is needed. Third grade I love but when I was about 10 minutes into class the bell rang and school was over. I guess it was parent teacher conference or back-to-school night or something, I wasn't involved in that. After I got home Cristina and I went to the grocery store, I got a box of Kleenex that was only a dollar because it was a Christmas box. So hopefully no one judges me for being out of season. Then I had dinner at Jeremy and Cristina's, then we watched the Apprentice on DVD Jeremy said we were only going to watch two episodes but, lets face it, reality TV is addicting so we watched four.
Sabado:
For some reason the last few Saturdays I've been waking up early. I get a little frustrated when the one day I have time to sleep in I wake up and then when I need to get up I sleep in. So I got up, made some spreadsheets then after it was too hot I went for a little run. For breakfast I had eggs and that with the heat and running didn't mix well with my stomach. The rest of the afternoon was pretty much a blur. At like 5:30 or something we had taco night at the pool. One of the ladies in our complex organized it and then everyone brought something to share. It was nice and the temperature at night has been really good. After tacos some people came over to watch "She's the Man." It was a reuniting time with the movie because it was lost for the past three months and we just found it so that was pretty exciting.
Domingo:
This is one of the days that it would be nice if I woke up early of natural causes but that wasn't the case so I had to rely on my alarm. The weather was really nice, it even rained a little. Cristina didn't go to church so Jeremy and I were in charge of singing. Maybe the Eklund family singers have hope after all. We sang "Abre Mis Ojos," "Mi Pan, Mi Luz," y "Tal Como Soy." At 2:00 I had my first session with my Korean students. They definitely have higher expectations for me than I'm used to, I had them watch Saved by the Bell and we played Hang Man. While playing Hang Man these two boys came over because they were making our apartment dinner and I got all nervous about my spelling because they couldn't figure out the word. It was bookshelves.
For dinner the boys made us chili. My roommate Rachel wanted to make cinnamon rolls to go with the chili. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of both chili and cinnamon rolls but I don't really think the belong together in the same meal. At Sunday night coffee time we took a poll on whether or not that was normal I think four people actually agreed with her, they were all from Dordt college in Iowa.
Lunes:
I think this was by far my best day at school. I think that there is a chance that some of my students actually learned something. It was much better than last Monday which partially inspired my I hate being white e-mail. I would have expanded on that but it may have resulted in some "you're crazy and should never leave your apartment until you are on your way to the airport to fly home" responses and I get those from Jeremy fairly regularly already. So today, yes, it was good. I have a two hour break between my primary and secondary school classes so Cristina came to pick me up and we went out to lunch. My afternoon session went well except not all the teachers were expecting me so that caused a little confusion. Maybe next Monday they will know I'm coming.
When I got home they were burning stuff in the neighborhood and it totally made it hard to breath and it made my eyes water. In the States we have garbage day when the trucks come and empty our trash cans, here people have garbage day when the burn their garbage, and it is every day. And although I flunked out of being an Atmospheric Science major I'm pretty sure that fires aren't particularly good for the O-Zone. Plus it has been super windy lately so it probably isn't the safest route of disposal.
Mondays also hold the exciting title of grocery night. Even if I don't need anything I go just for the socialization. I bought some more of that Christmas Kleenex that is still on sale, I'm stocking up.
Martes:
Once again I woke up overly early but I was able to fall back asleep which is really all I want to get accomplished on my free day. Tuesdays are always a little awkward because I don't have to leave for any particular reason but they are Leo's main cleaning day. So I just try to stay out of her way so she doesn't have to mop around me. So I left and went for a little run. I know, shocker twice in one e-mail period I guess I was just in the mood. When I got back I read a little and talked on the phone then Cristina called to ask if I wanted to go to Elijah's doctor's appointment with her. I did. That took super long so then she just dropped me off for my math tutoring. Cassedy wasn't in the most studious of moods so it was kind of annoying.
Tonight was my night to cook dinner so I made this broccoli, chicken, cheese thing. It was good. Now I am finishing this e-mail off while watching "The Gilmore Girls," and "American Idol." I would tell you what is happening on it but you may live on the West Coast and you'll have to wait for your own turn.
Love, Joy

When life gives you lemons

Well, I'm pretty much sick of being white. But that should be pretty easy to fix, right? I just need to dye my hair, get some brown contacts, get lots of self tanner, get some old clothes, fire my chauffeurs and start walking more, stop using iPod while walking, and stop talking. That should be easy enough. Besides the things that come along with me standing out in every social setting, things are going well. Whenever I start to get frustrated I just think about how ridiculous my life is here and then I just laugh and keep laughing.
Peace out, Joy

Mi Vida

One man's trash another man's treasure

Yesterday afternoon we went to the dumps. It wasn't like when you go in the states to drop off tree clippings and see if you can find any cool furniture but rather to see another aspect of Nicaraguan life. Yeah it’s the dumps and people live there, and there are churches, and a school, and feeding programs, and vultures, and burning garbage, and cows, and horses, and pigs. Maybe for a minute you think “Hey, these shacks aren’t all that bad, they even get electricity and water (illegally)” but then you realize that those rolling hills are made of garbage and then start to think about all the carcinogens in the air that one is prone to inhale thanks to the constant fires. Then you go up a little higher and see the dump trucks coming in to dump stuff and people swarming with their bandannas and pitchforks to get to whatever first. One thing that gets collected is industrial-sized clear garbage bags. They find them and then clean them and sell them $10 for 100 pounds, which maybe wouldn't seem so bad but it takes a group 3-5 days to get the work done, so $10 has to go a long way. Other people collect cans and bottles or scrap metals whatever they think they can sell. It is hard to leave a place like that and figure out what purpose there was in seeing what we saw. What I am feeling right now is that I should just start throwing away really nice salvageable things. Well since a picture says a thousand words here are some of those to supplement my rambling.

This is a job

This is a fire

This is a neighborhood

This is a cow

This is a house

The life of a working girl
Before braving the dumps yesterday I went to my first day of school. When I got there I received my schedule.
7:45-8:30 1st grade A
8:30-9:15 1st grade B
9:15-9:45 recess
9:45-10:30 2nd grade
10:30-11:15 3rd grade
The funny thing about getting your schedule on the same day that you start is that you don’t know what time you start until you get there. So I got there at eight, like I did last year, and found out that I already was late. So 1st grade A didn’t have English. 1st grade B was fine I guess, all things considered. They definitely weren’t expecting me and were in the middle of doing a craft that involved glue. 2nd grade was miserable; I can’t even begin to explain. On the bright side that made 3rd grade look like angels. On Wednesday I’ll have workbooks for each student so I am excited to have something besides my mind to fall back on.
The schedule I listed above is what I will have Mondays Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays I have off and Thursdays I’ll just be there for the sake of being there. I guess I will help out with the 36 preschool students. I was talking to the preschool teacher yesterday and she said that they cry a lot and aren’t potty trained. Just in case you were wondering, my specialty is not taking care of whining, un-potty trained, misbehaved children, it is more closely related to alphabetizing and baking carrot cakes. On Wednesday afternoons I will be teaching or at least helping with 7-9th grade English. More details are going to have to follow on that one because the girl that I am supposed to be working with had no idea what I was talking about.

Some people don’t think 16 hours a week is full-time
So far my schedule is pretty light but I already have some supplementary projects in the works. Matthew knows a few families (I’m guessing Korean) that want English tutoring; he told them I would do it if they paid me well and that by paying me they will be helping his ministry. Also I met a Nicaraguan the other day that knows English grammar but wants help with conversation. So she said she could come out to my house one hour a week just to work on talking, and if there is one thing I can do it is talk.

Striving for the North American life
On Sunday on of the missionary families hosted a Super Bowl party, there were 60 or 70 people there. There were two TV’s, two projectors with screens, and tons of food. But the funny thing is that this is Nicaragua so about 20 minutes before kick-off the electricity went out. We had a generator but the cable wouldn’t work. After someone called the States and found out that the Bears had already scored their first touchdown, we called the electric company to ask when they were expecting the power to be back on. They said some lines were down and it would take one to two hours to fix. The announcement was made that another area had power and if we wanted we could grab some food and chairs and migrate over to a different house. As people were gathering chairs, approximately four minutes later the power went back on and stayed on the rest of the night. Now one may wonder why a country makes up stories about lines being down when really there is no problem at all, one thing is for sure, during the World Cup, the power stayed on. I was informed yesterday that only an estimated 15% of electricity here is paid for while the rest of the houses illegally tap into power lines, the same goes for water. That explains some bitterness on the corporation side.

I was going to write more but when taking the pictures into consideration this e-mail is already up to like 6,000 words.

Love, Joy

F.A.Q.'s

I am now back in Nicaragua and felt this would be a good time to answer some Frequently Asked Questions. Feel free to ask more, my life is an open book.
Who are you?
Joy Christina Eklund. The fourth and last child of John Gregory and Jackie Laverne Eklund, born March 16th, 1984.
Where do you live?
I am a Concord native who spent my last few years living in Davis but now rest my head in Managua.
Um...Where is Managua?
Managua is the capital of Nicaragua. Nicaragua is in Central America right below Honduras and north of Costa Rica. There is a population a little under 1,400,000. We speak Spanish.
Oh, so do you speak Spanish?
Do I? Yes. Can I? Sometimes.
What is the political state of the country?
I never claim to know much about politics but according to Jeremy and Cristina's doctor the country is now being run by a rapist and a witch.
Who do you live with?
I live with three amazing girls. Two of them are from the States and the third is from Canada. We live in a typical American apartment complex complete with a maid and guards walking around with machine guns.
Can you drink the tap water?
Yes. It tastes not so good but neither does Davis's.
What do you do in Nicaragua to restore self confidence?
I walk down the street. At any time there are plenty of Nicaraguans to profess their love for me. What more could a girl want?
Why was this posted on Thursday, instead of earlier this week?
I had a scheduled lunch with Matthew (the director of my school) today and figured that would give me some details about what I'm doing.
So what details do you now have?
Well lunch was postponed until tomorrow so the specifics are still a little up in the air. What I do know is classes start Monday. Last semester I taught 1-3 grade English at a private primary school. This year the school is expanding to include some secondary grades but I don't know how that will affect me. Although it is private, in Nicaragua that does not have the same connotations. My students pay approximately $6 a month. Yes the cost of living is low here, but that does not mean that my school is nice. We recently started a before school free feeding program because so many students were complaining of stomach and head aches and our director realized it was because they don't have breakfast. The majority of my students come from broken homes and all from an extremely low socio-economic class. The school has limited curriculum and no library and the most disgusting bathroom I have ever seen. Regardless, it is a happy place, and I like working there.
This food a little spicy, do you still want it?
No
When are you coming back?
I am committed to be here for the entire Nicaraguan school year which is from February to November 2007. I am scheduled to come home for a month at the end of June.
At Papa John's do they serve chips or bread sticks for appetizers?
I have no clue, every time they serve something different.
What do you miss most about the States?
People, hot showers, independence. In no particular order.
What do you like most about Nicaragua?
Having a maid, the slow pace of life, never being cold.
What do you eat?
Not Mexican food.
How much does a Costco-sized box of Cheerios cost?
$18. To put that into perspective there is a family that I go to church with, two parents a first grader and a two month-old, they pay $15/month for rent. They don't by Cheerios.
Why are you in Nicaragua?
When deciding whether or not to return to Nicaragua I really had to examine my motives. I could have decided to stay because I really thought I was going to change the lives of everyone I meet, or maybe so I could continue to write these e-mails, or to avoid trying to make a decision about my future in the states. But I had to come to the realization that those weren't good enough. So then I was presented with the task of figuring out what a valid reason would be. I still don't know specifically what that "valid reason" is but I felt a complete peace from God that I should stay. So I did.
What is your favorite..?
Seriously I hate that question, I think because I don't like making decisions and picking a favorite could be a very big decision, and I don't think I'm ready for that type of commitment.
What type of day should I have?
A great one, of course.