some tidbits on my life

Once again it's Friday post time because things have just been taking a little longer to come together. Last weekend I did end up going to the beach. I went on a different trip than I had mentioned previously. It was shorter, cheaper, and with fewer people, thus, more tolerable. I didn't actually go in the ocean because it was pretty gross but the resort we stayed at had nice pools and hammocks. I am a big fan of hammocks. I thought about taking a picture but I did want you to get the wrong impression of missionary life. Oh wait, I'm not one so I can tell you whatever a want without thinking you'll judge me for spending my support money frivolously. Good thing I have that freedom. If I didn't, can you imagine how boring these posts would be? Oh well, still no picture.

Having a long weekend is great for the most part but the first day back isn't always the greatest. Actually, if I was disposed to cry I think Wednesday morning would have been a prime opportunity. After that my day got better. I was just a tad frustrated because my 1st grade class that used to be the best is now uncontrollable. However, thanks to my cat-like reflexes and brute strength I didn't get bitten. I think I need to pray more.

I guess now on Fridays a group of pre-med students come to my school. Last time they taught my students to watch for still water because it breeds mosquitoes and how to was their hands. I was under the impression that today's lesson was going to be on how to wash hair but it was really vaccination day. I just finished reading the book "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." It takes place in Brooklyn (imagine that) in the 1910's. At that time in the States students got vaccinations in mass. The still do it here, they just came into the class room and gave crying students shots and signed off their health cards. Another prime photo that I didn't take.

According to my calculations I have less than three months of Nicaraguan life left. Things could change but I think some people would rather I stuck to the original plan. As far as "plans" go once December 4th comes I have none whatsoever. That is a strange thing to think about and another thing that I should pray about more frequently.

Other exciting news. Last night a new light was brought into my family. This one came in the form of a boy named Grady William. I won't get to see him until Christmas but am hoping that the super awkward baby stage will be over by then. And it's not like he'll remember I wasn't there so I think I can still keep my position as best aunt.

Have a great weekend, Joy

TGIF

Hello my peeps, I'm sorry if you feel neglected this week but I couldn't figure out what to tell you. I still don't really have anything particularly profound but you've probably have come accustomed to that. First of all, I wasn't to remind you that you can always look at my archived blogs if this one is lame and you want to remember why you read these faithfully week in and week out. Because trust me, some of them are fairly entertaining.

Now onto recent news in my life. September 14th and 15th are Nicaragua's independence days. Yesterday and today I only went to school for a few hours and next Monday and Tuesday I don't have to go at all. This morning my school had presentations, a few students from each grade had prepared something patriotic. It was the usual, preschoolers holding up their letters in the wrong order spelling AIRTAP, and girls dancing in their fluffy white skirts to burned CD's bought off the street. I was planning on taking pictures but wasn't able to take many because my camera is having some issues. Yay for technology.

As for weekend plans my options were paying to go to the beach for 3 days or staying home alone. I opted for not going which says a few things. One, I'm not a huge fan in the first place (the whole sand thing) and you would need to make it amazingly appealing to get me to pay $140. The people that were going are the same people that I do everything with, which recently has become another thing that make trips with them worth less than $140. So now I am at home by myself with no plans and am fine with that fact.

There is a new coffee shop open in my neck of the woods. A family that has a coffee plantation and exporting business decided to continue with vertical integration. I went there last night and this morning, both times for free. The story about the company is really cool. I think it is important for nationals to use their resources to promote economic growth among the lower classes. Hopefully these companies will stay open in spite of the opposition to free market presented by the government. For more details on the lameness of the Nicaraguan government you can research the dispute that was resolved yesterday between the Nicaraguan government and ExxonMobile. Or explain to me why we never have electricity.

You may remember, but probably not, that on February 20th, I sent an posted asking for opinions on the combination of chili and cinnamon rolls. On Sunday the topic got brought up again and it was decided that last night we could try out the combo for ourselves. Basically the final vote was that cinnamon rolls are really good so if it takes a bowl of chili to get cinnamon roles, I for one, am not going to complain.

I learned the card came Eucher this week. It takes me a while to catch onto card games usually but some how my partner and I still dominated two nights in a row. It was quite a relief because I don't know if I was up for being a failure.

Well, peace out, feel free to write out your life story for me since I'll have more than enough free time coming up the next 72 hours.

Love, Joy

Something new and different

Last Wednesday a group came down from Oakland to help out Matthew. He thought I might want to join them as a translator. I guess he figured I would understand, though not approve of, the use of the words hecka and hella. I consented on the basis that I would get out of teaching for a few days.

My mom contacted them ahead of time and arranged for them to bring me gifts such as peanut butter and toothpaste. The later of which you can buy here, the former not so much. Way to go mom.

On Wednesday and Thursday they were working at Matthew's feeding center. Some gave hair cuts, and washed the hair and feet of patrons while others worked on cementing the walls of a newly purchased, neighboring building that will eventually be a clinic.

From Friday to Sunday we were in Chinandega, another Nicaraguan provence. A local church there was building a new building and Matthew had wanted to help. Before he got involved they had sold $2,000 worth of tortillas and put up a frame. Since he found out about them he has been able to connect them with State side churches that have provided a roof and walls. Our group was able to help out more with stuccoing of the walls and filling in the floor with dirt as well as doing some VBS stuff and visitations.

My favorite part was getting to talk with the girls in the neighborhood. They were super loving and receiving. Even those in their teens would come up to me and hold my hand or play with my hair and chat. I know, me saying something positive about physical touch, a shocker.

I also got to ride a horse. It ran me in to a cactus. Blood was gushing from my leg. Well maybe not quite, but I did get a scratch.

A side note, our "hotel" wasn't the classiest of establishments. The lack of water was one thing, but I'm getting pretty good at creative showering techniques. But then Sunday morning at 12:30am, up came my dinner. About half of us had food poisoning. That continual queasiness kept up for the rest of, the much mellower, Sunday. Not my finest moments but I'll spare you the details. I tried to remind myself that some people don't have food to get sick off of but that didn't help much. I am feeling much better now and Matthew dropped of a plethora of medicines this morning in case I have a relapse.

As far as the group went, they were very cool. I was amazed by their willingness and graciousness. Does anyone actually want to wash crusty homeless feet or hold back my hair as I vomit? And they didn't touch my school.

There was another main girl translating. She was Korean (as was the team) so she knew the strange side dishes they brought with them and how to play their violent versions of rock, paper, scissors. She was in charge of group translating and I got to stick with my stellar Spanish conversation skills. Even in my poor translating (like I know what a plainer is in English) is a better match for me than teaching. That realization, combined with my 24 hour fast, made going back to school on Monday rather disheartening but I have to trust that God has me exactly where I am for a reason.

And unrelated, my roommate just bought a widow maker for our shower, it is this electrical contraption that lets you choose, cold, medium, or fairly-hot water. The result, a cleaner, but also more spoiled, Joy.

Oh yes, there is a hurricane. It is raining a lot here but we are totally safe. The electricity is off hecka a lot, but what's new? And there is lots of amazing thunder and lightning.

who am i?

I'm sure exams are coming up soon at my school so I thought I would give one to you as well. Being the underdedicated teacher that I am, this will be True/False. Multiple choice was taking too much time.

1. Sometimes talking on the phone depresses me. T/F
2. I love sand. T/F
3. Melted cheese makes most foods better. T/F
4. Khaki pants have no effect on the reliability of my driver. T/F
5. I have nothing better to do than write you e-mails all the time. T/F
6. I know when to use preterit and imperfect tenses. T/F
7. The first draft of this e-mail was hand written because there was no electricity. T/F
8. I am a great team player. T/F
9. My Sunday afternoon walk this weekend was through a river of mud because it was raining so hard. T/F
10. I work more than 20 hours a week. T/F
11. One of my biggest fears about moving back to the states is having to get a job. T/F
12. It doesn't bother me at all when sentences trail off and people compensate by using hand motions. T/F
13. When going through my expenses for August I realized that for some one that doesn't like coffee I spend a lot of time in coffee shops. T/F
14. I brushed my hair this month. T/F
15. I over use the words ghetto and confused. T/F
16. I have no problem sleeping with the lights on. T/F
17. You are my favorite person. T/F

me, myself, and my ipod

Normally on Tuesdays I sleep in until approximately 9:00 since I don't have to work. This morning I woke up at 6:30 and was awake. I contemplated taking a Benadryl for a few minutes, to put myself back to sleep, but then decided I should just get up. I read, checked my e-mail, had some toast, watched a little Dawson's Creek and Regis and Kelly, a neighbor came over to visit and use the internet, basic day off stuff just started 3 hours early. At 9:00 I laced up my Asics and strapped on my iPod to do a little running. Running here is interesting, I go out the gate and my brother's voice comes in to my head, "don't run down that street," "don't go down there," "oh that one is dangerous too." Blah...blah...blah. So I went up this approved hill and then turned on to some dirt road and walked for a while. Everything is really over grown and green this time of year and there are cows and horses and pigs and chickens, totally cool. And dogs, but I don't like the dogs here. I walked around listening to music and taking in the rural beauty of this place kind of wondering where I was but confident that eventually I would come out somewhere familiar. I did! I came up a little farther up on the hill that I had broken off of earlier. I decided this would be a good time to start running again and I did, just enjoying my time out and alone. Then I fell. Yup one of those, oh I bet I'm going to fall right now and since I am running down hill there is nothing I can do to stop it. I jumped up and started running again because I didn't know what else to do and I figured I would get home faster that way. Fortunately I fell on my right side and my iPod armband is on my left arm so it was safe. My right elbow didn't fare so well. Both of my palms hurt too. Leo just found some old bananas and offered to make banana con leche which I am quite excited about.
I wish I could stop writing right there but I have more to get out. But you can pretend that I stopped and just respond to the first part.
On Friday night I went out to dinner with four other girls that live down here. We talked about NCA (the school I don't teach at) and glasses and contact lenses (two things I don't wear). It's weird to constantly hang out with people that I probably wouldn't in normal situations. But I'm sure it is good for me plus I have you to talk to and have been branching out a little more socially. Saturday my roommate was reading by the pool and I decided to go sit in it. There was only one other person in the pool, an old man with a belly and a speedo. He decided to introduce himself and to talk to me in super fast Spain Spanish. I'm not sure why he is here but I think I understood the rest of the conversation. Then when he was getting out of the pool he did the cheek kiss thing which I am normally fine with but it was awkward. Then I looked over at my roommate pretending to read but she couldn't because she was laughing too hard. His apartment faces ours and told me to stop by if I ever need anything and he offered me a ride to school on Monday. I declined, that walk wakes me up. On Sunday night I went to the movies with my friend Maria. She is Nicaraguan and doesn't live by me so I decided to take a taxi. It was my first taxi ride without a chaperone. It cost $3 and I guess I could have paid less but I think I would feel guilty, gas here is expensive and what else am I supposed to do with my money.
When I'm not going out socializing I always have my books to keep me company. I think I'm at about one 400 page novel every 5 days plus a chapter here a chapter there of whatever books I have stacked on my nightstand. And there are movies. It only costs $3 to go to one plus we have a fair amount at our house. On Saturday night I started one you may have heard of, Lord of the Rings. I guess some people are into them, I am not one of those people. Why don't they ever end? Sorry if I offended you, I'm trying. That was my second attempt at the first one. I also couldn't get through the books. I just get frustrated because I know that when the first one ends there will be two more, equally long, to go.
Happy Tuesday!
Love, Joy

Some more easy to read bullet points

• Last night I wasn't really sure what the conversation was going on around me but then one of my roommates said "Joy probably doesn't appreciate us talking about this." For some reason they all have it in their heads that I don't like bathroom humor. I mean hello, what's not to like? Then this other girl was like I don't get it you have brothers. And I said yes, but in my family the girls wear dresses and stay in the kitchen.
• Earlier in the afternoon our neighbor Anna was over, she is in second grade and was telling us a story about what we do. Like there is a girl named Rachel, she teaches health and another girl named Miss. Portanga, she teaches 5th grade, and Aimee who teaches 4th grade. When she got to me she said there is another girl that lives there named Joy, she doesn't have a job, she stays at home all day. So yes, the truth is out, I am a stay at home mom. I guess that makes sense financially, really my pay is just allowance.
• It has been raining a lot lately, I think there is a hurricane in the Atlantic. While raining, and at night, it is cooler now. During the day, when it isn't raining, it is hot and humid and muddy.
• Today in pre-school I got hit in the shoulder by a giant lego. I think I am going to have a bruise.
• In the mornings I get driven to school by a man named Oscar, he doesn't ever understand my Spanish. So after two failed attempts at conversation this morning I think I am going to quit trying to make small talk and just use that 20 minutes to sleep.
• On Sunday night I was frustrated because I was trying to sleep and my roommate was still reading so her light was on. The next two nights the electricity was out from 5 until 10:40. I think it was God's way of reinforcing that I shouldn't complain. It brings to mind the verse "Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; but much increase comes by the strength of the ox." Proverbs 14:4. I mean the correlation is so obvious I'm not even going to expound.
• Last Sunday I went to a different Church with my roommate Aimee. I was confused for the majority of the time. Then during the interactive message this lady started walking around with a satin pouch on the end of a stick to collect the offering. If you gave enough she would sit down and write a receipt. Even in my love for multitasking I thought that was a little much.
• My HSFA is over i think but has been replaced by SGIT (Shards of Glass In my Throat). I know, seriously, what the heck? I guess I should pick a talent besides eating glass to make it into the circus.
• I've been trying to watch the news lately. Is it really that important that kids don't play with toys painted with lead based paint? I mean didn't everything used to be lead based? And maybe kids shouldn't eat their Barbies anyways.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

My family just went on a camping trip without me. Talking to my sister about it I got this idea to compare and contrast family camping and my life in Nicaragua in an essay format. As I started to write I realized that it was taking too much time and that I haven't written an essay in a while. But I still liked the compare and contrast idea so I think I'll outline instead and you can turn it into an essay for me. Automatic A if anyone does that.

• While camping evidently my dad used window cleaner as soap, in Nicaragua I use bug spray as perfume.
• When camping the days are hot and you swim in the ice cold river, in Nicaragua the days are hot and you swim in the over chlorinated pool.
• Neither while camping nor in Nicaragua is there an option for a hot shower.
• In neither location is there electricity.
• On camping trips we bring a generator and propane lanterns, in Nicaragua we use candles.
• In the woods we play Ticket to Ride. In Nicaragua we go see the bloodiest movie ever called “Exterminio 2” aka “28 Weeks Later” because we have lazy Spanish and miss the part in the review that says the disease is people eating each other.
• While camping we eat a lot of instant oatmeal and hobo pies, in Nicaragua we eat at TGI Friday's 3 times in one week.
• Camping trips provide a variety of methods of exercise, Nicaragua has Curves and then the 45 minute walk home from Curves in the rain.
• Nicaragua has phones, internet, and cable TV (if there is electricity), camping doesn't.
• During camping trips no one in my family goes to work. In Nicaragua, if it isn't a holiday, I do go to work. This is not the case with all the teachers at my school. One of the 1st grade teachers didn't come last Thursday (possibly she was camping) there was no substitute and they didn't send the kids home. Instead they combined the two first grade classes for one teacher. What a reward for coming to work, 55 students. I went in to help and almost stepped on a kid who was lying on the floor holding his stomach and crying. While camping I'm normally the one crying because I am so bored.
• Other campers say “Hi, neighbor,” when you're camping, in Nicaragua people say “Hola, Chela”
• Both campers and Nicaraguan children are constantly dirty.
• In Nicaragua I have a maid, while camping I have my mom.

I think that concludes my comparisons for now, there are more, I'm sure. I haven't decided if life in Nicaragua's capital city or in the woods is more rural. Maybe now I'm just wondering why I'm in Nicaragua if I profess to hate camping.

I think I have a disease I like to call HSFA that stands for Hyper sensitive fore arm. Does that ever happen to you? It totally feels like I have an open wound on my left fore arm but it looks normal.

Happy Santo Domingo, we don't have school tomorrow.