Trocitos of information

Today I have officially lived in Nicaragua for two years.  I had big plans to write a 2 year anniversary poem for you but it is not coming along very well so I quit.  Instead you can write one for me (prizes will be awarded)...  

For the past two years I've lived in Nicaragua

The land of volcanoes and lakes of dirty agua

I slept  wearing thick socks last night (sorry jenny).  I stole them from my dad last time he was here.  What can you deduce from these two statements.  Firstly, you should have me do your laundry, and secondly it is cold.  Yesterday when I was walking home it was drizzling, usually that just means it is really humid but no, I wasn't even sweating.  Then I got picked up by a man who has a horse camp, he was nice.  

Yesterday morning I went to the sports center again with Michelle.  Because of the cold weather, only five students came with their moms.  Since this caused a surplus of adults we got to play volleyball.  I know I am usually not one to judge other's athletic abilities and all in to having uncompetitive sports, but look at  my team. 

 Two pregnant ladies and a lady in purple heels.  I would say that we lost but I don't think what we were playing was close enough to the real game to even attempt to keep score.  

At the library I've been lending out books and they have been coming back, that's a good thing. 

(proof)  

Right now they take them home in zip-lock bags but I just commissioned some ladies to make canvas books bags.  I was going to start making them myself but I have better things to do with my time (in theory) and the ladies need to make money (a fact).  

Also at the library I've started opening up early to give reading help ten and eleven year old brothers in second grade, Jose and Luis.  They are extremely sweet and always filthy and are good at doing puzzles and playing games.  They just can't read.  If you know the spanish alphabet, in theory you can pretty much sound out any word, but for them it is still a struggle.  And then there is the next step after  sounding out syllable by syllable, repeating what you read with confidence and understanding.  The older of the two can do this sometimes, the younger one can't.  So in summary, in this country you can get to second grade with no ability to read.

Today I am substituting for Basic Art at the NCA.  They finished their assignment and it is a Friday.  In college they would be sent home but this is middle school, I have to make sure they don't hurt themselves.  One kid was just doing one-armed pushups, that could have been dangerous.  I have another class after lunch and I don't know where the paper is that says what class it is.  Rumor has it that it is Advanced Art.  Even if I don't have a lesson plan that should be easy.  I can just use the time to demonstrate my advanced art skills.  

Speaking of lunch, we have no bread at my house.  I found some bagels but they were rock hard so had to be thrown away.  I did find crackers and cheese so I will be having a very Jackie Eklund road trip meal.  If only I had Trader Joe's yogurt.  

I've taken up playing Ticket to Ride again.  I've played three nights this week.  I haven't played speed Scrabble all month.  

As for my future, who knows what it holds,

I'm here until December and then my plan folds.

Schedule

Sometimes people ask me what I do down here.  Obviously for the most part I just sit around all day but this past week I’ve actually been on the productive side so I’ll write about that and then you can have a completely skewed perspective of what I do.  I’ll start with last Thursday and leave out reading, taking showers, brushing teeth, and such.

Thursday:  Wake up sick.   Call Amanda to get the names of the schools that are reached by our library.  Give list of names to Lori to type.  Go to bookstore.  Spend $400 out of $5000 on new library books.  Go home.  Take nap.  Walk to library.  Get picked up and driven the rest of the way.   Open library.  Check out books.  Ride home on motorcycle.  Make enchiladas for dinner. Set alarm to sleep while oven is preheating and again while cooking.  Have dinner with two roommates.  Watch a movie.  Go to sleep.

Friday:  Wake up early again.  Go to NCA at 8:30 to help organize and price books for Book Fair.  Come home.  Eat lunch. Change.  Walk to library.  Walk home.   Talk to roommates.  Take a nap.  Wake up.  Finish setting up for party.  Have Mexican Taco party. 

Saturday:  Sleep late.  Bake a cake for church on Sunday.  Clean leaves off of pool.  Go Swimming.  Friend comes over.  Go to coffee to work on computer. Go to American church’s Bunco night.

Sunday:  Church.  Lunch.  Nap.  Dinner and closing Olympic ceremonies at old apartment.

Monday:  Help Michelle with her school for kids with disabilities.  Plan on working at library but take four-hour nap instead.  Take dog to vet.  Eat dinner.  Help Lori pack for the States.  Watch “West Wing.”  Go to bed.

Tuesday:  Teach English using colored chalk.  Come home.  Eat lunch.  Work at library.  Have a visit from a snake.  Come home.  Cut fabric for new library curtains.   Eat dinner.  Start sewing curtains.  Watch movie.  Go to bed.

Wednesday:  Sleep in.  Finish Curtains.  Talk to sister on phone.  Go to lunch.  Go to library.  Come home.  Bible Study.  Watch “Everybody Loves Raymond.”  Go to bed.

Thursday:  Wake up.  Go to grocery store.  Look at possible hotel for my mom and crew to stay.  Have maid cut pineapple.  Write E-mail. TBD.

 

Greetings from Nicaragua

It has been quite a while since my last update and I’m not sure how to get back into the groove of things.
N – This week the beginning of the first NORMAL week I’ve had since, I don’t know, the beginning of June. I am settled into my new room and am not planning on leaving anytime soon. I spent a solid four hours organizing things at the library today and there were no people helping.
I – We finally INVESTED the $2000 to get more books for the library. This week a few of us are going to the bookstore to start the shopping process. I’ve been realizing that our selection is skewed towards younger kids and then pretty much drops off once we hit chapter books. Give or take six copies of Charlotte’s Web.
C – On Saturday night Lori and I went to the CIRCUS. It is visiting here from Guatamala and a lot more professional than I was expecting but still no Cirque Du Soleil.
A – The end of July beginning of August Jeff Bishop was here visiting. That was quite an ADVENTURE. I could say more but I won’t.
R – Don’t worry I’ve still been READING a ton. I just got a new bookshelf yesterday for my room and it is packed full of books. I’ve been reading more than normal since my new house doesn’t have cable, so I’m probably at two or three books a week.
A – Last week for a few days I went to Los Angeles for a wedding and family time. I had a really good trip but it made me not want to come back here. I just got back last Tuesday and now I am feeling more ADJUSTED but still want to sleep until 11 every day. It isn’t that I don’t like living here but most things are much more convenient in the States, and I kind of miss that.
G – I’m still teaching English one day a week. That is another thing that will go back to my normal schedule starting tomorrow. I think we are going to review the colors and do an activity involving chalk. I still need to put in the extra effort to make the difficulty levels different for the different GRADES, maybe with questions and answers and grammar with the older kids.
U - I really don’t want to fill this with USELESS information but I really can’t think of anything to say.
A – I hope you have an AMAZING week.

F.A.Q. #2

Hola to all!  I made it back from California on Thursday and am getting back into the groove of things in Nicaragua.  My trip home was very short and busy but wonderful.  Since I’ve now been living here for almost two years and things are always changing I decided to clear up some misconceptions by providing you with F.A.Q. #2, F.A.Q #1 was posted February 1, 2007 if you’re interested.

Where do you live?  I live in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.  I live in house at Km. 12 ¾ the old road to Leon.  You go down to the Km. 13 market and turn right where the labritorios sign is, I’m in the last house on the right.  Yes, this a change from where I was living before.  I now have my own bedroom, it is the maid’s quarters but I have fixed it up quite nicely.

Who do you live with? Although we have only all been home one night since I moved in, I technically live with three North American girls, Carey, Lori, and Mary.  We also have two dogs, Chaco and Maya. 

When was the last time you took a shower?  Well, we haven’t had water since Saturday…you do the math.  I think it is about time to go swimming.

What do you mean by having no water?  Yesterday there was at least some coming out slowly and pressureless from our tank but today it is down to a drizzle.  Purell and baby wipes are quickly becoming my best friends.

Why no water?  I don’t know for sure but I think the huge hole in the middle of the road by us may have something to do with it.

Besides not bathing, what do you do down there?  Since February my main task has been starting a community library about one mile from where I live.  Currently we are open three afternoons a week, I am there for those times and then extra time still getting organized.  I started teaching English again on Tuesday mornings.  I teach two first grade classes, one huge second grade class, and one third grade class.  So schedule-wise I don’t have a ton of work but unscheduled things are always coming up.

Who are you working for?   I am technically down here independently. The financial responsibility for the library is shared between Manna Project International and Alongside Ministries en Nicaragua.  For my job at the school, I consider Matthew Jun my boss, he laughs when I call him that.    

How’s the library?  I think it’s going well, we have more books than shelves and there are lots of kids that come every day, those things are both very encouraging. We leant our first batch of books and are waiting for them to be returned.  I still have a lot of work to do.

So, you like it there?  It’s life.  And I guess for the most part I like life.  I don’t think I am enjoying it more than I would enjoy living in the states, but I don’t really know how to compare the two.  I do know that for now I am where I am supposed to be and doing what I am supposed to be doing.   At least for the big things, there are still plenty of disciplines that I have yet to master.

When are you coming back?  Short term, August 6^th for a wedding in LA, then possibly longer term in December.  Hopefully by November I will know whether or not my December trip is for Christmas or for my foreseen future. 

After Nicaragua, then what?  Ahhhhhh.  I don’t know.  Get some type of job doing something.  I’m not really worried about it, God has clearly guided and provided this far I don’t think He’s just going to quit on me now.

And your Spanish, it’s fluent now?  This answer is conditional.  If you speak Spanish, no, it is not fluent.  If you don’t speak Spanish, yes, it is. 

Is it safe there?  Really, what is “safe”?  I don’t feel that my safety has ever been jeopardized.  But a lot more precautions are taken here then in the states.  We lock our doors.

What is your favorite Nicaraguan food?  Fried cheese with pretty much anything, especially fried plantains.  Yes, they eat healthy here.  But for the most part I just eat normal food like peanut butter and jelly

god bless america

Hello All!  How are you?  I am writing this from somewhere between Managua and Houston, I see water so that narrows things down.  I am on my way to California for two weeks and am really excited.

Yesterday I finished moving and organizing my new bedroom.  It looks surprisingly large now that there is furniture in it and I really like it.  I’ll attach a picture but it was hard to really get the whole room.  If we hang out while I’m home I can give you an amazing virtual tour or you can just come visit me in Nicaragua and see it for yourself.  Lori pointed out that there is still plenty of room for dancing, something very important.

On Saturday night we had a birthday party/fundraiser with all proceeds going to the library.  I don’t know yet how much money we raised but I think somewhere between $500 and $1000.  There is a picture of me standing next to a picture of myself.  

The party itself was very interesting, quite different from the normal 4 options of things to do in Managua.  Lori and I were the ones collecting money and my job was swiping the credit cards if people didn’t bring cash.  This is a seemingly easy task and I have previous experience thanks to my days at the Candy Bouquet.  The only difficulty was that we had to hook up the machine down a hallway where there was a phone line, so I had to keep walking back in forth in my new gold heels, I’m sure I looked like a natural.  It did get less awkward once I realized that it wasn’t necessary for the credit card holder walk down the hallway with me.

Friday was the forth of July.  Not a big holiday in Managua but I still was able to pull out my patriotic wear.  

The rest of the week was just wrapping up loose ends, cleaning the library, going to the beach, playing speed scrabble, seeing “Kung Fu Panda,” cleaning battery acid using Coca Cola, packing, etc.

I’ll back until the 24^th and starting tomorrow I can probably steal my cell phone number back from my mom so give me a call.  I hope to see you soon.

Love, joy

PS Now I’m in Houston, my layover was supposed to be just enough time to walk to my terminal but my connection was delayed.  Sad, but it will give me some time to adjust to things in the US of A like it being OK to flush toilet paper.  Maybe I’ll buy myself a coffee soon.

7 more days

I was fairly confident that this summer I was going to be basking in my free time and boredom but somehow my time has been filling up. 

Yesterday was my last day of house sitting, so now I am back in my apartment packing both for my visit to the states and for moving to my new house.    I am really excited about both of these things, coming to the states I get to see people that I have been missing a lot lately, and my new house has a newly painted bedroom.  Thanks to my distaste for painting second coats, and the quality of local paint we have named it “the aquarium.” It’s turquoise and fades in and out a lot but I love it and it’s all mine.

Working for Matthew again has been great.  I am just teaching one day a week but he has been in the states so has given me extra responsibility.  Three girls were here from Florida and for two days I got to chaperone their visits to the school and the feeding program.  Also last week there were two men from Colorado that I met with at the feeding program to show the work that is being done currently and our goals of expansion.  Right now I like the variety of things he is having me do, plus I get a driver that is really nice about running errands with me.

Things at the library are progressing quite nicely as well.  Today I am establishing new rules, such as a minimum age limit.  No more 2 year olds coming in unsupervised and peeing in my chairs. 

This morning I met with a representative from the organization Trees For Life.  If we have two thousand dollars to pay they will pay an additional $3,000 towards purchasing more books and will give us two computers and two printers.  Isn’t that exciting. I’m excited.

But don’t worry in spite of all this work I’ve gotten to play some too.  When deciding what to do here on a normal weekend night there are four options: make dinner in, go out to dinner, watch a movie in, watch a movie out.  Friday night I went out to dinner and watched a movie in.  Saturday night I ate dinner at home and then went to the movies.  Sunday night I ate dinner in and watched a movie in.  Sometimes there is a fifth option of Game Night. That is usually paired with eating in unless you chose to eat out at a place that is casual enough to play a game at.  We haven’t had game night in a few weeks, I like to play speed scrabble during them because card games stress me out. 

During the days there is more variety of things to do but they usually require more preparation.  Often these activities involve volcanoes, the Saturday before last I went to Volcan Mombacho for canopy tours.  Canopy tours are when you strap into a harness and then have someone push you off of a platform and you glide from tree to tree on wire. 

normal

supermujer.   

See a lot of you next week, Joy  

life.

"We should all aspire to live like bananas.  They are on permanent vacation, living in lush, tropical rainforests.  From high above, a canopy of trees provides the perfect balance of sun and shade" -Banana Nut Crunch

I can’t remember where I left off in telling this saga, but frequently I have thought of things I would like to share with you over the past few weeks.  Now finally I am taking a breath and sitting down to write. 

I started teaching again, just Tuesdays.  Classes are from 8:30 to 12:30 and include two 1^st grade classes, one 2^nd grade, and one 3^rd grade.  The first day we learned a little song “my name is joy, my name is joy, what’s your name, what’s your name?”  Catchy and original.  Then I had them draw a picture of them meeting a friend and introducing themselves.  This week we talked about fruit.  In preparation I made fruits out of colored paper: Watermelon, apple, orange, strawberry, grapes, pineapple, and banana.  After we went over names I walked around with a marker and asked each kid what their favorite fruit was, I drew it for them and then they had to color it.  This worked well for first grade and for third grade I just gave them paper and they had to draw it themselves.  In second grade I ran into a slight problem.  The problem is that our two 1^st grade classes fed into one 2^nd grade class, which means there are 40 students in one room.  It is hard to give attention to 40 kids in 45 minutes and teach anything.  I need to learn how to be more prepared for that.  Overall I am really enjoying being back at the school, kids are really funny, and one day a week is about all I want to prep for. 

Things at the library are going well too, yesterday we got air conditioning!  It really cools things off.  Today was the last day of the current set of volunteers working with me.  Now I know more what I need to establish before new volunteers come.  It is so much easier to communicate with co-workers when you work by yourself. 

Another good thing at the library is that really feel that I am starting to connect and get to know the regulars.  Today I read with a little boy for about an hour.  He is ten years old and can only read by sounding words out.  Fortunately Spanish is very phonetic so we were able to go through four books together.  Our first three books were very basic picture books with labels, and then Brown Bear, Brown Bear to finish it off.  It was exciting to see how after every book we finished he wanted to go pick off another one from the shelf.  A teenage boy, Moises, also comes in the library a lot to do puzzles, his homework, or read.  Since most of our patrons are younger he has just been choosing children’s books to flip through.  Today I gave him Bridge to Terabithia and a bookmark so that he can come in everyday and continue where he left off. 

I have been house sitting for two weeks now.  For about half that time my friend Morgan was here staying with me.  We played a lot of Boggle and both enjoyed reading 4^th grade books.  I’m reading The Twenty-one Balloons right now. The house is nice and a change of scenery.  The first weekend here we had a fruit party, “bring a fruit and dress like a fruit.” I was a kiwi.  This weekend we grilled hamburgers and played Bible trivia, I think my fourth grade Bible knowledge would make you more proud than my Boggle skills, however, I am better at both of those things than cooking Nica food, which Morgan I attempted on Monday. 

One bad thing about house sitting is that things are different.  One night last week I slept with my keys dangling in the lock.  Nappy was confused by the jingling and shared that by barking, which I ignored.  Also here I don’t have a maid, this shouldn’t really be a problem but I am terrible at mopping.  I attempted this morning and maybe things look a little better, but not much.  I think before the Ferrer’s come home I going to have to get Leo to come help me. 

Just a few things more to say…This weekend I re-hiked that volcano Cerro Negro, it was one of the first things I did when I came to Nicargua but last time I quit half way through.  This time we went on the trail and discovered that it is very easy and relaxing if you do it the standard way.  

It was windy.

Last week I got hit in the face with a soccer ball.  It was fuerte and direct, but caused minimal bleeding and my sunglasses didn’t break.   I’m coming home in less than three weeks. I love you.