the beach and the strike

April 30

Well today was really cool. First of all, we flew (a bunch of the volunteers went) to Corn Island on this little plane. It was by far the smallest plane I had ever been on. It only fit 12 passengers and there wasn't like a separate cockpit or anything, it sort of reminded me of a minivan with wings. I was a little freaked out because I don't really like to fly (Seriously, one time I was so scared that the night before a trip to the Netherlands I wrote letters to everyone knew and put them in my room for someone to find in case I died. It's pretty good I didn't die because I wrote really embarrassing stuff). Anyway, the flight was really smooth and it was totally ok. Then, since we decided to stay on Little Corn Island, we took a boat from Big Corn to Little Corn. It was the sweetest boat ride of my life. Whoever was driving the boat went really fast and when we went over the waves the front of the boat would be a little air born and than back smack down on the water. So fun.

Oh, and when we arrived on little Corn we had to hurry because there were 18 of us and we wanted everyone to get rooms so we were hurrying along the path to go when all the cabins are and who do we run into but. . . tuija!

May 1

So just FYI, this island is basically one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It doesn't quite grab the number one spot (any place where I am looking at myself in a mirror- just kidding!) but I am seriously amazed how picture perfect this island is. The view if the water is just completely breath taking. This is like the island vacation every always dreams about (although when I thought about it I didn't really think about the cabins that come with mosquitoes but without a bathroom but I am not picky and we totally would have an ocean view if we could open out wooden window all the way).

So because there is a lot of beach there is naturally a lot of crabs (a LOT of crabs). Last night, when I was walking back to the cabin, there were crabs everywhere!! I was so scared that I was go to step on one (I hate the crunch cockroaches make when you kill them, I had a feeling I would like the crunch of a little crab even less) or that I would get pinched by one. I was walking and the batteries in my flashlight were dying. . . I was kind of freaking out but then I caught up to Becky (or yelled for her to stop and shine her light ahead of me so I could quickly scamper up close to her) and I stuck with her till we got back to the cabin. The thing about the crabs were that they would necessarily hold still as you walked and they did their little side walk-y thing to wherever they thought they would be safest which may or may not cause them to scurry right in front of you. It was difficult even with a light. Crazy little things!

May 2

Today I got up early (5 AM!) and went to the beach and watched the sunrise over the water. It was so beautiful. The colors were amazing and the beach was already gorgeous, it was just the perfect start to the day. I am still amazed by the beauty of this place. Not only of this island but of this part of the world. It is really breathtaking.

May 3

Well this morning I got up early again to watch the sunrise (and it maintained its high marks on the sweetness scale) and promptly went back to (my increasing sandy) bed. There were plans for two snorkeling trips since so many people from our group wanted to go so I slept in a little longer and decided to go on the second trip. Well, everyone went on the first trip (and a few people decided at the last minute not to go on the second trip) so the second trip was canceled. I am quite bummed. It would have been so cool. They went to three places around the island. One was right by the coral reef and there were a lot of brightly colored fish and other ocean life. The second place they went to was a place where sharks were sleeping on the ocean floor. SHARKS!!! How completely awesome is that!! And as to not be outdone, by the sharks, the third place was a shipwreck!!! SO COOL!! I am a little jealous but I refuse to let it totally ruin the day so I am going to hang out in a hammock, read Harry Potter (yes, I brought Harry #7 with me) and be continue to be completely amazed by my surroundings. That's really all I can do and I am pretty sure the alternative isn't nearly as fun.

May 4

Well, I happen to be one of those people who happen to suffer from motion sickness. . . issues. I haven't thrown up yet but I do get extremely uncomfortable and tend to feel like I have just spun around in circles for ten minutes. I have figured out that this only happens when I am on winding roads, in a car where I am speeding up and slowing down a lot, and now I know small airplanes, and boats can be added to the list. Whew. . . it's not the most enjoyable trip for me to take and even though this trip has been completely cool, sweet and totally amazing, I am glad to be back to Granada. I am now in complete awe of the little ceiling fan in my bedroom (I am a little afraid it could fall at any minute but it is a major comfort), the fact that my bed doesn't contain large amounts of sand and that I don't have to use a bucket of water to flush the toilet. It kind of makes me wonder what I will feel like when I get home. I know I will feel glad to be home, but I wonder if I will be thankful about all the stuff I will have access to or will feel overwhelmed and resentful.

May 5

This morning was quite the wake up. Apparently, all the buses, transport vans (the ones that go from city to city), taxis, etc. has gone on strike throughout Nicaragua. The gas prices are really high here and the bus and taxi drivers don't want to raise their prices because people won't be able to afford them but now their profits are dwindling. This is fairly inconvenient for me (I mean that in a factual sense and in an as unselfishly as possible) because that means I have to walk 50 minutes in the hot sun to and from school. On the way there I did hitchhike the last ten minutes or so. I felt it was pretty safe because not only was I with another volunteer, but we were in the back of a truck with at least 7 other people who were in the same predicament we were. It was kind of cool that these people were driving around in their truck would stop and help people who are struggling to go the their jobs and schools and places that they need to go but would otherwise have trouble getting to. Just like a little friendly chunk o' kindness.

May 6

Well I walked all the way to and from school this time. Personally, I try not to smell too much or look too gross and I know on this walkabout we are supposed to be professional, and I really hope that I am meeting that requirement, but I must admit that I was completely disgusting by the time I finally made it to class. I was better when I dried off a bit and but it was a little embarrassing to be as sweaty as I was. But I didn't really have a choice especially since I am now walking alone (the guy I normally walk with got his hands on a bike). On the way home I had to stop by the grocery store and the market so I had to carry all my groceries home after walking 30 minutes or so already. I practically collapsed on my bed and took a nice long nap when I got home.

May 7

In my Spanish lesson today my teacher (who is now Perla, by the way, the Spanish school switched teachers on me) showed me this sheet that is a list of all things the school covers. The things were all categorized by level of difficulty. The stuff that I have been learning is in the intermediate and advanced intermediate and Perla said that by the time I leave I will be in the advanced!! ADVANCED!!!! That makes me feel so smart!!! Now, realistically, all that means is that I understand the theory of Spanish grammar and has absolutely nothing to do with me actually being able to apply it outside of my lessons (I feel like there is a major disconnect there) but I still feel proud.

Well, I am here to say miracles happen all the time and when you least expect them. La Esperanza has felt the needs of it's volunteers and is providing transportation for the volunteers and from the schools. WOO HOO!!!

Oh, and to help you all understand why I find my old spanish teacher to be compleatly hilarious even if she is a terrible teacher, I just found out that she said the following in a in a recent spanish class:

"Do you think that your moms married your dads because they were eh-spicy?" (after admitting that there are no "spicy" men in the United States)