Grad party!!!!

Before I get to any blogging, I thought I would invite those of you who have been reading this and posting comment and e-mailing me to my Graduation/ Welcome Home party. I can't say it will be the greatest party of you life, and I will be either only 65% awake or really hyper (depending on well my parents succeed on there promise to suply me with coffee since it is only 3 days after I get home). Anyway, check your celenders and RSVP if you want to come because we need to get enough ice cream (that is probably the best reason to come). Here are the details. . .

Kate's Graduation Party


Where: Kate's house (e-mail me for directions)

When: Monday, May 26, 2-4 PM

I think the rest of the info is self explanitory but if you have any ?'s please e-mail me. I hope you all come. It has been so fun hearing about people who are reading my blog and it is always cool to get e-mails from people. You guys have been a pretty sweet audience!

now for the actual journals. . . .

May 8School went pretty good today. There is one girl that continues to frustrate me though. Rosa Emilia is little girl that is so sweet and she is only three but she is often unresponsive (not talking, not making eye contact, not paying attention) when you try to get her to do something structured and often doesn't do what she is supposed to be doing. I know some of my frustration with her is my fault, but I wish she would do more. I do feel better though that she has a friend in the class that she hangs out with a lot. That way he at least brings her out of her shell a bit.

May 9

Well tonight at our house, there was a pirate party. I was pretty impressed; people got really into it. There were some really good costumes. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to create a good costume and I didn't really but I did have a little cardboard sword and eye-patch. I was pretty intimidating (once you got pass the little cardboard sword and eye-patch- I could scowl scarily). It was pretty fun.
May 10The place that I am taking my spanish lessons is located in this really cool old building. Part of what makes it so cool is that it not only is beautiful but it is used for all sorts of things - not just the the language school. There are dance classes, a preschool, karate classes, aerobics classes, and events like a beauty pageants (kind of like little miss sunshine but less disturbing because the can't really afford to creepify their kids too much). Anyway, it's sweet to see a place that is really being used every day.

May 11

Okay, I get that I am sharing a house with others and that I will have to deal with behavior that I am not completely fond of but seriously, a line has been crossed! In my opinion, when you share a home with another fellow being, I really don't think it is ever appropriate to poop on them! Not cool. I know that animals live by different rules but I don't bother the bugs, geckos, and bats in the house and I don't know why it is too much to ask for a bat to look where it is going to the bathroom! I was just sitting down, watching a little tv when a little turd fell on my shirt! Gross!

May 12

Today only three kids showed up to school. Attendance has been a big problem lately so instead of doing a normal class, Martha (the teacher) took all 3 of the kids and me around to the houses of the kids that didn't show up and asked them why they weren't in school today and told them that they should come to school tomorrow. I was really shocked to see the houses that the kids live in. I knew that they didn't have much but to see the actual houses that they live in was really hard for me to see. The houses were similar to the ones that I saw in Costa Rica, and ones that I have seen around Granada but to see the kids that I help to teach coming out to greet us - these aren't proper houses for anyone to live but especially little children. One problem I have had with the kids is them running out of the classroom and going to the bathroom in the yard instead of going to the bathroom in a toilet. Now I realize that this is probably because they don't have toilets it their houses. It is so hard to see.

May 13Our little field trip paid off. 15 kids showed up in preschool which was pretty impressive. Two new kids even showed up. It was really good to see some kids finally come to school who hadn't shown up for a couple weeks. It can get kind of crazy with so many kids but the teacher is surprisingly good at keeping the kids kind of doing what they are supposed to be doing. Pretty good day, no major complaints and I had no trouble falling asleep.

May 14

I was really proud of all the stuff we did today in school. Granted, it was mostly fun stuff but we reviewed our colors, body parts and numbers in addition to making straw necklaces and mothers day cards. Also, even if the fun stuff doesn't really teach them stuff, it keeps them wanting to go to school the next day which does help them learn. Although, some days it seems like we do nothing and I on those days I feel like we could have done more. It feels good to have actually done several things in a school day!May 15Today I brought my camera to school and I had so much fun with the kids taking pictures of them during recess. I would take a pictures of them and then they would all run towards me to see the picture. What was really funny is when I tried to teach them to say "Go Bucks!" but it didn't really work because they felt really funny saying it and they couldn't really make the ck sound very well so it sounded more like "go butts". I suppose that's what I get for making that the english I have taught them out of all the much more useful vocabulary I could have tought them. Still. . . it was kind of cute.

May 16

Well, I only have one week left in Nicaragua. It is weird how time has gone so fast! I feel like a second ago I was kind of ready to go home and now I am like "hold up, uh, it's pretty sweet over here and I don't really want to go quite yet" seriously It's not so bad here and to document how great it is, I have made a list of a bunch of things I am going to miss.

SUPER SWEET GRANADA STUFF:

-It is so beautiful! There are a lot of really beautiful old building and the whole town is really picturesque.

-Chocolate covered bananas, "frescos" (really cheap beverages that are sold everywhere in plastic baggies) and ice cream sold in plastic baggies

-really yummy fruit

-having pet geckos in my house (they aren't really pets but they like to eat bugs so it is all good)

-laughing every time I buy Bimbo brand bread

-having a really great spanish teacher

-everything being way cheaper than in the states (for example I can get an ice cream cone with 2 scoops of ice cream for 60 cents, a medium pizza for less than four bucks, and any fruit for less than 50 cents)

- a volcanic lake is just an half an hour drive away, just waiting for me to swim in it

-I get to hang out with people from England, Wales, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Lebanon, El Salvador, and the States (that's more of an La Esperanza thing but I will still miss it)

-the Elba Zamora school, its students, and its teachers

seriously. . . it's pretty cool here!