Dance Dance!

The blog post I’ve been dreading…..Too much to talk about and too little space and will power. So I’ve decided to throw out some bullet points on the highlights of the past two weeks.

1.     I taught my first class ever. And in Spanish. There were 42 third graders in the class. Surprisingly, it went pretty well. They could understand mas or menos what I was saying and no one died. Therefore, I consider it a success. My next class is on Thursday, and I feel a bit more confident going into this one. After teaching that, I’ll only have two more classes left that I’ll be required to teach.

2.       I went to my first town fiesta last Sunday night as part of the Nicaraguan Independence day celebrations. My brother’s salsa band was playing that night and it was great to see him in his element. I even got complemented on my dancing by a straight, sober Nicaraguan woman (so I know the compliments genuine and not just someone trying to hit on me). Yeah cultural integration!

3.       This past week I spent four days observing one of the environmental volunteersin their site in Posoltega Chinadega.. For those of you not familiar with Nicaragua, Chinadega is a department in the Northwest corner of Nicaragua and is considered to have one of the hottest climates in Nicaragua. (Lucky for me, this time of year is considered winter so it was a bit cooler than normal.)It was really great to see what the life of a volunteer is like since it automatically takes for me what was simply an abstract notion to something that is more tangible. As a trainee, I tend to get caught up in the largeness of what we’re expected to accomplish andforget to think about the small daily steps it takes to get there. Tara, the volunteer, seemed really comfortable and happy with her site and after only 9 months already had a project going to build nine high efficiency stoves in her site.

4.       On the way home from our visit to Chinadega, the other two trainees who were with me and I decided to spend some time in Leon. Leon is a gorgeous old city that was built by the Spaniards and is famous for two things: churches and murals. In addition, it is also a hotspot for backpackers so we saw a LOT of other gringos. We were able to buy brunch in a cafe near one of the larger cathedrals and spent the rest of the time site seeing. I took many photos, but since my camera was stolen on the way home, I unfortunately cannot post them. But believe me, they were good.

5.       Today, quite unexpectedly, I decided to take part in a six hour dance competition in my training town. It cost less than a dollar to participate (20 cordobas to be exact), the whole point being an emphasis on physical fitness. Claire, another volunteer in El Rosarion, and I decided within five minutes of the competition starting that we wanted to do more than just watch….we wanted to join inSince her host sister was a judge for the competition, we were able to sneak in late, and had an amazing time. Think of an hour zumba class. Now multiply that by six. I have never been so tired, and happy at the same time.

Thanks for reading! Remember, I love mail. I’ve put my address in the “About Me” section if you need it. I promise that I’ll be the best pen pal ever. Miss you all!