January has been one CRAZY month filled with laughter, confusion, frustrations, crying (yeah I cried), smiles, and lots of sweating (everyone keeps telling me this is the cold month and that it will only be getting hotter....HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!)
My English classes went great. In November they started off as beginner class for incoming high school students, towards the end of the course in January, classes consist of some high schoolers, some primary students, parents and community members, and the occasional stray dog(s). My hodge podge english classes brought me some much needed practice in the classroom, and I have now gotten to meet and work with a variety of people from my community.
Below is one of my students during our activity of the human body. A student would yell a body part and another student a number in English, they could then interpret that however they wanted. We named this monster "Daly"
My English classes went great. In November they started off as beginner class for incoming high school students, towards the end of the course in January, classes consist of some high schoolers, some primary students, parents and community members, and the occasional stray dog(s). My hodge podge english classes brought me some much needed practice in the classroom, and I have now gotten to meet and work with a variety of people from my community.
Below is one of my students during our activity of the human body. A student would yell a body part and another student a number in English, they could then interpret that however they wanted. We named this monster "Daly"
In January, I was also fortunate enough to help a close friend and fellow PCV with her three summer vacation environmental camp for elementary school children. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to have my own camp at site.
I was in charge of the recycled materials crafts. Each group had a type of animal: reptiles, mammals, birds, etc. and they then had to create a mask of that type of animal using only recycled materials.
I was in charge of the recycled materials crafts. Each group had a type of animal: reptiles, mammals, birds, etc. and they then had to create a mask of that type of animal using only recycled materials.
One of my biggest personal accomplishments this past month was teaching my little host sister about the importance of respecting and loving the natural world. It all started when a large grasshopper came into our home and the first thing she did was scream her little head off. Then she immediately grabbed a shoe to smash it, which I quickly told her would be very mean for the poor little guy. I then explained to her that the grasshopper didn't mean to scare her, and that he was more scared of her. After a while she picked up the grasshopper with her bare hands and took him outside to the patio. The next day, she had him on her shoulder and she had adopted him as "Pedro". Pedro was her pet for a week until he mysteriously disappeared. Now when she sees a large bug, instead of screaming she asks questions.
Another project I started in January and hope to continue throughout my two year service is my ecological brigade for elementary school students. Each month my counterpart and I think of a theme (January was animals) and we meet each week with our brigade to bring about awareness through interactive activities about that topic. To end our animal theme, we took our students to the local zoo which I am blessed to have in my site. My students loved learning about animals they had never seen
Next week the new school year starts, I took advantage to take a must needed mini vacation and do some volcano hiking. Although I never officially made it to the final destination (racing the sun and lack of a distinguishable route) it was a BLAST! We started our trip at La Paz Centro, Leon where we were so kindly taken out to the beginning of the trail on moto taxis....or at least that was the plan. January is the windy season, and since everything is dry the roads are COVERED in sand. The poor little moto taxis got stuck about 5 times, which us PCVs so graciously helped push out. We eventually decided it was best to walk then force the poor drivers endure more of getting stuck. So we creepily started our journey from someones backyard. We didn't necessarily know where we were going but a nice man from the farm said he had a map for us :) This is the map he was talking about:
Well we memorized what he drew and said and we were off. After walking for a VERY long time, we decided to take a break for lunch. Delicious lunch of tuna sandwiches. We had a mini accident of one of the tuna cans falling into the sand, after looking at it for about a minute. Being PCVs we decided to would be a crime to waste it. Low point of my service eating sandy floor tuna...maybe? Then we were off again, and after many rerouting, jumping over barbed-wire fences, tripping on volcanic rocks, getting stuck in bushes, taking turns falling and scratching ourselves up, we came to the conclusion that we would not make it up to "El Hoyo" (the hole) in time before the sun set, so we made camp at the next best step...a valley in between three volcanoes. WHAT!!!!!? Living in this country is such a blessing that I can experience the incredible natural beauty of Nicaragua.
Oh, so you are all probably wondering about my weird blog title, well here is the story:
In January I moved to my new house, the couple I lived with told me they would going on vacation all of January which meant I'd get the house to myself, WOOHOO!
Well they failed to mention they'd be taking the stove with them. They called and said I could use the grill in the backyard. So I knew this would be difficult seeing as lighter fluid doesn't exist in this country so after 30 minutes of using all my wilderness skills, I gave up on lighting it and went to look for help from a neighbor. This hunt actually helped me meet many of my neighbors until I could find someone to help. Of course she lit it up instantly! She did use plastic to start the fire though so....
So I put what I wanted to cook on the grill, after about 15 minutes I turned around and realized my pit-bull was going straight for the kitchen door. I ran ahead of him and shut the door in his face...OH CRAP! I don't have the keys for this door. I am now stuck in my backyard, food is burning on the grill, I have nothing to remove it from the fire,and I am the only one home!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Ok Michelle, don't panic. I tried to open the many doors in that backyard, tried to look for some kind of rag to remove the food from the grill and even tried to climb the 15 foot wall around my house, I failed at all.
The next thing I did was call my host sister and see if she could break in and rescue me...nope! The food was burnt, I began to panic that I punched the kitchen window which to my surprise OPENED! It was very high so I had to stack charcoal to climb up onto the windowsill, once I was up I bumped into the grill and sent black smoke all into my eyes to which I then started to cry and fell into the kitchen sink, but....I WAS IN!!!
The next day I went and bought my own stove and now I always put a door stop when I go to the backyard. Lesson well learned. Let's see what this month has in store for me! Bring it Nicaragua
In January I moved to my new house, the couple I lived with told me they would going on vacation all of January which meant I'd get the house to myself, WOOHOO!
Well they failed to mention they'd be taking the stove with them. They called and said I could use the grill in the backyard. So I knew this would be difficult seeing as lighter fluid doesn't exist in this country so after 30 minutes of using all my wilderness skills, I gave up on lighting it and went to look for help from a neighbor. This hunt actually helped me meet many of my neighbors until I could find someone to help. Of course she lit it up instantly! She did use plastic to start the fire though so....
So I put what I wanted to cook on the grill, after about 15 minutes I turned around and realized my pit-bull was going straight for the kitchen door. I ran ahead of him and shut the door in his face...OH CRAP! I don't have the keys for this door. I am now stuck in my backyard, food is burning on the grill, I have nothing to remove it from the fire,and I am the only one home!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Ok Michelle, don't panic. I tried to open the many doors in that backyard, tried to look for some kind of rag to remove the food from the grill and even tried to climb the 15 foot wall around my house, I failed at all.
The next thing I did was call my host sister and see if she could break in and rescue me...nope! The food was burnt, I began to panic that I punched the kitchen window which to my surprise OPENED! It was very high so I had to stack charcoal to climb up onto the windowsill, once I was up I bumped into the grill and sent black smoke all into my eyes to which I then started to cry and fell into the kitchen sink, but....I WAS IN!!!
The next day I went and bought my own stove and now I always put a door stop when I go to the backyard. Lesson well learned. Let's see what this month has in store for me! Bring it Nicaragua