¿Quien Causa Tanta Alegria?

Time is flying by. I have been so busy the past few days and grateful for it. I think that if I had more free time I would be going crazy waiting for the 21st. But fortunately I have had a full schedule. Friday was Purisima, a Nicaraguan Catholic holiday celebrating the conception of Mary. I had been planning on observing since it sounded a little like Halloween, my favorite American holiday. My friend loaned me a Virgin (remember its not a statue) and we made an altar out of flowers, Christmas lights and balloons. Of course I had to Shannonize it with some Nag Champa. I had initially bought three big bags of candy to give out (hence the halloween reference). To my dismay, I was told that this was not going to get me through the first half hour. Lucky for me, my friend had my back. His mom showed up in a Taxi with a huge sack of oranges, a crate of bananas, a tray of cookies, and a bushel? of sugar cane. The cane was in three foot long sticks and we had some borrachos over to chop it into four inch long pieces with machetes. Usually my friend has a big celebration at his house with his Grandma, who is extremely Catholic, but she was in Costa Rica visiting her daughter so we did it at my house. It was so much fun!! Groups came and sang songs about Mary, one group even brought along a Casio, plugged it in and started jamming on my porch. Instead of "Trick Or Treat" They say "Quien Causa Tanta Allegria? La Concepcion de Maria!" (Who is the cause of such happiness? The Conception of Mary!") We gave them treats in exchange for the singing, as per the tradition. It was a great time. I ended the night by going to some friends´ house and singing Silent Night to their altar. Not exactly a Mary tribute, but the closest thing I could think of at the moment. The next day was the first communion of Regina, my little buddy who I lived with for the first six weeks in La Conquista. She was all dressed up in her bride outfit and adorable. I got a great picture of her playing Monopolio in this get up. Priceless. The next day I went to Leon with my host family from La Paz. We visited this famous Cathedral where Nicaraguan poet Ruben Dario is buried. I also saw a naked man run through the town plaza while the cops ate snow cones and laughed. It has been very eventful. Now I am just trying to relax and search out a VCR to tape my novela while I am in the states. This has been the cause of much worry. This probably sounds ridiculous to anybody reading this but hello, ya´ll have TIVO, right? And seriously, I have watched this show since I got to La Conquista and it has been integral in my spanish progress. I look forward to it every night and I just can't miss it. Especially since it is about to end. Well, enough about my Zorro addiction. As usual, I am hungry so I am going to go eat now.

December the third third third.....

If you don't understand the title, ask Sarah or Manda...
So this will be quick. I just put up a ton of new pics from the past couple months. It's the "final countdown!!!!" I wil be home in less than three weeks!! Whoo! Unfortunately I won't be here to enjoy a full month of 24 hour electricity. The government has announced that they will not be cutting the electricity for the entire month of December which means I have been eating meat again!! Just gearing up fpr Christmas... Anyway I'll post another soon. Feliz navidad!

I finally got my hammock!

Feliz Navidad!

Graduation Dinner at my adopted family's house.

The biggest f'ing bug I have ever seen. It is not a cockroach, I have been assured. I found it in my kitchen. It is as big as my cell phone.

At the AVC our boss wanted us to "standout" so we had to wear hats that we made out of paper bags. Who knew that Peace Corps had a "special" department.

Working hard or hardly working?

The only good part about being separated from my sisters is that I can rock this white eyeshadow and there is no one here to tell me I am tacky. HA!

Katie and Deena, two of my closest girlfriends, in our hotel at the AVC.

Another of my ladies, Lori, decorating our booth at the conference. Check out that hat!! She doesn't have the repuation for being the most stylish Peace Corps member for nothing!

Nadeska and Eynard getting married!

Another wedding photo. Tia Francie.... Something Blue?

The wedding reception. That is my host sister Nelly and host dad in the big glasses. These people know how to have a good time!

More at the wedding.

Thanksgiving!! Check out those palm trees and the hammock in the background.

Katie and Lori on Thanksgiving.

More AVC hat madness.

Update

It has been forever since I have written. Been super busy with the end of the school year, but at last I am free. I have a feeling this freedom will soon give way to boredom so I am trying to stay busy giving classes in the community and such. The week of Thanksgiving was the annual All Volunteer Conference and it was SOOOO fun. There were different information sessions that we could choose from and also a dance party and talent show. Each sector did a skit as part of an intersectoral competition. Our group did a "sociodrama" about what it is TEFL volunteers do. I won't go into a full explanation but let me just say that I did not envision my Peace Corps experience would include dancing in a bikini to that song that goes "My neck, my back..." (The UNEDITED version). Needless to say we won that part of the competition. For Thanksgiving I went to one of my bosses houses with a bunch of other TEFL people. The food was awesome and it was a great time. The juxtaposition between pumpkin pie and palm trees was a little surreal though. After a week of hot showers, breakfast, lunch and dinner and cable TV I returned to La Conqui where there had been no power for two days. No power meant no water, hot or other wise and so I found myself bathing in the river. Yes bathing, complete with shaving cream and razor. I wish I had had a camera. I felt very Peace Corps. That same day we had the graduation ceremony for the seniors. I have to say that even though I was only here for a few months out of the school year I was so proud of all the graduates. It was really cool to see them all dressed up and getting their degrees. Afterwards was a party and I surprised a few of my students with my ability to dance Reggaeton. Bachata, Salsa, Merengue not quite there yet, but bumping and grinding to a hip hop beat I can totally do.
In October, my host sister from La Paz married her long time boyfriend and they had a wedding at the house. I was honored to be invited not only to the ceremony but also to come over early and help with preparations. I truly felt a part of the family while I was blowing up balloons and making sandwiches. A great time was had by all. Right now I am getting more and more excited everyday for December 21st when I will be boarding a plane for the U.S of A. I can not wait!!! Really it is all about the the three F's. Family, Friends and Food!!! I think I will probably cry when I see my family. Just thinking about it makes me well up. And the food!!! Sushi, Lattees, Cheesburgers, Oh my!! I finally found marshmallows here and introduced my friend to S'mores. A little cultural exchange. He agreed that they are "Riquisimo!!" Speaking of food I am starving right now so I am gonna go eat some pizza. I will put up some pictures this week I swear, maybe even today after the pizza, I just don't have the patience right now to deal with the technology on an empty stomach.

Cultural Experience or Animal Rights Attrocity?

So this will be very short. Just had to say that I went to a cock fight. I was very conflicted about the whole thing and still am. I saw three roosters die. I also saw a transvestite dancing with a man with no legs. It was an interesting evening to be sure. I did not pay to get into the cockfight so at least there is that. I also did not bet or anything. I feel like I am confessing something terrible here. I need feedback. Am I a terrible person?

Pictures of La Conqusita (for my mom)

This is one of the cool statues in the church.

This is my friend trying to put the antennae for the TV together. The TV saga was a nightmare. It broke the first day I had it, (It fell on the ground) but it is finally fixed as of today.

This is my friend. He hates this picture so I had to put it up.

This is the park in La Conquista.

The church and the bus.

Some townspeople in the park.

Here is the park again. It is pretty green right now due to the rainfall.

Here is a pig in the park. I had to put this one up because it reminds me of a book that Ezra likes. This one could be called "If You Take A Pig To The Park..."

This is a street next to the park. I live like two blocks away.

Here is a mural near the Centro de Salud. Apparently it was made by "gringos".

Everday is a day for Vaccination!

The Centro de Salud.

Here is one of the main streets. (There are two).

This is where I teach in La Conquista.

Another picture of the school.

This was the Independence Day Parade. As you can see theydon't mess around with this business.

Here is a pic from the Quinceaños. It was a good time.

I had to put this one up. I don't know hwo this little girl is but I totally busted her stealing frosting.

Me and Regina a day or so before I moved out. She is smiling in this one because in the first one I told her she looked like a victim of kidnapping. See below.

I swear this looks like a ransom photo. She looks like she is trying to say "Please rescue me from this crazy gringa!"

Hanging out in my house with the neighborhood vagos.

This is Joel mopping my floor. He noticed the camera here and tried to run.

After they helped me move I made them spaghetti. They thought it was good but decided it needed cuajada so they went to the store and bought some. Cuajada is Nicaraguan cheese that tastes like feet to me.

The living room.

The kitchen.

Kitchen again.

My super messy room. It is gi-normous.

Here it is from the outside. So cute!!

A quick one

So I will try to make this quick because I am starving. I really want to post some pics of the new place but I fear that this connection is too slow today and I gotta get out of here before I hit the red zone. The new place is great. I love cooking my own food and having privacy. Actually the privacy has been in short supply. People are constantly dropping in for no reason. Which is fine I guess. I do worry a bit about what my neighbors think with all the traffic, but whatever. They will be nosy and gossipy no matter what I do so I try not to worry about it too much. I have decided against getting a dog after I realized how much mopping is required in a Nicaraguan home. The first time I mopped, the floor looked worse than before. I had to have my friends show me how to do it right. I actually got a man to mop for me!! He did the kitchen to teach me and then I tried to play dumb and tell him that I needed more examples and could he please do the porch but he wasn't having it. Apparently mopping the kitchen where nobody could see him was one thing but mopping out in the open was completely out of the question.
I still think I might have to get a cat. I woke up the other night to go to the bathroom and there was a huge toad in the shower. It crawled in through the drain pipe. This was fine with me but the thought that it could have just as easily been a rat has been nagging at me ever since. I do not know what I would do if this happened. I would probably have to call a neighbor. Cat or rat? Definitely cat.

Insert Clever Title Here

I´m sittiing in Jinotepe and it has just begun to rain so this will proabably be a long one. It has been a great week. Independence Day is on Saturday, which has pretty much meant a week of vacation. I have had a few afternoon classes but the morning classes were all canceled so the kids could practice marching through the streets for tomorrow's parade. Until just now it has been dry all week. I probably should have taken advantage of this and done some laundry but I have been too busy reading. I am sucked into The Time Traveler's Wife and I do not want it to end. I highly reccomend it. The big news of the week, and my life in general is that I found a house!! Actually, I found THE house. As in the house of my dreams. It not only has a yard, a real toilet (INSIDE!!), and an extra bedroom but also a porch! The porch is definitely the best part. It is enclosed by bars so I will be able to sit out there in my hammock all hours of the night and still be totally safe. My boss came and approved it the same day that I called her, and now all I have to do is move in. As soon as I am in I will take all kinds of photos and put them up here so everyone can see it. It is truly the best house that I have seen. Last week was rough. I had pretty much given up on ever finding my own house after Maria and I walked around knocking on doors and trying to convince people to rent me the house that their cousin's sister's kids stay in when they come home from Costa Rica in December and was told ´no´one after the other. Several people offered to rent me a room, including one in a house that was not even fully built. Finally on Tuesday, when we were out making our nightly rounds one of my students came up and asked me if I had found a house. I told him that I had not and that I was, at that very moment, on the hunt. He told me that his cousin would rent me his house and we arranged to look at it the next day. I met him at his construction job, (which explains why he has not been in my class for two weeks), and we walked to the house. Initially I thought I was coming to look at the project house that sits on the same lot as the actual house. Project houses are small box houses that were built by some NGO last year. They are not supposed to be rented but I was desperate and thinking that if he wanted to rent it to me I would not complain. Then he started showing me the main house. And I realized that the super nice orange house was the one he wanted to rent. I was so excited that I did not even blink when he told me the rent would be 60 dollars a month. That is outrageously expensive for the region but well worth it in my opinion. I will still be able to survive on my stipend but the 13 dollar splurges on peanut butter will have to stop. Oh well, it is practically impossible to find here anyway. In other news, I killed my first scorpion on Monday. It was liberating. I think that was what needed to happen before the universe would let me find a house- I needed to prove my bugslaying abilities. Now that I have crossed that bridge there is a whole new world of possibility. But I will still probably have to get a cat to take care of the other more hirsute pests. This does not make me happy at all. I do not like cats. Yes, I have Sylvia at home, but I am still amazed that she did not run away or commit cat suicide under my care. But here a cat is sort of a necessity. I also saw a place in Teresa that sells boxer puppies. I am seriously considering buying one. Of course I will have to send in one of my Nica friends to ask how much before I go look at them but that is just par for the course. I do not know much about boxers except that they are super cute like a pug, only more menacing. I should probably just adopt a dog. God knows there are enough unwanted ones roaming the streets in this country, but I want one that is healthy and mentally stable without emotional baggage. I should at least be able to have that in a dog, right? As for work, I taught the kids ¨head, shoulders, knees and toes¨ and it was great. I think it is the first time I really knew that they learned something. I am now convinced that everything needs to be taught in a song. If anyone knows any good color, month or days of the week songs please let me know! Lastly, On Saturday I am goiong to my first Quinceaños, or Quinciñera as they are called in Mexico. I am super excited. I will take lots of pictures!!

September Already?

I really cannot believe that it is September. Time has gone by so fast. I will be home to visit in less time than I have already been here now. Weird. Things are going well here. The house I was going to rent fell through and now I am looking at some other options. I bought a stove and a propane tank and a TV. Now I just need a fridge and a bed and I will be living large. Honestly, the last month has been trying in many ways but I know that the hard part is behind me and I am feeling better than I have in months. I feel that I can really focus on being here now and not worrying about what is going on back home. It is a great feeling. Like a weight has been lifted. Now if I can just get my own place I will really be able to move forward. I am really looking forward to getting some community classes started because that will mean that I am teaching people who are there voluntarily and have an interest in learning English as opposed to many of my students in the schools. Once I have my own place I will be able to start planning more of these types of classes and English clubs for some of my advanced students. I want to focus my energy on people who are motivated and not have to scream at people to put down the makeup and pay attention. I am also really trying to think of ways to motivate the students. I think magazines in English, especially fashion and beauty mags for the girls, (is that politically incorrect?) would be really handy, so if anyone has any old ones laying around please send them my way. I have a new address too but I probably shouldn't post it here so if you want it email me. I finally got all my mail on Friday and I am now convinced that the delay is more on the end of PC and not the mail because I had a package from my friend in California that arrived in five days!! I think they just don't want to pick it up or something because there were other things from July. Hopefully my new PO Box will speed things up. And thanks to all ya'll who sent me stuff. Zuha, the magazine on secret societies was especially entertaining especially the section on cults which featured an article on Oregon's own Rajneeshi scandal of the eighties. Memories!

Pictures from La Conquista

Here I am at my school with some of the primary kids on field day.

Here I am in my bedroom with my "I love Nicaragua" cup. I am sitting on my bed and the green thing behind me is my mosquito net.

Here I am doing laundry in the yard. Check out the chicken in the background. That is one of about twentyfive that live in the house. It started raining as soon as I hung up the last piece of laundry. See the next picture.

It pours a lot these days.

This is one of the rivers in La Conquista. ¡Que bonita!

Nightclubbing in Managua

These are some of the crazy girls I love. This was when we were in Managua for swearing in and we all went out dancing. Good times.