Firsts

Yesterday was the day for “firsts”.  There was no water so it was the first time I took a bucket bath.  It was the first time I used the latrine.  It was the first time I used the latrine in the middle of the night with my headlamp while paying extra close attention to not shining the light in the hole because I definitely never want to find out what’s down there.  It was the first time I saw a cockroach in Nicaragua (while using the latrine in the middle of the night… I never picked up my foot so quickly).  It was the first time I realized why, in the morning, there are feathers on the floor of our living room—there’s a bird’s nest in the rafters.  It was the first time I talked to my mom on the phone!  It was the first time I began reading a book in Spanish, El Principito, with much needed assistance from the dictionary of course. 

It’s Monday and I just found out we won’t have water until Thursday.  Thank goodness we have a latrine because otherwise, we’d be up a creek.  Showering won’t be a problem because that’s what rain’s for… good thing it’s the rainy season.  Cooking and drinking, however, is going to be a concern because all the water has to be boiled before doing anything.  It’s really rare for there to be no water for this long of a period, so many people aren’t really prepared.  In el campo, supposedly everyone has buckets and buckets of water saved for times like this.  Not in Santa Teresa.

On a better note, we had a really successful youth group meeting yesterday.  We now have two boys in our group who are going to be a huge help.  We’ve decided to make an environmental awareness sign out of plastic and metal bottle caps by nailing them on a big wooden board.  We have to go to the mayor to ask for money to buy the wood and we’re hoping he’ll give us a decent amount so we can follow through with the project.  We also finally completed our community map and have all the hot spots in Santa Teresa on it.  To top off the day, my family and I watched “The Hot Chick” at night.