PC perks

Whoever spread the rumor that all of Boaco is cool and breezy was completely wrong.  It’s been a week in Teustepe and I am loving it, but it definitely does not feel like Christmas is coming!  I’ve spent the week getting to know the town with my host family and teachers I’ll be working with.  I arrived on Tuesday and that afternoon I took the 10 minute walk to the river with my host sister and nephew.  The same river I’ll be crossing in a couple months to get to one of my schools was about waist-high and perfect for a six year old to have the time of his life.  Let’s hope the water level goes down really quickly.  There were boys playing soccer on the sand, other swimming, and others washing clothes.  It was a beautiful day.

Later on in the week, I revisited the mayor and the delegate of the Ministry of Education   who said he’ll help me get paint to begin an environmental mural.  I went back to two of my schools to sit in on end-of-the-year evaluations that were interesting.  It helped me understand why students talk while the teacher is talking during class… the director of the school was talking while teachers were carrying on conversations on cell phones and speak louder so maybe some people will hear.  I also went to the high school graduation on Saturday and sat on the stage, front and center.  Who knows how that happened but it would be pretty accurate to say that I was in the background of all the pictures of the graduate receiving his diploma.  There was a mass that started at 1:00 pm which of course didn’t start until 1:45 then there was the ceremony in a large VFW-type room that lasted from about 3:00-6:30.  The music (typical graduation instrumental) was so loud my chair was vibrating.  If I knew how to play the trumpet, I would have had the song memorized within the first hour… that’s how many times it was repeated.  There was a fiesta Saturday night that I went to for a few hours with two of my host sisters and learned to dance bachata.  On Sunday, I went to the graduation of the sixth graders in the elementary school in Teustepe, which was a little quicker, starting at 2 and ending at 6.  Again, the loud music muffled the little boys laughter as they played on the stage (yes, during the ceremony) and a teacher talking on his phone while on stage.  In Nica graduations, a family member accompanies each student.  The get-ups ranged from baseball caps and skinny jeans to silver stilettos, red sparkly ball gowns, and see-through shirts.  Yikes.  Finally, on Monday, I went to the pre-school graduation and for the third time, I sat at the front table.  Let me tell you... the perks of being a Peace Corps volunteer are endless. 

As for my living accommodations, I’m enjoying the small room and should have never made fun of Alison’s tiny bedroom.  My suitcase is a great seat for my host nephew when we have drawing sessions (he glued one of his pictures to the front of my bedroom door) and I’ve only killed one semi-big bug.  The other night, I saw a snake on the patio so told my host mom who then called to her husband who then grabbed his 3 foot machete and gave it a  few good smacks.  The only thing that’s worrying me a little is the huge spider, I’ll go ahead and say tarantula, that was in the latrine a couple nights ago.  I couldn’t kill it because I was wearing sandals that weren’t big or strong enough to do the job.  I tried flicking a big leaf at it but it didn’t feel like moving.  Of course I left without going to the bathroom and returned about half and hour later.  It had left, which is great, but now the problem is that now I’m a little scared to go to the bathroom when it’s dark.

This week, I’m going to have my first youth group meeting and will also be working with the town librarian at her after-school program on Thursday.  In a couple weeks, I’ll be giving some English lessons to two boys who already speak pretty well and want more practice.  I can’t wait to get this juicy package that my parents sent me so I can play some basketball and softball and paint some Flor de Caña bottles.  (Another perk: parents would only send you extravagant packages if you were in Peace Corps.  College?  Forget about it.)

 I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!