I Live Here

Well, I'm overdue for a blog update. So here goes!

I have finished my third week of teaching. That's right, third. It's okay. It doesn't seem real to me either. Day one went well. The secondary school has 20 minute class periods, then a big pizza lunch, and then it's on to the activities for the afternoon! Every year, the afternoon of the first day is spent in rotation games. This year's theme: game shows! We had Family Feud, NCA's Got Talent, Newlywed Game (for locker buddies), Master Chef, Bob Ross Painting, and America Ninja Warrior. Guess which station I was at. Go on... Yep! America Ninja Warrior. I know. It suits my personality and my personal life perfectly. The kids had a variety of obstacles to navigate. I was placed in charge of monitoring the balance beam and helping the kids count to 3 if they fell. It was a massive undertaking, but one I felt prepared for.

After all of the activity rotations, it was time for the infamous Tape Game. Here's the 30 second version: you get a piece of tape on your shirt across your belly. Student tape is worth 1 point a piece, teacher tape is worth 2 points a piece. The whistle blows. You watch "The Hunger Games" unfold in real life before you. I told our director we could sell footage to the Discovery channel to compare with the lions in Africa.

I did not participate in the Tape Game, mostly because I'm not convinced I didn't sprain my ankle back in June, and I didn't want to risk making it worse. It's probably a good thing I didn't play. The school should really make me sign a liability waiver before I participate in that.

With day one in the books, we moved on to day two, which was a normal day. It felt good to meet my students and feel like I have a purpose in being here. Thursday August 10 was a no school day due to a local holiday. So, some of my new teacher friends and I went exploring. We went to Momotombo, an active volcano. The pictures you see below are as close as we got. From there, we continued on to León. We wandered around the town square, inside of the massive cathedral (seriously. It rivals some European cathedrals in size!), and ate a little cafe. All-in-all, a lovely day. 

A view of Momtombo with smoke at the top.

The cathedral in León on the left with a storm moving in from the west.

 Week two came and went with nothing terribly exciting or out of the ordinary. Last Saturday, the school took a group of new teachers and their families on a tour of old town Managua. We saw the old cathedral that was condemned some time after the 1972 earthquake, and we went to this lovely park on a hill overlooking the whole city. Then we traveled on to Grenada where we saw the city's town square and cathedral (this seems to be a very common layout for a city established by Europeans in the 1500s). We ate lunch at a pizza place, then drove to a place where we piled into two boats and motored around the lake. There were beautiful homes, pretty much all owned by rich people and used for weekend or vacation getaways. I am not usually uneasy in boats, but I was on this trip. I think it was because I felt so very close to the water. The sides of the boat only came up to about the bottom of my rib cage when sitting, but we were still a good distance off the water. Plus, I felt like the boat was perpetually leaning toward my side. But I made it, and I didn't have to go swimming for valuables. 

Welcome to Grenada!

A view of the city from a window in the cathedral.

Undoubtedly, one of the highlights of the boat trip was Monkey Island. The kids (and some adults) got to feed the monkeys from the boat!

Week three was a blessing because the juniors and seniors had their annual retreat Thursday and Friday. I love my junior and senior classes, but it was nice to have only first and second period and then be done for the day. I didn't get caught up on as much as I would have liked, but I did get some good work done. 

So far, the transition has still been a good one. But every once in a while, I have this moment - sometimes even stopping dead in my tracks - and I just say, "Holy smokes. I live here." I'm not visiting or doing short-term mission work. I am building a life here, and that astounds me. I knew it was coming, but now it's reality and not just a dream or a vision. I live here. 

I, of course, miss people back in the States. But I am thankful for technology that allows me the little things like using WhatsApp to text people or Snapchat to check in on those hooligans from youth group (you know who you are), and FaceTime with my parents or my wonderful friend Kayla. This might sound silly to some, but the thing I am having the hardest time with is missing my dog. Now, before y'all get offended and think I don't miss you too, I do! Every day. But we can talk.  My sweet pup doesn't understand why Grandma and Grandpa put a screen in front of her with a warbly version of my voice. I miss my baby girl. So, don't judge, but that is one of the hardest things for me right now.

Now. I believe that there are some of you who may have questions about my life here, and I was thinking about how I may best answer those questions for a mass audience rather than 20 times individually. So, I am going to do a Facebook Live event and answer your questions! The plan is to have it this Wednesday August 20 at 5 pm my time (that's 7 pm for all you Hoosier folks). So bring your questions. If you can't "attend" but still have a question, send it to me in advance. It'll give me something to start with and make things less awkward if nobody jumps in. Although, now that I think about it, my mom is bound to put it in her phone calendar and "show up." She's a good mom like that. 

Well, that's it for now. See you all on Wednesday!

A little humor from my sophomores and their review teams. It was boys against girls, but they needed creative names. So the boys were "Legendary Handsome Ones" and girls were "Unicorns." They were proud of their pun work here. For those of you who don't know, maiz means corn. :)

Training, Training, and More Training

Four weeks.

Four looonnggg weeks.

That's how long I've been in training. Two weeks of training at One Mission Society, then two weeks of training at Nicaragua Christian Academy. It was all great information, but my brain has been reduced to a fried circuit board.

And now tomorrow is the first day of school. Let's go.

Let's do a quick recap of the last two weeks.

I got the okay to buy my plane ticket about 24 hours before I had to be at the airport. About four hours later, I found out I didn't have the proper paperwork to get Kira into Nicaragua. That was a really low point in this journey, but my parents are kind and taking care of her while I'm here until I can come back and get her.

The travel all went very smoothly, and I am still getting settled in my apartment. I am staying in the Allyson Condominiums, and I am in a one-bedroom apartment. It's a relatively quiet place to be, and the grounds are well-kept. My favorite part is the pool, which I have been able to utilize a few times. I'm only about a 10 minute walk from the school, but most days, I ride in  the teacher van. It's owned by the school, but all of the teachers in Allyson can use it.

By far, one of the greatest accomplishments has been getting reliable Wi-Fi. That makes me feel a little more like a human being and a little less like a caged animal. Next big step: buy a car. Please pray for wisdom and good options!

So at school, I've made some friends, worked on lesson plans, and decorated my room. It's a little different from Ben Davis, but I'm enjoying my time so far. I could keep typing, but frankly, my brain is mush. And a picture is worth... well, you know.

Friends

Last Wednesday was Megan's birthday. We went to dinner at Zacatelimon (translation: Lemongrass). Pictured from left to right: me (duh!), Mackenzie, Kelly, Megan, and Eric.

After dinner, we went back to Megan and Eric's apartment and sang "Happy Birthday."

This is one of the educational assistants from the school, Carmen. She is wonderful!

After Friday night's open house, I went to Carl Jr's with my dear friends. Apparently, I am now tia (aunt) to Goldita and Genid, and they are my sobrinas (nieces). Pictured from left to right: me, Goldita, Golda, Genid

Full bellies and hearts!

Classroom

My first completed bulletin board!! <3 i="">

Look! It says my name!

Presenting at open house to students and parents!  

Local Wildlife

International Christian Fellowship is a very welcoming church. They welcome anybody! Oh, and apparently, this is a "small" tarantula.

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures last Saturday of the half-dead cockroach that gave me heart failure, my friend Gregor the Gecko, or the frog that jumped on my foot. I'll do better next time.

Well, I have more lesson planning to do, but I wanted to give all my anxious subscribers an update on the goings on. 

Love to you all!