Summer was very difficult, to say the least. I wasn't sure if school would resume, if I would get the green light from OMS to return, if I even wanted to return. People kept asking questions, and all I could say was, "I don't know." That may have been frustrating for them to hear, but I promise it was even more frustrating to say.
But God is good. He worked everything out perfectly, as per usual. I arrived in Managua on August 1. A friend picked me up at the airport, and the drive home was bizarre. It was about 8:00, still relatively early, but the streets were deserted. The barricades that blocked so much of the country have all been removed, so what little traffic there was flowed smoothly. It seemed surreal.
On our first day of teacher training, our director had a very frank conversation with us. He said we are living in a "tense calm" where everything appears to be normal, but everyone knows there is still stuff brewing under the surface. He also gave us a list of precautions to take. There was nothing completely jarring or unreasonable. I can still go to the store, go out for a bite to eat, etc. But we check for news of protests and marches to know what areas of town to avoid. Overall, we feel very fortunate for where we live and work, because this side of town is so quiet.
We had two weeks of staff training instead of the normal one week. This was very nice to have that extra time to be in the classroom and prep, but also led to some procrastination. "Eh, I still have a week to do that." The thing that consumed most of my first two weeks here were my car. Yes, my poor Charlotte and her accident from March 6. That was five months ago. This whole experience with insurance and the car shop has led me to decide that I should never have a car accident in Nicaragua ever again. I'd write up the whole process for you to read, but it honestly would take too long to explain. Maybe I'll do a Facebook live video again and explain the process.
My biggest life change is that I have moved out of my one bedroom apartment and into a 3 bedroom duplex with 3 other young women. Two are fellow teachers at NCA, and the third, and my roommate, works at an organization called Tesoros de Dios, which works with children with special needs and their families. Other than the periods of time that I stayed with my parents, I haven't lived with anybody since college. It's definitely been a great transition, and I fully believe it was the right move. But there are still moments that I have to figure out. I just have to shake my head and smile at how God brought us all together. We are such different personalities (I'm the only extrovert and a seriously external processor) and yet we are so similar. Have you ever heard of or read about the 5 love languages? Well, we are all physical touch people. So tonight, as we watched The Bourne Legacy, we were all four of us on the 3 person couch and happy as could be all snuggled up. We are still working at making the space our own, but pleased with how things are coming along.
 |
| Erika, Alex, and I on our first day of school! |
First day of school was a success. I got to see my sweet angels, although they weren't so angelic during the tape game. More on that in a minute. Our school day has been slightly altered. We start 15 minutes earlier and end 45 minutes earlier. This meant that the traditional first day activities had to be changed slightly, but we were still able to keep the spirit of the day and welcome students back in style. This included the annual traditional tape game. If you haven't heard about this game, here's what you need to know: you get a piece of tape on your shirt. Your grade level is your team (teachers are their own team). Protect your tape. Get tape off of others. Girls can get tape from boys or girls, but boys can only get tape from boys. That's it. There are not really any rules beyond that. I didn't play last year, but I did play this year and it was pretty great. I had to ice my arm and I got my clock cleaned by a senior. But the teachers won, so it was all worth it in the end.
 |
| The teacher team before the madness began. |
 |
| An action shot. No, they didn't get my tape. |
A little view of some of the action.
 |
| After the tape game. I was a little muddy. |
Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. I don't think I would have made it back home without you all.
