#41 It's About Time

It’s taken a little more than two months at my site, but finally things have picked up and everything is going fantastic. This blog has also been viewed more than 5000 times! Thanks for your support!

I am continuing to co-teach at the schools, which, depending on the school can be quite satisfying and rewarding. A teacher from a school that I am not working at who is teaching the same class has come to me asking for a workshop type session regarding the course because students from my class have told him how much they are enjoying my classes. Not trying to sound conceited or anything, but for all the trouble I go through with some of my schools, it’s very complementing when I hear that at least one of my schools is appreciating my effort in their class. Meanwhile, after more than two months, I still have yet to teach a class at one of my schools because school on Fridays has been cancelled every week since my arrival.

Secondary projects.

The marathon project I’m working on with a youth group is progressing and we have upped our weekly meetings to now meet twice per week. I was in charge of making the flyers, and VOILA (click that).

In addition, I have now taken on the project od recruiting participants from across the Peace Corps in Nicargua and other organizations and potential groups that may have interest.

I am teaching my first English class this Sunday evening to a group of 20 community members. These classes, from what I hear, usually end up with a quarter of the number of students they started with due to people quickly realizing that English is much more of a commitment than they had expected. No worries, it is just good to know that before starting.

All the little kinks and headaches surrounding these projects and everyday life here are just working out. I think I just realized that I finally feel integrated into my community. Hmph.

Standing awkwardly at Chaco Verde

My social life is now existent as I now have a growing network of colleagues and friends. This means that I will be enjoying more Friday and Saturday nights from now on and will be able to do more cool things around the Island. For example, a friend and I went on a hike the other day to my new favorite place on the island called Chaco Verde, a natural reserve filled with very funky flora and fauna and even cooler monkeys.  

Also, there is a local beach bar and discoteca around the corner from my house that are supposed to be bumpin’ on the weekends so now I get to enjoy those too.

"God flies in Nica"

Changing the subject, I constantly get bombarded with religious questions here and I finally explained to the family that I don’t go to church with them because I’m not a religious person and, in general, don’t hold any religious beliefs nor do I believe in God/The Devil/Hell/Jesus... This was a mistake. The next day at school my principal sat me down and drilled me about God. In a small town word travels fast. Now I feel like a ninja dodging religious questions, answering only with I have no opinion.

Last but certainly not least, a January vacation is now booked to go back to Connecticut for a couple of days followed by a nice week long vacation in Turks and Caicos with my parents. I didn’t think I’d travel back home for at least a year if I did at all, but now that it’s been decided, I’m so excited and cannot wait!

Oh also, this season of Breaking Bad is about to end on Sunday and I’ll need your support as I’m going to be withdrawing harshly the week following.