Nica Time

I don´t even know where to begin, it´s been quite some time since my last post and I feel like so much has happened. So I´ll just give the highlights:
1) Our school garden has been successfully created and is actually growing! We planted tomato, cucumber, squash, peppers and chitome (don´t know what the english translation is). Our chicken wire fence is really a sad excuse for protection, especially since a good portion is rusted and falling apart and the other parts are sagging and can be hopped over. I believe we´ll be able to transplant our tomato plants next week!
2) I gave my first class in Spanish to my 6th grade class and it was AMAZING! I taught them about types of energy and classified it has renewable or non-renewable. They seemed to enjoy the dinamicas/activities which is different from their normal rote memorization and copy method. And it seemed like they learned some stuff and could decipher my Spanish (at least I hope). I´m giving my second class this Thursday on the carbon cycle.
P.S. It doesn´t matter where students are from all middle schoolers are the same. I did a KWL activity and was asking the students what they knew about energy before we started and I had my ¨star pupil¨ (who I identified within the first 5 minutes of class) just start reading from the book hiding under his desk. I quickly stole that away from him.
3) We went on Site visits! I spent two days with a volunteer in Rivas to observe what volunteer life was like and to talk to her and get the DL (for all you older readers, translation: DL = the scoop, information) It was a really awesome time. One, I got to escape from my tiny little town and see a different part of Nicaragua. Two, I learned some valuable information from her. Three, I can´t wait for training to finish up so that I can get to site and start volunteering.
While we were there we observed some of her science classes and english classes; met her friends; hiked to a really pretty river, saw a tiny waterfall, some monkeys, almost got stampeded by a pack of cows; went to a wonderful bakery where I was able to indulge in some brewed coffee and delicious coconut bread! It was heavenly!
4) We´ve been to Managua a couple of times now and experienced the joy of Nicaraguan public transportation. Everyone warns about the buses and the ladrones (thieves), well knock on wood nothing has been stolen from me except for my personal space. They pack as many bodies on to these retired school buses as they possibly can and you´re being jostled around like a pinball. I have no idea how I´m going to travel on these buses with my enourmous suitcases when I move to my site in a month. The upside was we got PIZZA while in Managua. Another heavenly experience, we all pretty much gorged ourselves with it because it was not gallo pinto (rice and beans).
Yeah, so I think those are the highlights. Time is flying by and I think my Spanish is improving, but I still have those days where my brain just doesn´t want to function in Spanish.
I still haven´t received any mail, but have received word from many people that it´s in transit. Thank you!! It will be greatly appreciated when received!
All you Midwesterns are starting to experience fall weather, which I´m a tad jealous of. The climate here is always the same, relatively hot and humid; so I´m missing out on those crisp fall mornings and evenings and all the beautiful changing leaves. But then again, fall will quickly disappear and you´ll be faced with a cold slap in the face and I´ll still be enjoying my hot and humid, tropical climate.....hmmm......