OK so I don't REALLY feel like a woman. Yesterday we were asked to be judges for an English singing/dance competition for one of the local high schools. They were able to sing an English song instead of taking a final English test, which is an awesome idea; less work for the teacher and more fun for the students. All of the groups did a great job, but in the end, a group that “sang” and danced to “I feel like a woman” by Shania Twain took home the gold. OK well they didn't take anything home, other than the fact they they now get to participate in the regional competition. After the competition, we thought it would be a great idea to talk to the English teacher and tell her that if they would like, we would work with them on the pronunciation of the song. The teacher asked them, and they liked the idea. So pretty much what I am trying to say is that with our help, they will win.... hand down. It was a lot of fun listening to Ryan and Elizabeth singing, “Men's shirts, short skirts, oh oh oh oh” well mostly Ryan, but he was totally into it, which makes me wonder about him... Does he really like Shania? Oh well we all have our own tastes I guess ;) Below are a few pictures of the singing competition and our beautiful piñata that we made with our youth group. If you would like the rest, send a S.A.S.E with a small donation of 500 buck to my mom, and she will send them out to you.
Yesterday was Día de San Juan or for those of you non-Spanish speakers out there, “Day of Saint John”. THATS ME!! minus the saint, but thats neither here nor there, ANYWAYS I came home from going to Jinotepe, my host mom handed me a gift bag, and inside was an agenda, and a rag. Its funny because I was looking to buy an agenda for when I get to my site and start doing things. And the rag for when I go to my new site if it's too hot, I can wipe the sweat from my brow. I think they were great gifts. I was thinking the other day that it will be very difficult to leave here when I go to my site. Firstly because I like this family a lot, shes a great cook, and they invite me to almost everything they do. And Secondly, I'm going to miss hanging out with the other Trainees. I'm still wondering if I should call her mom, or continue calling her by her first name. I called my host mom in Spain “mom” and she replied with, “My name is Maria”. But I think I might just throw it out there and see how she reacts. Of course, she will never replace my real mom (because my really love my real mom and not to mention she has access to my bank account, and I wouldn't want to upset her) LOVE YOU MOM!
We find out on Friday where they are going to send us for the remainder of our 2 years here in Nicaragua, and I can't wait to find out! I have my preferences, but I guess where ever they send me will be fine! ( I have to write that, the Peace Corps may read this =) Ryan and I walked to Jinotepe today to price out beds, fridges, and table top gas stoves for when we make the move. It was really funny because we both walked into the store together and said, “Estamos buscando una cama matrimonial” or We are looking for a matrimonial bed (thats how they say double bed). We failed to mention that we were BOTH looking for a bed, not one to share. It was funny, I wonder what the sales people were thinking. It keeps them thinking I guess. The beds range anywhere from C$3,000 cords- C$ 4,500 cords ($156.25- $234.00) A fridge (small one) will be around C$6,000 cords ($312.50) and a table top stove is about C$450 cords ($23.50). I hear our moving in allowance will be around C$4,000 so we will have to come up with other methods to earn money. Whats that you ask? Why yes, my birthday IS coming up very soon (July 22nd) now that you know, theres no excuse for no gift. And I have ways of tracking who has visited this site. So once again, my mother will be taking donations for this special ONCE A YEAR occasion. So there is no confusion, my name is spelled John Cunningham for all of you check writers out there (hint hint, nudge nudge. wink wink)
Well thats all for now, I will be back Friday, or Saturday to let you all know where I will be living.
P.S. Happy Birthday Paul. Hope your feeling better Linda. Glad I got out of UHG when I had the chance. Hope you have fun on your around the country excursion Tessa and Anna. Hi Karla at UHG (and everyone else) Kate, I'm glad you added me on facebook! How was Ukraine? If you answer Ukrainey... so help me god! Hi Whitney (I tried calling you the other day, but I think you were working) HI D☺RI!! and Peen, you are NOT the baby's father! And for the guy who asked me what time it was the other day, and I didn't understand until after I walked past, it was 12:30.
P.S.S I recently changed my UWEC email password and forgot what it was... so email me at cunninjj@gmail.com
GOODBYE EVERYONE :::waves goodbye, and tugs on right ear::::::
Friday, June 27, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Cockroach Hunting
Forgive me readers for I have sinned. It has been 9 days since my last blog entry. Whats that you say? Only 1 hail Mary..... SWEET. Hail Mary full of grace, ermm something something something something something amen. AAnnnndd DONE!! Lets see whats new since the last time we've talked. Umm I had a great time visiting Patrick in San Jorge, and got a lot of pointers for when I too am a volunteer, like which rum is the best quality, and which women of the night are clean and which ones are not. I can't wait to put these pointers to good use, THANKS PATRICK!!
Lets see, we have a new youth group, as our last group decided they were to cool for school, and didn't want to hang out with us. Our group went from all males 18 and up, to all females aged 15, and then one boy. We asked them what kind of project they wanted to do with us, and they decided that they wanted to make a pinata, and then have a fiesta and break it. So we spent 2 days making the pinata from scratch. Instead of using a balloon and using paper-mache, they use a clay pot and then wrap paper around it. Either way it served its purpose, and we are ALMOST done with the pinata.
We also had our second language interview, and it went pretty good, everyone in Dolores moved up to the advanced level, therefore we do not need classes any more which is awesome! I think I'll miss the classes a little bit, because they were fun going from house to house and having classes in a spare room or in the patios of the houses, but then on the other had I will not miss the homework that they gave us to do. We had our last class on Thursday, so we had a little party, with some cake and coke. a cola. It was Fun Ivania, but our time has ended. She was so excited she did a little dance of liberation.
The other day when I came home from class, my host mom was pulling piles of wood away from the wall outside and using a broom to get all of the cockroaches out and she was sweeping them into the back yard. 10 feet above us on the roof of the house next to us, were about 30 hungry birds licking their beaks (wait do birds even have tongues? Either way), waiting for us to move so they could swoop down and take advantage of the free buffet we had just served up for them. We may have made a discovery though, while looking for more cockroaches we found this one type of cockroach that burrows itself in the ground. Being as smart as she is, Isolina (host mom) went and boiled a pot of water and then poured it over the ground. Seconds later a family of 20 of the newly discovered cockroaches comes climbing out of the ground, and Isolina screamed. So to kick her while she was down (because thats how I roll) I tickled her back with my fingers and yelled ¡NO SE MUEVAS HAY UNA CUCARACHA EN SU ESPALDA! (don't move, theres a cockroach on your back) LOL and she yelled like a little ninny girl. Why do I get off on that kind of stuff? God, Im a total F****er. I think with that stunt, I have surely secured my spot in the fiery pits of hell.
On Friday, we had yet another charla (chat) and they had a site fair, as we are almost dine with training (YAY). During the fair, they had Volunteers from all around the country come and talk to us about where we could be going to live. After listening to all of the spots, I decided that I like to go to Matagalpa, Leon, or Masaya. Now where they send me is a different story, but at least I let them know where I would like to go. They said there are many things that are taken into consideration before they place us, like language ability, personality and so forth. So in other words... I'm screwed.
Today I spent a good majority of the afternoon fixing my hosts sister's roof on her house. We would slide the large pieces of aluminum over and then bring them down and cut them using a machete and a hammer. We were almost done and then.... HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN!! So we are outside playing with the metal roof when its raining like a hooker, with thunder and lighting. Lets test out the old theory of playing with metal during a lightening storm... yeah we're smart!!
Lets see, we have a new youth group, as our last group decided they were to cool for school, and didn't want to hang out with us. Our group went from all males 18 and up, to all females aged 15, and then one boy. We asked them what kind of project they wanted to do with us, and they decided that they wanted to make a pinata, and then have a fiesta and break it. So we spent 2 days making the pinata from scratch. Instead of using a balloon and using paper-mache, they use a clay pot and then wrap paper around it. Either way it served its purpose, and we are ALMOST done with the pinata.
We also had our second language interview, and it went pretty good, everyone in Dolores moved up to the advanced level, therefore we do not need classes any more which is awesome! I think I'll miss the classes a little bit, because they were fun going from house to house and having classes in a spare room or in the patios of the houses, but then on the other had I will not miss the homework that they gave us to do. We had our last class on Thursday, so we had a little party, with some cake and coke. a cola. It was Fun Ivania, but our time has ended. She was so excited she did a little dance of liberation.
The other day when I came home from class, my host mom was pulling piles of wood away from the wall outside and using a broom to get all of the cockroaches out and she was sweeping them into the back yard. 10 feet above us on the roof of the house next to us, were about 30 hungry birds licking their beaks (wait do birds even have tongues? Either way), waiting for us to move so they could swoop down and take advantage of the free buffet we had just served up for them. We may have made a discovery though, while looking for more cockroaches we found this one type of cockroach that burrows itself in the ground. Being as smart as she is, Isolina (host mom) went and boiled a pot of water and then poured it over the ground. Seconds later a family of 20 of the newly discovered cockroaches comes climbing out of the ground, and Isolina screamed. So to kick her while she was down (because thats how I roll) I tickled her back with my fingers and yelled ¡NO SE MUEVAS HAY UNA CUCARACHA EN SU ESPALDA! (don't move, theres a cockroach on your back) LOL and she yelled like a little ninny girl. Why do I get off on that kind of stuff? God, Im a total F****er. I think with that stunt, I have surely secured my spot in the fiery pits of hell.
On Friday, we had yet another charla (chat) and they had a site fair, as we are almost dine with training (YAY). During the fair, they had Volunteers from all around the country come and talk to us about where we could be going to live. After listening to all of the spots, I decided that I like to go to Matagalpa, Leon, or Masaya. Now where they send me is a different story, but at least I let them know where I would like to go. They said there are many things that are taken into consideration before they place us, like language ability, personality and so forth. So in other words... I'm screwed.
Today I spent a good majority of the afternoon fixing my hosts sister's roof on her house. We would slide the large pieces of aluminum over and then bring them down and cut them using a machete and a hammer. We were almost done and then.... HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN!! So we are outside playing with the metal roof when its raining like a hooker, with thunder and lighting. Lets test out the old theory of playing with metal during a lightening storm... yeah we're smart!!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Im a murderer
Hello all of you beautiful people out there reading my blog! How are ya? Me? I'm doing just great! Today was a great day, we got to meet up with the business group, and we had a few activities together. It was nice to see them all, as it doesn't happen very often. One of the best things of all, we finally got to find out where we are going for our volunteer visit. We do the visits so we can see what life is really like before we go to our sites. I am going to San Jorge, in Rivas. Ryan is also coming with me, as his volunteer canceled at the last minute so we are the only ones going as a pair. I hear it is on the beach, so I think we will have a good time. I will be there from Sunday until Wednesday, so if you call me and Im not answering thats probably why.
So, the other night while I was writing in my journal before going to bed, in the corner of my eye I saw a little cockroach run from under my door, alongside my floor/wall and then under my bed. I decided that this one's time on earth will soon come to an end. I dashed to the other side of my room (if you know my room and how small it is, this means I leaned over to the left) and grabbed my best friend... RAID!!! I grabbed a flashlight and my camera and laid on the floor. I gave a few sprays of Raid and as soon as the raid hit the cucaracha, it jumped onto it's back and began its slow and painful death. The following picture and video are proof of my matanza (killing).
Things are still going great here in my training town, although a few people have fallen ill. One of the girls believes she may have gotten e-coli, as she spent three days in the hospital in Managua. I hear it's like a five star resort there, with CNN in English and air conditioning to boot! Once I heard that I thought about drinking some tap water to see if I can secure myself a reservation for a 2 day stay.
I am still taking language classes, but I hope that once we have our second language interview, I can jump up to the advanced level from my current intermediate-high level. If I can achieve that, this means I will not have to take any more language classes. There is also a part of me that knows if I do get to that level, then I will be told I have to teach more English classes instead of taking Spanish classes.
I ALSO GOT MY PACKAGES!!! I was sooooo excited to see Douglas the bus driver walking up with a bunch of packages for the volunteers. When I got home I was excited to see the t-shirts and shorts I was sent. Also I got a small, mouse for my laptop, and a headset for SKYPE (if I ever get the chance to use it) I also got kool-aid packets sent to me and it was oh-so-wonderful. When drinking my American lemonade I felt like I was back in Wisconsin on a hot summer day... even thought it only lasted for a few seconds, it was a great. I also got the movie Across the Universe sent to me, I cant wait to watch it..again.
This last weekend, we traveled with Lara's mom to Granada. It is a really nice city, but very very touristy. We sat down under a canopy and ordered a coffee. While smoking a cigarette and taking in the city, I thought that I was in Spain again, with the way the city looks, as it has a very colonial feeling to it. That was until I got a sip of the coffee. Then I was thrown back into reality that I was in Nicaragua, and not Spain. Even though Nicaragua has a large export of really good coffee, you rarely go anywhere and find the “good” kind of coffee, it's mostly instant coffee crystals. I digress. We were approached by a man who asked us if we wanted to take a boat ride in the Lake of Nicaragua and see all of the isletas or islands. There are about 365 small islands in the lake, and quite a few of them have homes on them where rich Americans and rich Nicaraguans make homes to which they visit once or twice a year. On one island, a rich Chinese family built an awesome home, with a Pagoda-ish roof. We also were brought to an island where there were monkeys.. YAY for monkeys right? I asked the driver, “How did the monkeys get on the island, its pretty weird for monkeys to be on an island in the middle of a HUGE lake.” Then he let me know that the monkeys were brought there pretty much so they could use them as a selling point for the tours. Oh well, better them then me I say! Overall I think that Granada would be a great place to bring my parents to, as it doesn't seem too dangerous once you get out of the bus station, walk past the people outside singing for money, and past the pick pocketing nuns from the local convent. I'm kidding... there were no people outside singing ;)
So, the other night while I was writing in my journal before going to bed, in the corner of my eye I saw a little cockroach run from under my door, alongside my floor/wall and then under my bed. I decided that this one's time on earth will soon come to an end. I dashed to the other side of my room (if you know my room and how small it is, this means I leaned over to the left) and grabbed my best friend... RAID!!! I grabbed a flashlight and my camera and laid on the floor. I gave a few sprays of Raid and as soon as the raid hit the cucaracha, it jumped onto it's back and began its slow and painful death. The following picture and video are proof of my matanza (killing).
Things are still going great here in my training town, although a few people have fallen ill. One of the girls believes she may have gotten e-coli, as she spent three days in the hospital in Managua. I hear it's like a five star resort there, with CNN in English and air conditioning to boot! Once I heard that I thought about drinking some tap water to see if I can secure myself a reservation for a 2 day stay.
I am still taking language classes, but I hope that once we have our second language interview, I can jump up to the advanced level from my current intermediate-high level. If I can achieve that, this means I will not have to take any more language classes. There is also a part of me that knows if I do get to that level, then I will be told I have to teach more English classes instead of taking Spanish classes.
I ALSO GOT MY PACKAGES!!! I was sooooo excited to see Douglas the bus driver walking up with a bunch of packages for the volunteers. When I got home I was excited to see the t-shirts and shorts I was sent. Also I got a small, mouse for my laptop, and a headset for SKYPE (if I ever get the chance to use it) I also got kool-aid packets sent to me and it was oh-so-wonderful. When drinking my American lemonade I felt like I was back in Wisconsin on a hot summer day... even thought it only lasted for a few seconds, it was a great. I also got the movie Across the Universe sent to me, I cant wait to watch it..again.
This last weekend, we traveled with Lara's mom to Granada. It is a really nice city, but very very touristy. We sat down under a canopy and ordered a coffee. While smoking a cigarette and taking in the city, I thought that I was in Spain again, with the way the city looks, as it has a very colonial feeling to it. That was until I got a sip of the coffee. Then I was thrown back into reality that I was in Nicaragua, and not Spain. Even though Nicaragua has a large export of really good coffee, you rarely go anywhere and find the “good” kind of coffee, it's mostly instant coffee crystals. I digress. We were approached by a man who asked us if we wanted to take a boat ride in the Lake of Nicaragua and see all of the isletas or islands. There are about 365 small islands in the lake, and quite a few of them have homes on them where rich Americans and rich Nicaraguans make homes to which they visit once or twice a year. On one island, a rich Chinese family built an awesome home, with a Pagoda-ish roof. We also were brought to an island where there were monkeys.. YAY for monkeys right? I asked the driver, “How did the monkeys get on the island, its pretty weird for monkeys to be on an island in the middle of a HUGE lake.” Then he let me know that the monkeys were brought there pretty much so they could use them as a selling point for the tours. Oh well, better them then me I say! Overall I think that Granada would be a great place to bring my parents to, as it doesn't seem too dangerous once you get out of the bus station, walk past the people outside singing for money, and past the pick pocketing nuns from the local convent. I'm kidding... there were no people outside singing ;)
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