I'm really excited, as this visit provided me with the opportunity for my first try at the infamous “Beer Pong” weeeeeellll we have dubbed it “Mallow Pong”. You see, ping pong balls, are not really a hot commodity with high demand down here in Nicaragua, so the only thing that Lara and Adam found that could work, were :::drum roll:::: MARSHMELLOWS!! “What a crazy substitution” you must be asking yourself, but I tell you when you have Liz and her extraordinary “drying assembly line” (These ones are almost dry, these ones are mostly beer soaked, and these ones are completely wet) I had a great time, and I've decided that when I get home, I am going to masterize the “Jai Ho Jam”. That song from Slumdog Millionaire is really popular with some of the cooler Peace Corps volunteers down here (A.K.A. Me and Liz). So after taking it easy on me, Lara and Adam have made me...... a mallow pong man! Thanks guys! When finding a place to quench our recently developed thirsts, we found a great place offering a free sandwich with the purchase of your first beer, which was overly diplayed all over the bar. We though what a great idea, not only do we get a free sandwich, there is karaoke going on, (as I may have mentioned before, Liz and I, recently got Facebook posts and twitter tweets from the “Man upstairs” asking us to join His team and sing to the “new arrivals” at the Pearly Gates.) So after being swept into the bar to spend money, we order our first beers, and upon receiving our beers, we inquired what kind of sandwiches they had, we were informed that not only that they do not have that offer, but there was no karaoke. We then asked for the bill, and the waiter got pissy and and brought the bill. On our way out, I walked up to the manager, and let him know that we were leaving because they lied to us at the door about karaoke, and that there were no sandwiches although it is displayed all over the place, so I called them dishonest, and were going to let the other tourists know about this place. So the manager assured us that when we sat down and got another beer, they would bring us the sandwiches, but we know what upset cooks do to food. We decided to move on.
The next morning when we were getting ready to leave, we stopped in the park for a few things we had to do. We were then approached by a lady who asked for some money to buy milk for her children. I was in a helping mood, so I usually don't give out money, so I decided that I would go to a pulperia and buy her some milk. After leading me to a certain seller in the market, she points to a big container of Nido powder. Nido power is baby formula, and it was 350 Cordobas (17 dollars). I told her that I agreed to buy her milk and not expensive powder. So I bought her a bag of milk, and she took it and walked away leaving me to pay for the milk, without a thanks. When I got outside, Liz and Paul were waiting for me, and I had to walk by the women to say “You're welcome”. We walked around for a little longer and when walking back through the park, we saw the woman that I bought milk for had given it to one of the sellers who sell soda, and water. She only used it to sell it to make money. This is why I do not give money to people asking for money.
This year, the Ministry of education decided to change the curriculum for 1st-3rd year, and all of the teachers are in an uproar. I can admit that it isnt the greatest, but it makes our job easier when it comes to co-planning because they give some ideas on things to use. They include a lot of activities that would make great handouts, but that is not possible because the teachers cannot afford to make photocopies of all the handouts for all of the students, and because they made public school completely free, the teachers cannot ask the students for the money. Teachers have been used to the old curriculum and the way they used to teach the classes because once you made the lesson plan, you can reuse it for many years to come. Now they have to plan every class again for the first time. One more thing that has changed at my school is that because too many kids are failing, there are no more exams, but we will evaluate the students on 8 different homework assignments worth 100 points each. This is to help more students pass. I find this makes class much more difficult when you have 65 students in a class (when the Ministry of Education says there can only be 35 students in each class) who don't have to listen or want to listen, because they know that 1 student in the class understands whats going on, and they will copy their homework. But the best thing I can do is go to school with a smile, and do my best.
Chunche is doing well, she has kind of stopped peeing wherever she wants, but now she likes to climb up my mosquito net, and when she does, the dust from the top falls on my face, and I am woken up. She has also begun some stage in life where she is “playing” by biting me and scratching me and becoming aggressive. I'm not sure if this will ever end, but I have recently been told by Liz that she may be suffering from multiple sclerosis or may have slight kitty retardation. Either way, I love her the way she is. She is doing great as a cockroach killing machine, I guess she gets them during the night, because I wake up and find them peppered all over the floor. Watching her play with them is great, she really messes with their heads before killing them. She will walk up and slap it really hard, and once the cockroach recovers from the initial shock, the then grabs it in her mouth and lays it on top of her blanket, and watches it get out, then runs ahead of it to ambush it, and brings it it back to the towel right after slapping it again. Then she pretends like she wants nothing to do with it, while it desperately searches for any crack it can escape into, then at the last second she runs and grabs it, and starts the process over. Then she kills it.
Lets see, what else. I went down to Granada to do karaoke but when I got there, I was denied entrance into the bar because I was wearing shorts, and it was formal nights, although when I went the first time, I was wearing the same shorts...hmmmmm..... so we went somewhere else, and I watched Avi and Liz glide across the floor dancing the Bachata with their own little Gringo touch.
I was supposed to get internet installed 2 Wednesdays ago, but they never came. They said they were going to come between 10-11AM, and we waited until 7PM and they never came, BIG SUPRISE! So I called them back, and left a message yelling at them telling them that no one there had any respect to call me and tell me that they couldn't come. I said that their company and customers service is an embarrassment to Nicaragua. So I am looking to a different company to get it. I know some of you think that I am very spoiled by getting it, but when your family and friends call each month, they spend a lot of money on phone cards, but if they all pitched in, they could spend less than a quarter they would normally and we could talk for free WHENEVER, so it just makes sense. Not to mention that if I ever need ideas in class, I can go to www.daveseslcafe.com and find great activities for class.
I have one quick question here before I depart. I bought a rice cooker when I moved into my house (a spending splurge gone wrong) and when I try and cook the rice, it never turns out right, its either too wet, or way too dry. I have tried experimenting with different amounts of water, but to no avail. I also heard from many people that you need to brown the rice in hot oil for a few minutes before cooking the rice. I tried that. It didn't work. So now, I'm wondering if I should not put the rice in until the rice cooker pops over from warming to cooking. Maybe that will work. It really sucks, because I like rice, but if I don't cook it myself, the only other option is to go to a comedor, but that gets expensive and old really quick.
OK really last thing.. I recently got matched with with a teacher in the States through a correspondence match program. He is a teacher in Albert Lee, Minnesota, which is really nice to be matched with a teacher close to my hometown. I will correspond with the teacher and his students about life in Nicaragua, and answer any questions they have for me about living abroad. I'm really looking forward to it! I'll keep you informed!
Well I have got to get to bed, I have a lot of fake smiling to do tomorrow for class, and it really takes a lot out of a person. Below are a few pics from Paul's visit.
Me tackling Diane on the beach after a wonderful LOBSTER dinner!!
The awesome view from the hostel we stayed at!!
Me taking a quick minute to pose for a pic, before ordering another beer.
Liz and Paul finding songs to sing at karaoke in Granada
Me and Liz after we sang.
Liz's response to a nun asking for donations....what a horrible person!
I thought if I cross my eyes and look at the camera, it might turn out better? Im not so aure about that!
Diane using the public restrooms which drain into the Cocibolca Lake!
