Right now I am in the department (state) of Matagalpa. Our group was split in half, so half of us came to Matagalpa and the other half went to Jinotega. My group is in the capital city, Matagalpa and we are staying in a hostel. A hostel is kind of like a hotel, but there are rooms with bunk beds and you share them with whoever else is traveling through the town. We each get a closet to lock up our things, but we share a big room and we each get a bed. We met a lady from Canada, a girl from Belgium, and a girl from Australia. It was really cool to talk to them about their travel experiences and to tell them about what we are doing in the Peace Corps.
This week we worked with teachers from the high schools here and taught classes. It was a fun experience to see a new place and meet a lot of new students. I taught two sections of 7th grade, so 7A and 7B. There were 36 students in 7A and 28 students in 7B. This was a lot of work to plan lessons for these new classes and try to work with so many students, but it was a good experience. Part of this time at the school was to help the English teachers with ideas for teaching English in their schools. They liked having us there, especially because we speak English as our first language so we could help with pronunciation of words.
We got to Matagalpa Monday morning and we are leaving Friday afternoon to go back to our training towns. I have really enjoyed staying here and I hope my permanent site will be like this place. My permanent site is where I will be living for the 2 years of my service. We will finish our training in November, and then become real volunteers. Then, we will serve 2 years in our sites, teaching in high schools and training English teachers.
In my Spanish class the other day, we were talking about things that we have done in Nicaragua or had never experienced since we got to Nicaragua. This was very interesting and I thought I would share some of them just for fun. Here are some of them:
Before coming to Nicaragua…
-I had never taken a bucket bath.
-I had never sweated so much in my life.
-I had never slept under a mosquito net.
-I had never not been able to take a shower because the water “se fue” (went away)
-I had never been on public transportation where men were riding on top of the bus to hold onto passengers’ bags.
-I had never been on a school bus with 3 to a seat and people crammed into the aisle.
-I had never taken a bucket bath.
-I had never sweated so much in my life.
-I had never slept under a mosquito net.
-I had never not been able to take a shower because the water “se fue” (went away)
-I had never been on public transportation where men were riding on top of the bus to hold onto passengers’ bags.
-I had never been on a school bus with 3 to a seat and people crammed into the aisle.
It is so cool you got to see a volcano!!!! I liked that it looked like you were so close!! Was it warm near it???????? I had never seen a volcano, but I always wanted to. I hope you will write to me soon!!
ReplyDeleteRyan :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)!
It is so cool that you went to Matagalpa!! I did not know that there were hotels there (or kind of a hotel). How big is your room there??? Do you like it at Matagalpa??? Who all went with you to Matagalpa? What do you see there? Do you like it there?
ReplyDeleteMorgan
Was it really cool at the volcano? Did the ground rumble? Are there any animals you have never seen before? How are things different down there? Was it kind of freaky at the volcano?
ReplyDeleteFrom, Cole
I think it is really cool that you saw a volcano!!!!!!!!!! Did you like being by a volcano. I wouldn’t because, if you are by a volcano when it erupts than that would suck. :(
ReplyDeleteI think you are really nice going over there with all those people. have fun.
sincerely,
Emily
Hi, I saw you had a class room of 7th graders. How do you like your 7th graders? What are you teaching them about? Are they nice? How big is your class room??
ReplyDeleteMorgan
Were you scared when you were that close to the volcano? How long have you been up there for? I really want to be an exchange student just like you, my mom really wants me to do it too. How long are you going to be down there for? Are you thinking about going next year? How is school down there? What is the main food down there? What is your favorite thing doing down there so far? What time do you get up? What time do you go to bed? How do you get internet down there? Did you ever get scared and want to come home?
ReplyDeleteTaylor Ann Tatertot
Hi Megan. How’s the weather in Nicaragua is it 86 degrees .
ReplyDeleteJassy
Are there kids there? If so are you teaching them the alphabet? How do you feel about being there? Is it fun or boring? Happy or sad? Hope you make a difference. :)
ReplyDeleteSmiles from,
Cam:)
Hi Megan,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to know how was the volcano? Did it have lava? Was it hot or cold at the volcano? So is the weather warm sometimes or is it just plain cold? Well that’s all the time I have O.K. bye.
Sincerely,
Zach
Hello how’s it going? Is it hot where you are? What’s your favorite food to eat there? Do you like staying there? Do you like playing with the kids? Ok well that’s all I have to ask you bye!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Cyria
How hot was it when you were close to the volcano? How are you doing? Did you have to walk all the way to the volcano or did you ride a bike. Did you get to take a picture of the volcano. Well I have to go now bye.
ReplyDeleteAJ
How did it feel to be on an active volcano? How active was it? How do you get internet? Do they have ice cream? How many rivers do they have? Which part of the town do live in? Ethan
ReplyDeleteWhen you posted just a couple days ago how did you get internet there? I thought in the jungle you don’t get internet? I guess that you go some where to get it. I hear the weather there is not as nice as up here. I also heard that they don’t have a sturdy school like we do. What have you seen? Have you seen a snake? I know a lot about snakes. They are the coolest animal in the world. That’s my opinion. I’m sure you have a different opinion. Tell me all the animals you saw.
ReplyDeleteLove: Jazzy Marie
Hey I read your response thanks for writing back. It really sounds like you really do miss the Tillamook cheddar cheese here. It sounds like you have really enjoyed yourself over there. And its sound really fun to be over there too. Well I really want to know more about your stay in Matagalpa and different places you’ll be visiting this week so write back as soon as you can.
ReplyDeleteBianca