Countdown to Site Placement, Rain, and the Masaya Volcano

So I had my site interview on Wednesday, and now I just have to sit back and relax and they will tell me where I will be spending the next two years of my life this coming Wednesday. SIT BACK AND RELAX? Yeah right! So on top of every trainee trying to figure out where they will be, there is a certain amount of note comparing, interview comparing, and well to be honest we are all just as much in the dark about where we will be as we were before. Although, at least we know we will be in 1 of the 20 sites they have outlined for us. The good news is that normally we are all so busy with training classes, activities, etc. that I don´t have much time to sit and dwell upon the site placement; except at night, when I am trying to sleep and it keeps going through my head. Haha. Anyway, I will let you all know where I will be going on Wednesday or Thursday this week.

We have been having some beautiful thunderstorms and downpours for the past 4 days straight. I finally understand what the rainy season is like here in Nicaragua. Very different from what I experienced in Peru, where it would rain sometime during a day in Cusco. But as one of my fellow trainees put it, "I love the sound of the rain on the tin roof... because it drowns out the noise of everything else here" Which is true. The roosters don´t crow at 2:00am when its raining, and if you are napping in the afternoon, you can´t hear the TV on its loudest setting. It just washes everything away. And for that (sometimes brief) period of time, I can think, and relax. And its amazing.

Today we went to the Masaya Volcano for a diversity workshop. It was a great time, I learned a lot about my fellow trainees and we were able to go up to the top of this active volcano. Now we couldn´t see down into the crater because of all the clouds of smoke that it was producing. I think it had something to do with the hot gas being released from the volcano coupled with the rain that stopped us form having a better view and burned our lungs as we tried to breathe. But it was a very cool experience to have and was my first visit to just one of the MANY volcanoes there are here in Nicaragua. I will post pictures soon. 

I hav enow officially taught 4 classes at  the institute, and have a much bigger appreciation for my elementary and high school teachers. For every hour of class taught, I think we are putting in about 4 to 7 hours of planning, and material development. It is a lot more work than I ever thought. But luckily I am enjoying teaching, and enjoy hanging out with the students. Although, I am not convinced I will be ready to teach in the US after this experience haha.

I hope all are well, and are making good choices! Love you all!