How did this week fly by so quickly?

I can't believe that's it's Saturday already. I've been having some computer issues and connection issues that has kept me from updating this as often as I'd like. Now you'll just have to read what is likely going to be a shorter summary of what I've been up to this week.

This past Tuesday our group had the opportunity to visit the Panama school. Panama is a very small poor town about 20 minutes from the Mariposa. A community of people live there without water. It takes about a half day to walk to the nearest water source and most people do this twice a day. In the winter (now), enough rain falls that people can get the water they need by collecting it as it runs off their roof. However, in the summer, there's no way they can live without making the trek to get the water. Many children don't go to school because their day is spent getting water for the family. The Panama school itself is small but better equipped than I was expecting. We observed a 1st-ish grade class for a bit and the students were happy and eager to participate. The class size here is much larger than classes in the majority of the US. The Mariposa has kind of partnered with this school and community and has donated many supplies to the school like children's books and notebooks, crayons, markers, pre-school materials, and also sponsors some children so they are able to pay for their uniforms and bus fare. Because there is no water available, the school has had some issues with bathrooms. A well-meaning group of women (generally wives of the people working in embassies) have helped with building a cafeteria and also built some very nice looking toilets. However, the toilets they provided require water. The Mariposa then provided the funds for a latrine to be built but did not have the money for walls. Therefore, children don't want to use the pit bathrooms--they do have a lovely 360 degree view of some very nice land though. Anyway, World Vision is providing the walls and actually they should be up by the end of the month. A note on World Vision--I've seen their presence here in a variety of communities, but Paulette (owner of the Mariposa) is not a fan because of what she sees as the lack of actual work being done here. When we left the school, we went a bit farther into the community and went to a shop where women worked to make goods out of paper. Several of us purchased necklaces, bracelets, and baskets made from old phone books or magazines. Panama has several obstacles to overcome (namely the water issue and the fact that nothing grows there because of the sulfur from the volcano), but with the partnership of organizations like the Mariposa and World Vision, things can only improve.

This week I also had the opportunity to visit two schools in San Juan (the town just down the road from the Mariposa where most of the teachers here live). We went to the primary school first and the first thing I noticed was the noise. It was the day before a day off, but it was just ridiculously loud since everyone can hear what is going on in everyone else's classroom. The kids were very cute and think it's funny when an extranero comes and visits. The average class size here was 35-40 kids. I can't imagine trying to control everyone. Then we went over to the secondary school. Class sizes there were even larger--60-70 kids in a room. Kids are just packed into the rooms but seem to be engaged. It will make me think twice when I complain about anything that's going on in my school with my 25 kids and tons of materials and technology.

We ended the week with a fiesta partly because it's fun to have a party, but mostly to celebrate the Winter family and Jean. They are all leaving this weekend (so I'll be without my pseudo family the rest of my stay here). The party was a blast. I guess it was a typical Nicaraguan party--everyone sat in a circle (students, teachers, workers, cooks...everyone came) and eventually we starting dancing (after beverages were served of course). I have a dance lesson on Monday so I was dancing my own steps but was having a blast. It's always fun to dance with people who know what they're doing and don't care if I look like a fool. For anyone who has seen me dance, you know that I look like a fool most of the time. And it always seems that I only have the opportunity to dance when I'm in a foreign country. Oh well.

On Saturday we went to the beach. I swam in the Pacific Ocean for the first time and it was great. However, I did not re-apply sunscreen like I should have and am paying the price today. Sorry, mom. I don't know when I'll learn. We spent most of our time in the water--the waves were great, the undertow wasn't terribly bad, and the water was clean. Dad, there were no lifeguards and you would have had a blast.

So overall things are great. As far as the spanish is going, well, it's going. I feel like I'm understanding more (as long as people speak slowly) and I'm a bit more confident with what I'm saying. In the conversation part of class this past Friday, I bored my instructor with an hour and a half of talking about the Tour de France. I learned lots of new cycling related words though. I have 6 more classes in spanish and I hope they go well.

See you in a little over a week!