OYYY!

This is how Nicaraguans greet, yes sounds a bit rude or impolite but it just a quick you know one syllable word. I have actually grown quite fond of the term. At first I hated it because I thought what the heck can’t you just call me by my name!? But as days progressed I realized that its kinda funny how lazy someone can be I mean its gotten down to a simple “hello” being “Oy”.

Anyways life is good right now projects are under way as difficult and frustrating they may be. My youth group project in particular, there is a lot to do and not too much time I mean I only have 9 more weeks here at La Palmera. I can already tell that is going to be a sad day when I have to leave I don’t want to leave my family! I love my brothers and sisters and my parents are super super cool. Actually my dad is SO cool that he went to Managua yesterday with Ramirito and fixed my cell phone! No but aside from the materialistic things my family is just like my family in the states I mean my brother and sisters are super affectionate like myself and Yammy so I have no problem just jumping on in the pile of hugs they give each other. I love it!

I’m becoming more and more apart of my little pueblo parents are starting to recognize me and have small conversation with my and the kids are constantly stopping by house screaming out PROFE PROFE! So I can come out and play with them. My buddy Katie and I want to start and ultimate Frisbee team with some of the kids but they all seem uninterested and would just rather play soccer. So I say if you can beat them JOIN THEM I now go and play soccer with them everyday. It’s a pretty good work out because these kids at all with in the ages of 12 to 14 yrs old so they are all at the peak in speed haha meaning I sweat my butt off to catch of with them, but it’s a great time. Actually a lot of PCTs are becoming a part of soccer teams. I went to El Rosario and saw one of my friends play a real game with refs. He had it tough being the only blonde hair blue eyed male within a pool of Nicaraguans. He kicked ass though he ended up scoring 5 goals so no one complained about the gringo.

The other day we actually had a charla at a ranch in Jinotepe. At this ranch we went over the steps to starting a Vivero which is pretty much just planting trees and how to make the perfect Abono (compost) I actually learned 3 different ways of making abono. By the end of this week we are going to start ANOTHER group and I will have to select a location with the kids and plant some trees and show them how to maintain it and all that good stuff. It was pretty interesting so when we got down and dirty with planting it was fun we made a perfect combination of compost and soil in to little baggies and I put mahogany seeds in my baggie. So in a few years hopefully I will have a nice mahogany tree in my back yard.

Yesterday I went out with my family to visit Masaya, Catarina, and San Juan del Oriente. I saw the Mombacho volcano which was pretty cool I hope to get closer shots of that. I went to the Masaya market which was fun I bought two pairs of earrings and then saw one of the most beautiful towns EVER! You want to know why it’s so great? Because from the moment you step in to the village to the moment you step out its ceramics and pottery!!! I fell in love with one sculpture and since I couldn’t buy it I took many many pictures with it haha.

So that’s all for now just letting everyone know that things are DE ACCACHIMBA! (this word meaning great/excellent)

Te Quiero Mucho! ADIOS!

Hello all,

This is Yamille and I am just dropping bye to give you a link where you can see some of Jessica's pictures. She had some trouble uploading. Click to see: http://mville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007000&id=47400282&l=da323

Ok bye!

Hello everyone in the United States!

I know I’m terrible that I haven’t really been keeping up with this blog but hey I would think that my true friends and family members would know me by now in KNOWING that I was going to be slow with this . So here I am in Nicaragua, and I’m not going to sugar coat anything ITS BEEN TOUGH! The beginning was amazing I absolutely love the group that I came here with staging was amazing everyone I met which is 53 Peace Corps Trainees have such amazing personalities, goals, and have already done so much. Haha the very first day of staging in Washington we got this orange sheet that listed all these interesting facts about everyone, so we had to find the fact about ourselves and then go around introducing yourself and finding out everyone else’s fact. It was just one of those ways to get everyone talking. So I’m looking down this list and some of these people are amazing! Almost everyone’s had something to do with working overseas, saving the world and then you roll up to mine (#24) graduated with a degree in art (painting and drawing) so here I’m thinking alright I’m pretty boring and what I loved was how when people would talk to me they would be like “OH you’re the artist! I have been dieing to meet you!” I wouldn´t want to meet me when theres someone who working in 5 different countries in Africa?!?! Haha. This whole ordeal gets even better! I come to realize that # 24 wasn’t even my number! I was really #43 working at college functions by controlling the clock and score board!!!! OH MY GOD! Anyway that was my first day experience…

After days of lectures after lectures after lectures you know getting us prepared for this big step of move in day with the host family. It finally happens all of us had to split up the Tefle went far away, Agriculture went even farther away and I’m about 40 minutes away from Managua (the capital) living in a small pueblito called La Palmera right outside of Diriamba which is the city area. I was the first one of the Environment Ed group to get dropped off so I was really really nervous when I met my sister Leila I gave her a hug and I heard the whole bus go AWWWW haha. My family is amazing I love them so much already and its only been a week. Of course I have been acting very strange now and then because I’m home sick but they are really supportive so the family consists of my Host mother Aceida, my dad Ramiro, my 18 year old sis Leila, 16 yrs old sis Beatriz, and my 14 year old brother Ramiro. Along with 5 dogs one who’s pregnant and I cant wait to have little pups running around a parrot and another kind of bird the parrot is hysterical every time she sees someone at the door she goes BUENAS! Haha its great. And two piggys that hangout in the back haha I love hearing them eat right by my window every morning and their squeeling is probably the scarest thing to wake up to, but the dogs protect them.

OKay so I have been trying to figure out how to get pictures on here but its some how not working right now haha and im getting frustrated so PICTURES WILL COME on a later date

:( sorry guys!

Hello hello!

Started this blog thing everyone's been RAVING about (well really just my lovely sister Yammykins), did a little research and figured EHH why the hell not all you guys and gals should know everything about me and whats going on in my life right? WONDERFUL! :)

So the day I'm actually leaving is creeping up very very soon. I can't stop thinking about what I'm going to be doing and I get goosebumps just thinking if I'm going to do the job to peace corps standards. A nausiating yet delightful and exciting feeling.

I'm leaving in 5 days! I feel like a chicken without a head! I keep looking up other volunteers blogs in hopes of some advice for packing. All I keep finding are the packing list for volunteers going to Tanzania! Or some other far far country that isn't Nicaragua....SIGH...Anywho I picked out some of the most common things like panties and bras and what not you know the obvious, but some volunteers I noticed brought like seasonings and lamps and laptops! HOw is this all fitting in the very limited amount of luggage that we are given?

Anyway I must get back to this mess of mine...if anyone has tips on what to pack let me know cause I think my mom is on the verge of breakdown cause my stuff is taking over the house...Oops

Ill let you know how it all turns out.

Ta ta!!