I'm going home in 2 weeks. I'll get to see my boyfriend, and not be sweaty 100% of the time. There's just one more thing I have to do before I leave Nicaragua, and that's go to a beach. One of the teachers at my internship wants to take me this weekend. There are a lot of things I'm not going to miss. I'm not going to miss the humidity, the bugs crawling on my toothbrush, the lizards under my bed, or always feeling like I'm missing half of the conversation. Actually, I might miss the lizards. Geckos are cute.
Nicaragua Christian Academy Nejapa
The first weeks of my internship were very frustrating for me, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. The director's office is a disorganized mess because they're building new offices so this one is transitional, and there are four desks crammed in there and stacks of papers and boxes everywhere... but it's a good place to work. Everyone's really friendly. At first the work wasn't at all career related, just filing and running errands for Kenya, my supervisor. But then I started translating reports (Spanish to English) for Freddy, who works at a non-profit next door of the school. Then Aminta, the school counselor, started giving me documents in English that she couldn't read. So I learned about strategies for improving behavior in students with Down Syndrome by translating.
I think I like translating. I'm woefully unequipped to translate into Spanish... I just tried to give Aminta something she could understand. From Spanish into English, however, I think I manage quite well. Today I did a serviceable letter of recommendation, for example. So in the end, I did get something career-related out of my internship.
The Family
It's a mixed bag. The best thing was the papusa house. My host mom, Elizabeth, and her sister Rocío, sold delicious papusas together out of Rocío's house. A few evenings a week we would hang out at the papusa house and the boys would play with their cousin Daniel and I'd get to play with Gaby. She's 10, still annoying, but a better conversation partner than my little host brothers. Then last weekend something happened. Elizabeth said she lost her sister and her business.
I also feel like I don't have a real connection with my host parents. Roberto, the dad, is cool and talkative, but he works 6 days a week and comes home when I'm ready to call it quits for the day. Elizabeth is the one I see the most of, and she's alright, but we never talk much. I wish my family had more relatives that lived nearby, like uncles and aunts and grandparents, but they all live in El Salvador.
My little brothers are fun and they adore me. They can be really annoying but they're entertaining.
My brother Andrés, 5 years old.
My cousin Gabi, 10 years old.
And my brother Samuel, 8 years old, who is currently squishing me on this hammock.
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