#6: where does the time go?

Hey everyone-

First of all, my sincere apologies for not updating this as much as I'd wanted to.. (insert lame excuses about not having time or whatever).. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a blogger. Sorry, Beth.

Where to start? I haven't blogged since before school started, which seems like a century ago, but anyway.. I teach five days a week, contrary to what I was told before school started, but I'm enjoying it anyway. I teach pre-schoolers (age 3-5) up through 6th grade. I enjoy teaching all of them to some degree, but I have to admit that the little ones are my favorite... partly because I just sing with them and don't have to worry about teaching theory, but also because I love that age group. I guess I inherited that from my grandmother, who was a music teacher her entire life.. I love watching the lightbulbs turn on up there.

Speaking of family, my parents came to visit in February, with Ted and Mary Anderson's group from Western NY, which was wonderful. It was great to see them and travel around a bit with them and the group. In March my big brother came down to visit, which was also wonderful... we traveled around a lot, to the beautiful island of Ometepe and also up to Matagalpa, in the north. We also got an opportunity while he was here to talk to some of the union reps for the sweatshops here in Managua and Tipitapa, and even visit one of the factories.. Nate's studying Industrial and Labor Relations, so it was really great to get some information and make connections with people here.

March also brought my birthday, on the 28th, which was exciting.. we had a party at Chacocente with a yummy Nicaraguan cake and a piñata.. I paid for everything, and it was the one of the first times here that I haven't felt guilty about spending a lot of money (about 30 bucks American)... It was nice to throw a little party for the kids, and overall a fun night.

In April, during Holy Week (which is a big deal here- no one in the country has school and almost no one works) we had a volunteer named Christa come down to Chacocente for the week.. except there wasn't really much to do at the project, since no one was in school or anything, so Regan and I traveled around with her to the beach (with the families), Masaya, Granada, and Mombacho (where I finally got to do the zipline through the rainforest! awesome!).. It was a fun week.

As for Chacocente, everything is going well. There are always conflicts between the families, within the families, and in the overall project, but we're doing our best to work through them. Please keep the families, the project, and the board of directors in your thoughts and prayers as we work to solve these problems and give the families the tools and skills to eventually solve them on their own. But overall, it has been wonderful getting to know all of the people living there.. they're such amazing people and I continue to be humbled by the things they've gone through.

Last week I was talking to Uriel, a good friend of mine who lives in the Project and is about my age, and I was asking him about life in the dump. He basically ended up telling me his whole life story. When he was done, he sat back and said, "Okay, now it's your turn." Um.. I had to move a couple times? I really could not think of anything hard I've had to go through after hearing his incredible story. That was one of the most humbling moments for me.. I mean, sure, I've had some challenging times in my life, I guess, but for most of us that's just called middle school. For them, it's just how life was- living in the city dump and picking through garbage for a living. So don't try to tell me your life is hard. It may sound cliché, but the people here have had it so much worse than you ever will.

Right now, Sonya Taly, a former long-term volunteer at Chacocente, is here to visit with her 8-month old baby for two weeks to visit and work on her Masters thesis. It's been really great having her here- she's also a board member, and is very dedicated to seeing this project through. Because of her time volunteering here for a year and work with the board of directors of Chacocente, she brings an interesting perspective that changes how I see things here, too. She's given me hope for the future of the project. And speaking of the board, my dad is now a board member! He went to his first meeting a few weeks ago and loved it.. I think he has some interesting perspectives to bring to the table as well.

In other news, I can't believe I only have a little more than a month left here.. I try not to think about it, but sometimes I can't help it. I wish I didn't have to leave, but on the other hand I am excited to work at camp this summer and also both excited and scared for college in the fall. I know it's going to be hard, and I know it's going to be awesome, and I know I'm going to miss Nicaragua like my left foot, but I know I'll have Regan closeby to lean on when we both need it.. And then, I know that I'll never be truly prepared for it, just like I was never prepared for Nica until I arrived here.

Anyway, I should probably get going.. but I solemnly swear that I WILL update this blog again at least once before I leave. Mark my words. In the meantime, feel free to email me, facebook me, or even send snail mail if you feel up to it (thank you Alicia B, Penny Hart, Aunt Sue & Uncle Andy, and Lorraine!) and I'll do my best to keep you updated as well.

Thanks for all of the support, everyone.. love you all!
Drink some milk for me, will you?

Peace and Love,
Maddie