A Picture Update

Lists

As I sit here with less than one month left in my service as a Peace Corps volunteer, I seem overwhelmed with that hair-pulling, skin-itching desire to snap my fingers and be home. A similar feeling to when Thanksgiving, Christmas, and summer breaks were only a few long exam weeks away during college. Luckily, I have many going away parties and brother/cousin visits to look forward to, so the weeks will fly, but just in case, I have a constant list running in my head of the things I am looking forward to once back in the good ol’ US of A. Likewise, I have a list running of some of the things I won’t miss quite so much...I will share both....

The two year and still growing list of things I won’t miss:

• General disregard for personal space (this applies mostly on buses)
• Music blasting at all hours, particularly in the early morning, often bad (can also come from cellphones and be played on buses, in restaurants, meetings...doesn’t matter)
• Answering your cellphone no matter what...your wife is giving birth, doesn’t matter wouldn’t want to miss that call, and make sure to put a loud and obnoxious ringer on it...
• Tardiness...while I have adapted to this and will need to remember not to show up an hour late to everything once back in the states, it kills when you have any kind of plans.
• Sweeping and mopping my house daily, as well as washing dishes and laundry by hand
• Latrines
• Buses (more specifically, school buses being used as public transportation with no limit as to how many people can be shoved on)
• Showering after working out (especially with soap) will give you the flu...hmmm
• Showering with a headache can cause a heart attack or a brain embolism...again, hmmm
• During a lightning storm you can’t sit in a hammock that is hung from the rafter beams and ALL mirrors must be covered by a towel (my hammock is hung with rope not metal poles)

There are more, but let’s end it there and think more positively...

Things I am looking forward to:

• Having Mary as a housemate! 
• Living at home for more than a month, first time in a long time! We’ll see how I do!
• New clothes...giving it all away here, not much has come out without holes, bleach marks, or completely stretched out from scrubbing...
• Technology...Yes, I admit, I’m a snob and I’ve got my eye on the IPhone5...I also put DVR in this category because I have really missed the ability to tape trashy TV shows...ahhh TV that is not telenovelas
• Christmas at home...in which we will be eating a Thanksgiving Day feast (as I won’t be home in time for Tday)
• Triple Bday with my Mom and Mary...Ideas? Mary gets to pick the cake and there are rumors of a princess theme?
• My bathroom...enough said
• My bed...doesn’t sink in the middle and doesn’t have the faint scent of mold
• Walking around barefoot in a clean house...not that I don’t work insanely hard to keep my Nica house clean, but it is freaking impossible
• Freedom to get in a car and go where I want when I want
• TRIPS...can’t wait to travel and see everyone!
• Delicious food of all types...Thai food yummm
• Seeing Neil at SLU...finally

Of course, there is so much more I am looking forward to, and undoubtedly I will be wildly overwhelmed my first few weeks home. Soon to come is the list of things I will miss about Nicaragua, because as much as I say there are things that drive me crazy, my stomach clenches up when I truly imagine leaving (perhaps why I haven’t started packing or cleaning out my house...yikes). 

Just to give an update or two, my work in the schools has slowed down as I’ve been getting busy with end of service business. I have been in Managua much more than desired doing paperwork and medical visits, and unfortunately, was home recently due to the passing away of my Grandma Mary. This is another big reason that I am very ready to get home and be with my family. 

So, in order to finish up life here in Nicaragua, I am preparing to bring a NEW volunteer to Posoltega! So exciting! Everyone here is nervous and hoping that it is another girl, but I secretly think that a male volunteer would be better, so as not to be compared to me and involved in all of the female-teacher drama. I was lucky to have been asked to give two technical garden trainings to the new group of volunteers in September and get to know them a bit better, and they are a great group. They would all be excellent here in Posoltega and I look forward to seeing who gets placed here on October 29th. Coming up so soon!

My biggest concerns now are applying to graduate school and, like I said, counting down the days ‘till I get home! Hope to see everyone in the near future.

Lots of love!