2.06.2011

Wow! Time flies when your training all day long..

I had read in a few other blogs that training is draining. You usually spend  6 hours in class learning another language. Then, most of the remaining time is, in some way, shape, or form, learning another culture or something technical. "Down time" is slim to none. Anyone who knows me knows that I like to keep busy. BUT, all these mental processes can take A LOT of energy.

A typical day consist of:
6:40am Wake Up
7:40am Breakfast
8am-12pm Spanish Class
12-1pm Lunch back home
1pm-3pm Technical activities (Can go longer depending on the day)
3pm-6pm Usually homework, group meetings, or assigned reading
6pm-7pm Dinner
7pm-10pm Talking with Family, Writing in Journal/Reading, Playing with Ferany
10pm- Lights out

This changes a bit when we have to travel for technical sessions in different cities.

On another note, My Nicaraguan host family is wonderful! There are 6 people in my house besides me. Dona Ana and her husband, Don Fernando, who are both in their 60s. They have 3 kids together- 2 sons and a daughter. The daughter, Johanna, lives in the house. Johanna is married to Henry and they're both in their mid 30s.  They have a daughter, Ferany, who loves to dance and play and exercise so she keeps me active. Maria Fernanda is Johanna's niece that stays in the house sometimes.

My host parents, Ana and Fernando, are really sweet. Ana makes me coffee, fruit, and bread and butter for breakfast every morning, no matter how early I have to leave the house. Sometimes, Fernando will bring home cookies for dessert or avocados, or mangoes. He knows I have a sweet tooth and that these are fruits I love. My host sister, Johanna, forces me to speak spanish ALL.THE. TIME. It's annoying sometimes because I usually cant find the words to express myself as easily as I can in English. But at least it forces me to start thinking in a different language. Which is key if i am actually going to become fluent in Spanish. Henry, Johanna's husband, loves to explain Nica culture, vocabulary, habits, etc to me. He has a lot of patience which is helpful when I don't understand what he's trying to explain to me. What is also great about Ferany is that I can understand most of what she says since she's only 5 years old and doesn't talk as fast as everyone else!

My training group is pretty chill and we get along well. Theres 3 others girls from all different places in the US (North Carolina, California, & Arizona). It's a good thing they're cool people because we're together all the time. We work together on group projects, have class together every day, lean on each other for moral support, and find things to do for fun like visit the Blue Dolphin or Zumba at my house.

This is getting long..but before I end it- If you sent me your address, I sent you a letter. Keep an eye out for it!

 Miss all of you <3

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