more illness... but I'm better now!

It's been a while again, for many of the same reasons! After my descanso being sick, I started to get better, and then promptly got some sort of stomach problem. So I spent the week catching up on work (I think I had about 5 reports to write) and dealing with my stomach. The next weekend was our volunteer vacation.

We went to the office Friday morning, where we got fed a nice breakfast and had a meeting with the directors so they could tell us the current plan for the move to the new property. They're planning on moving all the secondary school kids on Dec 10, so that's not too far away! They'll be back for Christmas, and then many will go to their families for a few weeks in January. Then in February they'll start school at the new property.

After the meeting at the office, NPH drove us to Laguna de Apoyo. We had a bit of a delay on the way there, because it was raining so hard that a bridge was flooded, so we had to wait a half hour or so until it was safe to cross. We stayed at a nice, if slightly expensive hostal on the lake. The hostal itself wasn't too expensive, but the food was a bit expensive. However, it was really good food, and there wasn't anywhere else close to go eat, so we just ate there. The food had lots of vegetables and other healthy thngs that we don't get as much as we'd like to at NPH. So we very much enjoyed the food! Unfortunately, that night I started feeling like I had a fever again. I didn't have a thermometer, so I couldn't check, but I definitely didn't feel well. Luckily I had some tylenol, so I took some and felt a bit better in the morning.

Saturday we went to Granada. I still wasn't feeling so great, so I relaxed most of the day. I did show some other volunteers my favorite lunch restaurant, with lots of healthy sandwiches and salads. Then we all went out to dinner as well. That evening we watched the movie Chocolat at the hostal, so that was fun too. I didn't feel too bad Sunday, which was good because we had to travel back on our own. We made it back in decent time, but I started feeling sick again that evening.

Monday and Tuesday I had quite a high fever (between 99 and 101) so I was resting all day. Wednesday I didn't have a fever, so I went to a meeting, and then to the doctor, since he was at NPH. He told me I had bronchitis, and gave me antibiotics. Thursday I rested again and then Friday was my descanso.

I decided my body needed another weekend just to relax, so I stayed at NPH again. I baked some bread (oat and honey) so that was nice. It was a bit of an interesting process, because the power went out when the first loaf was almost done. Usually the power comes back on in less than a minute, so I wasn't worrying, but it stayed off. So I put the rest of the dough in the fridge, in the hopes that it would still be good whn the power came back. The other loaf was cooked all the way through, it was just a little doughy, so I decided we might as well just eat it. The power finally came back on about 4 hours later, and i was able to bake my other two loaves. I also finished my application to Hamline, so once my transcript arrives, and my recommenders get their letters in, I should hear back fromt them. They have rolling admissions, which is nice, 'cause it means I'll hear sooner.

So the quiet weekend must've done me some good, because I haven't gotten sick again. I went to the school yesterday (Tuesday) at 7AM, only to find that because Sunday and MOnday are "fiestas patrias" (national celebrations, for Central American independence I think) the kids are practicing marching every morning for the parade on Sunday. So they had some sort of activity by the flag, and then they marched for an hour. But I was able to work with 5 of my 6 kids, so that was good. Today I knew that they'd be marching, so I slept in a bit. They marched longer today, and then we had a psychopedagogical team meeting, so I was only able to work with one girl. And tomorrow I have to go to San Jorge for a meeting! But they're marching until 10 tomorrow anyway. I really don't understand why this is so important that they're using 3 of their 5 hours of school to march... I realize they have to practice, but this seems a bit extreme! Anyway, Friday they're also marching 'til 10, and then Monday and Tuesday next week there's no school because of the celebration. So maybe toward the end of next week I'll be able to work with kids again! However, I got their exam results today, and most of them did well! And of the kids that didn't do well, I think most of it was from lack of effort. A few of my fourth graders were still struggling with long division, and it showed on their tests. But this is just the first test for the semester, so hopefully they'll get caught up by the end.

So that's what's been going on here! I'm looking forward to my vacation in less than three weeks! I'm going to New York (upstate) for my friend Jessica's wedding. So that should be really fun! And then when I get back, I only have three more months here. Sometimes it seems like the time is going fast, and sometimes it seems to be going SO slow... I guess that's life!