New Job

So I finally started ny new job. I am working for another insurance company, so my experience and my license will help me a lot. Plus, they were cool when I told them I have plans to be in Nicaragua for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Years. It will most likely be at least partially unpaid leave, but at least it's approved.
I am not so thrilled with my hours: 10:30 a.m. -7:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. Over the summer it's not such a big deal to work till 7 but once New Community and my Singles Small Group start up again in the fall, I would like to be able to get off earlier. We'll see. Maybe they can work with me.
I also started my Spanish lessons today. My friend Roger, who is from Nicaragua, is teaching me. I already know a lot, which makes his job easier, so he'll help me polish up what I already know and hopefully I'll be closer to being fluent. My goal is to get my TEFL certification and be able to move to Nicaragua by next summer. So if I can be certified in TEFL and fluent (or almost fluent, at least) in Spanish by that time, that would be awesome :)

Ivonne, her husband Pancho and their daughter Andrea. Aren't they a beautiful family?

Sujapa, the other new girl at the orphanage. She has really bad burns over most of her body because the woman who was "taking care" of her (not her mom, because her mom doesn't want anything to do with her) burned her badly. She has also never been to school and has lived most of her life on the street. So she knows all the bus routes in Managua, but she doesn't know her colors or letters or numbers and she can't read or write. Hopefully she'll be able to get caught up.

Volcán Concepción on Ometepe Island.

Ivonne and me on the beach at Ometepe Island. Yes, that is black sand, because it's volcanic. There are two volcanoes on Ometepe; one is active, the other isn't.

The preschoolers dancing for Mother's Day. They were so cute in their traditional dresses. They also all had balloons stuck under their dresses to make them look like they had big butts. It was hilarious!

Me in front of the statue of Augusto Sandino at Loma Tiscapa in Managua

Isamar, "my" kid at the orphanage, who is just getting more and more grown up each time I go back.

Fatima, playing with handpuppets (which, by the way, make the most annoying quacking noise when you open and close their mouths)

Another cute one of Daniella, the new girl.

Cristina, dancing at the school celebration for Mother's Day (May 30 in Nicaragua)

Coco, one of the kids at the orphanage. She was abused prior to coming to the orphanage several years ago, and she is also severely learning disabled, but she is learning to talk and write and she is a really sweet and affectionate kid.

Brad, a really cool musician who was visiting the orphanage and hs such a heart for the kids and the people of Nicaragua. You can check him out at www.braddigan.com

The sister of one of the orphanage girls with her 11-day-old baby. At the time, he didn't have a name yet, but his mom was considering Dilan (pronounced Dylan)

Aby, Ivonne, me and Jenny (the oldest girl at the orphanage)

My best friend, Ivonne, and me on Ometepe Island.

How many kids can you fit in a taxi??

Me, Ana Daysi, Victor, Isamar, Ashley and Danillo at Pizza Hut. Ana Daysi had invited Ashley (another North American staying at the orphanage) and me to come back in September for her 15th birthday (in Latino culture that's like our "Sweet 16") but since neither of us can come in September, we took her, her two brothers and Isamar to Pizza Hut to celebrate early. We even had the servers sing Happy Birthday to her!

Daniella, one of the two new girls who came to the orphanage while I was there. She's 3 years old and had been living on the streets in Managua. Isn't she just precious?

I'm Back

I got in late Sunday night and just haven't felt like posting. This always happens whenever I get back from Nicaragua, I go through this depression. I am just not motivated to do anything, although I have a ton of stuff to do, laundry, cleaning, finishing unpacking, job searching (although I do have an interview on Monday). I just miss my friends and the kids so much. And, I am not going to be able to go back until Christmas, most likely.
I am hoping by May to be ready to move down to Nicaragua. If I can find a good TEFL program, by then I should be certified and that gives me plenty of time to figure out what to do with all my stuff (ship it? store it? sell it?) and find new tenants for my parents, since I am renting my townhouse from them.
I just don't know if a classroom-based TEFL program is better than an online one, or if it really mattters when it comes to getting a job. I just have been having a hard time finding a classroom-based program in my area. A friend I met in Nicaragua, who lives in Costa Rica, said she did a month-long class in Nicaragua that was awesome and she is now certified to teach English as a Foreign Language anywhere in the world, and the class is only $1500. But I can't afford to go to Costa Rica for a month and not have employment, so that's not really an option. There are some online courses that say they'll certify me to teach anywhere worldwide and the courses are only about $500, but I don't know if they'd be any less credible than a classroom-based course. So I have my research to do.
In the meantime, I'll be posting some of the pictures from my trip.

Still in Nicaragua

So I have been here 3 weeks, and have 6 more days before I head back to the States. I have tried to update my blog a few times since I´ve been here, but each time I tried, there was a power outage and I lost everything I´d typed, and then it would be another 3 or 4 days at least till I could get back to an internet cafe. Oh well, such is life in Nicaragua.
I am having a great time here and am not ready to come home. I love hanging out with the kids, helping them with their homework, playing jacks, sitting and talking with the older girls, picking mangoes and mamones, etc etc etc. Once I get home and have more time to write, I´ll do more detailed posts of everything that´s been going on at the orpahanage.
On Thursday we got a new kid at the orphanage. Daniela is 3 and she´d been found living on the streets in Managua. She is just precious and I so want to put her in my suitcase and bring her back to the States!
I spent a week at Ivonne´s house with her family and that was awesome. Ivonne, Pancho, Silvia and I have been to the movies a few times. The new theater at the Las Galerias mall is AWESOME! We sat in the VIP section for the Davinci Code and it was so great. It´s only like $7 for the non-matinee shows and you sit in these like LaZBoy recliners that have the footrest that come up and you can recline all the way back. I have not seen any movie theater that nice in the States. When we went to the Davinci Code, Arnaldo Aleman, the ex-President of Nicaragua, was sitting in the row behind us. I´d thought he was in jail or at least on house arrest because of corruption during his presidency (he stole LOTS of money) but apparently he can be out and about, he is just not allowed to leave the country.
So I have decided I think I am going to get my TEFL certification when I get back to the States and then move here to teach English. I think it will be easier to find work here if I can teach English, and getting my TEFL would probably be faster than getting certified to teach elementary school, and less expensive. So once I get back to the States, I have a lot of decisions to make.
Well, my internet time is almost up. Don´t know if I will be able to do another entry here before I come home, but I will give a more thorough update when I get home. Adios!