New House Excitement & The Start of Classes

Now that I´ve moved into my new house and have been living there for a few days, I am so grateful for all the new comforts I have that I´ve gone without for so long. I´ve gotten so used to living with families, having to live by their schedules, not being able to cook my own food, and being cramped into small living spaces, now I feel like I´m living such a posh life (even without a toilet, ha). It´s just really nice to finally have my own space, and it makes being here a whole lot more comfortable. I´ve incorporated some of my own additions to the house and am trying some new recipes with what local food is available...so it´s been fun. I spend most of my day just doing little things around the house like cooking, cleaning, buying what I still need, and observing in the schools. I´ve also had some friends visit me which has made me really happy and kept me busy. Overall, it´s been a very positive experience, and with the new living situation plus beginning my work in the schools, I feel like my real service is now beginning.

With that being said, with just a week of observations in 3 different schools, I´ve noticed many challenges to the Nicaraguan schools system. There are constant interruptions in the classroom, it´s hard to hear with all of the outside noise, curious kids from the neighborhood are constantly peeking in the windows/hanging out outside the door or on the floor of the classroom, teachers are unprepared because they find out just days before class begins what grade they will be teaching, and for this reason are often unmotivated, teachers and students don´t always have the books they need, classes end early/start late all the time, students lack discipline, attendance is low because students have to help out on their farms/selling food to earn extra income for their families...the list goes on and on. Fortunately, though, the students will hopefully begin to get more support from home once the new adult literacy program begins on Monday. With the changes to the curriculum, teachers now are giving an extra hour of class each day to adults, specifically parents, in the community who don´t know how to read and write. It´s hard, however, to get them interested in the classes because for people who spend all of their time on the farm or cooking and cleaning at home, to them reading and writing isn´t necessary. With all of these challenges, I´m excited to begin my work in the schools and will hopefully be able to make an impact to improve these people´s lives.