possibly the last post

Don´t have much time to write, but possibly the last time ill be able to post while in Nicaragua.. can´t believe it has already been 3 months... went by so quickly, and not quite sure i´m ready to go home. Continuing to have an amazing time. A large festival called Hipica took place this last weekend. Went with my family to a big parade on friday night, and then sunday my host sister and i decided to ride on some HIGHLY outdated carnaval rides. :D we went and watched a parade of horses and people drinking afterwards, and spent the night on the porch, eating momones and watching drunks "dancing" down the streets, as they swayed from one side of the street to the other. Quite entertaining! I have decided to go to Costa Rica Thursday- Sunday with my friend Tina. Should be a nice little ending to my time here. Seriously can´t believe im leaving in a week... thank you all for supporting me throughout this adventure. I will definitely write another entry after returning home... but i guess, this is my hasta luego from nicaragua. Nos vemos muy pronto

Muchas Actividades

Just a quick update.. been hanging out a lot with my friend Tina and her host family. Sunday was festival of the bulls. It´s somewhat like running of the bulls but less bulls at 1 time. Was at a friend of a friends house who lives on the street where it starts, and 1 by 1 they release 4 or 5 bulls on the main street and people run from them/to them. It was a crazy first time experience getting smooshed into the doorway as hundreds of people tried to run by/i was trying to make my way inside. For the rest of the day they had random bulls on random streets throughout granada. My "running with the bulls" experience was by accident. Tina and I got caught between a bull and the street we needed to get down on our walk home, so ended up running a couple blocks to be safe. I couldnt stick around too long, because in truth, it was really sad to watch the bulls and people taunting them. I believe 3 people died in all and 1 horse.
Monday after class, i then went with tina´s family to a nearby Laguna. Gorgeous water that we swam in for a few hours. This coming weekend is a huge party weekend for nicaragua, being the yearly celebration of Hipica.. origins i am still unsure of. Time is going by way to quickly and i cant believe i only have 2 weeks left... will try and write more later! love to ALL!

stressful week

So this week has had a lot of ups and downs. Not sure if i already wrote this, but gretch and i climbed up the Iglesia Merced and were able to see an absolutely breathtaking 360 degree view of granada! Gorgeous! Gretchen left wednesday morning which was quite sad. Going to miss having her here, but i think more than anything my sadness is for her not being able to be here and that her leaving means my time here is starting to wind down. i cant imagine not getting up every morning and being able to walk the streets or sit on the patio in the late afternoon with my host family laughing and joking around. Oh, how i wish that everyone could have a chance to meet my family down here to see just how amazing they are. We have so many inside jokes(including dirty jokes my mom would definitely appreciate), and are constantly teaching each other spanish and english. Last night was random phrases from the movie Titanic and somehow we also started in on the Stevie Nicks song "Total eclipse of the heart"·
Still frustrated that i dont understand a lot of what is said to me, but im definitely improving. My spanish seems to get crazier and crazier by the day. Not sure if it´s because im still kind of a beginner or if im just a goof. I think it´s a little of both. A couple examples: the phrase is Dejame en paz, but i keep saying Dejame en pez. The phrase means, "leave me in peace." I say "leave me in fish." Or the other day, after getting out of the pool i meant to say, "voy a empezar a secar."(i am going to start drying off) but accidently said "voy a empezar a pecar." (i am going to start sinning). Or when i ask where my freeway is instead of my wallet (carretera vs. cartera), or if i can have games instead of juice (juego vs. jugo). silly mistakes that i know immediately after i say them are wrong. Not too stressed about it, and my family thinks it is hilarious!
The other teacher still has not arrived, leaving me as the only teacher, and on top of all of this, all of the materials and toys were stolen last night. All of the projects i´d spent hours preparing, and the toys we play with at recess gone, leaving me quite stressed. We are left with a couple boxes of crayons and some white paper. And yes dad, that includes the stuff you sent in the mail. :( So, now im left to figure out what to do with the kids and hoping everything works out.
On a brighter note, im off to a hot springs with my friend tina from canada and her family! hope everyone is having a fabulous summer! love to all!

Last week

So last week came and went... completely different than how i thought it was going to be! Another girl from the states who happens to teach kindergarten for spanish kids in wisconsin, came to help out for a few days. Such a help! I've found that i am really good at coming up with all kinds of fun activities for the kids to do, but i struggle at finding group activities to do. She taught me a way to teach the kids the alphabet in a really fun way, along with some fun group activities to do outside that keep them working as a group. I also learned that the spanish teacher that was there, got married and just didnt tell anyone. A new lady is going to start this coming week, so that is a huge relief! Gretchens last few days here and we are definitely having a great time! Granada won the baseball championship recently and we went out with my host sisters to celebrate in the streets and in a club: lots of music and dancing! Will try to update soon... cant believe i only have 23 days left! love you all!

Quickie

Not a whole lot to update on, but i feel bad that i havent been writing more. Things are still going well... i am slowly but surely learning more spanish, still a major struggle to understand the nicaraguan accent. Today was gretchen's last day teaching with me at the school :( Sad of course because her days in nicaragua are numbered, and sad because i wont have her to hang out with. But at the moment i am more scared at the fact that she will no longer be at school. No one really knows, but the guess is that the nicaraguan preschool teacher that has been there the whole time has quit. She was there 1 day by herself last week and told the director she was a bit overwhelmed, then she just stopped showing up. So it looks like i am going to be the only teacher... which is terrifying! i love the kids and i know that this will give me a chance to really test myself and work really hard on lesson plans outside of school . But even with lesson plans, i fear i cant do this alone. Not just because i know that it will be overwhelming having 11 2-4year olds on my own with the language barrier and their craziness, but also for safety reasons. There are a lot of hazardous materials around the school and small children, that if not watched carefully, will try and run away. many other safetyand sanity factors that i wont go into make me a bit fearful. All i can do is arrive on mnday and hope for the best! wish me luck

Goodness me!

Goodness me! It sure has been awhile.... Had a bout of sickness that had me out for about a week and a half, went on 2 weekend getaways, and the last 4 times i have tried to write a blog the power has cut out. So hopefully this time is lucky number 5.

Still absolutely in love with Nicaragua and my Nicaraguan family. My host mom left on June 15th for San Franscisco and returned July 14th. My host sisters and brother got along quite well, but it's definitely good to have her back! I should let you all know that i am becoming quite the nicaraguan cook! Ive prepared gallo pinto, a special kind of chicken, fried tortillas filled with cheese, various natural juices and an iced dessert made from my favorite fruit down here called Momones. I made a couple new friends here and the 3 of us went to the beach for a weekend and tried surfing... didn't do so well, but glad i tried. The next week a new girl from Michigan moved in with gretch. Her name is Erin and she was a wonderful addition to life here. The 3 of us took time another weekend to go to the beach and had an absolute blast. Having her here was very interesting. She actually had a similar experience to what i thought i was going to have. Her mom is actually battling breast cancer that has spread to her liver. It was nice to be able to have someone to talk to who understands life with cancer. Unfortunately, Erin had to cut her trip short due to an emergency back home.

Work has been very challenging, but also very rewarding. I feel like we've been able to find a routine that seems to work and keeps the kids at a good energy level. Still gets overwhelming having 9-25 kids to try and entertain/make sure are safe. Plus, working 7 hours a day in nearly 100 degree weather can be quite wearing. But i still love it and enjoy being able to work with gretch and have someone to bounce ideas off of. That's all i have time to write at the moment. Hopefully i will be able to write soon. I apologize for not writing some of you back sooner/at all. Things are crazy and electricity is sparse. But i love you all and hope all is well!

Updates updates updates

Crazy how much can happen in a week.... The last couple of weeks have definitely been quite challenging. I think I expected all of the stuff I had previously learned learned in Spanish class to magically come back and that the new information would be added to my vocab quite easily. I've learned and been continuing to learn in my Spanish immersion, fairly advanced grammar. Because of this, I have been experiencing somewhat of a sensory overload and have been struggling more than ever when speaking. There are so many rules and possible ways to conjugate verbs, i find myself forgetting the most basic Spanish and unable to ask someone how their day was w/o thinking about it for 5 min. Like most things, some days are better than others. I am confident that while i may not understand everything now, i will continue to improve over the next couple of months.
This past monday i began my volunteer work. It has turned out that Gretchen and the Nicaraguan teacher will be teaching the 8 4-5year olds and i am kind of in charge of a daycare for about 7 2-3 year olds in the mornings monday-friday. Monday and wednesday afternoons gretch and i return to the school to entertain/teach english to a group of kids between the ages of 7-15. Tuesdays and thursdays we return for gretch to meet with a womens group she put together while i watch after their children. Definitely been an eye opening experience. The only toys they posess are some blocks and 3 stuffed animals. Paper, pencils, colored pencils, paint and glue were provided by the volunteer before us but have already been almost completely used up. I went out with my host sister to a secondhand store the other day and bought a couple books, 2 soccerballs, and some toys to try and have something for the little kids. Ive had to get extra creative with activities considering the fact that 2 and 3 year olds are easily distracted and like to run away. Balloons, fruit loop necklaces, and bubbles have been a HUGE hit! Gretch and I are hoping to go out this weekend and buy some art supplies for more activities. So much filled into a week, but i think that these are the major changes.
Sometime this weekend i am hopefully heading off with my new friend Tina to climb Volcan Mombacho which is a famous volcano in Granada. Fun fun fuN!
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!! Love to all!

Address

A few people were asking, so i thought i would post my mailing address up:

Aleyna Roche
Avenicaraguita
Calle El Arsenal del Convento de San Francisco 2 1/2 cuadras al este
Granada, Nicaragua

Finally with my family!

It has been awhile since my last blog, and certainly a lot has happened. My 21st birthday was wednesday and it was a pretty relaxing day. The lady who ran the dorms bought me a cake and sang me happy birthday at dinner. Then Gretchen, our new friend Femke from Holland, and i had a few drinks and went out dancing. It was a very good night! Thursday afternoon i FINALLY moved in with my family and I am in love with all of them! There is Lupita, my host mother who is very kind and is going to teach me how to cook traditional nicaraguan food. There is my host brother Richard who is 24, kind of kooky has a lot of energy and took me out to see some more of Granada's sites. My host sister Naygeri is 26 and crazy fun!! All day everyday she is laughing and giving out high fives. Although there is a language barrier, she and i have had some really nice, long conversations. My other host sister Mildre is 28 and a lot of fun as well. She and i watch a lot of talk shows and soaps on top of the nightly 8pm novela that everyone watches called Sin senos no hay paraiso. :D Yesterday Mildre, Naygeri and i went to a market 40 minutes out and saw some beautiful hand made crafts. We continued to a little town called Catarina which has the most AMAZING view of granada and the lake. After that we went to a town called Masaya where we spent hours browsing little shops and eating tons of fruit! Of course, i dont understand 60% of what is being said, but definitely know enough to have little converstions with them, and definitely enough to joke around with them! I dont know how i got so lucky to be placed with them! Not starting my volunteer work for another week, when i will be done with immersion. Dont have much internet access, but i will keep trying to keep everyone updated!

In granada!

Made it to Granada! Yes, gretch and i were in honduras when the earthquake hit, and definitely felt it! But, we are safe and sound and loving every second of Nicaragua! Granada is beautiful! My family isnt quite ready for me to move in, so hopefully later this week i will finally get settled. I was however, able to meet them, and they are amazing! Lots of energy, very patient, love to laugh, and love hugs! I am very fortunate to have been placed with them. For now, i am in the dorms with gretch and another girl from holland. The woman running it lives in an attached section of the house with her husband and 2 children. Everyone is very kind and helpful. Today was my first day of immersion and it went pretty well. Basically talked one on one with another 20 year old teacher for 4 hours. Learned all about her husband and son, the history of her family and of the nicaraguan culture. Found out also that gretch and i will be working together in the mornings at a preschool starting next week. We were warned that the conditions are a bit bleak, but we shall see. Dont have hardly any internet access, but hopefully i will be able to write soon. Sending my love to all!

Copan Ruinas

Been in Copan Ruinas since Monday and loving it. Very different from island life, but still quaint and perfectly odd. Havent had electricity or running water for the majority of the time we`ve been here, but we make it work. Went and saw Mayan ruins yesterday..... not just some old ruins.... a WHOLE city of them! We were left speechless and took some beautiful pictures. Unfortunately, being the spaz i am, i forgot to bring the attachment to my camera that uploads pics onto computers, and Gretchen`s camera is PMSing. So i will try and figure it out as soon as possible. We decided to stay an extra day in copan also... tomorrow tegulcigalpa and then on to nicaragua! write more when i have more time!

Adventures thus far....

Hello to all!
So much has happened in the few short days i have been abroad.... so many little things that i probably wont remember to write about, but have made this trip so special. Gretch and i are having such an amazing time in Utila that we have decided to stay an extra day. We've met lots of people, seen lots of sights, and had PLENTY of beach time! :D To name a few fun things we have done i will start with yesterday. After a beautiful walk, we stopped by a place called the Iguana Station, where there are over 50 different iguanas. The goal is to raise awareness of a type of iguana that is close to being extinct..... if i could remember the name of it i would write it down.. oops! Last night our hostel roommate introudced us to a gorgeous bar that is set in a tree house. The man that owns it made it his life work to have a hotel sized bar solely based around various art forms... hard to explain, but i will try to get pictures of it.. it was gorgeous!! Today we decided we wanted to go snorkeling, and then decided to go on a snorkel trip out in the ocean with a bunch of divers. It was the most amazing thing i have ever experienced! Everything was beautiful!! Among the hundreds of sealife creatures we were able to see an adolescent turtle and a great barracuda! So many other details that make this place so wonderful: like the vespas that that hold a family of 4 driving up and down the streets, or the hundreds of crabs that live outside our hostel and you can find smooshed in the middle of the road...... hope everyone is doing well!! Will try and write sooN!

In Utila!

Just a brief update! After a 13 hour bus ride yesterday, a 3 hour bus ride today, and hour long ferry ride, and 10 short minutes of walking gretchen and i are on the island of Utila in Honduras!!!! So gorgeous, so relaxing! Today we plan to celebrate gretchens bday and go snorkeling! Try and be more detailed soon.. :D

Today is the day!!

Hello to all!
Today is the day I leave to join my lovely Gretchen in Nicaragua! Very exciting! Just to give everyone a quick update on the change of plans. Because Gretchen and I really want to be able to explore and relax during the first 2 weeks I am there, we have decided to only go to Honduras and hopefully save Guatemala for another time. I will not have my computer while in Honduras, so here is the planned itinerary:

May 20: Leave Managua 5am for San Pedro Sula

May 21: Arrive in Utila Island, staying at Backpacker's Lodge

May 22/23: Lots of Beach and Snorkeling!

May 24: Leave Utila for Copan Runias, staying at Hotel Don Moises

May 25: Mayan Ruins!

May 26: Leave Copan for Gracias, staying at...TBA

May 27: Hiking, hot springs, wandering

May 28: Leave Gracias for Tegucigalpa, staying at TBA, sight see

May 29: Leave Tegucigalpa for Managua

May 20-29: Aleyna and Gretchen talking, cuddling, laughing, drinking, swimming, having fun and loving the company!

Getting Ready

True Love April 2008




Getting ready for Nicaragua and wanted to invite all who are interested to share in my upcoming adventures in Nica through this blog.

Over the past 7 months an unimaginable illness took over, only to be followed with an impossible outcome. Although the emptiness is palpable and the sadness overwhelming, I feel so fortunate to have you all in my life. Your support means the world to me, and I will be forever grateful for your kindness. This summer I am hoping to redefine my passion for life through new experiences and by overcoming inevitable obstacles that will arise.

Just to keep everyone updated, my plans are to leave for Nicaragua on May 19th where I will meet up with a friend and together we will travel to Honduras and Guatemala for 2 weeks. The plan is to head back to Nica May 31st where I will move in with my host family. June 1st i begin a 2 week spanish immersion program, which consists of 6 hours of spanish, 5 days a week. After learning everything there is to know about the spanish language, :) i begin the volunteer program mon-fri 8:30am- 11:30 am at a local preschool, where i will help out with daily activities/programs. More travelling will follow, and if everything goes as planned I shall be returning home August 25th.

This trip is definitely a welcomed/needed change in my life. My only real excpectation is that it will be life changing: for better or for worse. I expect it to be a beautifully, uncomfortable, bumpy road. My only plan is to soak every drop of it in and to satiate my mind and heart with everything that is Central America.

Thank you all again for being a part of my life! Curious to see what lies ahead.....