2 weeks left!

This past week has been amazing. It is fun having a big group of volunteers here, and they all seem to be enjoying their time as much as I am. Monday and Tuesday I went with Eddie and Mario from MINED (ministry of education) to two other schools and also to San Jose again and got more people for me to tutor. I am excited this week and next week to get to help out at the other two schools and to tutor a few new people!

Wednesday I went to Ocotal to plan and plant the garden. Yacarely and I loaded the truck with 8 boxes worth of plants for the occasion. The truck that took us up there ended up getting stuck about 25 minutes walking distance form where we needed to go because it was raining pretty heavily on the dirt road and the tires didn't have the best of traction. Luckily, a man we knew rode by on his horse and sent a message up to the garden group (who was waiting for us to arrive to help carry the plants to the location) and they walked down and helped carry the boxes of plants up the mountain. It was great teamwork and no one seemed to mind the rain or mud or steep walk at all. But then again, everyone I've met from Ocotal doesn't seem to mind any frustrating experience at all, they take everything as it comes. Its amazing.

Thursday we got to planting. At first it was hard to decide where to put everything, and everyone had their own ideas, but we worked it out. By the end, the people kept asking my opinion on where things should go. "Amandita, what do you think?" The people up there all call me Amandita now. I feel like its a nickname of endearment and it makes me feel good like they have accepted me into their lives.

Friday the rest of the group came up for our weekend tour. We were greeted with snacks and drinks and a mariachi band. Then we hiked up the mountain to the top and saw the most amazing views ever. The mariachi band even came up and played for us at the top. Then we hiked back down and spent the evening with our host families. The father that Danielle and I stayed with, Emiliano, was so friendly and curious about our lives in the US. He asked a million questions, like whether we have chickens or fruit trees at our houses and about snow and cars. He told us about his dream to go to America to work and bring back money to help better his family's lives. Emiliano and his family were amazing.

Saturday, we rode horses to a coffee farm and learned all about the process of making coffee. Its a lot more complicated then I thought, and they do it with such little technology its amazing. Then we learned how to make the tortillas, a main staple in the diet of Nicaraguans. The people on Ocotal love to share everything they have- a trait that we could all learn from. The whole day, and weekend in general, was one of the best experiences I've had so far.