People ask me, my parents, my husband, or my sisters, “but what is Sara DOING there?” Here’s a typical day to give y’all a feel, though I’m not sure it will help you explain to others in a way that satisfies their expectation that I DO things. This will be shifting soon, but it gives an idea of the time up until now.
I live with Eunice (my host mom), Lussiana (my host sister), and Lussiana’s 8-year-old son Bryan (my host nephew) – not to be confused with “my” Brian, my husband.
7:30 Wake up, exchange greetings with my Brian, and get out of bed as I hear the sounds of breakfast preparation.
7:45 Breakfast with the family: gallo pinto*, sour cream, cheese, a fried egg, fresh papaya smoothie, pancakes (a favorite of my nephew), and coffee
*As a host mom in Costa Rica explained, gallo pinto is rice and beans made well.
8:30 Get ready for the day, make my bed (because if I don’t Eunice will and I don’t think she should have to do that)
9:00 Think through Dec travel plans and read travel guide regarding the town I’m looking at. (Traveling to and from Costa Rica to renew my tourist visa, traveling with Brian when he visits, 2 day vacation with my host family to San Juan del Sur.)
10:00 Walk to the Colibrí Spanish School
10:30 Chat with the staff I know, start looking at the travel info on line
11:00 Delightful Spanish-English language exchange with Noelia, the founder of Colibrí. We spend a half hour in each language and have similar interests, so even the time in English is beneficial for me, such as learning about Nicaraguan’s feminist history.
12:00 Finish whatever internet things I had on my list for when I have wi-fi connection, complete any necessary errands, and walk home.
1:30 Leisurely lunch with the family. Lunch is more substantial than dinner, Eunice typically prepares some sort of meat. Perhaps albondiga soup with chicken, chilotes/fresh baby corn, malanga/similar to taro root, herbs, and abondigas/balls of corn flour, butter, bell pepper, spices.
2:30 Clean up lunch and chat with the family, decide if I am accompanying Eunice in walking Bryan to his drawing classes 2:30-4. If not:
3:00 Read one of the books I’m working on – currently “Nicaragua: Surviving the Legacy of US Policy” photography by Paul Dix, edited by Pamela Fitzpatrick. A fascinating and terrifying look at the impact of US involvement backing the Contras in the 80s with photos and stories of individuals then and now.
4:00 Get ready for and walk to Zumba, chat with a neighbor briefly on the way
4:30 Zumba with 40 Nicaraguan women in a room at a nearby clinic, the music’s loud enough I sometime jump when it starts, but it is darn good exercise and costs about $6 a month
5:30 Walk home, shower, get ready for dinner
6:30 Light dinner of tortillas, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, homemade chimichurri type salsa, and shredded lettuce mini salad, plus a milk and banana smoothie.
8:00 Once dinner is cleaned up, watch a movie in Spanish or a couple episodes of Supernatural, which is one of my all-time favorite tv shows I’ve been buying in Spanish for a dollar per every 4 episodes. Lussiana is hooked now too. :) I like it because I already know what is happening so I can focus on the Spanish rather than trying to figure out what is happening
10:00 Write in my journal, message with my Brian and a friend in the states, and read
11:00 Go to sleep - depending how good my book is ;)
Reading through this, maybe it can be summarized as making good use of a break from work by mostly eating & walking, interspersed with reading, talking, and watching tv with the family... and growing roots.
I live with Eunice (my host mom), Lussiana (my host sister), and Lussiana’s 8-year-old son Bryan (my host nephew) – not to be confused with “my” Brian, my husband.
7:30 Wake up, exchange greetings with my Brian, and get out of bed as I hear the sounds of breakfast preparation.
7:45 Breakfast with the family: gallo pinto*, sour cream, cheese, a fried egg, fresh papaya smoothie, pancakes (a favorite of my nephew), and coffee
*As a host mom in Costa Rica explained, gallo pinto is rice and beans made well.
8:30 Get ready for the day, make my bed (because if I don’t Eunice will and I don’t think she should have to do that)
9:00 Think through Dec travel plans and read travel guide regarding the town I’m looking at. (Traveling to and from Costa Rica to renew my tourist visa, traveling with Brian when he visits, 2 day vacation with my host family to San Juan del Sur.)
10:00 Walk to the Colibrí Spanish School
10:30 Chat with the staff I know, start looking at the travel info on line
11:00 Delightful Spanish-English language exchange with Noelia, the founder of Colibrí. We spend a half hour in each language and have similar interests, so even the time in English is beneficial for me, such as learning about Nicaraguan’s feminist history.
12:00 Finish whatever internet things I had on my list for when I have wi-fi connection, complete any necessary errands, and walk home.
1:30 Leisurely lunch with the family. Lunch is more substantial than dinner, Eunice typically prepares some sort of meat. Perhaps albondiga soup with chicken, chilotes/fresh baby corn, malanga/similar to taro root, herbs, and abondigas/balls of corn flour, butter, bell pepper, spices.
2:30 Clean up lunch and chat with the family, decide if I am accompanying Eunice in walking Bryan to his drawing classes 2:30-4. If not:
3:00 Read one of the books I’m working on – currently “Nicaragua: Surviving the Legacy of US Policy” photography by Paul Dix, edited by Pamela Fitzpatrick. A fascinating and terrifying look at the impact of US involvement backing the Contras in the 80s with photos and stories of individuals then and now.
4:00 Get ready for and walk to Zumba, chat with a neighbor briefly on the way
4:30 Zumba with 40 Nicaraguan women in a room at a nearby clinic, the music’s loud enough I sometime jump when it starts, but it is darn good exercise and costs about $6 a month
5:30 Walk home, shower, get ready for dinner
6:30 Light dinner of tortillas, refried beans, cheese, sour cream, homemade chimichurri type salsa, and shredded lettuce mini salad, plus a milk and banana smoothie.
8:00 Once dinner is cleaned up, watch a movie in Spanish or a couple episodes of Supernatural, which is one of my all-time favorite tv shows I’ve been buying in Spanish for a dollar per every 4 episodes. Lussiana is hooked now too. :) I like it because I already know what is happening so I can focus on the Spanish rather than trying to figure out what is happening
10:00 Write in my journal, message with my Brian and a friend in the states, and read
11:00 Go to sleep - depending how good my book is ;)
Reading through this, maybe it can be summarized as making good use of a break from work by mostly eating & walking, interspersed with reading, talking, and watching tv with the family... and growing roots.