Hey everyone!! So this has yet again been an exciting weekend. Sorry I haven't written in a while. During the week, I pretty much have the same routine. In the morning, I have class from 7:00-8:30 AM. This class is about the 5 S's. It's some sort of Japanese strategy to make the workplace more effective and efficient. It's really boring for me because it's about organization and stuff that seems pretty obvious, but La Alianza needs an expert's help on their way to becoming a university. Then I come to Cafe Latino, my favorite air conditioned cafe that has coffee and muffins and stuff. This is where I use my computer to prepare class and everything. Then I go home and eat lunch, sometimes take a nap or walk around, and then I have class from 4-6 where I teach 10-12 college students and adults English. I have been making worksheets to practice grammar and incorporating a lot of US music to develop true listening comprehension skills. It's going well so far. Then I go to the movies or dinner or something. A few nights ago I had chinese food. It wasn't the same as #1 Chop Suey, but it was a nice change.
Saturday night, I went with two of Eira's neices to the discoteca called Bohemio - it was a small club where you paid 5 dollars at the door and got open bar. There were tons of people there, and it was a lot of fun. I learned a lot of new dances and we didn't get home till around 3:00 AM! The next morning, I had a lot in store for me.
Sunday morning, around 10:45, Sarah, Julia, and I left for el Cerro Negro with the guide we hired, Hector. The ride was about an hour and 15 minutes into the country along dirt roads filled with cows and pigs. Along the way, Hector pointed out the chain of volcanoes called los Maribios and told us about each one. El Cerro Negro is the most active volcano in Nicaragua, and it erupted 3 times in the 90s. It is also the youngest volcano in Central America, and it is 728 meters (or 2,388 ft) tall. We were given a backpack and a board, and we began our hike. I'm not really sure if it was the fatigue from the previous night out, or the altitude, or a combination of the two, but I was dizzy and tired, and it was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. It is extremely steep, and we climbed the rocky side. The rocks were charcoal and they were very lightweight which caused my feet to slip often. Carrying the wooden board we would use to slide down it made it a million times harder. It probably weighed about 10 lbs. and was pretty long. It was hard to keep my balance and pretty scary. After about 10 minutes, the path disappeared, and we were literally just scaling the rocks. It took us about an hour and a half to reach the first small crater that was emitting steam. It was sooooo hot, and there were crazy bees everywhere. People were getting stung left and right. Thank God I didn't. We continued up to the biggest crater where the stench of sulfur was almost overpowering and the hot air was stifling. After taking a little rest and putting on our knee pads, shoulder pads, and large suits, we began our descent down the sandy side of the volcano. We used our boards as sleds. It took us not even a minute to slide down the entire volcano. It was so steep!!! I fell off my board 3 or 4 times and at one point, had to run down the volcano to retrieve my board which had flipped over my head. Good thing I was wearing so much protective gear, but the next day I definitely had some bruises and scrapes. It was a very interesting experience to say the least. We went back to the office where we ate mangos, washed the black sand covering our entire bodies off in a sink, and saw some animals they housed on this little ranch. My whole body is still pretty sore, but I joined a gym, so hopefully by the time I get home, I will be in better shape!!! :) miss youuuu!
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