Snapshots of Life

I have neglected writing. There's so much else to do, and so little time! Ironically, this is probably the time when I have the most to write about as well. So, I will catch up a bit. Life has been going very well, with one adventure after another. The last time I wrote, we went to the beach on a packed bus.

After a week of commuting to and from the Nehemiah Center, Friday I stayed in León. I attended the final presentation of the Spanish class participants - Alex, Hannah, and Hannah. They did a play of Little Red Riding Hood in Spanish. In this snapshot, the wolf is chasing Little Red, and the hunter is chasing the Wolf. During one act, they did a musical, so they were singing, "no!" and "sí" as they ran. It was quite humorous.

In the afternoon, I tried to be productive, but it didn't work very well. Roberto and his wife, Gricelda, came to visit. Then, Mamá took me shopping at a new store. In this picture, she was looking for sheets. It was a giant thrift store of international stuff. Let's just say, Mamá is a shopper. I got some new clothes because she kept saying, "Adrianna, éste te quedará bonito!"

Saturday, I was a campesina, a country girl. I went out to Roberto's house on the outskirts of town to learn how to make tortillas and use a machete. If you don't remember, Roberto is my friend with whom I commute to the Nehemiah Center. He is our second-in-command for the program, and if we have a problem in León, we go to him. He's the Nicaraguan link, like Alicia is the director. We are friends. Here, you see me making a tortilla. I learned how to pat it out, stick it on the fire, take it off, etc. I can do it myself now.

After Gricelda, Roberto's wife, taught me to make tortillas, Roberto showed me how to use a machete. We cleaned part of his front yard. It's the same idea as mowing the lawn, but WAY different from using the rider. :)

This is Roberto's family on the motorcycle. Roberto received a motorcycle to use for his work, a great blessing from the Lord - for me as well as for him! I got to ride from Managua to León with him on the motorcycle Monday, and I couldn't stop smiling the whole time! So now, I get motorcycle rides once in a while. Pictured in their back yard, Roberto, the baby Jared, the toddler Jacer, and Gricelda.

Monday and Tuesday, I worked at the Nehemiah Center. Wednesday I went on a three hour tour... but by bus. I left at 5 a.m., met up with another missionary lady from Switzerland, got to the church in Estelí at 9, sat through a workshop about the Biblical worldview for marriage, got on the bus at 3 p.m., got home at 5:30, went out with my sister Marlen at 6:30, got home and went to bed at 11 pm. It was a long day. But good. Here you see my boss, Luz Largaespada, holding up a poster with one of our interactive activities. If there's no coordination or communication, things turn out funky. :)

At night, I went out with Marlen and her friends. They have beauty pageants for the university in León, and the night before the contest, all the majors have a float with their contestant. The idea is that you go with your major's float, cheering and having a good time (you know what that means for some people), or you pick your favorite contestant. We ended up not really liking any of them, stood around and watched, then got something to eat. I was dead on my feet, but I was glad I got to meet some of Marlen's friends.

Thursday we had culture class in León. Us girls took bikes to class. It was an adventure because there were three of us and two bikes. I tried to carry Hannah Nica-style, but I was too short for the bike, and we ended up in a heap. Hannah Cooper carried Hannah Ponstein, and they did much better. We were entertained, and probably the Nicaraguans watching us were too.

In the afternoon on Thursday, Roberto took me to the hervederos de San Jacinto. He picked me up on the moto, and we went to a volcano vent. The volcano has never erupted, and they suspect it is because it vents in this area. The mud and water boil (similar to Yellowstone), and it was a warm experience! :) Good thing it was rainy and cool - I was glad for the heat radiating from the ground up.

That's the short version of life lately. Tomorrow I hope to learn how to make tacos and gallo pinto with Hannah Ponstein, and Sunday we are having a birthday party for Evan at Roberto's house. It should be a fun weekend. I hope I can get some homework done too!