More Vlogs!

Featuring the famous Canon of Somoto.



On our way back.



all for now folks! more to come soon!

More vlogs of me and Alex

Our arrival in Managua.



Truck ride. This was a particularly rough one.



Baking the infamous cookies that made Romain cry and gave us the sugar high of our lives.



Ari

Some vlog of me and Alex

In the San Salvador airport.




On the plane to Managua.



yes these are super old, but I hope you all enjoy none the less. more will be on soon. I promise!

Ari

NOWEL

These past couple of days have been quite lazy and relaxed. We went up to my family's cabin and went ice fishing. It was pretty sweet. It was only me and Jonathan though because the rest of the family was busy watching the game... Canada vs. Latvia... and Canada destroyed them with like 16-0...ouch. We didn't catch any fish and we really only stayed for like 45 minutes while drinking some smirnoff ice. Lovely.

Yesterday we went to Cecilia's sister's house. They have a very nice big house next to the river. We hung out there and had dinner.

Thelma can speak pretty decent english now. She survives just fine without me around all the time. It's been quite a full house here since all of Cecilia's family have been here. But today they pretty much all went to Saskatoon to watch the Canada vs. Switzerland game. I am so jealous, I would have loved to go... oh well...

Today we've been making plans for new years eve. It's looking like we're going to a latino party here in town. It's pretty exciting.

Well that's all for now folks. By the way, all the pictures I have are on Facebook now. Videos will be coming soon, I promise.

Ciao!

Ari

Merry Christmas!

First of all I would like to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

So I really was indifferent about the holiday thing...until yesterday came around. This is my first Christmas away from home. I knew it was going to happen some time, but I don't think I ever expected to be sharing that Christmas with a new, massive family. I did get a bit emotional last night when we were about to sit down but also when we were at church. It's weird not having my own relatives around for the holidays. It's weird not waking up Christmas morning to eggs benedict and the traditional family movie in the morning. Yesterday I was shoved into a whole new line of traditions. We had to fast all day until dinner, and we had a meat-less dinner... so lots of fish and porogies. Then we went to mid-night mass... which was actually at mid-night. For my family, we go to mid-night mass... at 7pm. So I was a little sleepy to say the least by the time mass came rolling around. Surprisingly enough, Thelma and I got a ton of presents. I was pretty shocked, and so was Thelma, I think. Even though we are pretty much complete strangers to the Loch family, last night they treated us as one of their own, which was an awesome feeling. I am so thankful to be with Cecilia as a host-family for so many reasons. I was worried that my Christmas would be horrible because I'm away from home, but this was defenitly a good Christmas, thanks to the Lock family.

They also have a tradition called the "gift gag". Everyone has to buy a silly gift for about 5$ and wrap it up. Then everyone draws a number and takes turns open their gag gift. They are also allowed to trade a gift before opening the one they have chosen, therefore the other person must open it and is stuck with it. I got candy. Little sour cherry things that I adore. Lovely.

Another nice surprise was that my boyfriend had a flower arrangement made for me. It's super pretty and hangs out next to my bed. He said that the florist didn't have red roses anymore so she had to use orange, but frankly, I prefer the orange, haha.

Tonight we will be having a big turkey dinner and then tomorrow I believe we'll be heading up to the family's Cabin. I kind of want to go toboganning today, but I don't think anyone else wants to go.

Well, Merry Christmas everyone.

Ari

Kindergarden

Oh man. As much as I love my job, it's a little tough at times. Right now I am in the computer lab with the kids and Thelma is in the classroom with one of the girls who didn't do her decoration for her parents. I don't mind kids, but I get a little exhausted after a while... and I can't access facebook from here either... and all proxie sites are blocked also... hmph.

Anyways, we had a busy busy weekend. On Friday we had a group meeting where our new EADs will be. Then, Luke and myself were suppose to make a presentation to some kids, but they cancelled litterally at the last minute, so we just hung out with the staff there and ate some cookie with hot chocolate. Pretty sweet, right? Then Friday night most of the girls in the group had a nice little get-together at Vero's house. It was fun to play card games, sing rediculous to rediculous music and play Wii together. I missed hanging out with them.

On Saturday I mostly hung out with Cecilia's grandson, Jonathan. He's 24 and is Mr. Fitness. So Saturday morning we did some yoga together, then went out for starbucks. Later we went to a hockey game because on of his cousin's was playing. Then we went for DQ. Afterwards he took me and Thelma to a dinner the group was invited to at the Multi-cultural counsil. Michel and Luis Carlos work at the Multi-cultural counsil, they teach english, which is kind of funny seeing as how Luis' english is pretty limited, even though it's better than most... and Michel is from Levis... in the heart of Quebec... But Michel's english has improved drasticly since the beginning of this program. Woot woot. Anyways, we all went to the dinner and it turned out that there has been quite a bit of drama going on in the group and it all surfaced that night. I guess that was to be expected since they decided we also had to work with our counter-parts. Now we litterally spend 24\7 with our counter-parts. Luckly, me and my counter-part get along all the time and are always on the same page about everything. Unfortunately, this isn't the case for everyone else. Everything by the end of the night was able to resolve itself though. Thank God.

Yesterday morning, Jonathan and I did another workout. This time we did a DVD called "Ab Ripper X". It's a 16 minute video of ab exercises... anyways, about three minutes in we were both laying on the floor half dead... oh man... I am so sore today.

Yesterday afternoon, we were invited to mass at Cecilia's church. We were also invited for a multi-cultural pot-luck after mass. So the Nicas made tons of food for this dinner. Thelma and Alany made lots of tortilla together for this occasion. It is a tradition at their church to have a meat-less dinner as their last big feast before Christmas. So we had lots and lots of fish. There are leftovers enough to feed an entire soup kitchen. After dinner we sang christmas carols together and got a present from Santa. We got candy... oh boy. It was nice to get to hang out with the whole group a lot this weekend.

Tonight is girl's night. Us girls are going to see New Moon!!! Finally!!! I can't wait to see this movie as New Moon was my favorite book in the series! I heard that this movie is way better than Twilight, thank God. All the canadian girls have been playing this outting since September. I will probably act like a fan girl at this movie. Lets be honest, team Jacob all the way! Woot!

Christmas is this weekend and I haven't done my Christmas shopping yet. I know exactly what I will be getting Thelma and Cecilia. More of Cecilia's family will be coming over for the holidays. It should be a pretty crowded house, I think.

Well that's all for now I think. Later gater!

Ari

No internet

Oh my Lord. It has been such a long time since I have updated. I am sooo sorry. I think I may have mentionned this before but I haven't any internet at our house and I cannot use internet at my job either, so this is really the first time I am on in over a week. I have alot of things to say but really no time. I am currently at the Red Cross and I was suppose to do a presentation for a group of kids on the program, but they cancelled last minute... so yeah. Now I will only be giving this presentation to the staff at the Red Cross.

My job is extremely awesome. I work mostly with kindergarden kids and we have a great deal of fun together. At my school we are very busy with Christmas things, so I've been making decorations nonstop it seems. I love the staff I work with. Thelma's english is coming along nicely, which is good.

Life with Cecilia is pretty awesome. Slowly but surely her family has been coming over and some are starting to move in for the holidays. It's bound to be a pretty crowded house seeing as how she has 9 kids and God knows how many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

On Monday the girls have made a date to finally go see the New Moon movie! I am so excited! I was worried that it was out of theatres, but I guess not! All of us are super excited! :)

Today we assigned everyone their new EAD topics for the canadian phase. I have been paired up with Jorge and our topic is media and communications. We are going first... so I'm a little nervous.

Today is the first time the whole group has met up in a week. It feels so nice to see them again. We aren't used to being apart because in Somoto we saw eachother everyday.

The Nicas are adjusting super well to the cold. Everyone is really doing great and getting along pretty good with their new families and jobs. So far, the canadian phase rocks.

I must say that now that we have returned to Canada, I am getting somewhat anxious to returning to my life in Ottawa. I don't want the program to end and I don't want to seperate from the group... but I am looking forward to seeing my friends, my family and my boyfriend when I get back. The day I go home will definitly a very sad and very happy day. I am both excited for it and dreading it at the same time....

Well I have to go now. I will make a more thorough post some other time. No promises when that may be... Toodles!

Ari

Dry skin

OH MAH LAWD! WE ARE BACK IN CANADA!

Yes, we had a lovely and safe journey to the great white North. We are now all in Prince Albert and the other group is in Saskatoon. Our flights were long and sometimes tedious, but it was well worth it. We flew from Managua to San Salvador, San Salvador to Toronto, Toronto to Saskatoon and a bus from Saskatoon to Prince Albert. We spent a night in Toronto though. However, we only really got to sleep for a couple hours. My parents, as well as many of the other parents from the canadians, came down with oodles of clothing for the Nicas. Both for our group and for the other. We dumped all the clothes into Shayne and Ben's room and had a massive raffle. Serious, their room almost looked like a small thrift store. Toronto was no where near as cold as Prince Albert turned out to be though. Now all the Nicas understand the concept of layering your clothes, as well as having thick sweaters and good hats. It's so much fun for us Canadians because we get to teach them so many things. Many occasions already have I had to zip up winter coats and tie scarfs the right way around some of the Nicas. They are so adorable when they are all dressed up. For the most part, once they have on their full winter attire, you can only see their little eyes, shivering in pain. Pobresitos. The other day I had to show Tania how to walk into sliding type doors. You know, the kind that go around in a circle. She really didnt know what to do when she saw it.

Now, onto my host family. I live with Cecilia. She is an elderly woman who acts much younger than you would think for her age. She lives alone out in the country side, owns a farm with several cats (oh yay!) and has an enormous family. It looks like we'll be meeting alot of her family for Christmas. Cecilia is very catholic, but she doesn't impose her views, which I like. Thelma was nervous about Cecilia being so catholic, because in Nicaragua, the Catholic and the Evagenlical church are quite divided, and Thelma is evangelical. But all is well in our house hold. I really enjoy living with her. She has a hot tub in the basement. When I say hot tub, I don't mean a bath tub with a couple jets... I mean the kind that you usually see in someone's backyard. She's really nice. It should be an awesome 3 months with her.

Currently we are in our orientation camp for the Canadian phase of the program. So we've been doing alot of touring and going to the workplacement for a visit. Also hitting up the thirft stores for possible boots for whoever needs them. Yesterday we went to 3 different museums here in Prince Albert about the history of the town, as well as the Métis people, the educational evolution and about the prisons here. We also visited some of the work placements, such as The Canadian Mental Health Association, the Salvation Army, the Forestry office, the Red Cross and the hospital. I will be working in an elementary school. I'm actually going this afternoon to meet my bosses there and find out more about what it is that I'll be doing.

For the most part, it seems like all of the Nicas are adapting well and aren't going through too much culture shock. Everyday there is someone from Nicaragua calling Thelma. I don't get any calls... no one loves me, haha. Thelma only really had one night where she was quite home sick, but she's doing just fine now. Her english is already starting to improve, which is really great. She really likes Canada.

Coming back to Canada made me realise how much I love my country. I missed it more than I realised. I love the cold weather. It's pretty much always been bellow 30 degrees here, so we've been hit pretty hard with the bone chilling cold. I missed the food. I just know I'll gain back that 10 pounds I lost in Nicaragua. But also, returning to Canada made me realise how easy we have it here and how much I love Nicaragua as well. I miss Nicaragua so much already. I can't wait to go back. Before I left, my Nicaraguan friends would tell me to never forget Nicaragua. But really, how could I ever forget it? Nicaragua has left a permanant mark on me, and I like it that way.

Toodles :)

Ari

p.s. yes, I am currently shivering.

Last post from Nicaragua

Just so all of you know, I added some new photos a couple days ago and am adding a bunch more right now. So be sure to check out my facebook. Once I get my laptop I will start putting some of my pictures on photobucket and then on this blog. Only the amazing money maker pictures. I must say, some of our pictures are pretty fan-freakin-tastic. Also, I shall soon be adding some old videos that I have collected throughout this trip. They will be on youtube and on this blog, maybe on my facebook as well. Most of these videos will be me and Alex talking.

Today is my last day in Nicaragua. Tomorrow we are leaving at 4 am for Managua. Alex and I took our last stroll all over Somoto saying goodbye to little spots that we love to hang out at. Alex took tons of pictures. Tonight I am going to church with Thelma and my family. I believe Romain and Luke will also be going. We are pretty honoured guests tonight.

Im probably going to ball my eyes out tonight. Tomorrow morning too. I think Melania is planning on coming with us Managua to see us off. Im all packed and ready to go. Canada is hours away now. Oh I cant wait, but dread it at the same time. I love Nicaragua.

Like me and Thelma always say... Lista para la guerra.

Aricake

48 hours...

Oh man... Sadness is really starting to sink in now. Tomorrow is our last day in Nicaragua. Were leaving early morning on Friday to catch our flight in Managua at 9. Im really excited for the flight just to see how the Nicas will react to their first plane ride ever. The plane from Managua to San Salvador is going to be our group and the Esteli group. Its pretty much going to only be a CWY plane.

Monday night was our Christmas dinner with all the families. We had lots of food of all kinds. We had a band come play as well.

Yesterday was the HIV Peace Corp concert. We were super busy all day and had so much fun. It was a real success. Some of the guys went to Managua yesterday to take some more artisitc photos of grafitis and political murales.

Today we have a press conference that we all must attend to. Lake, Luis Carlos, Thelma and Romain will be speaking on our behalf. They will talk about the future project of Canada World Youth in Somoto. I believe Shayne and Ruth will also say a little something. I prepared a slide show with some of our pictures to show at the press conference.

Well I best be going now. Tomorrow will be my last post from Nicaragua... tear sniff sniff....

Ari

Home Strech

Buenas tardes a todos.

This weekend was quite busy for all of us. Saturday night was the famous carnival in downtown Somoto. It was such a wicked party. Almost all of main street was closed off for the party. There were dozens of beer tents, several stages and a few food tents as well. The music was totally awesome, even though I didnt dance very much. There were people from all of the world who attended. Some Nicaraguans, Hondurans, Americans, Germans, Spaniards and, of course, Canadians! We met a couple new canadians and hung out with our Peace Corp friends. The boys bought 5 litre beer bottles, but the bar tenders only put two beers worth of beer in it at a time. you can buy seperate beers to fill it yourself after. One guy was hitting on me and asked me if I had a boyfriend. Obviously I said yes and then he proceeded to ask me where he was. So I had to get Romain to pretend to be my boyfriend. We only had our arms around eachothers waists and held hands for a few seconds... but that was enough to fend him off. Thank God. Now I owe Romain big time. I told him I would by him a beer. The carnival was so much fun. Im so glad I went. Its so different from everyday Somoto. After a while people were getting too drunk for my liking though, so Shayne walked me home at around 2:30 am. Thelma was surprised when I got home because she said thats unusually early for the carnival. I laughed. Somoto is secretly a party town I think...

Yesterday we went to Matagalpa for a short while. Its about three hours away from Somoto, so we mostly spent time in the bus. We went to someones farm and ate a ton of fruit. Then we went to Matagalpa itself and watched fireworks. Yesterday was another important day in Nicaragua, because its the day that the Virgin Marie was conceived. So we ate ice cream while watching these lovely fireworks that were litterally right over our heads. Some of the leftover flame things went into the tree next to us. That scares us a bit... understandibly, I think.

Something that I love about Somoto is that I am not treated like a tourist here as I was in Leon and Granada. Here, I am treated like a foreigner. I much prefer it that way. However, after having been here for three months, the foreigner feeling is almost gone.

Today, while I was hanging out with Thelma and Melania in the kitchen at home, I realised that my time with Melania and Elsa is very limited. I started choking back tears. Just thinking of it now is making well up. Ottawa will always be my true home, but Somoto is my second home. And the Ortiz family will always be my second family. I wish I could have the oppertunity to meet Thelmas brother, Luis Alfredo, but he isnt coming to Somoto until mid-december.

Today the Nicas are getting their criminal record check, which is essential for our work placements in Canada. We wont know what our placements are until we get there though.

As for my host family in Canada, I still refuse to tell anyone about them. Nick is the only one who knows... Nick... you better keep your mouth shut, lol.

Well, thats all for now. Hasta luego!

Ari

Anxious as hell

We are now in the last week of our first phase of the program. This means we are almost half done the program. That being said, I am extremely sad on many levels. I love Nicaragua, I love my host family and I still want to improve my spanish. After evaluation camp however, Im getting very excited for our return to the great white North. I am some what frustrated though, because some of the nicas are not excited at all and almost act like they dont care if they go to Canada or not. Im really worried that they wont like Canada and will hate this experience entirely. But lets not get ahead of ourselves here...

I am still not going to talk about my host family until I meet them in person to make a better and more elaborate post on them. I will, however, say that I am extremely excited to meet them and so is Thelma. We are very happy with what we have heard of our family and cant wait to get to Prince Albert.

Lately, Ive been thinking of all the things I miss of home. I dont want this program to end, but I cant wait to go home and see everyone that I have been missing ever so dearly. I know that talking about this experience with people from home is going to be near impossible because the truth is, none of you guys can truly understand what Im going through, what the whole group is going through. Its going to be tough seperating myself from all the nicas, let alone the canadians. The friendships Ive made here will truly last me a life time. I have learned so much from all of them and I cant imagine my life without them now.

Well, thats all for now. Later gater.

Ari

An abondance of freckels

Sorry I was in no mood for posting yesterday. Ill try to be a bit more informative and interesting today.

Well first I want to inform you about Pepita, my satanic cat. Originally, I thought she was just a kitten because she is quite tiny, but it turns out shes about 10 years old. She is currently pregnant and has had a dozen pregnancies before. Shes probably due any day now, actually. If you watch her belly closely enough, you can see her kittens are poking from the inside. Its kinda scary, but kinda cool at the same time. Thelma told me that in all her past pregnancies she has eaten all her young... is that not the most twisted thing youve ever heard or what? If Pepita gives birth while Im around and tried to eat her kittens, then I will certain seperate her from them and feed them by hand myself. I will cry and be mortified if I see her eating one of her kittens. I hope she doesnt give birth while were in Totogalpa for evaluation camp...

For the past couple weeks some of us from the group have been working on a side project for INPRHU called the Las Sabannas project. Weve been making signs for their organic shops, restaurants and cafes. Today we pretty much finished the signs, and I must say they look quite nice. Another side project is making a recycling program for INPRHU. Shayne bought a couple of barrels that they can use for disposing plastics and paper. Were going to decorate them this weekend at camp, I believe.

Once we get back from camp Thelma and I are going to start packing. Im so excited. I keep telling her that the less she brings the better. She got a pair of skate shoes from INPRHU today for Canada... oh Thelma, how we have so many things in common. There is nothing better than skate shoes in the early winter! :) I cant wait to get a fresh batch of clothes from my wardrobe. I miss my clothes.

Monday were going to have our Christmas dinner with all the families. I believe it will be a pot-luck style dinner. Thelma said we should bring ice cream from Eskimos... I miss Dairy Queen though. On the first of December, some of the canadians and some of the Nicas have volonteered to do some volonteering at an HIV concert here in Somoto. Weve made some friends here who are from the Peace Corps. They are named Jess, Matt and Katie. Matt and Jess are married and work in health education. They are the ones organising this concert. Katie works in business education, helping kids in Somoto and Yalaguina develope business and marketing skills to be able to sell their artisan products and agricultural products. They are all really awesome people.

Well I have to go now, Thelma and Toribio are waiting for me.

Hasta luego!

Ari

Next week: Saskatchewan

Well, things are wrapping up. Today was our last day at work and so tonight I need to write a bunch of reports to give in tomorrow. Im pretty excited to go back to Canada, but also quite sad that I must be leaving so soon. At least I know Im coming back relatively soon.

Thursday we have our final camp in Nicaragua. Saturday is the famous Carnival in Somoto, for which we are all quite excited. I dont know what to expect, but Thelma told me alot of people from Honduras come down to the Carnival.

I really dont know what to say today. I kind of came on to update really just for the sake of updating.

The Nicas have a few fears for the trip, such as the plane ride and the inevitable canadian cold. Some of them arent excited, which a, makes me sad, and b, makes me worried that they just wont like Canada. Thelma is pretty pumped to face what ever challenges may come her way. She knows that the first two weeks will be the hardest, just as they were for me when I first came to Somoto.

Ok I really dont have much else to say today.... sorry guys.

Adios!

Ari

Facing my fears

Everyone in this program came into with different sets of goals. Somewhere along the lines of our second month here, I decided to set a goal for myself that I would over come some of my fears and try new things that I have never tried before. For instance, a couple of months ago, I actually ate a sandwich COVERED in ketchup. It was kinda gross, and kinda painful, but I did it. And I survived... bearly. When I came here, I freaked out when I heard that there are wild dogs everywhere. At the beginning of the program, I was petrified of dogs. Now I am quite comfortable around them and I hope, that if by some chance I work at the SCPA in Canada, then Ill really be able to put this fear to the test. Finally, a huge fear of mine that Im still trying to over come, is riding a bicycle. No, I never learned how to ride a bike, but Kayla has been teaching me. I still scream alot... and I cant ride it without someone holding me, but Im almost there.

Were all working really hard down here wrapping things up, going for the home strech of our last two weeks in Nicaragua. We found out who our host families in Canada will be, but Ill talk about them another time, once Ive actually met my family.

Tonight is activity night and we are going to the cultural palace to sing and play guitar with Shayne and Ernesto, who used to be our spanish teacher.

Im getting anxious for Canada. I will really miss Nicaragua. I cant wait to come here some day. I really hope that our Nica counterparts wont hate Canada. I remember my first two weeks here were really tough. I know they will go through the same kind of phase, but I hope it wont last too long. I hope they wont be afraid of the cold, hate the english language, get sick, hate the food, etc. Obviously it will be a huge cultural shock for them, but I hope they will learn to love Canada, just as I have learned to love Somoto and Nicaragua.

I cant express how happy I am that my community is Somoto and Totogalpa. After all the other cities weve visited, I really wouldnt want to live anywhere other than Somoto. I love working in the country side of Totogalpa. Sure, Leon and Granada are big beautiful cities, but if I lived there, I would always be treated as a tourist. In Somoto, Im not treated so much as a tourist as I am a foreigner. Thats the way I like it. Although, I am getting annoyed with being whistled at all the time and cat called because Im a tall white girl. All part of the culture though. It will be nice to go back to my own customs. I have learned so much here though. And I cant imagine living my life without the things I have learned here and the lessons I have learned from the amazing people I have met. Before I came here, I was dreading the reality that I would soon be turning 20 years old. That I would no longer be a teenager, a young person without responsibility. But thanks to this experience, I can except growing up so much more now. And so I will face my fear of finally becoming an adult... but God knows Ill always be young at heart.

Catch you later :)

Ari

Me gusta la playa y los zapatos!!! MAAAHH!

It is my belief that all girls have one materialistic desire, no matter the cost. Mine is makeup and Thelmas is shoes. Dear lord does this girl have shoes. Her aunt Noemi, who lives in New York came down to Somoto this weekend while we were away and brought Thelma and Melania some new clothes and oodles of shoes. They had alot to being with, but now our house is swamped with shoes. The girls always wish they could lend me some of these gorgeous tresors, but the truth is, my feet are too big and too deformed for the luxury of nice stilletos. Oh how I miss my pumps.

The beach this weekend was absolutely divine. It was my first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean and yay for no jelly-fish! The resort was absolutely gorgeous. Our rooms were so well air conditionned. I took my first hot shower all trip and man oh man was it ever wonderful. I would recommend this resort to anyone. We figured out today that to fly from Toronto to Managua and back is only 600$ including taxes. Mega cheep, no? And to stay at Montelimar is only 130$ for two a night. Think about it. Its well worth it. We went to a really funny drag show and night. We were too tired to go to the disco though, but no one was really there, so no harm done. The beach itself is gorgeous with nice lounging chairs and hammocks everywhere. I enjoyed the food. Not only is the buffet delish, but there is also a "make-your-own-pasta" bar where you can choose the sauce, the meat or vegies in the sauce and the pasta. Sooooo good. There is also a zoo, that I didnt get a chance to visit, but Thelma said its very nice as well. The rooms and cabanas were very nice and comfortable. Its an overall awesome hotel.

Yesterday was also Thelmas birthday. For lunch, the staff from the hotel brought her a nice big cake with a candle. She told me it was the best birthday of her whole life. That made me pretty happy. She is now 22 years old.

When we went over to Granada and Leon we were only able to stay for a short time. Granada is extremely touristy, which isnt something Im used to, because Somoto is so tiny. I had an empty can of pringles in my hands and so many kids grabbed it from me trying to get a chip, and made the most angry faces when they realised that it was empty. That made me pretty frustrated. We went to the Lake of Nicaragua, which is in Granada and I got to dip my feet in it (just for you mom) and I can tell you it was quite polluted. We then visited Catarina, which is another touristy town. It has an amazing Mirador that we all got to see. What a stunning view. On our way back from Montelimar, we stopped in Leon. Leon is also very big and touristic, but not as bad as Granada. However, the prices for the souvenirs in Leon were outrageous and Thelma hardly let me buy from there unless she could get me a good bargain. Leon and Granada have beautiful archetechture, but I must say, I much prefer my small and quaint Somoto. I managed to get a few souvenirs, but not very much. We are going to Matagalpa this weekend, so I plan to finish my shopping there.

I would like to make an announcement to the world that I am, for the first time in my whole life, TANNED. I compared my arm to Melanias arm and we are the same colour. YES THATS RIGHT!

Today has been a pretty lazy day at home. We got back late last night, so I pretty much slept all day. Thelma and I went through all the clothes that she is planning on bringing to Canada. We are both getting so excited. Only 15 days left in Nicaragua! Its coming up fast. Next week we have evaluation camp. We are going to discuss about what the Nicas can expect in Canada, evaluating our work and such. Should be nice. We are also planning a nicaraguan christmas dinner with our families, seeing as how we arent going to be with them for Christmas. Were going to have a nice photo slide show to show our parents.

I have alot of photos to put on facebook, but bear with me for just a bit longer. I also have many videos that I want to post on youtube and on my blog, and possibly will be posted on facebook as well.

Well, I suppose thats all for now. :)

Ari

Montelimar MAÑA!!!

Forgive my neglegence of late. Weve been mega busy over here and there have been alot of power outs lately, so I have had much time for internet cafes. I have so many things to catch up on here. Oh boy.

Well some good news for you guys. The Nicas got their visas this week! So now were all really starting to get mega stoked for Canada. Thelma and I have been going through all the clothes she wants to bring with her and tells me how she will miss her other clothes. Man, do I sympathise. I can wait to get a whole new bunch of clothing when we get to Toronto. And I cant wait to get my macbook! MAAAH! My camera's memory card is almost full.

Next week is our last full week in Nicaragua. After that we have evalutation camp and then we have only a few days in December and then Adios Nicaragua! Thelma is so excited, but shes sad because shes leaving her boyfriend. Yes, I know how that feels. Being away from my significant other is hard sometimes. But were almost half way done the program.... which is scary. Time flies.

All this week there has been a hurricane in Nicaragua. Hurricane Ida, I believe? It hit mainly the east coast, which are the tropics of Nicaragua. Somoto is up in the mountains. Thank God for that, otherwise we would die of heat I think... The weather here now is actually much cooler than it was in September. Im worried Im going to freeze my bum off when I get back to Canada. Im kind of excited though.

In the beginning of this program, I had so much trouble adjusting to the food, but now I truly love it. Im going to miss plantane and gallo pinto and rosquilla cookies. Its kinda crazy how things like that happen.

Tomorrow were going to Montelimar. We are all so excited. Montelimar is known as one of the nicest beaches in all of Latin America. All inclusive, 24 hour buffet, gorgeous beach and swim up bars. Should be an awesome time for us all. Were also going to Granada and Leon, which are known as the colonial cities of Nicaragua. Lots of shopping for souvenirs and such down there. I must buy myself a shot glass for my collection! I also really want a hammock for my future appartement when I get back home.

Spanish is coming along quite well. I understand most people when they speak to me. I can have conversations in spanish, but my grammar is still God awful. I can hardly conjugate in the past tense and I cant at all in future tense. Pittyful, no? Oh well.

Send me more comments guys! I always love to hear from you all! Remember, anyone can post now. You dont need a blogger account to do so.

Well thats all I have for now. I promise I wont take so long next time.

Ari

Shalala laaaahhhh

I realise that it has been quite some time since I have made a really thorough post. And seeing as how lost has happened in the past couple of days, why not make a thorough one today. Lets just hope I have enough time to do so. Here we go!

Well Saturday was Halloween. Halloween is recongnized mostly as an American holiday I believe, but the truth is that they celebrate it all over the world, its just not as commercial as it is in the States and in Canada. There were two big parties happening at two of the clubs here in Somoto. One of them was a costume party, which took place at El Colonial. Ruth´s daughter went dressed up as a tree. The other party, at El Exclusivo, was not a dress up party, however it was still festively decorated and there was a costume contest, for which Shayne was one of the judges, hahahaha. We went to El Exclusivo, mostly because none of us really bothered to pack a halloween costume for this program. We had lots of fun, even though of course us white girls got harrassed alot, but thats nothing new. Were used to it at this point. (When I say harrassed, I mean asked by every single young man to dance, nothing more). I always kept Luis Carlos close to be my protector. Lake had actually gotten trapped by a local Nica girl and was stuck dancing with her for a while. The other boys didnt help him, they just laughed at him. Finally, I stepped in and she was pretty scared of me, so she backed off and left Lake alone. I have that effect on other women... dont know why. So Lake went and yelled at the other Canadian boys "WHY DIDNT YOU SEND ARIANE SOONER???" What can I say?

On a different note, Yanine (Alex´s counter part) had a pregnant dog who gave birth to 6 puppies about 2 weeks ago. Alex and Kayla were there for the birth and said it was pretty gnarly. Kayla has the birth of one of the puppies on video tape... I dont know why... Kayla and Alex named all the puppies, and I must say, the names fit them all very well. The two biggest and Ying and Yang. They are twin brother and sister. These puppies are part rotweiler (sorry dont know how to spell that), and Ying and Yang are the only two puppies of the litter that have the rotweiler white patches. Ying is a lighter brown and Yang is black. They are always together, which is why their names are perfect. Another one is named Rudolph. He is completely brown with a red nose. The first puppy that started walking was named Forest, of course. Forest is completely black. The runt was named Charlie, because he is a nice chocolatey brown. Charlie unfortunately died yesterday, while Kayla was trying to feed him. They burried him in Yanine´s backyard beside a tree with a bunch of stone to make a pretty little grave. The last one is the blackest with a small spot of white on his chest. His ears tend to stick up all pointy. His name is Spock. Of course, Spock is my favorite. Thelma is worried that Melania is going to be lonely when she goes to Canada, so Thelma is going to adopt Spock for Melania. Im a little worried however that our cat, Pepita, who is the spawn of Satan, is going to try and rip Spock apart. Hopefully Spock will be bigger than Pepita in no time though. Yanine is probably going to keep Rudolph and Ying. Tania, who is Kayla´s counter part, will be taking Yang, which works perfectly because Yanine and Tania are the best of friends too. I believe Enmanuel, who is Romain´s counter part, will be getting Forest. So all of these adorable puppies will be going to a nice home. Yay!

In other news, yesterday was the Day of the Dead, which really has no relation at all to Halloween, in case you were wondering. Its one day of the year where everyone in Nicaragua go buy flowers and visit the graves of their relatives. I expected this to be a very sad and dreary holiday, but it was actually quite cheery and festive. The graveyard here is nothing like the ones in Ottawa. The ones in Ottawa are so bleek and dark and tragic. The one in Somoto is so bright and colourful. Thelma doesnt have any family in the Somoto cemetary, but we went to visit Luis Carlos´ family and Jorge´s family as well, I believe. Afterwards I took Thelma and Melania out for ice cream at Eskimo´s. Ironicly enough, the Day of the Dead is also the anniversary of my Nana´s death... unless I am mistaken, but I dont think I am... right Mom? D: Then at night we hung out with the puppies and a bunch of us went over to the Mirador and had a pop.

Another big thing in Somoto has been the basketball tournement. INPRHU has a team in the basketball tourney and Shayne was a player. We made it really far into the playoffs, but we lost Sunday in the last game of the semi-finales. They played very well though. Shayne can be pretty intense when he wants to be. My friend Charon, who works for INPRHU and also speak really great english, also plays on the basketball team. The faces he makes sometimes when he plays make him look like a ferocious chiwawa or something... partially because he shows he teeth alot, but also because hes like 5"4.... yes its weird to see something that short play on a basketball team. But hes a good player, I assure you.

Yesterday, Thelma also took me to the piece of land that she will inherit when she gets married... which is in May.... which shocked me when she told me. Its really nice, even though is really far from town it seems. She shares this land with Melania, but I dont think Melania is anywhere near ready to get married. Thelma told me she wants to go wedding dress shopping in Canada. I hope we can find something nice and inexpensive for her. She deserves a gorgeous dress. Alex and myself are planning on coming back to Nicaragua in May, just for Thelma´s wedding! WOO! :)

Well this afternoon Im going to work in the country side. So I best be going now I suppose. This is a huge post. I hope you all got your fix, haha.

Ari

5 weeks left! AAHHH!!!

First things first. Lake has decided to stop posting and I believe he deleted the posts he did write. So I guess youll all have to live with just little old me! By the way, I changed the settings so that now anyone can post comments on my posts without having a blogger account.

Well, lets see. I cant remember when was the last time I posted, so Ill just wing this one, ok?

This weekend Vlad came to visit us and he left this morning. I think he enjoyed his stay. We will be seeing him again in our Canadian phase.

On Sunday we had a massive all day power outtage so Thelma decided to bring me along to work with her and Alex. Luke, Kayla and Josue were there also. Vlad tagged along to see what it is that we do for our jobs. We had alot of fun and got some time to chit chat with Vlad. Later that night we had a birthday party but I did not attend because I had work to do on my EAD.

So yesterday was my EAD on Being Human and Gender. It went quite well and I am pleased that its all over an done with. We had a guest speaker and a movie in the morning about domestic violence. Then in the afternoon we went to Los Pipitos, which is a centre for kids with disabilities. Afterwards, I organised and facilitated an activity I created for the group. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day.

This morning Thelma had dental surgery. I believe she had one of her wisdom teeth removed, but Im not entirely certain. I have plenty of experience with that though... I had to convince her to put ice on her cheek. Gawd...

Tomorrow is Alex and Yanines EAD on youth volounteer work. Im pretty excited to see what thats going to be about.

Well thats all I have to report for now. Talk to you all soon.

Aricake

Long time no see

PICTURES ON FACEBOOK NOW!

Alright so I havent been on in forever, and quite a bit has gone down, so lets get to it.

The concert last week was a bit of a flop... actually it was entirely a flop. We didnt make any money. The Nicas were really stressed out because they now knew it was going to be impossible to get money for their medical exams in order to get their visas for Canada. (No they still dont have them and we only have 6 weeks left). Thelma was extremely worried, because although she had enough american money to get her medical exam, most of the other Nicas did not. And Thelma would feel horrible going to Canada if not everyone could come along. Surely enough, INPHRU was able to help, and the great stress has been greatly relieved. Today all the Nicas left early this morning for Managua to get their medical exams. Its hard to deal with this kind of stuff because Canada doesnt have an embassy in this country, so weve been dealing with the one in Guatemala. I dont really understand why there is only one doctor in all of Nicaragua who is recognized by the Canadian governement to do medical exams for visas. Rediculous? I think so.

We also went to the Cañon, which was so much fun. Were hoping to go back sometime soon.

My EAD is on Monday and Im a little stressed because thats the one that Vlad is coming to. Its shaping up to be an overall interesting day though. I hope he likes it...

Weve starting planning what well be doing when we get to Canada and discussing about our new host families. Im very excited to seeing all for seeing the Nicas reactions to Canada, the cold, the plane ride, the snow, etc.

I have to go, Alex is nagging me...

laturrr

Ah got mah swim trunks, AND MAH FLIPPY FLOPPIES

Hola muchachos,

Camp this weekend was alot of fun. We did alot of really cool exercises and alot of counterpart bonding. We each had to write a letter to eachothers counterpart... let me tell you it was emotional for me to read Thelmas letter to me. We also were encouraged to discuss everything weve been feeling about the experience so far. Thelma and I almost started crying together. We are extremely close and as we talked about the day we had to seperate, we almost lost control of our emotions. Thelma told me Im a tolerant person, which is the first time I have ever heard anything of the sort. I really do love my latin sister, even though we have trouble understanding eachother sometimes, I still think that we are one of the best counterpart matches in the history of CWY.

Have I ever mentionned tortillas? Well, tortillas are essential to the Nica diet. Making tortillas is truly an art. I finally managed to make some without them being totally lopsided or something. So proud!

This Saturday the Nicas are organising a concert as a fund raiser for their trip to Canada as well as money for the doctor they need to see before leaving Nicaragua. It should be really great and Im hoping that they will be able to raise quite a bit of money. It looks like Ill be doing everyone makeup that night too... I bought myself a special outfit for the occasion as well.

This weekend Kayla taught everyone how to make friendship bracelets. I have made them in years, and we had so much fun. Thelma is addicted to making them actually, so I may have to go find an industrial quantity and teach her how to make different patterns. I learned how to make a couple of different patterns myself actually. Really awesome.

Some people may be wondering how much weight have I lost? Well, Ive defenitly lost my freshman 15. All of Thelmas friends have been telling me how thin I look. Yay for me. Kayla also lost alot of weight, but thats partially because she was really sick at one point and basically lost 5 pounds over night. I just know that Im totally going to put on all the weight I lost back on when we get to Canada... urgh.

On Sunday, the Social Cultural commitee has planned a day trip to the famous Cañon of Somoto. Its essentially a huge river and a waterfall. Ive heard its beautiful and I cant wait to go swimming. I hope the weather will cooperate that day. Everyone will get to see my amazingly white stomach and thighs! Woo! Gosh, the skin on my stomach is so pale that its practicly fluorecent... Oh well!

Well thats all for now folks. Ta ta!

Ari

Ariane the tarantula

Luke posted a couple pictures on his blog if any of you are interested.

www.nicaraguamaloney.blogspot.com

Alright so heres the lastest story.

Jorge, who is Lakes counter part, is a tank. He trained to be a boxer, and although he is quite skinny, hes very strong and tough, and kind of a macho man. Anyway, outside of Lake´s bedroom, there was a tarantula crawling around. Jorge caught it and now keeps it as a pet. Its a Pico Cabayo, which means it bites horses and cripples them for life. They are extremely dangerous. Jorge decided to name his new pet Ariane, after me. He says its because it looks like me and we have the same personality: scary. How lovely.

Yesterday half of the Esteli group was in Somoto and we got to see them for a few minutes. I met Adrian, who replaced another girl who had to the leave the program. It was nice to seem them and meet some of their counter parts. Ben, their supervisor, stayed the night in Somoto. Supervisors are allowed to take days off, even though they never really seem to. So Ben´s trip to Somoto was his day off I suppose.

Tomorrow were going to half way camp in Tepochcalli for 3 days. I will be cooking canadian breakfasts both mornings, which entails French Toast and Ham and Cheese omelettes! Ill make a veggie omelette for Lake though, haha. Last night I actually made scrambled eggs for Thelma. She couldnt believe how good and simple it was to make haha.

My EAD got moved up to a couple weeks from now, so me and Thelma are starting to stress a bit. But I think itll be under control.

Ive been thinking alot about what I was to do when I ¨grow up¨ since Ive been here. So many new ideas for job oppertunities that I never knew about before. As time has been going on, Ive been trying to paint a picture of my life in the next 10 years. Of course, everything is very much subject to change. I know that I would first like to finish my bachelors before I take any more time off for travelling. I dont think I want to do a foreign exchange with school anymore, but who knows. I would still very much like to teach english in Japan or South Korea when I finish my bach. I also would some how like to fit the SWAP program somewhere in there, hopefully to either do the Australia/New-Zealand program or the England/Ireland program. For future jobs though, I think I would very much like to work for CWY maybe as a supervisor when I am older, or eventually a project manager. I do very much have the intention of being an active almuni member when I am done my program.

anywho.... Im off.

Ari

Yummy truck rides!

Buenas!

Its been a while eh?

Last week the whole Joel thing got resolved, which I am extremely pleased about. Martha, Shayne and Ruth had a talk with him and his boss. Im not surprised that the whole situation was a misunderstanding and a language problem. Joel wanted to personally apologize to me. I would like to apologize as well, I really didnt want to get him into any trouble.

Last week we went to a dance class and learned a bit about Nicaraguan traditional dancing. After that we had a game night, filled with card games and laughter. On Friday, Thelma and I braided Michels hair. Michel has long hair, down to his waist. It took us 6 hours to do. Our fingers were cramping like mad and Michel totally had a stiff neck. It was well worth it though, I think. He really likes it too.

Our half way camp got moved up to this weekend, so forgive me if I dont update again for a while. Im still not sure about the sex ed thing. It doesnt really seem necessary to me, considering were all over 17. Sex ed usually takes place in ones life around 8th grade.

Ive discovered the only way to protect my hair from the crazy wind when we ride in the back of the trucks is to wear my scarf on my head. People have been telling me I look like a gypsy wearing this thing. I dont mind looking like a gypsy, however it does remind of that girl, whos name was Gyspy, in Charlie Mansons "family"...yeaaahhh

Saturday and Sunday this weekend I went to church with Thelma and Melania. On Sunday there was a baptism and Thelma and Josue became the godparents! Romain is under the impression that Thelmas pastor may be trying to convert him... I think he may be right... but oh well! I really dont mind going to church. Im planning on going to the Catholic church on thursday with Jorge and Carmen. Itll be a nice change I think. I told Thelma for Christmas well go to the french catholic church in Prince Albert. Shayne reassured me that there is a french catholic community in Prince Albert. Halleluia!

Yesterday was Vero´s 19th birthday. We havent planned a celebration yet though. Yesterday was also the first EAD. It was Romain and Enmanuel´s EAD and their topic was history. It was very interesting. We had 2 guest speakers, a documentary movie and a field trip to the catholic church as well as the evangelical church (which is Thelma´s church).

Today we went to work and had lots of fun with the kids today. Usually our Tuesday sessions can be a bit tedious, but today we made sure to have some really great activities. Also, there was only a fraction of the kids who showed this afternoon... it was much easier to work with that smaller group than our usually massive group. Today I realised how Thelma and Carmen are really natural born leaders and have a talent for working with youth. All of us believe that they should be teachers. However, Carmen is studying to become a pharmacist (she actually had mid-terms this weekend) and Thelma went to university for secretarial work (or something like that...). I wouldnt be surprised if Thelma one day ended up working for INPHRU. Shes a pretty special lady.

Well thats all for now. Im trying to get Lake to post... No promises though...

Hasta la vista!

Aricake

Galletas

Hola chicos,

Weve been pretty busy these past few days. Hummm where to begin?

Well, a couple of days ago we made chocolate chip cookies. It was sooo much fun. We first found a recepie that didnt require baking soda, then we went grocerie shopping, then we went back to my casa to make them. We made them over a cement fire, because we dont have an oven at my house. We made them in a frying pan... and we also didnt have a mesuring cup. On top of that, chocolate chips dont seem to exist in Somoto, so we bought chocolate bars and just folded the cookies with the chocolate inside. They were by far the worst cookies in the world. They essentially tasted like fried sugar and butter... which is exactly what they were. The nicas seemed to like them for the most part. I told everyone before they ate one that they were made with LOVE and that they NEED to love our cookies otherwise I would have hated them forever. Romain thought they were so gross that he almost starting crying after his first bite. He didnt even finish his cookie. His excuse was that as a french man (yes Romain is actually from France, btw) he could only eat good food. I smacked him... I gave the leftovers to a couple of kids... let me tell you they were extremely hyper... I almost regret giving those to them.

Last night, Lake, Luke, Romain and Josue decided to all shave their heads. Lakes hair is the longest... its like a 4. Same with Josue. Luke got a 2, and it was his first time ever having his hair that short. Romain on the other hand went skin head. It was pretty shocking at first. It does suit him. He told me that his hair grows so fast that in 2 weeks from now his hair will be the same length as Lukes is now. Kayla wanted to shave her head too, but she refrained because she wants to donate her hair. I hope Romain doesnt get a sunburn on his scalp... Luke is still really not used to it, but he likes it.


Today is October 1st, which means, we have already completely a month of our program. Im a third done in Nicaragua, which makes me sad and happy at the same time. Im really looking forward to being able to speak english all the time, looking forward to the cold weather and the snow, and looking forward to being able to cook for Thelma. But I will miss Nicaragua dearly. I have a feeling that I will return someday. Hopefully for Thelmas wedding.... or something. Melania is planning to do CWY with the future projects that come to Somoto. I really hope she does. I know she would love Canada. Thelma and Melania are such amazing girls, they deserve so much more than what they have.


Wow this is a huge post eh?....

In two weeks were going to have our mid-session camp. Knowing were almost half way done is terrifying. In our camp we have different activities to take care of. I was sick when everyones activities was appointed to them. I was given sex ed. HELL YES. Exactly what I would have asked for if I was there. Im facilitating sex ed with Lake, Romain and Yanine. It should be a fun time. Vero suggested that we should have a slide show of positions. I think Shayne would hate us forever if we did that though. Hhahahaha.

I dont know if Ive ever mentionned EADs on here. Well, EADs or Educational Activity Days are mandatory of every program in both phases. Each couple of counter parts are given a topic in their foreign country and in their Canadian community and must present this to the group. Ideally we need to incorperate activities. The themes include History, Environment, Government, Health, etc. Thelma and I were given Being Human and Gendre. This was my first choice, so I was uber excited. Were already planning a trip to a youth center for kids with handicaps for our EAD. Im hoping to also get a guest speaker from the mayors office, and maybe go to a womens help centre... My EAD isnt until November 9th, which is one of the last ones. Romain and Enmanuel have History, so their EAD is the first... Its next week. And we only got our topics last week. So Romain and Enmanuel have been cramming and making alot of phone calls.

Well thats a huge post. Sorry if you guys are bored by now.

Adios!

Aricake

Quickie

Hola,

I dont really want to spend much time online today, I have to go to my spanish lesson in a few minutes, so here we go.

Not much to update on since my last post. Yesterday was Melanias 18th birthday. She invited some of the canads with their nica counterparts to come to our casa for a huuuuge feast. She also invited half her church. Its crazy how she managed to get that many people in our tiny house. For dinner I took her and Thelma out for pizza. It was soooo good. But the girls made me eat most of it... Afterwards we had a movie night at Josue´s casa and we watched Watchmen. Next week were going to watch the Matrix. Were also planning an eventual Star Wars-athon. Only the old ones , of course.

Yesterday it poored all afternoon. I wore a hoodie for the first time all trip. It was nice to be all bundled up instead of being nasty and sweaty for a change... We got home pretty late. And I was a little sick when I got home too.

Im convinced that my mosquito net that I sleep with is muy useless. Everyday I wake up with new bug bites all over myself. Its annoying. I almost want Malaria though, just to say I survived Malaria. hahahaha....

Ive been looking into my future travel plans after this trip and there are so many options. Im really hoping my mom gets that wicked job with NATO so that a) I have a reason to go to Europe and have a cheap way of going there and b) to have NATO pay me an apartement when I get back. Also, Ive been really interested in the SWAP program. I would do that instead of a foreign exchange with school like I had planned. Alex and myself were thinking of doing is together. Doing one of the two-in-one programs like Ireland and England or Australia and New-Zealand. Personally, I would rather do Australia and New-Zealand. I would love it if Nick would come with me, but the reality is that wannabe med-students and med-students arent allowed to get time off.... And well... I would like to finish my B.A. eventually.

www.swap.ca (just because I know my mom is curious)

Well thats all for now.

Later gater,

Ari

p.s. I love you Nick (there happy? hahahaha)

Grilled Cheese

So pretty much everytime I make a post, I soon realise after Ive finished paying for the internet how many things I had forgotten to mention. So today I will try to be as thorough as possible. Wish me luck....

First of all, I would like to make a list of things that I will never take for granted again.

1. Clean Water. The nicas drink their own water, but I do not dare. Its crazy how troublesome it is to go out of ones way to get some water...
2. My blow dryer. I miss having nice hair.
3. Light bulb. Everyones house has fluorencent lights. It sucks.
4. Winter. Winter means no dying of heat, but more importantly no bugs!!!
5. Baths. Oh man...
6. Cheese. I miss Brie and Cheddar so damn much. Oh man... my mouth is watering.

Ok onward ho.

So I guess I should give an update of recent events. A friend of mine from high school died last Friday from severe brain cancer. I can tell you he was a fighter and a true champ. I will always remember him.

Yesterday I went to work for the first time. I work in a community called Caldera. Its kind of far from Somoto. I technicly work in the outskirts of Totogalpa and the office I work at is in Tepochtcali, also in Totogalpa. The work I do is mostly diagnostic work. Meaning I go to Caldera and figure out what this community needs to make more money. INPHRU has given all of us a mission. 94% of people who live in the country side do not have the oppertunity to go to university and make a good living for themselves. INPHRU essentially wants us to propose a plan in order to break this cycle. They will put this plan in action over the next 4 years. Probably with the next 4 groups of CWY who come to Somoto. Caldera is trying to promote mostly the making of straw mats and fruit such as pineapple. I only really spent an hour or so there yesterday. When we get to Prince Albert though, our work there will be way more a-la-Katimavik. We actually have work placements and partners such as the Red Cross, the hospital, the rehab centre, etc. I dibs the SPCA. Im really excited for that.

Life at home has been good. Ive been adjusting very well to Nica life. I can have full conversations in broken spanish now. Its pretty awesome. Last night when I got I was craving a grilled cheese. And Thelma had bought some processed cheese too. So I made myself one. The first bite I took sent me straight back to my childhood. I melted with the cheese in my mouth. I gave Thelma a bite. She loved it. This was the first time I had cooked for myself all trip.

So we´ve been going back and forth to the mayors office trying to make some contacts for ourselves. So far we have met the deputy Mayor as well as the enviromental sector of the mayor office. We met a lady named Tania, and she is our main contact in the office. Yesterday we got to go to the landfill in Somoto. Its a shame really.

Another thing is that our group has been seperate into 5 commitees. Language commitee, Social Cultural Commitee, Health and Sports commitee, Enviroment commitee and the Media commitee. I am on the Social Cultural commitee (I know some of you arent surprised). Our main task is birthday parties. Last weekend was Shayne and Yanines birthday. So we had a two in one party and it was a huge success. Other tasks of mine include dance classes, organising a canadian dinner for the nicas and some trips we may be taking outside of Somoto. Were maybe planning on going to Esteli to visit the other group next week.

There is one thing that I always forget to mention on the blog. Its our infamous truck rides. I have a video of this, but I cant post is just yet. The way we all get to work or travel around to short distances is riding in the back of a truck. Sometimes standing. Sometimes sitting down. Usually when were standing we all have to look out for eachother because its extremely easy to get a branch in the face.

We get spanish classes twice a week. We also take turns teaching english at the Intensive School of English. Tonight I am Shaynes supply teacher, so I will teach the Nicas english with Luke. Last night Lake tought english to the Nicas...he made them call him Mr. Khera... OH PLEASE.

My foot is almost healed completely. I will forever remember Nicaragua, because it will be on my foot...

By the way, me and Alex have decided were going to Australia and New-Zealand together. AND, in November, INPHRU is paying us a vacation at an all inclusive resort next to the pacific. WOOOO!!! Alex and I will be paying our counter parts a hot rock massage. Teehee.

gotta go,
later gater,

Aricake

Ajusting at last

Hola,


Although I still speak very broken spanish, Im really starting to intergrate quite well. Obviously, I am much paler than all the nicas, and I still stick out like a sore thumb. But Im not feeling depressed and home sick all the time like I did when I first moved in to Thelmas house. At first it was very difficult for me to be seperated from the other canads because it made me feel very lost and severed. Now I feel very confident all the time. Its strange for me now when Im not with Thelma. Me and her are getting quite close. Everyone in the group is attached at the hip to their counter parts. Nonetheless, I am still much closer with some of the canads, probably because we all speak the same language, and we all sympathise with eachother. Were all in this crazy experience together. Im closest with Alex and Lake I would say. I love all the others, but Alex and Lake get me on a different level. Especially Alex, seeing as how I can have real girl talk with her. It strange how me and Alex are polar opposites in values and personalities, but we are closer than sisters. Weve already made plans for visiting eachother after this program is done. She lives way out in Tofield, Alberta, which is close to Edmonton.

Speaking of which, I dont know if Ive mentionned this yet, but me and Lake have decided that were going to France and possibly Jordan together. When I told his parents we wanted despreately to go to Versaille, his dad said maybe theyll join us. That would rock my socks. On top of that, Lake and myself have already made road trip plans to visit Luke, Catherine, Veronique and Michel, who are all from our group and live relatively close to us. Michel being the fartherest, hes from Quebec City. Luke and Catherine go to Ottawa U, same as me. So Ill be certainly seeing them in the future after this program is done. Vero lives in Montreal. I go to Montreal pretty often, so Im sure Ill be seeing her again sometime. Romain lives way out in Victoria and Kayla lives all the way in Summer Side, PEI. Weve already started cringing at the idea that in 6 months well all have to split. Possibly never see our dear nicas again. Weve already all invited ourselves to eachother weddings too.

Well I have to go now. I meant to get pictures up today but I didnt work. Ill try at another internet cafe. Talk to you soon. If Lake doesnt post soon I will ground him. Haaha.

Later gater,

Aricake

Aricakes yucky foot

Dear Home,

So I wasnt allowed to go to work Friday because of my foot. Ruth (our nicaraguan supervisor, and Shaynes counter part) saw my foot on friday just before the bus came to get me and she dragged me to the doctors. He said my foot was mega infected, even though it didnt look like it to me. Ive been taking anti-biotics for a few days now. I have to say, it was extremely infected. It looks so nasty now that all the grossness is coming out. But my foot feels alot better. In a couple days I should be fine. Im going to work on Wednesday.

Today is a holiday, so almost all the internet cafes were closed. There was a parade this morning. I think its independance day or something...

On Saturday night, Thelmas church invited the group to go to mass. It was alot of fun. Her pastor blessed our group and our trip. They have really good music. Thelma is the soloist singer. Shes really amazing.

Yesterday we went to the river, which is close to the famous canon in Somoto. I didnt go swimming because of my foot.

For those of you who havent heard yet, I have completely stopped wearing makeup, which is a huge deal. I only really wear for special occasions. So yeah.

My new nickname in the group is Aricake... In Toronto, for some reason Lake wrote his L like a C, and then he stuck his name tag under mine, so it made Aricake. Yep, Aricake.

I have so many pictures, I really want to post them, but I still dont know when I will. I have some videos as well. Im going to make a huge montage at the end of this trip, Im sure. I might try to add pictures later this week, but dont count on it.

Well thats all for now, later gater,

Aricake

Rice and Beans

Hello hello,

So things have been getting easier and harder at the same time over here. I can follow a person speaking spanish quite well now. Everything here is completely different than it is back home. Alex and I called home last night and we were talking about how its impossible to describe what were going through to our families. Nicaragua is insanely slow passed compared to home. The Nicas walk very slow compared to us. Being late is no big deal. There isnt a real concept of time here. I get up everyday around 7 or 9 and go to bed at around 8. Being culture shocked is very exhausting.

Today I met my new boss, Joel. I dont know how I got lucky enough to get the good looking supervisor hahaha. Hes a little too short for my taste though. Hes really nice. Hes Alanys (one of our nicas) cousin. Everyone knows everyone here. Especially Thelma. She introduces me to new people all the time. Saturday I think the whole group has been invited to her church to go hang out.

Next Wednesday we will be meeting the Canadian Ambassador. We need to be on our best behavior because we need to get work visas for the nicas. Things like that make me feel so official. There have been quite a few occasions already where the canads have been put on the spot haha. I had to dance thriller at the Festival de Mais. It was muy embarrassing.

Even though the group doesnt live together, we spend most of our time together. I dont always feel comfortable in Thelmas house. I dont know why. Its hard to be seperate from everyone. I always feel very alone when I dont have at least one canadian with me.

I slid down a mountain the other night. I almost broke my foot. It just tore open the flesh and the bone is probably bruise, but no biggy. Lots of gause and polysporen woot. It looks pretty nasty though haha.

Tomorrow I start my job with Carmen. Shes another nica. I really love her. I wanted to live with her, but it wasnt meant to be. Im glad we get to work together though.

I have to go now. Lake is infront of me. He better be updating too... or else! By the way... Lakes nickname in the group is Princess or Princesa en español. teehee Yes, it was my idea.

later gater,

Ari

Spanglish much?

Dear home,

I miss you. I have never miss winter so much in my entire life. Yes I already have a few sunburns. Why didnt I think of packing after burn? Gawdddd.... Orientation camp with los Nicas (the nicaraguans) was really cool. They are all such warm and friendly people. All of los chicos (the boys) are true gentlemen. The girls have a bit more difficulty speaking english, but they are all learning quite quickly. So are we in fact... I speak enough spanish now to get by. I still wish I hadnt forgotten my spanish book in ottawa though... grrr. One of the girls, Alex, brought an electronic translator. Its the handiest thing in the world!

If you want to read Alexs blog its www.alexs-escapades.blogspot.com

So far this has been an emotional roller coaster ride. Everytime I think about home I choke back my tears. Especially when I think about Nick. I miss him. I miss my mommy, my bed and my air conditionning. Im gunna buy a couple of fans for my host family I think. This country is so poor. An iPod is about 30$ american here. I think Ill buy another one for the sake of it being so damn cheap! Ill give it to my brother probably... Hes like the only person I know who doesnt have and iPod lol. I miss my Nick Lang as well. Last night we were out in the park and I caught a wiff of weed... I only thought my favorite Nick Lang. I know he probably misses me too.

Youre probably dying to hear about the living conditions and such. Well... My counter parts name is Thelma. I thought that she would be outside of her home town, but Im actually living in her home with her family. Shes 22. I live with her sister Melania and her grandmother Estha. I live in a semi-mud hutt. I have an out-house. There is no hot showers, which is something that doesnt bother me at all. Its so bloody hot here that frankly, cold showers are always just what the doctor ordered. I live with her because she the only one of all the girls who doesnt have a dog. She has a kitten who is scared of me haha. My bed is essentially wood with a blanket... I did my laundry by hand for the first time in my life this morning. It was actually alot of fun. I just put on my music and get er done. Its kind of an escape almost.

It been really hard for all of us so far to ajust to the culture. Its exhausting. One of the guys is strongly considering going home. If things dont get better for him by next week, I think hell be buying a ticket back to canada. He hasnt stopped crying since we got to Somoto. Last night the whole group hung out at a park and played basketball. I had to cling myself to Lake to grasp reality again. He could tell I was slowly losing my mind. Im no where near as bad as some of the others though.

I have to go. My time is up...

Ill be back soon, I live close to the internet cafe.

I love you all and miss you dearly.

Ari

tomorrow is the big day

I can't believe it. First thing tomorrow morning we will be going to the airport. We don't have a direct flight to Nicaragua however. We will be stopping in El Salvador first!!!! Woo! Another country I can sorta cross off my list. After we have a flight to Managua (the capital of Nicaragua) and we will be taking a bus to Somoto and dropping off the Esteli group as well. It's kinda sad that we've gotten close with the other group and tomorrow will be the last day we see them for 3 months (until our flight to Saskatchewan). But you can only imagine all the things we'll have to talk about on that flight!

I'm sorry if there are typos. I hate PCs... I miss my Macbook... :(. This keyboard is especially rediculous though.

So yesterday and today the departement of international affairs came to talk to us about our integration and culture into NIcaragua. We also had a guest who was Nicaraguan. It sounds like such a lovely place. The rest of the governement crap was pretty boring though. The facilitator was a former CWY supervisor. She was sooooo in shape, it was blowing everyone's minds. She had the most rediculous Popeye arms... like you've never seen.

We went to Lake's house for dinner last night. I got to do some laundry for free :). Lake's mom Shelley was nice enough to do it for me! Thanks again Shelley! (I know you're reading haha) She even folded my underwear!!! That totally BLEW my mind!!! No one has done laundry for me in years, haha.

I'm pretty much done repacking now. We're going for a meeting with Shayne now too. He's going to brief on what will go down tomorrow. I have to go now, Lake is here to come get me.

Later gaters.

Ari

excitment is building up!

Hello all,

We're still in our orientation camp. We're all getting along famously, it's wonderful. There is also another group that is going to Nicaragua and Saskatchewan but they will be going to different cities. We've gotten a chance to get to know them and we had some workshops of our orientation with them. Last night I went out for drinks with some of the other group. We came back to our hotel and partied it up. Then we moved to the other group's hotel because they have bigger rooms (no fair!!) and kept the party going.

As you can imagine I had a rough morning haha. We got a visit today from our project manager, who is Shayne's boss. His name is Vlad and he has a lot of experience with Central America. He's also in charge of the Honduras\Alberta groups. He talked a lot about what to expect. It's making things sink in and really exciting.

Tonight we're going out again. I'm starting to miss home cooking... we've been eating out since we got here. We'll be leaving for Nicaragua early Thursday morning. Tomorrow night Lake's family has invited us over for pizza and beer, since Lake lives pretty close to our hotel. He told me he would be posting tomorrow night when we're at his house.

Now we're going to eat and then Lake and I will be going to the Eaton Centre (to get some more MAC of course! Haha!!!)

I'll try to make posts every other day. No promises though. I have no idea what the internet will be like down south.

xo

Ari

T DOT

Sooooo last night we all met for the very first time. Everyone is so friendly and interesting. The group so far has amazing chemistry. I think this is really going to be an amazing 6 months. We have been blessed with an amazing supervisor. Shayne is a very genuine and down to earth man who has lots of experience. We also met Liz who is a facilitator for CWY. She was with us today for the first day of our orientation, but more on that later.

So last night we were given our spending money for the week for food. We all went out for some vietnamese food. Pho fo sho. C: Everybody gets along great. Since myself and another girl who is from Ontario are the only two who are really bilingual, we often find ourselves playing translator. It's all good!

Last night I was so excited I really couldn't get to sleep, so Lake and I hung out until about 4 am. I hope we didn't disturbe any neighbours. Haha. I am a super light sleeper, and my hotel roommate snores REALLY loud, so I really hard slept at all last night. After this post I'll probably go back to my room and have a nice nap.

This morning we got up bright and early for our first day of orientation camp. Lake, myself and a few other people went to Timmy's for breakfast. Liz facilitated our workshop and will be with us again tomorrow and monday. We had a really intense day of bonding, in fact some of it was quite heavy and emotional.

Tonight we're hitting the town. We have pretty much all the freedom we want so yeah. It's not like a school outting where we have a curfiew and we can't drink. Tonight we're going to hit up the Busking Festival downtown I believe. I'm very excited, hoping to see some of my friends who do busking for a living. Tonight we're going out with the other group who is going to a different city in Nicaragua and Saskatchewan. Their group is older than we are. We're 17 to 21 and they are 22 to 24. They're all very nice as well.

Other than that, not much to report. I must say that the reality of this trip is really starting to sink in. So excited!!

Lake will be on soon....


Ari <3

Tomorrow = Toronto

Well, I still haven't been able to Lake on here. I hope he posts something by tomorrow.... urgh lol.

So tomorrow I will be taking a plane to Toronto for our orientation camp with Shayne, our supervisor. I'm really excited. I still haven't repacked all my stuff yet. I'm getting kinda nervous too. I'm sure we're going to have a pretty intense few days.

Shayne gave us some homework to do before our arrival in Toronto. We had to watch a debate online about aid work in Africa... even though we're going to Central America. He also gave us a couple of articles about AIDS in Africa and such.... interesting stuff. He also sent us a document called the "gut challenge". Basically giving us a reality check of sorts about what to expect. He also asked us a bunch of questions that we needed to reflect on.

The truth is, I signed up for this program before I finished high school. My plan was to do this program instead of starting university. However I got put on a "waiting list" and was told I would be going for sure the following year. Quite a few things have changed since I originally signed up in 2007. Now I have completed my first year of university, I've grown up a bit and I am now in a relationship. I do miss school, and I kinda wish I could be going back in a couple weeks with all my friends. I hate that I have to be a year behind them now. However I did take a lot of second year courses in my first year so I guess I got a head start... Kinda... And leaving my boyfriend for 6 months is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But doing something like this has been my dream for a long time. Nothing will stand in my way. It's so crazy how I've been waiting for so long for this to happen, and the day has finally come.

Talk to you soon,

Ari <3

First Post

Hello to who ever you may be.

This will be our first entry to this blog. In a few days, I, Ariane, and my friend Lake will embark on a long and wonderful journey. We are participants of the program known as Canada World Youth (Jeunesse Canada Monde, pour les francophones!) This program is an exchange program of sorts that allows young canadian adults to work in a canadian community that is different from their home and a chance to work in a developping country abroad. There are 2 phases, one is 3 months in Canada and the second is 3 months in another country that is selected for you by the organisation itself. Our exchange country is Nicaragua and our city in Canada is Prince Albert, which is the third largest city in Saskatchewan. In Nicaragua, we will be living in Somoto, which is very close to the Honduras border. We have what is called an inverted program, so we will be going abroad first, (just in time for hurricane season in Nicaragua!) then coming back to Canada for the second phase.

In our group we are 9 canadians from all over the country. I'm from Ottawa and Lake is from Toronto. As soon as we all found out what our exchange was going to be, the whole group quickly found eachother via Facebook on a group that one of the guys created. Lake and I met while I was in Toronto one weekend for work. We talk pretty frequently and we've decided to create this blog for anyone who cares to read it. We don't know how often we can e-mail or call home, so we'll just try to get as many blog posts as often as we can so that everyone back home can stay updated (especially our caring and supportive parents).

During our exchange we will be living with host families in Somoto with Nicaraguan counterparts. I believe Canada World Youth affectionately calls them "life partners". They are young adults from Nicaragua who will be coming with us to Prince Albert. They are NOT from Somoto. They also have to be in a different environnement than they are used to. We each get a counterpart who will most likely be of the same sex (for obvious reasons). We will be living with them for the whole 6 months. We won't get to meet them until we arrive in Nicaragua.

To participate in this exchange we had to raise $2 500. We were all encouraged to do fundraising. I raised quite a bit of money, but I also worked alot to just pay the rest off myself. We cannot however use funraising for our "spending money". We were encouraged to bring about $500.

Each group in every exchange is assigned a project theme. (we're not there for a vacation after all!) Our group has been assigned "Community Development", which is extremely vague. We're suppose to work on social and educational services in the community. They haven't told us much beyond that for now... We have a supervisor who works for Canada World Youth and we have a Nicaraguan Supervisor. Our canadian supervisor's name is Shayne and our nicaraguan supervisor's name is Ruth. The whole group is trying to learn Spanish... but it's looking like everyone is still very much a beginner. And I left my Spanish for Dummies in Ottawa!!!! AHH!

This Friday, the group will meet eachother for the first time in Toronto for our "orientation camp" with Shayne. As I said before, I have already met Lake and I have also met 2 others who are from different parts of Québec. Right now I am in Vancouver visiting my mom, so I won't be coming from Ottawa. On my flight to Toronto I will be meeting 2 others from my group on the plane. I'm pretty lucky I think. Lake on the other hand, will only really have to walk a few blocks away to get to our orientation camp! Lucky!!!

I guess I should talk a bit about myself.... well... I'm 19 and I'm from Ottawa (as I said before). I study in Theatre at University of Ottawa. My first language is french and I have always studied in french. I have an extreme addiction to expensive makeup and cosmetics.

As of September 3rd we will be in Nicaragua. I will do my best to post as many pictures on Facebook as possible.

I'm sorry this post is so long, they won't all be like this surely. I just wanted to give everyone the basic knowledge about this program. I'll let Lake talk a bit about himself and maybe elaborate on what I have said in another post.

If you are interested in signing up for Canada World Youth, check out their website. It's for young adults between 17 and 24 and the exchange countries vary between Ukraine, Indonesia, Brasil, South Africa, and sooooo many more! Here is their website if you're interested on learning more!

http://www.canadaworldyouth.org/en/Splash.aspx


Talk to you soon!

Ari