¡Viva la Vida!

They say you know you are a missionary kid when...

You know what REAL coffee tastes like.
Whenever anyone gets sick you say "It must be an ameba."
You can't answer the question, "Where are you from?"
You speak two languages, but can't spell in either. .
The U.S. is a foreign country.
You have a passport, but no driver's license. 
You watch nature documentaries, and you think about how good that would be if it were fried.
You speak with authority on the quality of airline travel.
National Geographic makes you homesick.
You keep dreaming of a green Christmas.
The nationals say, "Oh, I knew an American once..." and then ask if you know him or her. 
When you sing songs to yourself in a language other than English.
When you mother gets excited over finding Doritos at 7-11.  .
You carry Bibles in two languages to church.
You send out birthday invitations in a foreign language.
When your five foot tall mother is taller than most of your church members.
When you go on furlough your Mom buys everything in the store.
When adults want to pay you to teach them English.
When the family gathers around the computer to check the E-mail.
When all your clothes have been worn by someone else.
When you find a seven year old picture of yourself on someone's refrigerator.
When your Mom sends you out to sweep the street in front of your house.
You consider parasites, dysentery, or tropical diseases to be appropriate dinner conversation.
You tell people what certain gestures mean in different parts of the world. 
When you complain of being too cold in the air-conditioned malls
You realize what a small world it is, after all.
You never take anything for granted.
All preaching sounds better under a corrugated tin roof.
Going to the post office is the highlight of your day.

Garbage Pickup

When we first moved to Masatepe there was no municipal trash pickup. We paid a man with a horse and cart to come to our home weekly and clean up the yard and cart our trash away. His price per week was 1.20, and he could be seen around town always doing odd jobs. His nickname is "picopiedra", which means "Fred Flintstone". The country of Japan donated garbage trucks to pretty much every city in Nicaragua.  So now on Monday mornings we are awakened by the high pitched horn that they beep to let you know they are coming. You run out carting your bags of trash, because you can't leave them out on the curb for the dogs to hunt through.  We couldn't let Fred Flintstone be without a client though, so he still comes and cleans our yard and hauls off  trash.

Plantains - Platanos

They are like bananas, but not as sweet. They can be boiled or fried, ripe or 
green. This is a plate of carne asada with tajadas... or plantain chips. They are delicious when salty and crisp straight from the fryer. I don't care for green plantains. I like them ripe and fried.  They are also okay when boiled in a soup called "baho". The leaves from the plantain and banana trees sometimes substitute for paper plates with carne asada.  They also put a little cabbage salad on top with a vinegar dressing. This is our equivalent of fast food, and usually costs about .80 US. 

All types

Did you know there is a version of the Bible in limerick form? 

Fortunately they aren't the traditional raunchy limericks of old.

One example:

Matthew 6: 9-15
'Just pray to the Father. Give praise.
His Kingdom will come. Yes it stays!
Ask daily for bread
Forgive wrongs, and be led
To make up with each other! It pays!'

They came through

Well, surprisingly, cablenet came through for us! We are now online 24/7 from the house... we can chat, post on our blog, download pics, and email more regularly.  We are so excited!

Amazing Race

Last night kicked off the 8th Amazing Race, but this time it's a family edition. We were happy to see two families with little kids!  We decided to try and use this as a geography lesson, following advice of fellow homeschoolers. We took out our map encyclopedia and tried to follow the show last night. It wasn't too hard, as they stayed in the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania area. The boys learned a little about Amish and Mennonites, as well as seeing where Washington crossed the Delaware. The show can be a bit suspenseful and stressful to watch at times, but it was a lot of fun last night!

PS Called the cable guys on their cell phones. They promise to be here this afternoon. We will see! Update to follow.

Report Cards

Our youngest two boys are studying at New Generation School, in Spanish. They got their report cards yesterday, and we proudly report all A's and B's for both of them! (exception of a C for each one, but in Art and Christian Education).  This is a huge accomplishment and we can see that they have improved immensely. We are really proud of their diligence and perseverance during the times when they didn't understand the language or the culture. I doubt we could do so well!

We'll be there Tuesday or Weds...

Cable companies are the same all over the world, I think.  I have been pretty frustrated with our cablenet company during the past few months because we couldn't get an answer from them whether their services were available in our home. We haven't had internet access at home for a year now, and we have been increasingly anxious for high speed internet to come to Masatepe.  Last week, I cornered two cablenet sales guys and had them follow me to my house. I was pleased to know that we CAN have cable internet at our home and for cheaper than we are spending monthly at the internet cafe across the street.  We signed all the papers necessary and were told they will be here Tuesday or Weds. No times were given for their arrival. So we wait... Can't wait to blog from home, sitting in my pajamas, drinking a cup of coffee, my dog asleep at my feet, and the kids contendedly playing in their rooms! (Yeah, right!)

Forgive us our debts...

This is Gordon Brown, who serves as the chairman of the International Monetary Fund's International Monetary & Financial Committee, yesterday at the opening of the committee's meeting in Washington, DC.  He announced that the IMF is committed to cancelling $40 billion of debt from 18 of the world's poorest nations, including Nicaragua.  This is good news but must be met with accountability and transparency by the governments of these countries. 

Oxfam's Max Lawson called the agreement "a real breakthrough."

"The deal that has been sealed by the Fund this week end will provide urgently needed money for education and health care. Eighteen countries will now have all their debts to the IMF cancelled."

 

English Competition

The Ministry of Education has organized a National English Song Competition.  First, students compete on a school level, then city-wide, then state-wide.  This year was our third year of participating in the song contest. We feel a bit of pressure that our students should do well, as they are the only ones with native english-speaking teachers!  This year our school winner was Kevin Rosales, a seventh grader, who sang "I Want it that Way" by the Backstreet Boys. He choreographed a dance and sang it with gusto.  This past week he had to compete in the city-wide competition. Upon arrival, we were surprised to find that he wouldn´t be allowed to use a cd to sing with, it had to be live instruments!  Now, why would anyone pass that information on to us????  Kevin had to make a split-second decision whether he would sing acapella or use his cd and lose points. He courageously sang and danced without any accompaniment, and came home a second place winner! We were so proud of him!  He has four more years at our school, so we are expecting good things to come, and maybe the city title next year.