Moving on...

To a new blog!

Hello, faithful followers. I am sorry to inconvenience you, but I have decided to make a new blog for my next adventure to Indonesia.

It is: michaelagroot.blogspot.com

Short, sweet, simple, and easy to remember.

I would love your continued support and interest!

Love Michaela

All good things come to an end...

It has been a day of goodbyes. This morning I went to school and said farewell to my 7th and 8th graders. I am really going to miss them, and they said they would miss me too, which made me feel like my heart was melting. I left them with a small token of my time here: a pencil or a book mark. Some of the students gave me hugs and sweet words of goodbye. I even got a gift from one of my 7th grade girls. I hung around NCA until after lunch so that I could say goodbye to all of the teachers too. It is hard to leave when there is so much love and acceptance.

I walked home for the last time and took in my environment. It is not everyday where you can walk down the road come across loads of garbage, a road-side snack shack, cat-calls and people riding in the back of trucks. This is all Nicaragua, and I will miss it in some strange way. As soon as I got home, I ate some of my last arroz con leche (rice pudding) and then hit the pool. I probably spent much more time at the pool than I should have, but I was in denial of leaving, and the bright blue of the sky, green of the palm trees, and coolness of the water were so addictive.

After my time at the pool, I started to pack some things up in my room. Emily and Katie came in a few times to help/observe/interrupt my packing and I loved it. Before I could finish with my packing, we all jumped in the car and headed over to La Finca for dinner with some of my other friends/teachers from school. I thoroughly enjoyed my last Nica meal of Jalapeno Chicken, ripe plantain, gallo pinto, and tres leche for dessert. It was fantastic; the perfect way to end four wonderful months. And so, as we went our seperate ways in the parking lot, I said goodbye to so many people that I have come to love. The community here at NCA has been so uplifting and supportive. I will truly miss it.

And so, here I sit, with tears in my eyes, trying to put my 4 months in Nicaragua into words. I told Mike that I don't cry with goodbyes...but I caved. In the solitude of my room, I let a few tears fall. I just had 8 hugs from Katie and 5 from Emily before they went to bed. Gina gave me a hug and swiftly got the girls on their way--she knows goodbyes can be hard. It has been better than I ever imagined it would be. God has taught me so much about teaching, myself, and who He is. Once again God has shown me his faithfulness and blessing in my life. He put Nicaragua on my heart years ago, and lead me back this semester. It still amazes me how God is control of the smallest things. For example, I was just walking back from Aimee's apartment a few minutes ago when I realized that I have not come across a single tarantula or scorpion since I have come here. One of my fears about Nicaragua was that the insects are so big and creepy. God has helped me overcome my fears even though some are small, like spiders, and others are big, like the responsibilities of teaching. I am so thankful to be finished with the semester and all of the hard work, but I can't take the credit for it. God was my strength through it all and he will continue to be in the future. That is the promise I cling to.
So, here I sit, with a bunch of packing yet to do and a heavy heart. Luckily, the future is bright as I consider my next adventure, especially because I know I will never be alone.

I have a renewed love for the following Bible verse because I have relied on it so much this semester: "I can do all things through HIM who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. It is simple, but so perfectly true.

Thanks to all of you for following me on this fun and exciting adventure. I have appreciated the emails, skype dates, thoughts and prayers that you have given me. I praise God for the many blessings he has given me. I see this experience as one more beautiful memory I can lock up in my treasure chest of life. Praise God!

Leon and other outings

This weekend was a mix of activity and relaxation. On Friday I went with Mike and Gina and the family to Galaries, the big mall. Our little outing included window shopping, lunch, groceries, and my first experience at GameSpot, the arcade in the mall. Although we enjoyed our time away, it was longer than expected. There were some rotundas and roads closed in the area, which made our trip home long and frustrating. Mike and Gina did a great job of navigating, and I got one last tour of Managua!

On Saturday, I took a trip with my friend Leah. We decided to visit Leon, where she used to live. I met Leah at a gas station, and we took a "chicken bus" to another bus stop. The Nicaraguan public transportation system uses school buses, which are commonly known as "chicken buses." They have no laws against maximum capacity, so you often see these buses overflowing with people, especially around 8 am and 5pm. Thankfully, our bus wasn't overflowing. When we got to the next bus stop, we waited in line to take a micro bus (or a van) to Leon. However, because it was a workers holiday, the buses were very slow. After about an hour and a half, we finally got a bus and headed to Leon. When we arrived in Leon, everything was wet and there were some small floods in some areas of the city. We managed to only get our feet slightly wet as we jumped into the back of a camionetta. A comionetta is a pick-up truck with benches in the back that is commonly used as transportation in Leon. We took a short drive through the city and towards the main square. This is where we spent the majority of our day having lunch, shopping, and taking in the city. I was able to find a few things for great deals! After shopping, we visited the family that Leah used to live with. They had a parrot that could talk. It said some funny things and it could even laugh!

After our visit, we took a taxi to the bus stop and grabbed a micro bus home. I got out at another bus stop on my own, and took a taxi home, which was the first time I have ever done that. Thankfully, a lady who spoke English, saw me struggling to communicate with the taxi driver and helped me out. It was great to finally be home and rest my feet after a fun day in Leon.

On Sunday, I went with Rebecca to see where Chilo lives. Chilo is the lady that cleans our apartment. She is a sweetheart. She lives up on the hillside, which is beautiful, cool and green. It was fun to see her family and their way of life.

Monday night, I had one last visit to the Pena's household. This is where Aimee was living for about 2 months of the semester. They made a wonderful Nicaraguan meal including quesillos, cacao, and arroz con leche (rice pudding...yum!) It was delicious, and I thoroughly enjoyed my last meal with them. As always, it was difficult to say goodbye, but I have so many fond memories of that family.

Some of the pictures I have posted are from Leon and my visits, but I have also posted a few random ones that I have taken in the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Let the rain come down!

I am sitting at the kitchen table listening to Lifehouse, eating chicken noodle soup, and watching the rain drip down. Yes, is it raining! For the firt time since I have come to Nicarauga, I have stood outside and felt the rain fall down. It was like I was in a different place. When Mike told me it was raining outside I din't believe him, so I went outside to experience it for myself. It isn't a downpour, but it isn't just a trickle either; it is sweet, gentle rain. I was told not to expect rain until May, but here it is on a Saturday afternoon in April. I hear some thunder in the distance and I wonder if I will ever have the full experience of rain in Nicaragua. I have been told that at times during the rainy season, the neighbourhood children have taken their pool floaties out into the street. What a sight that would be.

This day has been refreshing and relaxing. I woke up this morning after a good night's rest and talked my self into going for a run. I came back hotter than ever, so I jump in the shower and then started grading. After how hot is was this morning, I never would have thought that it would rain today. The stormy weather is fun and different. Besides the different weather, there are other things that have made this weekend a breath of fresh air for me. With only 5 more lessons to plan, I am feeling the weight of work start to lift.

Although this week had its challenges, I really enjoyed teaching the 7th and 8th graders. I am starting to get sad as I think about leaving in a week and a half. I have had so many amazing experiences in Nicarauga and it has become a third home for me (the first being Houstona and the second Dordt). Altough saddening, these thoughts have also been uplifting for me as I consider my next adventure in Indonesia. I believe God has been using my experience in Nicaragua to prepare me for the next chapter of my life. I had my fears about coming to Nicaragua, but they have all disolved. God has continually reminded me that he is my faithful provider and with him, I will always be okay.

The rain is still coming down and I still have papers to grade, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Spring Break 2010! Costa Rica baby!

Costa Rica has come and gone in a blur, and now I get to share the highlights with y'all. Now we get to travel back in time to...last weekend!

I was very happy to be done with school on Friday afternoon. Mike's crazy "spring break 2010...wooooo!" scream went echoing through my mind many times the week before break. However, I still had a lot to do before break could finally begin. I spent the entire afternoon and evening grading projects and tests for history class. I still can't believe how long that took me! But, I finished them all late Friday night and then packed my suitcase for Costa Rica.

Mike, Gina, Kaitlynn, Emily, Rebecca and I set out early Saturday morning for the Tica Bus station. This bus ride was supposed to take about 10 hours. However, because it was the first day of Semana Santa (Holy Week) everyone was traveling on that day. We ended up spending about 2.5-3 hours waiting in lines and getting on and off buses at the boarder. We had a long and HOT wait in line that day and it didn't help that the air on the bus was pretty much non-existent. When we finally pulled into San Jose that night, we were so ready for our hotel and the air conditioning.

We did come to notice some interesting things on our long bus ride to San Jose. I knew Costa Rica was beautiful, but i wasn't really expecting to see how different is is than Nicaragua. I was surprised to find out that there are a lot of differences between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Even within the first hour, I could tell that the Costa Rica is a richer country. There were beautiful little farms along the road with developed land, fences, and water ways. The homes looked decent and the stores and vehicles looked like they were in better shape too. We also noticed that it was cleaner in Costa Rica. There were areas, of course, that still had garbage, but in general there was less liter. When we got further into the city we saw things such as overpasses, high rises, and Denny's that we had not seen in months. The whole structure of the country was on a stronger foundation, and this was evident everywhere. Us adults talked about how we felt like we were in the U.S. I guess you could say that we were in Culture shock. After coming from a country like Nicaragua with a capital city like Managua, we were very reflective of what Nicaragua is missing out on. Those first couple of days in Costa Rica really made us think about these two countries right next door to each other. We thought to ourselves, "why can't Nicaragua be more like Costa Rica and have a better standard of living for it's people?" "why do Nicaraguans have to suffer from bad governmental leadership and structure?" Mike even mentioned that he thought that many of the Ticas (Costa Ricans) looked happier than some Nicaraguans. And why wouldn't they if they have more of their needs met?

I also felt some culture shock when we checked into our hotel. Everything was so beautiful at the hotel. We had hot water in our showers, a T.V. with multiple channels, and big comfy beds. I truly felt out of place at a hotel. Even though we live in a beautiful complex in Nicaraguan, being at the hotel just felt different. After living in central America for a few months, I was finally being a real tourist. It was harder for me to transition than I thought it would be. I didn't feel like I belonged at the hotel or that I deserved all of its luxuries. I thought back to the Nicaraguan people who spend their whole lives in one area of the country, never having the freedom or money to even explore the beauty of their own country. These thoughts eventually lead me to a place of deep thankfulness for the blessings and opportunities I have been able to experience in my life.

Back to the vacation....

We spent the first night at the hotel and then went downstairs to a beautiful and delicious buffet breakfast the next morning. I got to try Costa Rican gillo pinto, which I really enjoyed. We spent the better part of our day at a huge mall in San Jose. We did some shopping and bought some food for our trip to Volcano Arenal the next day. That night we ordered pizza and watched a movie on T.V.

Monday morning we waited an hour for our shuttle to come and ended up calling another shuttle guy to take us to our next destination. We spent the next four days of our trip at Los Lagos resort near the town of La Fortuna and at the foot of the lovely Volcano Arenal. This is the most active volcano in Costa Rica. Our drive took us through the winding mountains north of San Jose. We saw beautiful farms, rivers, and rain forest along the way. The weather was also cooler, which was a nice change from hot Managua!

Our hotel, Los Lagos was a beautiful garden resort set on a hill side. There were flowers and trees everywhere. The best part of the hotel was the hot springs. There were several different pools of different temperatures, as well as two cold pools and 3 water slides in total. It was so much fun to hang around the resort. Some of the highlights of the resort were: the crocodile farm, frog garden, butterfly garden, fish ponds, and the suspension bridge. Because the rooms were spread out all over the property we would either take a 5 minute walk up/down the hill or call a shuttle when we wanted to go somewhere. We had a lovely view of the volcano right outside our front door.

The second day we arrived, we all took a ride into town to buy some food for the week. We discovered that the hotel restaurant was very expensive, so buying food was a better choice for us. After our trip in town, we came back to the hotel and hung out at the pools for the next couple of hours.

The next day, Rebecca and I decided to do a day on our own. Unfortunately, this was the one day when it rained all day. I guess that is what you get when you go to the rain forest right? In the morning, we went horse back riding. My horses' name was Tito, and he was always in competition with Rebecca's horse for the front. This ride took us on a neat trail next to a river and through some pastureland and forest. When we got to the end of the trail, we went for a short hike to some gorgeous waterfalls and I swam in the chilly river water. The surrounding jungle was amazing! I loved seeing all the different plants. On our way back to the ranch, we stopped by a Indian settlement where there were some people who told us about the native history of the area.They were wearing grass clothes and had grass huts set up. Rebecca bought a cool mask from their lovely collection of hand-made items. When we were almost back at the stables, Rebecca's horse started running and a bunch of our stuff started flying out of the bag and into the mud. Our nice tour guide picked the stuff up for us. After this, we took a quick look at the butterfly and frog gardens, and then caught a shuttle into town.

In town, we had lunch at a nice little restaurant and then looked around at some shops. We took advantage of our time and a local laundry shop and had some of our wet clothes dried. It felt so nice to put on a warm sweater!

Our second tour of the day was a small hike through a nature reserve on the other side of the volcano. Just in time, it started to rain when we left for our tour, so we were glad to have some dry clothes. A guide took us on some neat paths in the rain forest. The rain forest was amazing! I couldn't stop looking all around me. Although our guide mentioned snakes and spiders, we didn't get to see any. :) We did, however, get to see some howler monkeys way up in the tree. And, I got to swing on a vine, like Tarzan!!!! Only, I didn't go far, but it was a dream come true. I saw so many huge beautiful trees that could use a good tree fort. After our hike, we drove further down the road in hopes of seeing the lava flow on the other side of the mountain, but it was completely clouded over, so I guess we have to trust the post cards on that one.

The next day we spent back at the hotel. We looked at the frogs, butterflies,turtles, lizards, and crocodiles that they have at the resort. It was fun to walk through the beautiful gardens and to see all of these beautiful creatures. For the rest of the day, we hung out at the pool, reading our books, and going in and out of all of the beautiful pools. That night, we had our typical evening of sandwiches and movies in our room.

In the morning, we took a shuttle back to our hotel in San Jose. Since we still had some of the day left, we had lunch at Subway (can you believe it?) and took a walk to a park near by. Then, we went back to the hotel and enjoyed our last night together.

Saturday morning, we took the Tica Bus back to Nicaraguan. The ride back was thankfully, less hectic than the ride down.

It is nice to be back home, but it is always hard to get back to work after Vacation. I have already been doing lots of planning today as I prepare to go back to school on Tuesday.

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter!

A day in the life...

...of a teacher.

This past week has been really great in middle school. I don't know if it is because I am getting to know the students better or if I am improving in my classroom management skills, but I have really enjoyed the past few days in 7th and 8th grade.

The biggest challenge for my in middle school is maintaining my students attention. I have been working at this for the past couple of weeks and it is nice to see some improvements. When I was at Dordt we talked about middle school development and how they are just so different at this age. I am starting to put the pieces together between college and real life experience. The middle school students really are in a world of their own. I enjoy seeing the different personalities in my classes. Sometimes it is fun to think about what they will all be like in 10 years. I often go back in time, remembering my own middle school years. It was a good time, but sometimes a difficult time. I am hoping that even though I am only with these kids for a short while, my teaching will impact them. I can definitely see how it might be difficult for teachers to say goodbye to students at the end of the year.

One of the reasons why I have enjoyed these last few days is because of the Drama class I am teaching. I just started an improv unit with them and it is soooo much fun! The kids are so interested and they love the new exercises and games I am teaching them. I am excited to see how things go after break. I especially love seeing how the students react to each other in a setting other than regular class. The atmosphere is fun and relaxed.

~tangent~
The pictures below are of everyday life in Nicaragua. From pigs in the ditch to salesmen at the intersection...always someting interesting to caputure in a photo.







The first picture I have attached was taken of my feet after a day in 5th grade. I would often come home from school with feet like that. Although my feet don't look like that in the high school end, this picture reminds me of long days at school and hard work.

These past few days I have been grading projects and tests like crazy. I finally finished my last test at 9:15 tonight. YAY! It feels so good to be done with grading. Now, comes the lesson planning.But that might be spread out over the next 10 days because....

tomorrow morning at 6:00 we are leaving for Costa Rica! I am very excited to finally have a long break! We are taking a 10 hour Tica Bus ride to San Jose. Most of our plans are ready, but that will be disclosed at a later time....

A little bit of everything

You may ask yourself "what's with the title?" Well, I will just come right out and say that this entry is going to include little bits of everything.

I recently read a blog post of a friend of mine who is student teaching in Indonesia. Her entries were filled with contemplative and precise descriptions.I thought to myself..."what are my blog entries like?" So, here I am about share not only my adventures, but thoughts as well because those will probably give you a better understanding of how things are going for me down here.

Middle school has been going quite well. It has amazed me to see how different students are after two years. Some things that I love about this age group are:
- They can be so childish and yet so grown up at the same time
- They are more responsible for themselves than 5th graders are
- They are funny and easier to relate to than I imagined!

But, there are also some things that are more challenging with this age:
- They can be so childish and yet so grown up at the same time.... :)
- It can sometimes be difficult to get them to pay attention and listen to my authority
- There are sometimes attitude issues to deal with, although nothing major has come up during my time here

As far as lesson planning goes, it has been more challenging for me than it was in 5th grade. I have only planned the lessons for Latin American History so far, but the text book is not good so I have had to research most of the information on my own. This also led to the issues of what to do with the information. I had to evaluate what I was learning and discern what the students should know and how they are going to learn it. All of my education courses kind of came upon me at one time as dealt with this challenge. The irony of it all, is that I will probably be planning in a similar fashion at SPH next year. It is another one of those things that God has put in my life to prepare me for the next step. Learning is never easy.

One thing I noticed when I researched Peru was my love for learning. I was so excited about Peru and all the information I had gathered about it. I almost had a desire to write a research paper or something with all of the information I found. Three and a half years of college must have done this to me. :) I never thought I would miss learning. But, in a way, I will always be learning because so much of teaching is also learning. It can just be overwhelming when you have to learn new information and then immediately teach it to a class full of kids. Gotta love school.

As much as I love to share my thoughts and experiences, the clock is ticking and I need to tell you a bit about my weekend before moving on to my lesson plans.

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit a new part of Nicaragua this past weekend. I went along with two families to Matagalpa which is a city in the North- west mountains of Nicaragua. We left on Friday and drove for 2-3 hours into the hills and country side. Our destination was a coffee farm. The owners had a separate building with guest rooms for visitors. I shared a room with Katie, my "little sister." On Friday night we were warmly welcomed with a fresh Nica meal. We ended up hitting the hay pretty early because everyone was tired.

The next morning we went down to breakfast and had a delicious meal complete with rice and beans (gallo pinto), tortilla's, eggs, and fresh fruit juice. We also got to taste the best coffee I have ever had. They had roasted their own beans and made the coffee fresh that morning. I also put some milk in my coffee that had come from the cow that morning. The farm has a bunch of milk cows that provide fresh milk and cheese. I have never experienced fresh dairy before, so this was a treat!

After breakfast we set out up the mountain. One of the workers took us for a hike up to the coffee plants. The road took us higher and higher into the cooler mountain air, which was a treat for us. The vegetation was beautiful and different than anything I have seen before. The coffee plants are actually quite small, so they grow under all of the bigger trees in the forest. On our hike, the kids found cool things like huge grasshoppers, beetles, and butterflies. I loved being outside and experiencing God's creation.

We came back down the mountain after the hike and had another wonderful meal at the ranch house. The owner told us that a calf had been born in the morning, so we went down to the cow area to check it out. The calf was really cute and was still getting used to it's legs. Much to our delight, the ranch hands were doing the milking when we stopped by. It was cool to see the milking in person. The older kids got a chance to try the milking too. I really wanted to try, but we were already slowing down the milking by having the kids try it out, so I will have to try some other time. If anyone has a diary, let me know when I can come by and try milking a cow!

After the milking we packed up the car and headed down the mountain and into the city of Matagalpa. We were actually quite pleased with the atmosphere and feel of Matagalpa. It is not as dirty and big as Managua, which is a nice change. It is always nice to get another picture of Nicaraguan culture, so this trip definitely helped in that area. We came back to Managua in the day light which was nice because we got to see the scenery on the way.

Sunday morning I awoke bright and early to go biking with Aimee and Carey. We did a solid 20km bike ride which included a few major hills. Besides Holland, this was the furthest I have ever biked. Although, I can probably just leave Holland out since it is flat. :) We took a right turn out of the compound and headed in the direction of the beach. It was nice to be out early in the cool of the day and see Nica people get ready for their daily activities. We did get to see one thing that made us laugh. One of the homes along the road had a U-haul as an addition to their home! The back was nicely fitted into the brick wall. If there is a will, there is a way.

Well, I guess this is the end of my ramblings for today. I am leaving for spring break to Costa Rica on Saturday, so this will probably be my last entry for a few weeks.

Until next time,

Michaela