Alex and Kaitlyn's Peace Corps Days in Nicaragua: October 2009

Sorry to all for being extremely irregular with our blog posts. These last few months have been really busy with closing out our PC service. To summarize quickly all the picture from the last post...Kaitlyn and I went on a trip to the island of Ometepe, which is a large island formed by two volcanoes in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. It was a great time and we were glad we finally made it to this very popular, yet very tranquilo destination. We also attended the wedding of our of our fellow PC volunteers, which was also a great time as are all the gatherings that bring our group of Nica 45 Env. Ed. volunteers together. The two of us are also in the process of saying goodbye to the teachers and students that we've been working with for two years. The good-bye parties include a treasure hunt and piñata with the students. These have been the saddest good-byes, there is no explaining with words the look of sadness on a kid's face when they realize that they might never see you again.

As of late we have been stressed with planning our second annual HIV/AIDS fair, which went off just last Friday. We put a whole lot of work into the fair this year and it truly paid off.
The fair was much bigger and received much more support and participation than last year. There were sports, music, and dancing competitions. Over 150 HIV tests were administered. We had a band play a concert at night. The community, including the mayor, was very pleased and excited to continue the fair in the following year.

As of today we have exactly 10 days left in Nagarote. It took a while for the fact that we were leaving to sink-in since we have been so busy. There is a strong mix of excitement and sadness in our leaving. We have a 40 day trip to South America, returning to family and friends, going to grad school, and finding a job (hopefully) to look forward to. Yet we are leaving a people, language, and way of life that have become our own for the last two years. Although so much of what we have gained will go with us, it is strange to think that much of what we have learned in the last two years will cease to apply the moment we step on the plane.