Nicaragua Around the ¨house¨/yard

Turns out I have 150 pictures I want to slowly put up here, so wouldn´t you know I took 10 more and will only put those up today. Just know that I have lots to post and they´ll be coming slowly. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts these pictures are not in order. So I have made the explanations pretty specific so you can figure it out if you want. Too bad Blogger and I aren´t on a wavelength. Enjoy!

Here is a picture of some of our neighborhood chickens.

This is a still life of pineapples and a canteloupe on the table that we use when we iron. It´s just outside the door on the patio.

This is the church kitchen, just behind the church which is a one room sanctuary (when there is Sunday School it is just held outside under the big tree in the yard), so that one time there was cooking smoke in the church during the sermon. On the left is Norvin and on the right, Guillen. They are stirring a delicious soup, Sunday lunch. Each of them lives a few minutes walk from the church.

On the bicycle, Barú, on the left my host mom Janet. Barú is studying English so he sometimes reads his homework to me so I can help with pronunciation. Amazing what simple sounds for English speakers are difficult for Spanish speakers, like n, ch, v.

Here is Janet´s niece Jacquelin and her little son Moises (like Moses) who just turned one year old a month ago and has a lovely baby smell. There house would be, if visible, over to the right in the picture of the chickens.

Here are Cenelia who is hired by Janet´s mom to live with her and help her around the house, and Belén, my host sister, eating the soup that Xiomara and everyone made.

Xiomara is somehow related to everyone but I´m not sure how. Last night she gave me two skirts! Woo hoo! Because here skirts are worn all the time. Turns out that when we go to the Easter campamento a bunch of us girls want to play soccer but we might have to do it in skirts because of all the religious eyes present. I´m still bringing shorts just in case.

And because it is mango season, here are Belén and someone eating mangos.

And here is the mango tree in our yard that drops mangos which we all eat like two of a day. I just found out that there´s only one season a year of jocote, which means that after these are all eaten there will be none for the rest of my time! I can´t imagine Nicaragua without jocote! But I guess there will be other fruit. Apparently papaya season is coming up (!). Yum.

And this is Pablo, my host dad and the pastor of the church, washing something in the same washboard where I do my laundry (where we all do our laundry).

This is a table of eaters. Norvin, Pedro the assistant pastor/youth pastor, and Isaac my host brother. The soup has cabbage, ayote which is a squash, beef, yuca which is a root, and a bunch of other vegetables. It was good especially with a slightly spicy onion with lemon salsa.

Also Rafael and Norvin eating mangos. Hurrah mangos!!!

In other news, I am on spring break right now, Easter break actually. Ever since I got back from Costa Rica I have been much less dissoriented and much more often spontaneously happy. Also it turns out that I will see David for two weeks in May and then Mom and family for two and a half weeks in June. Yay!