It probably seems like I don’t do any work, because I never talk about my work. Work is difficult, and success is hard to see. I can plan a dynamic, communicative class, but there are always going to be too many students in it, and there is always going to be a majority that really doesn’t care. And there are lots of reasons for that. Some of them might think that a high school education isn’t going to get them anywhere because they don’t have the money to pay for a college education anyway. Or maybe, they might think school is a waste of time they could spend working, and making money to help out their family and just pay for food and other necessities. Some of them genuinely don’t care because their parents don’t participate in their education, either because they don’t realize they need to (that’s the teacher’s job, not mine!) or because they don’t have time because they are working all day. As an American, comparing Nicaraguan culture to my own, there is definitely a difference in work ethic. People just don’t demand that much of themselves or other people, here. That’s not referring to every person in Nicaragua, because I know quite a few hard workers, but as a general culture, you do the minimum amount of work just to get paid, and then you go home. An American like me would say there is no professionalism, here. either. But maybe it’s just because those things aren’t that important because of the economic situation. All that matters is getting paid, because that money is so necessary just to survive. So why would you waste time trying to stand out? No one can afford to do that. It’s not impossible. I’m sure there are plenty of success stories about lucky breaks and people who just worked their asses off and finally made it big. But it’s really hard. And the only difference between me and my boyfriend is that I was lucky enough to be born in the right country. Nicaragua’s story is so sad, and if you ever get a chance to read up on it, you would wonder how the place even functions at all. Anyways, I teach about 16 class periods a week, which is like 2 hours a day, in the mornings. Two of those days I will hopefully start going to a rural community kind of nearby to help a couple of English teachers there. Two nights a week I have a community English class, which is just basic English, starting from zero. One afternoon a week I’m going a conversation group for English teachers, so they can practice speaking. I also want to do something more tangible, so I want to see if I can find a good wall to paint a world map on, with a group of kids I select. Nothing too crazy, just sticking to my assignment. The beginning of this school year has been tainted by some health problems I’ve been having, and I’ve missed quite a bit of school, have had to cancel some of my community classes, have been unable to go to the rural community, and haven’t met once with one of my teachers to plan together. Hopefully things will get going soon. And I also have to think about what I’m going to do when I get back. I think I want to work or intern or something, with some NGO maybe? I honestly don’t even know what defines an NGO, I just associate it with volunteer/development work. I definitely want more school, but I don’t want to rush into an area of study without knowing for sure it’s what I want. And then, add to the mix a Nicaraguan boyfriend and all of the learning and ups and downs that go along with that, my brain is left all tied up in knots. And I only have 8 months of this left (not necessarily happy, not necessarily sad. not simple).