So I’m not going to pretend everything is amazing…

So I’m not going to pretend everything is amazing. It’s not. There are things that are uncomfortable… kids that wake-up way to early (5:30am) and argue loudly in a shared housing space. Long rides in vehicles on winding roads. Oldest child throwing up hours later after long road trip. Children’s taste buds not expanding as fast as we would like. Realizing I’ve already used up nearly 1gb  of my 3gb monthly cell plan because photo sync and updates were turned on.

It would have been simpler and more comfortable to stay home with unlimited bandwidth and sticking to our usually routines. But I find that in times of discomfort and trying new things I grow the most. And this is why we are doing this – to intentionally put ourselves and children in stretching situations and grow.

Now that is out the way, we did have a rather good day overall. The same kids who woke up way to early did so because they were eager to get out and explore. Quin spotted a beautiful blue bird. Speaking of beautiful birds, La Mariposa is situated in a beautiful forested campus, an oasis from the bustle going on outside of its walls. We each have our own teacher and are taught Spanish language in little open-air cabins, during which it is easy to get distracted by humming birds, insects, beautiful birds, squirrels, and monkeys chattering nearby.

Our weekly schedule goes something like this:

7:30am Breakfast
8:00am Conversational Classes – tailored to our individual needs with a 1 on 1 teacher
9:50am Break
10:10am Switch teachers for Grammar Classes
12:00pm Lunch
1:30pm Sign up for afternoon planned activity
5:45pm Supper

Everyone down to Cheyenne has their own teacher. Quin has been a bit shy practicing his Spanish in front of us, but Thea has jumped and picking up vocab already. I started working with my teacher on agricultural, banking, loans, and other business related language. During breaks, and meal times, it has been fun to get to know the other students who are passing through.

This afternoon for our afternoon activity, we drove an hour to Masaya, a town situated next to Lake/Lagoon formed by volcanic activity. We stopped at the town plaza and got our first taste a Nicaraguan playground, ice cream, and side attractions. Later we visit an overlook over the lake with the volcano putting off steam in the background. There too was a children’s park that the kids enjoyed.

As I mentioned earlier, the ride back didn’t sit well with poor Quin, but we made it back tired and hungry. Another day is in the books. Looking forward to new adventures that wait for us tomorrow!

Thanks to all of you who have been following us and reading comments. It’s great to hear from you. I think I finally rigged up e-mail notifications so we can see better when you leave us comments.